Tattie36

Man, why are our officials so poor? Over officious, giving free kick for feck all on the one hand then nothing for obvious free kicks (e.g Dowds at the bye line) then let free kicks and throw ins be taken 10-20 yards away from where they should. Totally ruined what should have been a good game. Because of his size and physicality, Nouble gets nothing even though he’s pushed and pulled all over the shop. That decision near the end was unreal. Gold through on the wing with players driving into the box, the ref pulls it back for a free kick to US!! Deal with the players after the game stops ffs. Also 6 bookings and not a bad challenge in the 90 minutes. Perhaps the one on McKenna in the first half but you could argue that was just slightly mistimed.

Why only your chances? As has been stated many, many times on here before - Arbroath train in Perth, only one of the squad I can think of (Swankie) lives in the town and in a normal season, perhaps 2 or 3 games max are played in particularly windy conditions. There are guys in our team who will have never played in very strong winds (at Gayfield). We’re in December and all of our home games so far have been played in good conditions with only the Ayr game being what could be considered a wee bit windy.

What the heck has happened to ICTs support? Surely can’t be any more than 4-500 home fans at this. How can full-time football be sustainable? Such a shame that Inverness is full of OF knuckle-draggers. A town the size of Inverness with one league team, no real competition and a good recent history should surely be able to attract 2-3000 fans easily. Yes, I understand the difficult football history in Inverness but still.

Our record is good but 4 of our last 5 games against the bottom 5 have been draws.

The replay was almost more pleasing in a way as we gave them a right good game and deserved at least a draw. The game at Celtic Park was pretty much backs to the wall for most of the game. What a day oot that was though.

Though obviously not impossible. It would take a perfect storm of events for us to lose this game - Brechin/Darvel to have the performance of their season and us to have our worst performance of the season with an added combination of bad finishing, luck/bad luck weather, injuries, suspensions, sending offs, bizarre own goals etc etc. If we play to our standard, even a little below standard, then it should be comfortable enough. Having said that, we drew against Celtic away and only lost the replay 1-0 in similar circumstances - not comparing us to Celtic obviously but the gap in league placing was similar then. Also, our defeat away to Aberdeen kids this season, shows that if it ain’t your day, it ain’t your day. We should have won that game comfortably by 4 or 5 but a combination of poor finishing, the woodwork (x4), complacency, their keeper playing very well and them scoring their one chance meant we lost. So, approach this game with a strong team and the right mentality and it should be fine.

The 8-0 score line is awful but just look at the stats for a full reflection of the game. Spain had 37 goal attempts (17 on target) that’s an effort every 2.5 minutes. I’m pretty sure they had even more than that, do they count blocked shots at the edge of the box for example? Having watched the entire game, the fact they didn’t score a lot more is almost unbelievable. I have never seen a more one sided game at any level, beyond some kids games. Heads should roll.

I was just thinking that. It seems a very long time ago that Scotland were 3-0 up and cruising v Argentina in the World Cup finals. I don’t think they’ve recovered from that late capitulation. The commentators said earlier that Scotland haven’t gone backwards, I completely disagree.

Worse, look at the stats on bbc - no joke, it could be 15 already.

Two of the worst pieces of defending you will ever see - in the same game. Oof the embarrassment of getting a sympathy clap when you get an attempt on target. 5 going on 15

Are these commentators mental? “It’s an uphill struggle when you’re 3 down, you’ve always got a chance at 2” this could and probably should be about 7-0 to Spain already. Some huge defeats tonight and the way things are going ours will be one of the worst. Can easy see Spain getting 10 here.

What have I just watched????

The stats are horrific, they would look really bad after a full 90 minutes, never mind with 37 played.

It’s not often you see Scotland getting an absolute doing but this could be 4 or 5 already. Are Spain that good or are Scotland having a really bad day? certainly the gulf was nothing like this v Sweden. To see top class players like Weir and Cuthbert look like they’ve barely played the game before is worrying. Doesn’t help when the officials are heavily favouring Spain.

I was pretty much spot in with my estimations but there is absolutely no way almost 300 fans could fit/watch/get any kind of decent view from behind that goal. That area is essentially a continuation of the playing surface, flat astroturf with a building taking up a third of the space, there is a raised, sloped walkway at the rear of it but I don’t know if that would be considered as an area you can spectate from.

