Dumbarton v East Fife 2/9/23

[Jan Vojáček]

I thought that was a merited three points, mainly because there only looked like one team who wanted to win the game. With East Fife looking a team rock bottom on confidence and quite happy to get up the road with a clean sheet and a point.

It looked like we slightly adapted the way we played to try and take advantage of the painfully slow back three of Brian Easton, Jonathan Page and Stuart Murdoch. It almost worked a couple of times, mainly thanks to surging runs from Finlay Gray. But it became a bit predictable, and all three old stagers sussed it out and just took no risks with any balls forward.

Throughout the whole game neither goalkeeper had much to do. Brett Long had a few shaky moments of his own - throwing the ball straight to Alan Trouten in the first-half, and sclaffing a kick to Kieran Millar in the second. But he caused those for himself, and was largely untroubled by East Fife all game.

At the other end, Allan Fleming made a terrific stop from Jinky Hilton's free-kick. But that aside everything was fairly comfortable for a keeper of his standard - and he didn't ever look in much danger.

It felt, in the first-half, like we were quite happy to plod along because the opportunities would come. But they didn't really, and East Fife - to their credit - improved markedly in the second-half. Controlling possession, winning the midfield battle but just falling at the final hurdle for a good 15/20 minutes or so.

Jack Healy's end product especially was woeful - I lost count of the number of shots he cannoned into a defender from a yard, and the number of harmless crosses he trundled straight at Brett Long.

He's a strange player. His touch is superb, he's really positive and I love the way he's always looking to take players on. There are aspects of his game that remind me of Dom Thomas. But Dom Thomas if you took away all the strength in his legs when it came to actually making an impact. He also goes down far too easily at times - and I can't help but feel that must count against him when he's actually fouled. Which he will be given the way he gets at defenders.

With about 25 minutes remaining Stevie Farrell made wholesale changes. A quadruple change; and four good players coming on. Something we could only dream of last season.

That swung things back in our favour. David Wilson had been well off the boil, and bringing Ryan Blair on tided things up in midfield. Out wide Kalvin Orsi - frustrating at times, yes - caused issues with his direct running, and I liked what we saw in flashes from Mikey Ruth and Ryan Wallace when they linked up.

It really felt like the Fifers had done a job on us though and that it would end all even. Right up until big Sean Crighton channelled his inner-Ryan McGeever with an absolutely thunderous header. I loved the aggression he showed in attacking the ball, and there was never any stopping it from the moment he got his big handsome head on it.

Crighton was probably a worthy matchwinner, but I thought our whole back three defended well all game. Mark Durnan had another good showing, albeit he does give me the fear when he's got the ball at his feet - even though I think *think* he's actually in more control than he looks.

Matty Shiels performed commendably at LCB. It was probably his best showing for us across his two spells. He was solid and risk free all game, and really looked to grow in confidence and belief as the match went on. Fair play to him; it can't have been easy being hooked at HT a fortnight ago and then not featuring at Ochilview. But that's how to respond.

Aron Lynas played like a man carrying a knock, and being further forward doesn't really suit him as much as RCB. On the other flank, Greig Young will have better afternoons - but he's young and these things will happen.

In terms of East Fife, I thought they looked really, really poor. Probably exemplified by Nathan Austin's showing. He looked an absolute shadow of the player who routinely ripped us to shreds a few years ago.

He didn't look sharp at all around the box, he was dominated physically by Mark Durnan and Sean Crighton and he never really came close to threatening to score. I don't know if it's confidence or what, but he always caused us plenty of issues with his sheer physicality - he was strong, awkward, quick and aggressive. Today he showed none of that.

As much as I hope we finish clear of you lot, it was a shame to see a guy like him looking so out of sorts. There's absolutely no denying that he's a class act when he's on form, and he's a player I've always had a lot of admiration for. A few goals would probably make the world of difference, but I was genuinely shocked at how out of form he was this afternoon.

It won't come as news to any East Fife fans; but if they get Healy and Austin working together then I think they'll shoot up the table. Kieran Mitchell is a good addition too, and I genuinely think they have plenty of attacking options who'll cause issues. Today, maybe, we just got them at the right time to turn in an average showing - but leave with three points.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

6 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

IDavid Wilson had been well off the boil

I thought he was terrible today and IMO is starting to look like a real weak point in what is a strong starting 11 most weeks. He’s due a stint on the bench. 

[Jan Vojáček]

1 minute ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

I thought he was terrible today and IMO is starting to look like a real weak point in what is a strong starting 11 most weeks. He’s due a stint on the bench. 

