retired_destiny1124

18.10.05
Hibs (1) Arbroath (0)
Hibs- Derek Riordan 18
Arbroath- None
MOM- Richard Wright, Hibs

"Wright wouldn't let us in the door today- he was fantastic," said Gond in a muted voice.

"We played well, but it wasn't good enough with how he was playing today."

"A lot of good effort on our part, but you have to put the ball in the net to win."

Hibs Move Out of Last
by Sammy Gohl
Hibs took advantage of visiting weak sister Arbroath as they dumped their visitors by a 1-0 margin to move out of last place in the SPL. Derek Riordan showed his improving offensive skills in scoring the lone goal of the match and Richard Wright proved why Hibs splashed out the big money to land him as their keeper.

***

22.10.05
St.Mirren (1) Arbroath (1)
St.Mirren- Martin Fotheringham 61
Arbroath- Daniel Sjolund 38
MOM- Christopher Kirkland, St.Mirren

"Nothing like a hot keeper to ruin our day," mumbled Barry Gond.

"We had plenty of pressure and good chances, but he made every stop in the second half. Jamie (Langfield) did well on our side too."

"The goal they scored certainly wasn't his fault- it is one of the few times I have seen Thomas Magnusson out of position."

retired_destiny1124

29.10.05
Arbroath (4) Aberdeen (2)
Arbroath- James Coppinger 40,47 Darius Vassell 62,78
Aberdeen- Brendan Crozier 31 Sean Widera 45
MOM- James Coppinger, Arbroath

"We were due for a little bit of offense," grinned Barry Gond.

"Overdue I would say- with how well our passing has been going. It was a good win, a come from behind win, and we needed it to be sure."

"They had a bit too much room to manuever in the first half, we did a much better job closing them down in our zone in the second half."

***

5.11.05
Dundee (1) Arbroath (3)
Dundee- Steven Milne 18
Arbroath- Mark Boyd 27 Daniel Sjolund 49 John Elliott 62
MOM- Angelo Schembri (II), Arbroath

"We looked very flat to start with, but we seemed to wake up after Milne's goal," commented Gond.

"It was a slow start, but once we found our feet they had trouble taking the flow of the match away from us. You could tell they wanted too- but our backline did a very nice job blunting their attacking chances."

"It was nice to see John (Elliott) pop in off the bench and clinch the win- he has really improved his play this season."

retired_destiny1124

12.11.05
Arbroath (0) Rangers (1)
Arbroath- None
Rangers- Marian Pahars 47
MOM- Stefan Klos, Rangers

"I don't know what more we could do- we just couldn't score on him (Klos)," ranted Gond.

"We played well enough to win. We outshot them 16-8 and we had more really good chances, but we didn't have much luck on the posts and Klos snared everything close to him."

"They tried to take charge of the match after the goal, but we rallied and didn't let them- I was proud of their effort out there."

Faramir nodded, "They are growing up as a club- remember we are still a pretty young club overall, despite being relatively intact for a couple seasons. I am confident they will get better as the season progresses."

Rangers Rule
by Sammy Gohl
The Rangers put their advantage in experience to good use as they easily handled fledgling Arbroath at Gayfield Park. Using a goal early in the second half from Marian Pahars to take the lead, 'Gers put on a defensive clinic as they kept the clean sheet in the 1-0 win.

***

19.11.05
Hearts (2) Arbroath (1)
Hearts- Gary Wales 62 Calum Bett 69-P
Arbroath- Gareth Munro 8
MOM- Gary Wales, Hearts

"A stupid penalty call!" groused Barry Gond.

"It's no use worrying about it, we didn't play well enough to earn a good result anyways," replied Faramir. "We got the goal from Gareth (Munro) and then we quit pressuring them. Eventually they made us pay the price."

"Have to give a little credit to Alan Combe though- when we did have more chances he stopped us cold."

"True, he played well. I was disappointed in Stuart (Malcolm) and John Paul (Potter) though- Wales goal was just a let down on their coverage."

Hearts Hurtle Arbroath
by Sammy Gohl
Last place Hearts, currently managerless as they await the selection of a new choice, showed they are quite ready to move up in the SPL standings by handing visiting Arbroath a stinging loss. Despite falling behind early, the Tynecastle fans had confidence in their side- and were rewarded when they struck for two goals to soar to a 2-1 win.

retired_loubou

It seems that you get some mixed results, hopefully you can put a constant line in it in a positive way.

Great story :thup:

retired_destiny1124

Thanks for the kind words bjorn- glad you are enjoying the tale

***

26.11.05
Arbroath (2) Kilmarnock (0)
Arbroath- Neil Lewis 52 John Elliott 65
Kilmarnock- None
MOM- James Coppinger, Arbroath

"We shook off the Hearts loss quite nicely," said a pleased Gond.

