Dumbarton -vs- Stenhousemuir (Saturday 9 December 2023)

[Francesc Fabregas]

I thought Stenhousemuir deserved to win today's match and any other outcome would have been unfair. After riding out a sticky 20-minute spell at the beginning of the game, Stenny were the more dominant side, played on the front foot and could have scored long before the ball whacked off James Berry and into the net at the death. It's an enormous three points and a win that puts us a good distance clear at the top of table; there's a very good feeling around Ochilview at the moment.

On the whole, I thought it was a really entertaining encounter between two in-form sides. Given the inclement weather in Dumbarton over the past couple of days, I was expecting an attritional battle but was pleasantly surprised with both teams doing their best to keep possession and build through the middle. The Sons looked the part from the off and had us pinned back, with Kalvin Orsi giving Kinlay Bilham a particularly hard time down the right flank, and they knocked the ball around well in the final third. But other than a header straight at Darren Jamieson, they didn't really test the visitors, and once Stenny got to grips with the game, they were the better side for the most part.

Nicky Jamieson and Gregor Buchanan were excellent at centre-back and kept almost everything at bay, but Nat Wedderburn was the best player on the park, turning in his finest performance of the season, with his big arse and long legs ensuring his team stayed on top. Wedderburn also got through a power of running in the middle and really dug his team-mates out at points, something you tend not to see from him. Edin Lynch also had a decent game and if he did noise up the home fans at the end, fair play, good, because I've no doubt he was given a hard time throughout. Further forward, Matty Yates and Ross Taylor showed some flashes of excellence as they support Matty Aitken. Aitken should have scored when Yates (I think) teed him up, and Euan O'Reilly should definitely have scored when Taylor put in a low ball from the right with the goal gaping. Brett Long deserves a lot of credit for making two outstanding saves but the ball should have hit the net both times.

Instead, it took Berry being in the right place at the right time with four minutes remaining to deflect Mikey Anderson's shot into the net. The ball seemed to take an age as it meekly trundled over the line but what a feeling! That's twice now we've scored winners from deflected Anderson efforts (the first was against the Spartans, where his shot cannoned off Nicky Jamieson and went in), and that's twice now Berry has won the game for Stenhousemuir late on. I think we're all yet to be convinced by him - he looks a little slight and overawed by the pace of League 2 - but I'm convinced he'll come good and develop into an important player, much like Anderson.

Dumbarton forced a couple of stramashes towards the death but couldn't capitalise on their insistent work. I generally liked what I saw from them and think they've got a useful group of players there, but I can understand their supporters' frustrations because it does feel like a significant setback, even at this stage, and adds credence to the belief that you can never fully trust Stevie Farrell to manage Dumbarton to success. I imagine Farrell will think his side were unlucky to lose out to a late deflected goal but they just didn't do enough to win the match themselves.

All I can hope is that Stenhousemuir build on this performance and maintain their excellent form over the festive period. They have a presentable run of fixtures against some of the poorest sides in the division, but we've drawn with Elgin City earlier in the season and could have easily lost to Clyde, so nothing can be taken for granted. I hope the players have an excellent Christmas night out this evening because they deserve to celebrate after what they've served us up so far.

[Sweet Pete]

3 minutes ago, Neilly said:

Let's no go down the route of greetin' at players who give a bit back after getting abuse for 90 minutes.

The tears are lovely but you can be better than that guys.

Don't start getting reasonable now that you're a grown up. We want classic Neilly, not mature Neil.

[Clarko_son]

Thought the link up between R Wallace and Ruth at the start was going to be a theme of the game. I'm not sure if we changed or Stenny grew into the game but after 20 minutes or so it just seemed to cool off a bit. We seemed to resort to lumping cross field balls a lot which didn't really pay off. Thought we seemed to have pressure but no actual chances apart from the Wallace header, just sort of fannying about on the edge of the box waiting for the perfect chance that never came.

It did feel like the type of game where a deflection or mistake would win it and annoyingly for us it fell Stenny's way

[Clarko_son]

16 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

 Edin Lynch also had a decent game and if he did noise up the home fans at the end, fair play, good, because I've no doubt he was given a hard time throughout. 

