Elginstreetbadger

Definitely not a day for silky football Windy and cold conditions throughout. Thought the City were the better team in the first half and having got over the shock of two quickfire goals,we on the front foot for most of the half and had the better of the play and chances. Second half was more even and Rovers had a really good claim for a penalty denied by a ref who was keen to.keep the game going throughout. As the conditions worsened with sleet in a driving wind,a few yellows were dished out to players of both teams. Rovers should have equalised but the shot which was net bound hit a Rovers player and went out. A good 3 points in horrible conditions but well done the players for hanging in there. Archie picked an injury but walked round so looks like a knock and nothing too serious.

Game on as of 07:30am,so pitch deemed playable at that time However,the BBC Weather forecast has shown a marked increase in the wind speed since then. Now showing 40+ over the course of the game along with sleet so conditions are going to be difficult to play in. As no one has started any thread on this match, I take it interest is limited amongst locals and given the forecast, I suspect most folks are staying at home. A few hardy ECFC fans heading down and there should be some Central Belt Elgin supporters as well. Self evident that both teams will be out to get the 3 points for different reasons. From an Elgin perpective, the 3 points are essential to keep us in with a shout for a play off position.

Yes it was a close call at Annan as the wind dropped like a stone around 13:00hrs. We had the same scenario at Central Park a few years back when,after heavy rain the game was called off at 14:00hrs but locals said it was playable around kick off time and we all remember the Stirling game called at 14:55, quite a few years back. Rovers will be desperate to get the game on, and I'm sure the ground staff will be doing all they can as they already have a midweek against Cowdenbeath to play. Midweek games for clubs at our level means loss of income due to fans having other commitments and couldn't see many ECFC fans making the trip, except Central Belt based ones like myself. It is a difficult call however there are big inconsistencies in decision making by officials. Our game went on at Hampden yet along the road,the game at Ibrox was cancelled. I spent an overnight with some ECFC fans in Glasgow and the hotel was full of Gers fans from NI who probably had to travel back on the Sunday, not even seeing their game.Yet the following day at the Tulloch, the Colts played ICT in torrential rain similar to our game at Hampden. On your point of just having to put up with it, a home game is a very long day for me. Its a round trip of 16 hrs in total and I normally leave the game 5 minutes before the final whistle to catch the 17:05 to Inverness and have missed a few late goals over the years and have had to put up with numerous late cancellations. I think that last week's late postponement was the final straw and next season will be away games only unless I'm staying over in Elgin. As afca32 subtlety put(above), I can't be arsed any more.

Given that their game was postponed on Tuesday and its been constant rain/sleet since then and Friday doesn't look too promising weatherwise. It has the potential for a call off. I totally agree with your sentiments as I was at Annan and Hampden as well. Galabank game was decided circa 13:45 as far as I recollect.Long way to go for such a late decision but it turned out well on the day for us. We are not alone of course and other supporters have come up to Elgin just for last minute postponements(Cowdebeath-pitch too dry) and Stranraer to name two) I travel by public transport to games and last week's decision to call game off at 10:15 inspection pissed me well off as the bus had just left Broxden. Got to Inverness, booked the 13:25 back to Edinburgh and had to hang about for 1hr and 25 minutes. The regular fan will think twice about travelling long distances to away games-in my case-home ones at BB. With wetter winters going to be a constant in the future, the SFA/SPFL should really change the inspection times, however, given that the football authorities don't give a flying duck for fans,thats not likely to happen anytime soon.

I spoke to a few of them in the social club yesterday and they were as you say"brand new". I also had a conversation with one of the committee at the first meeting of the season at BB while he was getting his P & B from Bert's hut and he was pleasant enough. I did find it strange though that he was buying his own P & B and did ask him why he was not up enjoying hospitality but he did not elaborate. I think there is an underlying current against Cove that they are doing a TNS and buying the league,especially in their first season and that comes through on social media. Whether justified or not that is their prerogative how they run their club. I can assure everyone that when my 6 numbers come up on a Friday/Saturday night and I buy Mr Robertson's shareholding, that I will still talk to you and post occasionally on P & B️️️

All round terrific performance by Elgin team. Many good individual performances and as said,in the first half if the final pass had been in our favour,we could have had 3-4. Cove are a good football side going forward but their defence is very shaky. Good and unexpected 3 points.

The wind and rain forecast tomorrow afternoon could be a great equaliser, if it turns out to be correct. Unlike Annan a few weeks back when the gale suddenly dropped before the game, the BBC weather is showing the wind to suddenly pick up to gale force just before kickoff . This could make the game a lottery and it will be team that adjusts best to the conditions,assuming the forecast is correct and the ref allows it to continue, will get the points. Hoping for that elusive win over Cove and to continue pur progression up the table.

Made the journey down by bus and train from Edinburgh as usual but if you saw the Twitter traffic prior to game it was apparently a close call going ahead, as the strong blustery wind dropped off circa 2pm and it was quite a late decision by the ref who decided that the game was on. Annan came out the blocks quickly but they missed any forward power and even with the wind at their backs in the first half,most of their shots were either wide or went sailing over the bar into the training pitch behind Tom McHale's goal.Hence the reason the stats showing them with one direct shot on target and that was very early in the game by their tall number 9. When required,Tom collected anything coming his way and his handling of corners was excellent.The Cooper/Bronsky partnership was very effective and Rory had a really good afternoon again at RB, as did Harper who has settled in quickly. I thought we had done enough in the first half to deseve the lead but feeling amongst our group was that a second would definitely put game beyond Annan,who, much to our surprise were really ineffective. Apart from first 5 minutes of second half, I felt we dominated from that point on and there were many good performances across the team. I thought Connor had a particularly good game and was easily getting by their defenders and getting crosses into the box. Rabin also had an excellent game,as did Shane who was covering a lot of ground. We could have had a few more goals and we thought Smart had netted when he came on but it was into side netting but getting 4 at Galabank and a clean sheet will do nicely and the team left the field to a well deserved ovation from the city fans, many of whom had made the long journey from the North in atrocious weather. As other posters have suggested, hope its the start of a consistent run of wins, starting against Stenny next week. Apart from the result,the other positive note of the week was KH signing an extension to his contract and Smart signing for us. We have made some good signings this season including Euan Spark and the loan players from ICT have been a good addition as well. Its a positive sign to see players wanting to remain or come to ECFC.

