Todays Game, St Johnstone

[kencar]

Well for what its worth I totally disagree with RossP -  I had Hastings as MoTM. In the first half he bombed forward much more than the man in front of him and his cross set up the first goal. Or defence lapses came from the middle with McGuire responsible for both goals.

[Div1309]

any tasty tackles/scuffles between black and morris??

[tm4tj]

Poor game really.  Apart from scoring two goals in the first half we were inept.  Perth played some neat footie but most of it petered out before it got near Esson.  He looked slow to clear from foot, and on numerous occasions today he was almost shut down by the Perth strikers.  He did make one tremendous save from a stinging twenty five yarder, but he threw himself high to his right to tip the ball over and from the resultant corner he showed a safe pair of hands to collect the dangerous cross.  Other than the dodgy kicking, he played pretty well.  McGuire looked poor and Duncan matched him.  Hastings did get forward and delivered a deep ball which found it's way to Cowie who rifled the ball home first time for the opener.  Black appeared to react quickest to a loose ball to poke home number two from close range.  Suspect defending by Saints for both goals as the first cross looked as though it bounced across the box before Don Cowie smacked it home.  Well, they did have Caff in the middle of their defence. 

Second half we started poorly and got worse when McGuire let a high ball bounce and put the defence under pressure for Milne to stab home.  At this point Saints looked likely to catch up and maybe take control of the game.  The North Stand hardly saw the ball in the opening stages of the second half as Saints held the upper hand.  The introduction of Wilson changed our fortunes and he set the ball rolling for number three, with Imrie eventually setting Barrowman up for a tap in from three yards, even yer granny would have scored that one.  Credit to Perth for opening us up again with ease as Milne took a through ball early and lifted the ball over a stranded Esson, Andy Murray take note, well executed finish.

Rory came on for the last few minutes and did better.  He cruised through a couple of tackles in the box but would have been better advised to cut the ball across the box, however the keeper smothered his shot from an acute angle.  Wilson was now stretching the Perth defence and we scored a good goal right at the death, with Bazza again instrumental in the build up.  He released Zander who looked up then played a slide rule ball into the box where the arriving Rory tucked the ball behind the keeper.  Excellent goal all round.

Overall, a lack lustre display with many fans preferring to watch paint dry or even worse contemplate some retail therapy.  Denmark next, maybe that was on their minds, but we will need to sort out the defending and play more ball to the feet of Barrowman.  Still his confidence will have had a wee boost with another goal, albeit a tap in.  I thought Black was once again the shining light for us before being subbed.

Maybe a flattering scoreline, but nevertheless, still a scoreline in our favour

[Guest Chemist]

Thought it went ok yesterday. Disagree with some comments about players, as thought Hastings, Munro, Black, Duncan, were the better, with a few of the subs shining too, Rory had a good 10 mins when he came on, aswell as Wilson. Did fall out of the game for 20-25 minutes in the second half, and only when they scored did we waken up, but for that 20 or so minutes the ball just would not stick when we got out of our own half. Progress made, looking forward to playing two up front more often, and our youngsters look keen and able to impress. Zander must have touched the ball maybe three times but what a pass for the 4th goal. Iwould take a chance and give time a lot more play time. All this too lightweight stuff doesnt wear, cant recall Jimmy Johnston being a 14 STONE 6 FOOT man mountain. Give him time and we will have a gem I think

[Alex MacLeod]

And just a wee reminder to caley100.......Rory's our top scorer so far this pre-season with 6 from 3 games :023:

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

In that case - WE ARE FECKED.

[ICTFCkev]

And just a wee reminder to caley100.......Rory's our top scorer so far this pre-season with 6 from 3 games :023:

Not against SPL quality teams though, most of those came against a distinctly average Highland League club with an 18 year old in goals.

[Scotty]

And just a wee reminder to caley100.......Rory's our top scorer so far this pre-season with 6 from 3 games :023:

Dean McDonald was in a similar position last year !

[gordyfromsneck]

Comments about the glory days of SP are on the money. Based on a flawed model of these pre-season games, we are likely to be a lot more free-scoring this season than last, though similarly leaky. Barrowman will put them away, he is the targetman we have been searching for. Imrie, Vigurs, yes even Rory,  and the usual suspects will all get goals. Barry looks very hungry and should ge the security of an extended contract. He is still an inspiration.

The real problem is at the other end. Easson looked good and will keep Mikey on his toes, but the return of McGuire brought no joy. He seems to be the first to allocate blame after every goal. Both Perth goals came right through the middle and were the result of errors rather than quality play. I canna understand why they are chasing strikers to "expand our attacking options" when they are down to zero choice in mid defence. Deeply scary.

[The Mantis]

I came home from Lewis yesterday on the ferry and missed the game (well being honest, I had forgotten it was on  :023:).

As I came over the Kessock Bridge at about 6.15pm I couldn't help seeing a brilliant rainbow which had TCS right at the end of it.

What an omen eh?

[Libero]

was reaonably pleased with Essons debut, handling, coming out for the ball and shot stopping looked sound, kicking was a little erratic but still pre-season so not too worried about that. i thought hastings had a good game up until the last 10 mins, seemed to switch off and had a few wayward passes. wasnt overly impressed by McBain, i will never question his workrate or commitment as he put in a power of work but i lost track of how many times he was played into a good position and slowed the play right down with back passes. if we were playing a possession game against a stronger team then fine, back passes are useful but not every time we go forward down the left. mcguire looked rusty, first game in a while so hopefully he'll sharpen up a bit.

have to say i thought barrowman did reasonably well, he is a box player and thats exactly what we need, someone to get into the right position at the right time to put them away. i think some people may think barrowman didnt play well because he didnt win many headers, fair enough he didnt win many but that doesnt suit his style of play, why the defence kept launching high balls to the strikers i will never know, we may have had some success in the past launching balls at bayne but we will have to alter our style of play if we are playing with imrie and barrowman up front.

quite pleased with rorys contribution, looks like he's learnt from tokely on how to get past players in the most unconventional manner possible. good goal which could have been his second if he'd taken his earlier chance.

zander and vigurs both looked lively and really hope they get some first team action this year as i think they have a real contribution to make

[Alex MacLeod]

Esson has always been good as a stopper, he's always been good at dealing with cross ball's, his positioning and command of the goalmouth will get better as he gets used to his defence. His one downfall, from what I seen, is his inability to deal with passbacks under pressure.

[gordyfromsneck]

I came home from Lewis yesterday on the ferry and missed the game (well being honest, I had forgotten it was on  :023:).

As I came over the Kessock Bridge at about 6.15pm I couldn't help seeing a brilliant rainbow which had TCS right at the end of it.

What an omen eh?

Great in principle,  but no good unless you got the shot, Mantis.

[The Mantis]

Yep, imagine what Mrs Mantis would say if I carried on to the roundabout, turned, went back over, parked half a mile away and walked onto the bridge for a photo  :023: