Sons' sorrow

[BallochSonsFan]

Walsh annoys me because he has good feet and movement but his decision making needs work and he needs to get a bit tougher to be able to ride a tackle and put the foot in when defending.

I agree.

He's a technically gifted player who has a good touch and can pass pretty accurately. Unfortunately he lacks pace and is too easy to muscle off the ball. He's also massively inconsistent. He can go from ineffective to great and then fade again in the space of a single game.

One of those guys who is capable of doing something special but you need to carry him in the team for those moments because he won't give you graft or any kind of defensive contribution. I'm not sure how we set up with everybody fit. Do we keep Stewart up front and have the trio of Froxy, Handling and Walsh behind him? Do we play Nade up front, play Stewart wide left and then 2 from Walsh, Handling and Froxy? Do either Handling or maybe even Froxy drop back into a deeper playmaking role to partner a single defensive midfielder?

Big decisions for the manager if we ever get everyone fit.

[George Parr]

One thing for sure is that we shouldn't shoehorn Handling into the team 'just because'. He can fight and scrape his way in the same way Roy has/is. 

[The Moonster]

3 hours ago, BallochSonsFan said:

I'm not sure how we set up with everybody fit.

 

With everyone fit, I reckon he fits them in like this:

Gallacher

Wardrop -- Dowie -- Barr -- McLaughlin

Carswell -- G. Gallagher

Froxylias -- Handling -- Walsh

Stewart

Which to be honest, looks quite good. However, I'm not sure we'll see Grant Gallagher back until the end of the season and the lack of information given on Nade's injury makes me think he might be out for longer than we all hope. If those two stay injured then I reckon Hutton steps into midfield and we find another back up option up front (sorry but Greg Morrison is not what we need). Stewart's link up play with Walsh/Roy and Seagal has been lovely for the last couple of weeks and it makes me think we may not need a big hold up player like Nade, as much as we enjoy watching him.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

With everyone fit, I reckon he fits them in like this:

Gallacher

Wardrop -- Dowie -- Barr -- McLaughlin

Carswell -- G. Gallagher

Froxylias -- Handling -- Walsh

Stewart

Which to be honest, looks quite good. However, I'm not sure we'll see Grant Gallagher back until the end of the season and the lack of information given on Nade's injury makes me think he might be out for longer than we all hope. If those two stay injured then I reckon Hutton steps into midfield and we find another back up option up front (sorry but Greg Morrison is not what we need). Stewart's link up play with Walsh/Roy and Seagal has been lovely for the last couple of weeks and it makes me think we may not need a big hold up player like Nade, as much as we enjoy watching him.

Whoa Moonster, whilst the last two performances have been decent we did play a struggling Brechin team and an underperforming Raith one.  My understanding is that Nade's future input may be limited, and whilst I agree totally on young Morrison, let's not delude ourselves that we don't require a physical presence up front.

[The Moonster]

27 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

Whoa Moonster, whilst the last two performances have been decent we did play a struggling Brechin team and an underperforming Raith one.  My understanding is that Nade's future input may be limited, and whilst I agree totally on young Morrison, let's not delude ourselves that we don't require a physical presence up front.

I agree that the opposition we've played over the last 2 weeks haven't been great but I thought Stewart linked up well at Morton away too.  Short passing with the likes of Froxy and Walsh seems to suit them far more than playing off scraps that Nade wins too.  I agree that having a big guy as an option is required in order to change things up when needed but I'm happy for us to continue with Stewart up top for now.

[Jan Vojáček]

I'm going to be honest, 282 mile trip to play an English based Welsh team at what looks like a glorified sports centre isn't really what I had hoped for.

[Nowhereman]

It'll likely be the Sunday as well

[Boghead ranter]

5 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

I'm going to be honest, 282 mile trip to play an English based Welsh team at what looks like a glorified sports centre isn't really what I had hoped for.

Depends on the seat pitch, really. 

[Skyline Drifter]

28 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

I'm going to be honest, 282 mile trip to play an English based Welsh team at what looks like a glorified sports centre isn't really what I had hoped for.

Ach get yourself there and make a weekend of it. When else are you going to have a competitive "foreign" semi final?

We had over 400 there on Sunday and they had a great day / weekend. Just disappointing we couldn't actually get the result. It's a weird setup down there and it is effectively a sports centre. There was a band playing in the bar and a children's birthday party on in the soft play area before we played them! No Boardroom. Hospitality guests walk out on to a balcony to stand up and watch the game. Couple of small stands both at the same corner of the park and the rest is flat standing. It's a 3G pitch.

