RossP

Turns out it was: - Yes - Yes - No - Yes Broomhill didn’t really turn up, unfortunately, and then after the (fairly soft) penalty and red, that was game over. Samuel did well and I’m intrigued to see if he’s put in a two with Billy or if he’s a solo striker that gets 30mins or a rotation when Billy tires. No finesse in his play, but plenty of energy and physicality. Duffy, Anderson, Gilmour were all pretty good. Longstaff was again anonymous, where he was playing as left wing back. Roll on an away day to Bonnyrigg please!

- Maybe. - No - No - Probably not Hopefully, the likes of Roddy will get an hour or so in his comeback from injury. That would be like getting a new signing, I suppose.

Hoping for the thaw to hit on Friday/Saturday as forecast, as trains and pitches will be scunnered until then. Could also do with a couple of new signings in to replace all the departures!

If I wasn’t already excited enough, saying good morning to Charlie Christie who is staying in the same hotel, has bumped up the excitement levels further.

I was really surprised at how often he won the ball back (cleanly) in the Cove half last weekend. Seemed to sneak up on the likes of Vigurs and nick in or lean in, to then create a chance for a (offside) goal.

Seeing the team line up for tonight is really giving me the fear for who will be playing RB for the Scottish Cup semi (Carson is suspended). Still no sign of Duffy or Ram, or that geordie guy we signed. Lewis Hyde has been rinsed in the few times he’s featured at RB, and I can’t see many others filling that role effectively. Maybe Devine? it would be brave to go with a change of formation to accommodate e.g. 3-5-2, with the three D’s in the middle of defence and Harper and Henderson as wing backs.

Several chances to clear the ball missed, leading to a desperate, clumsy challenge at the edge of the box. Vigurs puts the ball in the bottom corner from the resultant free kick, which Ridgers was supposed to be covering.

Aye, Dan has been awful so far. Frustrating, after some of the earlier positive performances this season. Shaw has been good, nicking possession off defenders and being a general pest. Samuels has looked dangerous a few times when he has time and space on the right.

Vigurs already looking knackered running over to take a corner.

It was. It’s a bit of a morgue just now at Balmoral Stadium. Last time here our young team had already offended Shay Logan and set fire to the pitch… but no sign of that today. Perhaps saving their money for the Semi-Final? Here’s hoping for no injuries on this pitch considering we lost MacGregor and Allardice last time out.

If we win the Scottish Cup, at least we can buy an entirely new team of ringers who want to play in Europe for the guaranteed group stages - they'll be fairly rested at least!

I look forward to the excitement of Monday’s draw, seeing all the great away days against lower league teams disappear one by one… along with any money spinning ties v the top 4 premier teams… to then get Motherwell or Livingston away (again).

Raith currently 3/1 for the win on Saturday. Those odds won’t last.

Good shout. I didn't think about Carson going into midfield. I recall Ram having a 0% pass rate when he played in the last few mins of that Partick game - hopefully if he's starting there'll be a significant improvement.

We’ll be lucky if we have three outfield players on the bench tomorrow. A CM of Lewis Hyde Cameron Harper and Aaron Doran. I’m thinking Hamilton’s odds are generous!

Really grim game. With potentially McGregor and Allardice missing for Hamilton on Tuesday, our CM needs to be better than today’s showing. Robbie Deas was imperious, whilst no-one else really stood out amongst the dross. Looking forward to seeing the red card incident back, no idea what happened.

I don’t think he’s all that minted as he’s had to shell out a fortune in compensation for that person he ran over in his car a good few years ago. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/crime/hibs-star-scott-allan-agrees-5905715.amp The pedestrian is to get a £2m lump sum and annual payments of £165,000 until 2027 and £190,000 thereafter making an overall award in excess of £6m.

Strong Caley lineup today. I imagine Carson is in CM rather than RB, with Duffy moving there. Shame Devine and Welsh haven’t been involved at all in the group games. Early goal please and keep a goal or two ahead of the other group winners.

I was all for playing a few more of the kids and fringe players, under the assumption that anything but a big Cove win would have us top the group and seeded. I see today though that we’ll need to win by a few to have a good chance of being seeded, due to the increased Euro positions: “There are just 3 seeded places up for grabs in the last 16 of the League Cup with the 5 Euro hopefuls joining at that stage, all of whom are seeded. The best 3 group winners will all take a seeded place. Similarly there are just 3 spots open to the best runners up this season. Aberdeen (+9), Dundee (+7), Arbroath (+6), Inverness CT (+6) are the only sides with perfect records going into the last round of fixtures. All of these are at home at the weekend. Aberdeen host Raith Dundee host Forfar Arbroath host Airdrie ICT host Cove” *source = Pie&Bovril Twitter

There’s still time for the SPFL to deduct Hearts 2 points instead of 3 for playing an ineligible player, to ensure that they can progress to the next round* *sorry, I’m used to the SPFL and Hearts shafting us in the cup. See also Danny Wilson, Stevenson, Ngoo…

100%. But if Delaney or Deas (or Carson) got injured/suspended, at the moment I could only see Allardice as someone who could fill in and I don’t know if he’s played at CB before (pretty sure he filled in at RB at least once during a game for us)

That angle would be useful for a replay, after the initial highlight was shown, to provide a different angle/perspective. Horrible to have it as your main source of footage.

After seeing our lineup announced yesterday, I was anticipating a stroll for Livi. Good to see some fringe players make an impression. Really hopeful Devine, Duffy, Welsh and Ram will be back on the pitch by the end of these group matches, though.

Cheers for that. Embarrassingly, I decided on a tactical pee moments before the goal, thinking it would be going to penalties. Heard the cheer before I even reached the toilets.

Hopefully Ram is back soon, as that’s ICT missing 3CBs currently. Delaney looked nervous but was solid, with Deas marshalling the defence really well in one of his best CB performances. Harper had a few dodgy moments, missing interceptions that led to one-on-ones and Carson did his usual 7/10 no-frills shift. Allardice was our best player today in my opinion. Strong tackles, quick transitions and running the show from the middle of the pitch. Roddy next to him looked dangerous every time he got the ball, which unfortunately wasn’t very often. I was impressed by Boyd who showed great energy and a decent touch. Doran was so-so in the ACM role, with one cracker of a shot that was hit early - unlike a couple of other chances where he’d been slow to shoot. Samuels started well but was really ineffectual for the majority of the game. I’ve yet to see him challenge for a header, so it’s pointless putting the ball in his direction when he has his back to goal. Mckay was very good today I thought. Won his fair share of arial battles, held the ball up well and played others into the game. Unlucky not to score with that header off the post. Oakley immediately gave the Kelty defenders a harder time of it when he came on. I’d like to see him and Mckay play together in at least one of the other League Cup group games. Similar to Delaney, Shaw looked nervous but anytime the ball was at his feet he looked dangerous. He needs to bulk up a bit and I wonder how he’d cope when defending - hopefully will be more of a Jonny Hayes signing than Ben Greenhalgh. Mackay didn’t touch the ball for about 10mins after coming on at LM. First touch was a shot over the bar and then showed some lightning pace to get past the RB a few times. He’ll be great when we are away from home, having to counter attack. Tidser, Forster, Barjonas and Agyeman had good games for Kelty. Higginbotham is still a moaning wee ned who ended up being a sole striker, due to the limited personnel. We likely wouldn’t have won if Austin and Cardle were fit, I imagine. Fed up of buses now, after my seventh and final one of the day is delayed. Cracking weather and a decent Indian buffet in Shimla Cowdenbeath though.