Musselburgh Athletic FC 2020-21

[Burnieman]

The irony of your avatar Burnieman - "Be nice to each other". Reading through this thread you've been thoroughly unpleasant. CJ is a real character here, occasionally at the wind-up and doesn't deserve your tone. Season of goodwill and all that! 
As I understand it, and I may be wrong, but Blackburn wanted to play Sunday. Musselburgh didn't as they play on Wednesday. Musselburgh then offered a potential January solution but no agreement could be reached, so it's Saturday.
Have a good Christmas. May the best team win. 

When someone falsely accuses my club of a wrongdoing on a public forum, I can be unpleasant in return if that false accusation isn't retracted. I've been called a lot worse than a numpty on here.

Let's just leave it at that, and your version of events is bang on. Hopefully this storm that's hitting tomorrow doesn't affect the game too badly.

[Casey Jones]

13 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

When someone falsely accuses my club of a wrongdoing on a public forum, I can be unpleasant in return if that false accusation isn't retracted. I've been called a lot worse than a numpty on here.

Let's just leave it at that, and your version of events is bang on. Hopefully this storm that's hitting tomorrow doesn't affect the game too badly.

Dont be stupid! How will it affect the match! I got it wrong and I said so and did retract by saying sorry.

[Casey Jones]

15 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

When someone falsely accuses my club of a wrongdoing on a public forum, I can be unpleasant in return if that false accusation isn't retracted. I've been called a lot worse than a numpty on here.

Let's just leave it at that, and your version of events is bang on. Hopefully this storm that's hitting tomorrow doesn't affect the game too badly.

Also, if you knew what PTB said was bang on, why didn't you say as he said! I genuinely thought I was correct. Obviously I was wrong and you could have cleared it much earlier and my saying I am sorry would have come much earlier! 

Arguments normally do happen when both think they are right or cause someone doesn't want to back down. I backed down as soon as I realised I was wrong. 

Could call you worse now, but doesn't do myself any favours.

[Burnieman]

Do you read posts before responding? I'm talking about Storm Bella which is just about to hit, rain and high winds....

[Casey Jones]

9 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

Do you read posts before responding? I'm talking about Storm Bella which is just about to hit, rain and high winds....

No I didn't though not bad that it took 4 messages before deciding to respond to this one! 

I apologise quickly this time Burnieman!!

[Burnieman]

Accepted, let's move on. Good luck tomorrow.

[Casey Jones]

Well and truly shown up twice in two nights by Burnieman. 

Didnt mean to cause upset in either, but I will try and ensure I don’t let this happen again! 

[Casey Jones]

Musselburgh Athletic take on Blackburn United in a rearranged league match today - weather permitting!

Kick off is at 2.30pm.

[Burnieman]

Do Musselburgh stream games?

[Casey Jones]

39 minutes ago, Burnieman said:

Do Musselburgh stream games?

Yes or certainly usually do. All home matches including most friendlies so far. It is usually on Facebook, by Musselburgh's twitter page normally provides the link to the stream.

Cant see any issues for match. Less than 4hrs to kick off. Quite breezy but no rain to speak of so far! 

[Burnieman]

Thanks, I'll tune in.

[newcastle broon]

On 21/12/2020 at 22:44, MAC THE KNIFE said:

were Mussleburgh playing in JUNIOR mode then with all the penalties , sendings off & yellows 

 

On 22/12/2020 at 02:29, MAC THE KNIFE said:

JUNIOR mode :- Kick the player if it gets past U 

Oh dear oh dear oh dear coming back to bite you on the arse now

[Casey Jones]

On 22/12/2020 at 02:29, MAC THE KNIFE said:

JUNIOR mode :- Kick the player if it gets past U 

 

On 21/12/2020 at 22:44, MAC THE KNIFE said:

were Mussleburgh playing in JUNIOR mode then with all the penalties , sendings off & yellows 

Evening MAC! How did your team do against that ex-Junior side you were playing today? I assume an easy result for you, winning by at least 3 goals, given they will have just been a bunch of hackers? 

[Casey Jones]

Good result in terrible conditions today!

Win moves Burgh up one place to 4th in league, just above Camelon. 

On Blackburn’s1st half performance, hard to understand why they have only won 1 league match this season. 

[Casey Jones]

Huge match coming up on Wednesday night!

Musselburgh Ath (4th) v Tranent (1st). Burgh win & move to 2nd place & be 3pts behind league leaders with 1 match in hand. But, a Tranent win leaves Burgh trailing by 9 points.

On latter scenario, very difficult to come back, especially as Jeanfield sit 2nd with matches in hand over current top 6 in league! 

Lets get a winner, get a winner! 

[Passthebaw]

50 minutes ago, Casey Jones said:

Huge match coming up on Wednesday night!

Musselburgh Ath (4th) v Tranent (1st). Burgh win & move to 2nd place & be 3pts behind league leaders with 1 match in hand. But, a Tranent win leaves Burgh trailing by 9 points.

On latter scenario, very difficult to come back, especially as Jeanfield sit 2nd with matches in hand over current top 6 in league! 

