Highland ITFC

Anybody at the game yesterday that's able to offer some thoughts / a report?

Knowing both of them I would say that Thomas is comfortably the better keeper. Hoban will keep him on his toes though, which is how it should be

And suspect that Mackay coming in may be an end to the rumours of a return from Archie

Daniel Mackay (goal scoring wide midfielder) & Daniel Hoban (keeper) in on loan from ICT until the turn of the year. Mackay has the potential to add something, but suspect that Hoban will be McHale's warm up partner & a bench warmer, or should be anyway given McHale's form

Week 2: Cove

Yup, agree with all that, & if they can keep playing the ball on the deck, rather than those periods of the game when it went route one, then they look all the better for it. I'm sure that Gav will also be working in training on getting it moving more quickly more often, as lots of shouts to that effect from the technical area. Might also be nice to see something other than the formulaic substitutions that seem to come every game - Willis with 15 to go & Loveland with 5 to go - when game situations such as yesterday permit giving longer run outs, as there will definitely be games when it won't be appropriate. It's been mentioned on here as to there not being too much on the bench, but if the lads aren't given opportunity / game time, then that's not going to change. Scott got 2 minutes & one touch yesterday, but that doesn't really tell you a great deal, & Ballam was left on the bench with both centre backs on a yellow & Wilson having taken a clattering.

Don't get the 'not going to risk him' argument myself. It's a football match, in which footballers like to play. Ultimately this game is no different than all the pre-season friendlies, training games, & BetFred ties that have been played over the last few weeks, so is there any more 'risk' in a game vs Forres than against Jeanfield Swift, Rothes, Lossie, Clach (where Soapy was injured), Arbroath (Darryl), Alloa or Stirling? And any of them could get injured in training tonight, or on Saturday, or next week. Most players would far rather play two games in a week than one & two training sessions....& some of the lads that played last night will train tonight aswell, so does that put tired bodies at more risk of injury? It's SPFL DIV 2 & the NoS Cup, not Premier League & the Europa League, so don't personally feel that any players need to be protected from the 'risk' of injury.....they just want to play football!

Yes. very poor result, but what can one expect when playing boys against men. Only Ballam & Willis with any degree of senior experience, & although Scott & Loveland also First Team squad members, they've had virtually no football at this level. And four players doesn't make a team, particularly when the rest is a lot of lads who've never before come up against a side as strong as Forres. You've got to ask what was the Club looking to achieve in fielding this side, when there are north-based First Team players that would have loved the game rather than train Tuesday-Thursday instead?!

Yes, would agree with the giving Shane more responsibility perspective. He's looking a different player & character since he returned, with performances following as a result, & hopefully it will all stay that way. Think Dingwall has been excellent. Masses of bite & energy in the middle with him, Omar & MacEwan, & of course Cameron to return aswell. U20s are at Forres in the North of Scotland Cup this evening, which will include the First Team squad members that haven't had much of a look-in so far, so come along if fancying a midweek football fix, & an opportunity to assess what else is in & around the squad.

Creditable display for the most part yesterday evening, & the team certainly didn't let themselves down in front of the cameras. What was very apparent though was the difference in fitness, sharpness, & speed of thought between full-time pros at SPFL level & Div 2 part-timers. That said it definitely helped to show which Elgin players were closest to matching that & accordingly could well go higher in their careers. Thought McHale was very solid again, & McDonald in the back four was the one man that still wanted to get on the ball against more illustrious opponents, & looked very comfortable on it. Dingwall in midfield was his usual terrier self, & Omar also quality on the ball - other than his one costly error of course - & up front both Kane & Shane working very hard & looking dangerous. Would personally have given MoM to Kane. Still limited down the flanks though, with Wilson & Cooper not going to be a combination that's going to worry too many teams out wide, Omar out of position & Spark not really getting forward on the left, & O'Keefe looking unfit &/or lazy when he came on. Thought Willis added something when he came on & could be a shout wide right. Downside of the night was the jobsworth security stewards that were hired in for the game that added nothing other than pissing off fans by telling them places that they couldn't stand, couldn't stay standing after the game, & generally leaving me wondering just how we mange to watch football in a relaxed & safe fashion each week without the benefit of their overzealous presence.

Fair play! So are you thinking that it will be more of the side that conceded six against Arbroath that will be in the side again come the first League game?

Definitely another encouraging performance, especially given that Cameron, Omar & McHardy were all sitting in the stand, so good to see a bit of depth of quality in the squad with those that are coming in doing a good job. The standard is being set from the front, with Kane & Shane working really hard on the pressing, & that again paying dividends yesterday, & loads of energy & bite in the middle of the park with Dingwall & MacEwan, & the backline seemed determined to make sure that they kept a clean sheet. McHale looking really solid & reliable. Winger-wise, O'Keefe looked like he needed more time to get back up to speed after his injury niggle, & Cooper tidy on the ball, but not a winger. As said before, would like to see Sopel given his chance there, but suspect Omar will come back in on Friday. Looking at Stirling, they looked an ordinary side on yesterday's showing. A backline that didn't inspire confidence, workmanlike midfield with little creativity, & a toothless frontline, & definitely think that Elgin fans can take confidence from them as fellow DIV2 benchmark.

