AJS
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Everything posted by AJS
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A point i would have taken at the start of the day ... but it could have been so much more. We deserved to be in front, no question. Celtic looked sluggish to begin with and we looked dangerous on the break with Doran hitting an absolute belter, 2-0 was a terrific position to be in, no one picked up Foran charging in at the back post and he was alert enough to pick up on the loose ball. Celtic were pressing more and more though, they didnt create much from open play, Brill was called into action a couple of times from Tony Watt and Ambrose had a header that from my view was tipped over by the big keeper (despite Thomson giving a Goal kick) but with half time closing Mulgrews shot wasnt the greatest of hits and Deano seemed to misread the direction of the ball, the build up came from a tackle from one of our boys forcing it to Izaguirre who laid it to Mulgrew, huge chunk of luck. We tried to batten down the hatches in the 2nd half and feed off scraps. Celtic kept pressing, especially on the wings. Matthews and Izaguirre were probably their most dangerous players. Every time they got on the ball i feared for us, their pace and crossing posed a constant threat. We werent without chances in the 2nd half, Doran was one one with the defender and had Nick making a terrific run, all he had to do was set him up for the tap in but he seemed to be going for goal and eventually ran out of steam, he was bundled over and some shouts for penalty but i found it hard to have sympathy for him...he should have passed. Vincent had a chance with a volley, im glad he tried it but he blazed it high and wide. He looked lively all game and seemed to be really enjoying the occasion of playing at a big venue. Matthews typified his performance with a nice finish to level it up for Celtic, on reflection of their dominance it was probably a fair result. Butch brought on Watkins and Toby (probably shouldve been on earlier) to inject some freshness, Watkins tried hard to make things happen, looking forward to seeing more of him as time goes on, Toby showed some neat touches but looked a bit lost in the moment at times, he also took a speculative shot on and poor Nicks run was not picked up by him, despite being in great space. Mulgrew had a free kick in a great area that im sure left us all biting our nails, it came to nothing and soon after the final whistle went and a sense of relief flowed through my mind. Overall i do see it as a point gained, better teams will go to Parkhead and lose. Celtic are lacking a finisher, Balde is a battering ram up top nothing more and for all the quality they have in midfield they have no one really capable of scoring freely, both goals were scored by defenders, one playing make shift midfield, says it all really. Despite surrendering our lead i though defensively we looked good, Meekings and Warren contended with Balde well, Raven and Shinnie did their best to protect the flanks and in the end were just outdone by those extra bits of quality that extra money can buy, Brill also had a fantastic game making some great saves. Fans were terrific again, away end was well filled and despite the tension the chanting never stopped, its easy to see past difficult moment in games when you are surrounded by such great fans. Top of the league and still unbeaten ... roll on the Jambos next week.
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Brill was the standout for me. Parkhead can be a daunting place for players not used to such an atmosphere but i thought he did so well, he made some cracking saves and he handled some set pieces with ease, dont forget he took a knock in that challenge with Balde so that may have affected his mobility when it came to the 2nd goal, in all honesty i thought it was just a good strike for Matthews.
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Never mind previous clubs, his current one won't be too happy if the reports are correct that the last (alleged) incident of betting against his own team was Albion Rovers v Rangers! Forgot to say current club too, my bad.
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Im loving the positive vibes around the place, both on this site and indeed on match days, ive never experienced anything like it in my time as fan of the club, no question about it that the ICT ride is as fun as its ever been. I agree that attendances are a tad disappointing and i hope it dosent bring the players down because with the way they are playing they cant do much more to get people through the gates, for those that do not attend games regularly i urge you to start doing so, the way we are playing just now is a sight to behold. You are definitely missing out.
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If he has done this would his previous clubs not have grounds to sue? I mean he is just begging to be made an example of.
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To an extent i agree with Renegade. We were 3-0 up against Motherwell last season and nearly threw that away. There were times on Saturday where an early introduction of fresh legs could have brought about another goal or two. Im merely using this as an observation. I was really impressed by the way we closed Well off in the 2nd half.
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Was a great attacking performance in the 1st half, defensively we were top notch in the 2nd. 2 cracking goals and could have been more, Vincent unlucky not to get goal of the game. Commanding performances from Foran, Draper and Warren. Brill also impressed when called into action. Thought Shinnie and Raven coped extremely well with McFadden and Vigurs (who didnt seem to give a rats arse, so much for his paper talk.) The last 2 victories are a major statement of intent and hopefully a sign of what lies ahead for the season, puts us in great stead for our visit to Celtic next week.
