Arbroath 2 Saints 3
Team: Main, Lawrie, Goran, Moon, McManus, Pamela,
McCluskey, Hardie, Peaso, Daal, Sheerin
Subs: Cuthbert, Dyer, Jackson, Doris, Weatherston
Trophies haven't been that prolific in the long history of Saints. And while the Forfarshire Cup isn't exactly the sort of silverware that attracts the Platinis of the world to Gayfield, it is a bloody trophy and by moving the final from the end of last season to the sunny (aye right) summer season in Arbroath it also meant that Saints were going to put a pretty strong side out as we began the pre-season campaign in earnest. All that and even the new strips had managed to find their way to the shops already meant a good crowd was set to head for the coast. And although it was almost a close thing in the end, Saints at times showed that they'd managed to improve even more on the performances last season with some of the younger players looking more than capable of holding down a starting place for the coming campaign. Of course there were weak points with both discipline and some of our defensive capabilities called into question at times but there is a lot to look forward to based on the ninety minutes we witnessed at Gayfield.
There were still plenty of niggly injuries hanging over from the tail end of last season with both Savo and Rustybitz still behind on their recovery path (although the former was getting in a shift with a pushchair). Kevin James also missed out while McLaren was missing and most of the younger players were competing in a youth tournament in Oban. But it did mean that the new signings with Daal, McCluskey and Weatherston as well as a certain veteran keeper were going to get a chance to show their skills in front of the dedicated faithful.
The game itself started with Saints looking shaky as Arbroath pressed with the wind behind them (and being Gayfield the wind was more than noticable). Mooner had an early attempt easily held while the Mad Mental One decided to carry on where he left off last season with a heavy fourth minute challenge (with a hint of a follow-up stamp) which he was lucky to escape punishment for. Our first chance came a minute later with a Dyron header going wide, while Arbroath came closest to opening the scoring in the sixth minute. A cross from the left was missed completely by Andy Lawrie but ended up with a sclaff shot which went across the goal mouth and eventually cleared by Goran. Saints were looking good in midfield and as the half wore on the play improved with Jamie McCluskey (henceforth known as Jinky) showing some outstanding close control on the ball while Kevin Moon seems to have matured a lot over the last year and looked a lot more confident going forward. The pair combined in the tenth minute to set up Daal with a good through ball but he lost control (and not for the first time seemed to trip up over his own feet in a style more reminiscent of Vinny Arkins).
A minute later Daal turned provider as he got onto the end of a long ball from McManus and squared it nicely for Peaso but the final shot was a weak one. The roles were reversed next as Peaso sent a good ball through the middle for Daal but the keeper managed to come out and gather. Saints were starting to dominate the proceedings but Arbroath had the best chance of the game so far a minute later with a good break down the right ending up in a cross for a free header which went just wide of Main's goal with the keeper nowhere. That didn't stop him letting his defence know what he thought of their marking skills though. Daal had a foul wrongly ruled against him in the 20th minute and the Dutchman didn't take too kindly to the referee's decision. Unfortunately he kept on telling the referee what he thought and ended up picking up a yellow card for dissent - something he'll have to watch especially as the next few minutes saw him caught up in some borderline challenges as the Arbroath players seemed to be angling for a red card.
He should have earned us a penalty but as that was turned down Arbroath broke up the park and after Main failed to hold a shot it was again left to Goran to clear the danger. Peaso hit a freekick over the wall and straight at the keeper in the 24th minute but that didn't matter as within 60 seconds we'd broken the deadlock. A simple ball into the box found Dyron in space and he made no mistake from 8 yards out. That seemed to settle us and we began to play some neat football as Arbroath lost their shape a bit with their goalie especially looking more and more nervous. Mind you stupidity wasn't just confined to the home side as a daft McManus decided to pass back the ball to Main when it seemed as though it was going to reach him anyway . Arbroath went for the quick freekick but Anderson (looking solid as ever in the centre of defence) was right in there to block the freekick.
