Scottish Reprise- Return to East Stirling

[Faramir]

5.12.17

Slavia Prague (0) East Stirling (4) Champions Cup Group D

It was clear that Slavia Prague was the odd-club out in Group D as they managed to earn zero points and only scored one goal- against us in our first match- in Group play. We capped their disappointing run as we played a terrific second half in handing them a stinging 4-0 defeat in Prague. We dominated the match- outshooting the home side 23-3- and took the lead at 28 minutes when Danny Howard pushed a pass ahead and Brian Walker powered past two Prague defenders before putting a powerful shot away past Sergei Lepmets. Though we didn't score in the rest of the first half, our pressure was clearly grinding Prague down. A quick counter-attack at 66 minutes proved the ruin of the home side as Petr Dvorak received a redcard for taking John Burns down from behind in the area. Scott Watson calmly converted the penalty kick for his 1st goal of the season as we moved ahead 2-0. We finished our demolition of Prague as Howard and Scott Grant added late goals. Kenneth Stenild had an easy time with the clean sheet. It wasn't enough for us though as Manchester United battled Bayern to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford and finished a point above us in 2nd place in Group D.

[Faramir]

7.12.17

It is a very depressing day for me. I have nurtured and developed David McKenzie and Ross Brown and now both talented youngsters are out in the Press wanting to move to a bigger club (say Rangers). I stuck a 17 Million price tag on McKenzie and accepted his request to be placed on the transfer list- I expect Brown to make a similar request soon. They may leave- eventually- but it will be at my sale price, since they are under contract to us for several more seasons and I won't allow them to leave for anything less than I list them at.

***

9.12.17

East Stirling (3) Rangers (1)

Amidst all the turmoil on the club, we were still able to get back our focus playing 'Gers and thanks to a brace of brilliant free kicks from MOM John Burns we handed them a satisfying (for us) 3-1 defeat at Firs Park. We got off to a good start on the snow covered and slippery pitch as Darryl Knights managed to control a loose ball and chipped a shot over Clas Bergwall to give us the lead at 10 minutes. Rangers equalized when Kasper Frederiksen hammered home a rebound after Ross Brown parried away a hard shot from Armando D'Angelo at 37 minutes. We seemed to have better legs than our visitors in the second half and our frozen faithful roared away when we retook the lead as Burns drilled home a curving 25 yard free kick that eluded Bergwall's diving try. Burns then blasted a precision 20 yard free kick past Bergwall midway through the second half to give us the 2-goal lead. We closed out well from there for a nice win.

[Faramir]

13.12.17

East Stirling (2) Hearts (0)

In a match played in freezing sleet, we managed to put together a strong second half to edge Hearts 2-0 at Firs Park. The first half was sloppy- both in each club's play and in the sleet and swirling winds that buffeted the East Stirling fans. Neither side generated a good opportunity to score. Danny Howard stepped up as the difference maker again today. Howard darted through and intercepted a backline pass that put him away free. With no other choice, David Henderson hauled Howard down in the area and earned a redcard, while received a penalty kick. MOM Scott Watson converted the penalty kick past John Thompson and we finally had the lead. With the man advantage and the slick pitch, we spread things out and played ball control. Hearts quickly tired and I was much more comfortable when John McLaren scored his 1st ever goal for us with a terrific 25 yard blast past Thompson after a cross-pitch pass found him in place. Ross Brown earned another clean sheet in the win.

***

15.12.17

The draw for the Euro Cup 2nd Knockout Round will see us facing off against Czech side Sigma Olomouc. In a twist, if we win our way past them, we may well face Hearts as they play against CSKA Moscow and we are drawn against the winners of that for a 3rd Round match.

[tenthreeleader]

Despite your win over Rangers, you're doing quite well!

[Faramir]

I was rather pleased with how well we did that tenthree

***

16.12.17

East Stirling (3) Livingston (0)

Visiting Livingston survived an early penalty kick, but our onslaught quickly gave us the lead and we demolished them in a 3-0 win at Firs Park. The match turned sour for the visitors early when Soares was sent off with a 2nd yellow card after he tripped John Burns in the area at 8 minutes. Sean Murdoch, the lone bright light for Livingston, saved John McGregor's penalty kick to momentarily stall us. MOM Darryl Knights then took over as the additional space suited him well. Knights fired a precision shot past Murdoch at 10 minutes for the lead. Knights made it a brace late in the first half with a delicate chip over Murdoch for his 10th goal of the season as he caught the keeper trying to come out and smother the ball in the area. Early in the second half Knights capped a brilliant match by finishing off his hat-trick with a powerful shot past Murdoch off a nicely laid off pass from Burns. Ross Brown put up another clean sheet in the match.

[Faramir]

26.12.17

East Stirling (1) Ross County (1)

A costly defensive mistake early in the match left us fighting back against last place Ross County. We finally battled to a 1-1 draw, but if we had played a better match it should have been an easy win for us. Against the flow of play, as we dominated the first minutes of the match, Ross County capitalized on a counter-attack as Andy West flicked a header past Ross Brown on a cross from Neil McKenzie. We turned up the pressure and blasted away at keeper Dennis Limpens, but the Dunfermline backline- led by MOM Jim O'Brien- kept coming up with timely tackles and Limpens made the difficult saves. We finally found the equalizer midway through the second half when Darryl Knights volleyed past Limpens from close-in on a cross from David Baxter. The match winner we couldn't find and we were left with an unsatisfying draw.

