Stenhousemuir -vs- Stranraer (Saturday 20 January 2024)

[Francesc Fabregas]

The biggest game on the planet takes place in FK5 on Saturday as Stenhousemuir welcome Stranraer to Ochilview. The Warriors have been flawless against the Blues this season, with an 8-0 aggregate scoreline across the two previous games. The 5-0 victory in September was the most complete performance I've seen  from a Stenny team in years, while the 3-0 win at Stair Park in November was notable for Bozo showing off his torso. Given how well we've played against Stranraer this season - not to mention winning our previous 11 games! - you'd have to fancy Stenhousemuir to do the business here.

There's not much to really say about Stenny here. You know how we're going to line up, you know what we're going to do, you know what we're all about:

- Matty Aitken -

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

- Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn -

- Kinlay Bilham - Nicky Jamieson - Gregor Buchanan - Ross Meechan -

- Darren Jamieson -

I'm not sure if Stranraer had players missing when we've met previously but I didn't think all that much of them. There are some handy members in their team - Matty Grant, Dylan Forrest - but they're lacking in experience and physicality and can be pushed around a bit. I think Stenhousemuir will win this match and probably score from a set-piece at some point.

I'll see you all there!

[Cardle is Magic]

Don’t care what league you’re in; 11 wins on the spin and 44 points from 48 available is sensational form.

16 league games unbeaten and nine clean sheets in that run. How close is this to record breaking stuff for Stenny? I know probably Gretna and Rangers will have ludicrous fourth tier records that will be hard to challenge.

Only negative is FF setting out the line-up with the keeper at the bottom, which is making my brain feel itchy.

[Neilly]

7 minutes ago, Cardle is Magic said:

Don’t care what league you’re in; 11 wins on the spin and 44 points from 48 available is sensational form.

16 league games unbeaten and nine clean sheets in that run. How close is this to record breaking stuff for Stenny? I know probably Gretna and Rangers will have ludicrous fourth tier records that will be hard to challenge.

Only negative is FF setting out the line-up with the keeper at the bottom, which is making my brain feel itchy.

We've equalled The Rangers 11 wins in a row and Gretna had 14.

Ours feels a little bit more special already to be honest that our budget won't dwarf the opposition in the manner that The Rangers and to a lesser extent Gretna would have.

Absolutely wild times for the club.

[Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach]

5 hours ago, Cardle is Magic said:

Only negative is FF setting out the line-up with the keeper at the bottom, which is making my brain feel itchy.

Seek help. The reverse is utterly mental.

[Cardle is Magic]

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

Seek help. The reverse is utterly mental.

That will be why every single football match broadcast on television shows the line up with the keeper at the top?

[Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach]

24 minutes ago, Cardle is Magic said:

That will be why every single football match broadcast on television shows the line up with the keeper at the top?

And it's nuts. 

Why would you have the right back/right winger on the left hand side of the page? 

Edit - Only acceptable if both teams are shown in the same graphic on either side of the half way line

Edited January 14 by Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach

[Cardle is Magic]

1 hour ago, Am Featha *****h Nan Clach said:

And it's nuts. 

Why would you have the right back/right winger on the left hand side of the page? 

Edit - Only acceptable if both teams are shown in the same graphic on either side of the half way line

They probably assume that people are not so thick that they can’t figure it out for themselves?

Or maybe every broadcaster is wrong and you’re correct.

[Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach]

2 minutes ago, Cardle is Magic said:

Or maybe every broadcaster is wrong and you’re correct.

That is correct. 

There is no rationale for displaying players at the opposite side they play on. This is a hill I'm willing to self immolate on. 

'People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people'.

[Burnsythebinman]

nervous for every game at the moment. on paper and on form we should win it at a canter but the pressure is all on us to keep the run going

[Francesc Fabregas]

50 minutes ago, Burnsythebinman said:

nervous for every game at the moment. on paper and on form we should win it at a canter but the pressure is all on us to keep the run going

Speaking after the weekend's win over the Spartans, Gary Naysmith said they prepared for that game in insolation - they weren't thinking about the winning streak or breaking records, just on how to beat what's in front of them - but it must be difficult not to look ahead and fancy your chances of breaking Rangers' run and maybe even Gretna's. As well as winning a league title, you have the opportunity to do something extraordinary at this level.

I hope I don't come across as arrogant or over-confident here, and I'm sure our players and our management team aren't getting carried away at this stage either, but overtaking Rangers' 11-game winning streak gives us another huge incentive to beat Stranraer on Saturday.

[Nigel Blackwell]

Is Ross Taylor available for this game?

[Neilly]

Yes. He's served his two game ban.

I would think Kirkpatrick will be back next week as well assuming he's had no reaction in training which would have us at our strongest squad wise going into the latter part of the season.

