Matchday Thread: ICT -V- St Mirren

[Yngwie]

To be honest I thought we were slightly fortunate today - and about time too.

Thomson should have buried that chance early on, and then we went ahead thanks to a suicidal pass from McAusland. After that it seemed pretty evenly matched and the difference was that Hayes brilliantly picked out an opportunity. We played well and took our chances, and that's what it's all about. But I think it's fair to say we've played better this season and not won, so hopefully the corner has been turned when it comes to getting the rub of the green.

[lukemackay]

what you talkin bout willis?

[davie]

great, great result today which made the utter dreadful drive back up the road worthwhile. well done Mhairi. We were good value today, could have been 2 or 3 up by half time and defended well, by and large. Roman Golobart was immense, Billy McKay put in a good shift and Esson made some fantastic stops. Make no mistake, St. Mirren are a good side and this was a great three points.

[AJS]

A well contested game that was fairly even throughout with us just edging it slightly and deservedly.

St Mirren started the brighter with Thompson missing an absolute sitter from a corner but not long after a slack piece of defending left Jonny costing through who then squared to Shinnie who rolled it home with ease. Afterwards we seemed to get into our stride, Tansey knocking a shot just wide from the edge of the box and McKay having a goal ruled out, only had one look on TV but i thought it was tight. Id like to know where the 2 minutes of stoppage came from? There were no subs or injuries so i fail to see where the ref found it. Defending was good enough, Thompson was the tallest player on the pitch but was given all the space needed to head home, left me with a bitter feeling but i hoped we would come out fighting in the 2nd half.

The players obviously got a good talking too over the break and came out fired up, Davis and Tansey dominating the midfield and Rosscoe and Gillet bombing forward offering support. I Felt Billy McKay struggled to get into his stride but seemed to grow into the game more in the 2nd half. Jonnys goal was a cracker, Tansey picked out Davis who left it for Jonny and he was given the time to curl in an absolute peach from the edge of the box. Dont know if something was bugging Jonny, he seemed very subdued in his celebration. St Mirren huffed and puffed but in the closing stages created very little and i felt the defence looked as strong as it could with their backs against the wall. Butcher brought on Tade who once he took to the pitch ran St Mirren ragged for the last few minutes, didnt deserve to be dropped and hope he is reinstated next week.

Few players deserve some praise. Tokely, put up with constant flack but stood strong and did what was required, as did Golobart. Im sure eyebrows were raised at his inclusion but he kept it simple and stayed fairly solid. Tansey i thought was immense, covered every blade of grass, picked out some great passes, was unlucky not to score and did the right thing to set up Jonny. Davis also providing another effortless display.

A few bones to pick, one was St Mirren, their challenges at times were very rash and some pretty dangerous. Referee seemed oblivious to this but was more than happy to book Davis for one late challenge. I dont know what had St Mirren's dander up but they were ruff to say the least. The other was Foran, ive tryed to defend him this season but i lost patience with him today, he did little to influence the game, lost posession alot and spent most of his time barking at players for his own mistakes. He cant play out wide, he has lost that yard off pace, it comes with age, think he'd be better suited to the middle.

To conclude, happy to be off the bottom, hoping it stays that way, very encouraging signs from both attacking and defending perspectives but we HAVE to build on it.

Edited December 3, 2011 by ajsict92

[lukemackay]

golobart was emmense he was at fault for their goal he was marking thompson and got sucked in by a fabulous ball from teale but apart from that he was epic

hayes again not at his best but hes a threat no matter what got us the wining goal and set up the first his 2 moments of class won us the game

mckay great 1st start realy smart wee dummy to leave the ball for shinnie and was realy unlucky not to score himself

andy shinnie greg tansey and david davis in that midfeild triangle when they are all firing are unstopable this showed today and at killie andy shinnie seems to have a knack to been in the right place at the right time great quality to have same as rooney had but obviously from midfeild

tokely and gillet a great shift up and down the flanks from both them final ball wasnt great from them but defending was superb

foran held the ball well but started to get frustrated

hogg wasnt bad but isnt at his best yet

esson=epic

great performance first time this season weve grinded a result i felt we have had a few 2-1's but they have been more comfortable chuffed to be off the bottom of the table and looking forward

[gingerjaggy]

bk from the game pretty solid st mirren really didnt look dangerous at all. The last 5 minutes was more about being nervous about our defence than the st mirren forwards. We deserved the win and looked really solid. The goal against was poor at the corner but apart from set pieces our defence didnt look overly troubled. Golabart was great as a shock starter and davis shielded the defence brilliantly. I was impressed with mckay he didnt do huge amount in the firsrt with the service not being great but he was very impressive in the second showing alot of effort. Esson made aa couple of brilliant saves and hayes turned out to be instrumental to our success onwards and upwards i say

[Yngwie]

First time we've won a game this season and had a chance to follow it up the next Saturday. The previous 3 wins came before international breaks and any momentum was lost.

