Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic -vs- Stenhousemuir (Saturday 25 February 2023)

[Francesc Fabregas]

The biggest game on the planet is taking place on Saturday when Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic welcome Stenhousemuir to New Dundas Park. It's an important game for both sides and a victory either way could have ramifications at the foot of the table or the promotion play-offs. Bonnyrigg are the poorest side I've seen so far this season but they cannot be underestimated - they should have beaten us when the sides last met in November. Stenny have improved a lot since then, and I'd be disappointed if we don't win here.

I wonder what condition the pitch will be in and I wonder what that means for our approach to this match. Will we stick with the tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 formation we've used since Gary Naysmith joined the club? Or should we utilise the 4-3-3 that saw us run out comfortably on our last visit to Midlothian? Or should we stuff the midfield in the same way we finished the weekend's game against Albion Rovers? We're in for a hard game on a difficult surface and I've no doubt we've planned and prepared accordingly.

Nicky Jamieson should be back for this one, so we should be able to field our first-choice XI, and I wonder if we'll go with:

- Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Adam Brown -

- Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - Mikey Miller -

- Callum Yeats - Sean Crighton - Nicky Jamieson - Adam Corbett -

- Curtis Lyle -

I'm going for a narrow Stenhousemuir win for this one. I'll see you there!

[Burnsythebinman]

must win game for stenny. have to beat the bottom of the table team to have any hope of the playoffs

[Old Fashioned Stramash]

Maybe give Spiers a start in place of Brown but a must win for us. Can see Bonnyrigg just constantly lobbing the ball on top of our keeper, will need Crighton and Jamieson ( if fit ) to continue their good form. 

[Francesc Fabregas]

Fair play to Kian Speirs, I quite like what I've seen from him for far. Nothing too fancy, nothing too outrageous, he uses the ball very well and adds a a degree of composure in the middle of the park. He's quite energetic too and can get around a bit.

[Andy groundhopper]

Guessing that its fairly easy to get from Eskbank to the ground ? Giving myself enough time, mate back in Bristol a Stenny fan so im hoping it goes well. Only seen highlights this season mainly.

[AUcal]

One of the upsides to having games moved to Friday night is that it opens up Saturdays to visit other matches at new grounds. Really looking forward to this one and hoping for some great league 2 action. 

Getting the train to Eskbank, looks like it should be a walkable distance to the ground, I assume I can pay at the gate?

[Neilly]

I'm also going from Eskbank. Any decent boozers on the way to the ground?

It's pay at the gate according to Bonnyrigg twitter.

[bravehearts dad]

1 hour ago, Neilly said:

I'm also going from Eskbank. Any decent boozers on the way to the ground?

It's pay at the gate according to Bonnyrigg twitter.

There is a Social club right beside the ground and a few pubs very near the ground.

This game is now a must win for The Rose as we don’t want to become detached from the clubs above us. My hopes of not losing early goals and giving away cheap penalties has not  materialised in the last few games, so these are essential requirements today. Again it will be interesting to see our team selection today and we can score the first goal of the match.

 

C’mon The Rose

[WC Boggs]

1 hour ago, bravehearts dad said:

There is a Social club right beside the ground and a few pubs very near the ground.

This game is now a must win for The Rose as we don’t want to become detached from the clubs above us. My hopes of not losing early goals and giving away cheap penalties has not  materialised in the last few games, so these are essential requirements today. Again it will be interesting to see our team selection today and we can score the first goal of the match.

 

C’mon The Rose

Well, you've certainly made us sweat every time and have had bugger all luck in the last two games against us.  If you get some breaks of the ball for a change, things could turn round for you.

[TxRover]

5 hours ago, bravehearts dad said:

There is a Social club right beside the ground and a few pubs very near the ground.

This game is now a must win for The Rose as we don’t want to become detached from the clubs above us. My hopes of not losing early goals and giving away cheap penalties has not  materialised in the last few games, so these are essential requirements today. Again it will be interesting to see our team selection today and we can score the first goal of the match.

