Stenhousemuir 2-2 Peterhead

[Francesc Fabregas]

I wasn't surprised to see us go into today's game without a match thread - Stenhousemuir and Peterhead and perhaps the most underrepresented teams on this part of the forum and, with Stenny performing so poorly, there was probably no real enthusiasm to get one going.

Anyway. A frustrating afternoon for the Warriors, all things considered. It won't be the first time I've written this (and it sure as heck won't be the last) but that was a real game of two halves. The first half was the worst I've seen from Stenny in a long time (I wasn't present at the recent defeats on the road) while the second was one of the best. All things considered, I'm disappointed not to have won the game - on the balance of play and the number of chances we created, we should have emerged with the three points.

Right from the off, something was amiss and we just could not get control of the ball. Nothing we did worked. It wasn't just one element of the team that failed to function, everything was wonky - the backline was all over the place, the midfield was far too passive and allowed Peterhead to play through them and the two strikers couldn't hold up the ball. Not that they had much to work with - on the rare occasions we did find ourselves in possession, the ball was lumped forward in the hope that something might happen. Oliver Shaw and Ally Roy are not alchemists, they cannot turn lead into gold. I began to wonder if the players had been instructed to play this way because of the frequency of their punts. It didn't make a lick of sense to me.

It was disappointing (but not shocking) to see us lose two goals in the space of three minutes. As bad as we'd been, Peterhead had been pretty good - they dealt our long balls well enough, the moved the ball around with pace and they looked tricky whenever they moved forward. I'll admit to not seeing the build-up to the first goal, I was looking at my phone, but from the exasperated looks shared amongst the defenders I imagine it came from some kind of error. The second was through simple marking - Kevin Dzierzawski's header was thumped home (could Colin McCabe have done better to keep it out? I'm unsure) but he was allowed to jog to the edge of the area unimpeded. Liam McCroary, I think, should have supervised him far more carefully. Come to think of it, even when were on top, the game seemed to pass the youngster by.

Weirdly enough, as bad as Stenhousemuir had been, they probably had the better chances of the first half. Willis Furtado (who we'll come onto in greater detail later) had two shots that narrowly went wide and Shaw put a cute effort past the post following a corner. Late into the first half, after around 35 minutes or so, Stenny settled down and began to look purposeful. We were perhaps a little unfortunate not to go into the break with a goal.

Stenhousemuir's second-half performance was largely excellent. We started well and forced Peterhead onto the back foot, Furtado in particular looking menacing whenever he got on the ball, but I reckon the turning point was the introduction of Colin McMenamin that truly swung the match in our favour. Ally Roy had done his best in the first half and, like the rest of his team-mates, looked better in the second, but the Auld Heid galvanised the offense and really gave Scott Rumsby and Fiacre Kelleher to think about. His first true involvement forced a cracking save from Fraser Hobday, stooping to flick Stephen Stirling's cure free-kick goalward. His presence also instigated a change in formation to something that looked like a 4-3-3, and Peterhead didn't seem to know how to deal with the reconfiguration.

A Stenny goal was inevitable - McMenamin, McCroary and Alan Cook had all gone close - but it was the bold Fraser Kerr who pulled one back for the home side, rising to nod home Cook's corner. His second goal, the equaliser, came nine minutes later and it was a carbon copy of his first, only more emphatic. Minutes earlier, he'd been in a heap after Rory McAllister appeared to catch him with an elbow, so no doubt it'll have been particularly satisfying. Shaw passed up a good chance to score a third - he received the ball on the turn at the edge of the area but he was off balance when he tried to shoot and ended up thumping it over the bar. Teeing up Mark Gilhaney, unmarked to his left, would have been a far better move.

Peterhead were dreadful in the second half, make no mistake - the defence looked spooked, the full-backs didn't attack as much, the midfield disappeared, McAllister seemed more interested in squabbling with Kerr - but they still could have won it. McAllister thumped a 40-yard free-kick a foot over the bar and Leighton McIntosh prodded a shot wide at the death, but they were unable to take advantage of their rare second-half opportunities.

I can't quite put my finger on how Peterhead collapsed like that. McMenamin's introduction was one thing but they looked uncomfortable long before that, even towards the end of the first half. There's plenty to like about them, particularly going forward, but defensively they were very creaky and the way the midfield of Dzierzawski and Scott Brown crumpled was alarming. There's some new players in there but they don't look any better than last season and I imagine they'll finish in mid-table again.

As for the Warriors, well. At some point this season we might have the wherewithal to maintain a good performance over 90 minutes, not just 45. We can't keep on giving teams head starts (today) or carelessly chucking away advantages (Queen's Park). That's hopeless. I don't know what it is - confidence? Consistency? Colin McCabe was pretty damn solid. Jamie McCormack is decent going forward but always seems to be on the back foot whenever the ball goes over his head. The trialist centre-back (any ideas who he was?) might be worth looking at again. Ross Meechan was alright but he's not a left-back. Alan Cook was a threat whenever he went forward and he should be proud with his two assists. Stephen Stirling was poor in the first half but miles better after the restart. Willis Furtado is a cult hero in the making.

Alloa Athletic next week. Christ.

Some stray observations:

• Scott Rumsby needs to shave off that beard. It does him no favours, it only makes it look as though he lives in a little mushroom village with Juan Mata.
• Willis Furtado - what a boy. There were two moments in the first half where he beat a marker with a stunning piece of skill only to give the ball away immediately. He'll be a massive hit, he's brilliant to watch.
• There were a lot of wasps cutting around today, all horny and out to cause bother.
• Colin McMenamin looks pretty similar to Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, especially with his wee beard.