"The boys played a fine match today, we could have had plenty more goals if David James hadn't been so sharp in their net."

"Your decision to start playing Neil Lewis looks to be paying off. I thought he might be a little young to be handling more starting time- but he is proving me wrong."

"Nothing against Billy (Macdonald) or Dunga, but Neil really looks to be developing into a better player than them. I wanted him in there because he is a ferocious tackler- something neither of them is, and we seem to need that extra defensive help in SPL play."

***

30.11.05
Arbroath (3) Livingston (1) League Cup Quarterfinal
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 25 Robin Gibson 44 Luis Laguardia 75
Livingston- Curtis Woodhouse 54
MOM- Richard Montgomery, Arbroath

"Richard (Montgomery) had one of the finest defensive matches I have seen," asserted Gond.

Looking up from the stat sheet, Faramir nodded agreement, "He had 11 tackles in the match- he completely shut down their offense around our area."

"When Rubio was redcarded, I breathed a bit easier- even though they didn't seem to have much pressure on our goal."

"I was more relieved when Luis (Laguardia) boomed home the free kick that resulted from the redcarding- with that extra goal a win seemed a lot more certain."

retired_destiny1124

3.12.05
Arbroath (2) Dundee United (0)
Arbroath- Gareth Munro 9,49
Dundee United- None
MOM- Jamie Langfield, Arbroath

"It was a wonderful duel between Jamie (Langfield) and Paul Gallacher," offered Gond.

"Fortunately, it was Gareth (Munro) who was holding our trump cards. I don't know how either of his shots managed to get by Gallacher- but was glad both of them did."

"The collision between Stuart (Harvey) and Mark (Boyd) was very unfortunate- have you heard back on how long they will be out?"

"Mark should only be out a few days. Stuart had strained knee ligaments and will be out at least a couple of weeks."

***

7.12.05
Motherwell (1) Arbroath (1)
Motherwell- Chris Clark 82
Arbroath- James Coppinger 7
MOM- Chris Clark, Motherwell

Faramir fumed, "Another wasted opportunity. We had them with only 10 men and still couldn't keep track of Clark to prevent him from evening the match."

"I know you are mad- but give Clark some credit. That was a difficult run he made and both our defenders got their feet on the ball- but he just kept going."

"It isn't so much that- instead it is more that we couldn't score another goal. We didn't put enough pressure on them with our advantage. When we train for that situation, we will have to go over that a bit more."

retired_confal2

Catching up on all the stuff I missed over the last two or three months -in this case, it was well worth it. Keep it up :thup:

BarryLFC

Glad to see this subsisting. Still enjoying the challenge?

retired_destiny1124

OM Dave, nice to see you around again- thanks very much for the kind words.

HD- Yes, I am. Actually I am far, far into the future on playing the challenge- still not done though- but still having fun playing it. It will remain an active story for quite some time

***

10.12.05
Arbroath (1) Livingston (1)
Arbroath- Gareth Munro 45
Livingston- Nathan Lowndes 19
MOM- Richard Montgomery, Arbroath

"We need to find some scoring up front. Gareth (Munro) is the only forward we have who is really scoring- it has been awhile since Daniel Sjolund chipped in and Darius (Vassell) hadn't scored lately before his injury that has kept him out," remarked Faramir.

"The midfield also needs to step up. Other than Coppy (James Coppinger), we really haven't had much scoring from them either- and it isn't for lack of chances."

"Richard (Montgomery) was a stalwart defender again today- it really helped us earn a point from the match."

***

17.12.05
Celtic (1) Arbroath (1)
Celtic- Kenny Miller 4
Arbroath- Peter Wolf 49
MOM- Richard Montgomery, Arbroath

"That was a difficult match. I think we can be satisfied with the draw," stated Gond.

"The draw was Ok, but I don't really plan on being satisfied with less than a win. We stood around a lot of the first half and let them dictate the play."

"Well, don't be too unhappy about it- given the way Celtic played I still think a draw in the books was fine."

retired_destiny1124

20.12.05
Aberdeen (0) Arbroath (2)
Aberdeen- None
Arbroath- Billy Macdonald 34 Richard Montgomery 79-P
MOM- Billy Macdonald, Arbroath

"A lot of work, but a good result," said a content Barry Gond.

"Another match with unlikely scorers on our part- but all goals count the same and the way we are going I will take them anywhere that we can get them."

"We are still scuffling along- but as long as we win, it really doesn't matter does it?"

***

26.12.05
Arbroath (0) Dundee (0)
Arbroath- None
Dundee- None
MOM- Stephen Robertson, Dundee

Shaking his head Faramir muttered, "19 shots at him and we couldn't get one in."

Gond leaned back in his chair, "It was good execution on our part- we kept them to only 5 shots- but our shooting didn't have the needed touch to get the goal."

"Good thing to practice this week."