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jammy-gee - Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate you taking the time to plow through the entire story

***

24.4.13
Scotland (7) Switzerland (2)
Scotland- D.Fletcher 4 G.O'Connor 11 K.Parker 39 B.Ferguson 52 S.Hughes 64,71,82
Switzerland- C.Guei 36 P.Sutter 61
MOM- Barry Ferguson, Scotland

Scotland- Jamie Langfield- 6, Stephen Crainey- 8, Alan Archibald- 6, Jim Reid- 7, Andrew Rollo- 9, Michael Stewart- 9, Stephen Pearson- 9, Barry Ferguson- 10, Darren Fletcher- 8, Gary O'Connor- 9, Kiegan Parker- 8, Stephen Hughes (on 58 for Ferguson), Graham Anderson- 7 (on 58 for Parker), Steven Nicholas- 7 (on 58 for O'Connor), Mark McNeil- 8 (on 58 for Stewart), Mark Fotheringham- 7 (on 58 for Fletcher), Mark Kerr- 7 (on 58 for Pearson), Richard Montgomery- 8 (on 58 for Archibald)

We used our pace advantage and passing attack to crush the Senior side in our friendly. It was a match that we played well from the opening whistle- and other than a couple of defensive lapses- were in control of from start to finish. Darren Fletcher notched his first International goal after Barry Ferguson's cross set him up nicely. Gary O'Connor scored in his debut after Stephen Pearson headed down to him. Switzerland gained a glimmer of hope when Christian Guei made an excellent run and scored his 10th International goal on a hard, low shot past Jamie Langfield. Ferguson made another fine pass and Kiegan Parker had an easy time returning our 2-goal margin. We came out from half with even more confidence and Ferguson scored his 10th International goal after Michael Stewart intercepted a goal kick from struggling Patrick Bettoni and headed to the moving Ferguson. Switzerland's Pascual Sutter scored against our run of play when he deflected a Marcel Kotter free kick over Langfield. We closed the match with Stephen Hughes' unlikely hat-trick. After replacing Ferguson, he headed past Bettoni on a cross from Stephen Crainey, half-volleyed a winner from a Mark McNeil pass and then made a fine move on Bettoni after Mark Fotheringham's through ball reached him. The 7-2 win was a stirring one for the sold out Hampden Park crowd and pleased the National Association as well. It also was a new Scottish record for scoring in a match.

***

Rangers finished out their campaign with a flourish and were well above the other clubs in SPL. Dundee was a surprise 2nd place finisher. Celtic was 3rd. Motherwell broke their string of 9 consecutive 1st or 2nd place finishes with a 4th place spot.

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4.6.13
Scotland Under-21 (4) Estonia Under-21 (0)
Scotland- I.Knox 4 I.Crawford 29 S.Duncan 45-P M.Bruce 63
Estonia- None
MOM- Ian Knox, Scotland

Scotland- John Martin- 7, Derek Bruce- 7 , Iain Crawford- 8 , Mark McCall- 8, Darron Patton- 8, Alan O'Neil- 8, Garry Shearer- 8, Ian Knox- 10, Scott Thomson- 8, Martin Bruce- 8, Steve Duncan- 9, Ian Gray- 7 (on 61 for Bruce), Mark Craig- 7 (on 61 for Shearer)

Ian Knox demonstrated that he is destined for great things as he helped us dominate our match over visiting Estonia. Knox was everywhere in the midfield and scored the first of our goals as we outshot our visitors 19-2 for the match. Knox outleaped his marker to head in a corner from Steve Duncan for our first goal. Iain Crawford also scored on a Duncan corner to put us up 2-0. It was another corner that saw Mark McCall fouled in the area and Duncan converted the penalty for a 3-0 halftime lead. Martin Bruce capped the scoring with the lone goal of the second half when he snapped a loose ball into the open net to finish off our 4-0 win.

