Dumbarton vs Sauchie

[Silverton End]

13 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Whilst I get what you are saying, when we’re playing a mid table East of Scotland League team we should be able to make some changes and rest some players (nae disrespect intended).

I’m actually not convinced we are all that great. Some guys we signed in the summer, who I thought were good signings at the time, have proven to be pretty bad unfortunately. Buchanan and Geggan have been terrible so far, Orsi is ok but his end product is massively lacking, McKee has been completely anonymous (were we blinded by all his set piece assists previously or has he regressed massively since then?), Pignatiello has been pretty average albeit he does get shunted around a lot. Guys like Lynch, Muir and Boyle I was never convinced with and my mind hasn’t been changed on that front. Wilson has been one of the bright sparks but he’s young and has a lot of off games. The existing players - Carswell, Ramsbottom and McGeever have all been fairly poor. Stokes and Duthie have scored a few important goals but Stokes is clearly better suited to being an impact sub and Duthie’s decision making can be wild at times. Schiavone has been good but Faz absolutely loves taking him off after 70 mins, regardless of the scoreline.

The manager doesn’t really instill confidence either, his substitutions are often bizarre and I’m not sure he ever has a plan B. The football was decent to watch for a while but the amount of silly goals we concede is a huge concern. His inability to sign anything resembling a striker who can score 10+ goals a season is a worry. We arguably dont have a single out and out striker in that squad, both Orsi and Schiavone came to us as players who could play up front but weren’t exactly naturals there. I would have to be brutally honest here and admit that I remain unconvinced with the manager, based on both his time with us and his previous achievements. Hopefully he can sort it in January.

Yeah I agree with most of what you say.

Just, I'd never take the Junior sides lightly by resting players though, Hamilton, Clyde, East Fife today got a shock.

Farrell needs to quit messing around & get us back to the side that had us unbeaten in 5 or 6 games earlier this season, we do have it in us to challenge.

Give me Muir over Boyle at left back any day, same with Duthie & Pignatiello over Geggan & McKee too. 

Jury definitely still out on Farrell 

 

 

 

[microdave]

After seeing some of the results today, that's definitely a relief to get the win today. Having said that, I can't recall Ramsbottom being tested today but Sauchie had a real intent when they were going forward which we maybe lacked. Too often(particularly in the first half) we seemed to be trying to walk the ball into the net instead of working the keeper and finding out what his weaknesses were. I did say to one of my mates with about ten to go that the game had a last minute winner feel to it but without knowing which team would do it. Fair play to Sauchie for having a good go of it today and best of luck to them for the rest of the season. Bankies next for us hopefully even though I have a fear they may beat us.

[Jan Vojáček]

No question that we deserved to go through. But Jesus Christ we made very hard work of that. Fair play to Sauchie. They worked extremely hard, defended well and their goalkeeper was superb. That save from Duthie in the second-half was very special.

Kind of summed up our season. Had plenty of promising looking moves let down by a woeful final ball/finish - and looked absolutely all over the shop defensively at times. 

I thought Carsy made a huge difference when he came on. Both him and Geggan are unwell and (in an ideal world) apparently wouldn't have been in the squad. Hence the deal was they'd play 60/30 minutes. Geggan at CB was worrying me the entire time he was on though. Especially after his early booking.

That aside we scored a lovely first goal and I'm pleased with big Ryan Schiavone. He's deserved a goal and made a big difference when he came on. Callum Wilson was a joy to watch at times and I thought Conner Duthie was very positive - if erratic.

Defensively we were shaky. Buchanan and Geggan was an accident looking for a place to happen and Edin Lynch wasn't convincing. Very well taken goal aside Joe McKee struggled big time and looks to be lacking confidence majorly. Kalvin Orsi was all effort and no impact.

We avoided the upset though. That's the main thing. Clyde/Accies or East Fife fans would've bitten your hand off for our worries tonight.

Just a word on the Sam Muir shouts too. We have an issue at LB but he most definitely isn't the answer based on what I've seen. He was at fault for the winner on his debut, torn to shreds at East End Park and then played a role in both Airdrie goals in the 2-2 game. He was woeful against East Fife the other week too. The only time I've seen him play well was against Clyde where, ironically, I thought he was our best player in a cracking team performance.

He's got plenty of ability on the ball, but his defensive game is miles off this level at the moment. I'd be keen to punt him out to the Lowland League on loan with a view to potentially giving him a shot next season.

[Sons Fan]

3 hours ago, cameron2000 said:

Pretty good first half. Probably should lead by 2 or 3. Sauchie are absolutely terrible and seem pretty content trying to injure our players.