Lets get a winner, get a winner! 

Agreed, CJ. But I have my doubts on the game being on with the anticipated frost. Fingers crossed. 

Yesterday was a good win considering the conditions, including underfoot. Like you, I thought Blackburn's performance belied their low league position. They gave us a fright and 4-2 flattered us. 

If Musselburgh have any title aspirations they should be looking to go unbeaten in January - definitely doable. 

[Casey Jones]

57 minutes ago, Passthebaw said:

Agreed, CJ. But I have my doubts on the game being on with the anticipated frost. Fingers crossed. 

Yesterday was a good win considering the conditions, including underfoot. Like you, I thought Blackburn's performance belied their low league position. They gave us a fright and 4-2 flattered us. 

If Musselburgh have any title aspirations they should be looking to go unbeaten in January - definitely doable. 

I am going to disagree agree with you PTB, in the best possible way, to avoid another pasting! 

I think in the end, we were worthy winners of yesterday’s match and I think Wednesday’s game will be on.

Agree with much of what you say and intimated so in my earlier response. Blackburn played well in the first half and in their left winger, no.11, they probably had the man of the match. But, Blackburn failed to take advantage of a strong wind in the first half. If they had gone 2-0 up, the result could well have gone t’other way and Burgh rode their luck going in 1-1 at half time. 

But I didn’t see any panic in, either the management team, or the players as they trundled off the pitch. Burgh, for me, took full advantage in the second half with the wind at there back. A number of times, when Blackburn were coming out of defence, they kick hard and high, but the wind played its part and kept the ball from going upfield, so Blackburn struggled to gain the form they had in first half.

If you look at two of Burgh’s three goals, they both came from long clearances/passes out of defence, and particularly the last, our player was in best position to get ball over the line. WhatBurgh do need to do, is stop going behind so often at start of match.

There is not a lot of rain today or over the next 3 nights. Each night weather is turning colder, but forecast mostly shows 0 or -1 degree, rising up each day. If that comes true, every chance Wednesday night will be okay for for football. The issue will be if it gets colder than -1, then match could be in doubt. We just need to see how this progresses.

[Passthebaw]

1 hour ago, Casey Jones said:

I am going to disagree agree with you PTB, in the best possible way, to avoid another pasting! 

I think in the end, we were worthy winners of yesterday’s match and I think Wednesday’s game will be on.

Agree with much of what you say and intimated so in my earlier response. Blackburn played well in the first half and in their left winger, no.11, they probably had the man of the match. But, Blackburn failed to take advantage of a strong wind in the first half. If they had gone 2-0 up, the result could well have gone t’other way and Burgh rode their luck going in 1-1 at half time. 

But I didn’t see any panic in, either the management team, or the players as they trundled off the pitch. Burgh, for me, took full advantage in the second half with the wind at there back. A number of times, when Blackburn were coming out of defence, they kick hard and high, but the wind played its part and kept the ball from going upfield, so Blackburn struggled to gain the form they had in first half.

If you look at two of Burgh’s three goals, they both came from long clearances/passes out of defence, and particularly the last, our player was in best position to get ball over the line. WhatBurgh do need to do, is stop going behind so often at start of match.

There is not a lot of rain today or over the next 3 nights. Each night weather is turning colder, but forecast mostly shows 0 or -1 degree, rising up each day. If that comes true, every chance Wednesday night will be okay for for football. The issue will be if it gets colder than -1, then match could be in doubt. We just need to see how this progresses.

Disagreeing is good - it keeps these forums frothy!

It won't be rain that beats us on Wednesday - more the anticipated frost and how the pitch looks and mends after Saturday. Fingers crossed. I hope I'm wrong on this one. 

On performance, I'm viewing from the stream so maybe I'm being harsh on my team, but as much as I think we shaded it, we're still not playing well and only deserved to win by the odd goal in my opinion. 

We need tobe on it on Wednesday!

[Casey Jones]

37 minutes ago, Passthebaw said:

Disagreeing is good - it keeps these forums frothy!

It won't be rain that beats us on Wednesday - more the anticipated frost and how the pitch looks and mends after Saturday. Fingers crossed. I hope I'm wrong on this one. 

On performance, I'm viewing from the stream so maybe I'm being harsh on my team, but as much as I think we shaded it, we're still not playing well and only deserved to win by the odd goal in my opinion. 

We need tobe on it on Wednesday!

At least we agree that the result was correct! If we go 1-0 down to Tranent, it will be that much harder to claw it back when playing Tranent.

i agree that we have not been firing on all cylinders for most of season! Would be great if all falls into place on Wednesday.

[Casey Jones]

Musselburgh Athletic v Blackburn United: Saturday 26 December 2020 @ 2:30pm

Following Monday night’s 3-1 defeat at hands of Wick Academy, in the Scottish Cup, a rearranged league match took place at Olivebank. Blackburn United were the visitors, hoping to avenge a 4-2 loss, when the two teams met at New Murrayfield Park on 24 October 2020.

