Temple Of Saints - Not Pretty

Bells League Division One 08/04/2006

Brechin 0 Saints 2 League Table Here

Team : Glennon, Ryan, Goran, Mensing, Rustybitz, James, Hardie, Sheridan, Savo, Scotland, Sheerinho
Subs : Cat, Oweny, Winter, Henry, Dyer

Ah quaint ole Brechin. Unfortunately no longer home to Ian 'n' Bert but new boss Michael O'Neill was put to spoil things for his former employers today and try to salvage some pride for his Glebe Park side that going into the game were all but consigned to Division Two. Come full-time though and they were relegated but Saints three points felt like a defeat in a muted post-match atmosphere as the result filtered through from Dingwall - mind you, the performance from a tired-looking Saints side in the second-half didn't exactly get the pulse racing.

Last weekend's hard-fought victory over Stranraer had come at a hefty price for Saints with Goran and Pamela apparently ruled out, while Dazza was at least only rated extremely doubtful pre-match and Ryan injuring his ankle in training. As it was, only Pamela missed out but it didn't prevent Oweny tweaking the formation. Henry dropped to the bench with Mad Mental Martin taking over in the middle of the park allowing Savo to start up front. Willie Dyer had to settle for a place on the bench.

Saints started the hungrier side against a Brechin team which in all honesty looked to have given up. As early as the second minute Ryan got onto the end of a James header but shot over. Savo forced an early corner which was cleared too easily before a sixth minute run from Goran ended with the ball being fed into Sheerinho but Nelson comfortably held his shot. A minute later we had our best chance. Kevin James was fouled on the edge of the box. Dazza's freekick beat the wall but took a deflection and fell kindly for Savo. Unfortunately instead of going for the simple header into an almost empty net he tried to place the ball and only succeeded in scooping it over the bar.

There's no doubt that we were well in control of the game and dictating the play, but there was still an air of nervousness about Saints. Darren released Savo on a good run in the 12th minute but an excellent tackle in the box prevented him getting a shot in. Four minutes later though and he went one better after latching onto a long ball and firing in a low angled shot but Nelson reacted well to block it.

We were well in control and playing some good stuff with the Wizard of the Wing in Sheerinho on top form. He was at the heart of the build-up in the 18th minute for our opening goal. Some brilliant ballcontrol from him in midfield set him up for a low shot which Nelson could only parry. The ball fell at the feet of Savo and he made no mistake to stick the ball in the net and make it 1-0.

Brechin hit back with a corner which we cleared. And three minutes after the opener, Saints doubled their lead. Some persistence from Hardie in midfield won possession. He set up Jason for a run who in turn spread the ball wide to Sheerinho. His cross was too long but found Ryan at the back post who cut the ball for Jason just inside the box and his low shot bulleted past the keeper to make it 2-0. Time for the large travelling support to relax a bit.

The game died down a bit after that with City unable to do much to threaten Glennon's goal other than from a shot on the half-hour mark that was still fairly wide. For Saints, we forced a few corners but along with plenty of offsides against us failed to capitalise on our advantage. Still we were playing some good stuff with Sheridan and Hardie combining well in the middle of the park and, despite the abuse aimed at him Jason was linking well with Savo up front (as witnessed by the number of fouls on the pair from the Brechin defence). In terms of chances there was little to write home about as the first half drew to a close. A Stevenson cross in the 32nd minute was headed wide by James and Sheerinho missed a simple header five minutes after that.

But with six minutes remaining, Stanic had the best chance with a cracking long-range shot that the keeper did well to tip over the bar. Jason created room for a shot from the resulting corner but his attempt went wide of target. The first forty-five ended with a rare Brechin attempt with Matt having to react quickly to hold a low cutback.

After the half-time talk, it was again Saints that started the brighter. Within a minute of the restart, Jason played a lovely weighted through ball for Savo who got past the offside trap but pulled his shot wide. A couple of minutes after that and some good play saw Ryan and Jason link up well on the right before the ball was laid back to Mad Mental Martin at the edge of the area. He tried a neat chip shot that forced Nelson to tip the ball out for a corner that Rustybitz headed wide. The same players were involved in a similar attacking move just after that. This time Scotland set up Ryan who in turn squared the ball to Hardie with Nelson again tipping his shot round his left-hand post, with the follow-up corner wasted.

Unfortunately after that, Saints seemed to lose their sharpness and edge. At the same time, Winter came on for Sheridan but overall the team began to make daft mistakes and sit back too much. We did almost score a 3rd before that though. Ryan hit a decent angled shot that was deflected out for a corner. From it the ball wasn't completely cleared and fell to Rustybitz but his effort came off the crossbar. Two minutes later and a brilliant pass from Savo up the wing found Jason in plenty of room. He broke through and sent a great square ball over for the unmarked Sheerinho but he completely failed to control the ball - it was becoming that sort of afternoon.

Sheerin had another shot deflected out for a corner with Winter firing the cutback over the bar. But for the most part, the game had become pretty flat with Saints showing little creativity but while Brechin were as bad, if not worse there was a nagging doubt that we'd blow the points - especially after James conceded a daft freekick on the edge of the area. The ball was blocked by the wall but it still required Sheerinho to hoof it clear. By the closing stages both teams knew that the points were in the bag. Mad Mental Martin had another shot go wide after he got on the end of a James header. Brechin had a half-hearted freekick but again Glennon dealt with it comfortably punching the ball clear. There were plenty of tired legs though and the last eight minutes or so saw Owen on for Savo and Henry replace Sheerinho.

It was in the end a workmanlike win over a side who had pretty much given up before a ball was kicked. The second half felt like an end of season game with possibly the lack of good news from the crowd not helping give Saints the urgency of a week ago. On the plus side, the defence was as solid as ever and Savo, my MoM was back to his best, full of running and forming a decent partnership with Jason.

And at least the title race goes on another week!

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