Tonight see's the long awaited Bells Challenge cup game against the Skunks at Love Street.
Team news is that we have everyone available and with Jason pushing his claim with a goal on Saturday. I would stick with the same formation although I would have been tempted to try out a 4-4-2 on Saturday against Ayr and played that tonight but as Jim didn't I wouldn't change our system now.
As for personell I think we should also stick with Saturday's starting 11 - Chris Millar's game has improved recently (still not at top form) and he's probably done just about enough to keep Scott Mclaughlin out of the team. Up front Temps was excellent once again and really is playing the target man well - Vialli on the other hand is still looking out of sorts and I reckon he would be more likely to drop out rather than Temps if Jason were to come in.
The Skunks have been going strong recently and moved to the top of the table on Saturday. Made some good signings since we played them in RC final in July adding John Sutton (Chris's bro) and Charlie Adam (John's bro on loan from Rangers) and I reckon they are strong favourites. 1 advantage is that we seem to play better against teams attacking us so hopefully we can exploit them as they come forward and take us to our 1st Challenge cup final since 1992
Mon e' Ton
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Morton v Ayr Utd
A good win away at Ayr today played very well but just thought it was going to be one of those days - Both Temps and Alex Walker hit the post in the 1st half and midwaythrough the 2nd we lost Greacen red carded for a 2nd bookable offence (more about the ref later).
Even being down to 10men we were still the better team but as time ticked by I thought it was gonna be 2 points dropped as Gretna were up in their game (they eventually won 3-0). Fortuantely we got the breakthrough - A long diagonal from Harding was headed down well by Andy Mclaren to Jason Walker who swiveled had fired into the net - cue delerium in the large traveling support.
Definately a well deserved win (our 1st there for 8 years) from a good game in which our domination was only threatened by the Referee. Mr Fyfe now has the statisitcs of handling 2 2nd Divison matches this season and has sent off 3 players and booked 14 - the 1st one was our game v Dumbarton in which Andy & Dean were sent off.
Even being down to 10men we were still the better team but as time ticked by I thought it was gonna be 2 points dropped as Gretna were up in their game (they eventually won 3-0). Fortuantely we got the breakthrough - A long diagonal from Harding was headed down well by Andy Mclaren to Jason Walker who swiveled had fired into the net - cue delerium in the large traveling support.
Definately a well deserved win (our 1st there for 8 years) from a good game in which our domination was only threatened by the Referee. Mr Fyfe now has the statisitcs of handling 2 2nd Divison matches this season and has sent off 3 players and booked 14 - the 1st one was our game v Dumbarton in which Andy & Dean were sent off.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
50 things
1. What is your middle name? John
2. What color underwear are you wearing now? Black
3. What are you listening to right now? Virign Radio
4. What are the last 2 digits in your phone number? 60
5. What was the last thing you ate? Baked Potato w/ Cheese & Ham
6. If you were a crayon what color would you be? Blue
7. How is the weather right now? Reasonable
8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? David Ross from work
9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? smile
10. Favorite type of Food? Mexican
11. Do you drink? yes
12. Do you smoke? nope
13. Ever get so drunk you dont remember what you did? Yes although not often enough
14. Hair color? brown
15. Eye color? brown
16. Do you wear contacts? Yes
17. Single? no
18. Favorite Month? August
19. Have you ever cried for no reason? No
20. Last Movie you Watched? 40 Year Old Virgin
21. Favorite Day of the Year? Xmas Day
22. Are you too shy to ask someone out? Yes
24. Hugs or Kisses? Kisses
25. Chocolate or Vanilla? vanilla
26. Do you want your friends to respond? of course
27. Who is most likely to respond? Martin
28. Who is least likely to respond?
29. What books are you reading? Read 3/4 of Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver on hols but not picked it up since
30. Piercings? my ears were pierced
31. Fav. Movie? Toy Story
32. Fav. baseball Team? Chicago Cubs (they are the Morton of baseball)
34. Any pets? World's biggest spider collection
35. AIM? Naw - used too though
36. Butter, Plain or Salted popcorn? butter
37. dogs or cats? Dogs - Im a real animal lover
38. Favorite Flower?
44. Have you ever fired a gun? nope
45. Do you like to travel by plane? Love it
46. Right-handed or Left-handed? Right
48. How many pillows do you sleep with? 1
49. Are you missing someone? yes
50. Who do you think is good looking? The Mrs, Elisha Cuthbert, Jessica Alba......we could be here a while.
If anyone ever reads this blog - drop me a comment with your answers to the questions.
