Last minute madness

It is, of course, never over until the fat lady sings. On the stroke of full time, one moment of inspiration can be enough to win a match; by the same token, last minute lapses of concentration often prove costly. Yet this season, Stenny seem to have been affected by last minute madness even more than usual. The last two weeks provide two examples, with opposing outcomes. Thanks to Elgin's last-minute equaliser at Ochilview on Saturday, we have now gone five home games without a win (though admittedly losing only once during that spell). And whilst the more pedantic reader will point out that our winner against the Shire came on 86 minutes, it's still symptomatic of the same thing. These are far from the only examples: almost without exception, the same thing always seems to happen against Albion Rovers. This last-minute syndrome reminds me of the football I was watching last year, when I was living in Italy. Such things are weekly occurrances in Serie A. My 'local' side, Siena, secured their league status with a late winner over Lazio in the last game of last season; early on this season, meanwhile, Milan were the visitors, and the fates were reversed - it took a last-minute equaliser from Alessandro Nesta (of all people) to salvage a point for the European Champions. Cynics would suggest that this is indicative of match-fixing, but whilst corruption undoubtedly plays a part in Italian football, it cannot possibly account for last-minute action on a weekly basis. The real reason, I would suggest, lies in the defensive nature of the game in Italy: most sides are content to sit back for 80 minutes before finally trying to win the match in the remaining 10. Back in the SFL, of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Whilst many lament the supposedly lower quality of our national league, the pace and physical element to the game puts other countries to shame. As the team head for Arbroath on Saturday, they will be under no illusions about the task ahead. Arbroath are a quality side, but their slip-up in midweek has given us a golden opportunity to draw level with them in the play-off race. Let's hope, then, that any last-gasp goals are in our favour!