Scottish League 1st Division
Cowdenbeath vs Partick Thistle
Dundee vs Falkirk
Queen of the South vs Ross County
Raith Rovers vs Morton
Stirling vs Dunfermline.
Big game of the day is at Dens where Dundee take on Falkirk , both teams will be there or there about at the climax of the season. League leaders Raith will be Expected to see of Morton and Ross County make the long journey south to take on Queen of the South.
Scottish League 2nd Division
Ayr Utd vs Peterhead
Brechin vs Alloa
East Fife vs Dumbarton
Livingston vs Forfar
Stenhousemuir vs Airdrie
Livingston again feature in the match of the division as they take on league leaders Forfar. East Fife must also be hot favorites to see off lowly Dumberton.
Scottish League 3rd Division
Arbroath vs East Stirling
Clyde vs Albion Rovers
Elgin vs Stranraer
Montrose vs Annan Athletic
Queens Park vs Berwick Rangers
Annan Athletic will be expecting to win away to Montrose as will high flying Berwick at Queens Park. Match of the day is between the 2 promotion hopefuls Arbroath and East Stirling.
Thursday 26 August 2010
UEFA Champions League Draw for Rangers
In Monaco today Scotland's only Representative in the Champions League , Rangers were drawn in Group C. Rangers will face old foes Manchester United and Valencia. The champions will also take on Turkish champions Bursaspor.
Rangers fixtures are....
Tues, Sep 14 - Manchester United (a)
Wed, Sep 29 - Bursaspor (h)
Wed, Oct 20 - Valencia (h)
Tues, Nov 2 - Valencia (a)
Wed, Nov 24 - Manchester United (h)
Tues, Dec 7 - Bursaspor (a)
Tough draw for Rangers , hopefully they can challenge for 2nd place but it looks like its a straight shoot-out between Rangers and Bursaspor for the Europa league spot.
Rangers fixtures are....
Tues, Sep 14 - Manchester United (a)
Wed, Sep 29 - Bursaspor (h)
Wed, Oct 20 - Valencia (h)
Tues, Nov 2 - Valencia (a)
Wed, Nov 24 - Manchester United (h)
Tues, Dec 7 - Bursaspor (a)
Tough draw for Rangers , hopefully they can challenge for 2nd place but it looks like its a straight shoot-out between Rangers and Bursaspor for the Europa league spot.
Our Clubs in the Europa League Play-offs
This is it , who will make it through to the Europa League Group stages and who wont ??. If you are looking at the 1st leg results then it looks like Celtic will make it , Dundee Utd are already out and Motherwell have a real chance of going through.
We start with the biggest match , Motherwell go into their game with Odense BK high on confidence after a 1-0 win away to Killie at the weekend. Manager Craig Brown made changes with this game in mind and still carved out a victory thanks to a Nick Blackman goal. Motherwell need to beware though , Odense BK went away to Brondby on Sunday and came away with a 2-2 draw , to put this result into perspective , Brondby went away to Sporting in the Europa League and won 2-0. Motherwell just need to win 1-0 in this tie to progress , it would be a massive achievement for the team , manager and fans if the "well" do it. Craig Brown will be boosted by the return of John Sutton who missed the Killie game with a virus , he will start up front with Top scorer Jamie Murphy. Stevie Jennings misses out due to his red card in Denmark.
Prediction - Motherwell to win the game 2-1 and hopefully go through in extra time or on penalty's.
Dundee Utd travel to Greece with the match nearly being postponed due to floods at AEK stadium and rivals Panionios fans ripping up their own pitch as they don't want AEK playing there. The match will now take place at Olympiakos Karaiskakis Stadium. There wont be any AEK fans there which is a bonus for Utd , the Greek Authorities deem it to be a safety hazard if the AEK fans are allowed into the stadium. There will be about 600 Utd fans allowed into the game. Utd will be chasing a 1-0 deficit as AEK outclassed the Scottish side at Tannadice last Thursday. Peter Houston's men will need to do a hell of a lot better than they did on Sunday as they were beaten 4-0 at home by 1st Division champions Inverness. John Daly and David Goodwillie will lead the attack as if Utd have any chance they need to score 1st and put a bit of pressure on the Greeks.
Prediction - AEK beat Utd in front of their own fans , so beating them in front of no AEK fans wont be a problem. I think Utd will score but will again get beat 2-1 , maybe 3-1 , AEK are just the Better team.
Finally Celtic travel to Holland to take on Dutch side FC Utrecht. Celtic were well the better team in Glasgow last Thursday as they ran out 2-0 winners after a slow start. Neil Lennon knows that it Celtic get 1 goal then the tie is all but over. Celtic's strikers had enough practice at the weekend as they beat relegation struggles St Mirren 4-0. Utrecht though should not be discounted as they produced an excellent performance at the weekend beating Willem ll 3-0 , a result that would send the Dutch team through tonight. Both teams have defensive frailties but recently Celtic seemed to have shored up their defence as they have not conceded a goal for 3 games. Celtic will be boosted by the return of Cha Du-Ri and Glen Loovens , Joe Ledley might need to play at left back again as Charlie Mulgrew is still injured.
Prediction - I see this being an entertaining game with a few goals , Utrecht might sneak a victory but their defence isn't good enough to keep Celtic out. I go for a 2-2 draw and Celtic progressing to the group stages.
We start with the biggest match , Motherwell go into their game with Odense BK high on confidence after a 1-0 win away to Killie at the weekend. Manager Craig Brown made changes with this game in mind and still carved out a victory thanks to a Nick Blackman goal. Motherwell need to beware though , Odense BK went away to Brondby on Sunday and came away with a 2-2 draw , to put this result into perspective , Brondby went away to Sporting in the Europa League and won 2-0. Motherwell just need to win 1-0 in this tie to progress , it would be a massive achievement for the team , manager and fans if the "well" do it. Craig Brown will be boosted by the return of John Sutton who missed the Killie game with a virus , he will start up front with Top scorer Jamie Murphy. Stevie Jennings misses out due to his red card in Denmark.
Prediction - Motherwell to win the game 2-1 and hopefully go through in extra time or on penalty's.
