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Old 11-29-2018, 05:56 PM   #26
NoSkillz
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
Sat. September 15, 2018

Ladbrokes Scottish League Two
Stirling Albion (2-0-3, 6 points, 7th) vs. Queen’s Park (4-0-1, 12 points, 2nd)
Forthbank Stadium, Stirling, Scotland

Betting Odds: Stirling: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Queen’s Park: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L

We are favourites on the road for the first time this year, as we travel to Forthbank Stadium to face Stirling Albion. They are coming off a fine 3-2 win over Elgin City in their last contest and have moved up to 7th on the League Two table as a result. This is a club that has moved between divisions quite frequently in the past 30 years and were in the Championship (two tiers above) as recently as 2010/11. Last year, Stirling finished third but the media expects a bit of a fall this year, with a 7th place predicition. Their key man is 19 year old vice-captain Ronan Hughes, a right midfielder. With five goals, Mark Stewart is their leading goal scorer while Calum Ferrie is their top keeper.

I see no reason to make changes to a winning side, other than bringing our top keeper, Jordan Hart back in. Otherwise, we’ll stick with our balanced mentality for this contest and our narrow diamond 4-4-2.

Queen’s Park: 4-4-2 Diamond Narrow – Balanced 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

Stirling are playing a 5-2-3 WB Wide formation, with a lone striker up front in Mark Stewart, along with two attacking wingers. I tell the team to carry on the momentum we’ve built from the previous match.

HALFTIME – For the second consecutive match, we have a scoreless tie through 45 minutes. We had the better chances in the first half, holding 60% of the ball and a 9-4 (3-4 on target) shot advantage. Stirling getting all four shots on goal is not encouraging. Like last week, I’ll ask our fullbacks to push up more in the second half as we try to get a goal or two. One thing to watch out for is DC Kesi Omolokun, who seems to have taken a slight knock and I’ll likely have to take him out at some point in the second half.

65’ – We are not playing well right now and Stirling’s wingers are definitely taking advantage of the fact that our fullbacks are pushing forward. I take out Omolokun and bring in Cammy Foy at DC.

75’ – We need a goal so I take out Ewan MacPherson and bring on Connor Higgins. Can he come through again for us??

85’ – Last change, as we pull off left fullback Sam Lidington and bring in Kyle MacDonald.

We move to a positive mentality. Let’s score late!

Nada.

Stirling Albion 0 - 0 Queen’s Park
Goals –
Assists –
Man of the Match – Ronan Hughes (Stirling – 7.9)
Other Dover Notables – Jordan Hart (7.1), Daniel Nimmo (7.4), Kurtis Roberts (7.2)
Attendance - 693 (128 away)

Our six game winning streak comes to an end in a bore scoreless draw. Stirling were much more dangerous in the second half and we were pretty fortunate to escape with a point here. In the end, we held 57% of overall possession and a 16-13 (5-6 on target) shot advantage.

-- Clyde edge Albion Rovers 1-0 to maintain the division lead while Peterhead win 2-1 over Cowdenbeath to pull level on points with us in a tie for second.

-- We’ve been pretty fortunate to escape injuries thus far but Kesi Omolokun hurt his heel and will miss the next two weeks or so while recovering. QUEEN’S PARK INJURY: Kesi Omolokun -Damaged Heel (2 Weeks)



Reserves Team Update

-- Our reserves team defeat Berwick’s Reserves 3-0, with goals coming from Dominic McMeekin, Malky Breen and Connor Higgins.



Injury Update

-- We get news on two more injuries suffered during training. DC Cammy Foy is dealing with a tight calf and will miss a couple of days. Bad timing, as he was in consideration to start due to Kesi Omolokun’s injury. I have to call up U18 DC Harry Granger to help out. QUEEN’S PARK INJURY: Cammy Foy -Tight Calf (1-2 Days)

-- The news is more serious for backup goalkeeper Joe McGovern, who sustains a hernia during weight training and will miss 5-6 weeks. QUEEN’S PARK INJURY: Joe McGovern - Hernia (5-6 Weeks)



U18 Update

-- Our youngsters continue to struggle, dropping a 1-0 decision to Partick Thistle’s U18s. Goalkeeper Elliot Anderson was our assistant’s choice as our best player.

-- The injuries keep mounting, as Calvin McGrory twists his ankle and will be out 5-6 weeks. QUEEN’S PARK U18 INJURY: Calvin McGrory – Twisted Ankle (5-6 Weeks)



Next Up -

-- We’re back home, hosting Edinburgh City in League Two play.

Last edited by NoSkillz : 11-29-2018 at 05:58 PM.
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