Just spent the last couple of hours reading much of the Twitter traffic on Queen's Park decision to go professional,which could be a game changer, not only for QP but also for other clubs. Lots of opinions on the merits of the decision, many from people who I guess have not spent a freezing afternoon in a soulless Hampden Park with a crowd of 400 max, watching a game of football. One aspect that came to me about the decision to go professional is that QP will be able to pick up on central based players that up till now,have gone to other clubs such as Elgin because of the money. Given the agreement between QP and the SFA it would appear that they will not be strapped for cash even after redevelopment of Lesser Hampden. Therefore,when a central based player makes a decision who to play for, the ability of QP to offer wages,training facilities such as Toryglen and the fact that they will not have to travel for training will surely be a factor when making the choice between clubs. This could have an adverse on clubs such as Elgin who, over the years have depended on many players from Glasgow or surrounding area. QP are not going to recruit every player and they do have a thriving youth development team but the fact is that players now have an alternative choice. Why would a player want to travel up the A9 to train at Aviemore when he can pop along the road and be home by 10pm and get paid for it. Just a thought but it is something that will have to be considered when signing players in the future. Any thoughts ?

Aye. Elgin helping Cove Rangers out.Bit of history there. You'll be suggesting next that Elgin will be having a benefit match to help the Caley out of their dire financial circumstances. Fair play on the servicemen coming next week.Still, we must have been the only match where the silence wasn't observed. As we are playing Raith on Friday night , perhaps with a long bit of Army service myself (Army Catering Corp and Catering Support Regt-Trained Killers)perhaps I should pop along and get my free tea and pie?

T & G : I think that's the point that Tenkay is making. His kicking was very poor even allowing for the wind yesterday but in mitigation he pulled off a brilliant save from a Matt Cooper curving shot from just outside the box to save them a draw right at the death. Thought Elgin were on top form yesterday,especially in the second half. Great individual performances all round. One or two Elgin fans beside me though Euan Spark had a really impressive game and Daniel McKay gave their defence a hard time with his speed and penetrating runs. As usual, SS and KH were instrumental in keeping the opposing defence busy all afternoon. It was also good to see Connor O'Keefe back on the park after his long term injury incurred in the Hibs' Colts game at Easter Road. I was right behind the goal when Shephard went down in the box but his impersonation of a sack of tatties getting thrown on the deck did not impress the ref,who as a previous poster suggested was whistle happy all afternoon. Two goals chalked off,one for each team both at the end where I was standing looked OK to me but the offside rule has become a mystery to me these days. Good unexpected point where prior to the game, most Elgin fans would have settled for just that and of course ECFC fans will be happy as we have given our good friends at Cove an advantage. No minute's silence prior to kick off yesterday? What happened there?

Certainly agree that there should be no complacency when we play Berwick,however I was speaking to someone at the game at Rovers on Saturday who had seen Berwick play Cumbernauld Colts the previous week and who thought they were quite poor. If we continue to play the way we have been lately and I have seen all the games in the league I think we should progress. As I have said on Twitter posts,we played really good football despite being beaten at Brechin and with the exception of the Binos game where we did not turn up, general play has been good. I was really impressed with the way the team was set up on Saturday and there were some really good individual performances, in particular Stephen Bronsky at the back and Daniel MacKay appears to have had a miraculous recovery from the injury he received against Stenny. In the Brechin game I thought he had a poor first half but better in the second. On Saturday he was causing real problems for the Rover's defence down the left. It was the lack of width that was missing in previous games, with Daryll back on as a sub and hopefully Connor back soon as well and Rabin Omar, we should be back up to some sort of full strength team. It was also really good to see Gav put the young U20s lad, Jake Thomson on for a while as well to get some game time. Saturday will be a good test against a strong Airdrieonians who are going well in League 1 but barring another shock result, I seriously do not expect to go further in the TCW and while the money is always useful, I would prefer to concentrate on the league. *

Before the game a couple of posters on the Arbroath site had this game down as a dead cert banker for the Lichties. It was anything but and the City often outplayed them,especially in the second half. The addition of MacDonald and Spark has made a big difference to the the back line with MacDonald a commanding presence at the back and will be a key player this season. Tom McHale had several outstanding saves during the game and as afca32 mentions above,the save from a free kick, which was bound for the top corner was brilliantly palmed away to safety. McHale is very vocal as well in his area and this adds confidence to the defence. Hester and Sutherland combine well and they put in a really good shift upfront and gave the Arbroath defence a hard time. Apart for the first 20 minutes when Arbroath were on the front foot, I thought that the Elgin team matched them in effort and skill for the remainder of the game, despite them being two leagues above us. Despite the disappointment on the players' faces as they left the field at the end,they should take confidence from their performance and if we take that into the league,we could have every chance of progressing this season. Darryl McHardy went off in some pain holding his arm and it did not look good. Any update on his condition?