[NoSkillz]

Sat. August 25, 2018

Ladbrokes Scottish League Two
Queen’s Park (2-0-1, 6 points, 2nd) vs. Albion Rovers (0-0-3, 0 points, 10th)
Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland

Betting Odds: Queen’s Park: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Albion Rovers: 7-4
Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L

We are reasonable favourites against bottom of the table Albion Rovers, the only team in the league without a point thus far. In fact, they haven’t scored a goal in league play yet but did put three past league leaders Clyde in a 5-3 Irn-Bru Cup loss. Like us, they were relegated from League One last year and have flip flopped between those two leagues since 1989/90, their last season in the Championship. Albion basically did nothing in the transfer window and seemingly have lost many of their best players, with the media predicting a second consecutive relegation. Their key player is 26 year old midfielder Gary Fisher, who has played with the club since 2014/15.

We will stick with what works and make no changes whatsoever to our starting eleven. I’m going to use a positive mentality to start in this one as favourites at home.

Queen’s Park: 4-4-2 Diamond Narrow – Positive Mentality
GK – Jordan Hart
D – Sam Lidington, Daniel Nimmo, Kesi Omolokun, James Grant
DM – Ross Finnie
M – Dylan Thomas, Jamie McKernon
AM – Kurtis Roberts
S – Ewan MacPherson, Josh Peters
Bench – Kyle MacDonald, Cammy Foy, Sam Robertson, Gregor Fotheringham, Derek Young, Dominic McMeekin, Connor Higgins

Albion Rovers come out in a 5-2-3 WB formation, with one striker (Graham Gracie) and two wingers. Interesting to see Yrik Galantes playing AML for them – I had him here at Queen’s Park on trial during the preseason. He’s property of Hibernian in the Premiership and is obviously on loan at Albion Rovers for the season. Peter Morrison is their keeper.

3’ – We have a free kick just outside the penalty area and Kurtis Roberts sends a ball to the far post. Charging in is Daniel Nimmo and he heads it past Morrison and IN! Nimmo’s first goal at Queen’s Park! QUEEN’S PARK GOAL 1-0

12’ – On an innocent looking play, the referee calls a foul on us in our area and that’s a PENALTY. Bryan Wharton steps up and slots it into the lower left corner and Albion Rovers have their first goal of the year. ALBION ROVERS GOAL 1-1

14’ – We have possession off the ensuring kickoff and we send a long ball down the right flank to Josh Peters. He sees Ewan MacPherson running in the middle of the field unmarked and his cross is perfect, with MacPherson making no mistake. He’s on FIRE! That was TOO EASY! QUEEN’S PARK GOAL 2-1

15’ – Jamie McKernon is fouled just outside their area and again, Roberts takes the kick. This time, he bends a ridiculous shot around their wall and it’s into the right corner of the net. Two goals in two minutes!!! QUEEN’S PARK GOAL 3-1

24’ – Geez. Albion Rovers have a corner and it’s Gary Fisher, their key player, crossing into the box and Wharton outleaps our defenders and heads it in for his second of the game. ALBION ROVERS GOAL 3-2

35’ – This is ridiculous. They have extended possession in our end and an Aaron Reid cross is booted home by an unmarked Graham Gracie. They have three shots and have capitalized on all three. ALBION ROVERS GOAL 3-3

HALFTIME – Wow. This isn’t what I expected from an opponent that hadn’t scored all year. We only held 52% of possession and outshot them 9-3 (5-3 on target) but we did absolutely nothing in the last 20 minutes of that half. I peel paint in the dressing room during the halftime team talk. We need to be much better!

63’ – We need a spark of some sort and take off James Grant, who has a yellow. In comes Sam Robertson.

77’ – We have absolutely nothing going on. I pull off our goal scorer MacPherson and bring in Connor Higgins, hoping fresh legs up front will help us.

85’ – Still nothing. We pull off an exhausted Sam Lidington and bring in Kyle MacDonald.

89’ – It’s an Albion Rovers goal kick and we intercept the ball at midfield. Captain Jamie McKernon sends a long ball up the middle and the fresh legs of Connor Higgins are able to outrun their defender. He’s in all alone and SCORES!!! QUEEN’S PARK GOAL 4-3

We immediately move to a defensive mindset.