As I said in the Rovers page, it’s quite nice but very small. I would be astonished if you could fit more than 500-600 in. The stand holds around 100, then there’s just a narrow gap along the rest of the main stand side where maybe 75-100 could stand in total. I would guess you could perhaps squeeze 150 Max into each of the two covered standing areas and another 50 on that side. Aside from that, I can’t really see where you can stand. There’s nothing behind either goal, one end is literally 5 yards to a high fence then a steep embankment down to the River Dee. I suppose a few could maybe watch from behind the fence at the other end but no more than a couple of dozen. You’ve also got to factor in guests and officials from both sides so that leaves even fewer paying customers.

I think Clydebank will be favourites and EK have an outside chance but if you seriously think Banks o' Dee and especially Darvel or Brechin have a decent chance then I'll have some of what you're smoking. Yes, of course they "could" win as could Alloa or Stirling Albion. I hate to show percieved disrespect to any team but if Arbroath lose to Brechin or Darvel, at home, when we've recently been beating the likes of Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Dunfermline, ICT, Hamilton etc and are two points from the top of the championship then it will be without doubt the worst result in our long history of cup feck-ups. Likewise for Raith, who are also playing very well at the moment. I suppose anything can happen between now and late January but unless something unforseen and major happens to either championship side between now and then, then it will be very very unlikely that either come close to losing.

Which 3 out of 5 do you think could get through?

Arbroath fan in peace. You got the draw I was desperate for. I live in Aberdeen and have been to Spain Park quite a few times as my kids play football there every so often, I also used to work round the corner so, unfortunately, I know the area quite well. It's a nice wee ground actually, although "wee" is the main problem. Allegedly it holds 850+ but I think that's generous. There's a tiny, off-centre, elevated stand that holds about 100 that has great views, and two very small covered terrace areas shoe-horned between the pitch and railway line (sound familiar?). Aside from that, I can't see where anymore than a few dozen other fans could stand. Another problem is the grounds location (still better than Cove) - it's on the border of sprawling industrial estates and Tory, one of Aberdeen's less salubrious areas. There are literally zero pubs or restaurants within walking distance (technically everywhere is within walking distance, but you know what I mean). It's right next to a Tesco, Halfords and Greggs so if a carry out, spare inner tube and a steak bake is your thing then you're sorted. ETA I forgot there’s also a costa and Lidl very near. Alternatively drink/eat in the city centre and a 20ish minute bus jouney is the best bet. If driving, there's plenty on-street parking as the industrial estates are empty at the weekend. Pretty jealous tbf.

Was hoping for Banks o' Dee away as I live in Aberdeen, but happy enough with the draw. Absolutely no disrespect intended to Brechin or Darvel, jesus we've had our fair share of cup feck ups in the past, but it should be a comfortable enough win. Hope Brechin can get through the replay, they've had such a shitty time of it for the last few years they deserve a wee bit of success.

For most games this season the away support have had behind the harbour end goal and the curve around to just before the seaside enclosure, and the end section of the main stand. I would guess that combined would hold around 1800 so way more than enough and, as you say, would be great atmosphere wise. Partick and Killie got half the entire terracing for about 500&700 fans so wouldn’t be surprised if you got that too. Doesn’t make sense to me if the club do this as having our fans down towards the harbour when we’re shooting that way definitely gives the players (and fans) a boost.

Massive game. Our recent home league form has been patchy, dropping points to Ayr and Queens in games we dominated. Even though today was a stroll, it’s still a little concerning to me that our goal return for chances created is quite poor. Can’t be so wasteful against a very decent side like Raith, arguably the only team that has outplayed us this season. This should comfortably be our second largest attendance of the season so far and might even be the largest. If the weather’s decent, with two teams doing well and lots of positivity from both sets of fans, I can’t see why it can’t be close.

I thought you did a lot better in the second half, mind you the game had gone by then. Just remember that this is a very different Arbroath side to when we last met, we've just beaten Kilmarnock away and have beaten Partick 3-1, Hamilton 4-0 and Dunfermline 4-2 at home this season so not really any worse than those results. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

Classic Hilson finishing there.

Very pleasing so far, the only down side is that we're not 4 or 5 up. Really need to be putting these chances away.