Musselburgh Athletic 2017/18

[fu punter]

1 hour ago, Toffee fan said:

in
Ha ha. Come on pal! Nae gloating if you win tomorrow and move 3 clear in front of us! Think you will do it though so all best against Blackburn!

Time will tell Toffee......hope you're right mind you. Go the Hoose...oh and the Burgh!!

[Toffee fan]

Even though Musselburgh won 4-0, it was probably our poorest performance of the season, particularly in the first half.

Newburgh weren't that good but in last minute of 1st half, had a chance to go in 1-0 up. However, Ally produced a superb save to keep match level.

Scored 4 goals in 2nd half, to ensure Musselburgh are in 2nd round draw of Scottish Cup.

Back to league business next week with a home match against Glenrothes.

[Toffee fan]

Came away from Dundee with another win and 3 points. Musselburgh were in control of the first half but it looked like the teams would go in at 0-0 until The Burgh got a free kick just outside the penalty box in the last minute. Conor Thomson then scored with a peach of a shot in the top left of the keeper's net.

2nd half started the same with Musselburgh on the attack and 10 minutes in Burgh went 2-0 up with Stephen McDonald scrambling in the goal. Lots of unhappy Downfield players shouting at the ref and linesman which resulted in the goalkeeper being sent off for something said.

Sub goalie came on, and as described by himself, so no offense intended, he was rather of the plump side, with 'eating too many jelly babies'.

However, instead of going 3 nil down soon after, he made a first class save in the middle of the penalty area.

Downfield got a goal out of nothing with Ally once again being a numpty! Why he continues to think he is an old type 'sweeper' is beyond me! Yet once again he comes so far out the box that when Musselburgh lost the ball a Downfield player shoots from way outside the penalty box, over Ally and into the net. What an idiot!

Musselburgh got a 3rd in injury time for a well deserved victory!

So last week I gave Ally a 'bit' of a hard time. This week no complaints. Ally made a great save at the end of the first half to save us from going 1-0 down. Didn't do anything wrong in the match and was even restraint by not mouthing off to his fellow defenders.

Maybe he reads P&B and is willing to see error of his ways! [emoji5]

[Toffee fan]

Came along to your game as a neutral yesterday. Thought you huffed and puffed a bit but we're pretty comfortable by the end. If the Newburgh keeper hadn't played so well in the first half you'd have won by more.

Very good description. Although we won 4-0 wasn't a great match to watch, particularly in 1st half.

Stephen McDonald, the supporters club Musselburgh man of match. However, think you are closer with your assessment. Their goalkeeper was overall the best player of the day.

[Casey Jones]

So, Saturday wasn't a vintage performance by Musselburgh, but we still won comfortably in the end with a 4-0 victory.

Chris Gray returned to the team after missing last week's match with an injury.  With Johnny being away,  and Michael also on the injury list, with going off in last week's game against Downfield, it was another change in personnel for the defence. Matty Lynch, has generally being playing in the centre of defence, but this time he was at right back, with Brad Donaldson sharing centre-back duties with Chris. The ever versatile, Jed Davie making up the back four at left back.

Still, although there are changes each week to the back four, this  season, it has never been a problem, as another game ended without Musselburgh conceding a goal. Six games out 10 league / cup fixtures have ended without a goal conceded.  Last year our downfall was conceding too many goals which in winning positions, so lessons learnt so far this year.

Newburgh Thistle play in the North Region Super League, and although they have lost all four league games so far, Musselburgh would have expected a touch Scottish Cup tie. First half was goal less. with not a great deal of goal activity, though both keepers made great saves towards the end of the first half.

Second half was all one way with Musselburgh scoring four goals in the process, and Stephen McDonald was awarded supporters club man of the match award, presumably with his all round play, and of course the two goals he scored.

Back to league competition next week.  With Fauldhouse, surprisingly going down 4-0  at home to Blackburn on Saturday, Musselburgh are once again at the top of the league, albeit on goal difference. So, we need to keep the winning mentality going against Glenrothes, who we face at Olivebank. 

