Championship Games - April-May 2011
Starting the month in fourth place in the so-called 'Championship' group (as opposed to 'Relegation Group') of the Premeir League, we realised that every game from here on in would be a real test of our skill and determination to finish the season in the best possible position. Finishing in third was a realistic goal, while we would require a major form slump by
Rangers to finish in second spot.
The first test came in the form of Scotland's most southerly club,
Gretna, where we played a throughly-professional game and finished the game deserved winners.
"No hard feelings from my side," commented
Gordon Strachan after the game. "There are lots of managers in this league that I don't have a lot of time for, but
David O'Connor isn't one of them."
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">30/4 - Gretna 0 University 2Scorers - Fetai 44, Gethins 691. Celtic 74 +592. Rangers 67 +273. University 61 +214. Gretna 59 +115. Dundee 50 -36. Dunfermline 39 -3</pre>
Freddy Guarin was named player of the month of April, whilst I finished third in the manager award behind
Martin O'Neill and
Gary McAllister of
Falkirk.
A gallant performance against
Celtic followed, but we were unable to capitalise on our great start. The result means that the Buoys win the Premier League for the fourth season in a row, after
Rangers were upset by
Gretna.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">7/5 - University 1 Celtic 2Scorers - Walker 26 (Smith 75, Hunt 83)1. Celtic 77 +602. Rangers 67 +263. Gretna 62 +124. University 61 +205. Dundee 51 -36. Dunfermline 40 -3</pre>
Dunfermline were having a decent season by their standards, and shared a point with us after our fixture.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">12/5 - Dunfermline 1 University 1Scorers - Fetai 82pen (Kerr 52)1. Celtic 78 +602. Rangers 68 +263. Gretna 65 +144. University 62 +205. Dundee 51 -56. Dunfermline 41 -3</pre>
In our second-last home game of the year,
Dundee showed about as much resistence as the French in 1940. With only three shots at goal all afternoon, the Dees were only kept in the game by some brilliant goal-keeping.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">19/5 - University 2 Dundee 0Scorers - Guarin 7, McGeady 531. Celtic 81 +622. Rangers 71 +293. University 65 +224. Gretna 65 +125. Dundee 51 -76. Dunfermline 41 -6</pre>
Kilmarnock were promoted on the same afternoon that
Partick were relegated, thus restoring the status quo of teams from last season in the Premier League.
Collegians Road was packed for the final game of the season, where we would entertain
Rangers. The game started in explosive fashion, with
Wouter Vandermieren given a red card in the second minute for a professional foul. Playing in what was possibly his last apperance in a University shirt - although everybody feverently hoped otherwise -
Connor Gethins struck the penalty, and the ambush was on.
Dirk Neumann and
Gavin Skelton added goals later in the game, but the real story was the incompetence of the
Rangers attack - not offering a single shot on goal for the entire game. The Rangers players hadn't played bad - they were terrible.
Freddy Guarin won the
Scottish Player's Player Of The Year award, a tremendous vote of approval in him from his fellow peers.
Thorsten Freund became the second University player to win the
Scottish Golden Boot, following - who other? -
Connor Gethins in 2008/09.
Martin O'Neill won his fifth
Manager of the Year award in seven years, whilst I was the runner-up.
Gretna completed their own fairytale season by beating
Rangers 2-0 in the
Scottish Cup final.
Qualification to
Europe was secure after seven seasons of league football - an incredible achievement by anybody's standards. How many more pages did the
University story have?
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