***

30.12.17

It is both a sad and happy day in the East Stirling annals, as one of our own graduates to elite club status. Arsenal outbid Villareal and Chelsea and with the opening of the transfer window our skipper- David McKenzie- makes the step up to a big club that he so desperately wanted. With us holding the cards on his favorable contract- we forced the bidding clubs to come to the table with 15 Million up front, a 10% sell-on clause, and to agree to a friendly for next season. The money will double the club's bottom line, so it isn't entirely a bad thing- but the loss in our dressing room and on the pitch will be immense.

[SirToby]

Fantastic story.

I would love to see some SS of your star players. Can you fix that?

[stoehrst]

Holy crap I caught up to the end of the story. This has been absolutely fantastic start to present and I laud you for your amazing managerial talent Faramir. I have to say it was heartbreaking to see you miss out on your chances at silverware for so many seasons before you finally won the SPL, I definitely expected you to either take the League Cup or Scottish Cup at some point earlier. And you're doing all this with a club that is still fairly poor financially! I need to take lessons from you.

One thing I'm curious about, something that's been a huge problem for me in the Newcastle game I'm running (see The Entertainers Reborn) is that I have trouble keeping a large squad happy. You seem to constantly bring in more and more young players and though I'm sure some of them leave without getting too many appearances, you obviously do a fairly good job of keeping everyone happy. Even your listed first team is probably bigger than my whole squad (not counting U18s). Any tips?

[Faramir]

SirToby- Not at present. I am still trying to rescue the story off an almost dead PC (obviously more to post- but the saved file is stuck at present).

stoehrst- Thanks very much It took a lot of patience to get to the success- and was worth the effort.

As far as your question on happiness, remember this story was (is) running under FM 2006- which is much more foregiving in that regard. Both FM07 and FM08 are much more difficult to keep everyone happy. Still, having played a lot of them, there are a couple things I do that are much different than the PC players. I keep a big Senior squad (basically at least two full rotations of players, with a few more besides and I use that depth to both keep players fresh- since my clubs are usually pretty youthful I have to be a bit careful on burning them out by overplaying- and to keep most of them happy. It won't solve all the problems, as your best players are likely to want to move to big clubs- but you do the best you can in keeping them.

***

30.12.17

Motherwell (0) East Stirling (3)

I honored Arsenal's request to keep David McKenzie out of the lineup today and Anthony Hallam stepped back into a starting role and also the role of our skipper. The first half featured a lot of spotty play from both sides and we held the lead at halftime thanks to an excellent pass from Hallam that put Brian Walker in free. Walker buried his shot in the low center of the goal past Alex Heather to cap the chance. The second half we looked a much better club and our passing turned into a clockwork precision as we wore down the home side. MOM Danny Howard finished off a nice series of passes by firing a shot past Heather and then Tim Burgess hit an exquisite 30 yard rocket past Heather to cap the scoring. Kenneth Stenild put up the clean sheet in the match.

BSP Table (#matches played)

1- East Stirling (21)      45 pts (+30)
2- Rangers (21)            42 pts (+17)
3- Celtic (19)             41 pts (+27)
4- Hearts (21)             33 pts (+4)
5- Dunfermline (21)        28 pts (-3)

[Faramir]

1.1.18

We completely swept the December awards. Danny Howard was Player of the Month, John McLaren was Young Player of the Month, Darryl Knights had the goal of the month (against Livingston) and I was Manager of the Month. The awards are nicer for the players as I would much rather have our club finish the season well than any awards.

***

1.1.18

The club's bottom line has now swelled to just under 25 Million in the black with the 15 Million sale of David McKenzie. I was surprised the dressing room wasn't as affected as I thought we might be with the loss of McKenzie. I think they all realize it worked out for the best- with McKenzie unhappy about not being allowed to move to a bigger club for part of the season.

***

6.1.18

St.Mirren (1) East Stirling (1) Scottish Cup 3rd Round

After a costly defensive error, it took a clutch free kick in the second half to set us up with a replay against St.Mirren, as we fought back to earn a 1-1 draw. Though we played very well in the first half, we fell behind when the scored midway through. Scott Sim badly misjudged the play as he tried to challenge Yasmin Zengin for a pass lofted into the middle. Zengin flicked his header past Sim to give the home side the lead. The pressure was on in the second half and we forced St.Mirren to play more on their side of the pitch. We finally found the equalizer after Jordy Buijs gave away a dangerous free kick when he was redcarded for a professional foul on Scott McLaughlin. John McGregor drilled a clutch 25 yard free kick past Preben Korstad to even the match and earn himself MOM honours. Despite our man advantage, we could not find the winning goal and will host a replay at Firs Park. The match featured the debut of two more heralded youngsters- 19 year old DRC Mark Clark and 17 year old SC Mark Wilson- both played adequately in their first match.