I agree. I'd be tempted to drop Hilton back into his place and pair one of Ruth or Wallace with MacLean up top.

[Rock Bottom]

51 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Aron Lynas played like a man carrying a knock, and being further forward doesn't really suit him as much as RCB. On the other flank,

Maybe a little harsh with this one Jan. I thought he put in some shift today and his running was non-stop. I didn't feel he looked to be carrying a problem, but do take your point about him being further forward. I still think that later in the season when injuries, suspensions and games come thick and fast that a combination we could see is Lynas RCB and Orsi RWB - very much complimenting each others obvious weaknesses.

Btw, if you ever have an opportunity to see and publish the GPS data on Lynas then please do! I remember seeing a stat that Tierney would run a 10k or more every game at Celtic. I cant imagine Aron is far off this.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Rock Bottom

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

43 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I agree. I'd be tempted to drop Hilton back into his place and pair one of Ruth or Wallace with MacLean up top.

My thoughts exactly. Ruth may not be scoring but he always impresses me.

19 minutes ago, Rock Bottom said:

Maybe a little harsh with this one Jan. I thought he put in some shift today and his running was non-stop. I didn't feel he looked to be carrying a problem, but do take your point about him being further forward. I still think that later in the season when injuries, suspensions and games come thick and fast that a combination we could see is Lynas RCB and Orsi RWB - very much complimenting each others obvious weaknesses.

Btw, if you ever have an opportunity to see and publish the GPS data on Lynas then please do! I remember seeing a stat that Tierney would run a 10k or more every game at Celtic. I cant imagine Aron is far off this.

I thought Lynas looked absolutely miles off it today and he doesn’t look suited to playing RWB in the slightest. Sure he runs around a lot and puts in plenty of effort but he offered us absolutely nothing going forward today which is a huge part of operating in that position. I view him as a fairly solid but limited player (I thought that last season too) and I think our fans are often blinded a bit by the effort he puts in. I’d have Carlo in there every single day of the week. 

Lynas has been putting in decent performances as part of the back 3 but today he was badly exposed playing in a position he obviously isn’t comfortable with. 

[Sweet Pete]

On Nathan Austin, he had a spell of about 5 minutes before we made 5 subs and changed system where he looked a bit more dangerous, but that was basically it. He's usually better when I've seen him. Lynas wasn't terrible and played well at times, but faded as the match wore on. Agree Shiels had his best match for us so far. Also agree on starting Ruth for Wilson with Hilton moving deeper to be more involved. As the season wears on and rotation kicks in, it may be nice to see what a worn in Wallace/Ruth partnership can do, but MacLean deserves his top spot just now.

That Fife side would probably be more comfortable in the table if they dropped the petty gamesmanship and let their players off the chain to attack.

[Rock Bottom]

2 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

I thought Lynas looked absolutely miles off it today and he doesn’t look suited to playing RWB in the slightest. Sure he runs around a lot and puts in plenty of effort but he offered us absolutely nothing going forward today which is a huge part of operating in that position. I view him as a fairly solid but limited player (I thought that last season too) and I think our fans are often blinded a bit by the effort he puts in. I’d have Carlo in there every single day of the week. 

Lynas has been putting in decent performances as part of the back 3 but today he was badly exposed playing in a position he obviously isn’t comfortable with. 

Carlo ahead of him - yes
Limited player - agreed

In term of what he offers compared to others then I guess its different strokes for different folks. Its not just that he runs around a lot. His ability to recover the ball due to his athleticism is an asset. Was a few occasions today that he was able to recover back nearly a 3rd of the park to provide support to the centre half before they were caught 1 on 1. 

[Rock Bottom]

On a slightly different point, how nice is that EF away jersey!

Could never bring myself to own a divisional rivels kit but pink tartan is a combo I never thought i'd be crying out for  

[BallochSonsFan]

A very stodgy game of football. We forced a coupe of very good saves from the visiting keeper. East Fife looked to take advantage of some errors and sloppy play by Dumbarton. But it looked a dead cert 0-0 until Crighton headed home the late winner. Definitely some positives and negatives. I thought Shiels had a very solid game filling in as a left sided centre half in our 3. It was good to see Lynas back after the potential knock last week. Finlay Gray is a fantastic talent. On the other hand I thought we were lacklustre going forward. Div Wilson wasn't good in midfield. It wasn't really happening for Hilton up front. Chucky went from absolutely unplayable last week to very disappointing this week. East Fife's Jack Healy is a wee fud - if he wasnt diving then he was getting involved in needless niggly pish.

