Stenny vs Sons

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Stenny will be hoping to kick-start their season after two losses while the Sons will be hoping to equal the club record of four consecutive wins at the start of a season.

 

Discuss.

[TamCarson]

Under an hour to get there from Dumbarton, hopefully the sons and daughters will turn out in good numbers, what's the admission prices ?

 

[Thommo90]

Not been to Ochilview for about 15 years.  

 

Il go 2-0 sons, John Gemmell hat trick

[Sweet Pete]

We'll beat Stenny about ten nil. Craig Bryson will play 90 minutes without anyone noticing.

And there's no way this post will ever come back to bite.

[Francesc Fabregas]

I'll be honest, I'm a little anxious going into this game. After three performances that have ranged from "underwhelming" to "dreadful", that new-season buzz has well and truly worn off and I'm concerned that a negative result against Dumbarton could see Stenhousemuir adrift in the title race already. We have a backline that looks ramshackle and uncomfortable being asked to build from the back and an unbalanced midfield that seems less than the sum of its parts. Our manager appears to be second-guessing himself already and has an aversion to fielding our most threatening player from the start. Needless to say, it's a bit of a mess.

The Sons are, quite clearly, not a team to be trifled with. They've signed well in the summer, there are some quality players in their ranks and, even although there are some obvious question marks over Stevie Farrell, he's made a good impression so far this season.

I don't know how we'll line up - there are five or six players whose place in the team is secure, while the rest are mixed and matched from time to time - but, once again, it goes without saying that Euan O'Reilly should be in the starting XI. Feed him the ball, let him run around with it, see what happens. One thing's for sure, we'll need to see an upturn in performance because I think some supporters are a bit fed up already.

[The Moonster]

If we've had Stenny watched the game plan should be fairly simple. Byrne, Love, Orsi and Gray should press high and wait for the mistakes to happen. My worry is that we have tended to soak up pressure against teams so far, IMO sitting far too deep at times (I'm informed there was evidence of this at 1-0 today vs Annan). I worry if we sit and let guys like Wedderburn and Bryson pick passes out that we'll find it difficult. Much has been made of the boy Yates up front from the Stenny lads, so for me it's vital we limit his supply as much as possible. Get in their faces, use our fitness and hopefully the result follows.

Hopefully Ally Love gets whatever knock he's carrying sorted, it would be a pisser if he ended up out for a while. Wallace will be back and hopefully McLean will too but unless there are injuries I don't see either of them starting. 

Do Stenny stream for overseas viewers? 

[Sweet Pete]

7 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

If we've had Stenny watched the game plan should be fairly simple. Byrne, Love, Orsi and Gray should press high and wait for the mistakes to happen. My worry is that we have tended to soak up pressure against teams so far, IMO sitting far too deep at times (I'm informed there was evidence of this at 1-0 today vs Annan). I worry if we sit and let guys like Wedderburn and Bryson pick passes out that we'll find it difficult. Much has been made of the boy Yates up front from the Stenny lads, so for me it's vital we limit his supply as much as possible. Get in their faces, use our fitness and hopefully the result follows.

Hopefully Ally Love gets whatever knock he's carrying sorted, it would be a pisser if he ended up out for a while. Wallace will be back and hopefully McLean will too but unless there are injuries I don't see either of them starting. 

Do Stenny stream for overseas viewers? 

We didn't win 4-0 today by sitting in. We soaked up pressure for a period of some minutes in the first half when it was necessary, that's just how football games ebb and flow. And a decent team knows how to do that.

As for the Stenny fans making a big noise about X player; the same 4 guys have been doing that on here for 15 years. 

[BB_Bino]

8 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I worry if we sit and let guys like Wedderburn and Bryson pick passes out that we'll find it difficult.

On today’s performance, neither player could pick their nose, never mind a pass. I’ve said previously on here that I’m a fan of both players, Bryson should have had more caps for Scotland and Wedderburn is an absolute rock in the middle of the park, but I’m not sure the Stenny fans are seeing those players now. Wedderburn looks too big and muscular to get about the park and Bryson really does look done. Sad to see and did Stenny’s sake, they’ll be hoping Swift can get a tune out of them again, but on todays showing, I just don’t see it.

[The Moonster]

1 minute ago, Sweet Pete said:

We didn't win 4-0 today by sitting in. We soaked up pressure for a period of some minutes in the first half when it was necessary, that's just how football games ebb and flow. And a decent team knows how to do that.

Well we sat in against Stirling Albion, albeit with a larger lead than 1-0, I was told we did similar today before we knicked the second goal, during which Long clawed one off the line that 2 Sons fans have told me might have been in. I'm not saying it's a bad tactic, it's clearly worked well for us so far I was just saying I hope we don't afford Stenny too much respect and look to sit in because any team that has pressed them high so far has had joy. 

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Massive one for the Stenny boys this.

[Vimto90]

Easy win for the Farrell haters, or is it lovers now?

[Sweet Pete]

22 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

Well we sat in against Stirling Albion, albeit with a larger lead than 1-0, I was told we did similar today before we knicked the second goal, during which Long clawed one off the line that 2 Sons fans have told me might have been in. I'm not saying it's a bad tactic, it's clearly worked well for us so far I was just saying I hope we don't afford Stenny too much respect and look to sit in because any team that has pressed them high so far has had joy. 

