Dumbarton v Queens

[EdinburghLivi]

8 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Meh, he is ok at them. Meh, he is ok at them. Scored for us at Ibrox but he was never the designated taker with us. I would have Lyle, Dobbie and Jacobs in front of him. Was Jacobs not better at them for you than Beanie was?

He scored every penalty he took for us. Must have been around 15 across 3 seasons.

I can only remember Kyle Jacobs taking one penalty for us (that wasn't in a shootout) and he scored it against you.

[sonsanorak]

With our goal less run a penalty shouldn't be handed over to a boy.

That said, if we need penalties and free kicks to score from there's a huge weakness somewhere else.

[BallochSonsFan]

Another game of 2 halves.

First half Queen of the South have a goal correctly disallowed for hand ball and we have an effort cleared off the line. Both teams have chances. Gallagher makes a cracking save from an awkward deflection off a Sons player (either Dick or Hill?) that was going in all directions in the air. We looked capable of getting a result.

Started the second half poorly and we lost the goal to a powerful free kick that was low and accurate. Little chance for the keeper, particularly with it being so wet. It took us a long time to get back into the game. Last 20 minutes or so we looked to have a bit more about us. The penalty we did get was an utterly woeful effort and he rightly hung his head in shame. If you get it on target and the keeper saves it then it's credit to the keeper. If you balloon it about 10 ft over the bar then it's a howler from the penalty taker.

Ultimately our lack of goals is our issue. Gallagher, for all that he is capable of some utter madness, isnt a bad keeper and has made some very good saves this season. Our defence are ok - Wardrop is a great player and big Dowie has got over an early season struggle to become an absolutely solid centre half. Dowie is calm, reads the ball really well and just does what needs to be done. I thought Hutton showed that he can be a good player today. Keep it to the simple stuff and don't expect him to make defence-splitting passes or big runs forward and he can do the grafting, win the ball and bring others into play.  Unfortunately goals win games. We really need Mark Stewart up front because even if he isnt really a lethal goal scorer, he can score them and his movement will drag defenders out of position to maybe open up space for Handling running from deeper or a wide man cutting inside. We didnt really get that today and Nisbet showed absolutely nothing. I'd have rather seen Burt on from the start, if he was fit, because at least he's willing to run at defenders and to try to put a ball into the box or have a dig from distance.

The play-offs were always going to be our most likely option of survival this season. Today pretty much all but confirmed it. Nobody will lose enough points to be dragged into a genuine fight for 9th and we don't look like having the goals in us to close the gap even if somebody above us did start to falter.

[Silverton End]

Bizarre formation & substitution shit from Aitken, again, & 3 points lost, again.

2 games in a row Froxylias doesn't start?? WTF

Liam Burt too, should have started ahead of Handling, who is a luxury we can't afford, to constantly be fairly hit or miss, more often miss tbh. 

Why take off Mark Stewart?

As for the penalty miss....

Best we've played in weeks, TNS aside.

Kyle Hutton was very good today.

We're at home ffs Stevie, with almost a full squad to choose from.

Fucking go for it please.

 

[O'Kelly Isley III]

It is what it is. We can bemoan the lack of goals but ultimately it comes down to both creating and taking chances, and we aren't doing enough of the first to have a hope of doing the second.

Burt is carrying a niggling knock and cannot manage 90 mins at present, whilst Froxylias has been called up by Cyprus and will miss the Cup Final.

Today's defeat was compounded by Dowie's injury and I expect him to miss both Brechin games.

Perth apart, it's going to be a grim finale to the league campaign. And that's before we consider behind the scenes.....

[Jan Vojáček]

5 minutes ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

It is what it is. We can bemoan the lack of goals but ultimately it comes down to both creating and taking chances, and we aren't doing enough of the first to have a hope of doing the second.

Burt is carrying a niggling knock and cannot manage 90 mins at present, whilst Froxylias has been called up by Cyprus and will miss the Cup Final.

Today's defeat was compounded by Dowie's injury and I expect him to miss both Brechin games.

Perth apart, it's going to be a grim finale to the league campaign. And that's before we consider behind the scenes.....

In unrelated news: 1 x Cyprus flag for sale (unused), excellent quality. May be of use to a St Mirren fan.

[Bogheidman]

Not winning against a side we were better than is frustrating and we're desperate for a win 

 

Nesbit why is he taking the penalty?

Leaving Froxy and Burt on the bench? They created more in 20 than the rest did in 70

Referee shocking, can't believe the number of things he got wrong, none more game altering than not giving the clear pen on burt

Huge pressure on these Brechin games now against a side with no pressure and nothing to lose...

 

[rockson]

9 minutes ago, Bogheidman said:

Not winning against a side we were better than is frustrating and we're desperate for a win 

 

Nesbit why is he taking the penalty?

