Stenhousemuir -vs- Dumbarton (Saturday 3 February 2024)

[Francesc Fabregas]

A very large fixture lies in wait as Stenhousemuir welcome Dumbarton to Ochilview on Saturday. The home side's incredible 12-game winning streak came to an end at Peterhead on Saturday, while Dumbarton put a series of underwhelming results behind them by beating Elgin City. The previous encounters between the sides have been engaging, with the Sons winning 4-2 in August and Stenny grabbing a late victory at the Rock in December, and I have high hopes for this one.

Although Stenhousemuir still enjoy a handsome lead at the top of the table, I feel it's imperative we get the three points here. A win would not only re-establish our title-winning credentials (and ease my anxieties!) but it would also definitively knock Dumbarton out of the race. They have a capable group of players but, like up at Balmoor, Nicky Jamieson and Nat Wedderburn are going to be big losses. I think we struggled without them, Jamieson especially, but we'll have to make do and mend with Edin Lynch and Kyle Jacobs continuing to deputise for them. I also want to see more from Matty Aitken here - he's important to how this team functions and when he's not at it, everyone's poorer for it; we saw this on Saturday.

I hope Ross Taylor's back in contention following an illness as he's a very useful option from the bench.

Let's go with:

- Matty Aitken -

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

- Mikey Anderson - Kyle Jacobs -

- Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Edin Lynch - Ross Meechan -

- Darren Jamieson -

I do fancy us for this one but I'm under no illusions how hard a game it's likely to be. Dumbarton blitzed us back in August and were unfortunate not to have taken a point in December, so we'll need to be at our best to win. I'll see you all there!

[true fan]

Any news on Nicky Jamieson?

[Francesc Fabregas]

Speaking after the Peterhead match, Gary Naysmith said Nicky Jamieson will definitely miss the upcoming game with Dumbarton but could be back in contention for East Fife the following weekend.

[Silverton End]

Maybe with Stenhousemuir missing a couple of players & us having some fresh faces in the squad we can get something at Ochilview.

All depends on Stevie Ranieri though & his ability to choose the correct starting XI.....

[The Moonster]

It's the absolute last chance for this group of players if they want to be involved in a title race, anything other than 3 points consigns us to the play offs at best. Since Newbury and Hogarth have come in we've only conceded one goal across 2 games so I'm hopeful we can keep things tight here too. Taylor up against Lennon could be an intriguing battle. Need to take advantage of Stenny missing some guys whilst we seem to have plugged the gaps caused by our injured players. 

I haven't attended an away game all season but I may well ask the gaffer for a day pass and jump in the car for this one.

[Jan Vojáček]

As Moonster says, this is somewhere beyond last chance saloon for us. We need to hope we can get a win and that starts some sort of Stenhousemuir death spiral, where they suddenly turn into Dumbarton for the final 16 games of last season.

I don't think that will happen. But another defeat for Stenny might just start to unsettle their very stable ship a wee bit and give the rest of us some excitement for a few weeks at least.

I'm looking forward to the game ; I think it'll be a good test of our January additions and give us a good marker of how we're shaping up and what they are made of.

Cian Newbury has been superb since he arrived against some tricky opponents ; Rory McAllister, Kieran McGachie (and Bonnyrigg's park) then Dayshonne Golding. But Matty Aitken will be his sternest test so far; he's clever at using his body, good in the air and on fire in front of goal. Which are all McAllister traits, but he's got a bit more agility and pace about him. So it's going to be interesting to see how he does.

It's a good test of Jay Hogarth too. I like most of what I see from him, aside from how he deals with crosses - where he seems a bit flappy. Stenny are probably the biggest threat from corners in the division (albeit Jamieson being out takes that down a fair bit). I have been really impressed by his handling and composure so far, but this is likely to be a busy afternoon for him. Family pride at stake too, with his old man Stenny's goalkeeper coach.

Gallagher Lennon will likely be a busy man with the likes of Euan O'Reilly and Ross Taylor to face. I spoke to him on Saturday and, my God, is he the most mature 18-year-old I think I've ever encountered. I'd imagine he'll have done some extensive homework on how best to play them, but he didn't look the quickest. And I hope he knows how to play around that; pace can cover a multitude of sins in a defender. Especially a full-back.

