Cove vs Dumbarton 🥶

[CoveRangers1922]

What a wild day for a game of football. Atrocious conditions, especially in the first half.

Thought 2-0 flattered us to be honest. We were slow in possession, never kept or used it well in the final third and gave Dumbarton far too much time to fall back into their shape. Not our finest performance but pleasing to get a clean sheet and 3 points in the end.

Mitch and Rory were kept at bay fairly easily  by Buchanan and Geggan. Callum Wilson did well for me and impressed again. Sons really missing a quality centre forward. 

Collectors item, Vigurs scoring with his right foot.

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by CoveRangers1922

[O'Kelly Isley III]

53 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

We didn’t play terribly but there was a real inevitability about that. We created very little bar a couple of attempts from Stokes which weren’t exactly guilt edged chances. Another week where we make an arse of it at the back and gift the opposition a goal which pretty much killed us off, I really do hate our defence, there isn’t a single player amongst them that I rate and you are pretty much guaranteed an individual mistake that leads to a goal every week which negates any sort of positive display they turn in for the other 89 and a half minutes they are on the park. 

I didn’t really expect to win today but it’s another game where we were comfortably beaten without creating any real chances. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t massively concerned with the direction we are heading. The manager needs to do a lot of work to turn this season around, we have looked like relegation fodder for the last 2 months and I’m struggling to work out whether it’s a case of players who aren’t good enough or a manager who isn’t getting the best out of them.

A very honest assessment as always BBPF.  I reckon that was probably one of Cove's more mediocre home performances but Scott Davie's patronising tone in his error-strewn commentary was a good indication of how confident the locals were that they would get a result.  As for ourselves, and despite what some of our support may claim, we can now view our start to the league campaign as what it was, a false dawn.  The truth is, what is happening on the park reflects the situation off it.  And operating with a squad without an experienced striker is hardly helping.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

3 minutes ago, CoveRangers1922 said:

Sons really missing a quality centre forward. 

 

We actually have a decent centre forward in the shape of Schiavone who started on the bench today. Throughout our recent poor run of form he’s arguably been our best player but hasn’t scored. He finally bags his first goal last week from the bench (I assumed he was being rested due to the lower standard of opposition) but he finds himself on the bench again this weekend. Go figure.

I do think we need strenghten in that area in January, despite Schiavone’s good form. It’s been a problem position for us for the last 2 or 3 seasons. The last striker we had who scored more than 10 goals for us in a season was Calum Gallagher in 2018/19 (I think!).

[CoveRangers1922]

10 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

We actually have a decent centre forward in the shape of Schiavone who started on the bench today. Throughout our recent poor run of form he’s arguably been our best player but hasn’t scored. He finally bags his first goal last week from the bench (I assumed he was being rested due to the lower standard of opposition) but he finds himself on the bench again this weekend. Go figure.

I do think we need strenghten in that area in January, despite Schiavone’s good form. It’s been a problem position for us for the last 2 or 3 seasons. The last striker we had who scored more than 10 goals for us in a season was Calum Gallagher in 2018/19 (I think!).

Yes an odd one not to start Schiavone. Is he on loan from Hearts until January or the whole season?

Gal always looks a threat at this level; natural goalscorer. Hopefully Farrell brings in a similar type player for the Sons in January.

[Jan Vojáček]

I thought that game was a stick-on to be 0-0 until Gregor Buchanan's weekly blooper gifted Cove the opener. Up until that point we had defended as well as I've seen us all season. We really restricted Mitch and McAllister from getting into the game too much  and Sam Ramsbottom barely had a save to make. It was as good as I've seen Andy Geggan play all season too; he was still a bit erratic at times, but he was far more involved in a positive sense (and not just in a clattering someone and being booked sense) than he has been since returning to the club.

There's not much else to say than has already been said. We have conceded an awful lot of shocking goals this season. Not just a wee bit of lax defending here or there, almost every week we gift a team a goal or a glorious chance. Gregor Buchanan - given his experience, ability and performances last time he was a Dumbarton player - has been the number one culprit for that too. Bucky will cruise through 88 minutes of game. Stroking the ball around, intercepting well and winning headers. But he's guilty of some total brain fart moments, especially when it comes to tussling with players. For a guy who has played at the level he has, and who is playing alongside a veteran Paddy Boyle, rookie Edin Lynch and central midfielder, he needs to be stepping up big time. As it is whenever McGeever is back fit I'd be playing him and Carsy together and sticking Buchanan on the bench.

Our defence badly needs a bit of work in January.

As too does the striker situation. Eoghan Stokes was a bright spark for us. His workrate was terrific and he had our two best chances - both of which he created from very little. Conner Duthie was Conner Duthie and Callum Wilson showed a few nice touches, albeit Shay Logan had his number for most of the game.