---

Dumbarton forced a couple of stramashes towards the death but couldn't capitalise on their insistent work. I generally liked what I saw from them and think they've got a useful group of players there, but I can understand their supporters' frustrations because it does feel like a significant setback, even at this stage, and adds credence to the belief that you can never fully trust Stevie Farrell to manage Dumbarton to success. I imagine Farrell will think his side were unlucky to lose out to a late deflected goal but they just didn't do enough to win the match themselves.

For the first point I don't think Lynch particularly got much stick, I wasn't immediately aware of anything anyway. 

The second point is fairly spot on about Farrell for this game and his time generally. Even when things do go well you're expecting something bad to happen.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

Unsurprising but disappointing that the frustration of some Sons fans is being vented at opposition players and the match officials.

And we never bottled it or shat it, we simply came up against a well-organised team who eventually carried more threat in the attacking areas; whilst the goal carried a large slice of luck, by that stage it was only going to come at one end of the park.  Unless I was watching the wrong game.

Over the piece we only forced Darren Jamieson to make one save of note, whilst Stenny worked Brett Long on quite a few occasions, mostly due to us allowing Taylor and O'Reilly too much space.  As the game wore on Stenny were breaking at speed whilst we had mostly resorted to hoofball.

A bad result compounded by Finlay Gray limping off.  We just need to keep at it but that's now home defeats to the top two sides, and it's beginning to look like top four may be our most realistic expectation - again.

We're not a bad side, but maybe just not good enough to go on the type of run which will now be required.  As for the verbals towards Buchanan and Lynch, it seems they had the last laugh.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

3 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

And we never bottled it or shat it

Of course we did, just like we have every single time we have had any form of big game over the last 3 seasons. Whether that be a general league fixture or playoff games. It’s a classic trait of a Stevie Farrell side. We absolutely dominated those first 25 minutes and barely tested the Stenny keeper then proceeded to shit the bed. 

Our squad on paper is the best in the league by a decent margin IMHO. 

 

[FifeSons]

10 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Our squad on paper is the best in the league by a decent margin IMHO. 

 

Completely agree.

How much to bin him? I’d stump up £5k.

[Sweet Pete]

12 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

Completely agree.

How much to bin him? I’d stump up £5k.

£5k to sack the manager, chartered first class flights to games, trips to Lewes. Someone's doing well. Who knew pulling pints in Surrey Quays paid so well.

[Sweet Pete]

33 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

Unsurprising but disappointing that the frustration of some Sons fans is being vented at opposition players and the match officials.

And we never bottled it or shat it, we simply came up against a well-organised team who eventually carried more threat in the attacking areas; whilst the goal carried a large slice of luck, by that stage it was only going to come at one end of the park.  Unless I was watching the wrong game.

Over the piece we only forced Darren Jamieson to make one save of note, whilst Stenny worked Brett Long on quite a few occasions, mostly due to us allowing Taylor and O'Reilly too much space.  As the game wore on Stenny were breaking at speed whilst we had mostly resorted to hoofball.

A bad result compounded by Finlay Gray limping off.  We just need to keep at it but that's now home defeats to the top two sides, and it's beginning to look like top four may be our most realistic expectation - again.

We're not a bad side, but maybe just not good enough to go on the type of run which will now be required.  As for the verbals towards Buchanan and Lynch, it seems they had the last laugh.

Come on now, old yin, my complaints about the match officials were fair and balanced, as were my muted observations about two beloved ex Sons. Because I'm famously nice.

[Sweet Pete]

28 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Of course we did, just like we have every single time we have had any form of big game over the last 3 seasons. Whether that be a general league fixture or playoff games. It’s a classic trait of a Stevie Farrell side. We absolutely dominated those first 25 minutes and barely tested the Stenny keeper then proceeded to shit the bed. 

Our squad on paper is the best in the league by a decent margin IMHO. 

 

Hard to disagree with that assessment, Moj. We were on top and looking dangerous and then just saw our arse and launched the ball miles thereafter. And on the page, our squad looks like it's a cut above the lowly level our club occupies. But results don't lie, nor do stats. And the stats say we don't do well against direct rivals and/or in pressure games.