Dundee Utd travel to Greece with the match nearly being postponed due to floods at AEK stadium and rivals Panionios fans ripping up their own pitch as they don't want AEK playing there. The match will now take place at Olympiakos Karaiskakis Stadium. There wont be any AEK fans there which is a bonus for Utd , the Greek Authorities deem it to be a safety hazard if the AEK fans are allowed into the stadium. There will be about 600 Utd fans allowed into the game. Utd will be chasing a 1-0 deficit as AEK outclassed the Scottish side at Tannadice last Thursday. Peter Houston's men will need to do a hell of a lot better than they did on Sunday as they were beaten 4-0 at home by 1st Division champions Inverness. John Daly and David Goodwillie will lead the attack as if Utd have any chance they need to score 1st and put a bit of pressure on the Greeks.
Prediction - AEK beat Utd in front of their own fans , so beating them in front of no AEK fans wont be a problem. I think Utd will score but will again get beat 2-1 , maybe 3-1 , AEK are just the Better team.
Finally Celtic travel to Holland to take on Dutch side FC Utrecht. Celtic were well the better team in Glasgow last Thursday as they ran out 2-0 winners after a slow start. Neil Lennon knows that it Celtic get 1 goal then the tie is all but over. Celtic's strikers had enough practice at the weekend as they beat relegation struggles St Mirren 4-0. Utrecht though should not be discounted as they produced an excellent performance at the weekend beating Willem ll 3-0 , a result that would send the Dutch team through tonight. Both teams have defensive frailties but recently Celtic seemed to have shored up their defence as they have not conceded a goal for 3 games. Celtic will be boosted by the return of Cha Du-Ri and Glen Loovens , Joe Ledley might need to play at left back again as Charlie Mulgrew is still injured.
Prediction - I see this being an entertaining game with a few goals , Utrecht might sneak a victory but their defence isn't good enough to keep Celtic out. I go for a 2-2 draw and Celtic progressing to the group stages.
CIS League Cup 2nd Round Round up
The CIS cup got underway for most of the SPL sides on Tuesday and Wednesday with a few minor shocks and lots of goals. Tuesday nights action saw Aberdeen stroll to a 3-0 win over Alloa after the Alloa keeper was sent of in 15 minutes. Paul Hartley converted the penalty before McArdle and MCguire add Aberdeen's 2nd and 3rd. Hearts had an easy game as expected as they hammered Elgin 4-0 at Tynecastle , Kevin Kyle scoring 1 of the goals (his 2nd in 2 games). Raith Rovers continued their fine for by knocking out SPL side Hamilton 1-0 , Mark Ferry scoring from close range in 68 minutes. Up in Perth St Johnstone got back to winning ways by beating 1st Division side Morton 2-0 , Scott Dobie headed St Johnstone ahead in 22 mins then 10 minutes before time Murray Davidson finished the tie. Dunfermline and Clyde played out a 5 goals thrill with The Pars finally coming out on top 3-2 , Andy Kirk got 2 goals whilst the impressive Marc McKusker scored again for Clyde. Falkirk showed their class by travelling to Firhill and defeating Partick Thistle 1-0 , Ryan Flynn getting the only goal of the game in 58 minutes. Finally on Tuesday Brechin caused a shock when they beat 1st division title favorites on penalty's after a 2-2 draw. Rory McCallister put Brechin 2-0 up in the 2nd half before 2 quick goals from Dundee in-form striker Leigh Griffiths sent the tie to extra time and penalty's.
Wednesday night saw only 4 games but an abundance of goals , Inverness won a Northern derby by beating Peterhead 3-0 , the impressive Adam Rooney scoring twice. Kilmarnock scored 6 as they hammered Airdrie 6-2 at Rugby Park , Connor Sammon was the hero as he got a hat trick. Queen of the South put in an impressive showing beating 2nd Division high flyers Forfar 4-1 and in another minor shock Ross County saw off SPL side St mirren on penalty's after drawing 3-3 , it was 2-2 after 90 minutes but goals from Paul McGowan (St Mirren) 91mins and Steven Craig (Ross County) 95 mins sent the game to the lucky draw of spot kicks.
its 6 out of 6 for myself as both Hearts and Inverness won midweek , hopefully some of you are following this and have won some money. My nest bet will be at the weekend's games in the SPL and SFL.
the full results are as follows......
Alloa 0 v 3 Aberdeen
Brechin 2 v 2 Dundee (Bechin win on penalty's)
Dunfermline 3 v 2 Clyde
Hearts 4 v 0 Elgin
Partick Thistle 0 v 1 Falkirk
Raith Rovers 1 v 0 Hamilton
St Johnstone 2 v 0 Morton
Inverness 3 v 0 Peterhead
Kilmarnock 6 v 2 Airdrie
Queen of the South 4 v 1 Forfar
Ross County 3 v 3 St Mirren (Ross County win on penalty's)
Wednesday night saw only 4 games but an abundance of goals , Inverness won a Northern derby by beating Peterhead 3-0 , the impressive Adam Rooney scoring twice. Kilmarnock scored 6 as they hammered Airdrie 6-2 at Rugby Park , Connor Sammon was the hero as he got a hat trick. Queen of the South put in an impressive showing beating 2nd Division high flyers Forfar 4-1 and in another minor shock Ross County saw off SPL side St mirren on penalty's after drawing 3-3 , it was 2-2 after 90 minutes but goals from Paul McGowan (St Mirren) 91mins and Steven Craig (Ross County) 95 mins sent the game to the lucky draw of spot kicks.
its 6 out of 6 for myself as both Hearts and Inverness won midweek , hopefully some of you are following this and have won some money. My nest bet will be at the weekend's games in the SPL and SFL.
the full results are as follows......
