Matchday 11

A busy night of Championship Football has Arbroath heading North to the Caledonian Stadium for a 7:45 kick-off on Tuesday night. The Smokies sit seven points behind the league leaders in fifth place despite being the second highest scorers in the Championship, but four draws and two defeats have held them back slightly.

The first game this season at Gayfield ended in a scarcely deserved away win thanks to a neat dinked finish from Shane Sutherland as he bore down on Gaston in the Arbroath goal. 

Dinky Shane

Matchday Info - Tickets - Streaming

1 - 0 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

3 - 1 (H)

0 - 1 (H)

0 - 3 (A)

2 - 1 (H)

0 - 3 (H)

7 - 0 (H)

2 - 0 (A)

The stats for this home fixture lie heavily in our favour with 15 wins from 19 fixtures and only 2 defeats. However, those defeats have come recently and we lost this one 0 - 1 in December 2019 when Luke Donnelly scored the only goal in December 2019. Fortunately, we won both home fixtures last season, but we seem to have difficulty breaking Arbroath down and end up clinging on somewhat. Changed days from the 7-0 results of yore.

Despite those defeats for Arbroath, it's still been a successful season so far and Dick Campbell can be pleased with his part time sides progress. The two losses were against Inverness & Raith Rovers which tells you all you need to know about their resilience.

Fixtures on Tuesday night

Morton 19:30 Partick Th

Ayr United 19:45 Kilmarnock

Dunfermline 19:45 Raith Rovers

Hamilton Accies 19:45 Queen of the Sth

Inverness CT 19:45 Arbroath FC

On Saturday we face a tough trip to Partick

Last time out

We laboured for a point against ten man Raith Rovers. Aidan Connolly had given Raith the lead but Sean Welsh drove through a ruck of players from just outside the box to earn the point. Disappointing given Raith played the whole of the second half with ten men and also had to replace to important players through injury. However, a point would have been acceptable before the game and no major damage to our title aspirations with Killie the only ones to close the gap.

Here's the goals from Starks Park

Arbroath had to settle for a draw at the weekend as Ayr United came from behind to get their point in a close encounter. Form player Michael McKenna opened the scoring ten minutes into the second half only for Jonathan Afolabi to level ten minutes before the end. No wins in the last four for Arbroath.

Latest Team News

Billy Dodds has been without David Carson for a few weeks through injury now and he has been on compassionate leave for a couple of weeks now. Cammy Harper missed out against Raith Rovers with a groin injury. As usual, little info filtering through regards injuries and availability.

Dick Campbell has been without Nicky Low and it's unlikely he will make this game. Joel Nouble was a big nuisance in the first game with his robust style and will be a danger. At over 6ft 3in he will be a problem for most defences. He was named as Cinch Championship player of the Month for September and has scored four goals in ten games.

Here's Bazza

The Caley Jags will face Morton at home in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup

Third Round Ties to take place weekend of November 27th

Unfortunately it's a bit of a damp squib for those looking to visit new grounds. I suspect the Morton fans will be even less enthusiastic given the tie will be played in the Highlands.

However, it's a great opportunity to progress into the hat for the 4th round draw, alas, Morton will feel the same.