Today we have a Wednesday evening match up at Peterhead, for us a 4 hour + drive to the Balmoor Stadium. We are still in the midst of the transfer window, so there are a few bits before the match to go through.
Brilliant news, as Kieran extends his contract until the end of the 22/23 season. I especially love the last line of the message :). At only 3100/wk this is a bit of a steal after all manner of clubs were sniffing around with his previous contract ending in the summer. If we continue on and win the league with a few games left Kieran will be getting a lot more game time as we look to the future, but its impossible to not play Seany-Boy at the moment, especially as he’s scored in 9 of the last 10 games, and the last 5 on the trot!!!!!
PLAYER LEAVING
Martin McNiff has gone to East Fife on a free. He played 36 times for us after arriving from Clyde in 2018, scoring 4 goals but has only featured twice this season.
Archie Gardiner made team of the week for League 2.
Our Ressies beat Vale of Leithen Res 1-0, Cameron McGinn with the goal.
So we arrive at the Balmoor Stadium for what should be a walk in the park v a Peterhead side well adrift at the bottom of the league, 8 points below Stirling, their last league win coming on 7th November (You guessed it, versus us!!!). As such this will most probably be our most difficult match in a while, there are only 38 points between us…. They have a decent squad, and the season preview still has them top at 5/4 on (We are 3rd at 3/2) so this is a really shocking season for them.
McLaughlin back in for Healy, otherwise unchanged. Just because Peterhead are bottom doesn’t mean we will go Attacking – I may go to Balanced at best. Peterhead go with a 4-4-2, old-boy Lewis Allan up front with our nemesis Rory McAllister (On £800/wk!!!!!!!)
HT Peterhead 1 (Dow 39) Berwick 1 (Slaven 33)
Peterhead start off strongly in the pouring Aberdeenshire rain. A very average half of football, punctuated by lots of free kicks was broken by an Allison long bomb, straight over the top to Sean Slaven, who scored his 20th of the season. 1-0 Berwick. But not soon after it was 1-1, Ryan Dow with a direct free kick. And the half finished the same, Peterhead have been our toughest opponents in this round of games by far. 0/15 Crosses so far as well – may change tack and go narrow, get the wingers off. I’ll give it 10.
FT Peterhead 2 (Dow 39, Hopkirk 80) Berwick 1 (Slaven 33) Att 570 (57 Away)
A very tight start to the half. 4-4-2 Diamond from 60, Sutherland, McGrath & Turner on for Barr, Balde & McLaughlin. A dour half, but Peterhead took the lead in the 80th minute, a Hopkirk 20 yarder from nowhere. 2-1 Peterhead. So fucking predictable. Attack!!! But it finished 2-1. Our streak is over to the bottom team in the league. Of course it is, I could have written this before the game. I can’t wait to get out of this division so I don’t have to play Peterhead 4 times a season…..
Still 15 points clear of Cowdenbeath as they lose again, though if Stenny win their game in hand it will be back to 13 points with 14 games left.
We face Brechin City next (8th), 2 wins in the last 6 (They beat Peterhead 3-1), but they face Stenny before they face us. See you soon for, hopefully, a better performance.