Peaso had another freekick held in the 33rd minute and again within a minute we'd scored. This time though we were aided and abetted by the keeper as he missed a cross ball in and left Dyron with a simple close finish which he blasted into the net to make it 2-0. And six minutes after that things got even worse for Arbroath as their goalie again mistimed his run out to intercept a chip through. Peaso got there first and easily rounded the helpless keeper before dribbling the ball to the goalline and tapping it home for the third. It began to look like the proverbial one-sided scoreline wasn't too far away. Daal sent in a cross for Moon but he managed to sky his effort over the bar while in the closing stages of the half, another nice cutback from Daal was blasted over by Sheerinho.
That was the end of Daal's contribution (apart from an apparent altercation in the tunnel as the teams went in for half-time) as, along with Goran he failed to reappear after the break. Instead it was Wullie Dyer who moved to left back while Andy Jackson took on a striking role, seemingly playing as a target man. Unfortunately that didn't fit in with the Arbroath defence and despite Saints enjoying a lot of the early pressure he struggled to get any decent chances, and even when he did, as in the 52nd minute when he rounded the keeper, he still failed to hit the target. The corners didn't amount to much with a constant series of inswingers easily cleared by the home defence although Ando did manage one free header that the keeper held.
That's not to say that the game was completely dull and in a flash of brilliance in the 55th minute, we saw Jinky beat two men and despite being stranded managed to try a standing chip shot with a stationary ball which beat the defence and keeper but ended just wide of goal. It summed up his afternoon as he showed great promise for the season ahead. We continued to dominate the play with Arbroath for the most part pinned back in their half and should have had a fourth goal in the 65th minute as a good break saw Jackson set up Sheerinho who laid the ball off left to Martin Hardie and he belted in a rocket of a low drive which came back off the keeper's left-hand post before being cleared.
Time for a wee wake-up call then as a minute later some rare Arbroath pressure saw a ball crossed in from the right which Ando missed in the middle and with little else in the way of marking, their number nine had an easy finish to make it 3-1 although Main could have perhaps done better to command his area. That was the cue for Saints final substitution with David "Mullet" Weatherston coming on in place of a tiring Peaso. Saints tried to add to their tally but unfortunately their keeper began to have a good game foiling a good Sheerinho drive and then holding shots from Weatherston (after the Saints sub showed the blistering pace he's known for to outrun three defenders) and Jacko. That almost cost us dear as Arbroath went up the park, played in a simple cross which was missed by Lawrie but not by their number 11 who had an easy finish as Main failed to come off his line. Mind you the rest of the Saints defence weren't exactly like whippets off a starting block either.
With the margin down to a solitary goal it was very much game on as Arbroath chased an equaliser. Saints were looking for a killer fourth as well as the game moved into the last 15 minutes and some good pressure from us ended with a Hardie shot in the box well blocked and Jackson unable to follow up cleanly. Arbroath had a good break end in a shot going over the bar while a freekick 13 minutes from the end went wide with the keeper nowhere. Saints pressed back forcing a couple of corners and almost scoring a fourth when the ball broke free to Moon and his low drive was cleared off the line by a defender.
The closing five minutes or so were about as scrappy as anything we're likely to see all season with the Saints defence happy just to clear their lines and the team coming close to losing the plot with mild-mannered Paul Sheerin involved in a major handbags incident on the far touchline earning a ticking off from the officials. Arbroath had a couple of freekicks as the game drew to a close with one going over the bar and one ending up bouncing around the box before being cleared by a Saints shirt. Thankfully full-time came eventually and we got to savour the whole 5 seconds of cup presentation with the Saints players seemingly more intent on hitting the bath than savouring a trophy.
Overall it was a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side the new signings all made a positive impact with McCluskey the standout and MoM. Weatherston showed a neat turn of pace when he came on although I'm not so sure of him being played as an out-and-out striker, while Dyron scored two good goals and showed his ability to mix it with the opposition which no doubt will lead to an eventful trip to Dens over the coming months. Main didn't have that much to do and certainly exercised his vocal chords against his back four but at the same time his positioning at both Arbroath goals was perhaps suspect - not that he was helped by poor marking from his defence. Elsewhere and Peaso looks short of fitness still but Hardie and Moon made a good team in midfield with young Kevin arguably a more influential force in the game that was seen from the likes of McInnes last season. The bad points were few - our positioning looked poor at times when defending and the lack of pace from the likes of Sheerin and Goran was more noticable when seen along some of the newer players.
So plenty to be positive about. And at least we got some silverware early in the season. Hopefully there's a lot more to come.
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