The Sons v The Loons 19/8/23

[Silverton End]

Great second half, badly needed.

Well done Sons 

[TamCarson]

In Stevie we trust, never in doubt at 0-1

Mon the Sons 

[Clarko_son]

10 minutes ago, Boghead ranter said:

I'm disappointed by the fact that's not either unhinged or terrible actually.

[lorenzo71]

Great turnaround from us.Change of formation really worked today and the goals were well taken.

To give balance though Forfar were weakened today by injuries etc and when they lost Ross their attacking threat went almost completely.We have a strong squad and SF has done a great job assembling the team.Im still not convinced he is able to get the best out of them as was witnessed today by our jekyll and hyde performance.Again if he proves me wrong i will be delighted.

Roll on next week.

Edited August 19, 2023 by lorenzo71

[lorenzo71]

Just to add Blair Malcolm was excellent when he came on but MOM was Young who's workrate was outstanding.Also I'd say that Shiels coming off helped us as i feel he is our most ineffective player at times.Gives the ball away and crosses to no one.Chuckie was far more effective today when he came on.Central defenders did their job , Lynas was strong and Gray was a thorn in Forfar's side.If we find consistancy we wont be far away with this squad.But thats a big IF.

[Jupiter Jazz]

28 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

 

 

Jeez oh! Quite the change of mood from the Athies boys since the end of the world famous League Cup campaign!

I view the League cup as glorified friendlies and so don't bother with it. Now that the real stuff has started we've reverted to exactly the same team that finished last season so poorly.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

Called it earlier this week....

And I'd love for Blair Malcolm to press Ryan Blair and Div Wilson hard for a midfield starting place, as current the lack of pace in there is worrying.

It's not rocket science, get the right team on the park and we'll be a match for anyone in the division.  McLean and Hilton made a huge contribution too when they came on.  Hopefully Ruth might be in the mix for Ochilview.

[TxRover]

39 minutes ago, lorenzo71 said:

Just to add Blair Malcolm was excellent when he came on but MOM was Young who's workrate was outstanding.Also I'd say that Shiels coming off helped us as i feel he is our most ineffective player at times.Gives the ball away and crosses to no one.Chuckie was far more effective today when he came on.Central defenders did their job , Lynas was strong and Gray was a thorn in Forfar's side.If we find consistancy we wont be far away with this squad.But thats a big IF.

So Young is settling in at LB OK?

[Jordo1872]

Another here for the Blair Malcolm fan club. Thought he was absolutely excellent when he can on and helped change the direction of the game. Hard in the tackle, good running and always appeared in space to pick up a pass and move us forward. hopefully he starts at Stenny next week.

Fair play to Faz. I said at half time my biggest criticism of him is that he appears unable to change it when things aren’t going to plan. Well he did to day and the change in shape at half-time and positive substitutions turned the game in our favour. Fair play.

Liked the look of Seb Ross who took his goal really well and should have scored another, and bagged himself a couple of assists. Apart from that I thought Forfar looked poor.

[WC Boggs]

Great result for you Dumbarton.  Hope you can get a run going now. Especially pleased for Fifesons, get well soon mate.

[BallochSonsFan]

Subs changed the game and hopefully Farrell makes the changes to next Saturday's line up.

First half we were dire. Forfar didnt need to be good to exploit our errors and could have been a few up at half time. Seb Ross had a good game until he had to go off. Hilton's introduction gave us far more and McLean did well when he came on.

I know that Wilson scored, but I wasn't overly happy with either him or Ryan Blair. Next week we really have to give Blair Malcom a start. Would also go with Hilton and McLean starting.

[The Moonster]

6 minutes ago, TxRover said:

So Young is settling in at LB OK?

I really like him. He'll make mistakes but is really positive and a threat with his cross balls. Looks like he'll get better with the more he plays. 