Magnificent start to the season, and we need to keep this run going!

[Toffee fan]

Can't remember seeing Glenrothes play before, so looking forward to the match on Saturday. Hoping for 8th win in 9 league games to keep us at the top of the league.

Mon the Burgh!

[Casey Jones]

Cracking day like for Musselburgh's 9th league campaign of the season; at home against Glenrothes.

what's going to be the score; will Burgh still be top of the league, and will the Supporters club man of the match come from one of the goal scorers for the 4th game in a row ? All will be revealed in around 5 hours time!

[Toffee fan]

The amount of possession and chances Musselburgh had in the first half, we should have come out for the 2nd half, out of site, and Glenrothes having no thoughts about getting anything out of this match.

However, the script isn't always correct. We were 2-0 up within 20 minutes. Although Glenrothes scored from a dubious penalty half way through, by the time the first half whistle went, Musselburgh were up 3-1 with goals from Declan, Stephen and Mathu.

The second half again started with Musselburgh on the ascendancy, but midway through the 2nd half, another dubious penalty brought the game back to 3-2. Musselburgh had a number of chances to go further ahead, but no cigars were lit. Glenrothes were getting more and more into the match, and then in the last few minutes, a cross from the right hand side went across the goal area, and luckily for Musselburgh, no Glenrothes players managed the tap in.

So, it ended 3-2 to Musselburgh, the same result that Fauldhouse got in their away match against Tranent., The top two teams move on, and for Musselburgh, 8 wins out of 9 in the league. Great start, and Shandy and Geordie must be so pleased with the progress and performance of their players this season.

MTB

[Toffee fan]

Footnote to today's match with Glenrothes.

Probably most of the supporters who went along to watch today, played or still play football, at various levels. I know that when watching games, my mind sometimes wanders, and I think, I could do better than some of the players on the park. However, I am now at an age, where walking football maybe more appropriate and never reached the level of Junior football. Therefore, though I have previous experience, and captained three different teams, I will never get the chance to prove my theory of being better than those I watch!

On the other side of the coin, probably very few, if any of the supporters, at the match today have refereed or still referee football matches. In every game, you hear comments from the fans, to the man in the middle. Sometimes this is banter; sometimes it is shouting out whatever, which is not always necessary. 

We had a bit of both today, some funny, some not so funny, and there was even cheeky banter between a couple of female fans from Glenrothes,  who thought the ref was outstanding, and me, mainly at the time of Glenrothes first penalty and for a wee time after. That kind of chat is great to have, and one of reasons why I enjoy Junior football.

However, at the end of the match, a tall 'silver haired' Musselburgh fan waited for the approaching referee to tell him twice, how awful he was during the match. For me, totally unnecessary! If tall silver haired fan felt better for what he said, and was proud of his achievement, then whatever rocks his boat! But come on, we won! If we hadn't, it would have been more for chances that we missed, than the Ref giving Glenrothes the two penalties which they scored from!

Not sure if our local Courier still does it, but they used to interview a person from East Lothian, asking a set of questions each week. One of them was if you were the Provost for a time, what changes would you implement. If this were me, I would have two answers.

1. I would sentence the tall silver haired gent to officiate at a couple of Junior matches, with no linesmen, just to see if his actions are as good as what he seems to think comes out of his gob!

2. I would also allow him entry to Olivebank, on the basis that he gives his voice a rest (maybe even for a few games), as it kills me each game. He seems to thinks he is an orator of all things football. Maybe he is, but just gees peace some of the time!

End of rant, and however it seems, I enjoyed the game, the result in fact all of it, except the tall.......

[Casey Jones]

9 hours ago, Casey Jones said:

Cracking day like for Musselburgh's 9th league campaign of the season; at home against Glenrothes.

what's going to be the score; will Burgh still be top of the league, and will the Supporters club man of the match come from one of the goal scorers for the 4th game in a row ? All will be revealed in around 5 hours time!

3-2 to Musselburgh, who remain at the top of the league on goal difference ahead of The Hoose!

For the first time, a player, who didn't score any of the goals was awarded man of the match. Gary Cherrie won the decision.