[davie]

First time we've won a game this season and had a chance to follow it up the next Saturday. The previous 3 wins came before international breaks and any momentum was lost.

we won because this was the first time this season I'd seen "the scarf" on P&B predict a bad feeling and a 2-0 loss. He needs to do it again.

[tm4tj]

Another great away day and three points to boot.

Golobart was my pick especially after the public slating he got for earlier errors that cost goals, although the only one I found fault with yesterday was Hogg, who looked to be a bit of a liability at times. Foran is not as bad as some make out although there was one moment when he gave up the ghost a bit easily, he does howver do a lot of his work as an extra defender sometimes so maybe we are overworking him. Jonny was a little subdued, but two flashes from him were enough to win the contest. Esson did make saves, two in particular in the second half were outstanding. Billy McKay got better as the game wore on and was unfortunate not to score. Davis again was excellent and Tansey was more prominent today. Rossco was, well, Rossco nuff said.

Maybe not an overly convincing win, but I thought it was thoroughly merited and most Buddies fans agreed that the better team won, fair play to them. Their biggest threats were from set pieces/corners, where Teale swung in some mighty dangerous balls, but that is no excuse for leaving Thompson with a free header from two yards for the goal, once again, late in the half. Maybe Esson should be looking to command his six yard box and cut these ones out, but his saves in the second half were crucial.

Good to see Lee Cox make an appearance, albeit only for a few minutes.

Overall, a well deserved three points and St Mirren can have little complaints about the result.

[PaderbornCaley]

A hard fought and well deserved win. We were the best team by a country mile. Golobart really stepped up to the challenge and had a fantastic game. Rossco was my man of the match. Solid as usual.

I thought we should have had 2 penalties in the second half - a tackle on Shinnie in the box and another that looked like hand ball, but i'd need to watch the highlights to be sure.

No complaints though.

AND..... no international break next weekend Lets hope for a winning streak now!

[Renegade]

I enjoyed my first trip to St Mirren Park, but despite the stadium being alright, I can understand when people say that it kind of feels like it could of been plonked there the night before. Of the game, there was no-one that really had a bad game. Davis and Tansey played very well in the middle, though Hayes seemed (apart from the goals), a little quieter than usual. Foran had an okay game, but really needs to lighten up. Going nuts at McKay on his first start over nothing in particular was unnecessary. McKay seems to have something and came into it a lot more as the game went on, but I feel that, as he is more of a Dargo type striker, could do with someone up there with him - he ain't the type to play the lone frontman role. I'd like to see him and Tade start together next week. Andrew Shinnie played well by the way.

Of the defence, Esson was his usual steady self, as was Hogg - Tokely is a better full back than centre half. Gillet is a good attacking player, but does seem a little caught out of position at times. Still a decent performance though. I was surprised to see Golobart starting and he seemed to start a little nervously, but like McKay, grew into the game. One thing I would say though, is that at times, particularly in the first half, he seems to suffer from what i would call "Djebi-Zadi Syndrome" ie - "here comes the ball, what do I do with it?!" kind of thing. But as long as he simplifies his game down and cuts down on the dangerous fancy stuff that he did yesterday, particularly in the second half, then he should be alright.

Overall a decent performance, especially when one takes into account the conditions at times. Hopefully the club can build on this, but Dundee United should be a much tougher task next week.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Renegade

[absent friend]

It is so strange how we all view the same game in a different way.

I only watched it in Alba and I accept you normally miss players running off the ball on TV but the Alba camera was so far from the action that the full park was covered and any runs were seen.

Mind you, it was difficult to see any runs from the team on Saturday or any constructive football, the little we saw of this came from the opposition, we were just what we are... a bottom of the league struggling side.

I am normally a very positive ICT supporter but there is a lack of fight, imagination or construction about our play.

It looked as if the heads were down even after we scored and that included Jonny Hayes after his wonderful shot.

As others have stated .. hearts in the mouths every time the ball came towards our 18 yard box.

It is not that long ago when no team and I mean no team, troubled our defence in the latter stages of a game. We looked as if we could play another 90 minutes back then - now? we run out of steam at 40 minutes and hang on from the 80th to the finish.. if we are lucky.

Very disappointed but we did get the points.

[tm4tj]

You are right, you do see a game differently from another viewpoint. However, we were always the better side throughout. Check out what Mirren supporters are unanimously stating, we were the better team on the day and fully deserved the points.