2. What color underwear are you wearing now? Black
3. What are you listening to right now? Virign Radio
4. What are the last 2 digits in your phone number? 60
5. What was the last thing you ate? Baked Potato w/ Cheese & Ham
6. If you were a crayon what color would you be? Blue
7. How is the weather right now? Reasonable
8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? David Ross from work
9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? smile
10. Favorite type of Food? Mexican
11. Do you drink? yes
12. Do you smoke? nope
13. Ever get so drunk you dont remember what you did? Yes although not often enough
14. Hair color? brown
15. Eye color? brown
16. Do you wear contacts? Yes
17. Single? no
18. Favorite Month? August
19. Have you ever cried for no reason? No
20. Last Movie you Watched? 40 Year Old Virgin
21. Favorite Day of the Year? Xmas Day
22. Are you too shy to ask someone out? Yes
24. Hugs or Kisses? Kisses
25. Chocolate or Vanilla? vanilla
26. Do you want your friends to respond? of course
27. Who is most likely to respond? Martin
28. Who is least likely to respond?
29. What books are you reading? Read 3/4 of Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver on hols but not picked it up since
30. Piercings? my ears were pierced
31. Fav. Movie? Toy Story
32. Fav. baseball Team? Chicago Cubs (they are the Morton of baseball)
34. Any pets? World's biggest spider collection
35. AIM? Naw - used too though
36. Butter, Plain or Salted popcorn? butter
37. dogs or cats? Dogs - Im a real animal lover
38. Favorite Flower?
44. Have you ever fired a gun? nope
45. Do you like to travel by plane? Love it
46. Right-handed or Left-handed? Right
48. How many pillows do you sleep with? 1
49. Are you missing someone? yes
50. Who do you think is good looking? The Mrs, Elisha Cuthbert, Jessica Alba......we could be here a while.
If anyone ever reads this blog - drop me a comment with your answers to the questions.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Morton V Alloa
After the exploits of midweek it was back to league business for the mighty as they took on Alloa at Cappielow. It’s always nice to see Tom Hendrie back at Cappielow - brings a smile to your face to see him going mental at every decision.
Change in the Ton line-up from Wednesday night - Jason, John Adam & Davie Macgregor dropped to the bench with Temps, Harding and Alex Walker taking their place. Mcinally opted then for a 3-4-1-2 formation with Walker playing alongside Chris Millar in central midfield and Andy McLaren sitting behind the front 2 of Vialli & Temps.
Ton started brightly but as with most of their games this season they found they had the bulk of possession but all too often the final ball or their decision making in the final third let them down. After the buzz of the initial opening spell the game had started to settle down when Spoonsy put us ahead. He picked the ball up just inside the Alloa half and with Alloa stringing 9 men across their box he was allowed to carry the ball to around 20yards out at the right hand corner of the box before hitting a low drive into the opposite corner of the net at the WDE. Its was no more than Ton deserve at this point and it was certainly a relief to get it as all too often this season we haven't capitalized on our early pressure and have been made to sweat later in the game.
As it turns out we almost got a 2nd shortly after when the ball broke kindly for Temps 8 yards out dead centre of the goal but unfortunately for the big guy the keeper produce a stunning save to deny Temps his 1st league goal of the season. The home support didn't have long to wait for another Ton goal though and this time it was the impressive Alex Walker who composed himself before firing a powerful curling drive high beyond the keeper in 34th minute.
The Ton created a couple more half chances before the break and went in 2-nil which probably flattered Alloa a little.
Normal service was resumed at the start of the 2nd with the Ton having bulk of possession but again being let down by the final ball and the game went into a quiet period before Ryan Harding took it upon himself to liven things up - fannying about (only way to describe it) on the half way line he was dispossessed by Jose who broke up the park a teed up Lurch who was playing alongside to find the net. 2-1 and suddenly we got a game on our hands - Not that Alloa had done anything or proceeded to do anything to cause us any alarm - Just Ton players suddenly became nervous - passes went astray and for 10 mins we lost our way a little.
