Replays

Brown’s goal was a stunner. Also, despite the potentially catastrophic effect it could have have on my team (and the woeful defending that with it), I’ll admit I’ve watched Kirkpatricks effort sail into the top corner more than a few times! Enjoy the day on Saturday all.

Two really poor goals conceded from our point of view. We must be well into double figures for goals lost from set pieces too. Far too many in that Clyde team today didn’t look up for the fight. Kabia may have a bit of ability about him but him and Rennie on the wings could barely have given their opposite numbers an easier time. Leitch continues to blow hot and cold but we may not see him again this season depending on what his injury is like. Kian Leslie had a good cameo when he came on. Lyle’s save from Ballantyne at the end was excellent. McGinn improved second half but was absolutely hopeless in the first and cemented, in my mind, that for all his faults, Alex King is probably our best option at left back (or he would be were he fit). Scullion being back next week is a bonus for us. I can’t tell whether we’ll avoid/survive the play-offs. I’m not convinced enough players out there have the stomach for it and whilst we’re a capable enough outfit or our day, we can’t defend set pieces and we give away so many goals from daft errors. Given even the best case scenario for us next week will see us head up to Elgin really hoping to at least avoid a defeat (otherwise it could be a very nervy afternoon of checking scores) I’m not entirely confident.

Howie’s been threatening to do that since he came back. Sums up this shower.

What a pathetic lot

Match preview is saying the main stand.

You have to question why we simply didn’t try and kick the ball into the goal more during the first half?

What a farce.

VERY close call that for the offside.

Call it off ref.

Think we may as well go home after failing to capitalise on that wind advantage.

Expected to stop within the next half hour or so too. Given two of our previous meetings this season have been victims of extreme weather of Biblical proportions, a bit of heavy rain’s nothing!

Look at this, three pages for this topic, a combined total of about four posts about the football, and about thirty-four posts about pubs. You absolutely love to see it!

I’m probably in the minority here but I actually prefer King playing at left back to playing in midfield! I don’t mind him playing off the right either as is capable of a wonder goal or a great delivery. However, whilst he did have a stinker on Saturday, I actually think he’s been quite solid at left back and grabbed a couple of assists there too (Bonnyrigg and Stenhousemuir). I think if played in the middle of the park the game can pass him by as he’s not particularly quick, aggressive or strong. I agree with some comments about his attitude but it is important to remember how young he is. I’m not sure it’s that he doesn’t care as maybe losing confidence. In saying all of that, there’s always a part of you that thinks he’s been a disappointment but that may be due to some of the hype surrounding his arrival (plus the stunning goal he scored on his debut that had us expecting more). However, whilst he hasn’t had a Scott Banks level of impact, I do think he’s contributed a reasonable amount for a 19 year-old. From Morton’s perspective, I’m sure he’ll return there a better player.

I could be wrong but I’m sure I read they’re father and son. I also believe Brian Kinnear and Lewis Budinauckas were team mates in the Rangers youth teams and remain good mates.

Kev’s boy I believe. Not hard to believe given the rarity of the surname in Scottish football circles.

Well done Stenny. A well-deserved title and I hope you’re having a great day celebrating. If your players fancy continuing to sink the pints for another fortnight, I’d be most grateful!

I have absolutely no insider knowledge but I’m absolutely sure Ian McCall would have brought up the Stranraer celebrations at Stair Park to the players before the game today. In an interview not long after that match, McCall said something along the lines of “certain teams celebrated like they’d win the Champions League” so I reckon it stung him a bit too. Still, as I mentioned above, it’s all about who has the last laugh at the end of the season!