[Crazy Days]

Will there be any issues with the pitch being frozen?   Do not know how the weather affects a plastic pitch.

[Francesc Fabregas]

14 minutes ago, Crazy Days said:

Will there be any issues with the pitch being frozen?   Do not know how the weather affects a plastic pitch.

Hopefully the lads at Cutmasters can do the business on Saturday morning and keep our pitched salted and free of frost!

 

 

[Burnsythebinman]

the last of the below 0 weather moves on tonight and the weekend looks wet but well above freezing

[Moonball]

Very little between the sides today. We've been much improved with the new signings on board and injured players back, and probably should have taken something.

[warriors21]

Far from a vintage performance and not much between the teams, but it’s another 3 points and we extend our lead at the top, although we didn’t come out of it unscathed.

I hope Nicky Jamiesons injury isn’t bad, and Buchanan and Meechan both had some issues throughout.

Nats red was silly and probably the wrong decision (it was clumsy and awkward more than dangerous or malicious) but he still gave the atrociously bad Chris Fordyce a decision to make. The three of them were possibly the worst team of officials I’ve seen - I think Stranraer were denied a stonewall penalty shortly after Lynch came on.

Meechan was excellent and deserved his MOTM award, and there were 4 or 5 other very good performances. I also liked what Jacobs and Rodden brought when they came on.

What happened with the situation when Orr went off but came back on? Did the officials prevent an ineligible player coming on?

[Dundee Hibernian]

25 minutes ago, warriors21 said:

What happened with the situation when Orr went off but came back on? Did the officials prevent an ineligible player coming on?

Agree with what you've written, and the part above was a puzzle: I thought the assistant (really, the linesman) had suffered a broken pencil, but your guess makes more sense.

To win when playing poorly is the sign of a good side, so goes the saying, but that may be a costly victory given the players potentially missing the next fixture at Balmoor. 

Finally, for the referee to only card Stenhousemuir players, at an average of a card per three fouls, but swerve bookings for the visitors, was another puzzle. 

[Crazy Days]

Second half was not pretty but job done. Referee was atrocious but Nat has only himself to blame and opens the door for someone to stake a claim.

[Francesc Fabregas]

First of all: fair play to the players and management for keeping this run going! Twelve consecutive wins is an incredible achievement and everyone at Stenhousemuir FC should be delighted. To beat Rangers' record of 11 back-to-back victories from the 2012/13 season is remarkable and I hope we can somehow close in on, and overtake, Gretna's benchmark of 14.

We will, however, have to play a lot better if we want to win at Peterhead next weekend. That was perhaps the poorest performance of the run. There were some nice moments here and there, particularly in the five-minute spell around the goal, but the game was a little too chaotic for my liking and a better side could have taken advantage of our slackness, especially in the second half when we struggled to clear our lines and get a foot on the ball. Stranraer were miles better today than on their previous visit to Ochilview - Chris McQueen had a strong game at centre-back, Dylan Forrest was probably the best player on the park, Chris Johnston showed some neat touches before tiring - but their lack of a credible striker thwarted any hopes of truly breaching Stenny's defence; Darren Jamieson was, once again, largely unbothered in goal. Tam Orr looked up for it, trying his luck from range a couple of times early on, but he just could not get the better of Nicky Jamieson. Outmuscled at every turn, Orr would nudge and barge into his opponent in a doomed bid to put him off. It didn't work and his most noticeable contribution after the interval was the confused substitution. Stranraer are a handy side, pleasing on the eye, but a lack of physicality across the board will see them finish in mid-table.

Ross Meechan was Stenhousemuir's best player, setting up the unfortunate Kyle Girvan to deflect the ball into his own net, and looked confident as he motored up and down the flank all afternoon. Kinlay Bilham played well at left-back, Mikey Anderson was decent in midfield and Matty Aitken got through a power of work up front, especially during the interval. Kyle Jacobs looked the part when he came on and didn't waste a single ball during his brief second-half cameo. I didn't think much of the referee, who seemed to let a lot of calls go in the visitors' favour, but he was probably right to send off Nat Wedderburn, who recklessly flew through the air to wipe out his opponent at the death (that said, I'd like to see it again, and I do wonder if the club will look to have the decision overturned). If Wedderburn is unavailable, Jacobs is a very capable stand-in. Another concern is Nicky Jamieson's injury - he seems to have hurt his hamstring and will be a doubt for next week's match. Meechan appeared to hurt his shoulder and Gregor Buchanan was limping at points, and I hope the pair are okay. This might expedite the need for defensive cover from the transfer market.

I don't think it can be overstated just how good our defence is. Even when we're not playing well elsewhere, you can always rely on our back five to see us over the line. We've kept 13 clean sheets in 21 league matches, an extraordinary record, and they're perhaps the primary reason why we're in this position. Long may it continue!