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Stenhousemuir -vs- Albion Rovers


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After 10 weeks away, it feels so good to be able to write a thread looking forward to an upcoming League 2 match! And what a way to kick things off - the biggest game in the country this weekend between two thoroughbreds: Stenhousemuir -vs- Albion Rovers.

I do not know what to expect from this one. It feels like a brand new season and not a resumption - a lot of teams have turned over their squads, with the Rovers in particular looking like some grab-bag West of Scotland League outfit after their recent shopping spree. They were a funny bunch earlier in the campaign, mostly terrible but sometimes capable of getting a decent result. Of their new cohort, I think David Cox could be a good signing and I always quite liked the look of him at Cowdenbeath, but I'm not sold on Jamie McKernon, a player who struggled to get around the pitch in his last stint in the SPFL with Stenhousemuir, or Ryan Stevenson. They can't be any worse than when we pumped them 3-1 at the beginning of the season, right enough.

As for the Warriors, the only major import is in defence with Adam Corbett coming in from Spartans to replace the departed Andy Munro. I don't know a thing about Corbett but he's a "late developer" and could work quite well together at the back with Creag Little. Perhaps most importantly, we should have our full complement to pick from. I don't know how fit they'll be, but at least they'll be available for selection.

I think Davie Irons will go with:

- Botti Biabi - Tam Muir - David Hopkirk -

- Jack Hodge - Ryan Blair - Callum Tapping -

- Callum Years - Creag Little - Adam Corbett - Jonathan Tiffoney -

- Paddy Martin -

I'd be very disappointed if we don't win this. I know we'll be in for a far tougher match than our last encounter but still, if we're serious about pushing for the top four, we have to beat the Rovers at home.

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10 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

After 10 weeks away, it feels so good to be able to write a thread looking forward to an upcoming League 2 match! And what a way to kick things off - the biggest game in the country this weekend between two thoroughbreds: Stenhousemuir -vs- Albion Rovers.

I do not know what to expect from this one. It feels like a brand new season and not a resumption - a lot of teams have turned over their squads, with the Rovers in particular looking like some grab-bag West of Scotland League outfit after their recent shopping spree. They were a funny bunch earlier in the campaign, mostly terrible but sometimes capable of getting a decent result. Of their new cohort, I think David Cox could be a good signing and I always quite liked the look of him at Cowdenbeath, but I'm not sold on Jamie McKernon, a player who struggled to get around the pitch in his last stint in the SPFL with Stenhousemuir, or Ryan Stevenson. They can't be any worse than when we pumped them 3-1 at the beginning of the season, right enough.

As for the Warriors, the only major import is in defence with Adam Corbett coming in from Spartans to replace the departed Andy Munro. I don't know a thing about Corbett but he's a "late developer" and could work quite well together at the back with Creag Little. Perhaps most importantly, we should have our full complement to pick from. I don't know how fit they'll be, but at least they'll be available for selection.

I think Davie Irons will go with:

- Botti Biabi - Tam Muir - David Hopkirk -

- Jack Hodge - Ryan Blair - Callum Tapping -

- Callum Years - Creag Little - Adam Corbett - Jonathan Tiffoney -

- Paddy Martin -

I'd be very disappointed if we don't win this. I know we'll be in for a far tougher match than our last encounter but still, if we're serious about pushing for the top four, we have to beat the Rovers at home.

Buzz, Graham and Yeats are the only players unavailable I'm pretty sure, so McCracken or Watters will most likely fill in at the back

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Just now, CEMSFC said:

Buzz, Graham and Yeats are the only players unavailable I'm pretty sure, so McCracken or Watters will most likely fill in at the back

I realise I misread a tweet from Jamie Swinney from a few days ago - I thought he said we had a fully-fit squad to pick from, not an almost fully-fit squad.

I didn't realise Yeats' injury was so serious. I thought he was expected to be playing again at the end of January? If Yeats is out, I'd have Adam McCracken in a left-back. I'm not convinced that Ryan Watters qualification of "having a left foot" is enough to get a game.

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40 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

I realise I misread a tweet from Jamie Swinney from a few days ago - I thought he said we had a fully-fit squad to pick from, not an almost fully-fit squad.

I didn't realise Yeats' injury was so serious. I thought he was expected to be playing again at the end of January? If Yeats is out, I'd have Adam McCracken in a left-back. I'm not convinced that Ryan Watters qualification of "having a left foot" is enough to get a game.

I think the break has slowed down Yeats recovery a bit but from what I've been told, he should be back by the end of this month if all goes well. 

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Rovers have brought in new players and whatever you think of them to be honest any experience added to the squad has got to be a positive for me . It made sense to sign the three defenders from Pollok in the hope they would slot right in unfortunately the contract for Grant Evans has been cancelled due to his work commitments at the weekend- a pity but totally understandable. 

Rovers are hoping that the new signings along with the existing squad and there are some good young players in there will hit the ground running. The fact we haven’t played for months and only had a couple of weeks training I think that is wishful thinking. 
Stenny are a good solid outfit who won pretty convincingly at Cliftonhill early season. I’m not sure if I will sign up for the streamed game , I’m ready for launching the laptop out the window when we lise the first goal 🤣🤣

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A win is a win. Hoppy and Biabbi looked sharp. Corbett? Second goal was a horrendous defensive error but as said it is three points in the bag. Injuries and suspensions will be vital until end of season.

Thought someone was controlling the camera. Almost unwatchable with the camera not following the ball, the screen starting to split and the sound was an utter joke. Someone needs to monitor this when it is happening and try and rectify the faults.

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It is disappointing to read the stream was poor this afternoon. There is still a lot of work for the club to be doing on that front.

I think the 2-0 scoreline was reflective of the match. Stenhousemuir were the better side throughout and had more of the play and a greater number of chances, although the quality wasn't often there, which is understandable given the long absence. David Hopkirk looked delighted to be back after his spell out and turned in a man-of-the-match performance; Botti Biabi was an infrequent nuisance down the left and took his goal well, stooping to head home from close range; Mark McGuigan and Tam Muir showed flashes of coherence up front together; and the midfield trio kept the ball well and played some nice passes. Big Mark mentioned in his post-match interview how well young Paul Brown played and I'd certainly agree with him - he swept up well and his passing was short and sharp and always found a man.

The only concern I had was with the performance of debutant Adam Corbett. David Cox had him on toast in the first half and forced him into a couple of daft fouls in dangerous places, while some of his headers and clearances went askew. I think he looked a little nervous. I'm not all that sold on this weird 3-5-2 formation - I wonder if we'll revert to a back four once Callum Yeats is fit again. There are some hard games on the horizon and I think we'll need to be better going forward if we're serious about getting into the top four.

As for Albion Rovers, they're certainly better than the side we faced at the beginning of the season but they're still not great. The concession of that second goal, just seconds after the interval, was incredible. David Cox looks like a good addition, right enough, and his delivery from set-pieces will cause bother.

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I didn’t watch the streaming as it just doesn’t do it for me. I have seen the goals on Stenny website both of them are poor especially the 2nd. A glance at the match stats doesn’t make me feel any better- worrying times ahead

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