Our fan base seems to have a really poor understanding of football. As soon as we try and keep possession they’re moaning if we don’t immediately move the ball forwards.

There is keeping the ball and then there is fannying around with it. 
 

I think we do the second quite a bit. We pick the ball up and it then goes back to the defence, who are aren’t playing the greatest at the moment, to play it along the back.

Boyle is an intelligent footballer know doubt and a decent defender but his engine is gone.

Sauchie played well in spells. Glad we got the win and hopefully we get a home game to Clydebank as I think that could be all ticket.

[O'Kelly Isley III]

For a start, let's forget about Clydebank for now - the draw will take care of that possibility.

Next, Sauchie can take great heart from their performance today, backed by a very decent following.  There were literally three minutes between Sons staring down the barrel of a very tricky replay and the embarrassing chants of 'Cheerio, Cheerio' from some of the resident zoomers in our support. 

The game was a microcosm of our season and squad., and not for the first (or tenth) time our lack of a target man was glaringly obvious.  We resemble a jigsaw with pieces missing where someone has filed cardboard to make it fit - step forward Orsi, Duthie and Stokes, are they strikers/midfielders/wingers or none of the above ?  And we could include McLean.  Who knows ?

Dr Jan mentioned Wilson and Schiavone above.  I was delighted for the latter to score his first Sons goal only to then pick up a totally senseless booking.  Young Wilson totally deserved his yellow card too, and I hope he learned the lesson of how being (correctly) called out for simulation adversely impacts your performance.   And we could have done without the taunting of the away support, straight from the Ross McLean playbook.  On the plus side, he's a young guy who did some things none of the other players on view today can manage.  Over to you Faz on both counts.

Elsewhere, Andy Geggan still has fire in his belly but lead in his legs,  Paddy Boyle is tidy without pace, whilst Joe McKee looks tidy without confidence or dynamism - great winning strike though.  Carlo P looks head and shoulders our best player right now, whilst Carsy was impressive when he came on.  Big Ryan can't return quick enough for Bucky's and everyone else's sakes. 

Fourth Round here we come.  Onwards and downwards,

[cedrick1]

Jeez we made that awkward. Lost penalty when we were on top and completely lost our way for a bit. 
Our final ball decisions were poor all day especially from Wilson who I think some fans over hype despite his clear promise.

well done sauchie who stuck in well if a little forceful early on . All the best going forward

 

 

[squeezebox-son]

Without having seen the game today... I think it is clear to see why Buchanan ended up back at Dumbarton. This appears to be his level and especially without a commanding/experienced partner beside him he looks like a bomb scare every week. The amount of bookings, pens, silly fouls is ridiculous.

How many Pens have we given away this year? How many has be been responsible for?

Ps, hurry back Ryan 

[The Moonster]

Sauchie were utter shite. We were a bit better than that. That's about it.

[The Moonster]

12 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

For a start, let's forget about Clydebank for now - the draw will take care of that possibility.

Next, Sauchie can take great heart from their performance today, backed by a very decent following.  There were literally three minutes between Sons staring down the barrel of a very tricky replay and the embarrassing chants of 'Cheerio, Cheerio' from some of the resident zoomers in our support. 

The game was a microcosm of our season and squad., and not for the first (or tenth) time our lack of a target man was glaringly obvious.  We resemble a jigsaw with pieces missing where someone has filed cardboard to make it fit - step forward Orsi, Duthie and Stokes, are they strikers/midfielders/wingers or none of the above ?  And we could include McLean.  Who knows ?

Dr Jan mentioned Wilson and Schiavone above.  I was delighted for the latter to score his first Sons goal only to then pick up a totally senseless booking.  Young Wilson totally deserved his yellow card too, and I hope he learned the lesson of how being (correctly) called out for simulation adversely impacts your performance.   And we could have done without the taunting of the away support, straight from the Ross McLean playbook.  On the plus side, he's a young guy who did some things none of the other players on view today can manage.  Over to you Faz on both counts.

Elsewhere, Andy Geggan still has fire in his belly but lead in his legs,  Paddy Boyle is tidy without pace, whilst Joe McKee looks tidy without confidence or dynamism - great winning strike though.  Carlo P looks head and shoulders our best player right now, whilst Carsy was impressive when he came on.  Big Ryan can't return quick enough for Bucky's and everyone else's sakes. 

Fourth Round here we come.  Onwards and downwards,

I thought the "Cheerio" and "Easy" chants were entirely ironic from the home support tbh. Most folk were laughing around me anyway. 

