Scottish Reprise- Return to East Stirling

[Andy timm]

Not sure If its been meantioned already, but are ES allowed to expand their stadium...says in the editor that they don't own it.

[Faramir]

Andy timm- it does get expanded, at least in 2014-15 season it is a 16000+ with under soil heating

***

25.6.08

Thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, England fought back from trailing due to an early penalty to defeat Portugal 2-1 in the European Championships Semifinal.

***

26.6.08

In a more significant signing, we purchased 21 year old DRC,DM Steven McKenna from Airdrie for 1K. Though my scouts doubted that brining McKenna onboard would help us- I see a very quick rightback who could really help us with the ability to handle the larger, more physical sides we are going to see in Division 1 play. I have already discussed with Carl Laurie that I will be asking him to step into the super-sub role this season.

***

29.6.08

England used a brace from Michael Owen and single markers from Stewart Downing and Wayne Rooney as they easily defeated upstart Norway 4-1 to capture the European Championship. Norway had edged Germany on penalties to make their way to the final. Sven-Goran Eriksson promptly announced he was quitting after the match, "Feeling that he had done all that he could as Manager of England."

[Faramir]

1.7.08

With the expiration of their contracts, we released Mark Peat, Chris Robertson, Paul Moss, Mark Ramsay, Hugh Davidson and Simon Jahn from further service with the club. Peat was the only one I seriously tried to re-sign, but he wants to move to a club that will guarantee him a starting role, something that wasn't going to happen here.

***

2.7.08

We may have just answered some questions on the replacement of Adrian Nevins. We completed the transfer purchase of Finnish DC Jukka Santala from Airdrie for 5K up front and another 14K over 12 months. Santala has 9 Caps and originally was with the 'Gers before moving to Airdrie. He is a solid, veteran defender yet still only 23 years old and he should fit right in to take over Nevins' previous starting spot. His wage of 800/week is now highest on the club, but that is something we won't be able to avoid as we try to add players of his caliber. Overall weekly wages are now 4.45K/week, still well under the 15K budget currently in place.

***

6.7.08

Now we may have landed a worthy replacement to Steve McDonald, as we completed a 5K transfer purchase of 22 year old Hungarian AML,ST Miklos Kollat from Preston. Kollat has already collected his 1st Cap and appears to have a lot of potential. His wages are proportionally large at 825/week, but it was a superb chance to add a young left footed forward that may really help us.

[Faramir]

10.7.08

Another hazard of small sides reared its ugly head as 'Gers came shopping for a scout and came away with our best one as Bob Pearson signed with them. I couldn't blame Bob, but it makes it very hard for us.

***

11.7.08

We signed Dave Rhoades from Peterhead to fill Bob Pearson's scouting position, but honestly Bob will be very difficult to replace- his insightful judgement guided many of our free transfer signings.

***

12.7.08

It was very strange, and more than a bit bittersweet to hear Steve McDonald and Adrian Nevins introduced into the starting lineup for another club. Our Firs Park faithful gave them a nice hand, but once the match was on- past allegiances were forgotten. It was a very well played match for our first friendly of the year and I was pleased at how the backline performed. Miklos Kollat wowed the crowd when he scored a magical goal in the 2nd minute of play as he took a long goal kick from Steven van der Deyl and scored. That turned out to be the only goal of the match. It meant little to me, but the players were pleased that we were able to make an impression on Kilmarnock- who we will face in Division 1 play.

***

16.7.08

Hearts thrashed us 5-1 as they showed our backline has a long way to go. We managed to get even at 1-1 when Steve Lewis scored, but that was the only highlight as they dominated us in all manner of play today.

***

19.7.08

We played much better in easily handling Hamilton by a 4-1 score. Miklos Kollat, Chris Hamilton and Daryl Savage (in his first action at forward) with a brace were our scorers as we showed good ball movement.

***

23.7.08

We closed out our friendlies with a 1-0 loss to Raith. I thought we played pretty well, but we didn't get any breaks around their net. It showed we still have work to do both offensively and defensively.

[Faramir]

26.7.08

Alloa (0) East Stirling (3) Challenge Cup 1st round

It was a promising beginning as our 2nd line players looked very sharp as we dominated Alloa and easily moved past them 3-0 in the Challenge Cup match. We struck for the lead right away when Andrew Reilly sent a sizzling cross that picked out Marc Cameron and he deflected it into the right side of the net. James Frayne showed impressive strength as he took a short pass from James Flood and bulled past Robert Sloan before blasting a shot that got through Milan Barjactarevic that helped him earn MOM honours. Stephen Hindmarch, who had come on for slightly injured Peter Sale, made a terrific run and then drilled a shot after getting a good pass from Frayne. Stuart Skinner had a rock-solid debut in our central defense as they ably supported Stuart Gallacher to gain a clean sheet.

***

28.7.08

The Division 1 odds are out from oddschecker.com and yes, we are quite a longshot.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

St. Mirren- Evens

Airdrie- 6-4

St.Johnstone 6-4

Kilmarnock 7-4

Falkirk 7-4

Morton 2-1

East Stirling 500-1

</pre>

[Wimb The Barman]

I'd put a pound on , continues to be a good read sir

[Faramir]

Thanks for the kind words Wimb Make sure you keep tabs on the person you placed your book with

***

29.7.08

I had completely forgotten it was an Olympic year- until New Zealand called Danny Black to service. Losing Danny on the eve of the season is a bit of a blow, but Kevin Gaughan should again deputise and do well.

***

2.8.08

Queen of the South (1) East Stirling (2)

We opened our foray into Division 1 in fine style as we knocked off fellow-promotees Queen of the South 2-1 in front of their disappointed Palmerston Park fans. It was a battle of the dead ball situations. Derek Anderson paid immediate dividends as he replaced nicked-up Steve Lewis early in the first half and flicked home a rebound after Grant Carson had made a good save on Lee Sichi's blast following a corner. Carson kept us from adding to that lead and Steven van der Deyl- who captured MOM honours- kept things quiet in our end with a pair of excellent saves on Anton Smith and Dene Shields. We moved ahead 2-0 when Sichi drilled a 20 yard free kick past Carson, but they drew a goal back as Iain Chisolm outleapt Jukka Santala and Kevin Gaughan to deflect a corner past van der Deyl midway through the second half. They pushed hard to equalize, but we maintained our composure and came away with a pleasing, hard fought 2-1 road win. Lewis pulled his hamstring and will likely miss about 3 weeks of play.

