retired_destiny1124

13.8.05
East Fife (3) East Stirling (0)
East Fife blew a close match open with a pair of late goals. Mostly I attribute those to our club being tired, since we had played most of the second half with only 10 men after Carl Laurie had earned his 2nd yellow card in the opening moments. It was a bit frustrating as we drew a yellow card on most every contested tackle and that left us sporing 4 of them in the first 20 minutes of the match. East Fife also received several, but then the referee seemingly put his whistle away and they had no further ones called despite some very dicey tackling. Still, I can't put this loss to the ref- this one was because we didn't play a full, focused match. Alex Burns, their new signing, made a successful debut when he danced away from Chris Roberton to beat Steven van der Deyl inside the right post. We were a bit unlucky to not go to half even as we generated some nice scoring chances, but James Flood and David McEwen both missed inches wide. They finished us off late in the second half when John Martin scored a brace of goals within 4 minutes. The first came when Paul O'Brien and Robertson stood around looking at each other as Martin slipped past and deflected a cross in. The second goal was just a fluke as he sent a looping ball toward the net and van der Deyl never saw it is it dropped past him into the net. It is clear that having Paul Moss and Paul Gaughan out is hurting us badly- as John Walker and Robertson really have not done the job in the middle. We also now have lost McEwen for awhile as he strained a groin in the match.

retired_jgirl87

Bewdy, another bottler from that Faramir fella.

I never miss the start of your stories because I always know that they will turn into epics and I will be right up to date from the start instead of having pages of reading to catch up on.

* Australian for "Excellent, another fine tale by that quality writer Faramir".

retired_destiny1124

Thanks spav I don't know about them being epics, but mine seem to be pretty lengthy (if nothing else)

***

17.8.05
We welcomed another new addition as jitterbug Kenny McLean came on free transfer from Morton. McLean, a wee bit of winger, has more pace than anyone on our club and impressive skills for 20 year old. McLean will move into the starting role on rightwing (due to Dave McEwen's injury).

***

20.8.05
East Stirling (7) Berwick (1)
Berwick came into the match at Firs Park as heavy favorites- after all they had been relegated last season and had spent the summer gearing up for an immediate return upwards. Our fans were a bit gloomy when they scored in the 5th minute as Gareth Hutchinson drove a shot past Steven van der Deyl- another inexcusable lapse by our central defense- but I quickly saw encouraging signs. We were moving the ball pretty well and Kenny McLean was really pressuring them with his pace on the right. Suddenly, the match turned around and Steve McDonald was able to slot the ball past Stephen Mason after an excellent pass from Ross O'Donoghue for his 1st goal for us. Less than two minutes later we struck for the lead when James Flood finished off an impressive counterattack by taking the ball around Mason. That was the start of a big day for Flood as he added his 2nd goal of the match in the opening moments of the second half. Berwick seemed to completely collapse and Flood finished off his hat-trick and 5th goal of the season with an 'excuse me' goal when his centering pass deflected slightly off defender Jay Shields past Mason. McDonald then added his 2nd goal of the match on a good pass from McLean. Flood scored his 4th goal of the match on a fantastic run from just inside midfield and then Iain Diack (on for McDonald) scored his 1st goal of the season to finish off a very impressive 7-1 rout. The loan sour note was the loss of O'Donoghue for at least 2 weeks, but more likely a month due to a leg injury.

retired_destiny1124

22.8.05
Feeling that club physio David Jenkins was getting a bit overwhelmed with all the injuries we have seen of late, I signed two more physios to assist him. Both 50 year old Rob Harris and 44 year old Alan Jackson assented when I explained to them that they would be working under Jenkins. Hopefully this will allow us to manage our injury situation a bit better.

***

22.8.05
Our amazing win over Berwick was the reason we had 5 Players selected on the Team of the Week. Johnny Walker, Paul O'Brien, Kevin Howe, Kenny McLean and James Flood were selected for the honour, which pleased our local fans immensely.

retired_destiny1124

27.8.05
Cowdenbeath (3) East Stirling (2)
Our inconsistency is frustrating, but it can be clearly traced back to our backline. We could have won this match if our backline plays anything close to how they did against Berwick, but instead we dominated the match and lost due to three seperate bad plays. James Flood gave us the early lead with another terrific goal as he danced past two would-be tacklers before driving a shot past Alex Hards. Cowdenbeath was able to go to halftime even though as a long header found both Chris Robertson and Johnny Walker knapping and Dene Shields had an easy time beating Steven van der Deyl in the one-on-one situation. They took the lead early in the second half as Walker lost the marking on a corner and Liam Buchanan was able to flick a header past van der Deyl. We evened the match again when Kevin Howe, who earned MOM honours, swooped down the left side and crossed smartly to Steve McDonald and he deflected it past Hards. They quickly answered when Robert Downs escaped Robertson and deflected a cross past van der Deyl for the match winner. We couldn't answer that goal and it was a disappointing trip back home with a loss that could have been more.