 

C’mon The Rose

Would love to hear your thoughts on Arnott after this match, as he was out of favor at Brechin, but I see he’s starting for you again.

[AUcal]

Dean Brett being sent off there for what looked like punching someone in the baws

Edited February 25, 2023 by AuAl

[Andy groundhopper]

Wondered why he got the red,and why the bloke went straight down. A scrappy affair with a (possible) fluke goal the difference. Stenny in control until the last few scares-pen shout and flick into gk hands.Bonnyrigg lacked a target up front to give them a chance, whilst Stenny played some decent stuff at times. Excellent att and nice pint in the social.

[Nigel Blackwell]

What a horrendous game of football. I know we are so used to playing on Astro, but did we really need to revert to those tactics today? 

In a game where there was nothing resembling football played today, it’s one of those occasions where you take the points and pretend it never happened. We are now 12 points off the top and 12 points off the bottom, so it looks like we aren’t going to win the league and we aren’t going to be relegated. So a pivotal moment in the season. 

Brett was sent off for punching Jamieson in the gonads. In full view of the Bonnyrigg bench but it didn’t stop the inevitable squealing of an injustice from their management team. Bottom line is they are an awful side.

Cracking goal from Yates. He meant it, of course. Reilly did enough in the 2nd half to suggest he will be a really good addition. 

[AUcal]

Enjoyed that. A lot of friendly folk at Bonnyrigg (except the slightly overzealous stewards), a nice set up overall and great to see so many younger supporters getting right into the spirit of things.

Steni weren't very good but they didn't have to be, you can see why Bonnyrigg are struggling and with the sending off (silly), they just offered nothing until the last couple minutes. Unnecessary nervy for Steni at the end, and there wasn't much football played but they definitely edged it. The number 16, O'Reilly I think, looked decent when came on and had a few good touches. Good to see Mikey Miller running things in the middle. A good goal from Yates, who was quite lively, although not sure he meant it.

Excellent crowd for League 2, impressive stuff from Bonnyrigg. Decent travelling support too. 

That pitch 🫣

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by AuAl

[Francesc Fabregas]

I'm not sure how anyone could have enjoyed that today. It was a dire game of football between two miserable sides, separated by a fluke goal. That's the worst we've played under Gary Naysmith - everything seemed panicky and uncoordinated and we seemed terrified in possession, with the ball thumped into the air as soon as we got it. You can make allowances for the bumpy pitch and the slope but even so, it was a miserable fare. Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic didn't really create much, bar a chance in either half, and it's easy to see why they're struggling at the bottom of the table. I appreciate they've had a couple of hard-luck stories in recent weeks but there's just an overall lack of quality there. I've seen some of their supporters on social media saying it was "another really good performance" and I can't for the life of me think how.

I'm pleased it was Dean Brett that was sent off today. He needlessly flicked his fingers at Nicky Jamieson's ballbag during an altercation and had to walk. He's a gobshite and a nasty piece of work and I'm glad it was him who let his team down. Don't let his protestations on his Twitter account fool you - it was a red-card offence (even if Jamieson made the most of it).

Jamieson and Sean Crighton generally played well and dealt with most of the long balls thumped in their direction. Curtis Lyle had his best game for the club and made two important blocks. Both full-backs were poor. The midfield only began to show cohesion after the goal. Gavin Reilly looked spry and Tam Orr played well enough when he came on.

We'll certainly need to see an upturn in the next few days when we travel to face Dumbarton and Annan Athletic. We've looked shoddy against the two worst sides in the division and we'll need to see a big improvement when we come up against two of the best.

[EdinburghBlue]

56 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

I'm not sure how anyone could have enjoyed that today. It was a dire game of football between two miserable sides, separated by a fluke goal. That's the worst we've played under Gary Naysmith - everything seemed panicky and uncoordinated and we seemed terrified in possession, with the ball thumped into the air as soon as we got it. You can make allowances for the bumpy pitch and the slope but even so, it was a miserable fare. Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic didn't really create much, bar a chance in either half, and it's easy to see why they're struggling at the bottom of the table. I appreciate they've had a couple of hard-luck stories in recent weeks but there's just an overall lack of quality there. I've seen some of their supporters on social media saying it was "another really good performance" and I can't for the life of me think how.