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jammy-gee -- Nope, was going to try and finish the Challenge out managing only the National sides



***

5.6.13
Scotland (3) Estonia (1)
Scotland- K.Miller 5 B.Ferguson 19,33
Estonia- J.Jurisson 77
MOM- Barry Ferguson, Scotland

Scotland- Jamie Langfield- 7, Stephen Crainey- 8, Alan Archibald- 7, Jim Reid- 8, Andrew Rollo- 8, Michael Stewart- 7, Stephen Pearson- 7, Barry Ferguson- 9, Mark Kerr- 7, Kenny Miller- 8, Kiegan Parker- 8, Ross O'Donoghue- 7 (on 63 for Ferguson), Shaun Maloney- 7 (on 63 for Pearson)

Our quick start was what earned us the win over visting Estonia. Kenny Miller's header on a cross from Barry Ferguson had the fans at Hampden cheering from the opening moments. Ferguson then took control of the midfield and made two dazzling runs through their defense and slotted both home. We relaxed a bit too much in the second half and allowed our 1st goal in Group play when Jussi Jurisson drove a low shot past Jamie Langfield. We finished out the 3-1 in fine style and it set us up with a showdown match against France at Hampden Park in August.

In other Group play- France set up their showdown match with us by edging Romania 1-0 on an 89th minute goal. Slovenia also edged Malta 1-0.

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30.8.13
Scotland Under-21 (1) France Under-21 (0)
Scotland- S.Duncan 45
France- None
MOM- Steve Duncan, Scotland

Scotland- John Martin- 8, Derek Bruce- 7 , Iain Crawford- 7 , Mark McCall- 8, Darron Patton- 8, Alan O'Neil- 8, Garry Shearer- 7, Ian Knox- 7, Scott Thomson- 7, Martin Bruce- 7, Steve Duncan- 8, Mark Craig- 7 (on 62 for Shearer), Jim Bruce- 7 (on 62 for Derek Bruce)

The Under-21 side won a close match with the visiting French thanks to a brilliant pass and shot combo in the first half injury time. Steve Duncan's goal off a pass from Alan O'Neill was the lone goal in a closely played match. France had less chances than Scotland, but came close to scoring on John Martin several times.

***

31.8.13
Scotland (2) France (1)
Scotland- M.Stewart 45 S.Hughes 68
France- F.Bruneau 11
MOM- Stephen Pearson, Scotland

Scotland- Jamie Langfield- 8, Stephen Crainey- 8, Alan Archibald- 9, Jim Reid- 7, Andrew Rollo- 8, Michael Stewart- 7, Stephen Pearson- 9, Stephen Hughes- 8, Mark Kerr- 7, Kenny Miller- 7, Kiegan Parker- 8 (No Subs used)

Even without injured Captain Barry Ferguson, it was the match where we proved we belonged in the World Cup. It really was a stunning victory for us- despite how well we had played, we were still considered a 'fluke' contender before this match. It looked bad for us in the early going when we went behind on Fabrice Bruneau's early strike past Jamie Langfield. They hemmed us in our own end for the first 20 minutes of the match. But, we were a determined club and we rallied to begin putting pressure on Sebastien Frey. He singlehandedly kept France in much of the remaining match- and was spectacularly effective through much of the first half. In first half injury time it was Michael Stewart who proved he is a clutch player as he made a short run into the area and then blasted a shot past Frey for his 1st ever International goal to even things at 1-1. We kept up the pressure to start the second half, but Frey was very sharp. The complexion of the match changed at 62 minutes when their skipper, Thierry Dalmat, earned his 2nd yellow card and was sent off. We capitalized at 68 minutes as Stephen Pearson beat Jean-Alain Boumsong on the dribble and his cross was deflected past Frey by Stephen Hughes. With the lead and them short a man, we didn't press forward as much- but were still able to maintain the kind of pressure that never allowed them to have much rythym to their offense. The 2-1 win boosted us into a commanding position atop the Group- 3 points ahead of France, with a significant goal differential lead on them as well.

In other Group play- Romania came from behind to win at Malta 3-2. Estonia knocked off Slovenia 2-1 at Tallinn. Those results assured France of at least 2nd place in the Group.