Just as we were questioning Mcinally's & his use of subs up stepped Andy Mclaren to show why we missed him so much last week - On the right touchline he left a defender for dead and unlike Finlayson, who had wasted around 20 similar opportunities so far, he sent a delightful cross to the back post where Temps rose above the defender to head down past the keeper. Seconds later and it was 4 Finlayson cut in from the right and his half hit shot managed to creep in at the back post.
Mcinally seen this a cue to take off the old boys so off came the fairly ineffectual Vialli and Mclaren and on came Scott Mclaughlin & Jason.
Jason went close on a couple of occasions 1 when thru one on one (again - he seems to make a habit of missing these) and 1 from a good strike from edge of the box.
Chris Millar then capped a better all round performance with a goal when he worked himself free in the box to hit home from 10 yards.
Right at the death as the Ton fans were hovering round the exits and most of the 34 Alloa fans had accepted defeat Davie McGregor gave away a penalty as their left midfielder tried to go by him on the right touchline he stuck out a foot and conceded a corner but the referee appeared to point for a goal kick to which to Alloa player started appealing they wanted a corner turn out the ref had pointed to the spot - Very harsh indeed - infact wrong decision but fortunately it didn't prove costly as Mcgurn was sent wrong way with the last kick of the game.
5-2 victory with 5 different scorers - Got the impression that they could still step up a couple of gears if required - This could have easily been approaching double figures had we taken our chances and been more prudent in defence.
Temps deservedly got MOM with another good display - won a lot of headers, used possession well and the Shed seems to respond to that. Other stand outs were Walker who seems to get better with every game. Spoonsy - solid at the back and a goal to boot, Jim with another top notch performance and Chris Millar who had probably his best game of the season although still not back to the Chris of old.
Disappointments were Vialli who again doesn't look tuned in to the team/game/division. Mclaren who had one of his quieter games and Harding who seemed to dally on the ball too often. 1 other comment about the crowd which was only 2504 a fair drop from last week - hopefully a couple of wins on the road at Ayr & Partick can see us leapfrog Gretna who only drew with Thistle yesterday thus meaning a 1 point gap at the top of the division.
Other Results
Forfar 2 - 0 Dumbarton
Gretna 2 - 2 Partick Thistle
Raith 3 - 3 Ayr
Stirling 1 - 3 Peterhead
Next Week
Alloa v Gretna,
Ayr v Morton,
Dumbarton v Stirling,
Partick v Forfar,
Peterhead v Raith,
Change in the Ton line-up from Wednesday night - Jason, John Adam & Davie Macgregor dropped to the bench with Temps, Harding and Alex Walker taking their place. Mcinally opted then for a 3-4-1-2 formation with Walker playing alongside Chris Millar in central midfield and Andy McLaren sitting behind the front 2 of Vialli & Temps.
Ton started brightly but as with most of their games this season they found they had the bulk of possession but all too often the final ball or their decision making in the final third let them down. After the buzz of the initial opening spell the game had started to settle down when Spoonsy put us ahead. He picked the ball up just inside the Alloa half and with Alloa stringing 9 men across their box he was allowed to carry the ball to around 20yards out at the right hand corner of the box before hitting a low drive into the opposite corner of the net at the WDE. Its was no more than Ton deserve at this point and it was certainly a relief to get it as all too often this season we haven't capitalized on our early pressure and have been made to sweat later in the game.
As it turns out we almost got a 2nd shortly after when the ball broke kindly for Temps 8 yards out dead centre of the goal but unfortunately for the big guy the keeper produce a stunning save to deny Temps his 1st league goal of the season. The home support didn't have long to wait for another Ton goal though and this time it was the impressive Alex Walker who composed himself before firing a powerful curling drive high beyond the keeper in 34th minute.
The Ton created a couple more half chances before the break and went in 2-nil which probably flattered Alloa a little.
Normal service was resumed at the start of the 2nd with the Ton having bulk of possession but again being let down by the final ball and the game went into a quiet period before Ryan Harding took it upon himself to liven things up - fannying about (only way to describe it) on the half way line he was dispossessed by Jose who broke up the park a teed up Lurch who was playing alongside to find the net. 2-1 and suddenly we got a game on our hands - Not that Alloa had done anything or proceeded to do anything to cause us any alarm - Just Ton players suddenly became nervous - passes went astray and for 10 mins we lost our way a little.
