Tough at the top

After a tricky run of games at the start of the 2nd quarter it is very encouraging to see us having preserved our 5 point lead. Given that we still have to face the teams at the lower end of the league, to go into those games still at the top of the league is a huge boost, particularly given the injury and suspension problems we have had to deal with. For a variety of reasons I have only managed to get to the Dumbarton match out of the last 4. While this wasn’t necessarily a great match it was quite thrilling. Before the match I would probably have taken a point, but five minutes in, and down to 10 men I feared the worst. Of course I hadn’t reckoned on the headcase playing left back for Dumbarton who got Dumbarton back on level terms so to speak. As for the match itself, Dumbarton despite their good press (admittedly, written by their own fans!) were something of a disappointment. In Stevie Murray they have one of the best players in the league – certainly the most creative – but for me they didn’t threaten us enough and in the end it took an unfortunate deflection for them to grab a point. This was the first goal Scott Bennett had lost since coming in to the team. From what I have heard, and what I have seen, he is a huge improvement. The simple fact he comes off his line means that my heart is not in my mouth any time we face up to a set piece. Whether he is the long term answer remains to be seen (I see that David Hay at Cowdenbeath has lost his spot in the team…) Saturday will be interesting as ever. Could be the biggest attendance at one our local derbies for a long time. Thankfully for the credibility of the league The Shire are a different proposition this season and they are no longer the laughing stock of Scottish Football, a mantle it looks like Berwick are doing their best to collect. They (The Shire that is) have some decent players, but I don’t think any of them would get in to our team, so we really should be confident enough going in to the match. Hopefully some of the injury worries will have cleared up, although those players that have come in to the team have been performing exceptionally (Gary Thom in particular has been outstanding to the extent that I would pick him ahead of Jordan Smith now). Exciting times.