[Faramir]

10.1.18

East Stirling (3) St.Mirren (0) Scottish Cup 3rd Round Replay

A strong second half carried us to the 4th round of the Scottish Cup as we broomed out pesky St.Mirren with a 3-0 win in the replay at Firs Park. The first half was a sputtering effort from both clubs as each wasted several good chances to score with poor shooting. I was really pleased with the fire the boys showed going into the second half and we scored right away to gain the lead as Alan Young slightly redirected a looping cross from Mark Clark past Preben Korstad. We turned that into a quickfire double when elusive Danny Howard wended past two attempted tackles with the ball and then snapped a shot past Korstad. Clark got his 2nd assist of the match when he crossed and Stefan Vonboe Lang deflected it past Korstad late in the match to cap the 3-0 win. Ross Brown earned his clean sheet with a good effort in the first half. MOM honours went to our defender Anthony Hallam. Celtic won both their matches in hand- including a 1-0 win over Motherwell today- to move back into 1st place a point ahead of us.

[Faramir]

14.1.18

Dundee (1) East Stirling (3)

Another strong second half was the crucial factor in our 3-1 win over Dundee at Dens Park. We had gained an early lead in the first half when Darryl Knights deflected a short cross from Mark Green past Johan van Dongen. Green had made a terrific play with the ball to setup the goal as he had dribbled past two defenders before lofting the pass to Knights. Late in the first half Soma Toth caught Anthony Hallam not paying close enough attention to Ivan Simic. Simic had two steps on Hallam and that was enough to allow him to fire a shot past Ross Brown for the equalizer. We emphasized to just keep working in the second half and our hard work paid off midway through when John Burns fired in the rebound after van Dongen parried away a shot from Knights. We then capped the scoring by clinching the match as Knights made it a brace and earned MOM honours with a superb chip over van Dongen after taking a well timed pass from Stefan Vonboe Lang.

[Faramir]

20.1.18

Dundee United (0) East Stirling (1)

It was a clean sweep in our pair of road matches at Dundee as we made an early goal stand up in our 1-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice Park. We got off on a flyer as Jamie Fraser snapped home a rebound after Enrique Castro parried Fraser's initial header on a corner from John Burns at six minutes. Castro played very well in keeping us from earning more goals as he made a sensational stop on Danny Howard midway through the first half when a pass from Darryl Knights had sent him in free. Castro also made a diving parry on Knights early in the second half. Ross Brown was playing well in our goal too and had terrific support from our backline- led by MOM David McGregor. Despite more pressure from the home side in the second half, we never cracked defensively and Brown's clean sheet was enough to give us the close win.

***

22.18

As the end of the transfer window looms, we had another big transfer sale today and one addition as well. Leaving us is unhappy forward Scott Grant, who will be moving to Liverpool after we accepted their offer of 4 Million, a scheduled friendly and a 10% sell-on clause. Rangers and Everton had also bid on Grant, but I had made things very pricey for 'Gers and they weren't about to ante up. Joining us- in a move that I admit was a wee bit preemptive, to prevent him from going to either Old Firm club- is 20 year old DM/AMC John Allen. We paid Hearts 120K for the promising young midfielder and I think he will be able to step in and contribute after a bit of training.

[bluebirds4life]

One of the best story's ever been I mean not a lot of people have the dedication to write this much as long as other stories and it obviously proves that it's popular now back to my Reading save where this has truly inspired me.

[Faramir]

bluebirds4life- Thanks very much I am glad people are still enjoying the story after such a long run with it

***

27.1.18

East Stirling (2) Hibernian (0)

Two goals in second half injury time allowed the Firs Park faithful to celebrate in fine fashion as we eked out the 2-0 win over Hibernian in a closely played match. Though we had the better of scoring chances in both halves, the visitors also managed to create some opportunities. Zoltan Pinter would have earned MOM honours had they given them out at the half as he had three really sensational saves to keep the scoreline tidy. Ross Brown was forced to make a couple timely saves on Lorenzo De Luca and Giovanni Trombetta in the early moments of the second half before our backline settled down and started playing more steady defense. The match appeared headed for a scoreless draw until we reached second half injury time. Once again, it was Darryl Knights coming up with the key goal as he smashed home the rebound into the open goal after Pinter made a body blocking parry on a scorching shot from Tim Burgess. We clinched the match by making that a quickfire double as Stefan Vonboe Lang pushed in the rebound after Pinter got a palm on Knights' low blast. Knights was deservedly awarded MOM honours.

[Faramir]

3.2.18

East Stirling (3) Motherwell (2) Scottish Cup 4th Round

Though not a particularly well played match, we did just enough to escape with a 3-2 win to broom Motherwell from the Scottish Cup at Firs Park. We fell behind at 21 minutes when Scott Watson misplayed a ball on the wing and that allowed Thomas Kovar to send a sizzling cross into the middle. Kelvin King took advantage of Mark Clark's lack of experience to outleap him and flick a header past surprise starter in goal Arjan van der Heijden. We wasted little time getting back to even as MOM Danny Howard's looping cross was perfect for Scott McLaughlin to power past John Gibson from close-in. The halftime lead was ours after McLaughlin capped a flowing passing sequence by laying off for Howard to drive past Gibson. I was much happier when Howard added his second goal at 71 minutes by deflecting a cross from Stefan Vonboe Lang. That comfort didn't last long as our patchwork lineup failed to account for Nicky Maynard and he put away a pass from Mark Davies to draw the score back to 3-2. They failed to score on their final flurry of shots and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as we will continue on in the Scottish Cup.

