Rothes 0 Saints 4 ...with thanks for the match
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Team :: Robertson, McQuillan, Il Biscotti, Kane, Dods,
Griffin, Nash, OHalloran, Connolly, Georgio, Keyring
Subs :: Bollan, O'Neil
Saints got their pre-season build up underway on a dull, drab, driech day in the booming metropolis of Rothes (population 1,350), in front of a surprisingly large away support and an almost non-existent home following. Kick-off was delayed amidst a period of panic when it was discovered that half of the Saints team had travelled straight on at Aviemore instead of turning off for Rothes, and so had got themselves completely lost somewhere in the Highlands. The Saints players who had managed to find the place drove around the town looking for the ground (Paul Kane at one point asked me for directions!), whilst John Blackley stood at the round-about leading into the place so that the arriving players could see where to go! The mayhem eventually subsided and the match finally kicked-off just after 3:30pm.
Saints fielded a reasonably strong starting eleven, which included a Canadian trialist believed to be named Martin Nash. The first half contained pretty much what you'd expect from this kind of friendly: nothing much in the way of excitement, and plenty examples of players lacking in match fitness. As is always the case at games played in these wee grounds, it's always interesting to be able to hear the players shouting to each other: choice moment of the 90 minutes has to be Danny Griffin yelling "keep yer heid on" after being hassled by Keith O'Halloran.
Goalmouth action in the opening period was kept to a minimum, although George O'Boyle did somehow manage to beat the Rothes 'keeper with a lame shot only to see his goal disallowed. At the other end, the best chance from the home team came when Stephen Robertson let a seemingly easy cross ball slip through his finger-tips and bounce off the crossbar. It wasn't Robbo's only mistake of the match, and it has to be said that Dolph Ferguson will now be something of a favourite to be in goal when we play Motherwell on August 1st. The most encouraging feature was the sturdy performance from new signing Darren Dods, who showed a lot of presence, and seems to be the kind of defensive leader Saints will need in the absence of Jim Weir and Alan Kernaghan. Saints broke the deadlock ten minutes before the break when, after some good play down the right by McQuillan, George O'Boyle managed to claim a high ball inside the box (for the only time in the whole match) and send a header into the net. Saints deserved their 1-0 half-time lead, but to be honest neither side was playing very well and both sets of players looked like they'd rather be spending their Saturday afternoon somewhere else.
The interval saw the non-existent O'Halloran replaced by Gary Bollan. Yes, Blue Heaven can exclusively reveal that Bollan DOES exist. The well-rounded figure of Bollan (perhaps just a nice way of saying that he's fat) slotted into the left-back position, with Allan Preston moving up the left-wing and Kieran McAnespie moving into O'Halloran's position in the centre of midfield. Nash meanwhile, who was less than impressive in the first half, seemed to change his attitude dramatically when the second half kicked off, making some good runs down the right wing and even firing a volley just over the bar.
The second half performance was a notable improvement on the first, with Paul Kane at the heart of every move and Keyring looking far more productive in the middle of the park than O'Halloran had been. Goal number two wasn't far away, and it turned out to be the best worked move of the match, with a cross from the left being knocked back by Georgio for Kane to drive low past the 'keeper. Paul Kane Goal Machine was on the scoresheet yet again minutes later when he was in the right place at the right time to head the ball into the net from 10 yards out. John O'Neil came was brought on for Nash who made a good account of himself, but whether or not he is up to Premier League standard is another matter entirely. It was good though to see Del looking fit and sharp, an example that Gary Bollan for one would do well to follow. It was O'Neil who finished off the scoring, surging into the box to shoot low past a 'keeper who, to be honest, didn't look particularly difficult to score into.
The show was stolen by the impressive Darren Dods, although it's worrying that even on a day when we beat a Highland League side 4-0, our best player is still a defender. The front pairing of Georgio and Connolly had little or no presence in the air, and even against this poor side found it difficult to make their mark. The players will have gained more from this match in terms of match fitness than anything else - hopefully by the time the Motherwell game comes along it will be an altogether more convincing Saints side that takes to the field.