Temple Of Saints - Nothing Spectacular

Bells League Division One 29/12/2007

Clyde 1 Saints 3 League Table Here

Team : Main, Irvine, Stanic, Lawrie, Rustybitz, McManus, Moon, Daal, Jackson, Peaso, Craig
Subs: Cuthbert, Anderson, Savo, Sheerin, Weatherston

With December yielding it's usual dip in form for Saints, albeit slightly brightened by the win over Livi last week, the last game of the month took us into the second-half of what is turning out to be a rank rotten league campaign. And with the weather absolute pish the Saints fans were expected to endure another trip to a frozen barren wasteland with Broadwood set to rival Forthbank in the wintry setting stakes. Added to that there was a real danger or hypothermia since after the Boxing Day snorefest at Stirling, there was not way we'd be ably to rely on the body heat of 800-plus travelling fans to get us through the game - mind you Clyde were really laying out the red carpet as the Saints support was once more shoved into one end of the main stand with only one turnstile working and bugger all room, never mind the wonderfully hospitable stewards. And the way things were going it was difficult to see how we'd generate any additional heat from cheering a wonderful display, especially after Forthbank saw us revert back to the old punt'n'chase game that has served us oh so poorly throughout the season. There was little to get really excited about pre-match - the prospect of some dodgy refereeing and the sort of red card that creeps up with total inevitability in games at Clyde's ground wasn't even that appealing. The Bully Wee had been on a good run of late with six games unbeaten and hopeful of dragging themselves out of the bottom trio of the table. We were just hopeful of keeping in touch with the leaders and with the Scumdee derby beckoning in 4 days, it was vital that we got back to our winning ways and demonstrated that we had the character and fight to try and grind out the badly-needed morale-boosting win. Mind you with only one away win all season it's fair to say that hopes were not what you'd call "high".

So it was though that not only was there more than one goal but for a change Saints managed to get a wee bit of luck in grinding out the win with Clyde finishing the game with ten men following some poor challenges and referee Brines even awarding us a penalty. Still though there are big questions about the abilities of this side. Yet again Main was easily beaten for their goal and the defence at times looked about as shaky as we've seen all season. Too many loose balls, too little movement off the ball and almost as worrying a tendency for certain players in yellow to blame the referee and whine at everything rather than just get on with the bloody game (yes Peaso I mean you). But on the plus side we also saw Mooner finally given his chance which he took brilliantly and hopefully a few more options for a frustrated Derek McInnes going into the January derby.

With Del hoping to field an unchanged side once more (not that there were many who still agreed with his selection), there were doubts over Savo and Rocco going into this game after knocks picked up in the Stirling game, with the latter the biggest worry after he twisted his ankle midweek. It was also set to be the last chance to see Rocco in this loan spell although the hope was still there that the deal would be made permanent - John Stewart having already faded back into obscurity in Yogi's bad books. While there were no other changes to the squad, Del had promised to shake things up (either that or else he'd used the red-hot poker treatment after Forthbank). Saints lined up with Rocco missing and while Mooner was a direct replacement for him the manager wasn't finished tinkering with the side. Down to the bench went Ando, replaced by Rustybitz, Savo with Daal getting a start and Sheerin with Irvine moving up to midfield and Lawrie starting at right-back. And in case we needed another lucky talisman to see us through there was the sight of Tommy Lovenkrands in the hospitality box behind the Saints fans.

Saints got off to a reasonable start without really threatening while the home players also seemed to be suffering from a bout of lethargy. But Dyron Daal was doing his best now he'd been given a chance and in the 5th minute, Jacko fed the ball through for Daal and he got to the byeline before a low cutback was put behind for a corner. Craig sent that over and Daal flicked it on at the near post only for a defender to clear it out of the six-yard box. We seemed to be coping well given the poor playing surface and the changes to the team with Moon and Craig doing a ton of work in midfield and the defence avoiding the temptation of just hoofing the ball up the park at every opportunity. Mooner managed to get a shot in on target in the seventh minute but it was blocked in the box following a freekick. But we were caught out a minute later when Arbuckle of all people managed to easily outpace McManus down the left touchline (worrying on it's own) but thankfully Rustybitz was there to clear the ball off the line. The ball came to Mooner and he sent a beautiful long ball cross field for Peaso to run onto. The striker took the ball forward but elected to try his luck from the edge of the box and sent the shot over the bar. Jacko was next to try his luck running through onto a long ball but the keeper came out to gather.