[CEMSFC]

Are you sure it wasn't Jamie McCormack with the first goal? BBC have credited him with it. Was hard to see from where I was sitting.

[Francesc Fabregas]

7 minutes ago, CEMSFC said:

Are you sure it wasn't Jamie McCormack with the first goal? BBC have credited him with it. Was hard to see from where I was sitting.

Fair play to the Jobber, I thought it was Fraser Kerr's goal. I'll be honest and say I looked away just before he headed it - when the players were walking back to their half, everyone seemed to be high-fiving Kerr so I just gave the goal to him.

[beaver1]

Pretty good summation. Good to get a point but could have been three. Was no surprise that we got it back to 2-2. Agree about Colin. Shame he can't seem to last 90 minutes but him and Shaw are our most dangerous partnership.

Willis is amazing. The two times he controlled the ball on his chest when other players would have been happy just to get a head on the ball were stupendous. Some pretty rough edges but he will be a star.

We can compete in this league. If Bomber can sort the keeper and centre half then we have a chance. No idea who the Trialist was but not convinced he is the solution unfortunately.

[blueone]

3 hours ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

 It won't be the first time I've written this (and it sure as heck won't be the last) but that was a real game of two halves.

Peterhead were dreadful in the second half, make no mistake - the defence looked spooked, the full-backs didn't attack as much, the midfield disappeared

I can't quite put my finger on how Peterhead collapsed like that. McMenamin's introduction was one thing but they looked uncomfortable long before that, even towards the end of the first half. There's plenty to like about them, particularly going forward, but defensively they were very creaky and the way the midfield of Dzierzawski and Scott Brown crumpled was alarming. There's some new players in there but they don't look any better than last season and I imagine they'll finish in mid-table again.

 

Unfortunately, the story of our season so far although mostly starting poorly and playing better in the second half. Role reversal this time it would appear. Seems both sides are in the same boat and could well be battling at the wrong end of the table for a while yet. Finishing mid table might even be too ambitious for us on current form and can't really see a way of things improving. The squad is set and almost two months into the season all we can do is keep working. Like Stenny have McMenamin, we depend on Rory scoring a few goals to get us out of trouble but with such a leaky (non existent) defence even that isn't enough.

[Moonglum25]

Agree with much of what has been said. At half time we were discussing whether or not we would concede 5 but the second half was a complete turnround and we had decent opportunities to have won it. Certainly do not agree that McCabe was solid - he is a liability that is causing us goals on a weekly basis who displays no confidence. We are 2 goals down and he is fannying about with the ball instead of trying to raise the tempo.

Willis Furtado will not be at the club long, someone will snap him up, great strength in the man but for me he did not get the ball often enough - everytime he went near their centre backs you could see the panic.

What was pleasing about the performance today was the come back from 2 goals down - hopefully that will boost the team's confidence.

[beaver1]

McCabe did ok yesterday. Don't think he could have prevented either of the goals and for once he came and collected a corner towards the end of the game to ease the pressure. But...

[Moonglum25]

24 minutes ago, beaver1 said:

McCabe did ok yesterday. Don't think he could have prevented either of the goals and for once he came and collected a corner towards the end of the game to ease the pressure. But...

Very much but...........

[Balmoor Boy]

How refreshing to read the totally unbiased report and summing up of the game from Francesc Fabregas. For people that cannot go to away games it is good to read what happened, especially after the BBC seem to have shunned the lower leagues in their live text reporting of line-ups, stats etc. It also makes a change from some of the caustic comments that we had to endure from some of the knuckledruggers of teams who are no longer in the division. Cheers FF.

[Francesc Fabregas]

3 hours ago, Moonglum25 said:

Agree with much of what has been said. At half time we were discussing whether or not we would concede 5 but the second half was a complete turnround and we had decent opportunities to have won it. Certainly do not agree that McCabe was solid - he is a liability that is causing us goals on a weekly basis who displays no confidence. We are 2 goals down and he is fannying about with the ball instead of trying to raise the tempo.

Willis Furtado will not be at the club long, someone will snap him up, great strength in the man but for me he did not get the ball often enough - everytime he went near their centre backs you could see the panic.

What was pleasing about the performance today was the come back from 2 goals down - hopefully that will boost the team's confidence.

Colin McCabe's come under fire this season, deservedly so, but I don't think there's much to complain about from yesterday's performance. His handling was, by and large, fine and he came out for crosses he probably wouldn't have done normally. His distribution was fine too, I can't remember him holding onto the ball for longer than necessary when we were starting to break. (For all McCabe's faults, his kicking and throwing is pretty class and probably the best I've seen from a Stenny 'keeper since we had Robbie Thomson on loan.)

I agree about Willis, we should enjoy him while he's here. We should use him the same way we used Paul McMullan - build the attack around him and try to get the ball into him as often as possible, either to feet or in behind, because he looks capable at working with both. He's only played twice for us (and I've only seen him once) but a player like Willis gives you an X Factor that could be the difference between staying up and going down.

[Francesc Fabregas]

I've just finished watching the match highlights on the Stenny website and it looks as though both Peterhead goals came from Liam McCroary's failure to track a midfield runner. Both Nicky Reily and Kevin Dzierzawski made late runs into the area and on both occasions they went unchecked. I'd be inclined to leave him out for Vinnie Berry or Kieran Millar at the weekend.

[beaver1]

Certainly the 2nd goal he is brushed off it too easily. Thought Marsh should have come over and picked up Riley at the first goal. Either way, I agree about Berry or Miller. Berry is back training so I'd imagine he will be fit for the weekend.

Having watched the highlights back, I'm now quite disappointed we didn't win. We had loads of chances in that 2nd half. Whisper it, but I'm looking forward to the weekend. And if we get a new goalie, just imagine!