[Faramir]

5.8.08

East Stirling (3) Peterhead (1) League Cup 1st round

We fought back and gained almost complete control after they scored their goal in the first minutes as Martin Wood slipped his marker and then snapped a shot past Stuart Gallacher. Andrew Reilly's good pass set James Frayne up nicely and he buried his shot into the goal past Michael Jordan. Despite controlling the tempo of play, we were having a bit of a difficult time scoring on Jordan. The match finally became unravelled for the visitors as James Flood gave us the lead at the 80 minute mark after an Adam Tiran pass. We then wiped out any remaining hopes they might have after Jordan parried away Reilly's blast and Ryan Carr was there to push it into the net for his 1st goal at East Stirling.

[Faramir]

9.8.08

East Stirling (0) Kilmarnock (0)

The match was there for the taking, as we outplayed Kilmarnock, but poor finishing left us with an unsatisfying scoreless draw. James Flood didn't have the touch today, as he had a penalty kick saved in the first half and missed a pair of sitters later. We kept our old mate Steve McDonald in check the entire match, though to be fair Adrian Nevins returned the favor in their end. We had plenty of possession, but weren't able to turn as many into scoring chances as I had hoped for. Not a bad effort overall, but a win would have been preferable.

[Faramir]

16.8.08

Morton (2) East Stirling (0)

This match looks like an easy win for Morton when you look at the write-ups, when in truth we handed them both of their goals and then were stymied by bad luck and Jamie Langfield. All of which led to a 2-0 road loss for us. Daryl Savage made an ill-advised backpass from the Morton side of the pitch. It threaded back through our defense directly to Soren Ulrik Vestergaard. Vestergaard would have been offside, but for the pass made by us, and had an easy time taking a step and then zipping a shot past Steven van der Deyl. Similarly, they added their second goal early in the second half when Andrew Reilly made a backpass that set Marek Molonar in free and he whipped a shot into the goal. Our luck was abysmal as Miklos Kollat hit the crossbar twice on excellent chances. We also found Langfield making every save he needed to close out a clean sheet. If we keep playing this type of match, and cut out the mistakes, we will do Ok this season.

[Faramir]

19.8.08

East Stirling (0) Falkirk (0) League Cup 2nd round- East Stirling advances on penalties

Stuart Skinner put his place down in the annals of East Stirling when he converted on the penalty kick that broomed our bitter rivals Falkirk out of the League Cup competition. The match was an entertaining one as both sides benefitted from solid backline play and good work from the keepers- Steven van der Deyl and Colin Stewart. We had a bit more of the posession in both halves, but little to show for it as we couldn't score. They had beeter chances in the second half and extra-time, but also could put nothing on the scoreline. Our reward is to face Rangers at Ibrox in the 3rd round.

[Faramir]

23.8.08

East Stirling (0) St.Johnstone (0)

It certainly wasn't a boring scoreless draw as both clubs had chances to win the match in each half, but some fine keeping from Steven van der Deyl and Lenny Pidgeley kept the two sides locked out of the scoreline. Our best chances came from Miklos Kollat in the first half and James Frayne, who came on for slightly injured Kollat at halftime in the second half and both saw Pidgeley come up with the saves. Derek Carcary, Cris- who earned MOM honours and Stephen Dobbie had excellent chances for St.Johnstone but all three saw van der Deyl come up with the key saves. Pidgeley made the save of the match when he made a diving parry of Danny Black's late free kick.

[Faramir]

26.8.08

East Stirling (4) Albion Rovers (0) Challenge Cup 2nd round

We handed visiting Albion a thrashing as we took over the match after the opening whistle and dominatated the match after that. James Frayne took a flicked on header and slipped his shot inside the left post past Allen Creer. Frayne made it a brace when Derek Anderson flicked a header over to him and he slipped it inside the right post. Steven McManus made a deft pass that allowed Anderson to get on the board when he took the ball around Creer and that made it 3-0 at halftime. The last goal came courtesy of Lee Sichi as he converted a penalty kick after Kevin O'Neill pushed McManus in the area. We helped young Scott Gallacher to the main shop.

***

30.8.08

As the transfer deadline was coming close, Queen of the South made me an offer I felt we couldn't refuse as they bid 12K up front and another 90K over the next 12 months to purchase Mick O'Brien. I felt we could let Mick go because central midfielders is one thing we have a surplus of. It should open up more playing time for Adam Tiran and Peter Sale. The sale puts us comfortably over the 2 Million mark in the black on the books.

[Faramir]

6.9.08

Falkirk (0) East Stirling (3)

To say the Falkirk fans were a bit stunned when the final whistle blew might be an understatement. They had expected a revenge match where they got even with us- their cross-town rivals- for brooming them out of the League Cup. Instead what they saw was a clinical defensive performance where we gave them little free space on our side of the pitch and played opportunistically on offense. Miklos Kollat dazzled our fans with a fine effort. He scored his 1st goal since arriving here when he drilled a 20 yard shot after a corner. James Frayne, despite playing with an injured arm, managed to shrug off a pair of tacklers and send a through ball to Kollat. Kollat took the ball and in one motion whisked it past Chris Neal to send us up 2-0 to the dressing room. We were content to play even more conservatively in the second half and Falkirk was having little luck finding room for chances. We put the match away when Kollat took a deft pass from Adam Tiran (on for Kenny McLean) and chipped a shot over stranded Neal into the right side of the net to finish his hattrick. The only down note was a late injury to Steven van der Deyl that may keep him out a couple weeks. The injury is a problem as 3rd keeper Russell Omand is also out with an injury- leaving Scott Gallacher as our only healthy keeper.