I'd like to see us stick with the same side that faced Elgin, I don't see any reason to change it and I think we're at the stage where we need to start putting out a settled team for a run of games again.

Jay Hogarth

Carlo Pignatiello Cian Newbury Sean Crighton Gallagher Lennon

Kalvin Orsi Finlay Gray Ryan Blair Tony Wallace

Ryan Wallace

Michael Ruth

That would leave us with: Paddy O'Neil, Aron Lynas, Blair Malcolm, Div Wilson, Luca Vata, Jinky Hilton and Marc Kelly in reserve. Plus the new signing due this week (assuming that gets across the line).

[O'Kelly Isley III]

39 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

As Moonster says, this is somewhere beyond last chance saloon for us. We need to hope we can get a win and that starts some sort of Stenhousemuir death spiral, where they suddenly turn into Dumbarton for the final 16 games of last season.

I don't think that will happen. But another defeat for Stenny might just start to unsettle their very stable ship a wee bit and give the rest of us some excitement for a few weeks at least.

I'm looking forward to the game ; I think it'll be a good test of our January additions and give us a good marker of how we're shaping up and what they are made of.

Cian Newbury has been superb since he arrived against some tricky opponents ; Rory McAllister, Kieran McGachie (and Bonnyrigg's park) then Dayshonne Golding. But Matty Aitken will be his sternest test so far; he's clever at using his body, good in the air and on fire in front of goal. Which are all McAllister traits, but he's got a bit more agility and pace about him. So it's going to be interesting to see how he does.

It's a good test of Jay Hogarth too. I like most of what I see from him, aside from how he deals with crosses - where he seems a bit flappy. Stenny are probably the biggest threat from corners in the division (albeit Jamieson being out takes that down a fair bit). I have been really impressed by his handling and composure so far, but this is likely to be a busy afternoon for him. Family pride at stake too, with his old man Stenny's goalkeeper coach.

Gallagher Lennon will likely be a busy man with the likes of Euan O'Reilly and Ross Taylor to face. I spoke to him on Saturday and, my God, is he the most mature 18-year-old I think I've ever encountered. I'd imagine he'll have done some extensive homework on how best to play them, but he didn't look the quickest. And I hope he knows how to play around that; pace can cover a multitude of sins in a defender. Especially a full-back.

I'd like to see us stick with the same side that faced Elgin, I don't see any reason to change it and I think we're at the stage where we need to start putting out a settled team for a run of games again.

Jay Hogarth

Carlo Pignatiello Cian Newbury Sean Crighton Gallagher Lennon

Kalvin Orsi Finlay Gray Ryan Blair Tony Wallace

Ryan Wallace

Michael Ruth

That would leave us with: Paddy O'Neil, Aron Lynas, Blair Malcolm, Div Wilson, Luca Vata, Jinky Hilton and Marc Kelly in reserve. Plus the new signing due this week (assuming that gets across the line).

Not bad Jan, but the 'Blair' should have been in front of 'Malcolm' and not behind 'Ryan'.

[Jan Vojáček]

2 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

Not bad Jan, but the 'Blair' should have been in front of 'Malcolm' and not behind 'Ryan'.

Ryan Blair had a good game up at Elgin I thought. He was breaking play up really well especially, so I'd be keeping him in the side for this one. With it being on an astro park it'll suit him too.

Blair Malcolm has shown he can be a good destroyer, but I've just not been convinced at all with the way he uses the ball. And that's been the case for a good few weeks now; he'd battle hard to win it back impressively. Then just pass it straight to an opposition player.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

Ryan Blair has failed to convince me over a season and a half.  He cost us very badly in the East Fife game, and the only comparable incident with Malcolm was when he went on his arse against Banks O'Dee, a game we went on to win.  

We can agree to disagree but we both know who'll be the more likely to start at Ochilview .

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

39 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

Not bad Jan, but the 'Blair' should have been in front of 'Malcolm' and not behind 'Ryan'.

I’ll be honest, Blair Malcolm has been stinking the midfield out for a good while now. I’m nae fan of Ryan Blair personally but I’m not sure Malcolm deserves to start, especially if Ryan Blair played well against Elgin. I get that he isn’t the most mobile but with Finlay Gray alongside him he shouldn’t need to be. Big Wedderburn turns like a bus and by all accounts he’s been in great form for our opponents.