[aftershocker]

For me...it was the change of formation that made the biggest difference...instead of Wallace having to drop deep to try and win the ball and leaving us with nothing up top... suddenly so much space for the midfield

Great and clever pass from Lynas for Findlay's goal

Keep that formation for next week...so much better to watch 

[Rock Bottom]

Ok so this was the ‘football’ you all said we were playing in pre-season. I like it! 
 

No idea what Farrell said at HT, but if we criticise him then we should be big enough to credit him as well. That was 100% tactical today. 
Brett Long barely punted the ball out after HT, a very clear message to play it out and retain the ball and it worked a treat. 
I’ll also continue this Faz love in by saying the subs were near perfect. Assuming Chuckie on at HT was tactical, he looked a threat, thought jinky stretched the play well as Forfar were chasing it and Malcolm is a total enforcer! Shut so many potential attacks down and was noticeable how vocal he was to those around him as tiredness was setting in.

My only real concern is our pace at centre half. I thought it was telling today how many lunges and perfectly timed tackles we relied upon as we couldn’t just jockey and pressure Forfars front line away from danger. But that’s maybe being picky on an otherwise great second half 

[microdave]

At half time I was questioning my life choices. By full time I was (and still am) grinning from ear to ear.

[Jan Vojáček]

That first-half might've been the straw that broke the camel's back for Faz in terms of formation I think. It was so laboured, slow and poor that you could see how frustrated he was on the sidelines.

Forfar's goal, a really good strike from Seb Ross after some wimpy defending, was the least they deserved. And if Kieran Inglis hadn't slipped once he rounded Brett Long with an empty goal to aim for then it could've been a different game. But he did. And here we are.

I thought Forfar were on top in the first-half, without having to do anything too impressive. They defended diligently and Seb Ross posed a threat on the break. But it's no exaggeration to say that Marc McCallum had absolutely nothing to do for 45 minutes. Not one save, barely any crosses. Zilch. He could've played with a big Cuban cigar hanging out his mouth.

The atmosphere at half-time was a bit tense. It almost felt like everyone was just waiting for a second Loons goal to let them either go home, or direct some abuse at Stevie Farrell.

But fair play to him. A radical change in shape and the introduction of Ross MacLean made a huge difference.

Suddenly we had a bit of urgency about us. We were playing on the front foot, Greig Young and Carlo Pignatiello were stretching the game and (would you believe...) we actually managed to get Finlay Gray on the ball. As soon as he became involved, we got better. Who'd have thunk it?!

Having spent the last few seasons turning in prime Buffon performances against us, it was about time Marc McCallum dropped a clanger in our favour. And, likewise, it was about time we got a bit of luck in front of goal. You make your own luck, as they say, but it's incredible how these things happen when you're playing on the front foot...

Greig Young's cross was juggled by McCallum and fair play to Div Wilson, who I did not think should've started and who I think will be lucky to keep his place for next week, because he was on hand to stab in.

That goal, coupled with Seb Ross being hooked for Craig Thomson, totally swung the game in our favour. And it felt like there was only going to be one winner. Even moreso when our second subs of the afternoon arrived; Ryan Blair (who had been extremely poor) and Ryan Wallace were hooked. Big bad Blair Malcolm and Jinky Hilton came on. And we dominated the game.

They were like good cop, bad cop. Malcolm set about things in a Kevin Nicol-esque way, swaggering about the place, dominating the midfield, demanding the ball, outmuscling players and generally doing everything you want from a midfield enforcer. He was tremendous.

Jinky meanwhile was a joy to watch. He looked like a wee guy having fun playing with his pals. Cute passes, clever touches, good runs inside. All the nice stuff. It was great to see him turning it on like he had done over pre-season.

For all the subs made a difference, it was two starters who combined for the second goal. Aron Lynas, who had stepped into the back three alongside Durnan and Crighton, briefly turned into prime Andrea Pirlo. Advancing into midfield before sending Finlay Gray through on goal with a gorgeous pass. He joked afterwards that he actually said "oh f**k" to himself when he played it, because it took him by surprise  

Jinky Hilton then outfoxed Stuart Morrison by pretending to leave a ball, only to steal it from him and square for Ross MacLean. Who somehow didn't score. And I worried that would haunt us.