***

5.2.18

Our Reserves clinched the Reserves Group 1 Title today after only 18 matches played. Currently our Reserve side has won 13 matches without losing in their 18 matches played and that was enough to clinch the crown at this early juncture.

[Faramir]

10.2.18

Hearts (0) East Stirling (3)

We broke open a taut match with two goals late in the second half on our way to a 3-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle. David Baxter staked us to an early lead when he was in the right place to fire home a rebound after David Button had made good saves on Mark Green and Darryl Knights. We clung to that lead with fine work in goal from Ross Brown. We showed renewed legs after halftime and began forcing the play on the homeside as they tired in the second half. We put the match away when Knights and Brian Walker, on for a tiring Green, scored in a three minute span very late in the match. Kenneth Stenild finished out the clean sheet for Brown as he had to come out with a slight injury. Knights earned MOM honours in the match.

[Faramir]

15.2.18

Sigma Olomouc (0) East Stirling (0) Euro Cup 3rd Knockout Round Leg 1

It was a lack of finishing, not a lack of effort that left us with a scoreless draw in the 1st leg of our Euro Cup knockout round match in Olomouc. We had the chances and pressured the home side repeatedly, but our shooting was off the mark all day and when needed- Radek Kolar made the big saves. The match was rough and Danny Howard was forced to leave midway through the first half due to a nasty tackle. Kenneth Stenild earned his clean sheet in goal with a pair of timely saves late in the second half as the home side tried to steal the win. MOM honours went to John Burns.

[Faramir]

18.2.18

Rangers (2) East Stirling (1)

Our 35-match unbeaten streak came to a crashing halt when 'Gers scored a late match winner to hand us our 1st BSP loss of the season as they edged us 2-1 at Ibrox. The match was football at its best as both sides flowed up and down the pitch. Good tackling kept things scoreless in the frenetic early moments of the match. Keepers Clas Bergwall and Ross Brown were both active and it appeared we might have a scoreless first half. That changed when Gunnar Gislason blasted a 25 yard shot off the inside of the left upright past Brown to give the home side the lead going to the dressing room. We stormed out into the second half and equalized right away as David Baxter crossed and Mark Green powered a header inside the left post to even the match. Both sides had good opportunities, but it was 'Gers Kasper Frederiksen who came up with the match winner. Stefan Vonboe Lang's giveaway in our area left the backline scrambling and that allowed Frederiksen to be unmarked as MOM Bjorn Jonas Ulvund slipped him the pass and he put away his shot past Brown at 84 minutes. Bergwall made a nice save on Darryl Knights to preserve the win for Rangers.

[Faramir]

22.2.18

East Stirling (4) Sigma Olomouc (0) Euro Cup 3rd Knockout Round Leg 2 (East Stirling advances on 4-0 aggregate)

Sigma's magic wore off in their trip to Firs Park and our fans got to enjoy a well executed, precision attack that diced the visitors up as we sent them out of the Euro Cup with our 4-0 win. It was clear we were a quicker club and this match we managed to take full advantage of that with crisp passing. Danny Howard and Brian Walker scored within minutes of each other midway through the first half to establish our control in the match. John Allen then made his 1st goal at East Stirling a memorable one with a beautiful 25 yard chip that just tucked into the goal past flat footed keeper Radek Kolar. We added one more goal in the second half as MOM Paul Murray- our young left winger- showed he was pushing his way into more playing time with a shot he drilled past Kolar from just inside the edge of the area. Kenneth Stenild had an easy clean sheet in the match. We will be facing CSKA Moscow as they knocked Hearts out of the competition.

[Faramir]

25.2.18

East Stirling (1) St.Mirren (1)

A clearly disappointing result for us as we handed St.Mirren the early lead and then were only able to salvage a 1-1 draw thanks to a goal late in the second half. A terrible decision by David Baxter was very costly as Baxter decided to try and pass across the pitch and made a bad pass. The ball went right to Yasmin Zengin and Zengin lofted a 45 yard shot into the open goal as Ross Brown was caught well out of position by Baxter's misplay. It was a struggle for us as our passing wasn't sharp and we gave the ball away in the midfield consistently. When we did have a good chance- Preben Korstad came up with the save. Mark Green saved us in the 87th minute when he took a through ball from David McGregor and rounded Korstad to score the equalizer. St.Mirren defender Nunes earned MOM honours in the match. Injuries hit us hard in the match as Brown sprained his ankle and might be out a couple months. David Martin injured his calf and will likely miss a month and Scott Watson will be out a week with a badly bruised head.

[Faramir]

28.2.18

Morton (1) East Stirling (3) Scottish Cup Quarterfinal

A quick start to the match carried through for us as we defeated Morton 3-1 to move to the Scottish Cup Semifinal. Brian Walker earned MOM honours and scored in the opening minute of play when he finished well on a cross from Jamie Fraser. Walker had a brace at 7 minutes when he hammered home the rebound after David Sugar made the parry on Danny Howard's hard shot. Morton got a glimmer of hope when Chris Clark skipped past the attempted tackle of Mark Campbell and slotted his shot past Kenneth Stenild. We were all more comfortable when David Baxter fired a shot that deflected slightly when it hit defender David Brown and went in off the inside of the left upright. Our backline gave us a steady effort from there as we closed out Morton's upset hopes.