Musselburgh made four changes from the cup tie line-up, with Paul Grant, Bradley Whyte, Jackie Myles, and Nathan Evans replacing Ryan McGurk, Michael Moffat, Mathu King and Darren Downie.

There were reports of Storm Bella coming to town on Saturday. This duly happened an hour before kick-off. During the 90 minutes we witnessed strong winds, which occasionally blew the rain sideways. However, great credit to players of both sides who produced a good match, in spite of the conditions. 

Before the match got underway, there was a minute silence for John Kelly, a long standing Burgh supporter, who sadly passed-away recently. Blackburn kicked off, facing the clubhouse goals and with the wind at their back.

The first goal came in 15 minutes. From the right back position, Brad Donaldson played ball, infield to Jono McManus. The Burgh captain slipped trying to trap the ball and this allowed Blackburn right winger, Campbell to kick the ball into the penalty area and around the out coming Paul Grant. The shot hit the net and Blackburn were 1-0 up. Soon after, an injured Lloyd Fiddler was substituted, with Liam Reid coming on. A positional change saw Calum Donaldson move into midfield, with Jono McManus moving to right back.

One 20 minutes, Blackburn came close to scoring a second. Jordon Orru was about to kick the ball, just as the wind took it a different direction. A shot, again by Campbell, fell straight to Paul Grant and the danger was over. Four minutes after, following a throw in, Devine had an attempt, but Jono McManus blocked the shot on the Burgh 18 yard line and ball then cleared.

Another attack saw the centre forward, Devine, evade a tackle from Brad Donaldson. Pass came to Redfern and his shot produced a good save from the Burgh keeper. On the follow-up, Redfern then fouled Jono McManus. Redfern was again involved soon after, with a cross/shot (?), which Paul Grant saved again.

As the match approached half time, the home side drew level. A low free kick by Conor Thomson saw a fine save from King, pushing the ball just past his post. However, three Musselburgh players homed in on the rebound, with Calum Donaldson getting there first to put ball between the keeper and the post.

Half time: Musselburgh Athletic 1 – 1 Blackburn United.

Four minutes into the 2^nd half, there were strong shouts for a penalty for Blackburn, but the referee blew for a corner kick. As this came over, again the away team players had their arms raised looking for a penalty but nothing given. From my position I could not see if decisions were correct or not.

On 53 minutes, a low shot by Jackie Myles was safely held by the Blackburn keeper. Not long after, Nathan Evans had a speculative shot from the right hand side of pitch, but ball went past far post. As the ball was played up field, the right back, Hutton, put in a great cross into the Burgh six yard, coming down close to the goal line. Paul Grant could not collect the ball and it had to be scrambled away by the Musselburgh defence.

Campbell received a yellow card with 61 minutes played for lunging, when he had no chance of getting the ball. Ten minutes later; Jackie Myles was subbed, with Liam Gregory taking his place. Burgh were getting more into the match and had a corner. A near side cross saw Calum Donaldson’s shot soar over the bar.

The lead came in 74 minutes. A long kick out by Burgh keeper, Paul Grant, saw the ball on the Blackburn 18 yard line. There was a tussle to gain control of ball, which finally ended with Dean Ballantyne playing ball out to his right. In stepped Conor Thomson, whose curling effort went past King and into the far side corner of the net. A beauty of a goal and 2-1 up for Burgh.

Three minutes later and Musselburgh extended the lead. Blackburn were on the attack, with sub, Howie, on the ball, inside the Burgh box. Liam Reid got the ball and played to Jordan Orru. His pass back saw Calum Donaldson launch the ball up field for Dean Ballantyne to chase. The keeper, King came out to get ball, but hesitated at the edge of his box. Dean Ballantyne managed to get the ball first, take it round the Blackburn keeper and hit the ball home for a 3-1 lead.

Burgh’s final sub, saw Conor Thomson replaced by Ethan Wynne.

Into injury time and still goals to come. Again, Blackburn were on the attack, with good play from sub, McLeod, who then passed ball to Redfern. But Jordon Orru got hold of the ball and played it up the left wing. Nathan Evans chased, got into the box and his shot was half-saved by King. The ball, however, came inside where Dean Ballantyne was and his shot went in between two defenders, into the net and Burgh now enjoyed a healthy 4-1 lead.

Blackburn were not for giving up and three minutes into injury time got a free kick, four yards out of the Burgh penalty area. Up stepped McLeod and his attempt cleared the Burgh wall and high into the net.

Final score: Musselburgh Athletic 4 – 2 Blackburn United.

Best player for Burgh was Calum Donaldson, with Marley Redfern the best for Blackburn. The win moved Musselburgh up to fourth in the Premier league, six points behind leaders, Tranent and with a match in hand.

Footnote: I wrote down very few notes in the first half, mainly due to the horrendous conditions. Blackburn were the better of the two teams in the first 45 minutes and would have been upset at going into the break all square. In the second half, for 25 minutes it looked like a 1-1 stonewaller, but two goals in quick succession changed all that. As one of the Musselburgh committee members said, the difference was that Musselburgh played better with their backs to the wind than Blackburn did.