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3.9.13
Slovenia Under-21 (0) Scotland Under-21 (2)
Slovenia- None
Scotland- S.Duncan 62 T.Smith 90
MOM- Colin MacLeod, Scotland

Scotland- John Martin- 8, Derek Bruce- 8 , Iain Crawford- 8 , Mark McCall- 7, Darron Patton- 8, Alan O'Neil- 8, Garry Shearer- 7, Ian Knox- 7, Colin MacLeod- 9, Martin Bruce- 8, Steve Duncan- 8, Tom Smith- 8 (on 61 for Knox)

In a match where we strangled their midfield, we couldn't break away from them and though it finally turned out a win for us- they deserved accolades for their determined defense. We outshot them 13-1 for the match, but it wasn't until Steve Duncan was able to volley a pass from Tom Smith in that we gained the lead. Smith then clinched the match in second half extra time when Colin MacLeod crossed to him. It was a fairly grueling match and we were happy to finally nail down the win.

***

4.9.13
Slovenia (2) Scotland (4)
Slovenia- G.Smon 42,81
Scotland- S.Hughes 14,28 K.Miller 56,59
MOM- Stephen Hughes, Scotland

Scotland- Jamie Langfield- 7, Stephen Crainey- 6, Alan Archibald- 7, Jim Reid- 6, Andrew Rollo- 8, Michael Stewart- 8, Stephen Pearson- 8, Stephen Hughes- 10, Mark Kerr- 7, Kenny Miller- 10, Kiegan Parker- 7, Ross O'Donoghue- 7 (on 57 for Hughes), Shaun Maloney- 6 (on 64 for Parker)

We used the 1-2 punch of Stephen Hughes and Kenny Miller to see off Slovenia in a 4-2 win that moved us closer to winning the Group outright. With the win, we needed only a draw at home against Romania to ensure a clear placement above France. We also still held a four goal differential advantage on France going into our final match. Hughes scored first on a header off a cross from Stephen Pearson. He put us up 2-0 when he curled in a free kick past Marko Kuzma. Slovenia drew a goal back and gained some momentum when Gregor Smon scored late in the half. We ended that momentum with a quick double strike from Kenny Miller- the first on a rebound and the second when he deflected a cross from Andrew Rollo past Kuzma. Slovenia managed a late consolation goal to make the final 4-2.

In other Group play- France easily dumped Malta 3-0 in Stade de France, while Romania moved past Estonia 2-1.

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5.10.13
Scotland (2) Romania (1)
Scotland- S.Hughes 37 G.Anderson 81
Romania- M.Niculae 45
MOM- Jamie Langfield, Scotland

Scotland- Jamie Langfield- 8, Stephen Crainey- 7, Richard Montgomery- 8, Jim Reid- 6, Andrew Rollo- 7, Michael Stewart- 8, Ian Knox- 7, Stephen Hughes- 8, Robert McKeown- 7, Kenny Miller- 7, Steven Nicholas- 7, Ross O'Donoghue- 7 (on 72 for Knox), Graham Anderson- 8 (on 63 for Miller)

In a match that represented both our present and our future- we managed to beat Romania at Hampden Park on a late goal to ensure that we would win our Group and advance to the World Cup. With both Barry Ferguson and Alan Archibald nursing minor injuries and several other regular starters knackered from SPL play- we featured the debut of Ian Knox (who set a record for youngest Scot at 19) and also welcomed back Robert McKeown and Richard Montgomery into the starting lineup. Stephen Hughes gave us the lead when he deflected a cross from Kenny Miller past Radu Tudor. Marius Niculae evened the match when he headed a corner from Emil Barbu past Jamie Langfield in first half injury time. The second half was hard fought as Romania was determined not to fall without a fight. We won the match when Graham Anderson, who had subbed on for tiring Kenny Miller, hit a rocket of a volley on a corner from McKeown and sailed the shot past Tudor for the match winner. The fans were on their feet as the final whistle sounded- celebrating our winning the Group and advancing to World Cup play.

In other Group play- France handily defeated Slovenia 3-0 at St.Denis to qualify for the Playoff round. They drew a tough matchup in the Playoff as they will face Portugal. Estonia edged Malta 2-1 at Tallinn to finish off Malta's string of 10 consecutive Group losses.

