East Stirling 1 Saints 3
Team :
Main,McQ,Bollan,Weir,Griffin,Kane,Preston,McBride,McMahon, Legend,Miguel
Subs : Ferguson,Keyring,Nathan,Dods,Lauchlan
Nice to see some semblance of form returning to the side. Despite the shall we say "blinkered" view of the East Stirling diehard behind me in the stand this was a reasonably one-sided affair with Saints easy winners in the end.
St. Sandy promised to give as many players as possible a run out in the remaining friendlies and so Legend, Il Biscotti and Gerry the Karaoke King all returned to the starting line-up despite only just resuming full training. The one important question though, is where has John O'Neil gone? Misses the squad photo and hasn't featured in any of the last few games? God he's not even been seen alongside "Paperboy" in the stand (the new nickname for Father Dougal given his fashion sense with a shoulder bag).
Saints got off to a good start with Miguel and Legend forcing saves in the opening minutes. It was Eusebio who opened the scoring for Saints after 4 minutes with a low drive (well more a sclaff) past Butter. Of course true to form the lead didn't last thanks to a clumsy Cap'n Jim challenge a couple of minutes later in the box which Higgins converted.
The rest of the first half was fairly lively - McQ had a few long-range efforts, one of which was tipped over the bar and the Legend infuriated the home support by playing his usual physical game. In midfield Preston and McMahon both struggled which given the lack of match fitness is probably not surprising. Kane was his usual inconsistent self, whilst McBride showed some nice touches and close control. The back four were fairly solid although the Shire forwards caused their share of problems. Easily the best player on the park for the opening 45 was Miguel. He seemed to be everywhere and was almost showing off with some neat flicks and backheels.
Second-half saw Dods replace McMahon. It meant that Danny moved to central midfield whilst McBride moved wide right. We still kept the pressure on the Shire with Miguel coming close with a snap turn and Danny just missing with a free kick. The Ginger Bomber came on for Il Biscotti on the hour mark. Two minutes later and he put Saints 2-1 ahead with a neat run through the middle and a 20-yard shot. Even the diehard in the stand applauded then.
10 minutes later and it was over as a game ("the bubble's burst" said the diehard). A Forrest Gump run into the box was stopped early - bit of a soft one but a penalty all the same and Blaster duly converted. With 15 minutes left Legend was replaced by Frankie-boy and then Miguel (who took a couple of nasty challenges) by Keyring. Saints had a few chances but Butter in the Shire goal was on form.
Overall a fairly good performance. Miguel, Danny and Pope all had great games but MoM for me was the Ginger Bomber for finally putting us out of our misery and getting a bloody goal. Nice to see Firs Park for the last time as well before it gets demolished. It's still a great wee ground and when you hear family season tickets (2 adults and 3 kids) for 110 quid it puts official club trips into perspective. Oh yeah and I didn't see any of our fanatical board there tonight either.