MOFOREVER

With Winker likely to be out for a while now (might well miss his own testimonial game) we must have more from midfield to support the lads up top. Gardyne will fit in nicely in his now best attacking midfield role but we must replace Winker in a similar attacking midfield role. In the present squad my suggestion is that Ali Shrive should step up to that mark and make his mark a a starting eleven player - he is well capable of scoring goals as well. So, come on Ali, give it really good shot and make yourself a certain starter for the rest of this season and the next.

Annan are a better side now than their league position and they are a very physical side so the Mo will need to keep their cool and not be antagonised by them. Remember when we played them away last time - we got 2 men sent off and another two injured with Kerr Waddell one of them and he's still out for quite a while. Annan are also good at winning penalties so our defenders (and the Ref) need to take care. Other than that, the Mo can win this game BUT so too could Annan!

After last night it proves Webby IS NOT A FULL-BACK. Ok he's a utility player and a great one BUT he is at his best up top and clearly likes it there.

Good 3 points but always could be better. Yes I know mustn't grumble but I was pleased to see Kerr Waddell back in action for the last 15 minutes. He and Aidan Quinn should make our defence stronger if we go to a back three with Dillon then play Williamson and Steeves as wing backs or maybe Machado but the little lad although a good player is simply not a full back, that's not his best position especially defending set pieces. Next week we need a strong defence to contain Falkirk and let the young legs run at the Falkirk back line and we have those players as well as experience in the middle. We won't outscore Falkirk in a free for all game but we can get the better of them in a controlled way by making the most of our own set pieces and with both big lads in Waddell and Quinn we should have one in the middle occupying the centre of defence and the other staying wide and coming on to the ball at full pelt and causing chaos provided we are capable of hitting long corners - which we don't often do. Onwards and upwards and we are showing that we are capable of taking something from every game - even bogey side Alloa in 2 weeks time!

Certainly some positives at the game but QoS were not a good side and it is vital we win or don't lose against such teams. In L1 we must win games we should win and pick up a point or two against others who we expect to be tough. We could well have picked up a point at Hamilton in the last minute and at QoS we were fairly solid but my guess is that we learned a lot from that game. We played with pace up top instead of lumping it forward so much and even when we did there were runners like Hester, Lyons and Brown who gave chase and scored 3 times. Must mention Machado as well as he did a good job going forward (although he is not a natural defender). I wouldn't have taken Lyons off when we did as he was a problem for Queens but on the other hand we had to do something as Queens were exerting a lot of pressure and soon went to 2-2 and looked like pushing on from there. Bringing Luke Graham on shored up the defensive back line and he did well but bringing on Paul Watson as an attacking midfielder to support Hester and Brown up top was a master stroke with all his experience and I'd like to see that happen again - but I'd also want Lyons in as well to simply get at the opposition and peg them back instead of inviting them forward onto our defence. Overall I think we are adapting well to change in a difficult League 1 where as a part-time club it is not exactly the best place to make wholesale changes - bit by bit is the way forward and next week is a rest from the league so in a way it's a game which is not as important except we don't want to risk any injuries or suspensions. We are the Mo.

A good start today and although the League 1 is the most important I think we should try to make it a League Cup to remember. Last time we were in with a chance of going through to the knock-out stage we lost away at Forfar and that sodded it up. This time lets have a right go at Forfar in Tuesday, then Cowden on Saturday which means we should qualify even if we don't beat the Smokies but I think we can do that as well. Mon the Mo - lets do it!

Exactly and we should all make the most of it to prepare for the real stuff which follows. We all need a bit of a shape up before the league stuff starts. St.Mirren will look for no slip-ups in a group they should win but they will still be well prepared if needs be. To me these groups are great because they are different from the places we go to in our league games.

Agreed. The Mo were there for the taking in view of the awful time in the last few days and with a threadbare squad which had only one outfield player on the subs bench apart from two youth team players. Queens were their own enemies on the day and the referee was awful as well but Queens fans deserve better than that. For Montrose it would be a better long trip home after a trying time. For Queens fans who wonder what the fuss is about it's because a very important member at MFC sadly passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.