[Faramir]

9.9.08

Morton (1) East Stirling (0) Challenge Cup 3rd round

We worked so hard in the match- after losing Kevin Gaughan to a redcard at 25 minutes- but we wasted all that effort when a killer mistake allowed them an easy goal at 86 minutes and we didn't have any magic left to rally. Carl Laurie made a horrific backpass that left Scott Gallacher dealing with 3 Morton players. Predictably, Marc McCusker made the right choice in looping a pass over Gallacher that Vitor Lima had an easy time pushing into the net. It was a bitter pill for Gallacher, as he had played brilliantly in keeping them off the scoreline. Jamie Langfield had made a couple dazzling saves himself as we did manage a few chances despite having only 10 men. It was a tough loss.

[Faramir]

13.9.08

East Stirling (1) Clyde (0)

Another stingy defensive effort paid off in a close win when Miklos Kollat blasted in a 25 yard shot after a corner midway through the second half. We worked hard from that point on and stymied all their rally attempts to hold on for the close 1-0 win. We had played a terrible first half and had been fortunate that Scott Gallacher had kept them off the scoreline. Gallacher deserved his clean sheet and the backline deserved credit for their very mobile play as we staved off Clyde's rally.

[Faramir]

17.9.08

Rangers (7) East Stirling (0) League Cup 3rd round

We were thouroughly demolished and embarrassed by 'Gers as they carved our defense up in a 7-0 laugher for the Ibrox fans. They scored early and often in taking a 4-0 halftime lead, as we had no answers defensively today. Three more in the second half completed the smashing win for them. I don't know why we played so poorly, but it was not anything like we are capable of. I hope we can get them to shrug off the loss.

[Faramir]

20.9.08

East Stirling (2) St.Mirren (2)

It looked like we were fully recovered when we hit St.Mirren for a pair of goals late in the first half. Miklos Kollat scored his 5th and Steven McManus scored his 1st for us and I thought we were on our way- especially with Steven van der Deyl back in goal for us. Instead we wilted under the pressure of St.Mirren's rally in the second half. Sean Mackle drew one back in the opening moments when a terrible, panicky clearance attempt by Mark Gourlay cost us dearly. Carl Laurie then also made a bad judgement sending a backpass to van der Deyl under pressure. Steven also compounded that choice by not just clearing it immediately and paid the price as Shaun McLauchlan pounced on his error and put it into the net to square things at 2-2. We tried to resume the offense, but we didn't execute well at all and really were fortunate to hang on for the draw. We can't afford to not put away matches like this- where a win was certainly there for us to take.

***

23.9.08

Andrew Reilly is really blossoming this season and it was worthwhile to get him under a longer contract, which was happily accomplished with a minimum of negotiation.

[Faramir]

27.9.08

Partick (1) East Stirling (3)

1st place Partick was looking to build on a strong win over St.Johnstone. Instead they ran into a determined effort from us and too much Miklos Kollat as we scored two goals late in the second half to hand them a stinging 3-1 loss. Partick dominated much of the first half of play, but were completely frustrated as we took a 1-0 lead to the dressing room. Kollat has proven to be deadly as he lurks outside the area on corners and free kicks and his 1st goal was another beautifully placed shot after a corner as it threaded through traffic and past Jan Mercy. Partick looked set to even things in first half injury time when Stephen McKenna was called for a trip in the area, but Steven van der Deyl saved the penalty kick from Mehmet Akgun and then parried away the rebound as well to keep us in front. They stormed out and evened things right after halftime when a defensive mistake gave them the ball and a quick counter-attack. Taijo Teniste lofted a picture perfect pass all the way to the far wing and Akgun made amends for the missed penalty by driving a shot inside the left post to even things at 1-1. It was a taut match after that as both sides were trying to get the goal. Kollat was the deciding factor as he took an indirect free kick from Danny Black and scorched a rising shot past Mercy. Daryl Savage's pace, after coming on for James Frayne, caused problems for Partick and Neil McMeechan's redcard for pulling Savage down sounded the death knell for the home side's hopes. Kollat added the punctuation to the win by finishing his hattrick as he was in the right place to steer the rebound into the net after Mercy stopped Kenny McLean. It was a great win and a well earned one for us.

[Faramir]

1.10.08

It was a credit to our play of late as we had the top 2 players in both Player of the Month categories. Miklos Kollat was the deserving winner of Player of the Month honours for September, with Jukka Santala finishing 2nd to him in the balloting. In the Young Player of the Month honours, Chris Hamilton edged Ryan Carr for the honours.

We also have three players heading off for International duty- as Kollat was called up to Hungary, Santala was called up to Finland, and Curtis Allen (well, only ours on loan) was called up to Northern Ireland.

***

11.10.08

Airdrie (0) East Stirling (2)

We passed another important early season test as we came back from the two week break with a focused performance in defeating Airdrie 2-0 in front of their disappointed New Broomfield fans. Steven van der Deyl had to be sharp in the early going as the quick home side generated some good chances. van der Deyl tipped an Albert Yague shot over the bar and parried away a low blast from Bryan Prunty shortly after. We struck for the lead when Kenny McLean's burst of speed put him in free. Francois Dubourdeau managed to get a hand on the shot, but Miklos Kollat was cruising in and easily swept the rebound into the open goal. It was still a taut match early in the second half and van der Deyl made another brilliant save on Prunty. I was a lot more comfortable when Adam Tiran made a deft pass that found Steve Lewis with space at the edge of the six-yard box. Lewis rifled his shot past Dubourdeau for his 1st goal of the season. That goal seemed to take some of the edge off the frenetic play, but we were forced to survive a couple more good chances before van der Deyl could claim his clean sheet in the 2-0 win.

[Faramir]

18.10.08

East Stirling (1) Queen of the South (1)

It was a win that was within our grasp. Unfortunately, Scott Gallacher picked a bad time to linger on the ball and Anton Smith took it away from him to earn the visitors an undeserved 1-1 draw. Curtis Allen had come into the match early after an injury to James Frayne. He made his entrance a grand one when he drove home a goal from just beyond the edge of the area after a scramble on a corner. We were content playing conservatively with the lead and the chance that Smith converted for them was the only real scoring chance we allowed in the second half. We weren't able to muster the attack to regain the lead and had to settle for the 1-1 draw.