Alloa 0 v 3 Aberdeen
Brechin 2 v 2 Dundee (Bechin win on penalty's)
Dunfermline 3 v 2 Clyde
Hearts 4 v 0 Elgin
Partick Thistle 0 v 1 Falkirk
Raith Rovers 1 v 0 Hamilton
St Johnstone 2 v 0 Morton
Inverness 3 v 0 Peterhead
Kilmarnock 6 v 2 Airdrie
Queen of the South 4 v 1 Forfar
Ross County 3 v 3 St Mirren (Ross County win on penalty's)
Tuesday 24 August 2010
CIS League Cup 2nd Round Fixtures
Tuesday and Wednesday night sees some of the SPL big taking their place in the first National Cup Competition of the year. SPL League leaders Aberdeen will be looking to continue their early season form by going to 2nd division side Alloa and getting the win. In the past this is the type of fixture that the Dons have slipped up in. Hearts have a much easier tie as they host Elgin who sit bottom of the 3rd division.
First divison high fliers Raith Rover will be looking to shock Hamilton at Starks Park. Hamilton have lost 8 goals in 2 SPL games whereas Raith top the 1st Division averaging 3 goals a game. Dunfermiline get another home cup tie as they take on Clyde , Dundee travel to Brechin , St Johnstone host Morton and Falkirk travel to Patick Thistle in a all 1st Division tie.
Wednesday night games include , St Mirren making the long journey to Dingwall to take on cup specialists Ross County. Inverness take on Peterhead , Kilmarnock host Airdrie in a tasty game and Queen of the South take on the leaders of the 2nd division Forfar.
the full set of fixtures are as follows....
Brechin vs Dundee (tue)
Hearts vs Eglin (tue)
Alloa vs Aberdeen (tue)
St Johnstone vs Morton (tue)
Partick Thistle vs Falkirk (tue)
Raith Rovers vs Hamilton (tue)
Dunfermline vs Clyde (tue)
Kilmarnock vs Airdrie (wed)
Ross County vs St Mirren (wed)
Inverness vs Peterhead (wed)
Queen of the South vs Forfar (wed)
Predictions and bet for this round , Hearts and Inverness to win , again not the biggest price due to Hearts game but both will get you around 1/2.
First divison high fliers Raith Rover will be looking to shock Hamilton at Starks Park. Hamilton have lost 8 goals in 2 SPL games whereas Raith top the 1st Division averaging 3 goals a game. Dunfermiline get another home cup tie as they take on Clyde , Dundee travel to Brechin , St Johnstone host Morton and Falkirk travel to Patick Thistle in a all 1st Division tie.
Wednesday night games include , St Mirren making the long journey to Dingwall to take on cup specialists Ross County. Inverness take on Peterhead , Kilmarnock host Airdrie in a tasty game and Queen of the South take on the leaders of the 2nd division Forfar.
the full set of fixtures are as follows....
Brechin vs Dundee (tue)
Hearts vs Eglin (tue)
Alloa vs Aberdeen (tue)
St Johnstone vs Morton (tue)
Partick Thistle vs Falkirk (tue)
Raith Rovers vs Hamilton (tue)
Dunfermline vs Clyde (tue)
Kilmarnock vs Airdrie (wed)
Ross County vs St Mirren (wed)
Inverness vs Peterhead (wed)
Queen of the South vs Forfar (wed)
Predictions and bet for this round , Hearts and Inverness to win , again not the biggest price due to Hearts game but both will get you around 1/2.
Monday 23 August 2010
SPL Week 2 Round Up...
I think its the first time Ive seen what happened at the weekend in the SPL. Six teams winning isn't strange , but them all winning and keeping a clean sheet. Im not sure that has been done before???. This week in Scotland's top flight there were alot of goals , 18 in 6 games , not bad when you think that six teams failed to score. Here's how the weekend unfolded....
The live ESPN game at lunchtime on Saturday got us kicked off as Hamilton welcomed Hearts to New Douglas Park. Hamilton were hoping to get over their 4-0 thrashing away to Aberdeen last week whilst Hearts were hoping also to get their first win of the season after dropping point at home vs 10 men St Johnstone. It only took 6 minutes for the welcome mat to be removed by Hamilton as Callum Elliot curled in a fine effort. Things went from bad to worse as Simon Mensing made a mistake that David Tempelman punished to make it 2-0. Hamilton thought they had a lifeline in the 2nd half as Ruben Palazuelos was shown a second yellow card but Martin Canning restored parity as he was rightly shown a straight red card for a bad lunge at Elliot. Hearts then put the game to bed as sub Kevin Kyle got his first goal for the jam tarts as he put away the penalty after that terrible challenge. Man of the match Elliot then added the 4th when another Hamilton mistake , this time from Kyle Wilkie who set Elliot free and the youngster finished in off the post from 16 yards. It was a day to forget for Hamilton and already they look like relegation fodder.
Saturday's other game was between last week's high scorers Aberdeen who took an impressive red army of 3200 fans to Perth to take on St Johnstone. The match was decided when Aberdeen sub Darren Mackie sclafed a Sone Aluko cross into the net. Before hand it looked like this game was heading for a 0-0 draw as chances were at a premium. The goal 5 minutes from time maintains Aberdeen's 100% record and condemns St Johnstone to only 1 point from their opening 2 games. A point each would probably been a fair result and it is a bit hard on St Johnstone but Dons manager will be hoping his luck has changed as these were the games that Aberdeen were losing last season.
Big match of the weekend was Sunday's live SKY game between Hibs and Rangers. Hibs opened their new East Stand but it wasn't a lucky omen as Rangers eventually ran away with this game in the 30 minutes. The first half was something to forget as both teams couldn't put 2 passes together. The only talking points in the first half weren't scoring opportunities but a player feigning injury and 2 red cards. Allan McGregor should hide his head in shame as he tried to get Hibs Striker Riordan sent off as they Scuffled after a late challenge. The Gers Keeper hit the deck holding his head when there was clearly no contact. In 43 minutes the game exploded when Lafferty made a rash challenge on Liam Miller. In the melee Kevin McBride blasted the ball off Lafferty only for himself and the Rangers player to see red. Hibs nearly scored early in the 2nd half and only an amazing last gasp tackle by Madjid Bougherra stopped De Graaf from tapping in. The deadlock was broken in 64 minutes when a deflected Papac shot somehow eventually fell to Beattie after a save from Mark Brown. The Englishman composed himself and found Kenny Miller who blasted home, Rangers then brought on impressive new loan Signing Vladimir Wiess who combined with Papac down the left , squared for Miller and it was 2-0. Miller then got his hat-trick in extra time as he was put through by Davis and blasted the ball in the left hand corner. A good result for Rangers who will be glad to get this early difficult fixture out of the way.