All in all, we got exactly what we wanted out of that game and I think the players (and the manager) have to take some plaudits for that. Our substitutes helped to turn the screw on Stranraer and despite what a few others have said, I feel Grant and Cuddihy both did well in midfield today. It was certainly a much better performance for Cuddihy today after an absolute horror show at Peterhead last week, though he wasn’t alone in that. Whilst the first half was an absolute non-event, it was apparent from early in the second-half that we were playing the conditions better than Stranraer who didn’t create an awful lot given their advantage of playing with the wind in the first-half. Our second-half performance, with the exception of the first couple of minutes where Stranraer forced Kinnear into a decent block, was absolutely dominant and we could have had three or four goals today. However, with Allan’s effort was superbly cleared off the line, Grant and Allan’s efforts narrowly wide, Leitch’s effort just about scrambled away between the keeper and the defender, Scullion’s effort down the neck of the keeper, Allan’s ball across the six-yard box with no takers, it just seemed like it was going to be one of those days that summed up our season. Needless to say, it was absolute bedlam when the ball hit the net. I read Kyle Fleming say on Stranraer’s website yesterday that they weren’t coming to sit in and look for a draw so it was interesting to note Scott Agnew say after the match that he had changed things to try and leave with a point. Certainly, even in the first-half, a Robertson effort aside, Stranraer didn’t seem in any great rush to create things. Of course, you’d have expected us to do the same in Stranraer’s position, but it’s always sweet to get a winner against a team who has no intention to come and get a win, heightened further by the obvious nonsense that took place down in Stranraer in February. The goal reminded me in a few ways on Martin McNiff’s late winner in the promotion season against Annan Athletic who were a very unsavoury bunch to play against that season. A real GIRFUY moment that reminds us of why we bother after all (and there haven’t been many of those this season). Of course, it all counts for naught unless we can remain off of bottom spot until the end of the season. I’m still not completely confident given our run of fixtures and with Stenhousemuir having won the title (congrats @Francesc Fabregas, @Neilly and all the other Stenny fans on here) it could make the fixtures that ourselves, Bonnyrigg and Stranraer have to play against them a tad unpredictable. Plus, when you have sides safely in the play off spots you start to see a bit of rotation in their squads which again makes things a bit more of a lottery. We have four massive games coming up and we’ll need to be at the top of our game in absolutely all of them. The thought of needing something on the last day against Elgin has been filling me with dread for a while now so I dare not get too overconfident. However, I really hope we do manage to pull an escape off. I’ve been as critical as anybody this season of the team, and the club as a whole, but listening to Allan Maitland in the Fanzone before the match, you can’t help but get the feeling that the club may actually be slowly starting to turn in the right direction. It’s dreadful that it’s taken things to get this dire before implementing change, and so much of what Maitland was saying seems dependent on staying up, but it does seem like it could be a potentially exciting time for the club should we manage to stay up. 902 in attendance today which was a great crowd, helped of course by the reduced admission and the fact that Rangers and Celtic play tomorrow. I noticed that in amongst were Mick Kennedy and Simon Ferry, no doubt doing a bit of scouting of the potential Club 42. On that note, a big shout out to ‘1888stevieB’ on Twitter who appears to be a Celtic/East Kilbride fan. Stevie was very critical of the two sides today stating that “not one minute of football was played” and describing both sides as “utter dugmeat”. Whilst it’s hard to disagree with Stevie too much, I’d like to see any team try and play free-flowing football in those kind of conditions! Stevie is extremely confident that his beloved Kilby would beat either Clyde or Stranraer so to whoever Club 42 ends up, I would it if you could absolutely horse East Kilbride if the situation arises as I’d simply love to see his reaction should East Kilbride fail to win the play-offs. Still, not that he has me rattled or anything like that.

Hard to still not absolutely adore Tom Lang, to be quite honest.

It’s great but it’ll only matter if we’re not bottom after 36 games are played!

Don’t think we should be too disheartened with that. Playing against the wind, we have probably shaded a poor half. Not that I’m biased, but Stranraer are pretty lucky to still have 11 men after a dreadful tackle in the middle of the park. We should have the wind advantage this half but of course it all counts for nothing if we can’t get a winner.

Not a good afternoon at all that. Truthfully there wasn’t an awful lot between the teams overall but when you concede two penalties and lose two dreadful goals from corners you get what you deserve. Kabia’s second booking was very soft. A foul yes but never a booking in my eyes. Hopefully this puts the Howie in midfield debate to bed. Biggest game of the season next week. What could possibly go wrong?

At what point do we consider Barry Cuddihy rubbish again? He’s been stinking for weeks.

Boooooooooo