BullyWeeStonehouse Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Fair play to him For changing it at HT as we dominated the second half. We can’t keep waiting on HT to sort ourselves out, though… 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaleyReinhart Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Lucky to be level at half time and unlucky not to win but more at full time. Think the wind had a huge impact today. Take it but needs to be much better moving forward. Felt taking Scullion off totally blew the momentum too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Replays Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Huge improvement second half and we gave Stranraer a bit of a battering in the second half. The triple sub at half time (and the wind advantage) made a big difference. Kyle Connell should start every week for me. Still some big room for improvement but it’s a decent start to the season. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_bully_wee Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 The HT subs all contributed in their own way and I think we should be regarding Connell as a starter now, either in that slightly withdrawn role or as the centre forward proper; his general play is good enough for that and the free kicks, corners and throw-ins are the cherry on top. The decision to replace Scullion with Rennie was a bit of a strange one and left us looking a bit vulnerable in the latter stages, but on the flip side he was involved in the build-up to a few great chances that could've put us out of sight. Important three points and hopefully McCall is stumbling ever closer to finding the magic formula; the midweek dead rubber against Rangers' kids might help with that too. Stranraer weren't all that bad last season and it looks like they've improved in some areas with the additions of Russell and Foster (who was giving Hamilton a torrid time before his injury). Probably light of a quality central midfielder to replace Fleming/Forrest but there's enough there to suggest they won't be Club 42 this year at least. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue1870 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 The game that got away. We should have taken something from that match. Foster was causing havoc until injury forced him off. Huffed and puffed after that with Clyde's aerial threat causing us problems. This match was similar to last weeks v spartans. High balls cost us against spartans. We should have equalised but final ball was poor with clyde threatening on the break as we pushed forward. BTW that lino needs to give up. Clyde player looked 5 yards on at least with our player lying injured playing him on. Unreal. Shows the standard of officiating these days. Tough one to take today. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLClyde Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Think we deserved to win it, certainly the better side in the second half. That Foster looked a handy player so wasn’t disappointed to see him go off. We can’t keep needing to make 2/3 changes at half time, it’ll come back to bite at some point. Connell made the biggest difference and should absolutely start next week. Not sure Connelly did much more than Redfern who I thought looked alright when he got the ball, not helped by Houston’s pish first half showing. Him and Robson did look better in the second half. If we are going to play the ball out from the back, we need defenders more willing to carry it and midfielders looking like they want it more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullyWeeStonehouse Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 (edited) I still can’t get over that offside decision. Especially when the Stranraer player was lying down literally 10 yards in front of the lino! And why didn’t the ref wave play on and overturn his decision?! I agree taking Scullion off didn’t help us much as Rennie came on and barely broke into a jog, especially attempting to track back. Logan caused them issues and had a few good flick ons and touches. Connelly should’ve buried that one-on-one late on. Always amusing when a keeper time wastes the full game only to change his tune completely when he concedes. Edited August 10 by BullyWeeStonehouse 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDDYFRY Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 In the end, happy with that. First half we just couldn’t get going against the wind and as others say Big Foster was a bit of a handful, certainly not running riot as some seem to be saying. As expected Hamilton coped ok with him. Also don’t agree the Robson struggled, I thought he was very good actually (opinions of course). The 20-25 mins after the break we were very decent and credit for the changes made. That’s the huge difference this year, subs that can make a difference when required. Also grinding out a 1-0 win in those conditions were unthinkable in recent years. All in all an important result even this early, we really needed to get a win on the board early doors so we move onto next week. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David W Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 (edited) 12 minutes ago, FREDDYFRY said: In the end, happy with that. First half we just couldn’t get going against the wind and as others say Big Foster was a bit of a handful, certainly not running riot as some seem to be saying. As expected Hamilton coped ok with him. Also don’t agree the Robson struggled, I thought he was very good actually (opinions of course). The 20-25 mins after the break we were very decent and credit for the changes made. That’s the huge difference this year, subs that can make a difference when required. Also grinding out a 1-0 win in those conditions were unthinkable in recent years. All in all an important result even this early, we really needed to get a win on the board early doors so we move onto next week. Robson was good today. It goes without saying he's the best left back we've had in ages. Substitutes made a big difference and we should have scored more than one. The fact we won is down to having an excellent goalkeeper and a bench where we can throw on three game changing subs. Stranraer deserved a point but needed to score in the first half when they were the better side. We need to realise the importance of having a bit of height and physicality in this league. Particularly at set pieces. That team selection was a poor one and we were lucky Stranraer didn't get their early set piece past Robson on the line. Edited to add; that's the first time I've not left a game fuming at Kirkland. He had a good game. That linesman decision was quite funny given that it didn't cost us in the end; he will have noticed the injured boy eventually and wanted the earth to swallow him up. Edited August 10 by David W 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Sham Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Overall a deserved win I think. First half we struggled to get anything going with the wind causing issues. Foster going off limited Stranraer he looks a good player. An off day for Jordan Allan who struggled except for one positive run near the end of the first half. The changes at half time had a positive effect with us much more dangerous and on the front foot. Connell I feel in particular looked excellent and would like to see him start from now on. Connelly gave us much needed creativity and Dunnachie a threat throughout. Delighted with another clean sheet with Hamilton looking a class act as usual. Impressed with Robson what a difference having a proper full back in there. Houston decent defensively but struggled on the ball today, hopefully he settles in the coming weeks. Overall happy to take the points and hopefully the first win settles any ongoing nerves among the squad. Onwards to next week with a better idea of our strongest 11. