We travelled to Blackburn last Saturday for a League
fixturefollowing on from our Scottish Cup exit at Glentanar
the previous week.Our preparation during the week was
good with everyone that is fit attending both training
sessions.

The squad however was down to 14 available players
for the visit to Blackburn, with Robbo having to work again,
Davy being ill and  Chris Milligan still not fit to play and
our long term casulties still unavailable. Ryan Sclater
however was available to make his debut for the juniors
after completing his signing during the week from Gala
Fairydean.

Prior to the game Kenny and Andy came to me with a
change of formation for the game and after some
deliberation we agreed to go with the suggestion. As
it would happen we matched up with Blackburn’s
formation on the day.

The game itself was very competitive and whilst we
started well we got caught on the break in 11 minutes
from a corner to us at the other end of the park
Blackburn broke quickly and had the freedom of the
park to run all the way from their 18yd box to our box
and score, then 2 minutes later Matty made a strong
challenge inside the box and Blackburn were awarded
a penalty kick which they converted 2 -0 down in 13 mins.

Our heads did NOT go down and we continued to take
the game to Blackburn and in 37 minutes Ross delivered
a corner to the back post and Hammy dispatched a great
header into the net, we were now back in the game, with
half time fast approaching we had another corner and
Ross again delivered a quality ball to the back post and
ths time Kiddo was on hand to bullet a header into the net
2 – 2 and game on.

Half Time 2 – 2

The second half resumed and we continued to try and play
football on what was becoming a very heavy park, we were
also competing very well with chances being created at
either end.

With 59 minutes gone we were awarded a corner on the right
which was cleared by the Blackburn defence, however the
ball fell to Ross in a wide position and he found Adam making
a run to the near post where he headed the ball into the net to
put us 3 -2 ahead, our lead was short lived as Blackburn
levelled the scores within 3 minutes.

With 15 minutes to go Matty went into a challenge on the edge
of the Blackburn penalty box and he was slightly late in (not)
getting to the ball and subsequently caught the platyers
standing leg, it was definately a foul (possibly a red card) but
mayhem then ensued with all 20 outfield players confronting
each other, once the referee had managed to install some
order both Kiddo and a Blackburn player were sent to sample
the showering facilities earlier than the rest of the players.

As the game came to a close both teams had opportunities
to win the game and in 88 minutes Adam ran clear of the
Blackburn defence only to be brought down in the box by
the Blackburn keeper for what looked like a clear penalty
however the referee some how managed to award a goal
kick.

The game finished 3 – 3 a hard earned point away from home.

Overall Kenny Andy and I were very pleased with the manner
in which we applied oursleves to the game and we had some
very good performances individually but it was the team effort
that saw us through this very difficult game, It was good to see
Adam featuring again from the start whilst young Ryan played
with great maturity at the back for us.

Next up Whitburn Away from home.

Last Saturday we played Glentanar from Aberdeen in the 2nd round of the Emirates Scottish Junior Cup.

The game finished in a 0-0 draw resulting in us having to travel up to Aberdeen this forthcoming Saturday.

Having now had some time to reflect on the game and also to discuss it with both Kenny and Andy I would say we were disappointed with our overall performance on the day and I firmly believe that we can play better. We had the better of the early exchanges and our tempo to start with was good however after 18 minutes Matty went into a challenge and he was injured resulting in him having to leave the field of play, we were forced to make some organisational changes but we appeared to lose some of our drive that said,we were playing into the strong wind but still created some good chances.

Half Time 0-0

Glentanar made a change at half time and they began to force the game and created some chances, Muzz had a very good save down at his left hand post and Davy cleared one off the line from a corner. We introduced both Adam and Chris Rooney in an effort to get something out of the game however we were unable to and we now must make the long journey to Aberdeen.

Overall we can do better, and we will most certainly need to so up in Aberdeen this weekend, as a team we collectively need to improve on last Saturday and we will
be emphasising this at training this week.

Alex

With no game last Saturday Andy and I decided to travel up to Aberdeen to watch Glentanar our opponents tomorrow in our Emirates Scottish Junior Cup Tie, we then travelled over to Culter to watch the Seniors game.

The committee at Glentanar were very hospitable and provided Andy and I with tea and rolls prior to the kick off.
Glentanar were playing a league match against New Elgin which resulted in a 1-0 win for New Elgin.

Andy and I saw enough to be able to plan for tomorrow’s game and it goes without saying that the players will need to be firmly focussed if we are to progress to the next round as the game will be a tough test with Glentanar playing in the middle league of three in the Northern Region.

This will the first time that many of our players have played in this prestigious Junior Football competition and hopefully one that they will remember. The players have trained well this week and are in good  spirits for the game.
On the squad front we have Ainslie back from holiday, however we are still without Cruicky, James & Colin who all have long term injuries.