Celtic started as they finished off in Inverness last week as they hammered St Mirren 4-0 gaining revenge for that 4-0 humiliation in what was Tony Mowbray's last game as Celtic manager. Joe Ledley got the scoring underway in the 5th minute after good work from Samaras. The game was then put beyond St Mirren as Celtic doubled their lead on 23 minutes as Shaun Maloney finished at the back post after good work out wide by Brown and Fortune. It should have been 3 on 36 minutes as both Maloney and Fortune struck the frame of the goal. Celtic did get their 3rd on 69 minutes as Fortune again provided an assist as he slipped in youngster Jamie Forrest who hammered the ball high into the net. Goal of the game came in the 81st minute as South Korean Ki blasted home a superb 35 yarder after a short corner from Maloney and McCourt. This game was so one sided but Celtic will face a stiffer test in Holland this week as they will hope to make the Europa League group stage after a very good 2-0 win vs Utrecht on Thursday night. St Mirren boss Danny Lennon knows these are not the games that will determine whether the Saints stay up or go down this season , any result away to the Old Firm will be seen as bonus.
Result of the day has to be at Tannedice where 1st Division Champions thrashed Europa League Hopefuls and Scottish Cup Winners Dundee Utd 4-0. Inverness should have been in front well before they scored as they dominated the lackluster Utd. The breakthrough finally came in the 34th minute as Kevin McCann blasted home from just outside the box after a corner from the impressive Johnny Hayes. The result got worse for Utd when Adam Rooney added a second in 51 minutes after good work from Odhiambo. Inverness then added a third 2 minutes later when the Utd defence went sleeping at a throw in , Russel Duncan took full advantage by blasting the ball past Utd keeper Pernis. Dundee Utd's misery was complete in 81 minutes when Adam Rooney scored from the penalty spot after being hauled down by Kenneth. Great Result for Terry Butcher but where does Utd manager Peter Houston go from here after 1 point from 2 games against 2 teams tipped for a relegation battle.
Europa League bound (hopefully) Motherwell got the result they will need on Thursday if they want to make the Group Stages by beating Kilmarnock 1-0 at Rugby park. Craig Brown rested some of his squad but still had a enough to pip relegation strugglers Kilmarnock in front of a crowd of 5399. The only goal of the game came in the 37th minute when on loan Blackburn striker Nick Blackman finished after Chris Humphrey's cross was headed on by another new signing Esteban Casagolda and the Englishman finishing from 6 yards. Killie came close to stealing a point in the dying seconds as Manny Pascali powered a header towards goal but was denied by fantastic save form new Motherwell keep Randolph. Motherwell will now look forward to their date with destiny whilst Killie will point to 2 decent performances but no points.
Celtic 4 v 0 St Mirren
Dundee Utd 0 v 4 Inverness
Hibs 0 v 3 Rangers
Hamilton 0 v 4 Hearts
Kilmarnock 0 v 1 Motherwell
St Johnstone 0 v 1 Aberdeen
My betting prediction came up again this week , thats 6 out of 6 i think so far this season , Celtic and Falkirk came up trumps for me but it wasnt a big win as both only came in just over 1/2. I will again be picking a few teams out on Tuesday and Wednesday as the CIS League cup 2nd Round takes place.
Aberdeen is making the kind of start that was expected last season , it will certainly keep the fans of Mark McGhee's back but Aberdeen must perform in the CIS cup this week as they take on 2nd Division team Alloa who have been doing well. A slip up here will put the pressure back on McGhee. Rangers will be delighted with the result vs Hibs as it one of the hardest places to go in the SPL and get a result. Hibs are conceding too many goals , it must be a massive concern for John Hughes and i dont think he has any money to fix it. Celtic continue to impress although a tougher game is expected next Sunday vs Motherwell away. Both teams are in form and it should be a cracker. Inverness got the result of the week no doubt , im looking forward to seeing winger Johnny Hayes more , he certainly looks a great find. Hearts have started well and will expect to hammer Elgin in the cup midweek , Jeffries is aiming for a cup this season , play like they did on Saturday and they have a chance. St Mirren , Hamilton and Killie are already stuggling although out of the 3 i still think Killie have the best chance of escaping the relegation dogfight. St Johnstone have had a hard start but showed enough last week vs Hearts to show that they have a decent squad and will be pushing to try and get near that top 6. Dundee Utd look terrible so far , are they still basking in that Scottish Cup success?? , they need to get the finger out as they have a talented team.
The live ESPN game at lunchtime on Saturday got us kicked off as Hamilton welcomed Hearts to New Douglas Park. Hamilton were hoping to get over their 4-0 thrashing away to Aberdeen last week whilst Hearts were hoping also to get their first win of the season after dropping point at home vs 10 men St Johnstone. It only took 6 minutes for the welcome mat to be removed by Hamilton as Callum Elliot curled in a fine effort. Things went from bad to worse as Simon Mensing made a mistake that David Tempelman punished to make it 2-0. Hamilton thought they had a lifeline in the 2nd half as Ruben Palazuelos was shown a second yellow card but Martin Canning restored parity as he was rightly shown a straight red card for a bad lunge at Elliot. Hearts then put the game to bed as sub Kevin Kyle got his first goal for the jam tarts as he put away the penalty after that terrible challenge. Man of the match Elliot then added the 4th when another Hamilton mistake , this time from Kyle Wilkie who set Elliot free and the youngster finished in off the post from 16 yards. It was a day to forget for Hamilton and already they look like relegation fodder.
Saturday's other game was between last week's high scorers Aberdeen who took an impressive red army of 3200 fans to Perth to take on St Johnstone. The match was decided when Aberdeen sub Darren Mackie sclafed a Sone Aluko cross into the net. Before hand it looked like this game was heading for a 0-0 draw as chances were at a premium. The goal 5 minutes from time maintains Aberdeen's 100% record and condemns St Johnstone to only 1 point from their opening 2 games. A point each would probably been a fair result and it is a bit hard on St Johnstone but Dons manager will be hoping his luck has changed as these were the games that Aberdeen were losing last season.