Stenhousemuir won today and it's a fair reflection as they're the team who put the ball away. It was a tense affair at times, a low quality affair at times, and at other points an entertaining match not unlike a cup tie.

And Gregor Buchanan has a man bun. It's fine for Blair Malcolm as he's cool. But not for Buchanan as he's not cool.

[squeezebox-son]

I reckon 0-0 would have been the fairest result today. 2 teams who cancelled each other out in different areas of the park and it was going to be a showing or real quality (which neither side showed) or a slice of luck which won it.

The main difference I reckon is that by actually hitting the shot, Stenny got that luck. We, far too often, passed the ball too much and didn't get shots away when in dangerous areas.

I thought the ref was poor and overall didn't influence the match result, but by Malcolm picking up a booking early he wasn't able to play his natural game. I felt there were a few bookings for Stenny players which he didn't give.

Bucky is a dick and Lynch will be found out eventually. Wedderburn is a jobber an all  wouldn't be picking any player out in that match as being "MOTM".

It was a shame Finlay had to leave the match when he did as he is the kind of player who can make a difference in the dying minutes of matches and we would have taken off Malcolm and it would have helped a lot in those last 10/15 minutes for sure.

[Neilly]

6 minutes ago, squeezebox-son said:

I reckon 0-0 would have been the fairest result today. 2 teams who cancelled each other out in different areas of the park and it was going to be a showing or real quality (which neither side showed) or a slice of luck which won it.

The main difference I reckon is that by actually hitting the shot, Stenny got that luck. We, far too often, passed the ball too much and didn't get shots away when in dangerous areas.

I thought the ref was poor and overall didn't influence the match result, but by Malcolm picking up a booking early he wasn't able to play his natural game. I felt there were a few bookings for Stenny players which he didn't give.

Bucky is a dick and Lynch will be found out eventually. Wedderburn is a jobber an all  wouldn't be picking any player out in that match as being "MOTM".

It was a shame Finlay had to leave the match when he did as he is the kind of player who can make a difference in the dying minutes of matches and we would have taken off Malcolm and it would have helped a lot in those last 10/15 minutes for sure.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

1 hour ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Of course we did, just like we have every single time we have had any form of big game over the last 3 seasons. Whether that be a general league fixture or playoff games. It’s a classic trait of a Stevie Farrell side. We absolutely dominated those first 25 minutes and barely tested the Stenny keeper then proceeded to shit the bed. 

Our squad on paper is the best in the league by a decent margin IMHO. 

 

Well of course it's all about opinions, but IMHO your closing sentence is fatally flawed - football matches are not played on paper and on the evidence available so far we don't have either the best squad or the best team.

We've taken four points from a possible fifteen from the teams around us, and that has zip to do with bottling or shitting it.  You've made a very bold statement and you are using defeats to justify it, instead of recognising that players like Andy McCarthy, Ross Taylor, Jamie Dishington and Michael Anderson might just be half decent and playing for teams that might themselves be half decent.

But let me finish with a quick question - if we DID agree that we have the best squad how would you now go about getting the results ?

Edited December 9, 2023 by O'Kelly Isley III

[Sweet Pete]

1 minute ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

Well of course it's all about opinions, but IMHO your closing sentence is fatally flawed - football matches are not played on paper and on the evidence available so far we don't have either the best squad or the best team.

We've taken four points from a possible twelve from the teams around us, and that has zip to do with bottling or shitting it.  You've made a very bold statement and you are using defeats to justify it, instead of recognising that players like Andy McCarthy, Ross Taylor, Jamie Dishington and Michael Anderson might just be half decent and playing for teams that might themselves be half decent.

But let me finish with a quick question - if we DID agree that we have the best squad how would you now go about getting the results ?

By scoring more goals than the other teams. Easy.

[FifeSons]

1 hour ago, Sweet Pete said:

£5k to sack the manager, chartered first class flights to games, trips to Lewes. Someone's doing well. Who knew pulling pints in Surrey Quays paid so well.

Genuinely very impressed you remembered this bit of info

ETA Surrey Quays is where I used to live, then pulled pints further South East. Not sure if I ever mentioned this or here or you’ve just got some inside info on the life of FifeSons

Edited December 9, 2023 by FifeSons

[FifeSons]

Best squad worst manager.