It's very difficult not to like Kalvin Orsi. He's a trier. His workrate is absolutely superb. But his overall impact beyond that is seriously limited. And has been for weeks. He never really looks like scoring, he flies all over the pitch when we really need someone pinning the centre-backs as a focal point, and his touch isn't great at all.

I've no idea how much of that is down to the role he's been asked to play, and how much is down to him as a player. But I really hoped he'd be able to get us a solid 8/10 goals this year. At the moment that looks a big stretch.

All that being said though I didn't think we were poor today. We've played a lot worse this season. We just - as has so often the case - had issues in both boxes. And that's where games are won and lost. We didn't create enough clearcut openings, and we lost a daft goal at a vital time.

Big two games coming up before Christmas now. The Peterhead one is certainly looking like a bit of a must-win, whilst given our woeful home record so far we could do with putting up some sort of performance against Montrose next week.

[Frank Quitely]

44 minutes ago, Jan Vojáček said:

I thought that game was a stick-on to be 0-0 until Gregor Buchanan's weekly blooper gifted Cove the opener. Up until that point we had defended as well as I've seen us all season. We really restricted Mitch and McAllister from getting into the game too much  and Sam Ramsbottom barely had a save to make. It was as good as I've seen Andy Geggan play all season too; he was still a bit erratic at times, but he was far more involved in a positive sense (and not just in a clattering someone and being booked sense) than he has been since returning to the club.

There's not much else to say than has already been said. We have conceded an awful lot of shocking goals this season. Not just a wee bit of lax defending here or there, almost every week we gift a team a goal or a glorious chance. Gregor Buchanan - given his experience, ability and performances last time he was a Dumbarton player - has been the number one culprit for that too. Bucky will cruise through 88 minutes of game. Stroking the ball around, intercepting well and winning headers. But he's guilty of some total brain fart moments, especially when it comes to tussling with players. For a guy who has played at the level he has, and who is playing alongside a veteran Paddy Boyle, rookie Edin Lynch and central midfielder, he needs to be stepping up big time. As it is whenever McGeever is back fit I'd be playing him and Carsy together and sticking Buchanan on the bench.

Our defence badly needs a bit of work in January.

As too does the striker situation. Eoghan Stokes was a bright spark for us. His workrate was terrific and he had our two best chances - both of which he created from very little. Conner Duthie was Conner Duthie and Callum Wilson showed a few nice touches, albeit Shay Logan had his number for most of the game.

It's very difficult not to like Kalvin Orsi. He's a trier. His workrate is absolutely superb. But his overall impact beyond that is seriously limited. And has been for weeks. He never really looks like scoring, he flies all over the pitch when we really need someone pinning the centre-backs as a focal point, and his touch isn't great at all.

I've no idea how much of that is down to the role he's been asked to play, and how much is down to him as a player. But I really hoped he'd be able to get us a solid 8/10 goals this year. At the moment that looks a big stretch.

All that being said though I didn't think we were poor today. We've played a lot worse this season. We just - as has so often the case - had issues in both boxes. And that's where games are won and lost. We didn't create enough clearcut openings, and we lost a daft goal at a vital time.

Big two games coming up before Christmas now. The Peterhead one is certainly looking like a bit of a must-win, whilst given our woeful home record so far we could do with putting up some sort of performance against Montrose next week.

Ability aside, I think too many in the squad lack belief and judging by the almost non-existent interest on here and the recent home attendances that's becoming mirrored in the support.

[FifeSons]

6 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:

A very honest assessment as always BBPF.  I reckon that was probably one of Cove's more mediocre home performances but Scott Davie's patronising tone in his error-strewn commentary was a good indication of how confident the locals were that they would get a result.  As for ourselves, and despite what some of our support may claim, we can now view our start to the league campaign as what it was, a false dawn.  The truth is, what is happening on the park reflects the situation off it.  And operating with a squad without an experienced striker is hardly helping.

That was embarrassing. The amount of times he called Paddy Boyle (and several other Sons players) ‘Doyle’. He also called Ramsbottom, ‘Rowbotham’.

Just as well he doesn’t do it for a living or anything…

[FifeSons]

Can only really agree with what’s already been said. We didn’t play too badly and looked good for a point until the all-too-familiar gifted goal. 
 

I’d hoped things might be a bit different this season on the goalscoring front, which it was until the abomination at Peterhead. We are averaging below a goal a game since then (0.75 per game in our last 8 league matches vs 2 per game in the first Eight) which is nowhere near good enough to keep us in the division.

