Stenhousemuir v Forfar

[Vimto90]

Must be a poor harvest this year. The forfar lads are very moody. 

[theSilverFox]

18 hours ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

That was a pretty entertaining game of football. I thought a draw was the fairest result - despite Stenhousemuir being the better of the two teams and hitting the post twice, Forfar Athletic looked dangerous on the counter and forced Darren Jamieson into two superb saves towards the end of the match. All in all, it's a decent way to start the season, given the complaints about our small squad and the high calibre of the opposition.

There was a lot to like about our performance, as well as a couple of areas for concern. The new goalkeeper was excellent - the two saves were his most noteworthy contribution but his overall command and presence gave everyone, his team-mates and the supporters watching on, a degree of assurance that's been badly missing at the club over the last two years. Nicky Jamieson had a fine game at centre-back and looks to have formed a solid partnership with Gregor Buchanan already. Josh Skelly wasn't too influential this afternoon but I put that down to how well marshalled he was by the defenders. It was good to have Ross Meechan back and I'm pleased his injury is just a knock. On the other flank, Kinly Bilham looks as though he'll turn into a smashing wee player but he needs to be more aggressive - he pulled out of challenges twice and could have cost the team. This was only his second start in professional football and he'll learn.

I thought Mikey Anderson was the best player on the park and I'm confident he's going to be a superstar this season. His positioning, blocking, tackling and passing was all on point and he was good at breaking up play and moving the ball on. It was just as well given how quiet Nat Wedderburn was.

We were lacking a little further forward. Matty Yates and Jordan Kirkpatrick started well but fell out the match, although I appreciate there's not a lot the former can do when he's competing with Andy Munro for high balls. Matty Aitken was introduced late on and didn't make much of an impact, but a lack of march sharpness might have been a factor. Euan O'Reilly frustrated the life out of me by getting into great positions then killing the move with poor decision making or a wonky touch. We could have won the match if he'd been more ruthless. The team as a whole look exposed when play's turned over and had it not been for some terrific last-ditch defending or superb goalkeeping, one point could have become zero.

I described today's match as a good barometer for the season ahead and, based on this afternoon, we have a quality defence, a League 2 Player of the Year in Mikey Anderson, and some work to do further forward. Bring on Peterhead!

Can’t disagree with that, I’d add that the two best keepers in the division were both playing in that game. Your big centre half (no 5) really impressed me, tough call between him and Morrison for best performance yesterday but I think the Stenny man shaded it. Both teams have a bit of improvement to see but can’t not see them both challenging for promotion 

Edited August 6, 2023 by theSilverFox

[theSilverFox]

The ref was poor, plenty diving from the Stenny players, combine the two and you don’t get a decent decision from the ref when there was a robust sliding challenge. The ref was poor for both teams, saw Wedderburn lead twice with the elbow but the Forfar whiny bitches turned out to be man enough to just get on with it rather than screaming for pity like the Stenny guy with no name on his shirt did when he fell over with no contact.

Edited August 6, 2023 by theSilverFox

[Old Fashioned Stramash]

Is Ross Taylor injured? 

[Bridie Vision]

Highlights 

 

[Neilly]

On 06/08/2023 at 15:18, Old Fashioned Stramash said:

Is Ross Taylor injured? 

He will be fine for this week. He had a bit of illness or something that meant he didn't play Saturday.