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12.11.13
Scotland Under-21 (3) Russia Under-21 (0)
Scotland- S.McDonald 26 M.Anderson 67,88
Russia- None
MOM- Mark Anderson, Scotland

Scotland- Steven Henderson- 8 (Charlton), Derek Bruce- 9 , Iain Crawford- 7 , Mark McCall- 6, Darron Patton- 8, Alan O'Neil- 7, Garry Shearer- 7, Tom Smith- 9, Steven McDonald- 7, Derek Campbell- 7, Ian Gray- 7, John Duncan- 7 (on 60 for Campbell), Martin Bruce- 7 (on 60 for Gray), Graham Gallacher- 6 (on 60 for Shearer, Newcastle), Mark Anderson- 9 (on 60 for Smith), Paul Elliott- 8 (on 60 for McDonald), Garry Smith- 7 (on 60 for O'Neill), Jim Bruce- 7 (on 69 for Garry Smith)

The Under-21 side's final match of 2013 also represented a beginning of the changing of the guard for them too. With several players moving beyond age eligibility and many raw youngsters seeking spots on next year's squad- this would be the final edition of the club as currently balanced. They went out with a bang as they easily rolled over the Russian youngsters in front of a mostly full Celtic Park. Steven McDonald notched the first goal after keeper Oleg Abramov fumbled a shot from Tom Smith. Mark Anderson, another developing talent that may see a Cap or two in the near future, subbed on for Smith and dominated the tiring Russian backline. He deflected a looping pass from Paul Elliott past Abramov for his first goal and then scored his second to close out our 3-0 win on a pass from Jim Bruce.

***

13.11.13
Scotland (1) Russia (3)
Scotland- S.Nicholas 66
Russia- U.Amirov 13,83 M.Izmailov 74
MOM- Ural Amirov, Russia

Scotland- Michael McDonald- 7 (1st Cap), Stephen Crainey- 7, Alan Archibald- 8, Richard Montgomery- 8, Andrew Rollo- 8, Douglas Hutchinson- 7 (1st Cap), Ian Knox- 8, Barry Ferguson- 7, Stephen Pearson- 7, Kenny Miller- 7, Kiegan Parker- 7, Ross O'Donoghue- 7 (on 57 for Ferguson), Graham Anderson- 8 (on 57 for Parker), Steven Nicholas- 8 (on 57 for Miller), Robert McKeown- 7 (on 57 for Pearson), Mark McNeil- 7 (on 57 for Hutchinson), Philip McGuire- 7 (on 57 for Archibald)

With our last match of 2013, I tried to mix in some fresh blood to the lineup, but it didn't work out particularly well. The tenor of the match was changed early on when Ian Knox appeared to have become the youngest Scot to ever score an International goal- only to see it waved off when Douglas Hutchinson was ruled offside. Shortly after that, venerable Ural Amirov took advantage of spotty midfield coverage to bank in a 20 yard shot past Michael McDonald. We pressured them throughout the remainder of the first half and to start the second half, but could not find a way to score. At 66 minutes Knox made a beautiful through ball and Steven Nicholas had an easy time finishing his 10th International goal to bring us back to 1-1. Unfortunately, that was our high water mark for the match, and the visitors found McDonald all too easy to solve in his first Cap- scoring a pair of second half goals that would likely have not been goals against Langfield, Brownie or Jim McLeod. It was a valuable learning experience for the club, but a rather unsatisfying home loss- even if it was only a friendly.

***

The draw for the playoff ended up costing France dearly as they lost a wild 4-3 match at Lisbon on the 2nd leg of the playoff. The result meant they were out of the World Cup on a 5-4 aggregate and they were left regretting the late goal by Miguel Coelho that snatched their advancement on away goals away from them in Portugal after Steed Malbranque had scored a late goal to even the match at 3-3.

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The World Cup Grouping draw was interesting and we wound up with Brazil, Sierra Leone and U.A.E. as the other members in our Group. The FA expected us to reach the second round and those expectations matched my own. Group G appeared to be the 'Group of Death'- featuring Holland, Portugal, USA and resurgent South Korea.

As we moved toward the end of the SPL season and towards the pair of friendlies scheduled with Greece before the World Cup begins, we also had the Group draw for the European Championships. We wound up Grouped with Portugal, Russia, Azerbaijan and Israel in what appears to be one of the toughest Group draws.

