Arbroath v East Fife

[farflung lichtie]

There are no easy games in this league and this was hard fought. I thought we showed excellent application and real determination today - closing them down quickly. As has been the pattern this year, we show some really nice touches and combination moves on occasion but not a great performance overall. E Fife were reasonably well organised and passed quite well but we mostly nullified their attack. Unbelievable start but, as we know from 3 seasons back, even a fabulous opening half can end badly.

 

[Lichtie78]

Even the Arbroath players said it was a ‘stonewall foul’ to quote Ryan Wallace

Regardless of whether it was a foul-The east Fife players never played to the whistle [emoji23]

[lichtiekev]

1 hour ago, LiamA said:

Apparently the reason Daz wasn’t sent off was that the ref thought Pat Slattery had committed the foul! Just sums his day up perfectly

That’s just as bad, he was due a booking too, 

It’s an awful job being a ref, but the standard in Scotland is horrendous, Shows how bad it is when Andrew Dallas is refereeing the Edinburgh derby 

[SimonLichtie]

10 hours ago, Big lichtie said:

lichtie 78 beware the wrath of simon lol.

It's not wrath - it's laughter.

When you're top of the league, undefeated after 12 games, joint highest scorers and your number 1 striker averages a goal or assist in every single game they play, it's obviously comical when people think that player shouldn't be playing

My type of striker is one who contributes every week, be it through goals or assists, and has a superb record of doing so year in year out. I think at our level when you get a striker who does this so consistently they're obviously a huge asset to the team.

We've been superb at the back so far this year, best defensive record in the division, but Ricky Little struggles when playing the ball out from the back. Should we drop him? Obviously not, because he's an excellent defender and the back 5's job is to stop us conceding goals first and foremost, which we have done this season. Ryan Wallace may not be everyone's ideal player, and that's fine, but he is there to score and create goals, which he does every single week for us. Should we drop him? Obviously not....

If Waldo continues as he has started the season, he will end it with the best seasonal record a striker has had in my entire time supporting the club. He's had a superb start to the season, long may it continue

[SimonLichtie]

On the referring side - it's the inconsistency with yellow cards that does me in. The ref set his stall out early doors with some needless yellow cards, but then failed to follow this up through the game with 4/5 free kicks being given for challenges which were as 'bad' as/ worse than two of the first half bookings, but the players were not even being spoken to by the ref. There were also several blatant decisions he got wrong, including the aforementioned foul prior to our goal.

As for us, I thought we were very good yesterday. We're not going to win every goal by 3/4 goals, f**k we're not going to win every game full stop, and the same as last week against Stranraer we were very solid and defended superbly again. I think people slightly underestimate the conditions, and I felt every player put in a fairly solid if not spectacular shift. David Gold did very well for a second week running, with 2 wins and 0 conceded in the two games since he came into the centre of the park.

[farflung lichtie]

Agree re Wallace - not at his best yesterday but covers the ground fast, energetic, is a constant and busy presence and generally excellent delivery. With McKenna also closing down well, we were at it throughout.. mostly and it was this bite and attitude that stood out yesterday. In that regard, I feared a little with both Swanks and Goldie as the central midfield. Creative yes but bite, no - needn’t have worried, both excelled.

 

As for refs, yesterday’s was especially inconsistent. Only thing in their defence is that their Assts are even worse, despite having a much simpler task

 

[1320Lichtie]

It's not wrath - it's laughter.
When you're top of the league, undefeated after 12 games, joint highest scorers and your number 1 striker averages a goal or assist in every single game they play, it's obviously comical when people think that player shouldn't be playing
My type of striker is one who contributes every week, be it through goals or assists, and has a superb record of doing so year in year out. I think at our level when you get a striker who does this so consistently they're obviously a huge asset to the team.
We've been superb at the back so far this year, best defensive record in the division, but Ricky Little struggles when playing the ball out from the back. Should we drop him? Obviously not, because he's an excellent defender and the back 5's job is to stop us conceding goals first and foremost, which we have done this season. Ryan Wallace may not be everyone's ideal player, and that's fine, but he is there to score and create goals, which he does every single week for us. Should we drop him? Obviously not....
If Waldo continues as he has started the season, he will end it with the best seasonal record a striker has had in my entire time supporting the club. He's had a superb start to the season, long may it continue [emoji4]

Well said.

Although you don't have to explain yourself, if like you say all of the above is happening and someone is still singling out a player they've obviously got an agenda. Say he was shite yesterday, because he had a shocker and leave it there.