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde01 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Agree with most of the comments above. I wonder if Howie is a better option to partner Hamilton at CB. McKay hasn’t done much wrong at all but I think Howie may be better at carrying the ball out from back and getting things moving. Connell caught the eye in particular during the second half. Far side linesman’s offside was awful but the near side lino had a few dubious calls too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhoonaman Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 48 minutes ago, Captain Sham said: An off day for Jordan Allan who struggled except for one positive run near the end of the first half. Disagree. Watching him today he was always on the shoulder of the defender and pointing and shouting to where he wanted the ball played. We just don’t have the player in midfield who is looking up and able to make those passes. Possibly why a more direct route via Dunnachie worked better in the second half. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLClyde Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 The one time Allan nearly got through to goal he beat 2 or 3 men but should’ve laid it off to the right, he was equally probably pissed off getting zero service until then though. Connelly should’ve buried that chance at the end, really poor finish. That offside decision in the first half he must’ve been 5 yards onside minimum, I honestly don’t know how a ref can’t overrule a blatantly obvious call. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Replays Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 You could argue we probably just about deserved to win that overall but Stranraer will certainly feel they should have taken something. After the fact, I think it's clear that the wind had an impact on the game and whilst hardly a monsoon, definitely contributed to the disparity in performance across the halves. We were very lucky not to be at least a goal down with Robson clearing off the line, Kinnear having three good saves, and a free-kick just missing. We did eventually settle down and had a couple of opportunities without anything to write home about. The offside decision against Allan was absolutely wild, though an obvious brain fart from the linesman, which thankfully didn't end up costing us. Half-time saw us make the triple substitution. Allan maybe a wee bit unfortunate to come off as he was very unlucky with the offside decision which would have seen him through, and he had another lung-bursting run which nearly paid off, alongside some decent attempts at linking the play. He's obviously needing a goal to get him going but I feel he gave a decent performance in the first-half. However, straight from kick-off, the three subs all made a difference. Dunachie added some much needed height and let us play further up the pitch, with the ball sticking more effectively. Connelly was threatening in the wide areas and he had a couple of wee moments where you could see the quality of his touch. Connell was bullish playing behind the striker and his aggression when carrying the ball was positive. His throw-ins and set pieces are a real bonus too. We should certainly have scored more than one ourselves after the break with Stranraer not threatening much at all other than an opportunity they should have done better with early doors, and a wee bit of pressure in our half late on. Of course, we absolutely should have made sure of the result when Connelly broke through 2 on 1 and opted to shoot which the keeper saved well. A Ray Grant goal is always a pleasant bonus given their infrequency. Houston struggled first half but was fine after the break and Robson had a good game. He's been a good signing and defended well at Forfar too, in my opinion. It's great to have options that can come on an change the game but we do have to start getting these calls right from the start. I wouldn't be against us starting something along the lines of this next Saturday: Kinnear Houston Howie/McKay (I'd prefer Howie) Hamilton Robson Murdoch Grant Connelly Connell (behind the striker like he played today) Scullion Allan/Dunachie We can play whoever we like on Wednesday as I probably won't be there (no to B teams and all that) but it is another good opportunity to try and find our best XI going forward. League is the priority, of course. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLClyde Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Have to admire McCall’s honesty even when he’s won the game. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_bully_wee Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Should add that I'm delighted for Ray Grant getting the goal as well, it's not often he gets his moment due to a noted lack of prowess in those areas but that'll have been a sweet one for him this afternoon, after his rehab and some patchy form on his return. He's been superb so far this season and, for me, is one of half a dozen players whose places in the team aren't remotely up for debate. I don't mind Paul McKay at all and wouldn't have any serious qualms about sticking with him, but I do prefer Howie alongside Hamilton. The only downside is that Howie isn't quite as much of an aerial presence in a team which generally lacks one, particularly if Rennie is absent. Despite not being the tallest, Connell does seem to win more than his fair share of duels so his inclusion going forward could well help on that front. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullyWeeStonehouse Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 (edited) Don't see why anyone would want to swap McKay out for Howie. He wins every header and at worst just as capable as Howie playing out from the back. Saying Grant has been superb this season is a stretch. He wasn't at his best today at all, imo. Can't remember him winning many headers and zero 50/50 challenges. I think overall, we deserved the win, Stranraer were on top in the first half but we limited them to a couple long range shitpingers plus one or two other half chances. We took advantage of our dominance in the second half and got our goal. I think we hammered them for a large chunk of the second half. Regardless, very happy with the win when we weren't at our best. This time last year we would've lost that. Edited August 10 by BullyWeeStonehouse 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawfield shed boy Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 IF Ross Lyon was Tommy robson some posters would be having a melt down today and tonight 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTR Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I would be annoyed if I was a Stranraer fan not to take anything from that. Far better in the first half, shaped up perfectly to give Clyde few options going forward, but hit effectively on the break. Although I feel Clyde had better chances overall, Stranraer probably had more altogether. Think the boy Edgar had the really good chance towards the end. It's been mentioned several times but the offside decision is one of the most ridiculous decisions I've seen live and deserves to be mentioned again. It's clear McCall doesn't know what his best team is. There's no doubt this is an excellent squad, but the two league performances so far haven't been very good evidence of that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Hood Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 (edited) Thought it was apt Ray Grant grabbed the winner. MOM for me. Kinnear not far behind, couple of good saves and great positioning. Edited August 10 by Larry Hood 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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