[Faramir]

25.10.08

Kilmarnock (1) East Stirling (1)

We were outplayed by a Kilmarnock side that badly wanted a win, but managed only a 1-1 draw at Rugby Park against us. Our old mate- Steve McDonald- scored their goal late in the first half as Daniel Simpson failed to mark him when he broke in on the far post and he rifled the half-volley past Steven van der Deyl. We fought back to even things before half when Kenny McLean made a superb pass and Steve Lewis finished it with a blistering shot past Dusan Pernis. They controlled much of the play in the second half, looking much quicker to the ball and making sure tackles on us at every opportunity. If not for van der Deyl, we would have lost the match- but he was in fine form in helping us split the points.

[Faramir]

29.10.08

East Stirling (3) Morton (1)

It was a performance that I could be proud of as we played a focused match in defeating favored Morton 3-1 in front of our delighted Firs Park fans. We grabbed the lead in the opening moments of play when Miklos Kollat again scorched in a kick from distance after a corner for his 10th goal of the season. It looked like we had moved ahead 2-0 in first half injury time when Kollat potted his 2nd, but the goal was waved off when James Flood was flagged for being offside on the play. Curtis Allen, on for a tiring Kollat, showed his talent today- first by making a superb lay off pass that Flood drilled just inside the far left post past Jamie Langfield. Allen then capped our scoring with a booming shot past Langfield after getting free in the area. Morton ruined Steven van der Deyl's clean sheet when Adrian Lema beat Ryan Carr on a counter attack and fired a shot inside the near right post to make the final score 3-1 in an important win for us.

***

1.11.08

Danny Black was selected October Division 1 Player of the Month- something that excited everyone on the club. Jukka Santala was 3rd in balloting for the honour. Ryan Carr finished 2nd to St.Johnstone's John Neill in the Young Player of the Month award.

[Faramir]

1.11.08

St.Johnstone (3) East Stirling (1)

We fell hard to St.Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, but it was a match that could have been much different. Lee Sichi was called for a dubious push and it appeared to have occurred outside the area, but the Referee ruled it was in the area and Cris converted the penalty kick past Steven van der Deyl to give them the lead midway trough the first half. Sichi then earned his 2nd yellow card minutes later, which left us trailing, playing poorly and only having 10 men. We could not get much going offensively and they kept piling the pressure on in the second half. Cris made it a brace when he deflected a cross from Holmar Runnarson in midway through the second half. Michel Otocka then added the punctuation point as he outleapt Danny Black and flicked a header past van der Deyl. We managed a consoltation goal when Danny Black hit a scorching 25 yard free kick into the goal to make the final 3-1 for the home side.

***

2.11.08

Morton defeated Airdrie 3-2 in a closely played match to catpure the Challenge Cup Title.

***

5.11.08

We completed transfer sale of Steven Blair today. Workington made a 1K offer, which I promptly accepted for our unhappy midfielder.

[Faramir]

15.11.08

East Stirling (3) Falkirk (1)

Falkirk will count themselves unlucky in this derby match, but our boys worked hard and deserved the 3-1 win we took over our rivals. Miklos Kollat again proved how dangerous he is by gaining us the lead with a swerving 30 yard free kick that sailed past Chris Neal. Falkirk evened the match as Ashley Chambers came in to the far post unmarked and knocked the ball past Steven van der Deyl as our backline had been caught out of position. Andrew Reilly was the architect as we moved into the lead midway through the half with a sizzling cross that Steve Lewis deflected past Neal. We kept that lead to halftime. Falkirk tried to rally in the early going of the second half, but we put them in the vise as Lewis, who earned MOM honours, made a scorching right side run. Neal saved Lewis' shot, but Paul Weaver, on for Reilly, snuck in on the far post and pushed it into the goal for his 1st goal of the season. They came close to drawing a goal back, but had a bad bounce off the post and we were relieved to finally hear the final whistle close our 3-1 win.

[Faramir]

19.11.08

Clyde (0) East Stirling (2)

The Clyde defense, led by Stewart Greacen and keeper Cameron Bell, had been the stingiest in Division 1 play- yielding only 12 goals coming into the match. Clyde had only scored 11 themselves, so their 8th place standing related to that lack. We had a difficult time with them and when we did manage to break them down in the first half, Bell came up with the difficult save. Fortunately, we had a secret weapon today, in the person of Danny Black. Danny boomed home a 30 yard free kick late in the first half as we went to the dressing room with the lead. We kept them under pressure in the second half and when Norbert Hegedus tripped James Frayne in the area, Black converted the penalty kick for a brace. Clyde tried to rally, but Scott Gallacher was playing with more confidence again and had solid support from our backline in chalking up a clean sheet.

[Faramir]

22.11.08

East Stirling (4) Airdrie (1)

We broke open a close match in the second half after a 2nd yellow card claimed Airdrie's Stephan Peterson in the opening moments. We had gained a halftime lead with some opportunistic attacking after Airdrie pressured us throughout the first half. Danny Black made a terrific flick forward header on a poor goal kick by Jamie MacDonald and Steve Lewis made MacDonald pay by rifling a shot inside the left post. We added a second goal when Miklos Kollat one-timed a blazing volley from just inside the edge of the area. We allowed them to get a goal back when our backline was caught up and Bryan Prunty and Albert Yague- who both appeared offside- broke in free. Steven van der Deyl stopped Prunty's hard shot, but Yague pounced on the rebound for his 10th goal of the season and a glimmer of halftime hope for the visitors. When Peterson went to the showers, we turned up the pressure on Airdrie and they cracked. MacDonald made a good save on Lewis' snap shot, but Kollat made it two goals in the match by pushing in the rebound. Kollat then made it a hat-trick as he blasted a laid off free kick into the upper right corner to cap a 4-1 win that could have been even larger.

[Faramir]

29.11.08

East Stirling (2) Partick (0)

It was a struggle to survive the first half of play as Partick seemed camped in our end of the pitch and we were having problems moving the ball anywhere. We managed to get through the half scoreless thanks to Pavel Malcharek's goal being waved off when he was flagged for being offside and a kind crossbar that kept a blistering blast from Teijo Teniste from hitting the net. We managed to sort things out a bit better at halftime and then made an excellent counterattack early in the second half. Miklos Kollat dished a pass off to Andrew Reilly. Reilly took the ball in deep before crossing to unmarked Kenny McLean at the far post. McLean had an easy time flicking the ball in for his 1st goal of the season. Partick threw everyone forward, as they were desperate to even the match. We took advantage of their aggressiveness as McLean found Kollat on the move. Kollat made a brilliant mazy run and finished it off with his 15th goal of the season into the right side of the net. We buttoned things down after that goal and helped can der Deyl to another clean sheet.

