Robert

Oh dear, I didn’t want to be doing any more predictions this season, but here goes: HT 0-1 FT 1-3 ICT Billy Mckay Montrose Hester Crowd 890

Thanks for running it again this season and we’ll done to CDN Girl. I look forward to seeing if I can do any better next season!

His red card on 27 January was for a second booking. Would both cards in that game be wiped by the one match suspension? He had no cards during his limited game time with us before he joined Queens Park, so he was starting there with a clean slate. Presumably referees report yellow and red cards with their reports to the SFA. It is definitely an issue the club should be checking with the SFA.

Thanks for keeping this going Gringo. I’ve just seen the final table: two in a row, which I’m amazed at given I normally back ICT to win. Looking forward to another close battle next season, and hopefully some new players enter.

I’m very disappointed that the club didn’t do the bites so presentations couldn’t take place after last night’s game. Last year was the same so it looks like a pattern. Harper gets my vote for player of the year. Depending on the age cut off, he’s my vote for young player too. If he’s too old, it’s a hard pick given the number of loans, so it would be Bray for me. Why we put him out on loan still bemuses me.

I stand corrected. A pity we won’t see him up against Carson…….

I don’t think Gardyne has featured much for Montrose. I don’t know if he is injured or whether anything else is causing his absence.

Jordan White for Ross County and Robbie Thompson for Spartans today. Kirk Broadfoot for Morton last night.

Two flaws there though: 2 years ago we had 6 finals in the promotion play offs and came up short, last year we lost the final. This year……? It may only be 2 finals. If it’s 4, we need to not fall short again.

May 2022: promotion play offs. Within 45 minutes of promotion. May 2023: looking forward to Scottish Cup Final on 3 June. May 2024: at real risk of being 180 or 360 minutes from relegation. Progress??

Quite a comfortable win tonight although the first half was poor. I thought Morton were a disgrace with some of their tackles and mouthing off, not to mention Broadfoot’s provocative goal celebration. Thankfully the ref cottoned on in the second half and belatedly started dishing out cards. It made me glad we didn’t appoint Imrie as I’d hate to see us playing like that. Credit to Harper for keeping cool at the penalty and the strikes by Boyes and McAllister both looked good. I think we’ve all been resigned to this for some time, and we are actually going into the play offs in decent form, with 10 points out of the last 15. Four big games ahead to save our season, and maybe also save our club. I just hope Ferguson has seen enough of MacGregor in his short game time to start him on Tuesday. For me, the problem stemmed from all late goals we conceded earlier in the season. At one point, we’d shipped 12 points (if my memory serves me right) to goals in the 80th minute or later, largely as our tactic was to try to defend what we had (very unsuccessfully!).

I’m cautiously hopeful we can get a result tonight, but also worried that Queens Park win at Airdrie.

Let’s forget our off field woes and concerns and get behind the players tonight, doing all we can to help them to do our bit by winning the game.

Montrose @ 2.40 please.

HT 1-0 FT 2-1 ICT Mckay Morton Oakley Crowd 2317

There wasn’t a lot wrong with the penalty on Saturday. It was low and not too far from the corner. To me, a good save rather than a bad penalty. As someone said above, their goalie has saved the last four penalties he has faced. We are not in this mess because Billy has had a couple of penalties saved, and he should not be being singled out.

Yesterday I noted Cillian Sheridan and Sean Welsh for Queens Park, Ross Draper for Elgin and Ali Sutherland for Brora.

Firstly, credit to the large travelling away support who were noisy throughout the game. Just a pity about the idiot verbally abusing Samuel in the first half due to his Dingwall connections: totally uncalled for. The game was disappointing. We were the better team throughout, but our inability to turn possession into goals was our undoing yet again. I need to see the Dunfermline goal again as an awkwardly placed pillar obscured my view but it looked like an unchallenged header. Our penalty was a bit soft but we couldn’t capitalise on it. We were much better after Pepple came on and he took his chance well from a difficult angle. We had a few shots but didn’t really test the goalkeeper. I felt there was an urgency amongst the team but it turned to desperation as the game went on, highlighted by an argument between Ridgers and Boyes about who would take a free kick deep into stoppage time. It is out of our hands now and we need to focus on beating Morton on Friday and hoping Queens Park don’t win.

He was great for us, but I feel his time has passed. Some of his antics last season were unprofessional (punching an amateur Western Isles player, for example) and he’s not endeared himself to HL clubs in general. Does it also mean he’s no longer coaching our youth teams?

That’s a very fair comment. It highlights why getting involved with the Supporters Trust is important for everyone who cares about the club. The Trust has made it clear that it won’t invest in shares without commitments from the club, and the commitments sought will have to reflect the views of its members. I know some are sceptical but, I’m my opinion, the recent growth in membership if the Trust and the resulting influence it can bring to bear can only be positive.

If I’m reading this right, those 5 teams need to achieve bronze status by 1 July as current exemptions expire then (bottom on page 2 but I gave up during page 3!): https://spfl.co.uk/admin/filemanager/images/shares/pdfs/Membership Criteria Letter 2024-25 31 October 2023.pdf Also, more from Buckie confirming they missed the March deadline for a waiver: https://www.buckiethistlefc.co.uk/news/president-statement-2847887.html

We need to assume Queens Park will win at Arbroath, so nothing less than a win will do for us to keep things in our own hands for the last game. We need a performance like last Friday, with the difference that we find the back of the net rather than the woodwork or any part of the goalie’s anatomy. I’m down for this one and really hoping for an enjoyable evening after winning three points in the afternoon. Now really is the time for everyone to step up and ensure we retain our Championship place.

Substitute Airdrie, Cove and Peterhead for Annan, Bonnyrigg and Spartans. They tightened the rules this season so the established clubs have some time to comply.

This: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/11172/sfa-club-licensing-manual-2024.pdf Enjoy the read! This gives the current classifications: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/11752/240424-club-licensing-awards.pdf Reading the SPFL announcement, Buckie ignored the issue and could have made the standard had they acted. All very poor.

Partick @ 1.91 please.