retired_destiny1124

28.8.05
As the transfer deadline approaches, I am pursuing a few additions and two were completed today as we landed 20 year old DRC Danny Black and 22 year old AMC Phil Creaney from the Albion Rovers on free transfer. Bob Pearson liked Black a lot and we had reports that he was being considered for the New Zealand Under-21 side, so it seemed a good addition considering our problems in center defense. Creaney will help our depth in the midfield and brings a solid physical presence- if not a lot of overall skills- to our side. I have also brought promising center back Graham McWilliam back from the Reserve side. With Paul Gaughan regaining playing fitness and Paul Moss not far behind, I don't think Johnny Walker will see much playing time. I still have hopes for Chris Robertson, but he needs to play more consistently and hopefully that is something the 19 year old will learn in time.

***

1.9.05
It was very pleasing to see James Flood earn Player of the Month honours for August and also have Kevin Howe earn Young Player of the Month honours for his efforts. They look like two cornerstones that we can build around. I am pleased with how our wingers- Howe and Kenny McLean- play together and generate excitement.

retired_destiny1124

10.9.05
East Stirling (1) Albion Rovers (0)
It was a tight match as we missed numerous good scoring chances, but we were able to convert on one and that was enough to carry us through to a 1-0 win over Albion Rovers at Firs Park. James Flood uncharacteristically missed two superb chances, both times inches wide of the net. Steve McDonald had a great chance, but dawdled and let Carlos Brown make a saving tackle when it looked like he could score easily. We limited their chances as Paul Gaughan and Graham McWilliam played effectively- blunting their attempts to send long passes in the air to the area. The winning goal came when Kenny McLean skinned Scott Friel and then drove hard to the backline before crossing to the middle. McLean's cross picked out Ally Graham who found open space and deflected the cross past Nick Baxter. We managed to keep them from rallying by controlling the pace of play for the rest of the match and it was with relief that we heard the final whistle.

retired_destiny1124

17.9.05
Stenhousemuir (3) East Stirling (0)
The score looks worse than it should, as we well could have won this match. Instead Stenhousemuir Keeper Chris Fahey rightfully earned MOM honours as he took away our heart with his fine play. We could have grabbed the lead twice in the early going, but the first time Fahey made a point-blank save on Steve McDonald and then followed with a parry of James Flood's shot on the rebound. The second time saw Fahey make a dazzling save on McDonald after a deft pass from Mick O'Brien put him in free. Only minutes later we found ourselves down as Paul Gaughan was called for pushing Colin Cramb on a free kick and Graeme Smith converted the penalty kick past Steven van der Deyl. We kept the pressure up in the second half, but Flood missed inches wide and Kenny McLean drilled one off the crossbar. They put the match away when Frankie Carroll slipped Paul Moss' marking and rammed home a close-in shot. They added insult when Joe Savage deflected a corner in as we continue to struggle with dead ball situations to finish off their 3-0 win.

retired_destiny1124

21.9.05
Queens Park (0) East Stirling (1)
We made an early goal stand up with a superior defensive effort as we handed previously unbeaten Queens Park their first loss of the season. The lone goal in the match came early on when Ross O'Donoghue- making his return from injury- picked up a loose ball and slipped past Lee Poznanski before drilling a shot into the left side of the net past Nathan Freeman. O'Donoghue came close to adding a second goal when a good pass from James Flood put him in alone on Freeman, but he missed inches wide to the right post. Queens Park had trouble getting the ball into the area as our defense, especially our backline, shone today. Led by Danny Black, who earned MOM honours in his debut, we wouldn't allow them much time on the ball and they only managed a couple uncovered chances in the match. They still came close to evening things several times in the second half, but we survived to take an important road win. I was extremely pleased with the Chris Robertson- Black pairing in center defense. Their combined physical presence helped us win.

retired_destiny1124

24.9.05
East Stirling (1) Arbroath (0)
Despite having to field a lineup that was without James Flood, Steve McDonald and Kenny McLean, we managed to upset Arbroath who hadn't lost in their last 7 matches. We showed a lot as we controlled the tempo of the play through most of the match. The only goal came from veteran Ally Graham, who earned MOM honours when he fired a well-placed shot past Gareth Bough inside the far right post after a good pass from Carl Laurie picked him out with space in the area. Though we had the best of play, we didn't generate many good scoring chances. The match was on the line when Steven van der Deyl made the save of the match as he stopped Alan Brazil in a one-on-one chance after Danny Black missed a tackle in the last few minutes of play. We closed out the match with more certainty after that chance and it was another good win for us. More injury problems cropped us for us as Kevin Howe and Phil Creaney both went out and Howe's hamstring will keep him out at least 2 weeks to a month and Creaney's twisted knee should keep him out a similar amount of time.