East Kilbride v Stranraer

[DiegoDiego]

32 minutes ago, Tattie36 said:

ambitious non league sides

The most insidious euphemism in Scottish football.

[shawfield shed boy]

Delighted EK and their half a mini bus will enjoy another season in LL

Well done stranraer

[Monkey Tennis]

8 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Glad I decided to pop along the A75 now. Well done Stranraer. Thoroughly deserved.

Ach, I'd toyed with heading through for this myself, but decided against it on the admirable premise that I couldn't really be arsed.

Wish I'd gone now.  It sounds really memorable.

[RutherGlen]

Where does EK's money come from anyway? It can't all be from a small chain of chicken shops, surely?

[RutherGlen]

12 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Right then, how long do we have.......... whilst there wasn't much actual footballing quality that was one of the best games I've seen for entertainment in a very long time. Glad I decided to pop along the A75 now. Well done Stranraer. Thoroughly deserved.

EK for me were well on top early on, dominating the ball for the first 25 minutes or so but other than an offside effort Budanaukas fumbled into his own net they did nothing with it. Midway through the first half Stranraer started to get on top. Not with any great football, just getting the ball up the wings and into the box and EK seemed clueless at how to stop it. Opening goal was an absolute worldy from Gallagher. Half cleared corner struck across himself on the full volley over the keeper and in at the far corner. Stranraer could and maybe should have added one or two more before the interval.

You'd have thought EK would come out guns blazing but the 2nd half was the complete opposite of the first. It was Stranraer who continued to dominate and in the first 20 minutes or so they must have missed 4 or 5 gilt edged chances to go two up. And then it turned on its head again. I think the Stranraer legs went. There were a few obviously cramping up and the subs, with the exception of Orr who is slow but effective weren't as good as the players they replaced. Matty Grant and Dean Hawkshaw had been running things for Stranraer but they both ran out of steam. The boy Gilmartin who replaced Grant genuinely looked like a competition winner. Every touch gave the ball away or shanked it out of the pitch! More on him later.

EK took over and headed an equaliser from close range. At which point you could only see one winner. With about 2 minutes to go Joao Balde missed the easiest sitter I've ever seen. I'm still incredulous he missed. For the only time all game the two Stranraer centre backs, Ross and McQueen, misjudged a cross ball and the ball dropped for Balde all on his own five yards out and he somehow shanked it wide. I'd have scored!

By extra time Stranraer were out on their feet and it was a question of when EK would score. And yet they didn't. Budanaukas must have made 3 or 4 outstanding saves. The centre backs were strong and they hung on. With 5 mins to go our man Balde managed his 2nd entrant in Worst Miss of the Season in the same game! Clean through on goal with SPFL status beckoning he missed the target by about 3 yards! It cost them big time. Out of nowhere Stranraer wriggled through for a half chance It was smuggled wide for a corner and when it came in somehow Craig Ross bundled it in at the back post. Didn't look the cleanest of headers, nobody cares though. It went in. There were scenes.

For good measure as EK desperately tried to push for an equaliser Stranraer broke again. They had a man over but opted to go to the corner flag unsurprisingly. Except somehow he wriglged out of the corner flag area leaving two EK players trailing, laid it back to everyone's favourite competition winner sub and he got it bang on the money, curling a shot round Truesdale (who was showing him two thirds of the goal to be fair) and it was done.

For good measure we then had a complete heads gone. Separate post on that in a minute. EK had a coach sent off and then Lewis Spence who actually swung a blow at referee Craig Napier, albeit he clearly didn't know it was the ref who had shoved him away from a confrontation when he turned ans swung out at him. He had to go too (somehow via a 2nd yellow rather than straight red).

Again, well done Stranraer. Over 120 minutes they had the better chances and deserved to win. They should have been out of sight in the middle of the game but Balde will be haunted by those misses in the end.

Thanks for the comprehensive report. Roughly how many EK fans were in attendance?

[Only one David Marsh]

Just now, RutherGlen said:

Where does EK's money come from anyway? It can't all be from a small chain of chicken shops, surely?

