THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- FC Astra Giurgiu PREVIEW 16th July @ 7:45PM Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO BBC Live Commentary (BBC) [UK/VPN Only]   TEXT ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life   VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel     TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

Edited July 16, 201510 yr by Scotty

Last nights game was like our games against Aberdeen where they are sh1te and win the game 1 nil!

Sadly for me, missed our European debut as I was away on holiday. Whilst I can see why we signed a second experienced 'keeper to cover while Brill remains sidelined, I am very disappointed that that 'keeper went straight into the team for this historic match ahead of Ryan Esson.

Ryan stepped into the breach in the latter part of the season and fully played his part in securing European qualification through his performances in both the league and cup.

Surely, he had earned the reward of playing in the European tie he had helped to make possible.  A poor decision in my view.

 

Surely, he had earned the reward of playing in the European tie he had helped to make possible.  A poor decision in my view.

Agree 100%.  The new boy didn't cover himself in glory either!

I can see why Hughes changed it although I don't necessarily agree with the decision. Esson blundered in the cup semi final and arguably could've been more commanding for Falkirk's goal in the final itself. He had let in a freekick against St. Mirren the weekend prior to the match and we knew that freekicks were one of Astra's strengths.

But, as has been mentioned, throwing a keeper in for a debut takes away the possible advantage of communication and trust that has built up between a defence and keeper over a longer period of time. 

I can see why Hughes changed it although I don't necessarily agree with the decision. Esson blundered in the cup semi final and arguably could've been more commanding for Falkirk's goal in the final itself. He had let in a freekick against St. Mirren the weekend prior to the match and we knew that freekicks were one of Astra's strengths.

But, as has been mentioned, throwing a keeper in for a debut takes away the possible advantage of communication and trust that has built up between a defence and keeper over a longer period of time.

For the goal yes but he pulled off a number of great saves in the game to keep us in it. Sadly they are all too easily forgotten.

FC Astra are on the brink of winning the Romanian title!
They're currently 6 points clear of Steaua Bucharest with just 2 games to go (and a +4 better goal difference).

They're scheduled to enter the penultimate stage (3rd Qualifying round) of next season's Champions League.

12 minutes ago, Sneckboy said:

FC Astra are on the brink of winning the Romanian title!
They're currently 6 points clear of Steaua Bucharest with just 2 games to go (and a +4 better goal difference).

They're scheduled to enter the penultimate stage (3rd Qualifying round) of next season's Champions League.

From watching them I really don't know how good they are. I got the impression they did just enough to beat us, as they seemed to step up a couple of gears against West Ham and just beat them. Still, to lose 1-0 over two games to the Romanian champions probably isn't a bad result. I kinda wish I'd bought an Astra top while out there! If I did now I'd be a glory hunter 

Will will retain our unbeaten and clean sheet record in Europe next year. Not many teams can say that. 

2 hours ago, HawkeyeTheGnu said:

From watching them I really don't know how good they are. I got the impression they did just enough to beat us, as they seemed to step up a couple of gears against West Ham and just beat them. Still, to lose 1-0 over two games to the Romanian champions probably isn't a bad result. I kinda wish I'd bought an Astra top while out there! If I did now I'd be a glory hunter 

If you really want one buy one. 

FC Astra have indeed now officially clinched the Romanian league title, for the first time in their history. Well done to them!

Well done indeed.  Are the club sending an official note of congratulations, I wonder?  It would be a nice gesture.

I don't know about anyone else, but I left the two Astra games with quite a bitter taste. Some of their thuggery, gamesmanship and downright cheating was disgraceful. 

15 minutes ago, Renegade said:

I don't know about anyone else, but I left the two Astra games with quite a bitter taste. Some of their thuggery, gamesmanship and downright cheating was disgraceful. 

....yet despite that had we had a recognised forward in any sort of form we would have beaten them over the two legs...

12 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

....yet despite that had we had a recognised forward in any sort of form we would have beaten them over the two legs...

For goodness sake Kingsmills why don't you give your constant critical comments a break!

41 minutes ago, caleyboy said:

For goodness sake Kingsmills why don't you give your constant critical comments a break!

If you read my posts I am very seldom critical of the club or of individual players. However, I am not alone in having a number of reservations about the current manager and, just as you are, I am at liberty to voice those concerns.

You seem to be turning into Dougal.

32 minutes ago, roarer said:

You seem to be turning into Dougal.

Just as long as I don't MERGE into Dougal and start signing my posts...