***

1.12.08

Player of the Month honours for December went to Danny Black as Player of the Month and Daniel Simpson as Young Player of the Month. Jukka Santala finished 2nd in the Player of the Month balloting and Adam Tiran finished 3rd in Young Player of the Month voting.

[Faramir]

6.12.08

St.Mirren (1) East Stirling (0)

We did all we could to get a better result in this match, but in the end MOM Daniel Steuble had our number as he made several brilliant saves in the second half to keep us off the scoreline for the match. The lone goal in the match came on a corner late in the first half. David White outleapt Ryan Carr and deflected the corner past Steven van der Deyl. The chances were there in the second half for us as our passing was crisp and we got the ball to the right players- but Miklos Kollat, Kenny McLean and Derek Anderson (after coming on for James Flood) were all left shaking their heads as Steuble stopped them in one-on-one situations. Their backline deserves a lot of credit for clearing away several dangerous rebounds as well. On our end, van der Deyl kept us in the match with a couple good saves, but we couldn't get the equalizer in the close 1-0 loss.

Division 1 Table- Midpoint 18 matches played

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1- East Stirling 35 pts (+15)

2- Falkirk 30 pts (0)

3- St.Johnstone 29 pts (+3)

4- St.Mirren 27 pts (+11)

5- Morton 26 pts (+2)

6- Airdrie 25 pts (-6)

</pre>

[Spav]

Halfway to promotion then (here's hoping I don't put a curse on your team's excellent form, Faramir. )

[Faramir]

Originally posted by Faramir:

Thanks Spav

***

13.12.08

Queen of the South (0) East Stirling (0)

The entire match seemed a struggle for us as we never accomplished much offensively in our scoreless draw against last place Queen of the South. Playing without resting Miklos Kollat, we didn't show the same execution attacking as we have and our passing was a just a wee bit off the mark all match. I have to say their sure tackling also made a difference. Kenny McLean had our best chance in the match as he broke in free, but Grant Carson parried his shot away. Scott Gallacher made a great save on Dene Shields in the waning moments of the match to ensure we would split the points. It was a match I hoped to take, but we certainly didn't earn more than the draw from the match.

[Faramir]

20.12.08

East Stirling (4) Kilmarnock (3)

This match had me shaking my head by the end of it, but somehow we managed to hold on for a 4-3 win that should have been much easier than it turned out to be. We took a 3-0 first half lead on another electrifying performance from Miklos Kollat as he scored a hat-trick to give us the margin. All three goals were examples of his sensational finishing ability- especially from distance as two of the three were from beyond the edge of the area. With the 3-0 lead, we went for a more conservative approach in the second half. The wheels started falling off when Daniel Simpson made an ill-advised challenge and Lewin Nyatanga converted the penalty kick to give Kilmarnock hope. To that point, Steven van der Deyl had been brilliant and his superb saves in the first half had encouraged the visitors to be a bit too fine with their shooting and they were missing the net- but closely. Shortly after, Stephen Hindmarch showed a lack of composure by fouling Danny Invincible in the area and it was a brace of converted penalty kicks for Nyatanga as they drew close 3-2. We hit back almost immediately when Andrew Reilly looped a cross to Adam Tiran at the far post and he flicked it past Dusan Pernis to make it 4-2. Our backline failed to listen to my instruction to move back and we were burnt as Bajram Fetai had plenty of time and space on the left side before firing a shot past van der Deyl. We went into 'hang on' mode and I was immensely relieved that the final whistle found us still in the lead.

[Faramir]

26.12.08

Morton (0) East Stirling (4)

By the end of the match the Cappielow Park faithful were not in a celebratory mood as we broke open a close match to capture a decisive 4-0 road win over Morton. The first half was very tightly played and neither side was conceding any space on the pitch. We had taken the lead in the middle of the half with a splendid play. Adam Tiran hooked a pass over to Paul Weaver on rightwing. Weaver, whose play on the wing has been a bit of a relevation, sent a superbly placed short cross that Steven McManus deflected past Jamie Langfield. Steven van der Deyl was our rock in the opening moments of the second half as Morton swarmed our area in search of the equalizer. David Armour, Adrien Lema and Soren Ulrik Vestergaard all came close to getting the goal, but van der Deyl was there to stop all three of them. We broke the match open late in the half. Langfield caught Steve Lewis, on for a tiring James Flood, as he moved across to try and pick off a loose ball in the area. Kenny McLean converted the ensuing penalty kick to give us a 2-0 lead. We caught them pressing forward and Andrew Reilly generalled a counterattack perfectly, punctuating it with a cross that Lewis deflected past Langfield for his 5th goal of the season. McLean then capped the win as he made it a brace while converting another penalty kick- this time after Neil Fenwick knocked down Miklos Kollat in the area. The win was a fine clean sheet for van der Deyl and one of our better efforts this season.

[Faramir]

1.1.09

The opening of the transfer window brings several new arrivals on deals we had worked out in the last couple months. One of the most interesting brings us 22 year old Polish SC Tomasz Swierzynski from Preston for 4K. What makes this addition so intriguing is that Swierzynski was Miklos Kollat's strike partner on the Preston reserves and reportedly they worked very well together. We also added 22 year old AMLC Paul MacLaren from rival Falkirk for 16K. MacLaren had really impressed me with his play against us, but had fallen out of favor this season and had only seen action on the Reserves. With Lee Sichi's ineffectiveness, I had been looking to add another leftwing to take some of the burden off of Andrew Reilly- who is having a sensational season. I suspect Sichi may have reached the limit of his ability, but I don't think I will transfer list him just yet because his versatility is a blessing as a gameday sub. A more minor addition was 20 year old Mark Torrance from Livingston. He is a promising leftwinger and I had worked out the 1K purchase before I discovered that MacLaren would be available.