Very hospitable people though. They'll make you welcome.

Football wise I'd make TNS narrow favourites but there's no reason Dumbarton can't win. You've conquered bigger challenges.  They knock the ball about well and have decent pace from overlapping full backs out wide in particular. Their keeper is really good too. A little bit toothless up front. Your biggest problem will probably be finding much footage of them. The League of Wales isn't filmed and they don't film their own games. There will be footage of our game and the previous ties with Elgin and Livingston available but that's probably about it. They'll be able to get a lot more on you which gives them a slight edge in that department. They started like a train against us, probably at least partly helped by having more idea than us about what they were facing. Took us 20 minutes to get to grips with it and make a couple of tactical changes to address it and we were maybe lucky not to be behind in the first 20 mins. Thereafter I thought we edged the game over 90 minutes and certainly battered them in extra time. Couldn't get the ball in the net though with Dobbie and McFadden both missing great chances and Rooney having one headed off the line. Also denied what looked a lot like it should have been a penalty near the end of extra time.

Good luck. I will have my #Sonhamers hat on.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Skyline Drifter

[Silverton End]

31 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I agree that the opposition we've played over the last 2 weeks haven't been great but I thought Stewart linked up well at Morton away too.  Short passing with the likes of Froxy and Walsh seems to suit them far more than playing off scraps that Nade wins too.  I agree that having a big guy as an option is required in order to change things up when needed but I'm happy for us to continue with Stewart up top for now.

Agree.

Give Mark Stewart the right service & he'll get goals for us. Past couple of games we've seen glimpses of that happening. We've adapted well to missing big Nade and Froxylias, fair play to the team & management.

[The Moonster]

21 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

I'm going to be honest, 282 mile trip to play an English based Welsh team at what looks like a glorified sports centre isn't really what I had hoped for.

If we were drawn away then Crusaders was the best draw on offer.  TNS are full-time but they don't appear to be any better than Queens or Livi despite knocking both out of this cup, so it's still a winnable tie in a place that's new to us.  The ground we're going to doesn't bother me, if we can survive a freezing cold November Saturday at Central Park then nothing should phase us.

Let's take a good number down and get stuck into them - has anyone on here seen us in a cup final before? 

[George Parr]

38 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

If we were drawn away then Crusaders was the best draw on offer.  TNS are full-time but they don't appear to be any better than Queens or Livi despite knocking both out of this cup, so it's still a winnable tie in a place that's new to us.  The ground we're going to doesn't bother me, if we can survive a freezing cold November Saturday at Central Park then nothing should phase us.

Let's take a good number down and get stuck into them - has anyone on here seen us in a cup final before? 

Yes.

2012 Stirlingshire Cup. The party went on for days.

[The Moonster]

1 hour ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Ach get yourself there and make a weekend of it. When else are you going to have a competitive "foreign" semi final?

We had over 400 there on Sunday and they had a great day / weekend. Just disappointing we couldn't actually get the result. It's a weird setup down there and it is effectively a sports centre. There was a band playing in the bar and a children's birthday party on in the soft play area before we played them! No Boardroom. Hospitality guests walk out on to a balcony to stand up and watch the game. Couple of small stands both at the same corner of the park and the rest is flat standing. It's a 3G pitch.

Very hospitable people though. They'll make you welcome.

Football wise I'd make TNS narrow favourites but there's no reason Dumbarton can't win. You've conquered bigger challenges.  They knock the ball about well and have decent pace from overlapping full backs out wide in particular. Their keeper is really good too. A little bit toothless up front. Your biggest problem will probably be finding much footage of them. The League of Wales isn't filmed and they don't film their own games. There will be footage of our game and the previous ties with Elgin and Livingston available but that's probably about it. They'll be able to get a lot more on you which gives them a slight edge in that department. They started like a train against us, probably at least partly helped by having more idea than us about what they were facing. Took us 20 minutes to get to grips with it and make a couple of tactical changes to address it and we were maybe lucky not to be behind in the first 20 mins. Thereafter I thought we edged the game over 90 minutes and certainly battered them in extra time. Couldn't get the ball in the net though with Dobbie and McFadden both missing great chances and Rooney having one headed off the line. Also denied what looked a lot like it should have been a penalty near the end of extra time.

Good luck. I will have my #Sonhamers hat on.

