Saints 1 Sheep 1 League Table Here
Team: Main, Dods, Flash, Dasovic, Weir, Kemble, Wacko,
Murray, Paddy, Falconer, Kane
Subs Cuthbert, McCluskey, BigMac, Kiegan, Pope
Yippee we got a point. And another goal. But if anything this was a worse performance than last week and despite Sandy looking like surviving it's pretty obvious that he's on borrowed time with the fans and at half-time most of us had him dead and buried.
With Tommy missing thanks to a groin strain and JR vanished into obscurity there were changes. Paddy was promoted to the starting line-up whilst Kiegan came onto the bench and Dods came into the side as Saints went for a 5-3-2 formation. Yet again there was no place for the Belly.
As expected the start was more than a bit jittery with Saints defending far too deeply and a midfield unable to string more than two passes together without giving the ball away with Kane one of the worst culprits. We had one early cross after Wacko sent a neat ball to the left for Flash to send over but the Sheep easily crowded us out up front. The game was pretty poor and not helped by Dougie MacDonalds inability to play the advantage rule or let any challenge involving bodily contact to take place without giving a foul. And with Saints fired up it was us on the receiving end of most of the decisions.
Ten minutes gone and the suicidal defending of last week reared it's head once more. Main held a long-range shot fairly comfortably but then threw the ball to Kane. He took far too long to make his mind up what to do and was crowded out and dispossessed by 4 Sheep players. A ball to the left a short pass and the ball was in the net - luckily it was disallowed for offside. At the other end Wacko had a free kick on the edge of the box which was well saved but there was little else to give us hope.
With 20 minutes gone though we went behind. Flash gave away a soft corner and from that McGuire got a header which looked to be deflected into the net. Then we had the usual period of Saints playing like amateurs. Kane hit a free kick which was deflected and the Dons broke up the park - luckily for us Dasovic put in an excellent block to prevent the 2nd goal.
The game was getting nastier - McGuire picked up the first yellow (and could have arguably been a red) for fouling Paddy on the edge of the box - the free kick was wasted though. Then Darren Young (of the Psycho Young Brothers) joined him in the book closely followed by Dasovic and Wacko. The fans were giving the team deserved pelters and Kane received the worst after giving the ball away 3 or 4 times and generally struggling with the pace on the right side of midfield.
Half-time (and plenty of boos for the team as they left the park) saw Kane replaced by Kiegan as Saints tried to get back into the game. And within a minute he'd won a corner on the right for us. Wacko sent a lovely ball into the box and up rose Cap'n Jim to head the ball down and into the net. 1-1 and you could feel the gloom lift from the home fans. The fouls were still going in with Wacko taking the worst although it had to be expected since he was about our only creative player in midfield.
With 10 minutes gone in the half a lovely move saw Flash send the ball past the Sheep defence to Kiegan running up the left. He sent a lovely cross into the box and Free Willie rose to head it home only for the goal to be chalked off for offside. Flash and Murray were pushing forward more but the game wasn't being allowed to flow thanks to the ref. Bisconti was the next booking for a bad foul on Kiegan (one of about a million that happened in the 2nd half) then with 25 minutes left, Weir was replaced by Chopper after picking up a knock. We were still defending too deeply but holding out.
The Sheep were getting desperate and on came Zero the Diver for the last 20 minutes and within a minute he showed his true Saints loyalty. After winning a free kick on the edge of the box (very soft) he smashed the ball against Wacko's face in the box. Another sheep sent the rebound goalwards and after Main dropped the ball Zero was the first to react and from 3 yards out....he totally blasted the ball miles over the bar. Straight away we broke up the park and Kiegan chipped the Dons keeper and put the ball into the net - of course it was chalked off. The game was end-to-end and after Main made another good save, Kiegan broke up the park on the right, sent a neat cross across the goal. Free Willie rose to head it back into the goalmouth and Wacko attempted an overhead kick only to take a knock to the back in the process.
The last 10 minutes were just as hectic. Kiegan won a free kick on the edge of the box but there was no joy from Wacko's effort. Then another foul on Parker saw McAllister go into the book. We got the free kick that time but a minute later a similar offence saw no foul. Aberdeen broke up the park and Kemble clashed with Dadi (a bulky striker that makes Sutton look fair). The Sheep landed on the deck and MacDonald pointed to the spot. Up steps Zero and sends the ball wide of the post - cue for the strange sight of most of the East Stand worshipping the Moroccan and singing his praises - a true Saintee.
The Sheep upped the pressure and some poor Saints defending saw them win a series of corners with the marking of Dadi making it look an almost certainty that we'd lose a 2nd goal. But we held on and managed a few more attacks (with Pope involved after coming on for Paddy for the last 5 minutes) but had nothing to show for it except a booking for Kiegan in injury time.
We got a point which was well deserved but whilst the defence looked a bit more solid (with Weir putting in a decent game) the midfield was dire. Kane was very slow and Dasovic didn't appear to be much better. MoM for me was Wacko again - ran his arse off for the 90 plus minutes and was at the heart of most of our creativity. We badly need some bite in the midfield though. Up front Falconer had a decent game but Paddy didn't look too great. Kiegan was like the youngster of last season when he came on although his reputation preceded him otherwise we'd have gotten a lot more in the way of decisions.
There's 2 weeks until the next game - it's safe to say Sandy's position didn't get any worse - but it didn't get any better either.
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
| Celtic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| Hearts | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 9 |
| Rangers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 8 |
| Dundee United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Dundee | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Dunfermline | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
| Livingston | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Hibs | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Kilmarnock | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Aberdeen | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Motherwell | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| Saints | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
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