retired_acuervo

Great story, and I love the Sammy Gohl-Sméagol thingy

retired_destiny1124

*tips his cap to titto* You are likely not the only one who caught on that, but you are the first to mention it- most of the characters have counterparts in LOTR

***

28.8.04
Ayr (2) Arbroath (0)
Ayr- James Grady 7 Charlie King 77
Arbroath- None
MOM- Paul Lovering, Ayr

"No secret to winning this one- they put the clamps on us defensively and let Garry Gow gather up all our shots," said a dissatisfied Gond.

"If we could have put more shots on net, it may have been a closer match- we missed the net with many shots."

"We didn't play as well defensively either- it was just not our best effort."

"True, and that is the part we will have to change- we need a better effort every time out against this level of competition."

***

1.9.04
Brechin (3) Arbroath (3) Challenge Cup Quarterfinal (Brechin advances on Penalties)
Brechin- Paul Mortimer 16 Chris Templeman 20 Jonathan McKeith 119
Arbroath- Gareth Munro 25,54 Kieren Burchell 99
MOM- Gareth Munro, Arbroath

"You know, I don't mind losing the penalities near as much as giving up that late goal to McKeith. I felt certain we were going to win that match," sighed Faramir.

"Well, we also had plenty of chances to win during penalties- three straight misses with the match on the line wasn't exactly an exemplary performance."

"True. Despite his work on the penalties- Brian's (Hamilton) perfomance in net was hugely disappointing. If he just plays a steady match- we win. Instead, we had to fight back from 2-0 early because of his misplaying both goals. He should have had McKeith's also, he was clearly out of position on it."

"At least we got good perfomances from Robin (Gibson) and Gareth (Munro)- without those two, we wouldn't have made it to extra time."

retired_destiny1124

4.9.04
Arbroath (3) Ross County (0)
Arbroath- Mike Zonneveld 11 Daniel Sjolund 17 John Elliott 90
Ross County- None
MOM- Darius Vassell, Arbroath

"Steven (Pressley) and Thomas (Magnusson) both showed a lot of leadership out there today- they kept things very calm around Brian (Hamilton)," observed Gond.

"It was a good thing they did, we let them control entirely too much of the flow of play today. We took advantage of our chances much better than they did- but they had as many opportunities as we did."

"Darius (Vassell) was the force again up front."

"Not like they were draped all over him," chuckled Faramir. "He kept his composure nicely and forced them into defensive mistakes."

***

"Another one? Why?"

"Because he is the type of ballhawking defender we need- someone who will tackle everything in sight. I plan on transfer listing Danny Spiller as well- he is a good midfielder, but he gets too caught up in moving up the pitch- not something I want our defensive midfielder doing."

Arbroath Deals for Dunga
Arbroath today announced the transfer purchase of Portugese midfielder Dunga from Gouveia. The 26 yr old DMC has been a stellar performer for the Portugese side for the past three seasons and was excited to get an opportunity to move up in competition. The agreed transfer price was reported to be 10K.

***

Arbroath Values van de Wey
Arbroath outbid several clubs, including Aston Villa, for the right to purchase promising 19 yr old Dutch keeper Frank van de Wey. Though van de Wey had yet to appear in a senior match, the bidding on him was intense and Omniworld had a total of 6 accepted bids. van de Wey apparently chose Arbroath because of the promise of playing time on the senior side.

***

11.9.04
Clyde (2) Arbroath (4)
Clyde- Brian Kerr 66,75
Arbroath- Darius Vassell 5,50 Paul Shields 15 Luis Laguardia 82
MOM- Darius Vassell, Arbroath

"Ok, you're right- it was a mistake to send Frank (van de Wey) directly into match play- without practicing much with us yet," stated Faramir.

"He was fine for quite awhile, but he got badly flustered when Kerr scored those two headers past him. I think he will be good- but he needs some development time."

"Vassell overpowered another backline- that is why we survived van de Wey's rocky stretch."

"He was superb, in the air nobody had a chance to challenge him today."

retired_destiny1124

18.9.04
Arbroath (3) Inverness Caledonia (2)
Arbroath- James Coppinger 41,63 John Elliott 81
Inverness- Mark Gallagher 1 Brian Smith 16
MOM- James Coppinger, Arbroath

"Whew! That was a lot of work to gain that win," claimed an exhausted Faramir.

An equally tired Gond replied, "Well, if Ian (Ritchie) wasn't rusty from not playing- we wouldn't be two down in the early going."

"Yes, he wasn't his usual steady self, but I wanted him in this match to knock some of the rust off for playing Livingston in our League Cup match."

"That was a nice adjustment offensively. Once we pushed them into their end- they started playing tentatively and making mistakes."

"It was the obvious choice- they are a young club- if we could rattle their confidence, then we can turn the match."

"Well, it almost didn't work."

"That was only because their 17 yr old keeper was playing out of his skull- how much did we outshoot them on the match."

"26-5."

"All but one of those five came in the first 20 mintues- after that we stayed in their end most of the rest of the match."

