Stenhousemuir -vs- Stranraer (Saturday 3 September 2022)

[Francesc Fabregas]

The sixth game of the league campaign sees Stenhousemuir FC taking on their bogey team, their bete noir, their kryptonite: they're taking on Stranraer! Uh-oh!

It's fair to see the Warriors were comprehensively embarrassed by the Blues almost every time they met last season, with three of the four fixtures ending in humiliation; it might be fair to say those three matches were the team's worst displays under Stephen Swift. Things are a little different now, and the Blues lost some of their best players over the summer (Matty Yates, Ayrton Sonkur, Tam Muir), but they appear to have handled things reasonably well with one win and three 2-2 draws so far - a good return for a side expected to struggle. I am, quite frankly, approaching this encounter with some degree of trepidation, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Swift's tactics of throwing ideas against the wall and hoping that something might stick appeared to have paid off yesterday after his untried three-at-the-back system delivered a competent performance and a deserved 2-1 win over Forfar Athletic. As I said in another thread, I'm not sure if this will work out in the long term, but it did well enough yesterday and is probably worth pursuing with for the time being. We did looks reasonably sturdy, even if Conor Brennan had to make a number of decent stops and the centre-backs were chucking themselves in front of goal-bound shots, but I worry about the lack of protection in midfield afforded by Ross Forbes and Nat Wedderburn, something we saw in the second half, and there's no place for Euan O'Reilly here.

I remember last season we deployed a back three at a sodden, wind-swept Cliftonhill to defeat Albion Rovers, then did the same the following week at home to Cowdenbeath and played terribly, going down 2-0 before changing the system when it was far too late. I've got a bad feeling the same kind of thing's going to happen on Saturday, followed by "good honest chats" and something new from Mick Moore's laminated pages of tactics at East Fife.

We'll put out the same team as we did at Forfar:

- Will Sewell - Matty Yates -

- Adam Brown -

- Callum Yeats - Nat Wedderburn - Ross Forbes - Mikey Miller -

- Daniel Higgins - Nicky Jamieson - Sean Crighton -

- Conor Brennan -

Swift's position is still under scrutiny and only a win will really do here. I'd like to think we can beat Stranraer but who knows what to expect anymore under this Conservative government!

[Clayhole Blue]

A lot of enthusiasm for this one!

[Moonglum25]

Higgins preferable to Corbett and Forbes in the team, seriously, - did that pair contribute much at Forfar?

[Francesc Fabregas]

6 hours ago, Moonglum25 said:

Higgins preferable to Corbett and Forbes in the team, seriously, - did that pair contribute much at Forfar?

Dan Higgins did okay-ish last weekend; Adam Corbett wasn't fit enough to participate; and Ross Forbes assisted our opening goal with a corner.

Edited September 2, 2022 by Francesc Fabregas

[Nigel Blackwell]

No idea what to expect. But actually, it’s Stranraer so we know what’s going to happen.

Would be good to see O’Reilly back in the team but from experience Swift doesn’t change a winning team. Until they lose…

[CoveRangers1922]

On 28/08/2022 at 10:49, Francesc Fabregas said:

The sixth game of the league campaign sees Stenhousemuir FC taking on their bogey team, their bete noir, their kryptonite: they're taking on Stranraer! Uh-oh!

It's fair to see the Warriors were comprehensively embarrassed by the Blues almost every time they met last season, with three of the four fixtures ending in humiliation; it might be fair to say those three matches were the team's worst displays under Stephen Swift. Things are a little different now, and the Blues lost some of their best players over the summer (Matty Yates, Ayrton Sonkur, Tam Muir), but they appear to have handled things reasonably well with one win and three 2-2 draws so far - a good return for a side expected to struggle. I am, quite frankly, approaching this encounter with some degree of trepidation, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Swift's tactics of throwing ideas against the wall and hoping that something might stick appeared to have paid off yesterday after his untried three-at-the-back system delivered a competent performance and a deserved 2-1 win over Forfar Athletic. As I said in another thread, I'm not sure if this will work out in the long term, but it did well enough yesterday and is probably worth pursuing with for the time being. We did looks reasonably sturdy, even if Conor Brennan had to make a number of decent stops and the centre-backs were chucking themselves in front of goal-bound shots, but I worry about the lack of protection in midfield afforded by Ross Forbes and Nat Wedderburn, something we saw in the second half, and there's no place for Euan O'Reilly here.

I remember last season we deployed a back three at a sodden, wind-swept Cliftonhill to defeat Albion Rovers, then did the same the following week at home to Cowdenbeath and played terribly, going down 2-0 before changing the system when it was far too late. I've got a bad feeling the same kind of thing's going to happen on Saturday, followed by "good honest chats" and something new from Mick Moore's laminated pages of tactics at East Fife.

We'll put out the same team as we did at Forfar:

- Will Sewell - Matty Yates -

- Adam Brown -

- Callum Yeats - Nat Wedderburn - Ross Forbes - Mikey Miller -

- Daniel Higgins - Nicky Jamieson - Sean Crighton -

- Conor Brennan -

Swift's position is still under scrutiny and only a win will really do here. I'd like to think we can beat Stranraer but who knows what to expect anymore under this Conservative government!