What you also did not see on your tv was the driving rain/sleet and blustery swirling wind that made pretty football difficult and a temperature that was more suited to brass monkeys...........unless of course there are new telly's out for Xmas.

Our defence coped very well in the second half, the goal was sloppy but we got past that and kept them at arms length.

[HumbersideDude]

some aftermatch interviews here.

St Mirren v ICT

[Scotty]

Highlights also now up on ICT website for those folks outside the UK that cant see them on the BBC !

http://ictfc.com/matches/video

(free) registration/login required [due to media rights rules]

[interviewloi]

some aftermatch interviews here.

St Mirren v ICT

Thanks so much for posting this, and any way of promoting it would be fantastic :D

[PaderbornCaley]

It is so strange how we all view the same game in a different way.

I only watched it in Alba and I accept you normally miss players running off the ball on TV but the Alba camera was so far from the action that the full park was covered and any runs were seen.

Mind you, it was difficult to see any runs from the team on Saturday or any constructive football, the little we saw of this came from the opposition, we were just what we are... a bottom of the league struggling side.

I am normally a very positive ICT supporter but there is a lack of fight, imagination or construction about our play.

It looked as if the heads were down even after we scored and that included Jonny Hayes after his wonderful shot.

As others have stated .. hearts in the mouths every time the ball came towards our 18 yard box.

It is not that long ago when no team and I mean no team, troubled our defence in the latter stages of a game. We looked as if we could play another 90 minutes back then - now? we run out of steam at 40 minutes and hang on from the 80th to the finish.. if we are lucky.

Very disappointed but we did get the points.

Are you sure you actually viewed the right game?!

[Yngwie]

some aftermatch interviews here.

St Mirren v ICT

Thanks so much for posting this, and any way of promoting it would be fantastic :D

Interesting and informal interviews, thanks!

[lizi]

some aftermatch interviews here.

St Mirren v ICT

Really great to be able to hear these interviews and a good insight into the players and Terry as well. Well done everyone involved. Thank you.

[davie]

some aftermatch interviews here.

St Mirren v ICT

Really great to be able to hear these interviews and a good insight into the players and Terry as well. Well done everyone involved. Thank you.

Lizi. I sat beside these guys at the game, they are first class! It's amazing what you can do with the interweb when you point it at a subject you love (footie for these guys) and have the talent to front it. I've told them they have to come and see our Irish contingent in situ some time, and they sound tempted. Cracking.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Well here I go fer more abuse To begin with watching the game on Telly is different to being at the game itself but telly gives you more of a perspective of what actually went rite and what went wrong. That is feckin why people watch the games over and over a game. I was so busy this weekend that I only got round to the game today and I have watched it twice on Alba as most coaches would.

We deserved to win. OK so Thompson missed a sitter early doors but that happens. Midden never really looked like scoring and we looked in charge throughout. The goal was another defensive errror as Hogg totally lost Thompson. But what about the corner where Midden had two men with Hayes struggling to cover - after Tynecastle that was disgraceful.

Golobart looked the part - I thought he actually gelled well with Hogg. Tokely is a full back but can he hack it when there is a pacy winger up against him. Gillet may actually be a midfielder and I would prefer wee Shinnie. Hayes has to be used more and switched which you cant really do with Foran. Davis worked his socks off but 50% of Tanseys passes were incomplete. Foran may just be becoming a luxury. Shinnie faded but he looked the best player by miles early doors. Where the feck did McKay come from - bizarre selection. Sorry but he aint a striker - Sutherland is - and why leave it to 5 minutes to go to put Tade on ??

Three welcome points but another team selection, another system - that is a worry.

[Yngwie]

From BBC Gossip section:

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon admits he got his tactics wrong in his team's 2-1 home defeat on Saturday. (Daily Record)

[AJS]

From BBC Gossip section:

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon admits he got his tactics wrong in his team's 2-1 home defeat on Saturday. (Daily Record

Going with 3 in defence, with a midfielder at center back against a 4 pronged attack that included Hayes and Shinnie....erm yeah i think he did too.

[Renegade]

Apparently he went with Goodwin at the back to try and mark Tade out of the game.............only for them to come out on the pitch and find that Tade wasn't there!

Edited December 6, 2011 by Renegade

[Scarlet Pimple]

Yes Lennon was trying to hide his feelings but I think he was down. I also have a suspicion that he thought that it was going to be easier against Caley than it turned out. That goal from Hayes must have sickened him. Not only was it a winner but it was ferocious strike and unstoppable really.And it was then he knew he was in a game .

Wow!