***

22.9.04
Arbroath (3) Livingston (1) League Cup 3rd round
Arbroath- Darius Vassell 22 Peter Wolf 25 James Coppinger 39
Livingston- Thomas Courts 38
MOM- Mike Zonneveld, Arbroath

"They certainly aren't enjoying meeting us in Cup Competition," chuckled Gond.

"No, we haven't exactly been kind to them in our matches."

"I can't really pick out a fault with our play in the match."

"Neither can I. Even the chances they had weren't that great. That corner they scored on was a bit of an odd goal and I don't really blame Ian (Ritchie) since the ball deflected off two players before Courts knocked it in."

retired_destiny1124

25.9.04
Arbroath (3) Morton (0)
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 24 Isaiah Rankin 29,52
Morton- None
MOM- Isaiah Rankin, Arbroath

"Isaiah (Rankin) looked very sharp- for just coming off a month of injury time," commented Gond.

"It was good to see him back at full speed. He has been aching to get back into the lineup for the past week, but this was the first time he was cleared to play."

"Dunga also gave us some good work. I understand better why you wanted him."

"He won't be an offensive force, but he really does a good job on the opposing midfielders. He played very well in his first full match."

***

2.10.04
Arbroath (3) Queen of the South (0)
Arbroath- Billy Macdonald 28 Gary Shearer 66 Darius Vassell 88
Queen- None
MOM- Angelo Schembri (II), Arbroath

"Angelo (Schembri) and Mike (Zonneveld) did a stellar job of shutting down their wingers, they really shut off the flow of Queen's offense to their forwards," said a relective Faramir.

"That is why they only wound up with 2 shots for the entire match."

"Of course our offense wasn't exactly pretty. We really only came on once Elliott was out- I guess his heel was bothering him more than he let on before the match, it was a mistake to start him today."

***

"The question is do we need another forward? It isn't like we don't have a bunch of them," grumbled Barry Gond.

"I think he is a cut above some of ours- take a look at his scoring record. That is a natural goal scorer at whatever level he happens to be playing. For only 24K, I think he is a bargain- remember we may well lose Darius (Vassell) on his minimum fee release at some point."

"I still think his skills look like Isaiah Rankin's- I don't see him earning a lot of playing time."

Arbroath Picks up De Loenen
Arbroath today announced the transfer purchase of forward Nick De Loenen from Belgian side Willebroek. While at the Belgian side De Loenen had scored 104 goals in his 3-1/2 seasons. He was pleased to be able to join a successful club and reportedly hopes to earn some senior playing time.

retired_destiny1124

16.10.04
Airdrie (2) Arbroath (1)
Airdrie- Stuart Taylor 23 Michael Craig 48
Arbroath- Thomas Magnusson 69
MOM- Tony Warner, Airdrie

"I was convinced we would even the match when Thomas (Magnusson) scored," sighed Gond.

"So was I. It seemed like we had finally found the crack in Warner's armour- but it wasn't to be."

"Warner was sizzling down the stretch- that shot of Michael's (Moore) that he tipped over the net and also the snared header from Darius (Vassell)- those were both game savers for them."

"We needed to generate a little more offense earlier in the match, we left things until much too late today."

***

Raith Rovers (0) Arbroath (4)
Raith- None
Arbroath- Daniel Sjolund 29,67 Peter Wolf 35,69
MOM- Daniel Sjolund, Arbroath

"They knew they were in deep trouble when Dennis Connaghan drew his redcard," wryly commented Barry Gond.

"It surprised everyone- including the referee. Isaiah (Rankin) and he had some words, but there hadn't been any pushing before he went and knocked Isaiah."

"With only 10 men, they couldn't keep up the good defensive coverage they had shown early in the match."

"When that happened it was just a matter of time on our ball movement, because our passing was very crisp today. Daniel (Sjolund) was very active up front and definately earned his pair of goals."

retired_destiny1124

30.10.04
Partick Thistle (4) Arbroath (3)
Partick- Paul Walker 1 Michael Stewart 19 Martin Hardie 32 Gordon Houston 67
Arbroath- Billy Macdonald 37 Peter Wolf 82 James Coppinger 90
MOM- Billy Macdonald, Arbroath

"A very frustrating loss," lamented Faramir. "They destroyed us with crosses in the first half."

"You were quick to pull Steven Pressley and Stuart Harvey today," offered Gond.

"Well, they were both at fault on the 2nd and 3rd goals that Partick got- the first one Ian (Ritchie) should have had- but those next two were just being lazy on defense- I can't abide with the lack of effort."

"We didn't have a very good match overall offensively," muttered Gond.

"They gave us some chances, but you're right Barry- our execution wasn't there today. Despite the close score- this match was really much more theirs than ours."

***

6.11.04
Arbroath (3) Clyde (2)
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 45 Paul Shields 53 Daniel Sjolund 58
Clyde- Jamie Mitchell 28 Kevin Miller 41
MOM- Peter Wolf, Arbroath

"That was a great comeback and a win that we badly needed," chattered Gond as he warmed his frozen hands.