[Faramir]

3.3.18

Livingston (1) East Stirling (1)

Another match that we should have won, but instead ending up splitting the points with Livingston at Almondvale in a 1-1 draw. The first half was all ours and we put continual pressure on the home side. Sean Murdoch was excellent in goal for them today and though he didn't take the MOM honours- Livingston would not have managed a draw, but for his good play. Mark Green had a couple excellent chances ruined in the first half due to timely tackling by the home side backline. It was disappointing to fall behind in the opening moments of the second half after how dominating our play had been. MOM Perparim Hetemaj made a dazzling 25 yard shot when a loose ball bounced to him. Hetemaj's shot tucked inside the left upright just past the fingertips of Kenneth Stenild. We surged to the attack to try and even the match and Murdoch came up big twice on Darryl Knights' quick shots. The one that Murdoch couldn't stop was Scott McLaughlin's, on for a tired Green, header. McLaughlin deflected a cross from David Baxter past Murdoch midway through the second half. We had a golden chance to win go awry in the waning moments when McLaughlin set up Baxter beautifully- but Baxter missed wide left with an open goal to shoot at.

[Faramir]

8.3.18

East Stirling (1) CSKA Moscow (2) Euro Cup 3rd Knockout Round 1st Leg

Our stay in the Euro Cup might turn out to be short as we played a brutally bad first half and lost to visiting CSKA Moscow 2-1 in the 1st leg of our knockout round match. MOM Lima gave our backline fits in the first half as he scored a brace in a five-minute span. His first goal was a disappointing one as Kenneth Stenild appeared to have made the save only to see the ball deflect off his hands to the inside of the left upright- and then it trickled into the goal. Mark Campbell failed to mark Lima on his 2nd goal and the Brazilian slipped past Campbell to snap his shot past Stenild. I let the boys know their effort in the first half was unacceptable and they played much better in the second half. It wasn't enough to prevent the loss as keeper Roman Gavrilov was playing superbly. We did manage to get a goal back in the opening moments of the second half when Nicolas Fischer slammed home a loose ball into the open left side of the goal, but Gavrilov denied Fischer two other times when he had excellent chances. With the two away goals in hand, we have a lot of work to do if we want to stay in the competition.

[Faramir]

11.3.18

East Stirling (4) Dunfermline (2)

In a match that I considered a must-win- else Celtic skates away too far ahead of us to be caught- things looked grim when they equalized on a penalty kick midway through the second half. Fortunately, we had Danny Howard playing his finest match of the season and we scored two late goals to win out 4-2. The first match featured uneven play by both sides. We took the lead when Danny Howard took the ball around keeper Johan van Dongen after receiving a delicate pass from John Allen. Dunfermline hit back immediately when Jon Alvarez setup Manuel Ruiz with a cross to the far post and Ruiz flicked his header past Scott Sim. We moved back on top as Brian Walker hammered home his own rebound after a fine move with the ball past John Olav Matre. The opportunities to build on the lead early in the second half were there, but we couldn't finish as van Dongen made excellent saves on Howard and Scott McLaughlin, who replaced a tiring Walker. Dunfermline equalized when Simon Atkins converted the penalty kick after John McLaren was whistled for a handball in the area. Howard saved our sagging spirits with a dazzling run from midfield past two defenders and then he slotted his shot past van Dongen for a goal that will surely be among the East Stirling season highlights. With time winding down a quick counter-attack by us saw Andraz Bajlec draw a redcard for a last man tackle on Howard. McLaughlin calmly converted the penalty kick to make the final score 4-2 in our favor.

BSP Table (Matches played listed)

1- Celtic (29)         67 pts (+45)
2- East Stirling (29)  62 pts (+39)
3- Rangers (29)        55 pts (+19)
4- Dunfermline (30)    44 pts (+2)

[stoehrst]

Faramir I'm curious as to what tactics you use and what you look for in players at each position. I feel if I had a more definite idea of what I run and what I want I could create a mostly English team in my Newcastle save that can still be very successful in the EPL, and you're still the benchmark I hold my success to. Think you could give me a few pointers?

As always, doing excellent, congrats on your success and I love the style of your match reports. KUTGW!

[Faramir]

stoehrst- Be glad to share, but probably better to take it to email Drop me a line and we can discuss, though to be honest mine is a pretty simple approach...

***

15.3.18

CSKA Moscow (0) East Stirling (5) Euro Cup 3rd Knockout Round Leg 2 (East Stirling advances on 6-2 aggregate)

We had two things we needed to accomplish to advance- stop Lima and find a way to get some scoring from our forwards. Mission accomplished for us, as MOM Danny Howard topped his effort in the Dunfermline match with a sublime performance to impress the telly viewers in leading us past CSKA Moscow. The first half was a spirited battle and the number of fouls and yellow cards reflected that. We took the lead in the match when Howard escaped his marker and dumped a shot past Roman Gavrilov. Though we led at halftime- the two away goals by CSKA in the first leg loomed large and both the clubs knew the next goal was a crucial one. Howard showed his immense class under pressure when he scored the critical goal with a precision strike inside the far right post for his brace at 64 minutes. I am not sure why- but CSKA Moscow lost a lot of heart and determination after Howard's goal and suddenly our chances were coming in flurries. Howard quickly completed his hat-trick when Nicolas Fischer, who was yellow carded and will miss our next Euro Cup match, made a wonderful touch and Howard tucked the ball inside the left upright for his 15th goal of the season. Howard then capped an amazing match by scoring twice more for a total of 5 goals as he continually eluded the attempts to mark him. Kenneth Stenild's steady first half play helped earn him a clean sheet for the match. The match also featured the return of Tim Burgess from his injury- a welcome addition to our midfield.

