Home and Away

Slightly unusual match on Saturday where we occupied the away dressing room (apparently) and most of our support was on the terrace. Official crowd was 511 but it looked like more from where I was sitting. As for the match itself, despite a few shaky moments, we ran out comfortable winners. The Shire started off well but faded big style and the 2nd half was reminiscent of seasons gone by where they did a favourable impression of a Pub Team. Things have improved on the pitch following the injection of some cash from their benfactor but without a home of their own, and relying on one man's generosity, I wonder just how long they have left. Once he gets bored where do they go? Will Spartans get their chance sooner rather than later? Stranraer are also in a perilous state, openly admitting that they screwed their finances up. It's a dicy business and I only hope our Board of Directors know what they are doing. Back on the plastic, Kevin Motion continues to rattle in the goals. Apart from his goals, his delivery from set pieces is fantastic. It always amazes me that "professional" footballers cannot hit a stationary ball more accurately than they do, but the reality is that a player who can hit a dead ball like Motion is a scarcity. In the old days of Terry Christie, one of his successful tactics was a player able to hit an vicious, inswinging corner (Adrian Sprott, Graeme Armstrong) to the near post where our striker would flick it on for an inrushing player at the back post. It was very effective but required a player who could accurately find that player at the near post. Motion seems able to strike a dead ball with that preciceness. Although having watched Stoke at the weekend, maybe we should just play for throw ins and rely on Ovenstone's long throws to create chances. We have seem to have so many options!

Stranger things have happened...

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, and readers will surely agree that it has been an odd time for football in general. Down south, for example, the final week of the transfer window turned into something of a silly season. Manchester City grabbed the headlines, of course, with their attempt to sign approximately 60% of the population of Europe on deadline day, though rumours of a last-ditch £50m bid for Kevin Motion proved to be unfounded. For me, though, the strangest goings-on were at Stoke City. I'm sure nobody was surprised to see a crowd of Manchester City supporters gathering outside their stadium when the Robinho signing was announced, but the sight of Stoke supporters doing the same for Danny Higginbotham - as broadcast live on Sky Sports News - was unquestionably a touch bizarrre.

Returning to more familiar circles, ex-Warrior Kenny Miller has been making headlines once again. Having achieved the unique feat of making himself equally unpopular with both halves of the Old Firm, last weekend saw him silence his critics amongst the Rangers support by doing what he does best - rising to the big occasion and socring goals. As the World Cup qualifiers approach, we can only hope that his rich vein of form continues: both Macedonia and Iceland are sides we should realistically be beating, but who nevertheless represent potential banana-skins. I'm especially looking forward to watching tomorrow's clash with Macedonia, or the 'Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,' as the intractable nature of Balkan politics obliges us to refer to them. One added incentive for the team is the very real possibility that two victories might take us ahead of England in the world rankings, for the first time ever: here's hoping!

The international break has, of course, fallen at a convenient time for the Warriors: our win over Cowdenbeath last week ensured that we would remain top of the league for at least two weeks. Such a disrpution to the rhythm of regular weekly matches is sometimes interpreted as a potential hazard for in-form teams, but as things stand just now, we have every reason to look forward with confidence to the resumption of league action on September 13.