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St Mirren -V- Inverness CT


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Is it possible that switching Watkins for McKay has actually made us a better team?  

Interesting point.  I liked what Yogi said in his interview about turning the screw when we are winning.  For a large part of the season we tended to sit back in the first half and came good in the second half but it seems to me that recently we are starting with a more attacking mindset.  If we can score first and force the opposition to commit players forward then that will create space for Watkins to use his pace.  Whilst Mckay seems to be a more natural goal scorer, with a bit of tactical re-jigging you may well be right that we are a better team with Watkins up front.  If he can develop the confidence to convert a few more of the chances that are being created we could be a very good team indeed.

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In the first half I thought we were excellent. Our passing was quick, crisp and positive. We carved Saint Mirren apart on numerous occasions and, as many have said, could have been out of site by half time. Watkins passed up a couple of good chances. One, similar to those against Partick the other week, where he burst in behind the defence but sent his effort wide. The other he tried to lob Ridgers who blocked his initial effort and then from the follow up Watkins skewed the ball wide.

 

Meekings had a header come off the bar. Some folk said that it might have gone in but even from the normally non conclusive highlights it doesn't look like it's anywhere near going over. Draper also had a good chance as well but his effort was blocked by the backside of a Saint Mirren defender.

 

Luckily we did find a way through and it was from great build up down the left and, more incredibly, from a throw in which we are normally dreadful at. Shinnie played a neat interchange with Christie (I think), receiving the ball back and headed goal wards before cutting the ball back to Tansey who was arriving at the edge of the box and he coolly passed the ball into the net. Great goal from an ICT perspective.

 

As above we dominated the first half but seemed to lose our way in the second half somewhat. Similar to games against Ross County and Partick Thistle in recent weeks it looked like we might pay for not holding a bigger lead. Our passing seemed to become less adventurous and more focused on keeping the ball but minus the attacking intent we had seen in the first half. Saint Mirren looked a lot livelier and more resilient in the second half and we struggled for a time to break them down. Fortunately we did grab a second goal when Raven managed to break down the right and play in Christie who, after what looked like an amazing piece of skilful miscontrol, sent Ridgers the wrong way and doubled our lead. 

 

Saints struck back when a corner was met by Goodwin as he out muscled Warren and steered a header past Esson. After that we had our backs to the wall for most of the rest of the game and MccAusland passed up two great opportunities to draw Saint Mirren level. The first, again from a corner, found him free towards the back post but he couldn't quite bring the Buddies back on level terms. The second chance, perhaps the better of the two, came fro ma free kick which evaded everyone and found its way to MccAusland who seemed somewhat taken aback that it had gotten as far as him, and he couldn't adjust his body to get a header on target.

 

A fine result which should have been more emphatic than the scoreline depicts but thankfully we got away with passing up some of those great chances. It will be interesting to see how we rectify the apparent easing off in games after a good start. Hughes seems to be aware of this (based on his post match interview) but we haven't seen any changes yet to stop this from happening. We dropped a vital two points against County because of it so hopefully it won't happen again.

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Meekings had a header come off the bar. Some folk said that it might have gone in but even from the normally non conclusive highlights it doesn't look like it's anywhere near going over.

I wondered if it had gone in at the time because the net rippled, but from the highlights it was clear that Ridgers punched the net - that's what made it ripple.

The second chance, perhaps the better of the two, came fro ma free kick which evaded everyone and found its way to MccAusland who seemed somewhat taken aback that it had gotten as far as him, and he couldn't adjust his body to get a header on target.

Someone - Shinnie, I think - got a touch on the cross which took it higher than McAusland expected and the ball ended up just hitting him and going wide. That touch denied him a free header, and in all likelihood an equaliser.

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I wondered if perhaps someone had clattered into the frame of the goal and that caused it to shake but obviously not.

 

And yeah, it looked like someone just got a wee bit on the cross to adjust the flight of the ball. Helpful for us!

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Final observations on the day:

WTF was that fanfare at the beginning all about. Oh the irony of playing that and St Mirren running out.

Did any one else notice Blobby Madden pace out 9 (yes 9) yards the first time he used the spray? Only in Scotland!

And Goodwin looks even more of a pr1ck than he did before.

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Just realised that we've won all 3 of our league games v St Mirren this season, AND knocked them out of the cup.  They must hate playing us!

 

They are also the team that ICT has racked up the most wins against in our history.  How things have changed since St Mirrren were the glamour opposition who were the new club's first opponents in 1994.

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This second half thing is developing into a pattern, especially away from home. What seems to be happening is that home sides (Partick, St. Mirren etc.) have to come out in the first half and attack us, which means we have a midfield that we can play through. At the moment, the standard is so good that we can do this almost at will. Having a focal point to the attack with the pace of watkins is frightening for most teams and by the time they can readjust, we are invariably two up. At that point, sides tend to stiffen the midfield but because they have done that they lessen their attacking options and find it hard to create more than a couple of chances. It's hobsons choice for them really, because if they continue to attack, we continue to counter and score. At home, it's different and teams line up defensively from the start and we can sometimes have a hard time breaking them down.

If I were Aberdeen and Dundee United, both of whom we play away in the next month, I would be very very worried.

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Just realised that we've won all 3 of our league games v St Mirren this season, AND knocked them out of the cup.  They must hate playing us!

 

They are also the team that ICT has racked up the most wins against in our history.  How things have changed since St Mirrren were the glamour opposition who were the new club's first opponents in 1994.