Edited December 5, 2021 by FifeSons

[PWL]

Game aside, those first half conditions were some of the worst I've seen us play in. Horizontal sleet and a howling icey wind. Sods law that the wind dropped second half when it was with us. 

First time I've seen a flooded terracing with all the water draining off pitch. Not usually a fan off plastic but there is zero chance that game would have survived had it been grass. 

[O'Kelly Isley III]

8 hours ago, FifeSons said:

That was embarrassing. The amount of times he called Paddy Boyle (and several other Sons players) ‘Doyle’. He also called Ramsbottom, ‘Rowbotham’.

Just as well he doesn’t do it for a living or anything…

He also had Darren Young still managing East Fife despite the fact that he was sacked about ten days ago, with Stevie Crawford replacing him

[George Parr]

10 hours ago, Frank Quitely said:

Ability aside, I think too many in the squad lack belief and judging by the almost non-existent interest on here and the recent home attendances that's becoming mirrored in the support.

The lack of interest is something that’s developed over a longer period. By the end of this season we’ll have went 10 years without a top 4 finish and 13 years without a positive goal difference. I accept this is skewed a bit by the six Championship seasons but the pattern of perennial struggle eventually takes its toll. 

I don’t expect us to romp to titles every year but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect that every few years we would enjoy a season with a decent top half finish and more wins than losses.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

11 hours ago, Jan Vojáček said:

As it is whenever McGeever is back fit I'd be playing him and Carsy together and sticking Buchanan on the bench.

Absolutely. Buchanan’s second spell, so far, is turning into a complete disaster. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Dumbarton player produce so many individual, game changing, errors. 

Buchanan, Geggan (despite looking OK yesterday), Boyle and Lynch wouldn’t be anywhere near my starting 11 but we don’t have the depth to replace them all. Even if we did, I get the impression some of these guys are guaranteed starts regardless of form. What is the point of wasting wage budget on guys like Sam Muir, Evan Maley and Kirk McKnight? 

[CoveRangers1922]

2 hours ago, PWL said:

Game aside, those first half conditions were some of the worst I've seen us play in. Horizontal sleet and a howling icey wind. Sods law that the wind dropped second half when it was with us. 

First time I've seen a flooded terracing with all the water draining off pitch. Not usually a fan off plastic but there is zero chance that game would have survived had it been grass.

Weather was abysmal and Sons were unlucky that both the wind and the majority of the rain stopped at the half time break. Cove created next to nothing in the first half. Defensively Dumbarton looked very solid.

Agreed, if it was a grass pitch it would have been off. Flooding around the perimeter of the pitch needs sorted.

[Jan Vojáček]

The lack of interest is something that’s developed over a longer period. By the end of this season we’ll have went 10 years without a top 4 finish and 13 years without a positive goal difference. I accept this is skewed a bit by the six Championship seasons but the pattern of perennial struggle eventually takes its toll. 
I don’t expect us to romp to titles every year but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect that every few years we would enjoy a season with a decent top half finish and more wins than losses.

I agree one million percent with this. Staying in the Championship as long as we did was a superb achievement...but increased prices and an eighth place finish being successful is a sure fire way to turn away fans. Hamilton are now experiencing something similar. People come to watch a winning team. It’s as simple as that, regardless of the level they are winning at.

We had one chance to bounce back in 2018/19, and at the very least had to make sure we became Montrose level promotion chasers. But unfortunately that very quickly turned into a relegation battle too.

[The Moonster]

I don't get that train of thought to be honest. Never understood those who said dropping a division would see us win more games and it's been proven thats not really the case. If folk were disappearing when we were competing in the second tier then perhaps fitba's not for them, or a ticket at Ibrox is more suited to you. 

[FifeSons]

35 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I don't get that train of thought to be honest. Never understood those who said dropping a division would see us win more games and it's been proven thats not really the case. If folk were disappearing when we were competing in the second tier then perhaps fitba's not for them, or a ticket at Ibrox is more suited to you. 

This will always be our biggest problem IMO. We’ve got an absolutely massive catchment area, but it will always be dominated by the gruesome twosome.

Edited December 5, 2021 by FifeSons

[lionel wickson]

4 hours ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Absolutely. Buchanan’s second spell, so far, is turning into a complete disaster. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Dumbarton player produce so many individual, game changing, errors. 

Buchanan, Geggan (despite looking OK yesterday), Boyle and Lynch wouldn’t be anywhere near my starting 11 but we don’t have the depth to replace them all. Even if we did, I get the impression some of these guys are guaranteed starts regardless of form. What is the point of wasting wage budget on guys like Sam Muir, Evan Maley and Kirk McKnight? 

I think at least one of these, perhaps Maley, is on amateur terms.