Mikey Watson resumed light training this week under the watchful eye of Rychie our Physio, it was great to see him back on the training pitch kicking a ball after such
a long lay off.

Finally on behalf of the Junior Players and the management team we wish the Seniors all the best in their game tomorrow against Edinburgh City after what has been
a very traumatic week for all those connected with the Senior side. Hopefully some common sense will prevail and we can look forward to the visit of Partick Thistle at
the magnificent Ainslie Park Stadium.

Tomorrow we play Edinburgh United at the Academy in a League
fixture. Having already played United twice this season we are
fully expecting a highly competitive game with the added edge
of it being a local derby.

The players have trained well this week and we even had the
 opportunity to train on the new pitch which was excellent. Kenny
and Andy did some shaping work with the players a we had
much more available space in which to train.

Our key target tomorrow is to ensure that we continue to develop
as a team unit whilst additional focus will be placed upon ball
retention, work rate and the need to stop giving away sloppy
goals.

We still have Cruicky and Colin out injured whilst Kiddo has injured
his knee whilst at work (so he looks doubtful).

However we have Darran, Robbo and Sean back his week after
missing out last weeks game against Livingston.

All the best to Mike/Sam and the boys tomorrow as they christen
the new stadium pitch with a match against Tynecastle which kicks
off at 3.00pm.

Alex

Saturday’s game against Livingston United was described by the
supporters at the game as highly entertaining with no fewer than 8
goals being scored in a 4 – 4 draw.

However from a management point of view Kenny, Andy and I were
disappointed at scoring 4 goals and still not being able to win the
game. We were guilty of making some basic defensive errors which
in turn cost us dearly. This is something that we will be working on
this week with the players in training as creatively going forward we
are looking good and certainly look like scoring goals however when
we are defending as a team we need to be a much more compact
unit.

The game itself was evenly matched and we need to remember that
Livingston were runners up in the league last season and they have
added some new players to their squad.

We took the lead after 35 mins directly from a free kick taken by
Ross with Paulo claiming an assist, however Livingston struck back
within a minute and levelled the score, then on 40 mins Hammy struck
a diagonal pass to Lee and he calmly dipatched the ball into the net.
With 2 minutes to go to half time we gave a way a free kick just outside
the box and for some reason we opted not to have a wall in front of
the ball and subsequently the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Half Time 2 – 2

Within a minute of the restart we lost a goal through some slack play
as Livingston attacked down the left and a low ball into the box
resulted in Livingston going ahead for the first time in the game, we
then got a penalty within a minute of Livingstone scoring and Ross
scored to level the game again.

With 20 minutes to go a long ball up field should have been cleared
from the edge of our box however confusion between our players
allowed the Livingston striker to nick in and score 4-3 Livi. We then
made a change and put Nick on up-front and within 5 minutes he
had a good opportunity to level the score however the Livi
goalkeeper made a very good save, then with 8 minutes to go
Nick scored to level the game at 4 – 4. Then within the dying minutes
of the game Livi had  a goal disallowed for an infringement inside
the box.

Scorers:  Ross 2, Lee 1, Nick 1.

Team: Jackson, Kidd, Armstrong, Sutherland (Boyce) Hamilton,
        Zavaroni (Cunningham) Milligan, Hunter (Reid), Stewart,
        Elliot, Perry  Sub: Rooney

We entertain Livingston United tomorrow at the Academy with a 2.30 kick off. Having had a poor result last week we need to pick ourselves up stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get back to playing the way we can.

Last week was very disappointing however Kenny and Andy have worked the players hard this week with a positive reaction and hopefully we can reap the benefits in terms of attitude and application tomorrow.

We played Livingston in the League Cup and narrowly lost to them by a crazy goal. They were a strong physical side and we will need to be fully prepared for the challenge that we face tomorrow.

The squad is again restricted with Cruicky and Colin still injured, whilst both Darran and Sean are away at wedding’s.

Kenny, Andy and I will sit down and pick a team that we believe can meet the challenge tomorrow and get us back on track in termsof desire and hunger to get a result and finally put last week’s game behind us.

This week we travel to Haddington Athletic in a League fixture.

Haddington had a fantastic result last week against Super League Leaders Boness Utd
when they won 2-1 in the East Of Scotland Cup.

This week Kenny, Andy and I have been focussing on getting the players minds on the
Haddington game following our result last week up at Lochee. Last week is now history
and we must ensure that we are fully prepared for what will be our most difficult league
fixture to date.

We have Davy, Zav’s and Adam all available again after missing last weeks fixture,
however Cruicky and Colin still have long term injuries.

With the Seniors not having a game tomorrow it would be great to see some of the Spartan’s army down at Haddington to provide us support.