"We have to quit digging ourselves into a hole early in the match- it happened against Partick and it happened again here. Fortunately, they weren't able to react to our formation change- and the boys really took advantage of their chances."

"Daniel's (Sjolund) match winner was a very pretty passing sequence- if we could do more of that it would certainly make us more productive. How bad is Thomas' (Magnusson) injury?"

"Bad. It will take at least a month to heal up. With Stuart (Malcolm) out for the 4th time this season with injury and with J'Lloyd (Samuel) away on National duty- we may have to use Ruben (Hazell) or Kevin (Brown) in the middle."

retired_destiny1124

13.11.04
Ross County (5) Arbroath (3)
Ross County- Mark McCormick 5-P,14 John Paul Burns 17 Russell McBride 40 Paul Murray 75
Arbroath- Darius Vassell 26,80 Thomas Paul Griffiths 63
MOM- Darius Vassell, Arbroath

"I think we need to sit Ian (Ritchie) down for awhile," sighed Faramir. "That was truly a terrible performance for him today and I think his confidence is shot."

"We didn't give him a lot of help defensively, but you're right- he was the reason we lost today. I disagree with sitting him though- give him a chance to work through it- he is still the best keeper we have."

"Your point is well taken though- we have to get back to playing better defensively- we haven't done enough of that lately. Let's spend some more time on practice pitch on it."

***

20.11.04
Arbroath (4) Ayr (1)
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 25 Darius Vassell 53 Mark Boyd 81 Daniel Sjolund 90
Ayr- Warren Hawke 78
MOM- Darius Vassell, Arbroath

"That was a spirited match," exclaimed a happy Gond.

"About what you could expect in a battle between two clubs tied for first place," replied Faramir. "It was a huge match for us to show that we had gotten back to the basics on how we were successful and the boys did a marvelous job."

"Our offensive execution was impressive, but Craig Nelson was superb in net for them today- we should have had more goals than what we did- especially outshooting them 25-5.

"At least we showed the finishing touch today- and we put them away after Hawke got them back into the match. By the way Barry- thanks. You were right that we needed to get Ian (Ritchie) back out there- it was the right choice."

retired_destiny1124

27.11.04
Queen of the South (0) Arbroath (4)
Queen- None
Arbroath- Mark Boyd 25,84 Daniel Sjolund 48 John Elliott 68
MOM- Mark Boyd, Arbroath

"We seem to be back on the beam now- both offensively and defensively," observed Gond.

"It certainly looks that way. We outshot them 21-2 for the match and really throttled them in the midfield- I don't think they got more than a couple good passes anywhere in our defensive area."

"Mark (Boyd) showed his leadership again today- he was the key to the win."

***

1.12.04
Arbroath (1) Partick Thistle (0) League Cup Quarterfinal
Arbroath- Robin Gibson 45
Partick- None
MOM- Ross Forsyth, Partick Thistle

"A lot of the press are wondering why you didn't start Ian (Ritchie)- and also why you chose van den Wey over Brian (Hamilton) in goal."

"Ian was late to practice that day this week and frankly I thought his attitude wasn't too great- so van de Wey got the nod. I thought about starting Brian, but he hasn't played all that well in Cup matches- so it seemed a better choice to sample van de Wey's wares."

"Sure looked like the right decision- he is showing lots of improvement over when he first joined us."

"There were a lot of good efforts out there today, and another example of how much depth we had, since we didn't beat them with all our regualar starters in the lineup."

"It was nice to dish up just a small taste of revenge for that last loss to them."

"That was a pretty ironic draw for the Semifinal wasn't it?" asked Faramir.

"We are bound to see some old friends across the way," replied Gond to the Faramir's comment on their League Cup Semifinal opponent being Dundee United.

retired_destiny1124

4.12.04
Arbroath (4) Airdrie (0)
Arbroath- James Coppinger 5 Darius Vassell 46 Mark Boyd 60 Daniel Sjolund 71
Airdrie- None
MOM- Mark Boyd, Arbroath

"A capital performance, that's what it was," stated Gond emphatically.

"We certainly had their number today- that is the first time I can remember us really dumping them."

"I think the main reason we had our way with them today was that our backline consistently stood up and challenged them as they tried to control the ball in our area."

"You're right about that, they never really had a good shot- they had to hurry everything or take a long shot."

***
11.12.04
Inverness Caledonia Thistle (2) Arbroath (2)
Inverness- Stuart McCafferey 58 Jesus Garcia Sanjuan 72
Arbroath- Paul Shields 47 Mark Boyd 87
MOM- Mark Boyd, Arbroath

"It would have been nicer to win, but gaining a draw was better than the loss we were staring at," sighed Gond.

"If not for Ian (Ritchie) and his outstanding effort today- we wouldn't even have been a position for that. They really did outplay us for most of the match today."

"There didn't seem to be anything really wrong with our play, it's just that they were much sharper than us."

"That's an accurate summation, we didn't play badly- but they played much better."