I have also been fielding numerous inquiries from BSP clubs about Jukka Santala and also a couple on Miklos Kollat. I flatly informed those interested in Santala that his purchase price is 1.5 Million and that I don't intend to budge from that. Kollat has earned a 5 Million rating in my book- he is easily the top scorer in Division 1- but I don't know if anyone is going to be willing to spend that kind of money to purchase him.

[Faramir]

3.1.09

Motherwell (1) East Stirling (0) Scottish Cup 3rd round

I hope that Scott Gallacher takes away a valuable lesson from this match, as it was his mistake that cost us dearly in a close 1-0 loss to Motherwell. Actually, the player who cost us more was Lee Sichi as he took his 2nd yellow card at 31 minutes and left us severely undermanned. I had made the decision to play a lot of 2nd liners today, our regulars needed a bit of rest, and overall I thought it was very encouraging that we were able to do well against the BSP side. We played strong defensively after losing Sichi, but the extra space was a bad thing against a club with the weapons they have. The lone goal came in the second half when Daniel Simpson sent a backpass to Gallacher. Instead of booting it away immediately, Gallacher tried to control it and lost control of it. The ball went right to Johan Svahn and he whisked it into the net for his 10th goal of the season. We still managed a couple chances to equalize, but bad bounces ruined them as Motherwell broomed us out of Scottish Cup competition.

***

4.1.09

I was extremely surprised to hear that Falkirk has sold 22 year old Dutch AMC Willie Overtoom to Division 2 Gretna. Overtoom was their leading scorer and was a player we feared on defense. To see him leave is fine by me, but it leaves me wondering if Falkirk isn't having some financial difficulties.

[Faramir]

10.1.09

East Stirling (1) St.Johnstone (2)

A very frustrating match for us as we fell to St.Johnstone 2-1. They were much sharper in the match, but we still could have taken a point away except for a trio of brilliant saves by their keeper David Knight. They took the lead midway through the first half as Gary Shields shed the marking of Jukka Santala and volleyed a hard shot past Steven van der Deyl. We evened the match late in the half when Miklos Kollat showed superb awareness and stepped up to lauch a 45 yard shot past stranded Knight when he was first to a backpass. Knight kept the match even with a pair of saves on Tomasz Swierzynski as he had him shaking his head during his debut. St.Johnstone grabbed the lead again in the opening moments of the second half when Jason Scotland smashed a shot past van der Deyl to cap a fine passing sequence. Our rally attempts were continually thwarted by the visitors as our passing and execution just wasn't good today.

[Faramir]

17.1.09

Falkirk (3) East Stirling (2)

There are a lot of 'what-ifs' for me as a manager after this one, but the black and white facts are that we wound up on wrong end of a 3-2 loss to our bitter rivals. They struck first in the first half when Steven van der Deyl uncharacteristically just plain missed a long shot from Cris. We went down 2-0 at halftime when Danny Black was called for a push in the area and Clark Kay converted the penalty kick. It was disappointing to go in behind, because we had really played a decent match, but we just weren't finishing our passing sequences off and continually missed an easy pass that could have led to the scoring chance. When Cris scored his 2nd of the match, after a bout of our pressure on them, it looked like our club was very dispirited. I have to give credit to James Frayne. He subbed on for ineffective Miklos Kollat and sparked a resurgence- though it was too little, too late. Frayne took a long through ball from Kenny McLean and fired it past Colin Stewart to give us at least a goal. Steve Lewis then added another goal as we entered injury time. We came up short when Lewis skimmed the top of the net with a last gasp shot. If van der Deyl had played a bit better, if we could have not wasted so many passes, if I had brought Frayne on sooner- many questions, but none will answer the fact that it was still a loss.

[Faramir]

22.1.09

We completed our 1K transfer purchase of unhappy forward Steven Dorris from St.Johnstone. Dorris was very attractive, with his either foot ability and some of his offensive skills being the main attractions. I expect Dorris will help provide cover for Miklos Kollat.

I looked over the lists generated from our scouts but couldn't really see another available- and interested- player that would really help us, so we will likely not being make any other additions before the transfer deadline. We may be making a few subtractions if things work out.

***

23.1.09

The sale of Marc Cameron was completed today as we accepted a 1K offer from Albion Rovers and they quickly worked out a contract with him. He immediately upset their fans by demanding to be the center of attention- which made me all the more glad he wasn't still in our dressing room.

***

24.1.09

East Stirling (0) Clyde (1)

Our bad stretch continued as we squandered another good chance to break out of our rut. Clyde's Andy Geggan earned a redcard for holding James Frayne in the area at 6 minutes, but Cameron Bell saved James Flood's penalty kick. Shortly after Ian Harty outraced Kevin Gaughan and Danny Black down the pitch and fired a shot past Russell Omand, who was making his debut in goal, and we trailed. We just could not get any offense going today- despite the man advantage and were left with another stinging home defeat. We have to find the combination that allows us to unlock the offense we showed earlier in the season.

[Faramir]

26.1.09

Unhappy Daryl Savage will find a new home at Accrington after they announced the completion of the transfer purchase from us. The offer of 5K up front, 5k after 10 matches for them and a 40% sell-on clause was adequate for us. Savage is very talented and could well be an impact player, but never really seemed to adjust to our style of play and wasn't really able to break into our starting rotation.

***

3.2.09

It was very bad news to see Scott Gallacher carted off the training pitch today. The diagnosis wasn't good either- a skull fracture that will likely keep him out the remainder of the season. Russell Omand will now assume the backup role behind Steven van der Deyl for that time that Gallacher is out.

***

7.2.09

East Stirling (1) St.Mirren (0)

It wasn't exactly a pretty win, in fact it was rather ugly, but it was a win that we badly needed and the final whistle found me very relieved. The first half saw the visitors playing sharper football than us, but trailing as we went to halftime thanks to Miklos Kollat's lethal finishing. Kollat slammed home a 20 yard blast off a corner for his 20th goal of the season. We looked well on our way when Craig Higgins was whistled for handball in the area midway through the second half. That didn't come to be as we wasted another penalty kick as Jukka Santala hit the penalty directly at Michael Poke. They appeared to equalize late, but Alan Baird was offside and the flag took away his goal. We managed to close out the clean sheet and close 1-0 win for Steven van der Deyl.

