Leaderboard

I was comparing his conversion rate with a player who plays/ed a similar role, albeit it a far superior level. There are players with percentages in the 80s and 90s, so neither Billy or Messi would be considered world class penalty takers. I get that he's not the player he was and I have no doubt he knows that better than any of us. I wish we had the squad to better utilise more of his smarts and relied less on his legs. As just mentioned above the ball he supplied for our goal was top drawer. I'm not going to say anything like maybe if we got behind him more he'd maybe be better. Crowds at games are very supportive of the team when they are on the park. It is what it is but I don't like the singling out of players and blaming them for a defeat or relegation or whatever. Yesterday he set up the goal without which we'd have lost. Bit more credit/recognition for that from some to balance the criticism would feel better.

I wasn’t able to be at the game yesterday so I’ve just seen the goals on here just now. I can’t comment on the penalty or his overall game, but Mckay’s pick out of Stewart in space led to our goal.

Maybe check stats on recent years, Billy 10 years ago would more than likely score. Strange thing is when Billy picked up the ball I knew he wouldn't convert. Sad thing is if we had scored the pen the game was won.

If someone else had taken it and missed then fans would be shouting and asking why our all time top goalscorer hasn't taken it. Such is the nature of football fans. Saw a post on X saying Billy had scored 75% of all penalties ever taken for us. Did a little googling and for context that puts him up there with players like Messi from the penalty spot.

If you missed the game, here's what went on...

Bored after watching the Greece game. Here is Alloa TV coverage of yesterday’s game. Have to say that this is the best/ clearest camera work by the away team I have seen this year. Commentator pretty unbiased also.

Just a couple of points from yesterday’s match that was somewhat worrying for me. 1) The loss of Remi Savage through the red card for the next game. (Assume it just one game?). Danny had a better than usual game on Saturday, but he can be haphazard more times than not. Remi acts as an old sweeper type role whilst having the height for centre half and provides cover for Danny. He will be missed I fear!! 2) The crowd attendance on Saturday was a concern! 1650-ish doesn’t auger well as we head into the remaining home run matches. Weather was good for mid March and Alloa offered the appeal of an open match. The crowd has been ever so slowly dropping since the high of the Cove match level. Maybe all the negative press through last week had its effect, but it’s clear to me we will need more fans to get of there butts for the remaining home games. The years (decades) of not investing properly in fan recruitment is now having its full effect. The players will need the supporters more than ever in the coming matches. I don’t know what the immediate answer is, but fan apathy is a worrying concern for me. bc

Brannan was immense today with Adam, Alphie, Keith and Paul showing their potential - apart from Adam, none will be with us next year. Aidan can be proud of his debut - he saved us at the end. We are unlikely to see Billy ever score again. Let's hope Charlie is nominated to take any future penalties if we get any in our remaining few games.

Even after our disappointing last two results our recent form is still good

League Table

If a player goes down the route of down the middle hoping the keeper mostly always dives one way, you have to hit the ball high as there is the danger of the keeper saving with his legs (as today) Very frustrating game and I'll be waiting to see what Kell says about the pen.

I still think Billy has something to offer to the team in the remaining matches. His legs can’t respond to what his mind asks, however he does have experience of how to handle difficult periods of the game. The match against stenny being an example when I thought he pulled the team forward after Alfie B went off injured. I agree if we had a younger centre forward or point man then go that way. Trouble is we are limited in what we have in numbers and quality of players. I would have Billy as a sub to be brought on at the appropriate moment of a game. This would be SK decision, but without incurring the wrath of devotee's I agree with others we took too long to make changes today. Last tuppenceworth, apart from the result, I throughly enjoyed today’s game. Had just about everything, including overpicky ref. bc

Feeling so disappointed like people have already said I thought Gilmore was going to take pen then Billy wanted it, I had a bad feeling. Ref and nearside linesman were shocking and we will miss Remi next week, was a harsh red card. Was really impressed with stand in keeper today, I guess it's a point gained after what could have been a defeat at the end if offside hadn't been given, thank goodness for a decent linesman! After all that happened in the last week off field at least we got something from the game but should be doing better.

