Dumbarton vs Stenhousemuir

[Jan Vojáček]

That was night and day from the Elgin game. The first-half especially was as well as we've played in months, and the only complaint I could really have was that the wasn't wrapped up earlier.

I turned to Chris after seven minutes or so and said, 'this is a lot better'. That's how obvious it was early on that we looked a different side to Saturday early on.

The return to the 4-1-4-1 looked to suit the players, we enjoyed a fair whack of possession, our passing was good and - crucially - we got players on the ball in the positions we wanted them on it.

Finlay Gray made some excellent runs forward and was a threat all night. Joe McKee looked far more himself and was dropping into pockets of space all over the place. Ross MacLean turned in the sort of showing I wish we'd see from him more often after a really disappointing season to date, and Kalvin Orsi gave Jordan Lowdon an absolutely horrible time.

Most weeks, to win a game you have to win the midfield. And that's exactly what Sons did. There was a good balance to the three in there, and they dominated Stenhousemuir for large spells - especially in the first-half.

Declan Byrne played a fair role in that too. He was absolutely superb.

His running completely changed the way we play, he didn't give Sean Crighton and Nicky Jamieson a moment's peace, and the two of them were forced into giving the ball away - or knocking it into touch - far more than they would've wanted. As said earlier in the thread, I don't think I fully appreciated how good he was - because it's been so long since he's played. If we can keep him fit he could be like a new signing.

Man of the match for me though was a new signing. Big Peter Grant.

I thought we were getting an emergency centre-half to chuck on for 10 minutes here and there, and maybe start the odd game when Carsy or Bucky aren't available. But based on the three games he's played decent minutes in, I think he might be our best centre-half.

He barely lost a header all night, he was the loudest player on the park by some distance - a real captain without the armband type - and he used the ball well.

His slide tackle late on that led to a goal kick was one of the best I've seen, and the fact he did a wee fist pump to himself after the goal kick was awarded was absolutely great.

On Saturday (and for a few games recently) we've not looked like a team who have wanted to win a league. That certainly wasn't the case last night. And Peter Grant summed that up.

As for Stenhousemuir? Well for the first half-hour or so I thought they were absolutely woeful. That changed as they got Matty Yates on the ball a bit more, but he looked the only starting player capable of making something happen.

The subs certainly improved them; Gavin Reilly especially looked a nuisance and stretched us. But it all felt a bit desperate at times? Almost like us at East Fife and Annan, where the tactic was just to plant a few attacking players on and hope someone could come up with a goal by hoisting a load of balls into the box.

There's a fair bit of quality in their squad, and a lot of players who 'on paper' I'd be delighted to see with us. But something obviously just hasn't clicked this season - and last night probably highlighted that.

They have plenty to offer going forward, but look like a side always capable of a defensive (or goalkeeping) howler. And that maybe impacts the belief of the whole squad. I expect them to be very much in the race for fourth. But I wouldn't like to call who makes it now.

[cremola foam]

5 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

That was night and day from the Elgin game. The first-half especially was as well as we've played in months, and the only complaint I could really have was that the wasn't wrapped up earlier.

I turned to Chris after seven minutes or so and said, 'this is a lot better'. That's how obvious it was early on that we looked a different side to Saturday early on.

The return to the 4-1-4-1 looked to suit the players, we enjoyed a fair whack of possession, our passing was good and - crucially - we got players on the ball in the positions we wanted them on it.

Finlay Gray made some excellent runs forward and was a threat all night. Joe McKee looked far more himself and was dropping into pockets of space all over the place. Ross MacLean turned in the sort of showing I wish we'd see from him more often after a really disappointing season to date, and Kalvin Orsi gave Jordan Lowdon an absolutely horrible time.

Most weeks, to win a game you have to win the midfield. And that's exactly what Sons did. There was a good balance to the three in there, and they dominated Stenhousemuir for large spells - especially in the first-half.

Declan Byrne played a fair role in that too. He was absolutely superb.

His running completely changed the way we play, he didn't give Sean Crighton and Nicky Jamieson a moment's peace, and the two of them were forced into giving the ball away - or knocking it into touch - far more than they would've wanted. As said earlier in the thread, I don't think I fully appreciated how good he was - because it's been so long since he's played. If we can keep him fit he could be like a new signing.

Man of the match for me though was a new signing. Big Peter Grant.