[the_bully_wee]

I'd say that Dumbarton's squad has a slight edge in terms of quality in the first XI and pisses over Stenhousemuir's when it comes to depth, but any advantage there is more than negated when you consider who is responsible for each. Serial loser on one side, man with serious pedigree in this division on the other. If Stenny manage to flesh out their squad a bit in January then they should canter to the title fairly easily; without that they'll need some luck with injuries and such. For Dumbarton, a 2024 implosion before being owned by Annan again in the play-off semi, as I've said previously.

[Sweet Pete]

8 minutes ago, FifeSons said:

Genuinely very impressed you remembered this bit of info

ETA Surrey Quays is where I used to live, then pulled pints further South East. Not sure if I ever mentioned this or here or you’ve just got some inside info on the life of FifeSons

I'm astonished any of it was accurate. I genuinely made it all up.

[Nigel Blackwell]

That was a huge result, not least because it looked like it had 0-0 written all over it. Dumbo had the best of the opening half an hour and looked decent. They had us pinned in but only really had one chance which Jamieson made what looked like an excellent save from. Remainder of the 1st half we came into it - had a goal disallowed which was offside, but it was a nice move involving Taylor, who after a nervous start was so good. It was great to see him back.

So, pretty even first half, but I think we deserved the win based on our 2nd half. Dumbarton had most of the possession and in the main the game was played in our half without Jamieson making any save, but on the break (I think they call it a “transition” these days) we were excellent. In the blink of an eye we were able to shift the ball wide to O’Reilly or Taylor who both looked threatening. But for Long’s saves and Lynch’s profligacy we should have scored one or two. Sure the winning goal had a slice of luck about it, but you need luck on your side at times. Injuries will come and to date with the exception of Taylor’s injury, we have been lucky so far.

These are really great times to be a Stenhousemuir fan. Six wins in a row (when did that last happen) and a really likeable side without any objectionable characters.

Dumbarton are a strong side, and there is still a long way to go.

[Jan Vojáček]

I don't think I can add a great deal really to what @Nigel Blackwellsays above.

We had our spell at the start of the game, and Stenny had a really good spell midway through the second-half where Brett Long twice made good saves to keep the scores level. For the final 10 minutes or so it did feel like the Warriors were the team in the ascendency - but I felt the only way either side were going to score was either a bit of luck/mistake or a moment of brilliance. And it was the former.

It does absolutely highlight that if you don't shoot, you won't score though. And today that's probably the only real complaint I can have with us. We played some nice stuff, but took far too many touches around the box - allowing Stenhousemuir to regroup and comfortably deal with the danger. Ryan Wallace's header early on that was well saved by Darren Jamieson was one of all too few occasions where we moved the ball quickly and with minimal touches.

That being said, I genuinely couldn't fault too much of our play today. The players put in a terrific effort in vile conditions, and losing the game in that fashion was harsh on them. I was worried about how Aron Lynas would do against Matty Aitken, but he was largely marshalled well - we dragged him into a scrap, which is something we did when he faced us with Forfar Athletic last season. And I just don't think physical battles are where his major strengths are. Despite his size.

Stenhousemuir's showing today though was as good as I've seen from any side against us in the league. They were all over the place for the first 20 minutes, but when we failed to take advantage the rest of the game was a textbook away performance.

They gave up possession and challenged us to try and break them down. Which we couldn't find a way to do. Gregor Buchanan was absolutely excellent (as he is 90% of the time in this division) and Nicky Jamieson recovered from a rocky start to put in an equally as solid performance. It's not hard at all to see why Stenny have so many clean sheets with the two Jamiesons and Buchanan back there.

What really impressed me about them was their speed on the break. Ross Taylor is an absolute nightmare when he's running at pace. He didn't have much joy when we got tight with him, but give him a yard or so and he'll make you look daft. Matty Yates was at the heart of everything that was good about them, and Euan O'Reilly was a constant threat down the left.

Today felt like a really sore one. And it's undeniably a bit dent in our title hopes. There's a lot of football to be played, but it's already a big ask for us to make up the points gap we face.