Leaving Froxy and Burt on the bench? They created more in 20 than the rest did in 70

Referee shocking, can't believe the number of things he got wrong, none more game altering than not giving the clear pen on burt

Huge pressure on these Brechin games now against a side with no pressure and nothing to lose...

 

Really?  Even if we win them both I can't see us finishing higher than ninth.

[Nowhereman]

Really?  Even if we win them both I can't see us finishing higher than ninth.

True. But the huge pressure arises from not wanting to be the first team to lose to them. And what usually happens when you play the same team twice in a week?

[squeezeboxson]

Froxylias took 10 mins to even touch the ball today and got booked when he finally did. He made 1 run forward and had 1 or 2 other touches. But Burt and Nade made more of a difference when they came on. There's no denying he has quality but it really doesn't show anywhere near enough.

Sorry to the Froxylias fan club.

[Boghead ranter]

1 hour ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

     If they're spending 90 minutes tracking the opposition full-back then we might as well just start with a team of defenders.

Stevie, if you're reading this, please don't.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

It is what it is. We can bemoan the lack of goals but ultimately it comes down to both creating and taking chances, and we aren't doing enough of the first to have a hope of doing the second.

Burt is carrying a niggling knock and cannot manage 90 mins at present, whilst Froxylias has been called up by Cyprus and will miss the Cup Final.

Today's defeat was compounded by Dowie's injury and I expect him to miss both Brechin games.

Perth apart, it's going to be a grim finale to the league campaign. And that's before we consider behind the scenes.....

If Burt is injured then why name him on the bench and then fling him on? If it's a minor knock preventing him from playing the 90 then why not play him for the first 60 instead of bringing him on when we're 1 down?

Whether or not Froxy is fucking off with Cyprus for the final he's a far better option than Handling, Russell or Nesbitt.

I just don't buy this almost sympathetic stuff towards our current situation. We have better players on the bench than what we do on the park. We have more creative and attacking players on the bench than what we have on the park. It's not bad luck, injuries or whatever else, it's Aitken being an absolute shitebag.

We are in a position now where risks need to be taken. We've stayed up in previous years by taking risks and actually going for it. Why all of a sudden are we scared to attack when draws simply aren't enough?

It's completely baffling. The game against Falkirk away is up there with one of the worst approaches to a match I've ever seen from a Dumbarton side. A must win match and we fart about the park praying for a goalless draw. Why would anybody in their right mind want to pay 20 quid to watch us draw our way to the relegation playoffs. Then what happens when we actually get there? We can't draw our way through those. We need players in form and scoring goals. Brechin won't catch us now, we have absolutely f**k all to lose.

It's simply not good enough and I'd rather get pumped trying to win a game than watch us absolutely shit ourselves.

I've seen bigger crowds at funerals than were present in the home end today, for what was a must win match and no wonder.

[Jan Vojáček]

Just now, squeezeboxson said:

Froxylias took 10 mins to even touch the ball today and got booked when he finally did. He made 1 run forward and had 1 or 2 other touches. But Burt and Nade made more of a difference when they came on. There's no denying he has quality but it really doesn't show anywhere near enough.

Sorry to the Froxylias fan club.

You know me, but seriously? I mean Froxy had a shot well saved, and then went on a ridiculous run that opened up a great opportunity for Burt. Those two moments alone were more than Nade did. Given at the moment it's a direct choice between him and Handling, it seems a no brainer to start him. He's our top scorer too, despite having only started 15 games. I know five is hardly a fantastic return - but given how rank we are going forward him and Stewart should be playing every moment they can.

He'd probably be able to contribute more if Stevie: A) Started him and B) Played him in his natural position too.

Just now, Boghead ranter said:

Stevie, if you're reading this, please don't.

#TacticalGenius

[rockson]

23 minutes ago, Nowhereman said:

True. But the huge pressure arises from not wanting to be the first team to lose to them. And what usually happens when you play the same team twice in a week?

I'v suspected that would be us from about November onwards.

[squeezeboxson]

4 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

You know me, but seriously? I mean Froxy had a shot well saved, and then went on a ridiculous run that opened up a great opportunity for Burt. Those two moments alone were more than Nade did. Given at the moment it's a direct choice between him and Handling, it seems a no brainer to start him. He's our top scorer too, despite having only started 15 games. I know five is hardly a fantastic return - but given how rank we are going forward him and Stewart should be playing every moment they can.

He'd probably be able to contribute more if Stevie: A) Started him and B) Played him in his natural position too.