21.3.14
Greece 'B' (0) Scotland 'B' (3)
Greece- None
Scotland- P.Findlay 45,63 S.Lynch 90
MOM- Paul Findlay, Scotland

Scotland 'B'- Paul Sinclair- 7, Steven Hammell- 8, Scott Watson- 7, John McPherson- 7, John Clarke- 9, James O'Brien- 7, Peter Young- 7, Craig Cargill- 7, Robert McKeown- 7, David Bremner- 8, Gary O'Connor- 7, Paul Findlay- 10 (on 32 for Young), Daniel Ogunmade- 8 (on 57 for Bremner), Simon Lynch- 7 (on 57 for O'Connor), Douglas Hutchinson- 7 (on 57 for O'Brien), Paul Rudden- 7 (on 57 for McKeown), Christopher McGregor- 7 (on 57 for Cargill)

With the World Cup upcoming, the entire B side was out to make a good impression- and make their case for inclusion on the National side. Paul Findlay, the 28 year old winger from Crewe, certainly made the best possible impression. He subbed on for Peter Young after Young's ankle gave out on him and proceeded to control the match. He scored the first goal to end a bitterly disputed first half when he had all the time in the world to pick his shot location when left alone in front and he picked off a loose ball. In the second half he continued to cause problems for the Greeks and scored his second goal off an excellent left side run and shot that he bounced in off the underside of the crossbar. Simon Lynch capped our scoring when he smashed home a shot after Findlay laid the ball off for him.

***

22.3.14
Greece (1) Scotland (3)
Greece- K.Karagiannis 26
Scotland- A.Rollo 23-P S.Pearson 28 R.O'Donoghue 66
MOM- Alan Archibald, Scotland

Scotland- Jamie Langfield- 8, Stephen Crainey- 8, Alan Archibald- 9, Jim Reid- 7, Andrew Rollo- 8, Michael Stewart- 6, Stephen Pearson- 8, Barry Ferguson- 8, Mark Kerr- 6, Kenny Miller- 7, Kiegan Parker- 5, Graham Anderson- 7 (on 61 for Parker), Martin Bruce- 6 (on 61 for Miller, 1st Cap), Ross O'Donoghue- 7 (on 61 for Pearson), Alan O'Neill- 7 (on 61 for Stewart, 1st Cap), Stephen Hughes- 7 (on 61 for Ferguson), Paul Elliott- 7 (on 61 for Kerr), Richard Montgomery- 7 (on 61 for Archibald), Philip McGuire- 6 (on 61 for Reid)

In our first of two trips to Athens (we had another friendly here in a month's time), we were a bit ragged in the early going. Neither club had a shot on goal in the first 20 minutes of play as both clubs struggled to get some offensive consistency. Our first chance was when Kenny Miller broke in and as he danced past keeper Michalis Mouselimis the keeper pulled him down to earn a yellow card. Andrew Rollo converted the penalty kick to give us a 1-0 lead, but the lead lasted only moments as Kostas Karagiannis picked up a loose ball after a block tackle and slotted it past Jamie Langfield for his 1st International goal. We rallied back and struck again when Stephen Pearson deflected a Barry Ferguson free kick past Mouselimis to send us to the dressing room with a 2-1 halftime lead. With both clubs subbing liberally in the second half it was Ross O'Donoghue who capped off the match scoring as he fired a low, hard shot past Mouselimis. Greece rallied before the urging of their fans, but Langfield slammed the door the rest of the way to finish out the 3-1 friendly win.

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22.4.14
Greece 'B' (1) Scotland 'B' (2)
Greece- P.Bronowicki 69
Scotland- D.Bremner 31 J.McPherson 34
MOM- Steven Fraser, Scotland

Scotland 'B'- Paul Sinclair- 7, Steven Hammell- 8, Scott Martin- 7, John McPherson- 8, John Clarke- 7, James O'Brien- 7, Mark Morrison- 6, Steven Fraser- 9, Paul McMillan- 8, David Bremner- 8, Gary O'Connor- 7, Simon Lynch- 7 (on 57 for O'Connor), Craig Cargill- 6 (on 57 for Bremner), Willie Howie- 7 (on 57 for Fraser, 1st B appearance), Christopher McGregor- 7 (on 57 for McMillan), Robert McKeown- 6 (on 57 for Morrison), Douglas Hutchinson- 6 (on 57 for O'Brien), Jamie McCunnie- 7 (on 57 for Clarke)