***

16.3.18

Our reward for rallying past CSKA Moscow is to face Inter in the Quarter-finals. The other Quarter-final matchups include Ajax and Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Hertha BSC, and Espanyol and Deportivo.

[stoehrst]

Thanks Faramir, I'll be in touch soon. Nice win over CSKA, I'm pulling for you in Europe this season!

[Faramir]

stoehrst- Thanks much

***

18.3.18

Ross County (0) East Stirling (4)

Bottom of the table Ross County wilted under our pressure in the first half and we scored all four of our goals by the 27 minute mark in easily brushing the struggling club aside in the win. Mark Green setup our first goal as he was tripped in the area by Fabio. Stuart Ritchie converted th penalty kick to give us the lead at 11 minutes. Moments later it was a quickfire double when John Allen drilled a shot that went in off the left upright. MOM Jamie Fraser added a goal when he deflected a David Baxter cross past Dennis Limpens. Fraser then crossed and Baxter capped the scoring by volleying past Limpens for his 5th goal of the season. We had other chances to add to the margin- indeed Darryl Knights was feeling rather unlucky on the day, but were content with the margin of our win. The clean sheet went to surprise started Arjan van der Heijden.

***

18.3.18

Celtic tipped Rangers 4-2 to capture the League Cup.

[Faramir]

24.3.18

East Stirling (1) Motherwell (0)

The win could have come much easier, but I was happy to still find us with the 1-0 margin when the final whistle sounded. Motherwell will likely be a bit less appreciative of the officiating than us- seeing as how Erik Salkik received his 2nd yellow card at 73 minutes and then Gustavo Morales was sent off for a cynical foul at 83 minutes. We failed to capitalize on our advantage in the second half, but had gained the lead midway through the first half when David McGregor deflected a corner from David Baxter past Serge N'Silulu. The chances were aplenty to add to that margin, but even the penalty kick after Morales' foul went awry as Tim Burgess missed wide left. Even down 2 men, the visitors never quit and they almost came up with the equalizer in the late moments of the match- a good play by MOM David Martin kept that chance from coming to fruition. Kenneth Stenild earned an easy clean sheet in the match.

***

26.3.18

It was a relief- after all our discussions and wrangling early in the season- to finally have Darryl Knights signed under a new 3 year contract. I did have to grant him a 20 Million minimum fee release clause, but otherwise the 3-year contract was close to the original terms I offered him and he turned down several times.

[Faramir]

29.3.18

East Stirling (4) Inter (2) Euro Cup Quarter-final Leg 1

A thoroughly entertaining match for both our Firs Park faithful and the telly audience as they saw us yield a goal in the 2nd minute and then roar back for a 4-1 lead before giving away a second goal late in the second half. Ivan Slavov put Inter away on a flyer when he slipped past David McGregor and flicked a header over Kenneth Stenild from close-in. We stormed back to equalize when MOM Danny Howard crossed and Brian Walker put away the half volley past Vincent Degre. We took the lead shortly after when Alan Young, beautifully setup on a laid off ball from Tim Burgess, rifled a 30 yard shot past Degre inside the right upright. Howard then made another brilliant move with the ball and dealt a pass that allowed Walker to score his brace at the 29 minute mark. We moved ahead 4-1 in the opening moments of the second half when Young scored with an almost exact repeat of his 1st goal- on another 30 yard rocket. Paul Gray, on for an ailing John Burns at leftwing, made a youngster's mistake and got caught holding in our area. Diego Bisewar converted the penalty kick to give the Italian side new life and hope for the second leg.

[tenthreeleader]

What a run ... sounds like Gers were fortunate! Continued success, Faramir!

[mark wilson27]

29.3.18

East Stirling (4) Inter (2) Euro Cup Quarter-final Leg 1

Brilliant result there faramir, hopefully you can go all the way

[Faramir]

tenthreeleader, markw - Thanks much to both of you- you have been steadfast readers for a long time now

***

1.4.18

Hearts (2) East Stirling (2) Scottish Cup Semifinal

We needed a replay like a hole in our head, but that is what we have after Hearts fought back for a 2-2 draw at Hampden Park in our Quarter-final match. We really could easily have lost this match, because Hearts outplayed us for much of it, but timely execution got us the lead that we were not able to hang on to. Hearts dominated the first half of play and we stayed locked in a scoreless draw thanks to fine work from Scott Sim. At halftime we found the fire needed and a quickfire double from Darryl Knights and Nicolas Fischer gave us a 2-0 lead. We failed to hold that lead and Andrew Considine, making his return from injury, gave them a penalty when he tripped Nathan Weaver in the area. Weaver converted the penalty kick to draw the home side a goal back. We were desperately trying to cling to the lead when Weaver escaped Considine's marking and earned himself MOM honours with a dramatic equalizer. Neither club came close to breaking the deadlock and we will now have a replay to see who advances to the Final.