MacLean then almost scored one of the best goals I've ever seen, flicking up a ball blasted into him on the edge of the box, and arrowing an effort goalwards that McCallum saved spectacularly. Again I worried that would haunt us.

I shouldn't have worried. Jinky Hilton finally got the assist he deserved, a neat driving run and then clever through ball found MacLean. And he (finally!) found the net. There were claims for offside, but it looked like a Loons player at RB was sleeping and caught out.

And that was that.

In terms of performances; I thought only one player was good in both halves. Greig Young.

In the first-half he looked like the only guy who wanted to drive us forward. In the second, at wing-back, I thought he was superb. Motoring up and down the flank; defending well, producing quality deliveries, taking players on. I couldn't fault him at all, and wing-back suits him down the ground I reckon.

Carlo Pignatiello on the right was also impressive, especially at finding space. And Finlay Gray really grew into the game. Most of all with Malcolm and Hilton around him.

I was pleased to Ross MacLean turning it on too. I said he maybe needed dropped to spark him back into life, and he made a really positive impression today. It was nice too to see the strength of our bench; bringing on guys like Tony Wallace is something we could've only dreamed of last year.

As for Forfar? Well they are a bit like that drawing of a horse where the back end is excellent. But the top was finished by a four year old with some crayons.

Spoiler

Marc McCallum made a mistake for the goal, but is still a safe pair of hands. And I like most of their defensively minded players. Even if a few, Matty Allan especially, were off it today.

In midfield they look solid, competent and capable. If a bit unremarkable. But going forward (and this is hardly news) they offered so little without Josh Skelly.

Seb Ross was the pick of the bunch. His goal was good and he caused Aron Lynas problems for the entire time he was on the park. I was relieved to see him taken off.

Euan Mutale though? I know he's very young and it was his debut. But he's not for me based on that showing. He's clearly a willing runner, and his movement and presence seemed to spook us at times, but the ball kept bouncing off him any time it came in his direction. I genuinely haven't seen a player chase his own first touch that often since (probably) Robert Jones. I thought he looked like a guy who was nowhere near ready for the pace of League Two games.

Josh Skelly's return will change them completely. But if he's out for a significant period then there's really not a lot else there threat wise. And that's got to be a worry. Because (as we well know from last year) a good defence can only take you so far.

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Jan Vojáček

[fafc1885]

2 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Jinky Hilton then outfoxed Stuart Morrison by pretending to leave a ball, only to steal it from him and square for Ross MacLean. Who somehow didn't score. And I worried that would haunt us.

It was actually, surprising absolutely nobody, Team of the Year candidate Andy Munro he stole the ball from. Adding to his weekly list of errors.

[Jan Vojáček]

1 minute ago, fafc1885 said:

It was actually, surprising absolutely nobody, Team of the Year candidate Andy Munro he stole the ball from. Adding to his weekly list of errors.

My apologies to the big man. I thought it was an uncharacteristic error for him to make - so that explains it! I had kind of assumed the ball was going out too and had turned round to look to look at something else when I saw Jinky make his move.

[TxRover]

58 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

In terms of performances; I thought only one player was good in both halves. Greig Young.

In the first-half he looked like the only guy who wanted to drive us forward. In the second, at wing-back, I thought he was superb. Motoring up and down the flank; defending well, producing quality deliveries, taking players on. I couldn't fault him at all, and wing-back suits him down the ground I reckon.

 

That doesn’t surprise me, given Young started under McGlynn and Murray, seeing players like Kieran MacDonald, Reghan Tumilty, Frankie Musonda, Kieran Ngwenya, Russ Millen and Liam Dick pushing up and down the wings and bombing in crosses. I was very surprised Murray let him go, much to your benefit, it appears.

[PWL]

Nothing much to add other than yesterday highlighted just how vital it is to have options on the bench and not just whoever is half fit. Cant actually remember the last time we've been able to switch things around so dramatically with subs. Forfar bench was similar to us last season.