[squeezebox-son]

1 hour ago, Jan Vojáček said:

Ryan Blair had a good game up at Elgin I thought. He was breaking play up really well especially, so I'd be keeping him in the side for this one. With it being on an astro park it'll suit him too.

Blair Malcolm has shown he can be a good destroyer, but I've just not been convinced at all with the way he uses the ball. And that's been the case for a good few weeks now; he'd battle hard to win it back impressively. Then just pass it straight to an opposition player.

If you hadn't put names in this, I'd think you were describing Ryan Blair. His use of the ball is dreadful and he is far too slow and lethargic all around. Add to that, his set pieces are awful 90% of the time. Given that apparently dead balls and passing are meant to be his strengths, i don't see what he has brought to the team for a long time now.

As KIT says, Blair Malcolm is far from the perfect replacement and, despite having so many options in the middle of the park, we lack the perfect partner for Fin. But Ryan has had a year and a half, and doesn't really impress me very often (Rangers game he done well but that was the first this season), whereas, Malcolm has been in and out of the team and only been here for 6 months.

What would you give for a peak Kevin Nichol or Garry Fleming. Both would be perfect in that area alongside Finlay Gray! I know the latter spent most of his time further up the pitch, but he was a very handy player in the middle of the park at times too.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

3 minutes ago, squeezebox-son said:

But Ryan has had a year and a half, and doesn't really impress me very often (Rangers game he done well but that was the first this season), whereas, Malcolm has been in and out of the team and only been here for 6 months.

I’d agree that neither are great options at the minute but I think a lot of people are forgetting how pivotol Ryan Blair was during the first half of last season. His form tailed off badly (along with everybody elses) but he was arguably our most important player during that run that saw us open up a huge gap at the top of the league. I think it’s unfair to suggest he’s been pish for the entire time he’s been here.

It’s not like Blair Malcolm has only played a handful of games and we are unable to judge him as a player, he’s made 22 appearances for us. He started well but his form has been stinkin’ for a while now and I don’t think there can be any argument whatsoever regarding who is a better passer of the ball.

FWIW if Durnan wasn’t a complete crock I wouldn’t be against starting Newbury in centre midfield. I think he looks very comfortable on the ball and never shirks a tackle. Perhaps that will be an option towards the end of the season.

[squeezebox-son]

3 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

I’d agree that neither are great options at the minute but I think a lot of people are forgetting how pivotol Ryan Blair was during the first half of last season. His form tailed off badly (along with everybody elses) but he was arguably our most important player during that run that saw us open up a huge gap at the top of the league. I think it’s unfair to suggest he’s been pish for the entire time he’s been here.

It’s not like Blair Malcolm has only played a handful of games and we are unable to judge him as a player, he’s made 22 appearances for us. He started well but his form has been stinkin’ for a while now and I don’t think there can be any argument whatsoever regarding who is a better passer of the ball.

FWIW if Durnan wasn’t a complete crock I wouldn’t be against starting Newbury in centre midfield. I think he looks very comfortable on the ball and never shirks a tackle. Perhaps that will be an option towards the end of the season.

I've never really rated Ryan Blair as highly as some others, something I've never hidden. But, you can't play him now, based on (on your opinion) good form from well over a year ago now.

I wonder, given how bad we've been defensively for a while now anyway, whether we should put Div Wilson in there. He's shown better form more recently than Ryan Blair and has way more in his legs than both of the options we're discussing, without being as rash and chaotic as Malcolm. 

I'd agree with your final point. I think he'd be perfect in that role.

[Jan Vojáček]

Blair's been poor this season, but he played well up at Elgin so deserves to keep his place is more my point. Over the course of the season, Malcolm has been better - but Blair put in a good showing in a 1-0 victory, including a block after about 85 minutes that denied a clear goal. He deserves to keep his spot for that alone if nothing else. Imagine Faz explaining to him that he was dropped - despite playing well in the game previous for someone who does a broadly similar job.