I thought we were getting an emergency centre-half to chuck on for 10 minutes here and there, and maybe start the odd game when Carsy or Bucky aren't available. But based on the three games he's played decent minutes in, I think he might be our best centre-half.

He barely lost a header all night, he was the loudest player on the park by some distance - a real captain without the armband type - and he used the ball well.

His slide tackle late on that led to a goal kick was one of the best I've seen, and the fact he did a wee fist pump to himself after the goal kick was awarded was absolutely great.

On Saturday (and for a few games recently) we've not looked like a team who have wanted to win a league. That certainly wasn't the case last night. And Peter Grant summed that up.

As for Stenhousemuir? Well for the first half-hour or so I thought they were absolutely woeful. That changed as they got Matty Yates on the ball a bit more, but he looked the only starting player capable of making something happen.

The subs certainly improved them; Gavin Reilly especially looked a nuisance and stretched us. But it all felt a bit desperate at times? Almost like us at East Fife and Annan, where the tactic was just to plant a few attacking players on and hope someone could come up with a goal by hoisting a load of balls into the box.

There's a fair bit of quality in their squad, and a lot of players who 'on paper' I'd be delighted to see with us. But something obviously just hasn't clicked this season - and last night probably highlighted that.

They have plenty to offer going forward, but look like a side always capable of a defensive (or goalkeeping) howler. And that maybe impacts the belief of the whole squad. I expect them to be very much in the race for fourth. But I wouldn't like to call who makes it now.

Thanks for that. I wasn't at the game so I culd not comment. My question though is this. If we played well and dominated, which I do not doubt, how come we won by one solitary goal at home?

[Jan Vojáček]

Just now, cremola foam said:

Thanks for that. I wasn't at the game so I culd not comment. My question though is this. If we played well and dominated, which I do not doubt, how come we won by one solitary goal at home?

I'd say it goes back to what I was rambling about the other day. We still don't have a natural, clinical goalscorer.

Byrne missed an open goal at 0-0 after Lyle had fumbled a shot onto the post, the keeper made a cracking save from Joe McKee inside five minutes, Kalvin Orsi missed a one-on-one just before half-time and Byrne had an effort really impressively hooked off the line. All in the first-half.

Imo 2-0 would've been fair reflection of the game. We dominated the first-half, Stenny probably shaded the second. But we just didn't have someone like a Kane Hester or Dale Carrick to get that second goal and kill them off.

[The Moonster]

46 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I'd say it goes back to what I was rambling about the other day. We still don't have a natural, clinical goalscorer.

Byrne missed an open goal at 0-0 after Lyle had fumbled a shot onto the post, the keeper made a cracking save from Joe McKee inside five minutes, Kalvin Orsi missed a one-on-one just before half-time and Byrne had an effort really impressively hooked off the line. All in the first-half.

Imo 2-0 would've been fair reflection of the game. We dominated the first-half, Stenny probably shaded the second. But we just didn't have someone like a Kane Hester or Dale Carrick to get that second goal and kill them off.

I think Byrnes finishing is usually pretty good and if he'd stayed fit he'd have double figures by now. His goals at East Fife and home to SA spring to mind. That one he had hooked off the line last night was a ridiculous finish tbh, was like some sort of Fifa glitch the way he twisted his body and got the ball back over his shoulder. 

[Jan Vojáček]

5 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I think Byrnes finishing is usually pretty good and if he'd stayed fit he'd have double figures by now. His goals at East Fife and home to SA spring to mind. That one he had hooked off the line last night was a ridiculous finish tbh, was like some sort of Fifa glitch the way he twisted his body and got the ball back over his shoulder. 

Aye I reckon a fully sharp Byrne comes away with a goal last night to be fair to him. I'll need to see it back on Stenny's highlights (e.g filmed with a camera and not a 2008 Nokia) but I also think he might've been fouled for the sitter he missed. Watching it back on Pixellot on an iPad last night was like watching on CCTV though, so it was tough to tell.

[Boghead ranter]

Just seen the clip of Gray's goal, and while the keeper may have been a little unsighted, I'd've been a littlr disappointed in him if I was a Stenny fan.

[squeezebox-son]

I actually thought the chance Declan had just before he went off and shot from distance... a sharper Byrne (or even if it had been the first half) would have carried the ball in and had a good chance of scoring. But his legs were dead by that point.

We need to get him fit because he just changed the whole way we played.

