Team: O'Donnell, Bhishma, Ayiku, Mackenzie, Nyadu, Gray(Millen), Osborne(Davidson), Fearn(c), Alexander, Fleming, Foley(Dunsire)

This was a game in which we went into in a confident mood despite recent results against us. We all spoke of the need to perform well against the teams near to us in the league, and this was our first real opportunity to get 3 points and a few goals in the process. This team had dropped 8 goals to The Persevere in a recent match, and we had ran them so close in our 4-3 defeat.

We had plenty of time before the game to get warmed up and everyone knew their positions, even though there were a few playing in new ones. With most of our regular midfield missing we knew it would be a battle in there and that the two in the middle would be up against it for most of the game. The match started in the picturesque surroundings of Musselburgh by the sea, and although there was a bit of a wind coming down the field it didn’t have a massive bearing on the game. Chances were few and far between in the opening 15 minutes, with The Stand have a bigger percentage of possession. Just as we were beginning to find our feet and gain more of the ball we lost the first goal and it was a bad one to lose. A nothing ball was chipped forward by their right back and Johnny Mackenzie looked favourite to clear it away, but with the wind behind it the ball came at him faster and he got caught under it and let it bounce over him, allowing the striker to nip in behind him and hit the dropping into the far corner for a well taken finish. This was a real body blow and for the next 10 minutes you could see the heads go down for the Bridge. In that period there were a couple of near misses, and a couple of good blocks from Barry O'Donnell in goaks, but we were still struggling to show anything of note up front - although Matty Osborne was beginning to come onto a good game against his defender. He was getting past him with ease but the final ball was letting him down.

The Bridge finally had a chance with around 25 minutes gone when we won a free kick a couple of yards out side the area out on the right. With our players packing the back post area, John Gray whipped in the free kick with enough curve on it to keep it away from the keeper. The ball cleared the keeper but agonisingly went inches past the junction of the post and bar for a goal kick. Another chance fell our way minutes later when a scramble in the box saw Keith get a chance after good work from Ian, however the resulting shot was half-blocked by the number 4 and the keeper collected it easily.

The Stand had a good player in the central midfield area in their number 8, and everything was going through him - although he wasn’t really going forward he was setting up the play well. From one of his passes their player let fly from all over 30 yards with a great drive, the ball flew over Barry and smashed off the bar before being hacked to safety by Arjun Bhishma. It was a real let-off for the Bridge, and almost straight away a ball broke out to the edge of the box from our corner and John’s snap shot went past the post. Their midfield 4 were causing us some problems because their 2 wingers were coming inside and out-manning Barry and John in the middle, and this lead to another chance for their number 9 just inside the area on the right, but Barry O'Donnell made a smart save at the front post to keep it to 1-0 at the interval.

Half time 1-0 The Stand

One sub had to be used at the break, with Matty coming off injured and Lee Davidson making his debut for the Bridge on the left of midfield. Our mood was positive at the interval and we were confident that the goals and chances would come for us in the second half, but we needed the middle 4 to become a unit and not get spread out across the pitch. A half-chance almost came at the kick off when John floated a through ball over the back line for Barry Fearn to run onto, but the wind carried it just too far and it went out for the goal kick. Ian Fleming and Keith Alexander were getting more of the ball now, but their back 4 were pretty solid and were getting well marshalled by their number 4. Lee was getting stuck in on the left, and when he tried to go past the right back of The Stand he was chopped down along with John in the one tackle! John played the ball long into the penalty area but the ball was cleared at the second attempt by the defence.

Ian was moving out further to the left which was helping Lee and minutes later Ian was crudely brought down around 15 yards from the byline and around 5 yards outside the box. Once more the Bridge players swarmed around the back post waiting for John’s delivery, and this time it was sent in at speed with less height. Their goalkeeper made the decision to come and collect but it was too high and he only got a hand to it and their defender headed it off the line with a pack of Bridge players waiting to knock it in. On another day it would have sailed over the keeper and dropped in under the bar but the luck was just not with us.

About 10 minutes into the second half, Cameron Foley pulled up and signalled that he had to go off with a heavy ankle knock, however with no real cover on the bench due to missing players, Laurie Dunsire had to come on with his injury and play at right back, with Arjun moving up to right midfield. This disruption really didn’t help our cause and within a matter of minutes we went 2 down through another very poor goal to concede. A ball was played down the left wing and with both Arjun and Laurie hesitating over who was going to the ball, the ball was whipped in across the 6 yard line and missed by three defenders, leaving the simplest of tap-ins for their number 7 at the back post. It was a shocker to lose and we were just beginning to get into the game further up field too.