Mary for one, will be pleased!

Last week Gary didn't have a great game, with some of his passing going astray. This week, was so much different, short passes, long passes were practically all hitting the target.

Gary controlled the centre area of midfield, keeping on coming in for the pass and then distributing the ball well. He has been substituted a number of times this season, so good to see him getting another full 90 minutes in.

Well done Gary Cherrie!

[Burgh Boy]

1 hour ago, Toffee fan said:

Footnote to today's match with Glenrothes.

Probably most of the supporters who went along to watch today, played or still play football, at various levels. I know that when watching games, my mind sometimes wanders, and I think, I could do better than some of the players on the park. However, I am now at an age, where walking football maybe more appropriate and never reached the level of Junior football. Therefore, though I have previous experience, and captained three different teams, I will never get the chance to prove my theory of being better than those I watch!

On the other side of the coin, probably very few, if any of the supporters, at the match today have refereed or still referee football matches. In every game, you hear comments from the fans, to the man in the middle. Sometimes this is banter; sometimes it is shouting out whatever, which is not always necessary. 

We had a bit of both today, some funny, some not so funny, and there was even cheeky banter between a couple of female fans from Glenrothes,  who thought the ref was outstanding, and me, mainly at the time of Glenrothes first penalty and for a wee time after. That kind of chat is great to have, and one of reasons why I enjoy Junior football.

However, at the end of the match, a tall 'silver haired' Musselburgh fan waited for the approaching referee to tell him twice, how awful he was during the match. For me, totally unnecessary! If tall silver haired fan felt better for what he said, and was proud of his achievement, then whatever rocks his boat! But come on, we won! If we hadn't, it would have been more for chances that we missed, than the Ref giving Glenrothes the two penalties which they scored from!

Not sure if our local Courier still does it, but they used to interview a person from East Lothian, asking a set of questions each week. One of them was if you were the Provost for a time, what changes would you implement. If this were me, I would have two answers.

1. I would sentence the tall silver haired gent to officiate at a couple of Junior matches, with no linesmen, just to see if his actions are as good as what he seems to think comes out of his gob!

2. I would also allow him entry to Olivebank, on the basis that he gives his voice a rest (maybe even for a few games), as it kills me each game. He seems to thinks he is an oraor of all things football. Maybe he is, but just gees peace some of the time!

End of rant, and however it seems, I enjoyed the game, the result in fact all of it, except the tall.......

Got to Agree with Toffee.

Banter is good and most is funny but some can be  embarrassing. I have seen may games and I don't think I have ever seen a referee cheat.

Sometimes they have good games and sometimes they have bad games, they are human and like us all, make mistakes but as the saying goes, without them there would be no football

The referees are on a hiding to nothing, especially when they don't have any assistants to back them up.

Most decisions they make will be questioned and there were a few today.

For the first penalty, if it was for us, we would have been shouting for it. Soft as it was, I think if its outside the box then its a foul so it should be a penalty.

The problem is that when Matti was pushed in the back while heading for goal a little later, nothing was given.

For the second penalty, if you look at Matty Lynch's reaction to the decision, it looks like he thought he had fouled him. he walked away as soon as the whistle went.

In the second half we were all shouting for a penalty (me included) when Stephen was brought down and the ref gave a free kick.

A still from the video shows the foul was just outside the box so the ref got it right.

So now do you say the ref had a good game and got the big decisions correct!!!!

 

[Toffee fan]

22 minutes ago, Burgh Boy said:

Got to Agree with Toffee.

Banter is good and most is funny but some can be  embarrassing. I have seen may games and I don't think I have ever seen a referee cheat.

Sometimes they have good games and sometimes they have bad games, they are human and like us all, make mistakes but as the saying goes, without them there would be no football

The referees are on a hiding to nothing, especially when they don't have any assistants to back them up.

Most decisions they make will be questioned and there were a few today.

For the first penalty, if it was for us, we would have been shouting for it. Soft as it was, I think if its outside the box then its a foul so it should be a penalty.

