Technical Difficulties

This evening I watched highlights of Saturday's draw with the Shire. How, you might ask, did I manage that, down here in deepest Cambridgeshire? At this point I must confess that, so strong was my desire to catch some footage, I couldn't resist signing up for 'Shire TV' (only a free trial period, you understand...). The opportunity to watch the highlights was, of course, much appreciated, but it quickly became evident that Shire TV differs from other broadcasters in a number of ways.

For one thing, John Dempster's opener is not shown, due to so-called 'technical difficulties'. Fair enough, I thought at the time - maybe it's just our bad luck that it was the Stenny goal, rather than Joe Savage's equaliser, that they missed. Subsequently, though, it began to seem as if the camera only ever pointed at the end Shire were attacking. Don't say it too loud, but it's almost as if they don't like Stenny all that much.

To be fair to the good people at Shire TV, I should clarify that they are providing an excellent service for their supporters, and I don't actually suspect them of fabricating their 'technical difficulties'. It would just have made a better story if they did. In reality, they even showed a couple of Stenny attacks, so I shouldn't complain. Especially since, in previous weeks, two attacks per match was about as much as we were getting anyway.

In all seriousness, though, on the basis of the little that I did see, our defence looks strong and well-organised, which certianly has not always been the case this season. The majority of the highlights consisted of Stenny defending crosses, and the marking was first-rate. Ally Brown, moreover, made a couple of excellent saves, and it will be interesting to see whether he keeps the gloves once Hillcoat is fit again.

Next week, of course, the Warriors have a break, and attention switches to the Scotland v Italy match. My recent experience of living in Italy has, if anything, strengthened my desire to see a Scotland victory on Saturday, and I'm looking forward to the match with my customary optimism. A victory, and qualification for Euro 2008 from a seemingly impossible group, would surely represent the greates achievement in our footballing history. Here's hoping glorious failure is a thing of the past.