airdrieman

Not expecting a result here, but Thistle look to be quite up and down so no reason to be too pessimistic. Is McInroy fit? Will be interesting to see what McCabe goes for in terms of shape and personnel with the bulk of our defence now back fit. The back 3/5 has worked really well in the last couple of league games so I suspect he'll stick with it. Seems like Fordyce, ATS, Hancock and McCabe are now all fully fit or on the verge of being so, so McCabe has options. Fordyce is still our best pure centre-half so I suspect he'll be in, although I'm not sure we're a better, or at least a quicker, attacking side with him in the team. However the game goes, looking forward to knocking about some fine art and philosophy students on Maryhill Road.

Not the best or most exciting of draws. Crowd or progression wise. But it’s winnable at least and our record at home against Premiership teams under McCabe is decent. That fucker David Wotherspoon will probably re-sign for them and score the winner against us. Again.

Airdrie’s is all good as of 26th November.

Saw this doing the rounds on Twitter. What would be everyone’s team? Mine would probably be - GK - Josh Rae RB - Cammy Ballantyne LB - Paul Lovering CH - Callum Fordyce CH - Allan McManus DM - Marvyn Wilson CM - Dylan Easton CM - Kyle Turner CM - Willie McLaren CF - Owen Coyle CF - Alan Gow I know it doesn’t ask for subs but I’d probably go for - S. Docherty, Dunn, Frizzell, Varielle, Hutton, Smith, Gallagher. Could argue for Andy Ryan or Allan Russell ahead of Smith and Gallagher but they were both only here for a season (Ryan was technically on our books during 3 different seasons but you know what I mean) so Smith and Gallagher’s relative longevity and contribution to getting us promoted sees them included. Management duo of Sandy Stewart and McCabe so I can get the latter as a player too

The end of an era! Should maybe have left on a high after getting them so close to the Premier League a couple of seasons ago. Struggling at the moment so might be the right call. That being said, who they replace him with will be a huge decision. Stuart Petrie seems the obvious best candidate. If I was an Arbroath fan, Stuart Malcolm being the only coach not to resign would be a cause for concern.

Made hard work of that today to say the least. Not a game I’ll remember for long but, through to the next round which is the main thing. Motherwell, Brora or Buckie away please.

Americanisation of culture? I could care less.

As is looking through their squad. Discounting Scott Agnew former diamonds amongst them include Sean McIntosh, Scott Robertson, Grant Gallagher and Dean Hawkshaw all of whom played for us not that long ago, as recently as Murray's first season. Don't think any of them would get a game now! I've only been to Stair Park once. Won 3-1 and Taylor Morgan chipped the goalkeeper. Thankfully wasn't there in 2003.

I still hold a minor grudge against him for not equalising at Celtic Park that day.

I like Cappielow although I’m not a huge fan of the main stand and the support structures that obscure your view. Football grounds should be unique and have an identity, atmosphere and history about them and I think Cappielow is and has that. A roof on the Wee Dublin End and a proper pie hut and I wouldn’t have any complaints about it. How was the game to watch from the cowshed @Passionate? Always liked the look of it in there.

Thought we were the better team in the first-half and don’t think anyone could have complained had we went into half-time in front. We toiled in the second-half though. Definitely have Josh Rae to thank for getting us through. Some outstanding saves throughout the game that kept us in it and of course the final penalty (double) save once again. He gets a bit of stick but yesterday showed his worth and what a difference he makes to the team. Ballantyne and Telfer were our two best outfield players and McStravick made a difference in the short time he was on the park. Don’t think we really got going in the second-half until he was brought on. But he had them on the back-foot whenever he had the ball and our best bouts of pressure came from him. Fun to win another shootout after our penalty woes before the play-offs and nice to be in a cup semi-final.

Him, Megwa and Liam Prunty were getting stuck into the burger van at half-time so you can add food poisoning to the list of reasons why he's missing from the team.

Saw him in the stand a few weeks ago and see him in the odd pic/video the club posts.

Assume he’ll switch to a back 4 for this one, it’s his only option really with the personnel missing. Cassidy hasn’t featured much thus far so can’t see him starting this one given it’s the first actual football club we’ll play in this competition, and so I expect the lineup and formation to be more familiar than the strange shape we seemed to play in the last couple of rounds. Hopefully Fordyce will be back and it will be him and McCabe in the middle with Ballantyne and Watson at full-back. Otherwise, assume it will be McCabe and Watson at centre-half with A.N. Other at right-back? TBF going up against Oakley and Muirhead could potentially be the best or worst introduction to big boys fitba for Cassidy that he could get depending on your perspective. Wouldn’t mind giving the likes of Gabby, O’Connor, Dunlop and GavGal (if he’s back?) a start in this one. Suspect he’ll play as close to his strongest starting XI as possible.