I'm pleased it was Dean Brett that was sent off today. He needlessly flicked his fingers at Nicky Jamieson's ballbag during an altercation and had to walk. He's a gobshite and a nasty piece of work and I'm glad it was him who let his team down. Don't let his protestations on his Twitter account fool you - it was a red-card offence (even if Jamieson made the most of it).

Jamieson and Sean Crighton generally played well and dealt with most of the long balls thumped in their direction. Curtis Lyle had his best game for the club and made two important blocks. Both full-backs were poor. The midfield only began to show cohesion after the goal. Gavin Reilly looked spry and Tam Orr played well enough when he came on.

We'll certainly need to see an upturn in the next few days when we travel to face Dumbarton and Annan Athletic. We've looked shoddy against the two worst sides in the division and we'll need to see a big improvement when we come up against two of the best.

Took this one in as a neutral as I couldn’t get to Stranraer’s game today.

 

Pretty fair summary of an absolute dire game.  Stenhousemuir deserved the three points, without ever looking very impressive. 

 

Although they've taken seven points of my lot in three games so far this season, I would agree that Bonnyrigg have been the worst team I’ve seen this season.  Having seen them in the play-offs against Cowdenbeath at the end of last season, to be honest I was surprised when they went top at the start of this one but  wasn’t when they went into a tailspin after a very good start.  To be fair to the Bonyrigg management I think they realised that the side’s fitness levels weren't up to SPFL standards and have improved these dramatically.  But they haven’t adapted to the different style of football in the SPFL, and the squad overall isn’t good enough.  I think they may have underestimated the quality of SPFL 1 & 2. 

 

The referee was right to send Dean Brett off, and he may well have got a second card for the vehemence of his protests. (And he might attract the attention of the SFA for criticising the referee on Twitter.)  But until Stenhousemuir scored, it wasn’t obvious they had a man advantage, although the goal seemed to spread confidence through the team and they looked much better thereafter.  The only really bad decision from the referee was when Stenhousemuir should have had a penalty but Newlands decided it was a dive and dished out a yellow card instead.

 

Highlight for me was the Stenhousemuir fans politely thanking the two substituted Bonyrigg players for the gift of the three points when they walked in front of them to get back to the bench.  Lowlight was the over-zealous stewards picking a random Stenhousemuir fan for ejection after an (unacceptable) shout about a Bonnyrigg player’s sexuality, and then justifying this on the basis that the shout came from someone in that area.

 

Fans of those clubs sitting 5^th to 8^th will be happy at Stenhousemuir taking the three points today.  It’s now looking as if these clubs only require one or two more wins each to ensure safety.

[Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach]

54 minutes ago, EdinburghBlue said:

  Lowlight was the over-zealous stewards picking a random Stenhousemuir fan for ejection after an (unacceptable) shout about a Bonnyrigg player’s sexuality, and then justifying this on the basis that the shout came from someone in that area.

 

I was not at the game but was surprised and shocked to see accusations of homophobic abuse. Having asked a few people who were there, they categorically deny any such shout was made and that the person huckled out was because they (accidentally?) broke an advertising hoarding.

[EdinburghBlue]

21 minutes ago, Am Featha *****h Nan Clach said:

I was not at the game but was surprised and shocked to see accusations of homophobic abuse. Having asked a few people who were there, they categorically deny any such shout was made and that the person huckled out was because they (accidentally?) broke an advertising hoarding.

I heard the shout, and the guy responsible laughing that he got away with it. A few commented to him that you can't get away with this these days. 

[Dundee Hibernian]

2 hours ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

Gavin Reilly looked spry and Tam Orr played well enough when he came on.

A greeny for use of 'spry' for a 29 year old.

[Neilly]

I can't remember a worse game of football in my life time. We deserved zero points and got three. I'll enjoy and embrace that all day long.

Best of luck to Bonyrigg for the rest of the season I hope they stay up. A proper football club