Firstly about the 'arrogance' stuff - the Pars fans are fine with me and generally most fans in L1 are as well. The worst fans are in L2 which thankfully we've left behind. The first half was 50/50 I thought and I was pleased to get to half time level. The Pars started the second half with a lot more determination in a game where the first goal was always likely to be a decider or a factor in getting a point at least. As a Mo fan obviously I'm pleased we won but I did think the Pars were very predicable and as it turned out they did not have a Plan B so the best hope for them was a wonder strike or an error by the Mo defence or keeper. Montrose are fairly preditable as well and play to their strengths which is not pretty at times but it does pay off when the defence does what matters and simply 'gets it up the park' away from danger. That strategy is good in games like yesterday because when the ball is 'down the park' if a mistake happens you might well score a goal at the other end - and that's what Montrose did, twice. Getting back to a Plan B, the Pars only had Tordorov as an option (and he did the trick at EEP last time) but Montrose had more options to change it around and that paid off. Also, and sorry to bring it up but the Mo were a bit under strength on the day as we have been for most games this season for various reason - Rory McAllister was out today for example, Graham Webster was back as a sub after a long absence, Aidan Quinn also as sub after a long absence, Terry Masson is still out with injury, Matty Allan, Mark Whatley, Craig Brown and Matty Wright all could have been in the starting line-up but the point is more than just that - it means Montrose have a depth in their squad which can cope with problems. Not sure if the Pars have the same but I hope so as they are more than a League 1 side. Stewart Petrie gets a lot of mention rightly so but he also has great back up with Ross Campbell as assistant and a great coaching set-up as well at all levels - and a good Board Room as well at Links Park.

Kerr Waddell, what a player, what a man and I heap praise on him for all the work he does for the MFC Community Trust as well - he works his socks off with everything he does. Just hope he doesn't get too carried away by offers from elsewhere because at present he is the right fit in the right place both on the playing side and with his day job with the Trust. In my opinion Kerr is just a totally likeable lad.

Although we will be without Rory against Airdrie, Cammy Ballantyne will also be missing from Airdrie as he got a straight red against Edin FC. In a way it's no bad thing for Rory to miss the Airdrie game as he might struggle on his own up front whereas it opens the door for CJ to come in full of running with Young Wright alongside him and Blair Lyons should be in as well.

The win today was Montrose's 1,000th in the SFL/SPFL. We've lost a few as well though but not bad for a wee team from Angus.

I read somewhere that a 14 game unbeaten run in the league might be a record for the MO. Not quite, the record is 15 set in 1974/5 between Jan/75 and Apr/75. Our record for unbeaten away games in the league is 10 so the current season falls short of that. The record for unbeaten home games stands at 22 set between 1974 and 1976. IN 1903/4 we won all our home games in the Northern League (all 11 of them) and continued into the following season by winning the next 7 home games so setting the record for successive home wins in the league. Current season still Ok though!

It's a fair point depending on the opposition. We missed Cammy B and Steeves overlapping (when Webby was missing) against Alloa by playing a back four. Against Cove we needed to have overlapping full backs to stretch the Cove defence because we needed to score with the expectation that Cove would get at least one with their attacking prowess. SP was right to change it at half-time when we conceded early but to sit back from the start would have simple allowed Cove to have non-stop aggression even with a more robust midfield. As it happened they got a soft goal anyway but if it had stayed at 0-0 I've no doubt SP would have changed it in the second half to go for the winner. In hindsight you might have been right but we've won a good few games against other teams. We certainly missed a striker, but Simpson is not really up to the mark yet I don't think, maybe if CJ had been available I think his pace might have caused Cove problems

I certainly hope we don't put a much changed team out at Kelty. The line-up at Falkirk was very strong and needs to be kept together NOT CHANGED. Normally I'd agree with giving others more game time but those on the bench today don't need more pitch time right now. Maybe Callaghan or Keatings if fit again but in my opinion it's more important to keep a winning line-up together though I agree it risks injuries but we have good options if so. Another good reason is that a decent cup run would give us more income from not only prize money but also could give us a 'big' money spinning game in the next round though equally I agree ii could give us a sh**e game away somewhere? To be honest we look Ok in League 1 anyway so why not have a go at a good cup run as failure at Kelty could harm our confidence - let's keep it going and don't tinker with it.