[Faramir]

5.4.18

Inter (0) East Stirling (0) Euro Cup Quarterfinals Leg 2 (East Stirling advances on 4-2 aggregate)

We remain the only Scottish club standing in European competition after we played exactly how we needed to in brooming Inter from the Euro Cup. We needed steadfast backline play and steady work from our keeper. MOM David McGregor led our backline as he neutralized powerful Ivan Slavov in the air and Kenneth Stenild did a super job in backstopping the win with his clean sheet. We took very few chances offensively, but came close to scoring three times in the match- Vincent Degre did his job in the Inter net by keeping things close with his key saves. Celtic was broomed from the Champions Cup by Barca the day before and Rangers fell to FC Bayern. Our opponent in the Semifinal will be Deportivo, while Middlesbrough and Ajax will battle in the other Semifinal.

[Spav]

Marvellous European victory there, Faramir. Here's hoping East Stirling can go all the way and keep the Scottish flag flying.

[Faramir]

Spav- Thanks much Going to keep trying for Europe glory.

***

8.4.18

East Stirling (4) Dundee (0)

In one of our finest matches of the season we thumped Dundee 4-0 at Firs Park in a match that was supposed to be much closer. Steve Buchanan celebrated his 1st Senior action of the season, as he replaced injured Mark Green, by scoring with a precision shot inside the right post after taking a terrific pass from Darryl Knights to create the opportunity. Knights added another goal when he deflected a cross from MOM Scott Watson past Peter Hendriks at 39 minutes. Dundee showed signs of life in the opening moments of the second half but lost a bit of heart when Buchanan made it a brace as he snapped home a close-in shot. Scott McLaughlin, on for a slightly injured Knights, then capped the scoring when he flicked a header past Hendriks on a cross from John McLaren in second half injury time for his 5th goal of the season. Kenneth Stenild earned his clean sheet in the early moments of both halves and was very sharp in the match.

[Faramir]

11.4.18

East Stirling (3) Hearts (0) Scottish Cup Semifinal Replay

The match was still scoreless into the 70th minute and it was clear that both sides were tiring a bit. Scott McLaughlin came on for an exhausted Steve Buchanan and gave us the spark we needed offensively as we exploded for three goals in an 6-minute span to send us on to the Scottish Cup Finals. Neither side played well in the first half as it was clear the tension had an effect. Because of our heavy slate of matches, I was resting several first line players in this match and it appeared that it took us until half-time to get our cohesion back. We finally took the lead at 73 minutes when MOM Tim Burgess deflected a sharp cross from Stuart Ritchie past Simone Villanova. That became a quickfire double when McLaughlin threaded a pass across and Darryl Knights had an easy time heading into the open left side of the goal. Our third goal came at 79 minutes when McLaughlin fired past Villanova after taking a deft pass from Knights. Scott Sim played superbly in the first half and his clean sheet was well earned. We will face Dundee in the Final.

[Faramir]

14.4.18

East Stirling (0) Celtic (0)

Our showdown match with Celtic in our final match before we begin Playoff Group play was a taut scoreless draw at Firs Park. We outplayed Celtic again today, but their backline was difficult to break down and it wasn't our forwards who had the best chances. Our major offensive threat was Nicolas Fischer who forced Teixeira to come up with three dazzling saves on rocket blasts from just outside the edge of the area. Kenneth Stenild was very solid in our goal in keeping the few opportunities from turning into goals for Celtic. MOM honours went to Celtic defender Scott Golbourne.

[Faramir]

17.4.18

Hibernian (1) East Stirling (1)

Another wasted match for us as we outplayed Hibs by a huge margin and only came away with a 1-1 draw after we allowed them to score a dramatic equalizer. Hibs keeper Zoltan Pinter was clearly the MOM as he made a wide variety of important saves in the match. The only reason the match was scoreless at halftime was because of Pinter's fine play as our center mids- Alan Young and Tim Burgess- were blazing away with wicked shots from distance as they were completely unmarked. Burgess finally rang in with a goal early in the second half on a 25 yard rocket after a nicely laid off pass from Jamie Fraser. We kept pepper Pinter with shots, but he kept the home side in the match with several good saves. As time wound down, Hibs got a break when Anthony Hallam missed intercepting a pass and that allowed Adam Preston to snap a shot inside the right post past replacement keeper Scott Sim, who came on after Ross Brown had to leave with a minor injury. In other Playoff Group matches, Dunfermline stunned Celtic in defeating them 2-1 with a late goal while 'Gers were similarly stunned at Ibrox as Hearts defeated them 2-0.

[tenthreeleader]

'Gers were similarly stunned at Ibrox as Hearts defeated them 2-0.

Better ping Jen to this thread, then. Ouch!

Meanwhile, East Stirling marches on!