I think Wallace has to play and be number 1 striker, purely because he has that moment where he can score himself or create something for others on the park to score from nothing. In our team yesterday there's only 3 people who can see a pass, score a goal from nothing or play a superb ball that nobody else will see and it's Wallace, Swankie and Linn.

Everyone else has their own strengths but they 3 are our most creative players and we would struggle without them. McCord sitting on the bench is another one.

Yesterday was really poor from us but think we deserved the win, missed the chance off the bar at the end to be fair, but I didn't feel under any pressure for the rest of that game. Jamieson had a superb save with his foot at one point and the back 4 were all superb. Looks like they're starting to really build a good understanding now, Ricky/ToB/Hammy changing to a 4 and having Thomson and Jamieson added to it. Seems a lot more solid than the 3 we had last year and Davie Hutts in the pins.

We'd have lost that game last year

[Mexico]

Wallace is absolutely integral to the way we play, when he has a poor game he doesn’t stop running and it was mostly our tenacity that got us over the line yesterday. 

[lichtie23]

He was on his arse a fair few times yesterday, not as in dives but as in slipping. Must have had the wrong boots on.

[lichtie23]

Just seen the goal again, never a foul. Begging b*****ds. Some ball from Bobby to send Wallace on his way as well

[Smokerson]

Watched it a few times and just can’t see a foul, the boy runs into gold I think realises he is losing possession so jumps up asking for a foul, at best he maybe slightly stands on his foot.

[SimonLichtie]

16 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

if like you say all of the above is happening and someone is still singling out a player they've obviously got an agenda.

 

As soon as Wallace went to take set pieces yesterday, you could hear people moaning before he took them. If I remember correctly, most of them were fairly good deliveries as usual yet still after 3/4 good ones he's getting stick. Pongo took one set piece after he came on, which was 10 yards overhit, and no-one batted an eyelid. No abuse, no booing, no 'fucking useless McCord' or anything.... If Ryan Wallace had taken that set piece and it'd been 10 yards overhit, a dozen or so fans would have been screaming abuse at him. It's blatantly obvious some people have just decided he's shite/ they don't like him and regardless of what happens on the pitch that's their opinion.

Of the 14 players who played for us yesterday, one of them got more abuse from our own fans than the rest. Did he have a worse game than anyone else on the park? Is he having a poor season? Is he not contributing/ putting the effort in? The answer to all of those questions is, of course, no, so it makes you wonder why he's the one who gets it tighter than anyone else?

[1320Lichtie]

Know what you're saying but Wallace can be irritating so I get it.

 

But when he's playing for you he's your own irritating wee shite, like Stevie Naismith, loved him in his prime for Scotland playing well but when I watch him for Hearts he does my heed in. Always greeting faced, trying to win fouls etc.

 

I love him though cause no matter what he'll still try make things happen. Having a shite game yesterday and still trying things others wouldn't and stepping up to hit free kicks and shots when he knew he'd get stick if it went wrong.

 

Seen the goal again too and [emoji23]

 

Thought EF fans meant Wallace had fouled the centre half, that's never a 'stonewall foul'!!! Come on now

 

 

[SimonLichtie]

Having just watched the highlights I didn't realise how close to the end EF hit the ball - 10 seconds before the whistle - would have been such a scunner if that'd somehow gone in.

Also I think it was a foul by Gold in the build up, to me it looks like he caught his foot. Oh well

 

[1320Lichtie]

Having just watched the highlights I didn't realise how close to the end EF hit the ball - 10 seconds before the whistle - would have been such a scunner if that'd somehow gone in.
Also I think it was a foul by Gold in the build up, to me it looks like he caught his foot. Oh well [emoji3]
 

Ref could've blown, but would've been so soft, EF players reactions summed it up. Only Agnew and Watson even bothered to complain!!

[lichtie23]

Agnew is a player I’d have loved at Gayf

[Hammerafc]

A good solid performance in the conditions always felt we had the edge, defence was superb another clean sheet and a clinical goal beautifully worked and we should really have got a second to make the closing stages less nervy. Gav superb again and the whole team working like trojans East Fife have been on a great run lately but we made them look pretty ordinary.
The pass back that got picked up by the keeper came of the East Fife players knee so a correct decision  but the booking for Wallace in the same incident was ridiculous it wasn't even a foul but another great day at the Gayfield office it's good to be a Lichtie just now.

Highlights show he passed it back with his foot. Clear foul.

[fifer67]

Definently impeded the man in possession with the ball clear foul.

[afc_36_0]

Definently impeded the man in possession with the ball clear foul.

[emoji23]

[Hank Scorpio]

That’s never a foul.