East Fife struggled to get any kind of support to Nathan Austin. He's a great player for this level of football but he's not going to do it on his own. Service to him was poor and he was often left on his own with no teammates supporting. On the basis of the couple of good chances we created, 1-0 doesnt feel like we robbed the 3 points, but it wasn't a good game and there were a few disappointing performances compared with last week. If East Fife had earned a point then I wouldn't have said that we'd been robbed of the win.

[Specky Ginger]

4 hours ago, Rock Bottom said:

On a slightly different point, how nice is that EF away jersey!

Could never bring myself to own a divisional rivels kit but pink tartan is a combo I never thought i'd be crying out for  

A strange comment from a fan of a team which has the best kit in Scotland by a country mile this season.

[The Moonster]

Not much to add to what has been said other than one thing - I hope we never sign a player with a long throw again. We've mutilated our pitch for it and I don't ever remember us creating a chance from it. At one point in first half, Lynas trundled over to the left side to launch it into the box and threw it straight at Fleming. I fucking hate it, I hate Farrell for talking it up so much and hate the fact we've been playing 2 seasons on a shitey narrow pitch which absolutely affects the standard of football on show. It's no shock our games at home are generally scrappy affairs. 

[Sweet Pete]

31 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Not much to add to what has been said other than one thing - I hope we never sign a player with a long throw again. We've mutilated our pitch for it and I don't ever remember us creating a chance from it. At one point in first half, Lynas trundled over to the left side to launch it into the box and threw it straight at Fleming. I fucking hate it, I hate Farrell for talking it up so much and hate the fact we've been playing 2 seasons on a shitey narrow pitch which absolutely affects the standard of football on show. It's no shock our games at home are generally scrappy affairs. 

It definitely negatively impacts the amount of unforced errors in the way of unintentional throw ins given by each side, which stops the flow of the game.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

39 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Not much to add to what has been said other than one thing - I hope we never sign a player with a long throw again. We've mutilated our pitch for it and I don't ever remember us creating a chance from it. At one point in first half, Lynas trundled over to the left side to launch it into the box and threw it straight at Fleming. I fucking hate it, I hate Farrell for talking it up so much and hate the fact we've been playing 2 seasons on a shitey narrow pitch which absolutely affects the standard of football on show. It's no shock our games at home are generally scrappy affairs. 

The ineffectiveness of narrowing the pitch was proved last season and I couldn't believe we didn't restore the width ahead of this season.  There must be about 25% more shies at our home games compared to other clubs which creates a stop/start situation in the football - madness.

[C'mon_the_Sons]

2 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

The ineffectiveness of narrowing the pitch was proved last season and I couldn't believe we didn't restore the width ahead of this season.  There must be about 25% more shies at our home games compared to other clubs which creates a stop/start situation in the football - madness.

Have they not now used the narrowing of the pitch to shift it over so there’s no/less of the pitch in the shade?

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

3 hours ago, The Moonster said:

Not much to add to what has been said other than one thing - I hope we never sign a player with a long throw again. We've mutilated our pitch for it and I don't ever remember us creating a chance from it. At one point in first half, Lynas trundled over to the left side to launch it into the box and threw it straight at Fleming. I fucking hate it, I hate Farrell for talking it up so much and hate the fact we've been playing 2 seasons on a shitey narrow pitch which absolutely affects the standard of football on show. It's no shock our games at home are generally scrappy affairs. 

Funnily enough, I’ve noticed we use the long throw much less now, which makes continuing with the narrow pitch even more bizarre. 

Lynas used to throw absolutely every throw long into the box and in last 2 home games we’ve done it about 3 times.

[FifeSons]

Can we change the pitch once we’ve played everyone at home?

[FifeSons]

Did anyone manage to buy the stream yesterday btw? Hoping they fixed it after Forfar. I was at a game down here, so didn’t try.

[lorenzo71]

1 minute ago, FifeSons said:

Did anyone manage to buy the stream yesterday btw? Hoping they fixed it after Forfar. I was at a game down here, so didn’t try.

 

1 minute ago, FifeSons said:

Did anyone manage to buy the stream yesterday btw? Hoping they fixed it after Forfar. I was at a game down here, so didn’t try.

Yeah but it didnt work again.Poor stuff really.This happens more often than not.

[lorenzo71]

Any highlights up yet?

[FifeSons]

3 minutes ago, lorenzo71 said:

 

Yeah but it didnt work again.Poor stuff really.This happens more often than not.

Ffs that's unacceptable, really.