Agree with much of what afca & badger have said above. Lots of positives from the game & performance, but perhaps the biggest positive is that there should be more / better to come once a few opportunities to develop are hopefully taken. The team were not overawed by their higher level opposition, & was pleasing to see that the passing & pressing game that has been developed in pre-season was largely retained, rather than just being nervous & clearing lines / lumping long balls. Attitude & workrate also looking good throughout the side. Looked like the lesson from the Clach game had been well taken on board. Spine of the team looking strong, with McHale having an excellent game, including that top class save from the free-kick, & McDonald slotting straight back in & making the whole backline stronger as a result, & Bronsky looking a better player with the former beside him. Dingwall doing all the 'dirty work' in the middle & Omar beside him looking a class above, with the added bonus of Cameron to go back in there aswell. Would love to see the three of them playing centrally, rather than Omar being moved wide when Cameron returns. Shane was also a class above with his ability to hold up the ball, & a really positive partnership looks to be developing with Hester,, who's pace frightened the Arbroath backline yesterday. In terms of developing, as was said above, for all Coops & Daryl's qualities as defenders, they lack the pace & trickery to play wide midfield. Fullbacks were conservative, with virtually no overlaps, & the combination of these two points meant very few crosses, & those that did come in were usually from pullbacks, rather than the byline, so defenders well set to clear. O'Keefe will come back in the left, & could Sopel be given a chance down the right? And can the bench be used earlier & to better effect? MacEwan looked lively when he came on. Daryl looked out on his feet long before his injury. Willis only got a few minutes & little chance to do anything, & no others used. Will be interesting to see how things progress over the rest of the BetFred games.

Doesn't sound great at all. McDonald is going to be a key play this season if we are going to do anything at all in this league. The centre half partnership from last season concede far too many slack goals. No chance of winning a run of games with our goals against record. Would agree with that. None of back four set the world on fire last night, either defensively or going forward.

Effectively they did as most of their players are youngsters!

Looked like too many believed their 'press' after the Aberdeen game & thought they just needed to turn up to roll Clach over. The three goals were all poor defensively, with the ball given away twice in defensive midfield positions & fair play to Clach they punished both errors in clinical fashion, & an easy unmarked header for the centre half from a corner. Elgin did then wake up & had the majority of possession & territory for the rest of the first half, & aswell as scoring two had one disallowed, hit the bar, & forced a number of saves. Early in the second period though another giveaway of the ball about 25 yards out led to Clach's fourth, & whilst Elgin again had the better of things for the rest of the half, they could only get one more themselves. Think both McDonald & Hester proved how much they were missed by not playing. Soapy also went off injured soon after the three goals, & his energy, guile & creativity was also missed. A concern to see a fair number of players (including the Captain) spending as much time arguing / picking fights with the opposition & officials, rather than concentrating their energies on more positive matters. A notable lack of leadership / organising on the pitch, & a lot less dynamism & energy in the pressing game. Lots of neat & tidy, short & sharp passing through midfield & around the edge of the box, but struggled to break down a well organised & disciplined defence. Quality of crossing / delivery, particularly from the right, was poor. Fair play to Clach who were well organised, competitive & played some good football themselves, & enjoyed the kind of 5 minutes that happens about once a season, & I guess best for Elgin that this happened in a friendly rather than a competitive match, but they've definitely had a lesson / wake-up call that they'll need to up their game from this showing if thinking about being in the mix for anything (other than relegation!) this season.

As many negatives / concerns generated from that performance last night, as there were positives / optimism generated from last week's game vs the Aberdeen XI. Wonder which will be the real Elgin that stands up this season?!

Looks decent enough to me. Saw him a fair bit for the 20s last season before he was shipped out on loan, & he looked more than capable. The only issue that I observed that was he had an obsession with trying to launch the ball as far as he could every time he got it, but Gav has now got him mixing up his distribution, going short as the first option, & then longer once the opposition has pressed / been sucked forward. He could / should have had two assists the other night with those 70 yard deliveries, which are some weapon when used in the right way. Quick off his line to sweep up behind the backline, & pulled off an absolutely worldie of a save in the training game vs Rothes last week. I'd say that he looks more than good enough & will do a good job this season. Re Thom & Gerry's comments above, looks like I will be split strikers, with Hester up top on his own & Shane at 10 linking with the midfield; & Dingwall in the holding role, alongside Cameron doing more of the midfield work going forward. All encouraging signs so far. Hopefully it will stay that way!

Yes, a surprising & disappointing lack of quality in the Aberdeen side, with the two outfield players with First Team experience not standing out, & only the young number 2 (Calvin somebody?) looking a class act, so makes it difficult to assess Elgin's performance & the result based on that. That said, McDonald & Spark both looking good additions at the back - both defensively & going forward - & lots of pace & urgency about the side overall, with this delivering a high tempo pressing & passing game. Dingwall had an excellent game & will certainly add in the middle of the park if maintaining that form. Cameron, Sutherland, Omar, Hester, O'Keefe all looking good going forward. Encouraging signs, & will certainly look forward to seeing what the BetFred games deliver.

Holding / sitting midfield

Plus there's a few grand difference in prize money received for each place higher in the league, so if his goals turn out to help the difference between a place or two or three in the final table, then any investment will likely be recouped plus some.

Starting line-up against Aberdeen on Thursday will I'd imagine inform on what Gav's thoughts are. Maybe Russell Dingwall in the sitting / holding role, assuming that he's signing. Seems to have been in there in the pre-season games that I've seen so far.

Filling out nicely, although still only one 'keeper, & maybe do with another striker as just Sutherland, Hester & Loveland at present. Eight defenders & half a dozen midfielders looking OK, although maybe a sitting / holding midfielder could strengthen things up a little more.

Week 1 - Aberdeen

Sparks?