[Francesc Fabregas]

A weird game. I thought we were lucky to go into the interval one goal down but we were also unlucky not to have scored ourselves. We had a lot of the ball in the second half but other than a Nat Wedderburn shot that was slapped off the line, our pressure was sterile and we created very little. It was our poorest performance since Gary Naysmith took charge and caps a run of mediocre displays. I'm a little concerned, truth be told!

Having previously seen Dumbarton twice this season, I thought they were a solid, uninspiring side but I was impressed with them last night. They were aggressive in the first half and, other than the odd foray upfield, largely kept Stenhousemuir at bay. The Sons played on the front foot and could have scored long before Finlay Gray steered home from close range, having hit the post and seen a shot hooked off the line. Their second-half showing wasn't quite as good, and they seemed content to drop deep, waste time, and sit on their lead. It was similar to the last meeting between the sides, a 1-1 draw at Ochilview, but they saw out the Warriors limited bombardment. Dumbarton's time wasting was deeply frustrating and I was disappointed the referee didn't clamp down on it - they'd been at it all the way through the second half. I don't understand why Stevie Farrell instructs his players to do this because there's enough talent in there to take the game to their opponents.

Having played poorly against Albion Rovers and Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic, the two worst sides in the division, I was worried coming into this match. At least we won those games - here, we would have been fortunate to have come away with a point. The defence was stretched, the midfield was often one step behind and the attack only really flickered after Gavin Reilly's introduction. Too many players didn't turn up, including Euan O'Reilly and Matty Yates. Curtis Lyle won't do and his kicking was mostly lacklustre. I understand Naysmith wanted to change things up after recent performances but I think he got a few things wrong - Kian Speirs should have been hooked long before the 85th minute and Tam Orr should have been given greater support after the interval. The only player who did reasonably well throughout was Adam Corbett (and even then, his offensive threat down the right was inadequate).

There is a lot of work to be down before the weekend's match with Annan Athletic, that's for sure!

[Sons Fan]

1 hour ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

A weird game. I thought we were lucky to go into the interval one goal down but we were also unlucky not to have scored ourselves. We had a lot of the ball in the second half but other than a Nat Wedderburn shot that was slapped off the line, our pressure was sterile and we created very little. It was our poorest performance since Gary Naysmith took charge and caps a run of mediocre displays. I'm a little concerned, truth be told!

Having previously seen Dumbarton twice this season, I thought they were a solid, uninspiring side but I was impressed with them last night. They were aggressive in the first half and, other than the odd foray upfield, largely kept Stenhousemuir at bay. The Sons played on the front foot and could have scored long before Finlay Gray steered home from close range, having hit the post and seen a shot hooked off the line. Their second-half showing wasn't quite as good, and they seemed content to drop deep, waste time, and sit on their lead. It was similar to the last meeting between the sides, a 1-1 draw at Ochilview, but they saw out the Warriors limited bombardment. Dumbarton's time wasting was deeply frustrating and I was disappointed the referee didn't clamp down on it - they'd been at it all the way through the second half. I don't understand why Stevie Farrell instructs his players to do this because there's enough talent in there to take the game to their opponents.

Having played poorly against Albion Rovers and Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic, the two worst sides in the division, I was worried coming into this match. At least we won those games - here, we would have been fortunate to have come away with a point. The defence was stretched, the midfield was often one step behind and the attack only really flickered after Gavin Reilly's introduction. Too many players didn't turn up, including Euan O'Reilly and Matty Yates. Curtis Lyle won't do and his kicking was mostly lacklustre. I understand Naysmith wanted to change things up after recent performances but I think he got a few things wrong - Kian Speirs should have been hooked long before the 85th minute and Tam Orr should have been given greater support after the interval. The only player who did reasonably well throughout was Adam Corbett (and even then, his offensive threat down the right was inadequate).

There is a lot of work to be down before the weekend's match with Annan Athletic, that's for sure!

We have been trying to work out your statement in bold for about half the season. 

[squeezebox-son]

12 hours ago, Sons Fan said:

We have been trying to work out your statement in bold for about half the season. 

To be honest, I didn't think the time wasting was all that bad on Tuesday but I have had issue with it (particularly the goalkeeper) in the past. Ironically, it was much worse last season and frustrated the life out of me as we were doing it at 0-0 last year in games where we really needed to win.

You would accept it if it was a game where we were really under pressure or against a much better side but that has rarely been - and isn't likely to be - the case this season. 

It is clearly something Faz is keen on and keeping things tight etc. But it is very frustrating to watch, for sure.