Big match of the weekend was Sunday's live SKY game between Hibs and Rangers. Hibs opened their new East Stand but it wasn't a lucky omen as Rangers eventually ran away with this game in the 30 minutes. The first half was something to forget as both teams couldn't put 2 passes together. The only talking points in the first half weren't scoring opportunities but a player feigning injury and 2 red cards. Allan McGregor should hide his head in shame as he tried to get Hibs Striker Riordan sent off as they Scuffled after a late challenge. The Gers Keeper hit the deck holding his head when there was clearly no contact. In 43 minutes the game exploded when Lafferty made a rash challenge on Liam Miller. In the melee Kevin McBride blasted the ball off Lafferty only for himself and the Rangers player to see red. Hibs nearly scored early in the 2nd half and only an amazing last gasp tackle by Madjid Bougherra stopped De Graaf from tapping in. The deadlock was broken in 64 minutes when a deflected Papac shot somehow eventually fell to Beattie after a save from Mark Brown. The Englishman composed himself and found Kenny Miller who blasted home, Rangers then brought on impressive new loan Signing Vladimir Wiess who combined with Papac down the left , squared for Miller and it was 2-0. Miller then got his hat-trick in extra time as he was put through by Davis and blasted the ball in the left hand corner. A good result for Rangers who will be glad to get this early difficult fixture out of the way.
Celtic started as they finished off in Inverness last week as they hammered St Mirren 4-0 gaining revenge for that 4-0 humiliation in what was Tony Mowbray's last game as Celtic manager. Joe Ledley got the scoring underway in the 5th minute after good work from Samaras. The game was then put beyond St Mirren as Celtic doubled their lead on 23 minutes as Shaun Maloney finished at the back post after good work out wide by Brown and Fortune. It should have been 3 on 36 minutes as both Maloney and Fortune struck the frame of the goal. Celtic did get their 3rd on 69 minutes as Fortune again provided an assist as he slipped in youngster Jamie Forrest who hammered the ball high into the net. Goal of the game came in the 81st minute as South Korean Ki blasted home a superb 35 yarder after a short corner from Maloney and McCourt. This game was so one sided but Celtic will face a stiffer test in Holland this week as they will hope to make the Europa League group stage after a very good 2-0 win vs Utrecht on Thursday night. St Mirren boss Danny Lennon knows these are not the games that will determine whether the Saints stay up or go down this season , any result away to the Old Firm will be seen as bonus.
Result of the day has to be at Tannedice where 1st Division Champions thrashed Europa League Hopefuls and Scottish Cup Winners Dundee Utd 4-0. Inverness should have been in front well before they scored as they dominated the lackluster Utd. The breakthrough finally came in the 34th minute as Kevin McCann blasted home from just outside the box after a corner from the impressive Johnny Hayes. The result got worse for Utd when Adam Rooney added a second in 51 minutes after good work from Odhiambo. Inverness then added a third 2 minutes later when the Utd defence went sleeping at a throw in , Russel Duncan took full advantage by blasting the ball past Utd keeper Pernis. Dundee Utd's misery was complete in 81 minutes when Adam Rooney scored from the penalty spot after being hauled down by Kenneth. Great Result for Terry Butcher but where does Utd manager Peter Houston go from here after 1 point from 2 games against 2 teams tipped for a relegation battle.
Europa League bound (hopefully) Motherwell got the result they will need on Thursday if they want to make the Group Stages by beating Kilmarnock 1-0 at Rugby park. Craig Brown rested some of his squad but still had a enough to pip relegation strugglers Kilmarnock in front of a crowd of 5399. The only goal of the game came in the 37th minute when on loan Blackburn striker Nick Blackman finished after Chris Humphrey's cross was headed on by another new signing Esteban Casagolda and the Englishman finishing from 6 yards. Killie came close to stealing a point in the dying seconds as Manny Pascali powered a header towards goal but was denied by fantastic save form new Motherwell keep Randolph. Motherwell will now look forward to their date with destiny whilst Killie will point to 2 decent performances but no points.
Celtic 4 v 0 St Mirren
Dundee Utd 0 v 4 Inverness
Hibs 0 v 3 Rangers
Hamilton 0 v 4 Hearts
Kilmarnock 0 v 1 Motherwell
St Johnstone 0 v 1 Aberdeen
My betting prediction came up again this week , thats 6 out of 6 i think so far this season , Celtic and Falkirk came up trumps for me but it wasnt a big win as both only came in just over 1/2. I will again be picking a few teams out on Tuesday and Wednesday as the CIS League cup 2nd Round takes place.
Aberdeen is making the kind of start that was expected last season , it will certainly keep the fans of Mark McGhee's back but Aberdeen must perform in the CIS cup this week as they take on 2nd Division team Alloa who have been doing well. A slip up here will put the pressure back on McGhee. Rangers will be delighted with the result vs Hibs as it one of the hardest places to go in the SPL and get a result. Hibs are conceding too many goals , it must be a massive concern for John Hughes and i dont think he has any money to fix it. Celtic continue to impress although a tougher game is expected next Sunday vs Motherwell away. Both teams are in form and it should be a cracker. Inverness got the result of the week no doubt , im looking forward to seeing winger Johnny Hayes more , he certainly looks a great find. Hearts have started well and will expect to hammer Elgin in the cup midweek , Jeffries is aiming for a cup this season , play like they did on Saturday and they have a chance. St Mirren , Hamilton and Killie are already stuggling although out of the 3 i still think Killie have the best chance of escaping the relegation dogfight. St Johnstone have had a hard start but showed enough last week vs Hearts to show that they have a decent squad and will be pushing to try and get near that top 6. Dundee Utd look terrible so far , are they still basking in that Scottish Cup success?? , they need to get the finger out as they have a talented team.
SFL Week 3 Results Round up...
As the SFL entered its 3rd week the football season is now truly underway in Scotland's lower divisions. With many teams now beginning to hit match fitness the league table's are taking shape. Raith Rovers are now the only club in the SFL with 3 wins from 3.