Just a quick one SD, with you guys playing TNS on the Sunday did the team travel down on the Saturday and stay overnight, play the game and then travel up the road or did you travel down and up in one day?

Edited November 14, 2017 by The Moonster

[Homer Thompson]

1 hour ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Ach get yourself there and make a weekend of it. When else are you going to have a competitive "foreign" semi final?

We had over 400 there on Sunday and they had a great day / weekend. Just disappointing we couldn't actually get the result. It's a weird setup down there and it is effectively a sports centre. There was a band playing in the bar and a children's birthday party on in the soft play area before we played them! No Boardroom. Hospitality guests walk out on to a balcony to stand up and watch the game. Couple of small stands both at the same corner of the park and the rest is flat standing. It's a 3G pitch.

Very hospitable people though. They'll make you welcome.

Football wise I'd make TNS narrow favourites but there's no reason Dumbarton can't win. You've conquered bigger challenges.  They knock the ball about well and have decent pace from overlapping full backs out wide in particular. Their keeper is really good too. A little bit toothless up front. Your biggest problem will probably be finding much footage of them. The League of Wales isn't filmed and they don't film their own games. There will be footage of our game and the previous ties with Elgin and Livingston available but that's probably about it. They'll be able to get a lot more on you which gives them a slight edge in that department. They started like a train against us, probably at least partly helped by having more idea than us about what they were facing. Took us 20 minutes to get to grips with it and make a couple of tactical changes to address it and we were maybe lucky not to be behind in the first 20 mins. Thereafter I thought we edged the game over 90 minutes and certainly battered them in extra time. Couldn't get the ball in the net though with Dobbie and McFadden both missing great chances and Rooney having one headed off the line. Also denied what looked a lot like it should have been a penalty near the end of extra time.

Good luck. I will have my #Sonhamers hat on.

I wondered at the time where the posh seats were. I take it you were stood beside the press area?

32 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Just a quick one SD, with you guys playing TNS on the Sunday did the team travel down on the Saturday and stay overnight, play the game and then travel up the road or did you travel down and up in one day?

The team travelled down on the Saturday and stayed overnight. Im guessing they came back on Sunday but not sure.

Obviously, its a bit further from Dumbarton than Dumfries but its a nice easy journey with motorway almost all the way

[The Moonster]

12 minutes ago, Mr X said:

I wondered at the time where the posh seats were. I take it you were stood beside the press area?

The team travelled down on the Saturday and stayed overnight. Im guessing they came back on Sunday but not sure.

Obviously, its a bit further from Dumbarton than Dumfries but its a nice easy journey with motorway almost all the way

Cheers. If this is moved to a Sunday evening kick off then I reckon I'll travel down the Sunday morning and get a hotel for after the game. Can see the team doing the same as Queens did though.

[Boghead ranter]

2 hours ago, The Moonster said:

If we were drawn away then Crusaders was the best draw on offer.  TNS are full-time but they don't appear to be any better than Queens or Livi despite knocking both out of this cup, so it's still a winnable tie in a place that's new to us.  The ground we're going to doesn't bother me, if we can survive a freezing cold November Saturday at Central Park then nothing should phase us.

Let's take a good number down and get stuck into them - has anyone on here seen us in a cup final before? 

 

1 hour ago, Consolidate said:

Yes.

2012 Stirlingshire Cup. The party went on for days.

Was gonna ask that, does the Stirlingshire count?

[The Moonster]

20 minutes ago, Boghead ranter said:

 

Was gonna ask that, does the Stirlingshire count?

I wasn't counting it but left the goal open for a tap in.

[DumbartonTheSons]

Should be a decent trip and a bit of excitement. Do we know when we're likely to find out if it gets moved to the Sunday or not?

[Boghead ranter]

2 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I wasn't counting it but left the goal open for a tap in.

Been at a few.

My favourite was v the Bankies at Kilbowie, where we were getting hammered, but came back to win thanks to a glorious hat-trick from Jim (McGinley I think).

#scenes

[Skyline Drifter]

1 hour ago, Mr X said:

I wondered at the time where the posh seats were. I take it you were stood beside the press area?

The team travelled down on the Saturday and stayed overnight. Im guessing they came back on Sunday but not sure.

Obviously, its a bit further from Dumbarton than Dumfries but its a nice easy journey with motorway almost all the way

They had put some bar stools out immediately in front of the press area for the visiting officials.

The team trained at Palmerston on Saturday morning then travelled down to Oswestry in the afternoon. They did return immediately after the game. Back in Dumfries by 10:30.