Robert

Mckay on for MacGregor now.

Harper on for Walsh, and playing left midfield. Living a bit dangerously just now.

Shane Sutherland! 1 up. Quick break and he took it well.

Duku header disallowed for offside after good break by MacGregor. Broadfoot on a yellow after fouling Nouble, and needs to be careful as he fouled the same player shortly afterwards.

Hard to say as Walsh further forward than MacGregor. Probably 4 4 1 1 with Sutherland normally deeper than Duku. I’d be minded to bring McDonald and Mckay on before too long if they are fit.

Where in the ground are the away fans? Hard to tell on the livestream. 0-0 reflects the first half. Pretty even. Nouble for Arbroath looks a real handful and came close whilst Sutherland had an effort blocked on the line. We are playing too many long balls, and look best when we move it quickly. Walsh is our main outlet. This could go either way.

Ridgers Carson Broadfoot Devine Deas MacGregor McAlear Allardice Walsh Sutherland Duku Subs: MacKay Duffy Harper Mckay Jamieson McDonald Hyde No sign of Doran: is he injured? Nice to hear the away fans there when the players came on to the pitch.

To those travelling, enjoy the day and encourage the guys to get the result we need to get the season off to a great start. I’ve signed up to the livestream, so will be with you in spirit!

800 season tickets sounds impressive for a club and town the size of Arbroath. Presumably they have worked hard on their profile in the community. I wonder how many we have sold to date. Interested to see our line up and whether Carson, if fit, is in midfield or at right back. Given the positive comments about McAlear, I suspect he will be right back with Doran starting in place of Gardyne, giving a line up of: Ridgers Carson Broadfoot Devine Deas Walsh McAlear MacGregor Doran Sutherland Duku However, I’d be happy to see Allardice start with MacGregor in the “number 10” role playing off Duku.

Out of daytime, Claggan Park is a bit off the beaten track so it will be quite easy to cause damage without anyone being in the vicinity. It is many years since I have been there but their tweet says it is an open park, so presumably they cannot prevent anyone being in it. Sadly many small towns actually have disproportionate antisocial behaviour issues due to the lack of things for people to do. That may be the case here.

Reminder issued about the deadline for the reduced price season tickets: https://ictfc.com/season-tickets-2021-22-renewal-deadline-approaching

Update on season tickets with a clear reference to livestreaming: https://ictfc.com/season-tickets-2021-22-renewal-deadline-approaching

The club’s statement is now on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/FortWilliamFC/status/1419935536559628293?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^embeddedtimeline|twterm^profile%3AFortWilliamFC|twgr^eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fortwilliamfc.com%2F It is really sad to read that vandalism has been part of the issue. They have started fundraising to try to save the park.

£13 for the livestream on Saturday: https://arbroathfc.tv/payperview/

We drew 1-1 on our last visit on what was very windy if my recollection of the livestream is correct. The last time our fans visited Arbroath, we got hammered 3-0. It will be a tough start but hopefully we can scrape a win.

This could spell the end for Fort William: http://www.hflhub.co.uk/index.php/2753-fort-william-to-play-all-matches-away-from-home They have always had issues with the pitch in wet weather, but this seems harsh to me, and could spell the end of the club which has always struggled in a shinty community.

For me: Mckay Walsh 3rd MacGregor

And I see there is a livestream too mentioned in their post. I’ve had a look but our game is not there yet, just their Saturday game against Kelty: https://arbroathfc.tv/payperview/

What was Gardyne sent off for? How did our back four perform today, particularly Broadfoot? Are those who saw it feeling more hopeful about the season now?

Given McDonald is no 17 in today’s squad, presumably Billy Mckay will have the no 9 shirt this season. If so, AaronCoganShogun gets his wish this season!!

Goals I noted yesterday were Jordan White for County, Andy MacRae and Ali Sutherland for Brora, Jack Brown and Shane Harkness for Rothes and Kieran Chalmers for Strathspey.

Have we ever actually qualified from the group stage? The current format started in 2016/7, so this is the sixth year of the group stages. I’m struggling to recall us ever getting out of our group: anyone know for certain?

Viewing information for Sunday’s game: https://ictfc.com/premier-sports-cup-group-stage-live-and-exclusive-on-premier-sports-sunday-from-5pm

He was subbed at half time. May have been tactical as Hibs were down to 10 men by then. Scott Allan had already been subbed following the red card.

Maybe we should play our Under 18s on Sunday…… They kept a clean sheet! https://ictfc.com/wick-academy-0-4-ictfc-u18s