[squeezebox-son]

22 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I thought the "Cheerio" and "Easy" chants were entirely ironic from the home support tbh. Most folk were laughing around me anyway. 

Wow. That is pretty embarrassing stuff to hear...

[The Moonster]

1 hour ago, squeezebox-son said:

Wow. That is pretty embarrassing stuff to hear...

It really wasn't embarrassing tbh, a few folk shouted easy and laughed, then a few folk shouted cheerio and laughed. It was a tense finish and I think folk were just relieved. 

[the snudge]

7 hours ago, squeezebox-son said:

Without having seen the game today... I think it is clear to see why Buchanan ended up back at Dumbarton. This appears to be his level and especially without a commanding/experienced partner beside him he looks like a bomb scare every week. The amount of bookings, pens, silly fouls is ridiculous.

How many Pens have we given away this year? How many has be been responsible for?

Ps, hurry back Ryan 

Hes lost a bit of pace and can't read the game and tries to rectify this by attempting to be overly physical. He's not very good at that either so gives away cheap fouls especially grappling no shirt pulling. Its frustrating to watch. I was delighted when he signed but as the games go on he's looking more and more like a liability. I wish we kept our centre half pairing from last season. 

[super-son]

I thought the "Cheerio" and "Easy" chants were entirely ironic from the home support tbh. Most folk were laughing around me anyway. 

It absolutely was very much tongue in cheek from everyone around myself too. We went from an embarrassing draw to very comfortable in a matter of seconds.

It's only embarrassing if they were sincere.

[Frank Quitely]

9 hours ago, squeezebox-son said:

Without having seen the game today... I think it is clear to see why Buchanan ended up back at Dumbarton. This appears to be his level and especially without a commanding/experienced partner beside him he looks like a bomb scare every week. The amount of bookings, pens, silly fouls is ridiculous.

How many Pens have we given away this year? How many has be been responsible for?

Ps, hurry back Ryan 

You didn't see the game but you still know Buchanan was cack - any chance you could share this week's lottery numbers ?

[Jan Vojáček]

15 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

For a start, let's forget about Clydebank for now - the draw will take care of that possibility.

Next, Sauchie can take great heart from their performance today, backed by a very decent following.  There were literally three minutes between Sons staring down the barrel of a very tricky replay and the embarrassing chants of 'Cheerio, Cheerio' from some of the resident zoomers in our support. 

The game was a microcosm of our season and squad., and not for the first (or tenth) time our lack of a target man was glaringly obvious.  We resemble a jigsaw with pieces missing where someone has filed cardboard to make it fit - step forward Orsi, Duthie and Stokes, are they strikers/midfielders/wingers or none of the above ?  And we could include McLean.  Who knows ?

Dr Jan mentioned Wilson and Schiavone above.  I was delighted for the latter to score his first Sons goal only to then pick up a totally senseless booking.  Young Wilson totally deserved his yellow card too, and I hope he learned the lesson of how being (correctly) called out for simulation adversely impacts your performance.   And we could have done without the taunting of the away support, straight from the Ross McLean playbook.  On the plus side, he's a young guy who did some things none of the other players on view today can manage.  Over to you Faz on both counts.

Elsewhere, Andy Geggan still has fire in his belly but lead in his legs,  Paddy Boyle is tidy without pace, whilst Joe McKee looks tidy without confidence or dynamism - great winning strike though.  Carlo P looks head and shoulders our best player right now, whilst Carsy was impressive when he came on.  Big Ryan can't return quick enough for Bucky's and everyone else's sakes. 

Fourth Round here we come.  Onwards and downwards,

I agree with pretty much all of your post OKI, apart from this. I thought on first viewing he certainly had an appeal for a penalty - and having watched it back the general consensus was it was either a penalty or a fair (albeit risky) challenge. But not a dive.

Didn't stop some lads in the Sauchie committee totally losing the place every time he went near the ball mind you. Think Callum's family (who were a few rows in front of them) enjoyed McKee's goal more than almost every Sons fan after the amount of abuse he was taking.

 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

2 minutes ago, Frank Quitely said:

You didn't see the game but you still know Buchanan was cack - any chance you could share this week's lottery numbers ?

To be fair, he was, and has been for months. He was OK during our good month of form but even at that he looked shaky in some of those games.  As has been alluded to, the amount of daft fouls he concedes (including penalties) just adds to the frustration. 

Another thing that seems to have disappeared from his game is his attacking threat from corners. For a team who have some good set piece takers and big lumps who can heid a ball we have been very wasteful from set pieces over the last couple of months. It doesn’t help that we often have Paddy Boyle taking corners whilst we have Joe McKee and young Wilson on the park, who are both far superior in that department.