Kean Brothers

[Skyline Drifter]

On a separate note I think both clubs should have a look at themselves for what was ultimately the incident after the 3rd Stranraer goal, but it had been brewing the whole game. Given the shenanigans of the Clyde game we all saw on video, a little ill feeling was hardly unforseeable. I found it bizarre Stranraer didn't station a Steward behind or next to the EK bench. There was abuse flying from the stands to the bench and back and forth the whole game and at least two of the coaches reacted badly to it and should be having a look at themselves (wasn't either Kennedy or Ferry. Tall bald guy and the chunky one who was eventually red carded in the match ending incident). Not having any stewards or staff in the area was simply asking for trouble.

The EK bench were obviously getting abuse from the stands but their reaction to the equaliser inflamed the whole thing to another level with a multitude of GIRFUY's and Kennedy himself jumping on the stand wall to gesture at the crowd behind (it may possibly have been aimed as much at his own Directors, but it was out of order either way).

When Stranraer took the lead again, grown men were charging yards along the stand to bang on the dugout and abuse the EK coaches which they shouldn't be doing of course but the EK coaches brought it on themselves and Stranraer should have been ready for that and had Safety staff there. When the 3rd goal finished it in hindsight Napier should maybe just have blown the final whistle. It was already the 121st minute. Playing on led to a stramash right in fronto of the EK dugout which led to staff from both clubs piling onto the pitch and a lot of pushing shoving, etc. Referee Craig Napier shoved Lewis Spence away from a confrontation and Spence swung a blow at him (didn't connect). I'm not sure what the chubby EK coach did to get red carded, you had to have eyes everywhere at that point to see what was happening. Scott Robertson was having to be restrained by Stranraer staff from going for someone on the EK bench (may have been the same guy).

Hilariously bonkers but entirely foreseeable and should have been better dealt with by, well, pretty much everyone really. I thought Craig Napier had a really good game in a fixture that was simmering throughout but he could have dealt with the incident at the end better.

[Monkey Tennis]

2 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

The most insidious euphemism in Scottish football.

Yes, totally.

In this context, the notion of 'ambition' should be thoroughly discredited. 

 

Still we get treated to it though.

[RutherGlen]

1 minute ago, Skyline Drifter said:

On a separate note I think both clubs should have a look at themselves for what was ultimately the incident after the 3rd Stranraer goal, but it had been brewing the whole game. Given the shenanigans of the Clyde game we all saw on video, a little ill feeling was hardly unforseeable. I found it bizarre Stranraer didn't station a Steward behind or next to the EK bench. There was abuse flying from the stands to the bench and back and forth the whole game and at least two of the coaches reacted badly to it and should be having a look at themselves (wasn't either Kennedy or Ferry. Tall bald guy and the chunky one who was eventually red carded in the match ending incident). Not having any stewards or staff in the area was simply asking for trouble.

The EK bench were obviously getting abuse from the stands but their reaction to the equaliser inflamed the whole thing to another level with a multitude of GIRFUY's and Kennedy himself jumping on the stand wall to gesture at the crowd behind (it may possibly have been aimed as much at his own Directors, but it was out of order either way).

When Stranraer took the lead again, grown men were charging yards along the stand to bang on the dugout and abuse the EK coaches which they shouldn't be doing of course but the EK coaches brought it on themselves and Stranraer should have been ready for that and had Safety staff there. When the 3rd goal finished it in hindsight Napier should maybe just have blown the final whistle. It was already the 121st minute. Playing on led to a stramash right in fronto of the EK dugout which led to staff from both clubs piling onto the pitch and a lot of pushing shoving, etc. Referee Craig Napier shoved Lewis Spence away from a confrontation and Spence swung a blow at him (didn't connect). I'm not sure what the chubby EK coach did to get red carded, you had to have eyes everywhere at that point to see what was happening. Scott Robertson was having to be restrained by Stranraer staff from going for someone on the EK bench (may have been the same guy).

Hilariously bonkers but entirely foreseeable and should have been better dealt with by, well, pretty much everyone really. I thought Craig Napier had a really good game in a fixture that was simmering throughout but he could have dealt with the incident at the end better.

Sounds like this alone was worth the price of admission.

[DA Baracus]

3 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

On a separate note I think both clubs should have a look at themselves for what was ultimately the incident after the 3rd Stranraer goal, but it had been brewing the whole game. Given the shenanigans of the Clyde game we all saw on video, a little ill feeling was hardly unforseeable. I found it bizarre Stranraer didn't station a Steward behind or next to the EK bench. There was abuse flying from the stands to the bench and back and forth the whole game and at least two of the coaches reacted badly to it and should be having a look at themselves (wasn't either Kennedy or Ferry. Tall bald guy and the chunky one who was eventually red carded in the match ending incident). Not having any stewards or staff in the area was simply asking for trouble.