From a couple of through balls played in behind their right back, Ian was through in on goal but on both occasions he screwed his shot wide of the front post, when the shot across the keeper would have been more beneficial to him. They were half-chances at the most, but they would have brought the Bridge right back into the game. As we seem to do in most games now, we lost a goal quickly after the second. A mistimed challenge out on the left wing by Isaac saw him go into the book, and it gave their influential number 8 a chance to fire in a good ball. With the defenders matching up to the attackers, the ball was curved in at a good pace and outfoxed the entire defence before dropping into the net under the bar at the far post. It was never meant as a shot but it was so high there was nothing that Barry in goals could do about it for 3-0 to the Stand. Soon after the restart, Keith gained possession and managed to turn the defender and head into the box, but as he was about to shoot , the ball got stuck under his feet and the chance was lost.

John had played the game with a heavily strapped up thigh, a knock he was been carrying for 2 weeks now, and after making a long sliding challenge to take the ball off the number 8 ‘s toes on the far side he had to come off. Our only option was to bring on Chris Millen (goalkeeper) into the middle of the park, for his first(and probably only) outfield game of his Bridge career. It was a difficult thing for him to do, but he got stuck in well and showed a couple of neat touches, including a Zidane-esque back heel into the path of the on-rushing Barry. There was only around 15 minutes to go now, and with time starting to run out on the Bridge we lost the fourth and final Stand goal.

Another break down the left wasn’t helped by Arjun having to leave the field of play injured, so we were down to 10. A ball was played inside Laurie to their winger who looked a mile offside, but the referee waved play-on and the ball in was met at the front post with a finish high into the net for 4-0. Several Bridge players were spoken to over their dissent to the Ref over the lack of an offside call, but the Ref was having none of it.

The Bridge pushed forward for the last 10 minutes to try and prevent the shut-out, and Kofi Nyadu came close with a good drive from 20 yards. Either side of the keeper would have meant a goal but it was too straight and true, and the keeper collected it. The Bridge won a free kick 30 yards out in the centre of the goal, and with Chris hovering over it, John on the sidelines ordered Keith to have a bash. What came next was one of the sweetest hit free kicks yet for the Bridge star striker, and the ball flew over the wall and high into the net just inside the post for a late consolation goal for the Bridge.

FINAL SCORE – 4-1

Managers Comment:
In the end the game just didn’t go as expected, we were missing too many players to have any real consistency in our play, and with 3 or 4 players playing way below par the game/result was beyond our reach. We are leaking stupid goals each and every week through poor defending, and it HAS to stop soon or my patience will snap and new players WILL be brought in.

2 of the goals we lost yesterday were down to bad errors, with their 2nd goal coming from a ball that went past 3 defenders before reaching the back post for the easiest finish ever. There is a clear lack of confidence in the back 4 at the moment and this is spreading throughout the team, with the wingers having to come back and double up with the full backs all the time. Their central midfielders didn’t really make any late runs or anything so it was only the 2 strikers and the wingers coming up that our defence had to cope with. We will be concentrating on the defence in training on Wednesday so EVERYONE should be there. Overall it was a disappointing game, and it should have been a good chance to claim 3 points on the road. Our game next week is the Scottish Cup match and we have to perform better than this in order to prevent a cricket score.

Best in the Tangerine yesterday were: Kofi at CB for his numerous interceptions (but you need to watch your starting position more), Barry in the midfield battled away as usual, as did John but we were against 3 so it was difficult in there, Ian was excellent up front and covered almost every blade of grass on the pitch, and Keith tried to give the defenders as many problems as possible. M.O.T.M however goes to ISAAC AYIKU for a towering performance at CB, he tackled like a tiger and refused to back down even when faced with several angry confrontations with the opposition. Well done to Isaac on his 1st award of the season.

M.O.T.M. – Isaac Ayiku

(Man of the Match)  

J.

Player Ratings:
GK – Barry O’Donnell (7 out of 10)
RB – Arjun Bhishma (6)
CB – Isaac Ayiku (8)
CB – Kofi Nyadu (7)
LB – Johnny Mackenzie (6)
RM – Cammy Foley (6) (Laurie Dunsire (6) )
CM – Barry Fearn © (7)
CM – John Gray (7) (Chris Millen (6) )
LM – Matty Osborne (6) (Lee Davidson (7) )
STK – Keith Alexander (7)
STK – Ian Fleming (8)