The Mantis

I’m going to start with EFFC v Annan on Alba at 7.30 and see how it goes.

I take it that’s a prediction rather than your preference? &nbsp I would like Airdrie and East Fife but predict it’ll be Cove and Annan. I’ve really seen enough of those two this season. Although Cove might be easier for the points than Airdrie who could be potential title challengers.

Getting clearer... Alloa Hamilton ICT Kelty Montrose Peterhead QoS Stenhousemuir Airdrie or Cove Annan or East Fife

Cheers Gandalf 🧑‍🦯

Elgin will be gutted - the derby next season is looking unlikely. 2-4 down to Annan at home at half time. Meanwhile Stenny 0-2 Airdrie so more visits to the Station Hotel in Larbert looking very likely.

If you were at Montrose on Saturday you would have been encouraged by the huge number of youngsters we had along. There have often been false dawns it has to be said but since Kell took over the life has certainly been breathed back into the club. We had a problem queuing to get in and only one turnstile was open (a Montrose official was saying that they were told to expect 200 ICT fans but 400 had turned up - Laura from the ST will dispute this as apparently we told them to expect 350). League 1 clubs are not prepared for supports of this size ( although heaven knows how they coped with Falkirk for 5 years) and the sooner we get back to the Championship, the better. We will probably be favourites next season so that will bring Kell a different kind of pressure.

Yip, another great day oot and a fantastic travelling support. The sense of togetherness between the team and the fans has been phenomenal since Dunc and He Who Will Not Be Named got booted into touch.

Had a look at this after your post and I see your BMO field is being used so surely you’ve a good chance of getting tickets. I must admit my first thought was the Rogers Center (Skydome when I was there, when the Blue Jays beat the despised Yankees 👏). Maybe it’s not suitable for a football pitch - you’ll know the ins and outs better than I do. I also saw the Toronto Lynx play in Kitchener, at Centennial Stadium. Both long gone.

The way I read it, it’s not the actual share certificate they want- the thing you choose to sign out of the two options on page 2 is a “certificate”.

Fabby day though disappointed it wasn’t 5 or 6. Crowd 2329 so grateful for the 29 providing the Maroon Pound 👍

Tragic, only 45. I remember the whole team going to a Saw Doctors gig near Stornoway after we had won the old division 3. I have to say poor Wayne was absolutely legless…

Nothing has changed then 😇 Looking forward to commemorating the big man and it just happens to be my 500th ICT game.

Ooft! That hurt. We were 7th at one point. Thought the goalie had a decent game though.

We had our own AI back in the day- it was called Kodachrome. Here’s a shot from my first visit to Ochilview in 1992. Stenny 1 Caley 4. The old stand was on the opposite side from now. I think two of the figures in the foreground are Lewis MacDonald and his dad Ken. See you there.

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.

Just been watching the Pars on the telly and under Michael Tidser I wouldn’t fancy them to come through two ties in a playoff against teams from our league. If anything they’re worse than we were last year.

Cheers Robert. Wasn’t there last week but I remember reading about the U18s now. So it was his first start anyway.

Forgot to mention - Brannan looks a great signing, and apparently that was his first ever senior game. Played at right back and obviously tired a bit late on. Got booked first half for a rather robust challenge.

Let's not start congratulating ourselves yet. As I've said many times before, this usually leads to a harsh dose of reality in the next game. It's not guaranteed that we're getting anything off Stenhousemuir on Tuesday - they've won 5 in a row, with a better goals for/against tally than us. They were no match for us last time, but with 47 points Gary Naysmith, an ex-pupil of my old school btw, must be doing something right.

We murdered them in the first half but a very open second half with probably the better chances falling to them and Musa saving us a few times. That winner was the highlight of the season for me but then I missed the Montrose game…

Since Michael Ruth went off injured we can only hope his chances of recovery are about the same as the pitch…

What’s the source though? I mean it could just as easily be somebody in The Mallard 😉

It’ll be a real shock if they do. Arbroath will have their tails up after losing yesterday. Can’t imagine how crushed Annan must feel after putting so much into yesterday’s rollercoaster and getting nothing. It was certainly entertaining for us on the terracing following it on our phones 😎 A different story at 4.55 or thereabouts compared to half time. We were very poor first half although as Kell says we had the best two chances. Defensively, Devine and Savage were in total control and Kelty, minus Cunningham, never really looked like breaking us down. Will be interesting to see Kelty’s penalty claim on the highlights. Second half we started at a decent tempo with Bray and Longstaff causing a lot of problems down the right, and you could feel the pressure building. We spurned a few chances before finally scoring. We might have tied the game up as we then had to endure a nervy few minutes at the end, during which Devine and Savage were both booked. Meanwhile the Annan game, which was a few minutes ahead of us, ticked on past the 97 minute mark. Thought Billy was more effective in his deeper role than in recent weeks and very happy that nobody snapped up Charlie in the transfer window. He even avoided a booking this week…

I think the story with the Championship on a Friday night is 2 home games each making 20 games. As CaleyD says there doesn’t seem to be any such arrangement for Lge 1. Pretty obvious the no. of appearances correlates strongly with the league table.

Oh dear. Game off. Lucky I never bought any train tickets today…