[squeezebox-son]

12 minutes ago, Frank Quitely said:

You didn't see the game but you still know Buchanan was cack - any chance you could share this week's lottery numbers ?

Well... given I've seen pretty much every other match this season and he managed to give away another penalty I was giving my summary on his performances over the season and not on this single match.

Sorry if that wasn't clear... but I think everyone else managed to get the point and - so far - are in agreement. 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

2 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I agree with pretty much all of your post OKI, apart from this. I thought on first viewing he certainly had an appeal for a penalty - and having watched it back the general consensus was it was either a penalty or a fair (albeit risky) challenge. But not a dive.

Didn't stop some lads in the Sauchie committee totally losing the place every time he went near the ball mind you. Think Callum's family (who were a few rows in front of them) enjoyed McKee's goal more than almost every Sons fan after the amount of abuse he was taking.

 

Considering one of the Sauchie players attempted one of the worst dives I’ve ever had the displeasure of witnessing in the first half, I found the seethe they were directing towards Wilson very ironic. I do think Wilson let it get to him, he went through a really poor spell of being unable to control the ball after it and the goons in the away end were lapping it up. Hopefully he can learn from it and not let daft shouts from the crowd get to him so much.

I’ve seen a few shouts on Twitter from them declaring that Sauchie were the better team, I mean they battled hard but come on, their keeper kept them in it with a couple of wonder saves. I wasn’t impressed with us at all but we were clearly the better team. As for the Rylan lookalike who has taken the whole thing terribly by claiming we are destined for the Lowland League - get it right up ye.

[sonsism]

4 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I agree with pretty much all of your post OKI, apart from this. I thought on first viewing he certainly had an appeal for a penalty - and having watched it back the general consensus was it was either a penalty or a fair (albeit risky) challenge. But not a dive.

Didn't stop some lads in the Sauchie committee totally losing the place every time he went near the ball mind you. Think Callum's family (who were a few rows in front of them) enjoyed McKee's goal more than almost every Sons fan after the amount of abuse he was taking.

 

Wilson was getting dogs abuse after that incident from both Sauchie players and fans so the fact he didn’t even dive makes the outcome of the game even sweeter.  You could see he was rattled for a bit after it and I was worried he was going to get sent off but he kept the head down and kept on playing until we got the goal.  Personally I loved seeing him giving it back to the Sauchie fans.  
 

 

[Jan Vojáček]

9 hours ago, squeezebox-son said:

Without having seen the game today... I think it is clear to see why Buchanan ended up back at Dumbarton. This appears to be his level and especially without a commanding/experienced partner beside him he looks like a bomb scare every week. The amount of bookings, pens, silly fouls is ridiculous.

How many Pens have we given away this year? How many has be been responsible for?

Ps, hurry back Ryan 

Yesterday was the ninth (!) penalty we've conceded this season. Full list of offenders is quite a lengthy one...

EK (Friendly) - Edin Lynch
Airdrie - Calum Erskine
Cove - Ryan McGeever
Montrose - Edin Lynch
Peterhead - Stuart Carswell
Queen's Park - Joe McKee
Airdrie - Gregor Buchanan
Airdrie - Carlo Pignatiello
Sauchie - Gregor Buchanan

7 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Considering one of the Sauchie players attempted one of the worst dives I’ve ever had the displeasure of witnessing in the first half, I found the seethe they were directing towards Wilson very ironic. I do think Wilson let it get to him, he went through a really poor spell of being unable to control the ball after it and the goons in the away end were lapping it up. Hopefully he can learn from it and not let daft shouts from the crowd get to him so much.

I’ve seen a few shouts on Twitter from them declaring that Sauchie were the better team, I mean they battled hard but come on, their keeper kept them in it with a couple of wonder saves. I wasn’t impressed with us at all but we were clearly the better team. As for the Rylan lookalike who has taken the whole thing terribly by claiming we are destined for the Lowland League - get it right up ye.

They had a couple of absolutely shockers. Big Ross Crawford gave Gregor Buchanan a hard time. But every time he got beyond him he just wilted. I don't think he actually won one foul - but the referee could easily have dished out at least three yellow cards for dives. It was becoming pathetic. Especially in the final 20 minutes where every single person in the stadium knew what we coming as soon as he went near the ball. 

Sauchie actually hit the deck far more often than any team I've seen in League One this season. It felt like every time they went up the park they were looking for a foul because they felt a set-piece was the only way they'd threaten us. Bizarre given our clownschool defending. They really should've fancied their chances from open play.