I remember when Caledonian were drawn away to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup (lost 3-0) and considered it such a big game. I couldn't 'get my head round' the likes of Wilson Robertson sharing a pitch with Campbell Money! :lol:

That concept must seem alien to younger fans! But, It's what makes the whole ICT journey so rewarding!

Oh god, I used the cliché, 'journey'! :blush:

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Just realised that we've won all 3 of our league games v St Mirren this season, AND knocked them out of the cup.  They must hate playing us!

 

They are also the team that ICT has racked up the most wins against in our history.  How things have changed since St Mirrren were the glamour opposition who were the new club's first opponents in 1994.

I remember when Caledonian were drawn away to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup (lost 3-0) and considered it such a big game. I couldn't 'get my head round' the likes of Wilson Robertson sharing a pitch with Campbell Money! :lol:

That concept must seem alien to younger fans! But, It's what makes the whole ICT journey so rewarding!

Oh god, I used the cliché, 'journey'! :blush:

 

 

The game was played from recollection on a frozen pitch with the player using 'pimpled' sole trainers. Can you imagine that today?

 

Wilson Robertson had a one on one at 0-0 but, just for a change!, missed

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I've seen refs only count to 9 a few times at TCS if they can't get that right what about the distance.

For those who can remember keepy upy keeper how about the 10 yard ref. I bet most are about 2' short of the distance.

It's a strange one from FIFA. As much as I welcome the use of the spray to enforce the distance, it's almost like the foam idea should have come after a way of accurately measuring the 10 yards. The distance is still subject to a refs judgement. I'm not suggesting a measuring tape, but in this day-and-age, there must be a way of quickly measuring the correct distance - then the foam line would have more credence.

Perhaps the ref could stand at the spot where the free-kick's to be taken and point a laser-pen at the pitch ahead.

(apologies to the Laws of Physics - and any scientists cringing at this suggestion!)

Can a laser-pen (or similar) be pre-programmed to emit to a defined distance (say, 10 yards)? The players would then have to get behind the line and the ref would then spray the foam to ensure there's no encroaching!

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I've seen refs only count to 9 a few times at TCS if they can't get that right what about the distance.

For those who can remember keepy upy keeper how about the 10 yard ref. I bet most are about 2' short of the distance.

That's only one possible inaccuracy. There is also the assumption that each step is an accurate yard which I often doubt. The 10 yard rule must be one of the most poorly observed in football by referees.

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I've seen refs only count to 9 a few times at TCS if they can't get that right what about the distance.

For those who can remember keepy upy keeper how about the 10 yard ref. I bet most are about 2' short of the distance.

That's only one possible inaccuracy. There is also the assumption that each step is an accurate yard which I often doubt. The 10 yard rule must be one of the most poorly observed in football by referees.

 

 

You would hope that someone whose job involved measuring 10 yards would have worked out how to accurately measure 10 yards using their stride.

 

But given they had to be taken away for a week to be shown how to work a spray can, I am probably over-estimating their capabilities.

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51 points In mid-February!! The club records of 57 (top-six record) and 58 (all-time top-flight record) are going to fall! Fewest goals against is also currently on-course.

Time for a speculative update:

With an average of 2.04 points-per-game, we are miles ahead of our record 1.53!

 

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I've seen refs only count to 9 a few times at TCS if they can't get that right what about the distance.

For those who can remember keepy upy keeper how about the 10 yard ref. I bet most are about 2' short of the distance.

That's only one possible inaccuracy. There is also the assumption that each step is an accurate yard which I often doubt. The 10 yard rule must be one of the most poorly observed in football by referees.

 

It ikrs me somewhat that they spray a straight line. Surely the line should be curved?

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Can a laser-pen (or similar) be pre-programmed to emit to a defined distance (say, 10 yards)? The players would then have to get behind the line and the ref would then spray the foam to ensure there's no encroaching!

 

 

I suppose in theory some sort of sonic radar device could be used but you will only get a laser to go exactly 10 yards if you fire it at something which is exactly 10 yards away.  Perhaps a more practical solution could be a simple retractable tape measure.  The referee could ask one of the defenders to take the end and walk toward the goal until told to stop when the appropriate distance has been reached.  He would then be told to hold the end still till the referee walks up to the point.  The ref would then spray his foam, pocket his tape, get to his position and blow his whistle.  Any defender encroaching would be booked.

 

Incidentally, what annoys me as much as all the encroaching is the delay in taking the kick whilst everyone gets ready.  If the ref was to blow for the kick to be taken as soon as he had accurately marked the distance and taken up his position then everybody should be ready.  The defending side has, after all, just committed a foul so why should the attacking team be held back anymore time than the referee needs before they take the kick.

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It ikrs me somewhat that they spray a straight line. Surely the line should be curved?

 

 

Steady on, let's not make this more complicated for them than it already is!

 

Yes,  Otherwise we might also needs rules to define how far forward a defender can lean without any part of his body being within 10 yards of the ball.

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AlexJones is absolutely spot-on! It should be a curved line! I'd never thought of that before!!

 

I suppose football will never be an exact science!

I've just watched the goals from the Hamilton game yesterday - including the ones that should have counted! Rooney's goal particularly was such bad refereeing. Can't blame Collum as he was relying on his linesman to call that one.

 

I know this is WAY off-topic, but I noticed in the Cricket World Cup, yesterday, that the governing body acknowledged a mistake by their officials in a game by releasing a statement to confirm an error had occurred.

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