I actually think that the Malcolm x Gray combo was trying to be Nicol x Agnew, but it was let down on two key areas. Neither are as good at keeping the ball. Kevin Nicol knew his limitations and very rarely lost the ball, most of the time he'd win it back, give it to Aggy and we'd start playing.

But neither Ryan Blair or Blair Malcolm keep it that simple. Both try and do things that break down 80 percent of the time. The reason they do that? Finlay Gray isn't Aggy. He's much quicker, much more direct, much more box-to-box. But his use of the ball (which has improved a hell  of a lot this season imo) isn't as good as Aggy's - although lets be fair, Aggy was probably the best player in the league above at the time, so that's to be expected.

Kevin Nicol knew he could give the ball to Aggy and he'd unlock a defence with one clever, raking pass. Finlay Gray can't really do that (certainly not with a pass, with a surging run or a cross, but not a pass). So it falls down when he tries and loses possession, or the other midfielder tries and loses the ball. You need to have one midfielder taking risks and giving the ball away (which is why Hutton x Carswell never worked), but not both.

Div Wilson is probably the most Aggy-like player we have in our squad in terms of his vision, touch and range of passing. But he's so inconsistent. Ideally you'd have him in a midfield three to pull the strings a bit, with Gray darting about and a destroyer behind doing the ugly stuff (like we did for large spells last season). But then it becomes a bit defensive for more liking and you'd have to drop Ryan Wallace, who has made himself pretty much indispensable this season after a very hit and miss first year.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

And there we have the last two plus years for Dumbarton captured in a nutshell; this is a Stenny v Sons thread and the last ten posts (now make that eleven) are from Sons fans serving only to highlight how we have never achieved a settled or balanced midfield over that time.  And therein lies the nub of the team's problems, as it's the area which protects the back line and creates for the forwards.

The only thing I will add is that mention must be made of Kalvin Orsi, lovely guy but possibly the living embodiment of our inconsistency in this area.  But he is a winger, and one high on the mercurial scale, so an honourable exemption may be in order.

Edited January 29 by O'Kelly Isley III

[Nigel Blackwell]

Saturday is obviously a big game for  both clubs, however, after Saturday we will have played Dumbo, Spartans and Peterhead three times each. In other words we will only have to face each club one more time, and only one of those is away from home. So, in theory, we have the easier run in. In theory.

[FifeSons]

The only mention of the title in this thread should be if it's in the same sentence as 'Congratulations Stenhousemuir'.

[squeezebox-son]

I know he blows hot and cold but, if Kalvin is out today, I think we will miss him quite a bit. That partnership down the right is key to so much we do well. I wonder who would come in on that right hand side. I assume maybe one of the January recruits, at this stage, and hope it isn't a case of shunting Gray or Div Wilson out on the wing.

[Jan Vojáček]

8 minutes ago, squeezebox-son said:

I know he blows hot and cold but, if Kalvin is out today, I think we will miss him quite a bit. That partnership down the right is key to so much we do well. I wonder who would come in on that right hand side. I assume maybe one of the January recruits, at this stage, and hope it isn't a case of shunting Gray or Div Wilson out on the wing.

Totally agree. He was simultaneously our best and worst player last week.

Everytime he got the ball he drove at the defence and looked to make something happen. He set up the goal and went on a crazy run before sending Mikey Ruth in to hit he post.

The fact that every other time he lost the ball he either tried to beat a man four times and was tackled, shanked it out of play or ran down a blind alley and lost possession is probably why he's in League Two. But wingers are about entertainment, and Kalvin is someone who pretty much guarantees that.

In saying all that, we now have both Marc Kelly and Aaron Healy who can play wide. And I'm optimistic about what they can both bring. It's certainly an area where we look a good bit stronger on paper than having Ross MacLean there, or pushing someone like Gray/Div or Jinky out wide where they clearly aren't comfortable.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

23 minutes ago, squeezebox-son said:

I know he blows hot and cold but, if Kalvin is out today, I think we will miss him quite a bit. That partnership down the right is key to so much we do well. I wonder who would come in on that right hand side. I assume maybe one of the January recruits, at this stage, and hope it isn't a case of shunting Gray or Div Wilson out on the wing.

I know Healy is considered a left sided player but I wouldn’t think twice about flinging him in today. By the sounds of things he’s skillfull and direct so would be more of a like for like replacement.