We showed Greece a completely new attacking midfield this time around and Steven Fraser showed why he must be considered for the National side. Fraser, a 24 year old who is just starting to make waves in Ipswich, dominated the match when he was playing. He also drew the redcard from Giannis Grigoraidis in the 4th minute of play as the Greek hacked him down from behind in front of the referee- who was forced to call it. We struck for our goals in quick succession as David Bremner (another under strong consideration for the National side) swept in a rebound after Morrison's hard shot was parried. John McPherson capped a superb passing sequence with a rocket shot after taking a short cross from Fraser. Our attacking format backfired in the 2nd half when Greece sprung a counterattack and Pawel Bronowicki made a highlight reel run past three of our defenders before launching a left footed blast past Paul Sinclair. We put the clamps on them after that goal and finished out the 2-1 win.

***

23.4.14
Greece (0) Scotland (0)
Greece- None
Scotland- None
MOM- Michalis Mouselimis, Greece

Scotland- Jamie Langfield- 8, Stephen Crainey- 6, Alan Archibald- 8, Philip McGuire- 8, Andrew Rollo- 7, Michael Stewart- 7, Stephen Pearson- 7, Ian Knox- 7, Mark Kerr- 5, Kenny Miller- 7, Shaun Maloney- 6, Graham Anderson- 6 (on 54 for Maloney), Kiegan Parker- 8 (on 54 for Miller), Ross O'Donoghue- 7 (on 54 for Pearson), Alan O'Neill- 7 (on 54 for Stewart), Stephen Hughes- 7 (on 54 for Knox), Darren Fletcher- 7 (on 54 for Kerr), Richard Montgomery- 6 (on 54 for McGuire), Robert Malcolm- 7 (on 54 for Crainey, 1st Cap)

In our last tuneup before we faced Brazil to open the World Cup we played a half-hearted match in Athens. About the only good thing we took away from our scoreless draw with Greece was the fact that we needed to play much better if we wanted to have any chance against Brazil. We had intermittent pressure on Michalis Mouselimis during the match and he came up with a couple dazzling saves against us, but overall our play was very lackluster. The biggest disappointment for me was seeing Mark Kerr again play poorly. His last couple efforts would place him on the bench against Brazil- instead of in the starting lineup.

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10.5.14

In the SPL, Kilmarnock's 3-0 win over Celtic was enough to push them past Motherwell to capture the SPL crown for the first time since 1965. Kilmarnock had finished 3rd last season. Motherwell was only able to manage a 1-1 draw hosting Hearts- when a win would have given them the title on goal differential. The shocking result of the season was the Rangers tumbling to 8th place- as their age finally caught up with them.

***

14.5.14
Club Brugge defeated Boavista 3-1 to capture the UEFA Cup in Amsterdam. The large crowd was fully for the Belgian side in the match.

***

25.5.14
Rosenborg stunned heavily favored Inter to win the Champions Cup at Hampden Park. I went to watch the match and it was a taut affair. Inter was hampered by the redcard handed out to defender Davide Caurla in the 3rd minute of play for a vicious two-footed tackle. The match winner was scored by defender Helge Overby in the 77th minute when he dribbled past Julius Aghahowa and fired a low shot past Raimondo de Oliveira for the lone goal in the match.

***

The Scotland squad selected for the World Cup was:
GK- Jamie Langfield, Jim McLeod, Mark Brown
Defenders- Stephen Crainey, Andrew Rollo, Alan Archibald, Philip McGuire, Richard Montgomery, Robert Malcolm, Scott Martin
Midfielders- Michael Stewart, Barry Ferguson, Ian Knox, Stephen Pearson, Ross O'Donoghue, Mark Kerr, Darren Fletcher, Shaun Maloney, Stephen Hughes
Forwards- Kenny Miller, Kiegan Parker, Graham Anderson, David Bremner