Just as we were questioning Mcinally's & his use of subs up stepped Andy Mclaren to show why we missed him so much last week - On the right touchline he left a defender for dead and unlike Finlayson, who had wasted around 20 similar opportunities so far, he sent a delightful cross to the back post where Temps rose above the defender to head down past the keeper. Seconds later and it was 4 Finlayson cut in from the right and his half hit shot managed to creep in at the back post.
Mcinally seen this a cue to take off the old boys so off came the fairly ineffectual Vialli and Mclaren and on came Scott Mclaughlin & Jason.
Jason went close on a couple of occasions 1 when thru one on one (again - he seems to make a habit of missing these) and 1 from a good strike from edge of the box.
Chris Millar then capped a better all round performance with a goal when he worked himself free in the box to hit home from 10 yards.
Right at the death as the Ton fans were hovering round the exits and most of the 34 Alloa fans had accepted defeat Davie McGregor gave away a penalty as their left midfielder tried to go by him on the right touchline he stuck out a foot and conceded a corner but the referee appeared to point for a goal kick to which to Alloa player started appealing they wanted a corner turn out the ref had pointed to the spot - Very harsh indeed - infact wrong decision but fortunately it didn't prove costly as Mcgurn was sent wrong way with the last kick of the game.
5-2 victory with 5 different scorers - Got the impression that they could still step up a couple of gears if required - This could have easily been approaching double figures had we taken our chances and been more prudent in defence.
Temps deservedly got MOM with another good display - won a lot of headers, used possession well and the Shed seems to respond to that. Other stand outs were Walker who seems to get better with every game. Spoonsy - solid at the back and a goal to boot, Jim with another top notch performance and Chris Millar who had probably his best game of the season although still not back to the Chris of old.
Disappointments were Vialli who again doesn't look tuned in to the team/game/division. Mclaren who had one of his quieter games and Harding who seemed to dally on the ball too often. 1 other comment about the crowd which was only 2504 a fair drop from last week - hopefully a couple of wins on the road at Ayr & Partick can see us leapfrog Gretna who only drew with Thistle yesterday thus meaning a 1 point gap at the top of the division.
Other Results
Forfar 2 - 0 Dumbarton
Gretna 2 - 2 Partick Thistle
Raith 3 - 3 Ayr
Stirling 1 - 3 Peterhead
Next Week
Alloa v Gretna,
Ayr v Morton,
Dumbarton v Stirling,
Partick v Forfar,
Peterhead v Raith,
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Challenge Cup Draw
After successfully negiotiating our way past Stirling we went into the Semi final draw on Thursday with some confindence. St. Johnstone, St Mirren or Hamilton would stand in our way of getting to our 1st Challenge Cup final since 1992.
I wanted either St J. or the Accies at Cappielow and hopefully leave our friends from Paisley for the final however the SFL had other ideas and paired us with St. Mirren at Love Street on Tuesday 27th September.
A good draw in terms of a big game and its bound to attract a crowd upwards of 6000 however it would have been nice to get them at Cappielow.
After Saturday 3 big away games on the trot that will go a long to showing what our season is likely to hold - Ayr, Partick & St Mirren in the space of 10days.
I wanted either St J. or the Accies at Cappielow and hopefully leave our friends from Paisley for the final however the SFL had other ideas and paired us with St. Mirren at Love Street on Tuesday 27th September.
A good draw in terms of a big game and its bound to attract a crowd upwards of 6000 however it would have been nice to get them at Cappielow.
After Saturday 3 big away games on the trot that will go a long to showing what our season is likely to hold - Ayr, Partick & St Mirren in the space of 10days.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Happy Anniversary Martin & Claire
Monday, September 12, 2005
Ireland
Been very slow with the updates recently as we we're away in Ireland visiting the Houtens in Buncrana - great time catching up with them
It was Alyssa's 1st holiday and also her 1st visit to the beach.
The weather was so good we managed to have a BBQ and also go paddling in Loch Swilly.
As well as the usual crazy games and crazy drinks.
All in the 5 of us had a great time.
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