Long made a great reaction save low that was possibly over the line, but neither the Annan players, nor the ref nor the lino pulled it. You don't win four nil and struggle. Stop focussing on the wee bits you 'were told' and look at the greater whole. Football games don't last five minutes. 

[squeezebox-son]

48 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

If we've had Stenny watched the game plan should be fairly simple. Byrne, Love, Orsi and Gray should press high and wait for the mistakes to happen. My worry is that we have tended to soak up pressure against teams so far, IMO sitting far too deep at times (I'm informed there was evidence of this at 1-0 today vs Annan). I worry if we sit and let guys like Wedderburn and Bryson pick passes out that we'll find it difficult. Much has been made of the boy Yates up front from the Stenny lads, so for me it's vital we limit his supply as much as possible. Get in their faces, use our fitness and hopefully the result follows.

Hopefully Ally Love gets whatever knock he's carrying sorted, it would be a pisser if he ended up out for a while. Wallace will be back and hopefully McLean will too but unless there are injuries I don't see either of them starting. 

Do Stenny stream for overseas viewers? 

I totally get the point your making but I'm sure there are far better and more dangerous players in the Stenny team than Wedderburn. As someone says above though, the better teams can sustain some pressure at times but know when to push forward and when to take the game to the opposition. 

FWIW, this is exactly the kind of game we typically lose (I fear). Strong favourites, had some good results etc etc. Not saying anyone is getting carried away but there is certainly a bit of a buzz starting around our fans and things too... I'm still not too excited due to the fact we were top of the league above at one point last season and then went about 3 months without a win! Albeit, we seem much more balanced across the squad and it does feel a wee bit different for many reasons.

[FifeSons]

Oooft @Neillystill feeling confident about taking on our job squad?

[FifeSons]

I’ve not seen this level of bravado from Sons fans since @Jordo1872started that Morton thread.

 

[The Moonster]

21 minutes ago, Sweet Pete said:

Long made a great reaction save low that was possibly over the line, but neither the Annan players, nor the ref nor the lino pulled it. You don't win four nil and struggle. Stop focussing on the wee bits you 'were told' and look at the greater whole. Football games don't last five minutes. 

I never said we struggled, gonnae calm doon? It was a simple comment on my concerns for the next game, I'm not focussing on wee bits I'm told or trying to be negative. 

24 minutes ago, squeezebox-son said:

I totally get the point your making but I'm sure there are far better and more dangerous players in the Stenny team than Wedderburn. As someone says above though, the better teams can sustain some pressure at times but know when to push forward and when to take the game to the opposition. 

FWIW, this is exactly the kind of game we typically lose (I fear). Strong favourites, had some good results etc etc. Not saying anyone is getting carried away but there is certainly a bit of a buzz starting around our fans and things too... I'm still not too excited due to the fact we were top of the league above at one point last season and then went about 3 months without a win! Albeit, we seem much more balanced across the squad and it does feel a wee bit different for many reasons.

There are more dangerous players than Wedderburn but Stenny play out from the back and he is a massively important link in their play. You stop him taking the ball in/turning and you stop Stenny playing. 

[Neilly]

We will get pumped but it will be good to see the lads again.

 

[squeezebox-son]

7 hours ago, The Moonster said:

There are more dangerous players than Wedderburn but Stenny play out from the back and he is a massively important link in their play. You stop him taking the ball in/turning and you stop Stenny playing. 

I just don't actually think he is all that effective in that role. I was really disappointed with what he contributed when he was with us and felt he only really helped us to control a handful of games and his mobility meant he got caught out far too often when teams pressed or played direct attacking football.

As you have touched on, I hope we can take that similar approach. We should know enough about Wedderburn (and the other Stenny players) to know how to counter how they will want to play. I just hope Faz gets it right again this week!

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by squeezebox-son

[O'Kelly Isley III]

The one certainty is that after two defeats in a row Stenny will be well up for this.  We should be too with three wins on the bounce but early season form tends to be outweighed by who does what on the day.

For our part we finally look to have a goal threat at one end and a goalkeeper at the other.  In between is still a work in progress in parts, but the morale seems to be good.  Wallace will be available and hopefully McLean so we should be confident but certainly not cocky.

[Crazy Days]

Bryson is an enigma at this time  so much expected and so little delivered. I think Swift is living in the hope that he will turn it on. Forbes looks to be overweight and is lumbering about the park and should be no where near the team at the moment.  The midfield selection is not a settled unit.

Playing it out from the back is not working at this time, Swift must be able to see that but does he have a plan B?

In O'Reilly we have one of the most exciting players in the league but Swift will not start him. Why?

We had a horrendous first quarter last year, if we have the same this year then it is time to show him the door.  We all had high hopes for the season, the squad looked impressive on paper but so far we have been served up a load of garbage. We played relatively well in the cup games and I think we all thought we are on the right track. Is it the case that there were no expectations or pressures on the team to do well in these games but it is different when it comes to the league. Is Swift sending the right message to the players?

We really need a massive performance on Saturday and not a one of either, it must kick us on.