Great post.

Please win tomorrow Stenny, you are one third of my treble. Somehow I managed to do the unthinkable and take money from the bookies last weekend and would like to repeat that feat!

Dan Higgins behave yourself loon

 

[Francesc Fabregas]

10 hours ago, CoveRangers1922 said:

Great post.

Please win tomorrow Stenny, you are one third of my treble. Somehow I managed to do the unthinkable and take money from the bookies last weekend and would like to repeat that feat!

Dan Higgins behave yourself loon

 

Stenhousemuir's record against Stranraer is dreadful. I didn't realise how bad it was until I checked - their last win over the Blues was in 2017. Based on last season's meetings - three abject embarrassments - I'd leave this one well alone!

[Clayhole Blue]

47 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

Stenhousemuir's record against Stranraer is dreadful. I didn't realise how bad it was until I checked - their last win over the Blues was in 2017. Based on last season's meetings - three abject embarrassments - I'd leave this one well alone!

By actually putting that on here you’ve probably buggered us now!

Looking forward to this one, if only to see who’s in our injury and suspension hit defence!

[Vimto90]

Stick that in yer Stena Line

[Francesc Fabregas]

I'm not quite sure what to make of today's game. On one hand, I'm pleased Stenhousemuir collected their third win of the season, finally defeated Stranraer and moved into the top four; on the other, they turned in another anxious, disjoined display and made things a lot more complicated than they needed to be. In his post-match interview, Stephen Swift was delighted with what he saw but this seems to be a very generous interpretation of the match. It reminded me a lot of our encounter with Albion Rovers on the opening day where an inferior opponent had us pegged back for long spells and could have snatched something had they been a little more assured in front of goal. Stranraer were all over us in the second half without having a real cutting edge. 

It was a brutal, dismal game of football, a terrible advert for the lower leagues. Balls leathered long, big headers, poor touches, no control. There were a handful of nice moments, particularly Stenhousemuir's first goal and a flurry of passes that ended with an Adam Brown shot hitting the top of the bar but other than that, it was am ugly fare.

I thought the match was over and done with in the first half, with Stenny taking a three-goal lead into the interview. The first saw Will Sewell prodding home Callum Yeats' low centre, and the second and third came courtesy of Nicky Jamieson and Sean Crighton respectively, both from corners. The scoreline perhaps flattered the home side because there wasn't all that much between the teams but the Warriors' ruthlessness from set-pieces was made to count. Swift mentioned Stranraer's lack of height and he had the players who could take full advantage.

An injury to Dan Higgins just before the interval forced us to change things - Adam Corbett was expected to replace him but he fell injured again while warming up, meaning we had to reconfigure the whole team, starting the second half with a back four. The change in shape did not work and Stranraer looked threatening any time they got on the ball, tearing through the midfield time and again. I thought Dylan Forrest and Matty Grant played well for Stranraer, Grant especially, and he gave Yeats a difficult afternoon before his dismissal. Their goal came shortly after the restart when Stenny failed to clear their lines and James Hilton smashed the ball home from 12 yards. All of a sudden, Stranraer were dominating the match but just couldn't find a breakthrough. Stenhousemuir brought on Euan O'Reilly, who went past Scott McLean a couple of times, but fluffed a great opportunity to set up Tam Orr when he melted in a cross instead of slipping it across the deck. But make no mistake, this was a terrible game of football overall.

Jamieson was probably the best player on the park and Matty Yates did his best to get Stenny going but that's about it. Two consecutive wins should quieten any dissenters for the time being but I don't think it's unfair to be expecting better from this group of players. Three points gratefully accepted and we move on to next week.

[Vimto90]

The three points were most welcome but still doesn't feel like the corner is turned. We were 3-0 up quite strangely it felt and we managed to see it out with some scares & a woeful second half.

Dumbarton running away with it & we need another 3pts next week.

Pretty meh to be honest which is weird after a 3-1 win.

[Clayhole Blue]

9 hours ago, Francesc Fabregas said:

I'm not quite sure what to make of today's game. On one hand, I'm pleased Stenhousemuir collected their third win of the season, finally defeated Stranraer and moved into the top four; on the other, they turned in another anxious, disjoined display and made things a lot more complicated than they needed to be. In his post-match interview, Stephen Swift was delighted with what he saw but this seems to be a very generous interpretation of the match. It reminded me a lot of our encounter with Albion Rovers on the opening day where an inferior opponent had us pegged back for long spells and could have snatched something had they been a little more assured in front of goal. Stranraer were all over us in the second half without having a real cutting edge. 

It was a brutal, dismal game of football, a terrible advert for the lower leagues. Balls leathered long, big headers, poor touches, no control. There were a handful of nice moments, particularly Stenhousemuir's first goal and a flurry of passes that ended with an Adam Brown shot hitting the top of the bar but other than that, it was am ugly fare.