The EK bench were obviously getting abuse from the stands but their reaction to the equaliser inflamed the whole thing to another level with a multitude of GIRFUY's and Kennedy himself jumping on the stand wall to gesture at the crowd behind (it may possibly have been aimed as much at his own Directors, but it was out of order either way).

When Stranraer took the lead again, grown men were charging yards along the stand to bang on the dugout and abuse the EK coaches which they shouldn't be doing of course but the EK coaches brought it on themselves and Stranraer should have been ready for that and had Safety staff there. When the 3rd goal finished it in hindsight Napier should maybe just have blown the final whistle. It was already the 121st minute. Playing on led to a stramash right in fronto of the EK dugout which led to staff from both clubs piling onto the pitch and a lot of pushing shoving, etc. Referee Craig Napier shoved Lewis Spence away from a confrontation and Spence swung a blow at him (didn't connect). I'm not sure what the chubby EK coach did to get red carded, you had to have eyes everywhere at that point to see what was happening. Scott Robertson was having to be restrained by Stranraer staff from going for someone on the EK bench (may have been the same guy).

Hilariously bonkers but entirely foreseeable and should have been better dealt with by, well, pretty much everyone really. I thought Craig Napier had a really good game in a fixture that was simmering throughout but he could have dealt with the incident at the end better.

This sound incredible. I hope there's footage.

[Sparticus]

Great Stranraer have escaped here

Make no mistake Stranraer may not have seen league football for decades if ever again.

The pyramid really is a great thing and the lowland league is still becoming a fantastic league (They need to end b teams it isnt for Scotland)

I’d rather see teams such as Tranent Linlithgow R Boness win their place first and let the plastic clubs become less plastic.

Not certain the west of Scotland clubs are good enough at the moment anyway.

Well done Stranraer

[oneteaminglasgow]

4 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

On a separate note I think both clubs should have a look at themselves for what was ultimately the incident after the 3rd Stranraer goal, but it had been brewing the whole game. Given the shenanigans of the Clyde game we all saw on video, a little ill feeling was hardly unforseeable. I found it bizarre Stranraer didn't station a Steward behind or next to the EK bench. There was abuse flying from the stands to the bench and back and forth the whole game and at least two of the coaches reacted badly to it and should be having a look at themselves (wasn't either Kennedy or Ferry. Tall bald guy and the chunky one who was eventually red carded in the match ending incident). Not having any stewards or staff in the area was simply asking for trouble.

The EK bench were obviously getting abuse from the stands but their reaction to the equaliser inflamed the whole thing to another level with a multitude of GIRFUY's and Kennedy himself jumping on the stand wall to gesture at the crowd behind (it may possibly have been aimed as much at his own Directors, but it was out of order either way).

When Stranraer took the lead again, grown men were charging yards along the stand to bang on the dugout and abuse the EK coaches which they shouldn't be doing of course but the EK coaches brought it on themselves and Stranraer should have been ready for that and had Safety staff there. When the 3rd goal finished it in hindsight Napier should maybe just have blown the final whistle. It was already the 121st minute. Playing on led to a stramash right in fronto of the EK dugout which led to staff from both clubs piling onto the pitch and a lot of pushing shoving, etc. Referee Craig Napier shoved Lewis Spence away from a confrontation and Spence swung a blow at him (didn't connect). I'm not sure what the chubby EK coach did to get red carded, you had to have eyes everywhere at that point to see what was happening. Scott Robertson was having to be restrained by Stranraer staff from going for someone on the EK bench (may have been the same guy).

Hilariously bonkers but entirely foreseeable and should have been better dealt with by, well, pretty much everyone really. I thought Craig Napier had a really good game in a fixture that was simmering throughout but he could have dealt with the incident at the end better.

I have absolutely no idea why you’d want this prevented. 

[Skyline Drifter]

4 minutes ago, RutherGlen said:

Sounds like this alone was worth the price of admission.

Oh, it was. Hilariously so.