In the 1st Division the match of the day was at Starks Park as the 2 teams with 100% record's collided. Raith Rovers hosted Dunfermline in front of 6169 fans , far and away the biggest crowd in the division (even more than the televised Hamiltion vs Hearts game on ESPN). Raith Rovers ran out 2-0 winners thanks to 2nd half goals from Iain Davidson and Laurence Ellis. Raith now have 3 wins from 3 and have a healthy goal difference as they are averaging 3 goals a game with only 1 conceded.
Up at Dens Park Dundee and Ross County played out a disappointing 0-0 draw , Gary Harkins came closest for Dundee in a match of few chances when he rattled the bar in 31 minutes. Dundee are struggling for goals so far this season with only 1 in the league. Ross County manager will be happy with the point against a title rival.
Falkirk got revenge for their ALBA Cup defeat by Stirling by beating them 3-0. Falkirk should have been ahead at half time as the healthy crowd of 4196 saw chance after chance missed. The Bairns finally too the lead on the hour when Mark Twaddel opened his account for the season , 2 quick fire goals finished off Stirling as Stewart and Compton added Falkirk's second and third on 70 and 79 minutes.
Across in Greenock , Morton got their first win of the season by beating the inconsistent Partick Thistle 2-0. Stewart Kean opened the scoring on 18 minutes but it took the Greenock side until the 88th minute to finally finish Thistle off as Michael Tidser blasted home as his free kick was blocked.
In Sunday's game Queen of the South registered their first win of the season by beating promoted Cowdenbeath 3-1 at Central Park. The Dunfries outfit were 2-0 up before Mckenzie pulled one back for Jimmy Nicholl's team. Ryan McGuffie finished of this game as a contest on 86 minutes blasting home from 12 yards. Queens David Lilley was sent off late on for 2 yellow cards.
Cowdenbeath 1 v 3 Queen of the South
Dundee 0 v 0 Ross County
Falkirk 3 v 0 Sirling Albion
Morton 2 v 0 Partick Thistle
Raith Rovers 2 v 0 Dunfermline.
Forfar lead a 3 way tie at the top of the 2nd Division on goals difference as they were held at home vs Brechin. Chris Templeman got his 4th of the season as he headed Forfar ahead in 59 minutes , but he was cancelled out by a Charlie King strike in 77minutes as Brechin took advantage of poor marking from a Janczck corner.
Ayr got their first win of the season by beating lowly Dumbarton 1-0. The second biggest crowd of the day in the 2nd Division saw the Ayrshire men win courtesy of a own goal by Paul Maxwell on 35 minutes. The win lifts Ayr to 7th whilst Dumbarton are rock bottom.
Joining Dumbarton at the bottom of the league with zero points is Peterhead who surrendered a 1 goal lead before going down 2-1 to East Fife. Martin Bavidge scored for Peterhead just before half time but goals form Craig Johnstone and a Robert Sloan free kick on 82 minutes condemned the team from the North East to defeat.
A crowd of 1863 watched Livingston come from behind to beat Airdrie 2-1 , Scott Gemmill scored his 3rd of the season to put Airdrie ahead on 5 mins. Ian Russel got the equaliser for Livi on 24 minutes (his 4th of the season) before a Raffaelle De Vita strike on 73 minutes got the win that put Livi joint top on 7 points.
Stenhousemuir lost their first game in the league as title contenders Alloa won this game 1-0 thanks to a Bryan Prunty goal in 13 minutes. Prunty scored his 4th goal of the season as he fired home from close range , a goal that puts Alloa second top on goal difference just behind Forfar.
Ayr 1 v 0 Dumbarton
East Fife 2 v 1 Peterhead
Forfar 1 v 1 Brechin
Livingston 2 v 1 Airdrie
Stenhousemuir 0 v 1 Alloa
Berwick Rangers sit proudly top the 3rd Division on goal difference as they hammered Clyde 4-1 away from home. Steven Noteman opened the scoring on 8 minutes with a 35 yarder screamer. Marc McKusker then got his 6th of the season as he pulled Clyde level but within 6 minutes Berwick were ahead again as Paul Currie got the first of his 2 goals in 64 minutes. O'Reilly then added a third for the wee Rangers on 70 minutes before Currie got his 2nd when he scored from close range with 6 minutes remaining.
The Dunfries derby provided a 4 goal thriller as Annan Athletic came from 2 goals down to grab an exciting draw. Within 7 minutes Stranraer were 2-0 up as Chris McColm grabbed his 5th of the season followed by a Romauld Bouadj strike. Ian Harty got one back for Annan on 13 minutes and the comeback was complete on 67 minutes as Jordan Halsman headed home a Gillfillan cross.
Montrose hosted the crowd of the day in the 3rd division as 1012 saw the home team get their first win of the season by thrashing Arbroath 3-0 in what was seen as a shock. Allan Campbell opened the scoring in 8 minutes before Chris Hegarty scored in 22 minutes. Paul Tosh then got his second of the season by getting on the end of a Thomson cross completing an amazing 1st half for the Gable Endies.
In Coatbridge Albion Rovers got their first win of the season by seeing of Queens Park 2-1. A crowd of 497 saw Chris Hamilton grab a brace before Martin McBride converted a penalty in the last minute as Alan Benton had handled in the box. The win lifts Albion to 5th whilst Queens Park drop to 8th.
Title contenders East Stirling had a routine 2-0 win away to strugglers Elgin. David Dunn opened the scoring in the 78th minute as he converted a penalty. James Stevenson the finsihed the game as the fired in a 30 yarder free kick into the top corner. Elgin are now the only team in the division without a point.
Albion Rovers 2 v 1 Queens Park
Annan Atletic 2 v 2 Stranraer
Clyde 1 v 4 Berwick Rangers
Elgin 0 v 2 East Stirling
Montrose 3 v 0 Arbroath
In the 1st Division the match of the day was at Starks Park as the 2 teams with 100% record's collided. Raith Rovers hosted Dunfermline in front of 6169 fans , far and away the biggest crowd in the division (even more than the televised Hamiltion vs Hearts game on ESPN). Raith Rovers ran out 2-0 winners thanks to 2nd half goals from Iain Davidson and Laurence Ellis. Raith now have 3 wins from 3 and have a healthy goal difference as they are averaging 3 goals a game with only 1 conceded.