We've edged a point further away from Annan, which is positive, but after such a bright start it seemed like a defeat when we all trooped out of the stadium. In truth, we should have scored 4 what with hitting the woodwork twice and missing a penalty. We could have eased out as comfortable winners but as it was, we were lucky to escape with a draw with Alloa hitting the woodwork and having a goal ruled off towards the end. Remi's red card will likely have an impact in the games he'll miss, but I think we have enough quality and desire in the team to keep ahead of Annan.

Gutted for the team, and the rest of us as well. That was a draw that felt like a loss.

He’s our 9th top scorer this season with 2 goals from 37 appearances as a striker. He still has a good footballing brain and brings something to the team, but it sure ain’t goals.

Billy Mackay should never never have taken the pen. He couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo just now. Gilmore had the ball and would have been a better choice. Bray / Stewart hit bar / post when scoring would have been easier. Very very frustrating ...again.

Just realised that if we’d won these games v Annan and Alloa like we really should have, we’d have been within 2 points of the promotion play-offs with 6 games to play.

I’m missing out today due to a family birthday but will be looking out for the score. With Musa away and our injuries, I’m it is time to triumph in adversity. That’s what we are best at. Here’s to three points with a good performance being a bonus. Come on ICT!

For me it will be what it will be. I trust that the players will give it their best shot regardless of what's going on off the field. I also believe that whilst they don't always perform to the best of their ability they do always give their best effort. Then there's times when results seem to be decided by the universe and performance (good or bad) doesn't seem to play much of a part in it. lol

Young lad will only be as good as the players in front of him. At 6ft. 1 not the biggest of modern day keepers. Can’t see him doing a musa with one handed catches. Wouldn’t be a possible issue playing him today if we had won the Annan game last week. Here’s hoping for a goal feast in our favour. AIDAN RICE Despite turning 18 in the summer of 2024, the shot-stopper has already picked up some extremely valuable experience as a young goalkeeper. Rice spent some time working amongst Brendan Rodgers’ first-team squad as part of Stevie Woods’ goalkeeping group. At the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign, the goalkeeper became a mainstay for the young Celts. Saving penalties in back-to-back UEFA Youth League matches, the teenager played a big role in qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.

Couldn’t agree more about why we are all on this forum, - going along to watch our team play football. Cheer or groan and forget everything else in your life for 90 plus minutes as the game plays out. Dumbarton are too far back so will finish in bottom place. Last Saturday morning I was convinced we were looking at 7th or 8th place. Now every game remaining has meaning (which is great-that’s what makes me want to keep attending). Reading the P&B the Alloa seem to be having their own problems, so whilst respecting them we should not fear them. Not sure how well set up but something tells me we will probably have a defensive mindset for a large part of the match. Predict -draw. bc

Just as important, we would be 11 points clear of Annan and certain of staying up, which might be a factor in getting a buyer and out of admin before season’s end.

5 points dropped in the last 2 games isn't good enough. I'm afraid Kellagher has to take a chunk of the blame for this. Far too slow and late making changes in both the Annan and Alloa matches when we were crying out for them. Billy should not have been given the responsibility of taking the penalty as he is visibly short of confidence and Kellacher should have realised that. I'm afraid Billy slows the game down too much now and worth giving Cairns a try. Yet again, a game poorly refereed. Savage's first booking was soft while his second was ridiculous. Some robust tackling from Alloa went unpunished including a two footed tackle referee did even blow for. Standside linesman also worthy of a mention for missing z clear offside when he wasn't up with play and giving 2 throws to Alloa when the ehole ball was clearly not out.

Great fast-paced start where we looked brilliant and deservedly took the lead. Then as the first half wore on we got slower and slower, letting Alloa back into the game. Lost what looked like a soft goal in the second half. Then we tried to up the pace again, but in truth whenever we got around their 18 yard line we slowed everything down. My heart skipped a beat when we were awarded the penalty, then sank when I saw who was taking it! A very poor penalty easily saved by the keeper. That’s two games in a row now where McKay has cost points. How long do we persist with him in the starting 11? He’s become a liability!

Such a disappointing home result (again) when we were pretty dominant (again) and created a huge number of chances (again) and Billy missed when it was easier to score (again) and we saw how much we rely on Bavidge for goals (again).