But as someone who works in football I can't help but see it all as so easily preventable. The dugouts being touchable from the stand isn't an ideal scenario at Stranraer but I don't know what they do about it.

3 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

This sound incredible. I hope there's footage.

Stranraer definitely filmed it. Given they merrily released the Clyde shenanigans surely they'll do this too.

[THE_warrior]

What was the estimated attendance not just for the away fans but home fans aswell?

[Vimto90]

19 minutes ago, Blue1870 said:

Get it right up the grim reaper. Thanks for coming.clown

Imagine getting riled over someone in a costume. Ta rid neck. 

 

Well done on staying up. Get it right up Mick Kennedy  

[DeadStar]

Pump this egg EK

[Skyline Drifter]

10 minutes ago, RutherGlen said:

Thanks for the comprehensive report. Roughly how many EK fans were in attendance?

 

Just now, THE_warrior said:

What was the estimated attendance not just for the away fans but home fans aswell?

They announced an attendance just after half time but the Stranraer tannoy's worse than ours and I couldn't make out a word the guy said. I had a team line and listened to him read out the teams and it sounded like they'd named two entirely different elevens to what I had! It ended in a 1 if that helps?

I'd say EK had about 350 - 400 there maybe.

Main Stand which holds 1,500 was pretty full. Must have been well over 1,000 in there. And another 500 or so in the home terrace. I'd have assumed it was over 2,000. Anyone know?

[AUcal]

15 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

On a separate note I think both clubs should have a look at themselves for what was ultimately the incident after the 3rd Stranraer goal, but it had been brewing the whole game. Given the shenanigans of the Clyde game we all saw on video, a little ill feeling was hardly unforseeable. I found it bizarre Stranraer didn't station a Steward behind or next to the EK bench. There was abuse flying from the stands to the bench and back and forth the whole game and at least two of the coaches reacted badly to it and should be having a look at themselves (wasn't either Kennedy or Ferry. Tall bald guy and the chunky one who was eventually red carded in the match ending incident). Not having any stewards or staff in the area was simply asking for trouble.

The EK bench were obviously getting abuse from the stands but their reaction to the equaliser inflamed the whole thing to another level with a multitude of GIRFUY's and Kennedy himself jumping on the stand wall to gesture at the crowd behind (it may possibly have been aimed as much at his own Directors, but it was out of order either way).

When Stranraer took the lead again, grown men were charging yards along the stand to bang on the dugout and abuse the EK coaches which they shouldn't be doing of course but the EK coaches brought it on themselves and Stranraer should have been ready for that and had Safety staff there. When the 3rd goal finished it in hindsight Napier should maybe just have blown the final whistle. It was already the 121st minute. Playing on led to a stramash right in fronto of the EK dugout which led to staff from both clubs piling onto the pitch and a lot of pushing shoving, etc. Referee Craig Napier shoved Lewis Spence away from a confrontation and Spence swung a blow at him (didn't connect). I'm not sure what the chubby EK coach did to get red carded, you had to have eyes everywhere at that point to see what was happening. Scott Robertson was having to be restrained by Stranraer staff from going for someone on the EK bench (may have been the same guy).

Hilariously bonkers but entirely foreseeable and should have been better dealt with by, well, pretty much everyone really. I thought Craig Napier had a really good game in a fixture that was simmering throughout but he could have dealt with the incident at the end better.

Aye. All of this.

Probably the best £12 I've ever spent tbh.

[RutherGlen]

1 minute ago, Skyline Drifter said:

 

They announced an attendance just after half time but the Stranraer tannoy's worse than ours and I couldn't make out a word the guy said. I had a team line and listened to him read out the teams and it sounded like they'd named two entirely different elevens to what I had! It ended in a 1 if that helps?

I'd say EK had about 350 - 400 there maybe.

Main Stand which holds 1,500 was pretty full. Must have been well over 1,000 in there. And another 500 or so in the home terrace. I'd have assumed it was over 2,000. Anyone know?

I didn't think they had anywhere near that many fans. Maybe the chicken guy and/or the Keans paid people to attend?

[Spyro]

1 minute ago, RutherGlen said:

I didn't think they had anywhere near that many fans. Maybe the chicken guy and/or the Keans paid people to attend?

Most of them couldn't get tickets into Tynecastle so just tagged along. More podcast supporters than actual EK supporters