So everything looking all fine and dandy? Well so you'd think but of course this is Saints and we also have the need to screw things up in spectacular style. Step forward Mr Alan Main. In fact stepping forward was indeed his problem especially with 15 minute gone as Bradley picked up a simple ball on the left. With no challenge from Lawrie or his fellow defenders, the Clyde player decided to look up and spotted a certain goalkeeper off his line. One simple deep cross from the touchline later and the ball was flying over the Saints keeper and under the bar into the net. The phrase "bloody typical" was indeed muttered by more than a few of the Saints support. I mean Broadwood is a crap ground at the best of times and we never usually play well there but when you're keeper gets caught out like that you have to wonder why we bother.

Still, it was too early to head home so we sat back to watch Saints try and get back into the game. Irvine tried his luck a couple of minute later with a low drive that went well wide. A minute later and from a throw-in on the right the ball was played into Jacko and he got the break of the ball when it came off a defender and tried a chip which went over the bar. But with 20 minutes gone, Jacko was fouled again on the right wing. The freekick was floated into the box where it was knocked on to the other flank. Dyron Daal was there to send it back in where Jacko got up to head the ball down past Hutton with Moon close to getting the final touch to draw us level.

We barely deserved it though but at least the goal helped to fire us up. Dyron had been pretty effective up front but his challenges were physical to say the least and one late challenge in the 25th minute finally earned him a ticking off from referee Brines. The Saints defence meanwhile didn't seem to know what a challenge was with McManus missing another vital tackle on the wing in the 26th minute which allowed another dangerous cross to be played into the box that Irvine did well to get back and clear from the six-yard box. Saints managed to turn defence into attack though and two minutes after that we broke well down the inside left and Craig played a lovely one-two with Peaso to break into the box where Liam was caught from behind. Brines didn't hesitate in awarding the penalty, but with Sheerin warming the dugout, it was left to Peaso to do the honours. He took the kick well but Hutton got down to his right to save. He couldn't hold onto the ball though and Peaso was there to follow-up and make it 2-1. At least it gave Sheerin a laugh as he warmed up in front of the Saints fans.

That should have seen us relax a bit but instead we had to endure watching Clyde press forward and a Saints defence unable to clear their lines with one attempt resembling a bad case of human pinball at times. The game was fairly end-to-end and with all sorts of challenges going in it (and Clyde involved in the match), it was only a matter of time before the referee started to reach for his pocket with Dyron the first name in the book in the 37th minute for a soft foul. A minute later Mooner was guilty of a foul on Weeble Wilson. The freekick was floated into the box and headed behind with Main again posted missing. Back up the other end of the park Craig had a good cutback held by the keeper and with four minutes to go Mooner did well to win a loose ball in midfield before playing it long for Jacko who ran between two defenders only to end up pulling his shot wide of goal when it seemed easier to score.

Weeble Wilson was next in the book for a pretty innocuous high challenge which was going to become an expensive booking later on, while the half finished with Clyde pressing only for Lawrie to clear and find Daal who got forward but the keeper came out to gather at his feet. Still it was nice to see the players go off at half-time without too many boos.

Clyde made a half-time substitution but they also seemed to have swapped referees for a Clyde-biased stand-in as the early stages of the second-half seemed to do nothing more than award freekicks against Saints players. McManus was the first victim within a minute of the restart and McGowan's freekick rounded the wall only to be well tipped over by Main. The short corner caught us napping at the same time only to end up with a shot being played across the goal with no takes for Clyde and nobody there to clear for Saints. Irvine conceded the next freekick with the ball only half-cleared by a Rustybitz header only for a runner to pick it up, round the defence and shoot over the bar. Peaso and Jacko conceded daft freekicks but the game in general had become another turgid scrappy affair typical of most of the Broadwood encounters from the past.