We squeak it out.

Queen’s Park 4 - 3 Albion Rovers
Goals – Daniel Nimmo (7.6), Ewan MacPherson (7.0), Kurtis Roberts (8.5), Connor Higgins (7.2)
Assists – Jamie McKernon (7.6), Kurtis Roberts, Josh Peters (6.8)
Man of the Match – Bryan Wharton (Albion Rovers – 8.8)
Other Dover Notables –
Attendance - 1490 (424 away)

Well that was an interesting contest – from ridiculously loose first-half play to a tightly contested final 45, we somehow find a late goal to grab three big points. In the end, we held 54% of possession and outshot them 14-7 (8-5 on target). I think the positive mentality is leading to an exorbitant amount of chances against so I may start utilizing more of a balanced approach in future contests. That said, one goal was scored on a penalty and another on a setpiece but still, our opponents are simply getting too many chances and we’re allowing way too many goals against.

-- We hold onto second place in the league, tied on points with both Clyde and Peterhead, who both sport perfect 3-0-0 records and play each other mid-week. We should be able to continue this run for another couple games, as we next face Cowdenbeath and Stirling Albion in league play, who sit in 9th and 8th place respectively on the table.



U18 Transfers IN

-- We sign 17 year old DL Michael Thomson and 16 year old ST Danny Jackson to our U18 squad. Just provides some depth at positions where we have been poached by other teams recently, with Jackson’s 2.5/4.0 ratings providing some promise.

-- A couple of days later, I sign 18 year old AMC Mitchell Foy, who comes to us after spending two years with Inverness CT in the Championship. Again, this is a depth signing for us, as his 1.5/4.0 potential doesn’t really look good for his chances to play senior team football for Queen’s Park.



Reserve Team Update

-- Our reserve team run riot on Raith’s Reserves, winning 5-2 in league play. 16 year old winger Brian Donaldson scores twice and we get singles from Cammy Foy, Kyle MacDonald and Lewis Hawke. We ran with a 4-2-3-1 formation in this game, as I look to get our wingers some playing time, just in case.



Scottish League Two Team of the Week

-- Three members of Queen’s Park make the Ladbrokes Scottish League Two team of the week. Daniel Nimmo, Kurtis Roberts and Connor Higgins all make the squad. I notice that recently departed left back Ciaran Summers makes the team for Clyde, his new squad.



League Two Update

-- Peterhead and Clyde battle to a 1-1 draw, with both teams moving one point ahead of us to 10 on the year. We now sit third alone on the table.



Transfer Deadline Day

-- We get a note that the transfer window will be closing today and I’m asked if I’d like to take part in any media calls to discuss our plans. Of course, I have nothing really on the go but I decide to participate and get a couple questions asked of me. The really cool thing about FM19 that is different from what I’m used to on FM11 is the dedicated Transfer Deadline Day screen that details all of the deals being consummated that day, by league. It’s a great summary and looks fantastic. Kudos to the FM team…I’m sure this will be a lot of fun once/if I get to a top league where I can spend some dough!



September Update

-- We reach September and have four league games scheduled (vs. Cowdenbeath, AT Stirling Albion, vs. Edinburgh City, AT Elgin City) along with a second round Irn-Bru Cup match (vs. Crusaders FC).



Scottish League Two Monthly Awards

-- Clyde MC Chris McStay wins Scottish League Two player of the month honours and our very own Kurtis Roberts finishes in second, scoring two goals and adding three assists in four league games.

-- Meanwhile, Clyde’s Jack Boyle, an AMC, wins young player of the month, with Ewan MacPherson and Kesi Omolokun finishing second and third respectively. Nice!

-- Clyde pulls off the clean sweep, with Danny Lennon winning manager of the month. I finish in third behind Peterhead’s Jim McInally.



Board Confidence Update

-- The board is pleased with my management of the team, with the main positive being our convincing 3-0 win over Berwick in League Two play and the main criticism being our signing of U18 player Ryan Cairns. Ha!

-- We’re looking good financially too, turning a profit of ~£35K last month. Easy to do with no wages!



Next Up -

-- We host 9th place Cowdenbeath in League Two play at Hampden Park.