The problem is that when Matti was pushed in the back while heading for goal a little later, nothing was given.

For the second penalty, if you look at Matty Lynch's reaction to the decision, it looks like he thought he had fouled him. he walked away as soon as the whistle went.

In the second half we were all shouting for a penalty (me included) when Stephen was brought down and the ref gave a free kick.

A still from the video shows the foul was just outside the box so the ref got it right.

So now do you say the ref had a good game and got the big decisions correct!!!!

 

Great post Burgh. What I was saying, but you write it down far better. Man for man around me thought that the foul on Stephen was a penalty, so shows what we know!

[Toffee fan]

Gary Cherrie, the supporters club man of the match. He had his best game for a long time and a good choice!

If it was me, I would have picked Skip. The skill he has is just magnificent and a joy to watch.  

A team needs a good stong central midfield player who wants the ball and tries to control the match. What you also want is a midfielder who is fast, skillful and wants to take on players, Skip has that, and some of his close contact of the ball is great.

Stephen McDonald is another player who I enjoy watching, as do most of our supporters. He is tall, and when he is on the ball, everyone notices him. He is great at holding up the ball, and quick at running by players. For me, Skip is a similar type of player, but not as flamboyant as Stephen, so a lot of his play goes un-noticed. A star in the making, and whilst I want to see Skip here for a long time,  he could easily make the step up to a professional team.

[Casey Jones]

I am still amazed that the score yesterday was only 3-2 with all the possession and chances we had yesterday.

However, 3 points was what we were looking for. With 8 wins and a draw in the league, approaching a third of the way through the season, not only are Musselburgh top of the Premier league, but we have the best results / points tally in the whole of the East Region - something that Shandy and the team should be rightly proud of!

Next three games look tough; Haddington away in the Fife and Lothians, then Blackburn at home and Tranent away in the league. So, a couple of local derbies, and a match against a team who, last week, beat the previous league leaders 4-0 in the league.

l am looking forward to all 3 matches, and hoping that we can come away with 3 wins!

Keep up the good work Musselburgh!

[Toffee fan]

This afternoon it is the draw for the 2nd round of the Scottish Junior Cup. What team will we draw?

Will that tie be any harder or exciting as our next cup tie which takes place on Saturday. We are away to Haddington in the first round of the Fife & Lothians cup.

Haddington have won 4 and drawn 1 league matches at home this season scoring 18 goals in the process.

Should be a great game and deserves a big crowd to support two in form teams!

[Casey Jones]

First Cup draw of the day is for the 2nd Round of the East of Scotland Cup.

We have been drawn at home to Crossgates Primrose. Crossgates play in the East Region South Division and are currently 5th place; with 4 wins and 4 draws in the league campaign so far.

Date for this tie still to be announces.

[MussyGirl]

‪We have been drawn at home to Darvel in the Second Round of the Scottish Junior Cup. To be played on Saturday 28th of October. #montheburgh ‬

 

[Casey Jones]

1 minute ago, MussyGirl said:

‪We have been drawn at home to Darvel in the Second Round of the Scottish Junior Cup. To be played on Saturday 28th of October. #montheburgh ‬

 

That's what we wanted Mussy! Two home ties, and both of them winnable if we pay as well as we have done since the start of the season.

Darvel are in the West Super First Division, currently in the top half of the league.

Just pray for no rain!!!

 

 

[Darvel legend]

6 hours ago, Casey Jones said:

That's what we wanted Mussy! Two home ties, and both of them winnable if we pay as well as we have done since the start of the season.

Darvel are in the West Super First Division, currently in the top half of the league.

Just pray for no rain!!!

 

 

As long as u have hot water friend things will be fine , we look forward to playing a top east team 

[Casey Jones]

39 minutes ago, Darvel legend said:

As long as u have hot water friend things will be fine , we look forward to playing a top east team 

Always look forward to the Scottish and as Darvel are in a similar league to Musselburgh it should be a cracking tie!

Should be an abundance of hot water, but should there be an issue, the Firth of Forth is only a 300 yard walk from Olivebank !