Saints 0 Scumdee 0 League Table Here
Team:
Main,Sylla,Blaster,Dods,Kernaghan,Dasovic,Tommy,Kane,Jones, Pope,Hartley
Subs: Robertson,Parker,Russell,McCulloch,Malcolm
Can someone please explain to me why it is that just when we think we have one area of the side sorted and we can start concentrating on another it all falls to pieces again? With everyone concerned about the midfield, today saw the strikers decide to blow it all with some woeful finishing. And while it wasn't all their fault (or rather Jones since for long periods he seemed to be up there on his own) and the midfield was still pretty poor, yet again this has to be looked on as points dropped. And they're starting to add up.
As promised changes were made to the Saints side with Tommy and Pope coming in instead of Kiegan and McCulloch, whilst Dods moved to the centre of defence in place of the suspended Weir. The Coagy Mafia put 11 players on the park - well actually 10 and one Neanderthal throwback called Callabero who makes Kane look attractive.
With the usual half-empty home stands (Christ even the Scumdee fans outsang us for long periods today), the game got under way. And it wasn't long before the fact that this was a derby match reared it's head. As early as the 2nd minute Blaster had a long range shot go over whilst at the other end MoMo was even more unpredictable with a passback across goal which nearly went into the net. Now Dundee have had some bad publicity concerning the attitudes and professionalism of their players. And guess what - it's more than deserved. It wasn't long before the little shoves and dives were taking place and it was to the ref's credit that he didn't award the free kicks whilst Neanderthal Man was rolling about the park. And Saints even began to show some fight with Cartman shouting the odds and Blaster and Nick getting more than a bit fired up with the tackles going in heavily.
Unfortunately the enthusiasm wasn't matched up with any real ability or skill. Pope in the attacking midfield role may have an abundance of talent but I'm afraid that today he yet again looked far too slow and going by his body language he couldn't care less. We may not have the best players in the world but if a player doesn't give 100% on the park he can't complain when the boo-boys start on him. Pope today was like Chief at his worst and the sad part is that he has the ability but not the hunger. Kane and Dasovic were playing well in midfield and despite a lack of punch from the wingers (Tommy still needs to get forward more) Jones had some good touches. Defensively we were a lot better than I expected especially against a fast flowing Scumdee team who look a lot better than last season. MoMo was caught a couple of times and some of the passing was slack but the Saints right-back still managed one blistering run the length of the park.
Our first real shot on target came after 25 minutes. A JR free kick on the left was met by Dasovic at the back post only for him to see his low drive saved by Scabby Rab. The rebound came to Jonesy 10 yards out and his well hit shot was cleared off the line by McSkimming. Saints we piling on some pressure now and the Scumdee defence looked panicky in places. Jones picked up a cross on the left side of the box and saw Scabby Rab pull off a good save from his narrow-angled shot. Jonesy was then brought down in the box and although it looked like a penalty it would have been a soft one. But the main problem yet again was the lack of support we were getting from midfield with too many Saints players content to sit back and not press forward to support the wingers. Time and again Tommy had a run on the left only to be surrounded by 3 or 4 Mafiosi and no one to pass to.
2nd half saw Tommy taken off and replaced by Russell on the left. Why it wasn't the ineffective Pope removed to allow Russell to play through the middle beats me but perhaps St Sandy sees some ability in Pope. Unfortunately the 2nd half started with Saints on the defensive and Scumdee getting a couple of corners with Main looking sharp to punch the ball clear.
5 minutes later and Underhill finally took some action on the fouling that was taking place. Neanderthal Man hacked down Blaster on the halfway line and was yellow-carded despite his grunts of protest. Meanwhile Bonetti was getting away with all sorts of fouls although one evil look from MoMo seemed to calm him down a bit.
Saints were still having some good attacks and a Dasovic ball eventually landed at Pope on the edge of the Scumdee box and between 2 defenders. But the Saints player decided to pass instead of taking a shot and the attack broke down. It looked like a total lack of confidence to me. Then Jones had a good break but elected to send a long-range shot wide when it would have been simpler to pass the ball to Russell on his left who was in acres of space.
Pope was taken off and replaced by Kiegan in 65 minutes and the difference to the Saints attack was like night and day with the teenager causing all sorts of problems. Within a couple of minutes he'd broken down the right, cut into the box past the Scumdee defence only to see his shot tipped over the bar. Then a few minutes later he won the ball and sent Jones through 1 on 1 with the keeper only to see Goalden shoot straight at the Scabby One. Jones also saw his head flick to Russell end up with the ball blasting over the bar when it might have been easier to score.
The last 10 minutes was good end-to-end action. Scumdee should have been down to 10 men with 5 minutes left as Kiegan was brought down by Tweed (?) on the edge of the box. The player was plainly the last man and it just shows the inconsistencies that Weir was red-carded for a similar offence last week. Of course the resulting free-kick saw Blasters effort blocked. Finally in the last minute Parker again broke through and was 1 on 1 with Scabby only to see his shot saved. Perhaps the Saints coaching staff, if they're looking for something to do this week might like to consider getting the strikers to practice 1 on 1s? That's 3 goals it cost us today.
So another draw and although the performance was much improved there are plainly too many players lacking the extra effort to get us a win. MoM had to be Nick Dasovic who rant the length of the park today putting in tackles all over the place. Kane too did well but as an attacking force our midfield was non-existent. Russell's 2nd half performance makes him look ideal for the hole.
As for them - they're a pretty good team now. Still cheats though and if anything they smell even worse.
This Match Report is copyright Temple Of Saints - not to be reused without permission. Contact webmaster@grange.demon.co.uk.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
| Hibs | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| Celtic | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 18 |
| Rangers | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 13 |
| Kilmarnock | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 13 |
| Dundee | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Saints | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Dunfermline | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 8 |
| Hearts | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Aberdeen | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Motherwell | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 5 |
| St. Mirren | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Dundee United | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
Remember to vote on todays ref John Underhill send marks out of 10 to refvote@grange.demon.co.uk or just select a rating and press the button below ::