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Inverness going for the treble Motherwell are the visitors this weekend as Inverness look to continue their fine start to the season, and the home side will be looking for a hat-trick of straight wins. A Motherwell side dumped out of the Europa League at the first time of asking will be hoping to stop that run and be the first side to score against a confident Inverness Caledonian Thistle. We were momentarily displaced at the top of the table, well for three minutes to be more precise, as Partick Thistle took the lead against Hearts in Friday nights SPFL match but a fine goal by Jamie Walker some three minutes later squared the match and put us back on top. AJS has put his guitar down long enough to write the preview for the visit of Motherwell ...........and you can repay him by turning up at Nellie Deans to see The Caspians play after today's game at 9:30 pm. ICT welcome back their bogey team from Lanarkshire, in Motherwell FC. Stuart McCall's men have had an indifferent start to the season. A hard fought victory away to Hibs on the opening day was followed by a surprising 3-1 defeat at home to Aberdeen. ICT meanwhile remain happily perched at the top of the table having maintained their 100% start to the season. Many including myself viewed the trip to Tannadice as a stern test this early in the season but to see the boys come away with another win and clean sheet was a terrific result and a very encouraging sign for what lies ahead. Motherwell will provide just as stern a test and with good reason. Since Caley Thistle returned to the top flight in 2010 they have only managed three victories in ten games with them being evenly spread out as one per season. Last season was rather damning with the Well notching 4-1, 5-1 and 3-0 results consecutively but Caley Thistle came out victorious in the most recent encounter in what was an enthralling 4-3 win at the tail end of the campaign. A double from Billy McKay either side of a strike from Andrew Shinnie fired ICT into a 3-0 lead but a Higdon penalty and a double from James McFadden left both teams scrambling frantically for a winner but when Henrik Ojamaa paid the price for seeing two bookings ICT seized the chance to capitalize and Billy completed his hat trick with a late winner. Billy also squandered a penalty and plenty more chances were created by both sides in what was arguably the most entertaining game of last season. In all honesty i will settle for a boring 1-0 win this time round. Like ourselves Motherwell have had quite a turnover of players over the summer with household names such as Darren Randolph, Chris Humphrey, Tom Hateley and Nicky Law all leaving for pastures new, as the club aimed to trim their budget. Another name on the list of departures was Michael Higdon which will no doubt please most home fans ahead of Saturdays game. We always seemed to catch the big man at his best last season as he helped himself to seven goals in the four games between both sides. A man who will definitely not be missed by our back four. Despite the losses Motherwell have recruited impressively in the market. Paul Lawson and Iain Vigurs were two of the best performers in County's debut season in the top flight and bringing John Sutton back was a shrewd move to fill the void left by Higdon. The club also did well to retain James McFadden who has shown his class since returning to the club and will continue to do so if he stays fit. Given the good early form Terry and the boys will no doubt be relishing the fixture and will look to maintain the 100% start and improve our stats against The Steel men. Our opening games have seen us get results, stay solid in defence and play some good attacking football. The fans have also been top notch since the season kicked off, the presence at United last week was incredible and there is no doubt that can transcend onto the pitch and give the team that added boost to get a result. With two former County stars in Motherwell's side it will add some extra spice to what will already be a closely fought encounter. 1998 was when we last won our first 2 games on the bounce. Anyone know how long it was since we won our last 3? AJS's prediction:- I see the match being very tight but as long as we can keep McFadden nullified and keep up the attacking football I believe we can make it a hat trick of victories to start the season. For me I see a cushdy 2-1 win with Billy getting a double. -
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If it aint broke dont fix it...keep Brill between the sticks.
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Today was a major test and we deliver another 3 points and a clean sheet at a ground where we have limited success usually, to hear that we bullied a team containing the likes of Goodwillie, Rankin and Mackay-Steven is very promising and the rare good start can only add to the confidence in the team, nice to hear the supporters were given the chance to actually support today too.
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Lewis MacLeod was the only one that really stood out for me when we whooped them at Ibrox last season, Templeton is a quality player on his day.
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If he knew how to find the net and actually gave a monkeys while he was playing then maybe he wouldnt have such a hard time getting a new team. Greed is a terrible motivator. But its fairly obvious its been behind his.
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Brill Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie Foran, Draper Doran, Vincent, Ross Billy Subs: Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Williams, Polworth, Watkins, Agdestien
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Does that mean no more sweeties on the way back up the road?
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Day one and the title is already ours to throw away . In all seriousness though, the first half a complete and utter write off - nuff said. 2nd half we were much sharper, and just seem to step things up a gear. Penalty was a fair call imo, Vincent dispatched it well and was due a goal to couple his fantastic debut. Box to box, hard working, good passing and composed under pressure. More to come from him. Aside from one save from Harkins, Brill had little to do but his handling from set pieces and his urge to start attacks was a welcome sight. Plaudits to Doran, Raven, McKay and Draper who were the pick of the rest though everyone played a part in the 2nd half. Foran was even finding passes. The football was free flowing, the defence was solid but more importantly the chances were converted. Butcher was bold to say that the likes of Shinnie and OTJ wouldnt be missed and on todays showing his claims were justified. With Watkins and Allen still to come back and the likes of Williams and Toby still waiting in the wings there is a lot of potential within this squad. Off to a flyer, roll on 13-14
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Raigmore like Charleston ghetto Aged 7 and beyond Charleston ghetto still...there is no escape
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Gutting news, he was ICT through and through and also just a lovely guy. Away days will never be the same without him. I think a minutes silence will be very appropriate for tomorrow, a reward for a man who barely missed a game home or away.
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Play him alongside Billy. Hes a terrific centre forward, a menace in the air and with 10 goals to his name last season he still knows how to find the net. His richest vein of form last season was when he was deployed up front too. His double against United was when he was at his best. Agreed about his passing in midfield. Pretty diabolical at times
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They said there is the possibility he could return if he overcomes his injury problems, Foran can play up front if we have injury problems there. Im glad we havent really gone down the loan route. It means all players are our own bar Brill, who we can sign on a pre contract come January time if we wish to. I see no point in bringing in players just to leave them in the reserves when we have enough of our own youngsters breaking through.
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If that is what Terry is thinking id rather see Foran go up top, he is a menace aerially for defenders and Tobs isnt match fit yet. Would be unfair to throw him straight in.