What’s Frizzell playing in this for? Get him in the house with his feet up FS.

How are Josh Kerr and Kyle Connell getting on? Connell doesn't look to be amongst the goals whenever I check the League 1 scores unfortunately.

How's Euan Deveney performed this season? I see you seem to be getting a tune out of Ally Roy which must be a pleasant surprise.

Agreed although for me I think it was more the previous few games which have highlighted how much we miss Smith. His ability to carry the ball forward from one end of the pitch to the other alone would have seen us create far more chances v Ayr, Queen’s Park and Inverness than we ultimately did. Don’t have anyone in the team who can do that anywhere near as well as he does.

I’d tend to agree, as much as I’d love to win the cup, or at least beat Rangers B if nothing else. But it’s not worth the risk of any further injuries and ultimately dropping points in a competitive league. We’ve played a lot of football in the last couple of weeks so I don’t think I’d be playing anyone who’s not 100% fit or who’s played the bulk of those games. Probably wouldn’t mind McCabe playing, as he hasn’t played as much football as everyone else and increasing his match sharpness would probably be a good thing. He’d also be good to have on the park if it is a predominantly young side we play. That being said, I’d be happy for him to give himself a rest too. Defence will be interesting as Fordyce, Hancock and ATS are potentially all carrying injuries or knocks and I don’t think I’d risk any of them for this game. Which doesn’t leave a lot for McCabe to play with in terms of selection or resting players. Wouldn’t be bothered if he just played Cassidy and the rest of the reserve back 4 though I suppose he could also slot himself in there. Something like - Hutton Cassidy + 3 Rugrats Dunlop/McStravick McCabe Spalding O’Connor McGill Dunlop/McGregor would suffice for me.

It was the other way round for so long that it’s about time!

Wonder if this is an indicator of the sort of side we’ll put on Tuesday? Can’t think why else the game would be moved unless there’s some rule or logistical reason that means both sides can’t play on the same day. Not as if there’s really any crossover between the teams. I won’t be there but hope we body them all the same. A side with a mix of players like Cassidy and Dunlop and some of the first team players currently on the fringes like Gabby and O’Connor would be ideal and should suffice in terms of beating them.

Really enjoyed that game yesterday. Said it about the first game between us but it felt like two good teams making a proper contest of it. The first-half in particular felt very open and end-to-end. Tailed off a little bit in the second-half (both teams looked leggy towards the end) but that was probably the best 90 minute performance we’ve put in the league so far this season. I know some folk were starting to get a bit twitchy but I’ve seen enough over the course of the season and the last three games (even the second-half v Inverness) to suggest that we’ll be absolutely fine. Could have won it with a bit more luck, that Dabrowski save was outrageous, and Gal was unlucky at the end (great header from Gabby to put the ball across btw). But I’d have been delighted with a point before the game and I’m happy with one now. Rae made a couple of cracking saves of his own TBF. Have to say I was sceptical of the shape when I first saw the team lines. Don’t think a back 3/5 has ever previously worked for us under McCabe or Murray. But fair play, it got the best out of the team yesterday and I’m not sure Raith or Murray knew how to respond. McMaster was great (some of his touches to take the ball away from the opposition were first class), Telfer was good, that was probably McCabe‘s best performance of the season and Frizzell was back to his best. Best player on the park IMO. Him and Telfer linked well with Todorov and I thought that was his best game so far for us. Delighted for him to score (especially with that thug Iain Davidson being at the game) and the goal will hopefully do him a lot of good. Always nice to see him getting it round the opposition after he scored and when he got subbed off too. Thought the defence were very good also. Think we’ve probably missed ATS more than we realised both at the back and going forward in terms of bringing the ball out of defence. I still think Fordyce is our best pure centre-half. But I’m not sure it was a coincide that the ball was was going forward a lot quicker without him playing. Hancock was playing well so it was a real shame to see him go off with what looked like a bad injury. I didn’t really see the incident but it certainly looked a bad one in the aftermath. I have heard he was up and walking after the game so it’s hopefully not as bad as we all initially feared. I think having to move players around afterwards threw us so maybe they don’t score if Hancock was still on the park (though it was a clever bit of play from Connolly and an effective mismatch between him and Smith v ATS and McCabe). Don’t think there’s a natural replacement for him in that shape so it’d be a shame if we’re forced to not use it again for a few games. Gutted for young Murray Aiken. He’ll be a real loss whilst he’s out and we’ll miss his drive, athleticism and ball winning ability. All the best to him. Good point yesterday and on to a big game next weekend v Arbroath. Got to win our home games and feels like an important one since they have a couple of games in hand over us.

No Gallagher?

Not too bad a draw. Could have been a lot worse. A team we haven’t played for a while, and probably won’t, a winnable tie and a day out. And I like the bandstand on the way into Stair Park. A few ex Airdrie players in their team.