Up at Dens Park Dundee and Ross County played out a disappointing 0-0 draw , Gary Harkins came closest for Dundee in a match of few chances when he rattled the bar in 31 minutes. Dundee are struggling for goals so far this season with only 1 in the league. Ross County manager will be happy with the point against a title rival.
Falkirk got revenge for their ALBA Cup defeat by Stirling by beating them 3-0. Falkirk should have been ahead at half time as the healthy crowd of 4196 saw chance after chance missed. The Bairns finally too the lead on the hour when Mark Twaddel opened his account for the season , 2 quick fire goals finished off Stirling as Stewart and Compton added Falkirk's second and third on 70 and 79 minutes.
Across in Greenock , Morton got their first win of the season by beating the inconsistent Partick Thistle 2-0. Stewart Kean opened the scoring on 18 minutes but it took the Greenock side until the 88th minute to finally finish Thistle off as Michael Tidser blasted home as his free kick was blocked.
In Sunday's game Queen of the South registered their first win of the season by beating promoted Cowdenbeath 3-1 at Central Park. The Dunfries outfit were 2-0 up before Mckenzie pulled one back for Jimmy Nicholl's team. Ryan McGuffie finished of this game as a contest on 86 minutes blasting home from 12 yards. Queens David Lilley was sent off late on for 2 yellow cards.
Cowdenbeath 1 v 3 Queen of the South
Dundee 0 v 0 Ross County
Falkirk 3 v 0 Sirling Albion
Morton 2 v 0 Partick Thistle
Raith Rovers 2 v 0 Dunfermline.
Forfar lead a 3 way tie at the top of the 2nd Division on goals difference as they were held at home vs Brechin. Chris Templeman got his 4th of the season as he headed Forfar ahead in 59 minutes , but he was cancelled out by a Charlie King strike in 77minutes as Brechin took advantage of poor marking from a Janczck corner.
Ayr got their first win of the season by beating lowly Dumbarton 1-0. The second biggest crowd of the day in the 2nd Division saw the Ayrshire men win courtesy of a own goal by Paul Maxwell on 35 minutes. The win lifts Ayr to 7th whilst Dumbarton are rock bottom.
Joining Dumbarton at the bottom of the league with zero points is Peterhead who surrendered a 1 goal lead before going down 2-1 to East Fife. Martin Bavidge scored for Peterhead just before half time but goals form Craig Johnstone and a Robert Sloan free kick on 82 minutes condemned the team from the North East to defeat.
A crowd of 1863 watched Livingston come from behind to beat Airdrie 2-1 , Scott Gemmill scored his 3rd of the season to put Airdrie ahead on 5 mins. Ian Russel got the equaliser for Livi on 24 minutes (his 4th of the season) before a Raffaelle De Vita strike on 73 minutes got the win that put Livi joint top on 7 points.
Stenhousemuir lost their first game in the league as title contenders Alloa won this game 1-0 thanks to a Bryan Prunty goal in 13 minutes. Prunty scored his 4th goal of the season as he fired home from close range , a goal that puts Alloa second top on goal difference just behind Forfar.
Ayr 1 v 0 Dumbarton
East Fife 2 v 1 Peterhead
Forfar 1 v 1 Brechin
Livingston 2 v 1 Airdrie
Stenhousemuir 0 v 1 Alloa
Berwick Rangers sit proudly top the 3rd Division on goal difference as they hammered Clyde 4-1 away from home. Steven Noteman opened the scoring on 8 minutes with a 35 yarder screamer. Marc McKusker then got his 6th of the season as he pulled Clyde level but within 6 minutes Berwick were ahead again as Paul Currie got the first of his 2 goals in 64 minutes. O'Reilly then added a third for the wee Rangers on 70 minutes before Currie got his 2nd when he scored from close range with 6 minutes remaining.
The Dunfries derby provided a 4 goal thriller as Annan Athletic came from 2 goals down to grab an exciting draw. Within 7 minutes Stranraer were 2-0 up as Chris McColm grabbed his 5th of the season followed by a Romauld Bouadj strike. Ian Harty got one back for Annan on 13 minutes and the comeback was complete on 67 minutes as Jordan Halsman headed home a Gillfillan cross.
Montrose hosted the crowd of the day in the 3rd division as 1012 saw the home team get their first win of the season by thrashing Arbroath 3-0 in what was seen as a shock. Allan Campbell opened the scoring in 8 minutes before Chris Hegarty scored in 22 minutes. Paul Tosh then got his second of the season by getting on the end of a Thomson cross completing an amazing 1st half for the Gable Endies.
In Coatbridge Albion Rovers got their first win of the season by seeing of Queens Park 2-1. A crowd of 497 saw Chris Hamilton grab a brace before Martin McBride converted a penalty in the last minute as Alan Benton had handled in the box. The win lifts Albion to 5th whilst Queens Park drop to 8th.
Title contenders East Stirling had a routine 2-0 win away to strugglers Elgin. David Dunn opened the scoring in the 78th minute as he converted a penalty. James Stevenson the finsihed the game as the fired in a 30 yarder free kick into the top corner. Elgin are now the only team in the division without a point.
Albion Rovers 2 v 1 Queens Park
Annan Atletic 2 v 2 Stranraer
Clyde 1 v 4 Berwick Rangers
Elgin 0 v 2 East Stirling
Montrose 3 v 0 Arbroath
Saturday 21 August 2010
SFL Fixtures Round 3...
Scottish 1st Division
Dundee vs Ross County
Falkirk vs Stirling Albion
Morton vs Partick Thistle
Raith Rovers vs Dunfermilne
Cowdenbeath vs Queen of the South (sun)
Match of the day is the top of the table clash and Local derby between Raith Rovers and Dunfermline. Both teams have a 100% record so somebody's perfect start has to go. Thistle will take a big crowd to Morton in what is always an interesting game.
Scottish 2nd Division
Ayr vs Dumbarton
East Fife vs Peterhead
Forfar vs Brechin
Livingston vs Airdrie
Stenhousemuir vs Alloa
The Derby between league leader Forfar and Brechin looks the game of the week although Alloa's visit to Stenhousemuir looks like It could produce a few goals as Alloa have already scored 6 in 2 games.