With the scrappy play came the scrappy challenges. Jacko went down in the 54th minute with a head injury that earned the wrath of the home fans while two minutes later it was Craig who ended up on the deck in the box, something which seemed to get goalkeeper Hutton more than a tad pissed off. Either way, the Saints player had to leave the park with blood pouring from a cut. With him off, though Clyde tried to make the extra man count and won a corner on the hour mark thanks to Rusty. That was cleared and with no one up the park, it was left to the Mooner to take the ball for a run. This he duly did, well up to the halfway line at least before Weeble Wilson came over to up-end him. We got the freekick and the Clyde midfielder got a second booking for his trouble - still at least it would let him finish off the pies.

Daal was next to pick up an injury after catching his foot but in general the game was poor and Saints were struggling to dominate, even with the extra man advantage. That was summed up in the 65th minute when a long ball down the right wing got behind the Bully Wee defence and found Irvine who sent a great ball across into the box that beat the keeper. With Daal in unmarked behind him he should have scored but his outstretched foot was an inch too slow while even worse was Peaso at the back post who also failed to make contact with the ball. You began to get the feeling this wasn't going to turn into the sexy second-half we saw against Livi a week ago - and neither did the manager the way he kicked the water bottle onto the pitch. Peaso tried a cross a minute later that Hutton punched clear while Clyde broke straight up the park only to be called back for offside (a real lucky escape). Craig picked up a booking next for a clumsy foul to keep up his average of one a game in the last few weeks. With twenty minutes left we had another good chance to increase our lead when Jacko sent a cross in from the right that Peaso managed to miss. The ball broke to Kevin Moon at the edge of the box and he played it back to Peaso who tried to turn and shoot but ended up sending the ball straight at the keeper.

With Clyde pressing and not looking like they were a man down, Del rung the changes as Daal and Jacko were withdrawn and Savo and Sheerin came on with Saints moving to a 4-4-2 formation. But it was the home side that almost scored a couple of minutes later when a simple long freeking into the Saints box reached McManus. He played a backwards header for his keeper but as usual things were too slow and Main only just got the ball ahead of a Clyde attacker. Another cross just after that saw Main miss the ball and Lawrie caught at the other post with the final cross only just headed clear by Goran (who was having a much better game today). Peaso and Moon had crosses cleared while Main had to look sharp to punch a cross clear himself. Then with six minutes remaining a long ball found Peaso well offside. With no flag, he bore down on Hutton in goal one-on-one and tried to round him to finish only for the keeper to grab with Peaso picking up a booking for challenging the keeper as he was on the deck. That could have been costly with the Saints striker doing a blatant dive worthy of a Scumdee cheat a minute later - luckily for him the referee decided not to punish him further but the Saints support were certainly not slow in telling him what they thought of his antics.

Lawrie was the next in the book for a daft foul on the right and again when the freekick came in Main was missing and it was Goran that cleared the danger. Saints were beginning to relax slightly though and the next attack in the 87th minute saw a great Craig ball played in from the left. Moon and Peaso both failed to win the ball and it broke to Sheerin who fired in a majestic volley that blootered towards goal only to go wide at the last minute. But we weren't finished yet and another break two minutes later saw Craig again send a cross in for Savo. He couldn't make the shot and the ball broke to the far post. But while Clyde were trying to clear it, Moon broke in and won the ball on the deck. He recovered, took it into the box and while we waited on the cutback, went for a low angled shot that rocketed past Hutton into the bottom corner to make it 3-1. Even then Clyde still had a break and when Rustybitz only half-cleared the ball Arbuckly was there - he lived up to his standards though and sent the ball wide.

That was it apart from Hutton throwing a tantrum at full-time with Craig along with a wee gesture to the Saints fans as he headed up the tunnel. Such a class act. Overall it wasn't the best performance we'll see all season and certainly isn't reflected in the scoreline. Defensively we were still all over the place and why Irvine was moved to midfield when Lawrie might have been a better bet beats me. Dyron Daal had a decent enough game but badly lacks confidence while Craig is still a bit too hot-headed for my liking although him and my MoM Kevin Moon did well to control the midfield. Moon's passing, tackling and the finish for the goal were all outstanding.

If nothing else though it does set us up nicely for the Dundee game.

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