[Faramir]

11.2.09

Airdrie (1) East Stirling (2)

We never want to make things too easy on ourselves as we gave away a goal and had to sweat a close 2-1 road win over struggling Airdrie. Tomasz Swierzynski shone today and his brace powered us to the win. Swierzynski's 1st goal for us came on a brilliant flick of a centering pass from Ryan Carr in the early stages of the first half. Airdrie outplayed us in the first half and it was mostly thanks to Steven van der Deyl that we went to the dressing room ahead. Fortunes changed for both sides early in the second half. Albert Yague got free in the opening moments, but van der Deyl came up with a huge save on him. Moments later Sandy Paillot earned a redcard for his cynical foul on Swierzynski- who had a done a neat job in picking up a mishit pass from Chris Wilson to create the opportunity. It was Danny Black's turn to disappoint on the penalty as his was saved by Jamie McDonald. Less than a minute later Swierzynski made things better by lofting a quick shot over the onrushing McDonald and it caught the left corner of the net. We needed that second goal as we botched clearing a corner and Bryan Prunty made us pay by driving it into the net for his 10th goal of the season. We managed to finish out with more consistent defense to take the 2-1 road win. Steven Dorris had a solid debut in the match today.

[Faramir]

14.2.09

Partick (1) East Stirling (1)

Another match there for our taking and we would have won had we correctly covered on a close-in free kick. Jan Mercy was brilliant for Partick in net and denied Miklos Kollat, Steve Lewis and Lee Sichi in one-on-one situations. We finally found a way past him when Steven McManus flicked one past him after a scramble around the edge of the six-yard box early in the second half. It only took a couple minutes for Partick to hit back as Mark Gourlay failed to cover Ze Pedro at all on a free kick and he deflected the kick past Steven van der Deyl. Mercy had more tricks in his bag and stopped Stephen Hindmarch (on for Kollat) and James Frayne (on for Lewis) to preserve the draw.

***

21.2.09

East Stirling (0) Queen of the South (0)

We did not play well today and were probably fortunate to escape with a scoreless draw after being outshot by the visitors 8-2 for the match. There was no cohesion in our offense today and we had difficulty moving the ball anywhere around the area. They had good chances, but their atrocious shooting helped Russell Omand notch his first clean sheet for us. I thought we could and should have done much better in this match.

[ibroxclubworshipper]

Faramir, How is Chris Hamilton doing at the moment? He's another one of my best mates, just like the boy Grant Findlay I asked asked about ages ago. I also know the guy Lee Sichi through a mate too.

[Faramir]

ibrox- it was a bit ago that this portion was played, but he was only playing part-time about then. Sichi will assume significance in the story as it keeps going on

***

28.2.09

Kilmarnock (2) East Stirling (3)

In one of our finest efforts, we came back from a two-goal halftime deficit to steal all three points with a goal in the last moments of second half injury time. The first half was another struggle for us as Tiberio Guarente flicked a header past Russell Omand in the opening moments of the match. We continued to struggle offensively and saw Thomas Heaton come up with a couple big saves to blunt our rally attempts. We failed to clear a ball away late in the half and paid dearly when Ryan Harding slammed it past Omand to send them to the dressing room ahead 2-0 to the delight of the Rugby Park faithful. We changed our look to start the second half and were rewarded when Miklos Kollat took a headed down pass from James Flood and rifled it past Heaton. Midway through the half, Kollat returned the favor when he threaded a pass through and Flood drilled the equalizer past Heaton. Omand was then forced to come up with a magical save on Cederic Olando to keep things equal. As the match wound down and moved in to extra time it was clear both clubs were tired. Flood had one more burst in him though as he ran down a pass from Kollat and chipped the match winning goal over the onrushing Heaton. It was a jubilant clubhouse for a change after this exceptional win.

[Faramir]

7.3.09

East Stirling (0) Morton (0)

We did everything we could to win, including outshooting our visitors by a 14-3 margin, but Jamie Langfield had our number today and made five game saving stops during both halves of the match. We were especially sharp early in the first half and Langfield registered excellent saves on both Miklos Kollat and James Flood. Steven van der Deyl wasn't called on for much in the match, but did make a super save on Chris Templeman to keep the match scoreless going into halftime. Langfield made three more sensational saves in the second half as we held control of the play, but couldn't find a way to score on him. I was pleased with our play, but not so happy with the result.

The draw sets up our showdown trip to St.Johnstone to battle them for 1st place in the Division. We will be the underdogs, but that hasn't stopped us yet.

Division 1 Standings- 30 matches played, 6 remaining

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1- East Stirling 54 pts (+20)

2- St.Johnstone 54 pts (+12)

3- Falkirk 49 pts (+1)

4- St.Mirren 45 pts (+15)

5- Partick 41 pts (+2)

</pre>

[Faramir]

14.3.09

St.Johnstone (1) East Stirling (1)

Our plucky side gave favored St.Johnstone all they could handle in this match and except for an unfortunate own-goal from Andrew Reilly, we would have beaten them. I have to say I was happy enough to earn a draw in front of their rabid fans, but a win would have been much better- so to an extent I am disappointed. Throughout the match I felt we were just inches away from the game breaking play and it seemed that way as our passes were just a little off the mark. We came close to taking the lead early on when Kenny McLean scooted in from the wing, but Lenny Pidgeley came up with the stop. Tomasz Swierzynski made a late counterattack pay off when he took a superb lead pass from McLean and drilled a shot past Pidgeley inside the near right post to give us the lead at halftime. Steven van der Deyl was very sharp in the early moments of the second half with a fingertip save on Jason Scotland and pushing a rising shot from Derek Carcary over the bar. Reilly's unfortunate faux pas happened shortly after as he tried to deflect a long centering pass over the bar, but instead it went into the net. We tried to retake the lead, but just missed the net on chances by Miklos Kollat and Steve Lewis (who was on for tiring Swierzynski).

***

15.3.09

Rangers edged Hibs 2-1 to capture the League Cup thanks to a second half penalty kick converted by Bjorn Jonas Ulvund.