#TacticalGenius

I think he does have quality we don't have in others. But I just don't think he offers enough in terms of effort. Then when he is trying hard he suffers from being overly greedy a lot of the time. The thing is - and you have kinda said this yourself - it isn't a toss up between him and Handling because he isn't playing them both in the same position. I thought Nade was decent when he came on today. He isn't going to blow anyone's mind with skill when the ball is on the ground but he has a role to play.

[Jan Vojáček]

3 minutes ago, squeezeboxson said:

I think he does have quality we don't have in others. But I just don't think he offers enough in terms of effort. Then when he is trying hard he suffers from being overly greedy a lot of the time. The thing is - and you have kinda said this yourself - it isn't a toss up between him and Handling because he isn't playing them both in the same position. I thought Nade was decent when he came on today. He isn't going to blow anyone's mind with skill when the ball is on the ground but he has a role to play.

With Walsh out though, it really should be between him and Handling for the #10 slot though. Stevie evidently disagrees, so I suppose this discussion is futile, but to outsiders like ourselves that would seem like the obvious place to have him. Somewhere he gets plenty of the ball and doesn't have to help out a full-back.

It's got to the stage where I'd rather have a guy with quality, even if he doesn't show it every time he gets the ball, than a grafter type who will cover his full-back, but offer little going forward. Especially with two naturally defensive midfielders starting every week we really should have enough cover that we don't need him defending.

I like Nade, but he was just used by too many players as an excuse to continue smacking long balls in his general direction. His service was rank, but he played like a striker without a goal since July.

[squeezeboxson]

2 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

With Walsh out though, it really should be between him and Handling for the #10 slot though. Stevie evidently disagrees, so I suppose this discussion is futile, but to outsiders like ourselves that would seem like the obvious place to have him. Somewhere he gets plenty of the ball and doesn't have to help out a full-back.

It's got to the stage where I'd rather have a guy with quality, even if he doesn't show it every time he gets the ball, than a grafter type who will cover his full-back, but offer little going forward. Especially with two naturally defensive midfielders starting every week we really should have enough cover that we don't need him defending.

I like Nade, but he was just used by too many players as an excuse to continue smacking long balls in his general direction. His service was rank, but he played like a striker without a goal since July.

Think we will agree on one thing. As each week passes I am thinking we should be less and less cautious with nothing to lose. Maybe now is the time to start playing these players. We aren't catching anyone in the league and need to score soon so we can maybe put  reasonable run of form together leading to the final and then the play offs.

[Rjc-1988]

A vital win for us today especially with other results going our way. I thought it was a pretty even game but if anything Dumbarton edged it overall and certainly didn't deserve to lose.

I can understand the comments about Burt and Froxy - both made a huge difference when they came on. Burt in particular caused problems and Froxy is very clever on the ball.

At least we played two up top - we created a decent number of chances despite not playing well. Leighfield was excellent today and was the main reason we kept a clean sheet. Dobbie was again first class throughout.

A big result for us - maintains our interest in play off berth.

[QOSQOS]

Delighted with the 3 points, Dumbarton I thought played well and there was little in it.   There have been many occasions in the past when we’ve deserved a draw/win and it didn’t happen, so maybe today was one where we got the breaks.

I thought the conditions favoured the attacking team, there were plenty chances at both ends, amazed there was only 1 goal, could have been a 4-3 or more easily.

Compared to the dire 0-0 against Dunfermline, that was entertaining.

We had almost our ‘dream team’ out there, no Rankine, and Lyle starting, but we still struggled for long periods. Thomas looked dangerous at times but didn’t always deliver,  and he seems to moan a lot to his team-mates. But cracking goal. Brownlie and Fordyce made a few key interceptions, Marshall had another good game. Leighfield had a few good saves.

Thought the penalty was harsh so pleased to see it clear the bar by about 50 feet (has it landed yet?). Too far away to see if the other penalty claims had merit. Didn’t see the hand ball for our disallowed goal for the same reason....

Todorov should really have done better at the end when clear through, and even at the very end he was almost through but his shot lacked conviction. 

So with 10 games left, still within sight of 4th place. But we need to win a few, starting with Tuesday night.

[The Moonster]

We can talk about players being injured meaning they can't start but even the 11 we started with today seemed to be all over the place organisation wise. Stewart, Nisbet and Russell all basically playing roles they aren't suited to when a slight reshuffle would've perhaps allowed them to play their games. Russell isn't a lone striker, Stewart isn't a winger, Nisbet is a target man, play Stewart off Nisbet and let Russell work out wide because he's not going to score us goals. 

It's so frustrating that we're reverting to this shell of a team that has no belief they can attack teams. Injuries aside, it's back to questioning what the game plan is. If Dowie is fucked for any length of time then it's not good news, he's been our most consistent performer for a while now IMO. Lets hope the cup final somehow kick starts something, although I do wonder what sort of fucking team we'll be able to field. Play offs are all we can focus on after that.