Temple Of Saints - Xmas Gift Time

Scottish Premier League - 23/12/2000

Saints 2 Well 3 League Table Here

Team: Main,Dods,Bollan,Weir,McCluskey,Sylla,Dasovic,Kane, Paddy,Parker,Pope
Subs: Cuthbert,Tommy,O'Neill,McCulloch,Russell

And they say that entertainment in Scottish football is dead? They should have been at McD today to see Saints turn Santa to gift 3 points to a Well side who were hardly in the game but still managed a 3-0 half-time lead. Mind you they were clinging on 3-2 at full-time after one of the most fired-up Saints performances I can remember in a long time.

With Le Mo back from suspension (dirtiest player in Scotland my arse) Marco dropped to the bench whilst Gary "Will I Stay or Will I Go" Bollan kept the left-back slot. On the bench though there was no place for JR with Tommy the Forgotten returning to favour.

From the start Saints went on the attack with Le Mo setting up Pope in the 4th minute only to see the midfielders curving shot go just wide. Then Bollan saw a long-range free-kick tipped wide by the Flying Turd (who somehow managed to become world-class for 90 minutes against us today). Saints had some pressure from corners but with BoBo taking them on the right we were left exposed at the back.

Yup you've guessed it Xmas Gift no 1 was dished up in the 6th minute when a BoBo corner was cleared and Spencer (or WeeShite to use his pedigree name) broke up the park. He could have passed or Weir could have tackled him but no he sees Main standing 5 miles off his line and sends a 35-yard lob over him into the top corner. Expect this to crop up in the goal of the month/season/anytime we turn on the telly. To our credit we didn't let our heads go down (well apart from Mr Generous in goal who proceeded to kick the ball to a Buckfast Quencher whenever he got the chance) and we kept on forcing corners. Unfortunately Cap'n Jim's headers from these were a bit like Lorenzos free kicks (i.e. happened a lot and kept missing the target).

Even when we did get on target like Paddy a few minutes later with a curving drive the Flying Turd was there to tip the ball wide. Le Mo saw a low drive go across the goalmouth, then Bollan (looking well off-form) chipped a free kick only for Weir to head the ball to the ground and see the rebound go over the bar. MoMo took a free kick on the left and Weir still managed to miss the target.

The half hour saw the ref get in on the act and Dods picked up a very soft yellow for a 50-50 challenge on a Well player infuriating the home fans after the ref waited to see if the Well players diving antics warranted a yellow.

The Buckfast Quenchers got back into the game a bit at this point and Saints weren't looking too hot at tackling. And with 5 minutes to go we were punished cruelly. A Well break on the right saw a long ball go over a stationary BoBos head for Townsely to run on to - he gets to the byeline about 2 miles in front of Bollan, squares the ball and Adams taps it in. Then after a couple of corners at the other end Well win one of their own - straight cross finds Townsley unmarked and Main stationary - 3-0 and the Xmas cheer goes out the window.

Of course tempers were short now and an Adams hack on Le Mo on the half-time mark saw the Saints player retaliate - up steps the ref and luckily realised it was handbags at dawn stuff - yellow card for both players. And credit where it's due, MoMo managed to keep his temper for the rest of the game despite coming in for some horrific challenges.

Second-half started evenly enough with only a Kane shot over the bar to show for any action. Then some nasty flying elbows from the Buckfast Boys saw Adams pick up a deserved 2nd yellow and red for elbowing Bollan. He walks and suddenly it's game on for Saints.

Le Mo had a shot go just wide before we came back into it. A Sylla corner on the left was flicked on by Cap'n Jim and found Kiegan at the back post to drill the ball home. Mind you we were still shocking in defence and a Bollan passback almost saw Well increase their lead. There's a definite case of McQ Syndrome about him just now.

The hour mark saw the Flying Turd make another great save from a Weir header then a Paddy shot from the rebound. St. Sandy actually went attack-minded at this point and put on Tommy the Forgotten for Dasovic (not at his worst but not what we need when attacking). Kiegan picked up a Tommy cross and his head flick was weak but even then was just missed by Le Mo. We again forced a series of corners but had a weak Kane shot to show for it.

With 15 minutes left though we were right back in it. A Well defender under pressure from Kiegan lost the ball on the left. It was picked up by Tommy who got into the box, sent a low shot goalwards and when the Flying Turd failed to hold onto it Le Mo slid in tap it home. From then on it was all Saints. Russell was brought on to replace the tired Paddy and whilst Pope and Kane both looked knackered we still made chances - Le Mo had a great run into the box at one point and beat 5 defenders only to see his weak shot saved. Darren Dods had the run of the right wing and spent most of his time playing like a right winger for the second half putting in a lot of running. Even in the 3rd minute of injury time the Flying Turd relied on his defence to prevent the equaliser as Kane and Weir both had shots blocked.

Unfortunately we still lost but I for one was proud of the way the team fought their way back into the game which we totally dominated. It was also good to hear the home support get behind the team until the final whistle - the boos at half time were replaced by cheers at the end.

MoM for me is hard to pick - Kiegan, MoMo, Pope and Kane all had good games but for me Dods typified the fight in the side in the 2nd half. It's a pity that his attitude towards the club isn't reflected on the other side of the park where Bollan was more of a liability than anything else today. If this continues it'll be hard to see how St Sandy will be able to justify continuing to play him week after week - look what happened last season with a certain right-back.

So we lost but if we show fight like this for the rest of the season we won't have too much to complain about.

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