Highland ITFC Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 27 minutes ago, Muzza81 said: Maybe you should have played Clach's youth team? Effectively they did as most of their players are youngsters! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland ITFC Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, Super Elgin City said: 59 minutes ago, Highland ITFC said: Looked like too many believed their 'press' after the Aberdeen game & thought they just needed to turn up to roll Clach over. The three goals were all poor defensively, with the ball given away twice in defensive midfield positions & fair play to Clach they punished both errors in clinical fashion, & an easy unmarked header for the centre half from a corner. Elgin did then wake up & had the majority of possession & territory for the rest of the first half, & aswell as scoring two had one disallowed, hit the bar, & forced a number of saves. Early in the second period though another giveaway of the ball about 25 yards out led to Clach's fourth, & whilst Elgin again had the better of things for the rest of the half, they could only get one more themselves. Think both McDonald & Hester proved how much they were missed by not playing. Soapy also went off injured soon after the three goals, & his energy, guile & creativity was also missed. A concern to see a fair number of players (including the Captain) spending as much time arguing / picking fights with the opposition & officials, rather than concentrating their energies on more positive matters. A notable lack of leadership / organising on the pitch, & a lot less dynamism & energy in the pressing game. Lots of neat & tidy, short & sharp passing through midfield & around the edge of the box, but struggled to break down a well organised & disciplined defence. Quality of crossing / delivery, particularly from the right, was poor. Fair play to Clach who were well organised, competitive & played some good football themselves, & enjoyed the kind of 5 minutes that happens about once a season, & I guess best for Elgin that this happened in a friendly rather than a competitive match, but they've definitely had a lesson / wake-up call that they'll need to up their game from this showing if thinking about being in the mix for anything (other than relegation!) this season. Doesn't sound great at all. McDonald is going to be a key play this season if we are going to do anything at all in this league. The centre half partnership from last season concede far too many slack goals. No chance of winning a run of games with our goals against record. Would agree with that. None of back four set the world on fire last night, either defensively or going forward. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Ooft, Clach are utter shite as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Reynolds Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Only time will tell 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Minertaur Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 It's almost as if pre-season results mean f**k all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgin proud Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 early days relax all 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon9736 Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Kyle Willis signs for the season 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Elgin City Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Sounds like a decent performance today at Arbroath. Unlucky with the last minute winner and a blow with a serious shoulder injury to Darryl. Very poor start to the season injurywise 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Reynolds Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I think the cheque book will have to come out 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgin proud Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 bloody injuries that's 3 now 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgin proud Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 darryl be out a while reckon bugger 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afca32 Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 Promising performance. Could easily have won it on another day. McHale's save from the free kick was outrageous. Not sure about our choice of wingers but still games and time to sort something out before season starts for real. Shame about Darryl. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elginstreetbadger Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 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? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberts Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Dislocated shoulder. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland ITFC Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Agree with much of what afca & badger have said above. Lots of positives from the game & performance, but perhaps the biggest positive is that there should be more / better to come once a few opportunities to develop are hopefully taken. The team were not overawed by their higher level opposition, & was pleasing to see that the passing & pressing game that has been developed in pre-season was largely retained, rather than just being nervous & clearing lines / lumping long balls. Attitude & workrate also looking good throughout the side. Looked like the lesson from the Clach game had been well taken on board. Spine of the team looking strong, with McHale having an excellent game, including that top class save from the free-kick, & McDonald slotting straight back in & making the whole backline stronger as a result, & Bronsky looking a better player with the former beside him. Dingwall doing all the 'dirty work' in the middle & Omar beside him looking a class above, with the added bonus of Cameron to go back in there aswell. Would love to see the three of them playing centrally, rather than Omar being moved wide when Cameron returns. Shane was also a class above with his ability to hold up the ball, & a really positive partnership looks to be developing with Hester,, who's pace frightened the Arbroath backline yesterday. In terms of developing, as was said above, for all Coops & Daryl's qualities as defenders, they lack the pace & trickery to play wide midfield. Fullbacks were conservative, with virtually no overlaps, & the combination of these two points meant very few crosses, & those that did come in were usually from pullbacks, rather than the byline, so defenders well set to clear. O'Keefe will come back in the left, & could Sopel be given a chance down the right? And can the bench be used earlier & to better effect? MacEwan looked lively when he came on. Daryl looked out on his feet long before his injury. Willis only got a few minutes & little chance to do anything, & no others used. Will be interesting to see how things progress over the rest of the BetFred games. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threeattheback Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Where did McHardy start? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afca32 Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 Left wing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom & Gerry Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Left mid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewan_fife Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Left of the midfield 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzza81 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Left flank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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