[Faramir]

28.3.09

East Stirling (1) Falkirk (1)

It was a tough match between bitter foes and though the 1-1 draw was a fair result for both sides, both sides were disappointed. Falkirk absolutely needed a win in this one to stay in the chase for the top spot in the Division and didn't get it. We finally yielded 1st place back to St.Johnstone as they dumped last place (and already relegation bound) Queen of the South 2-0 on the road. Miklos Kollat scored to give us the lead midway through the first half after Steven van der Deyl had to perform heroics to keep Falkirk from gaining the early upper hand in the match. We couldn't hold the lead and Cris, who appears to have his best matches against us, slipped in to flick a header past van der Deyl and sent us to the break even at 1-1. Both sides had good opportunities to score in the second half, but a combination of luck and fine work from van der Deyl and Chris Neal kept the score locked at 1 all. The save of the match was by Neal who managed to parry away a strong header by Tomasz Swierzynski as he got on to a crisp cross from Kollat. All we can do now is try to win the rest of our matches and hope St.Johnstone isn't perfect.

Division 1- Most with 32 matches played, 4 remaining

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1- St.Johnstone 58 pts (+14)

2- East Stirling 56 pts (+20)

3- Falkirk 50 pts (0)

4- St.Mirren (31) 48 pts (+16)

</pre>

[Faramir]

31.3.09

I was very happy to get the offer of a new contract from the Board. They offered me 725/week and a generous wage and transfer budget (no surprise on either really, since we have had both all season- I just haven't used much of either).

Just as it was the Board's time to deal with me on a new contract, it was time for me to deal with many of our staff on new contracts. I weighed the pros and cons on offering contracts and offered new contracts of varying lengths to everyone but Assistant Manager Brendan O'Connell. I think it is time for Brendan and I to part ways- and will be looking for a new Assistant Manager after the season.

***

1.4.09

The first staff to accept a contract renewal was Max Griggs who signed a long-term deal to stay on as Coach. Accepting one year renewals was Scout Steve Ingham and Physio Rob Harris.

***

2.4.09

Brian Parkin accepted a long-term offer to stay on as Coach, as did Allan Leighton. Kevin Booth and Gary Parkinson accepted 2-year contracts to remain as Coaches. David Jenkins accepted a one year contract to continue as a Physio.

[Faramir]

4.4.09

Clyde (1) East Stirling (2)

It was a hard fought match from opening to final whistle, but we did just enough to edge Clyde 2-1. James Flood scored in the opening moments of the match to send us off in great spirits as he deflected a cross from Miklos Kollat past Milan Barjaktarevic. When Kollat left with an injury midway through the first half, I could almost sense the deflation of the team. We paid a price for indifferent defensive covrage when Steven Lennon stepped into space late in the half and rifled a shot past Steven van der Deyl to equalize going to the dressing room. We tried to pick up the pressure in the second half, we needed a win badly today, and it paid off as James Frayne- who had replaced Kollat- took a deft pass from Adam Tiran and drilled a well placed shot into the right side of the net. We hung on grimly from there and leaned on van der Deyl. The final whistle found us still with the 2-1 margin and a critical win. After the match, the news was mixed blessings as Kilmarnock had upset St.Johnstone 1-0 at St.Johnstone and we had moved back into 1st place. The bad news is that Kollat's badly sprained ankle will keep him out the remainder of the season. We will just have to fight on with who is here. Another pleasing note is that our Under-19 side easily captured the Group 3 title.

Division 1- 33 matches played, 3 remaining

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1- East Stirling 59 pts (+21)

2- St.Johnstone 58 pts (+13)

3- St.Mirren 52 pts (+19)

4- Falkirk 51 pts (0)

</pre>

[Faramir]

11.4.09

East Stirling (3) Airdrie (0)

We struggled through the first half, rarely showing glimpses of the execution I had hoped to see offensively. Though the flow of play was almost all ours, we weren't generating many scoring chances- although we did have one that Francois Dubourdeau made a dazzling save on as James Frayne tried to head in a cross from James Flood. I brought Steve Lewis on for a slightly injured Flood at halftime. The move turned to gold when Dubourdeau thought to come up the pitch to intercept a long centering pass from deep in our end. Instead Lewis blazed up the pitch and got to the ball long before the stranded Dubourdeau. Dubourdeau could only watch in frustration as Lewis launched a 35 yard shot into the open net to give us the lead. We started to put the match away from that point and a fine short pass from Paul Weaver found Adam Tiran with space just inside the edge of the area and Tiran ripped a shot past Dubourdeau into the right side of the net. Chris Hamilton, on for an exhausted Frayne, put the match on ice when he found space on a counterattack and zipped a well placed 25 yard shot for his 1st goal of the season to cap our 3-0 win. The injury to Flood was more serious than I had thought and we will now be without him for the remainder of the season. St.Johnstone managed a close 2-1 road win over Morton and remains tight behind us as we now face a difficult road test at St.Mirren.

Division 1- 34 matches played, 2 remaining

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1- East Stirling 62 pts (+24)

2- St.Johnstone 61 pts (+14)

3- Falkirk 54 pts (+1)

4- St.Mirren 52 pts (+17)

</pre>

[Faramir]

18.4.09

St.Mirren (2) East Stirling (0)

Going into the match, we knew we needed to play one of our best matches. Instead, we played one of our worst. We had no offensive cohesion and our passing just didn't click at all. Our backline hung Steven van der Deyl out to dry and Martin Cameron made us pay in the first half when he slipped his marker and Danny Black missed a tackle on him as he scored to give them the lead. The second half was more of the same. Carl Laurie earned my ire as he didn't hustle to a loose ball and then Ashley Chambers skinned him of the ball and took it in to score. Two goals down meant we were in deep trouble with how poorly we were playing attacking-wise and they had an easy time closing us out 2-0. We were extremely fortunate that Partick battled St.Johnstone to a scoreless draw. Now everything rides on our last match at home against Partick.

Division 1- 35 matches played, 1 remaining

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

1- East Stirling 62 pts (+22)

2- St.Johnstone 62 pts (+14)

3- Falkirk 57 pts (+3)

4- St.Mirren 55 pts (+19)

</pre>