I thought the match was over and done with in the first half, with Stenny taking a three-goal lead into the interview. The first saw Will Sewell prodding home Callum Yeats' low centre, and the second and third came courtesy of Nicky Jamieson and Sean Crighton respectively, both from corners. The scoreline perhaps flattered the home side because there wasn't all that much between the teams but the Warriors' ruthlessness from set-pieces was made to count. Swift mentioned Stranraer's lack of height and he had the players who could take full advantage.

An injury to Dan Higgins just before the interval forced us to change things - Adam Corbett was expected to replace him but he fell injured again while warming up, meaning we had to reconfigure the whole team, starting the second half with a back four. The change in shape did not work and Stranraer looked threatening any time they got on the ball, tearing through the midfield time and again. I thought Dylan Forrest and Matty Grant played well for Stranraer, Grant especially, and he gave Yeats a difficult afternoon before his dismissal. Their goal came shortly after the restart when Stenny failed to clear their lines and James Hilton smashed the ball home from 12 yards. All of a sudden, Stranraer were dominating the match but just couldn't find a breakthrough. Stenhousemuir brought on Euan O'Reilly, who went past Scott McLean a couple of times, but fluffed a great opportunity to set up Tam Orr when he melted in a cross instead of slipping it across the deck. But make no mistake, this was a terrible game of football overall.

Jamieson was probably the best player on the park and Matty Yates did his best to get Stenny going but that's about it. Two consecutive wins should quieten any dissenters for the time being but I don't think it's unfair to be expecting better from this group of players. Three points gratefully accepted and we move on to next week.

Can’t argue with any of that - good summary of a forgettable afternoon!

[Nigel Blackwell]

It was strange coming away after a good win feeling a little deflated. No doubt a three goal lead flattered us at half time and Stranraer did dominate a period of the 2nd half but on reflection I wonder if we’re being a little harsh on the team. In the second half despite the pressure, we stood up well (Jamieson in particular) and after they scored they didn’t have any clear cut chances. The defence did its job. I’d take that sort of win every week. It’s going to be a tight league. Nobody stands out based on what I’ve seen and there is no team obviously going to get cast adrift. I think yesterday might just be the way it goes this season, so enjoy it while you can! If enjoy is the right word. It was still quite tense  yesterday.

[Neilly]

13 minutes ago, Nigel Blackwell said:

It was strange coming away after a good win feeling a little deflated. No doubt a three goal lead flattered us at half time and Stranraer did dominate a period of the 2nd half but on reflection I wonder if we’re being a little harsh on the team. In the second half despite the pressure, we stood up well (Jamieson in particular) and after they scored they didn’t have any clear cut chances. The defence did its job. I’d take that sort of win every week. It’s going to be a tight league. Nobody stands out based on what I’ve seen and there is no team obviously going to get cast adrift. I think yesterday might just be the way it goes this season, so enjoy it while you can! If enjoy is the right word. It was still quite tense  yesterday.

I think that's a more realistic summary. We are maybe looking for a 90 minute performance that just isn't there in this league where the teams are so evenly matched. It really is a case of win at all costs no matter how dire it can be on the eye at times.

Dumbarton are living proof of that I'd say - most of their games could have went either way but they have now dug out 6 wins from 6. We are going to have to do similar and hope they are on the wrong side of a few close games in the weeks ahead.

Big Nicky is back to his best and Sean was outstanding as well. Stranraer had us pegged back in the second half but on reflection I can't remember Brennan having a save to make or really feeling we were in too much danger.

The boy Grant for Stranraer was the best attacking player on the park by a mile he looks a real find and for me was harshly sent off.

[Nigel Blackwell]

I wondered which Stranraer player we could expect at Ochilview next season. Matthew Grant looked excellent!

[skiblue]

37 minutes ago, Nigel Blackwell said:

I wondered which Stranraer player we could expect at Ochilview next season. Matthew Grant looked excellent!

Unless Dumbarton get in there first  https://media.tenor.com/aLr2Y8Ajx_cAAAAM/mine-now-steal.gif

[CoveRangers1922]

On 03/09/2022 at 08:09, Francesc Fabregas said:

Stenhousemuir's record against Stranraer is dreadful. I didn't realise how bad it was until I checked - their last win over the Blues was in 2017. Based on last season's meetings - three abject embarrassments - I'd leave this one well alone!

Never in doubt!

Although Stenny did me proud, my other two teams didn't sadly. 

Good chance for the Warriors to make it 3 wins on the bounce next weekend against Elgin. 

 

[Old Fashioned Stramash]

First half was alright and what was needed. Second half, just dire. Formation doesn't suit us and we suffered from not clearing our lines. 

Sewell and Yates caused their defence lots of problems in the first half with their movement and pace. Yates was getting in amongst it.  Having that third centre back seem to settle our defence, although if anything it just helped clear up some errors. Thought Mikey Miller was decent again. 

Left feeling surprised that we had scored 3 goals yet delighted that we got another 3 points.  Performances like that can surely only build momentum and reassurance. Just got to take each game as they come and keep working away. One thing is for sure, Tam Orr is getting nowhere near that starting 11.