[Faramir]

tenthree- heh

***

19.4.18

Deportivo (1) East Stirling (2) Euro Cup Semifinals Leg 1

In some ways, Deportivo could have justifiably felt they deserved better, but in other ways they received good treatment as we edged them 2-1 at Riazor. We were off on a flyer when Danny Howard made a brilliant move down the left sideline and then skipped a pass in for Brian Walker. Walker made a beautiful touch on the ball, redirecting it just enough to throw keeper Rafael Hernandez off as his shot tucked inside the right post to give us the lead at 6 minutes. Deportivo had the better of play the remainder of the first half and Kenneth Stenild proved himself again with several terrific saves to ensure we kept our slim lead to the dressing room. Early in the second half David McGregor was whistled for tripping Alberto Navarro in the area and Rafael calmly converted the penalty kick past Stenild for the equalizer at 56 minutes. We regained the lead at 67 minutes when MOM John Allen made a brilliant layoff pass and Nicholas Fischer drilled a shot inside the far left post for his 5th goal of the season. We were forced to withstand a withering array of shots as the home side desperately tried to equalize again, but the final whistle found us with a surprising 2-1 win in our 1st leg match. The win was costly though as Walker broke his ankle and will miss the remainder of the season.

[Spav]

C'mon East Stirling!!

[Faramir]

Spav- Thanks much

***

22.4.18

East Stirling (2) Rangers (2)

We should have won, but it was another 'could have, should have, didn't' match for us as we only managed a 2-2 draw hosting the 'Gers. We started the match very well and Clas Bergwall was forced into several fine saves. Mark Green gave us the lead at 35 minutes when a good, quick pass by Alan Young found him with space and he chipped over Bergwall. Our downfall in the match came as 'Gers Sergio Martinez scored a true quickfire double as our marking failed miserably and he escaped twice to score at 36 and 37 minutes. We shook off our frustration and played a strong second half. Green equalized with a brace of his own as he finished well on a deft pass from Darryl Knights. Knights then missed wide left on a penalty call after Green was tripped in the area. Another golden chance to win went by the wayside in second half injury time when Young was beaten to a loose ball by Pavel Hudec with an open goal to shoot at. Martinez was awarded MOM honours in the match. Celtic defeated Hibernian 1-0 yesterday to move within a point of us atop the BSP table.

[tenthreeleader]

Gers seem to be a bit of a trouble team for you, Faramir ... if there really is one in the middle of your fine season. Didn't mean to do Celtic any favors with the draw, though, I'm sure

[Faramir]

tenthree- Too true, Gers have always been a problem for East Stirling in this tale *sigh*

***

26.4.18

East Stirling (4) Deportivo (0) Euro Cup Semifinal Leg 2 (East Stirling advances on 6-1 aggregate)

It was a stunning performance for us as we easily broomed Deportivo to reach the Euro Cup Finals with an impressive 4-0 win in the second leg at Firs Park. John Allen gave us the lead midway through the first half when he was in the right place to hammer home a rebound after Rafael Hernandez initially stopped Darryl Knights. Knights added a goal in first half injury time with a brilliant move past two defenders before one of his patented laserbeam shots just inside the far right post. Deportivo may have had hope to begin the second half, but it ended quickly as MOM Nicholas Fischer blasted two long-range rockets past Hernandez as Fischer was given a huge amount of space just beyond their area. Kenneth Stenild earned the clean sheet with a series of good saves early in the first half.

[Faramir]

29.4.18

Hearts (1) East Stirling (6)

We rolled over Hearts 6-1 at Tyncastle to keep us a point atop Celtic (who wiped out Rangers faint hopes with a shattering 2-0 defeat of 'Gers at Ibrox). MOM Danny Howard got us off on a flyer when he scored in the 2nd minute by slipping a shot past John Thompson after a taking a sweeping pass from John McLaren. Hearts quickly evened the match when Patrick Van Hoof deflected a cross from Mickael Hazell past Ross Brown at 7 minutes. The match was all ours after that as Jamie Fraser's header put us back in front and then Howard's brace gave us a two-goal lead. We stretched our lead to three goals late in the first half as Darryl Knights scored. Howard finished his hat-trick early in the second half and Knights' brace rounded out the scoring in the 6-1 win.

[coldkohmew]

go win the cup!

[Faramir]

coldkohmew- Going for that to be sure

***

2.5.18

East Stirling (2) Dunfermline (0)

It was not a pretty win for us, but in the end we did exactly what we needed- to earn a 2-0 win over Dunfermline at Firs Park. The win set off a wild celebration among the packed house as Celtic was drubbed by Hearts 3-0 at Celtic Park and our final match showdown with Celtic is now a meaningless match as we clinched our 2nd BSP Title!. The first half was a gritty, tense time as the marking for both clubs was good and there were only a handful of scoring chances. Ross Brown made a nice save on Mark Hunt late in the half to ensure things stayed even. Early in the second half MOM David Baxter took advantage of space on the left with a superb chip over Johan van Dongen that tucked inside the right post to give us the lead at 54 minutes. We added to the margin with help from Jon Alvarez as his own-goal from heading a corner past van Dongen ruined a lot of the spirit and determination the visitors had shown. We closed the match out from there and everyone waited on the pitch- watching the final moments run out for Celtic before we began a grand Wednesday Title Party.

[tenthreeleader]

Congratulations! Well deserved win for a very good squad!