Mike says -

“First of all any plaudits from the game must go to the home side. With two or three experienced players and a lot of young legs Gala defended stoutly in the first half against waves of attack, scored two early goals in the second (the first a peach from their point of view) and then thankfully tired as we turned on the pressure. Paulo was immence as was Waldie beside him, Henson in goal did very well in the second half and extra time, I like the look of young Smith and McBride in midfield while Anderson was always a handful up front. Fraser and Ally must be looking forward to a successful season.

For our part it was hard to be critical of the boys at half-time. We’d preached respecting the opposition and playing at our tempo before the game and we certainly took the game to Gala in the first half. Omar was doing his Walcott (on a good day) impression and it appeared only a matter of time before we scored. We weren’t firing on all cylinders up front but we also weren’t getting many breaks. We had umpteen balls delivered into the box mostly from the right but not once did the delivery or subsequent second and third ball drop at a Spartan’s foot or head. Although we had the territorially advantage and the majority of the ball, the Gala keeper never had a real save to make in the first half and it finished 0-0.

Sam and I and encouraged the boys to keep the pace up, provide a bit more movement in the box and not to be frightened to have a pop at goal whenever we could. 12 minutes in and we’re 2-0 down.  By this time Graeme Ford (a good friend of mine who once marked Paul Mason out of an Aberdeen v Arbroath reserve game for me a long, long time ago) was on the park and I was thinking “is this going to be one of these days?” and ”how am I going to face Graeme’s brother?”. Thankfully our boys kept the faith and more importantly kept the pace of the game up. The Gala keeper was being called into action more and more and when Omar equalised with 12 minutes to go we might have won the game in 90 minutes.  As it was it took us 120 minutes and the happiest people at the game were the Vale committee as they watched our tired players leave the field.

Danny was still unavailable yesterday and Alex King suffered for his heroic efforts playing with an injury at Stirling. Sivie and Donal were struggling before the game and Chris Smith has a problem with his Achilles. Jorge chose a right good time to go elsewhere to look for a game.

Over the piece Sam and I can’t be unhappy with the effort and desire we showed yesterday. The guys who came in put in a good shift and Sam and I will check the fitness situation of all the players before we pick a team for the Vale on Tuesday.

More of that later.”

Mike

Mike says -

The games are coming thick and fast at the moment and tomorrow we head down to Gala on cup duty. Fraser and Ally have put a young team together (Paulo aside) and they’ve started the season with two wins in two local derbies which is never easy. I saw them beat The Albert 4-2 a week ago today and they followed that with an impressive 6-1 win over Kelso a couple of nights ago when we played Stirling.  Against Hawick I was impressed by their spirit, organisation and youthful enthusiasm. Our lot better be prepared for a hard shift tomorrow.

For our part we are still to get into our stride. Don’t get me wrong, Wednesday was better than last Saturday but we can still begin games better and we have to start converting a higher percentage of the chances we create. Sam and I will bring in fresh legs after two games in a week but as you have heard me say a hundred times we know we can change the starting eleven around without weakening the team. Stewart, Sean and David haven’t started a game yet this season but all three will tomorrow and Sam and I will consider one or two other options later today.

We always enjoy our trips down to the Borders and tomorrow is no exception.”

Mike

Mike says -

“Considering we had dropped two points on Saturday that was a very important win for us last night. I’ll also stand by what I said yesterday about Stirling University who are here to stay in our Premier League and will be big, big players in the coming years if their football scholarships continue. The team they put out last night were excellent footballers who can only improve as they get stronger over the next two or three years.

Sam and I emphasised starting on the front foot and although the Uni scored first I thought we were an improvement on Saturday over the first fifteen minutes. We stuck to 4 4 2 but changed out game plan to longer rather than short passes and it paid off with Donal’s equaliser. Maybe we didn’t want to play the talented students at “football” but either way we got stronger as the game went on and had two or three opportunities in the second half to put the game to bed. We didn’t so it was a slightly nervous last ten minutes.

It’s shaping up to be a very tight league this season with remarkably Sammy and his boys along with ourselves the only unbeaten sides. For ten teams to lose one of their first two games is unheard of but as I say it looks like anyone can beat anyone this season.

We get a break from league action this weekend as we head to Gala in the East of Scotland Cup. More about that tomorrow.”

Mike

Mike says -

“Tonight we are away to the next big thing in East of Scotland football. Through scholarships and education Stirling University are turning into the Manchester City of our league. They already had Sam Filler ex Middelsbourgh in goal, Lee Nicholl ex Falkirk and Scotland in midfield and Abraham Keller an ex Switzerland under age international up top. In the close season they have added players from Falkirk, Partick Thistle, Rotherham, Leyton Orient, Wrexham, Stirling Albion, Raith Rovers and of course Edinburgh City (Danny Denholm). I hear complimented around their studies they train at least four mornings a week. All of this is unprecedented in our league and as these kids develop and more are added you have to believe that Stirling are going to be a contender for all competitions over the coming years.

Am I jealous? Of course not. Stirling and Gretna joining our league was the best thing that has happened for years and they both enhance our reputation and bring added publicity to a league fighting against the Junior dominance in central Scotland.

In April and May we had two very close games against the students. Some of these players have graduated and the younger ex pros have moved in. Their 6-0 defeat of Selkirk would suggest they are settling in quickly and we expect a hard examination tonight. For our part Alex King and Danny O’Donnell are very doubtful so changes will have to be made. Although we started very poorly against Edinburgh City we came onto a game and were very unfotunate not to add to Cloudie’s great strike.

We are all looking forward to the game this evening.”

Mike

Mike says -

“It was a disappointed home dressing room after the game yesterday. We had the bulk of play especially in the second half but didn’t turn chances into goals other than Cloudie’s great strike. In truth it’s a game we should have won but could easily have lost as City defended stoutly yet were always liable to catch us on the break.

We were all disappointed in the home dressing room because  we could have done better especially at the start of the game. Before kick-off we spoke about our poor start against Whitehill in the opening game of last season. We spoke about our poor first 15 minutes against Newtongrange in our last home Saturday game. If we learn anything from dropping two points yesterday it’s that we have to start games on the front foot. We have to realise as league champions that teams will be fired up from the start and that the early stages of a game often dictate how the 90 minutes will pan out.

City on that showing will be up there challenging this season and if we are to retain our title we will have to start games from the first whistle. We play the league leaders away from home on Wednesday and competing from the start of the game will be the theme of my team talk (once again). Despite yesterday not going as we all had hoped, we’re a point better off than we were last season and we are all delighted that the season has started.

The next game can’t come quickly enough.”

Mike