These might be 2 of the most competitive matches played all season. Dumbarton were mighty impressive when I saw them outplay Accies in January in the shadow of the Rock and on their day Accies are more than capable of performing to a better level than their league position might suggest. In fact, there is an argument that each of these clubs deserves to be in better league positions than 7th and 8th, but inconsistency has been another common factor.
Accies are likely to rely on the men who came to the Falkirk party last weekend, although Jon McShane impressed a number of respected commentators in scoring 3 times for the U20s side against Dunfermline at NDP in midweek. It will be interesting to see if BR continues to play 3 at the back after the Falkirk success, or if he has identified a different strategy for the threat posed by Dumbarton. If Accies do win the first game, will he employ the same tactics on Tuesday? While I always enjoy predicting victories, I'll be delighted if we take 4 points out of 6 from this unusual double header.
Motivation is the key for this one (or two). Dumbarton have their tales up and have shown that even going behind they can still come back. However in doing so they leave themselves open and have been shipping goals. So if we can keep it tight at the back and get in about them from kick off then 4 points from 2 games should see of any threat of relegation lifted. I think Dumbarton whatever the results will survive leaving Airdrie and Cowdenbeath at the bottom. Not forgetting however Dunfermline may find themselves will and truly sucked in depending on what points they get deducted.
ReplyDeleteI suspect we may overtake Dunfermline in the run-in anyway, even without them being docked any points. We are currently nine behind them with three games in hand, they must be very demoralised by what s happening at their club, and they have released their best players. Not that we should assume this, or depend upon it, of course.
DeleteThank you to the individual who has left an anonymous comment aimed at my colleague, Ken. We willd be delighted to welcome you to the Blog as and when you post under your real name, assuming that you continue to follow the rules. I thought the team put in a tremendous effort today, particularly in the 2nd half. We scored 2 lovely goals when down to 10 men and had we had numerical parity throughout I'm sure we would have won comfortably. The sending off looked harsh from where I was sitting.
ReplyDeleteFor most of the 1st half I thought we lacked any motivation or fight. We didn't look like we wanted to win the game enough. Its a problem I feel we have against the teams down at the bottom with us. We try to play football when really in the situation we are in we need to battle like Dumbarton or Cowden. I thought Turner was great for them again today, he showed skill and commitment and worked his backside off, For me nobody in an Accies shirt got anywhere near that level for us. We were going through the motions. We have the talent but does the talent have the work ethic for the battle we face ?
ReplyDeleteA win on Tuesday puts us back above them. I fancy Accies to do just that. I assume Alex may be injured and does Fisher miss the game automatically.
ReplyDeleteWe have received another anonymous comment which I will be delighted to add to the discussion when it is repeated with a name.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with you, Ian, that Accies will have been stung by yesterday's loss and will produce a victory. That's what tends to happen in the inconsistent world of Scottish 1st Div football. I can't see Alex Neil playing and I think the timing of Fisher's suspension will depend on the detail of the offence. I suspect he will be missing on Tuesday.
My more considered view on yesterday is that we were unlucky to go in a goal down at the interval. There was a lot of huff and puff by both sides, but there was little in the way of decisive football in that first half. I stand by my preview comment that Dumbarton are a much better side than their league position suggests, but will a third game in a week stretch them on Tuesday? I don't think it should, especially when they are on a winning run of good form. However, there is some evidence in Accies scoring patterns that our style of play does wear sides down and we have scored goals late in games. That could be to our advantage on Tuesday. I thought we were great in the last half hour yesterday. Yes, decision making could be better at times, but we were prepared to shoot and we always looked dangerous in this period of the game. McShane and Ryan certainly had a very positive influence and I thought McKinnon worked very hard throughout the game.
The bottom line is that these teams are very evenly matched. A league win against Dumbarton is overdue and I look forward to a small glass of something malty to celebrate a win on Tuesday.
I think we could lose again tomorrow night. lyon and watson are set to be threw in. thanks. Dougie Bryden
ReplyDeleteOptimist as ever, I think we may well win tonight. It sounds like we were a shade unlucky on Saturday (which I missed), so we're due a result tonight (when I'll be there). Lock the back door and we should be fine.
ReplyDeleteWell done the optimists although I must admit at half time I thought we were heading for defeat and couldn't see how things would change in the second half. But the team kept plugging away and got the breaks which sometimes your due. Just tell me we don't have to play Dumbarton again.
ReplyDeleteWell, we didn't exactly lock the back door, conceding a daft goal and giving them other opportunities. For most of the second half I'd have settled for 1-1, but in the end we got the win our fightback deserved.
ReplyDeleteDelighted to hear last night's result. The margins in this league are paper thin and so often it is not the 'better' team over 90 mins that takes the points. A quick look at the league table shows that the difference between 3rd and 7th is only 9 points and +/- 7 goals. Any team which eradicates a few individual errors or benefits from a bit of luck here and there can quickly climb a few places. With that luck or removing a few errors we could easily be 3rd. I'm not despondent about the season at all, but equally I'm not blind to the fact that there is room for improvement over the course of the rest of this season and moving into 2013/14. I am heartened to know that Les and Billy think the same way.
ReplyDeleteThe primary objective from last night's game was a victory and it was achieved. At half time, I have to say that it wasn't looking promising. After a rare error from Kevin Cuthbert to concede the goal, Dumbarton went on to miss several gilt edged chances before half time. An improved performance in the 2nd half along with effective substitutions (particularly the introduction of Longridge for Finnie) resulted in Accies snatching a much needed victory. The feeling of relief at full time will probably be the only lasting memory from a fairly uninspiring performance.
ReplyDelete