Scottish 3rd Division
Albion Rovers vs Queens Park
Annan vs Stranraer
Clyde vs Berwick Rangers
Elgin vs East Stirling
Montrose vs Arbroath
The Dunfries derby with Annan vs Stranraer is the big match of the day in the 3rd division. Arbroath will be looking to get back to winning ways by beating Montrose in another Local derby.
Dundee vs Ross County
Falkirk vs Stirling Albion
Morton vs Partick Thistle
Raith Rovers vs Dunfermilne
Cowdenbeath vs Queen of the South (sun)
Match of the day is the top of the table clash and Local derby between Raith Rovers and Dunfermline. Both teams have a 100% record so somebody's perfect start has to go. Thistle will take a big crowd to Morton in what is always an interesting game.
Scottish 2nd Division
Ayr vs Dumbarton
East Fife vs Peterhead
Forfar vs Brechin
Livingston vs Airdrie
Stenhousemuir vs Alloa
The Derby between league leader Forfar and Brechin looks the game of the week although Alloa's visit to Stenhousemuir looks like It could produce a few goals as Alloa have already scored 6 in 2 games.
Scottish 3rd Division
Albion Rovers vs Queens Park
Annan vs Stranraer
Clyde vs Berwick Rangers
Elgin vs East Stirling
Montrose vs Arbroath
The Dunfries derby with Annan vs Stranraer is the big match of the day in the 3rd division. Arbroath will be looking to get back to winning ways by beating Montrose in another Local derby.
SPL Week 2 Fixtures....
SPL Premier Division
Hamilton vs Hearts
St Johnstone vs Aberdeen
Hibs vs Rangers (sun)
Celtic vs St Mirren (sun)
Dundee Utd vs Inverness (sun)
Kilmarnock vs Motherwell (sun)
As you will see above 4 of our games will be taking place on Sunday due to club being involved in European competition. Th early kick off on Saturday will see Hamiltion taking on Hearts , both will be looking for better results than last week as Hamilton were horsed 4-0 by Aberdeen and Hearts could only manage a 1-1 home draw with St Johnstone.
Aberdeen travel to St Johnstone also on Saturday looking to stay top of the league after their impressive 4-0 win last week , St johnstone will be looking to add to their decent start which saw then hold Hearts with 10 men.
Big match on Sunday is the SKY SPORTS 4 live mate between Hibs and Rangers. Hibs got over their European disappointments by beating Mothwerwell 3-2 at Fir Park whilst the champions will be looking to new loan signing Vladimir Weiss to supply the ammunition for strikers Beattie and Miller.
Celtic take on St Mirren and will be hoping to build on their impressive performance vs Utrecht midweek , the Paisley side will travel to Parkhead hoping to get over their disappointment of conceding a last minute goal that denied them a win vs Dundee Utd last week.
Dundee Utd take on Highlanders Inverness in a game they must win if they want to travel to Greece with any confidence. Utd started slowly last week and only managed a draw away to St Mirren , Inverness started brightly vs Celtic last week in the SPL opener but fell away and were eventually defeated 1-0.
Kilmarnock take on Europa League hopefuls Motherwell in a game that might see Craig Brown rest some of his stars before that massive game vs Odense BK on Thursday. Kilmarnock played well last week vs Rangers and were beaten 2-1 , Motherwell were beaten 3-2 at home but i feel their minds are totally on the Europa League at the moment.
My betting prediction - there is not much to play with this week i feel in both the SPL and SFL , I'm going for a Celtic win that offers low odds and Falkirk to gain revenge for their ALBA cup defeat against Stirling Albion. Both teams odds add up to just of 1/2.
Hamilton vs Hearts
St Johnstone vs Aberdeen
Hibs vs Rangers (sun)
Celtic vs St Mirren (sun)
Dundee Utd vs Inverness (sun)
Kilmarnock vs Motherwell (sun)
As you will see above 4 of our games will be taking place on Sunday due to club being involved in European competition. Th early kick off on Saturday will see Hamiltion taking on Hearts , both will be looking for better results than last week as Hamilton were horsed 4-0 by Aberdeen and Hearts could only manage a 1-1 home draw with St Johnstone.
Aberdeen travel to St Johnstone also on Saturday looking to stay top of the league after their impressive 4-0 win last week , St johnstone will be looking to add to their decent start which saw then hold Hearts with 10 men.
Big match on Sunday is the SKY SPORTS 4 live mate between Hibs and Rangers. Hibs got over their European disappointments by beating Mothwerwell 3-2 at Fir Park whilst the champions will be looking to new loan signing Vladimir Weiss to supply the ammunition for strikers Beattie and Miller.
Celtic take on St Mirren and will be hoping to build on their impressive performance vs Utrecht midweek , the Paisley side will travel to Parkhead hoping to get over their disappointment of conceding a last minute goal that denied them a win vs Dundee Utd last week.
Dundee Utd take on Highlanders Inverness in a game they must win if they want to travel to Greece with any confidence. Utd started slowly last week and only managed a draw away to St Mirren , Inverness started brightly vs Celtic last week in the SPL opener but fell away and were eventually defeated 1-0.
Kilmarnock take on Europa League hopefuls Motherwell in a game that might see Craig Brown rest some of his stars before that massive game vs Odense BK on Thursday. Kilmarnock played well last week vs Rangers and were beaten 2-1 , Motherwell were beaten 3-2 at home but i feel their minds are totally on the Europa League at the moment.
My betting prediction - there is not much to play with this week i feel in both the SPL and SFL , I'm going for a Celtic win that offers low odds and Falkirk to gain revenge for their ALBA cup defeat against Stirling Albion. Both teams odds add up to just of 1/2.
Mixed Bag of Results for Scottish Clubs in Europe
Thursday's night Europa League action went very much to plan as Scotland 3 representatives had mixed bag of results. Can i also add that i was very close to predicting all 3 results , my betting so far for this blog has been very good.
Starting with Motherwell and their trip to Denmark to face Odense BK. OHHHH how angry was i watching this game on the internet??. Odense were their for the taking. Motherwell played very well and i couldn't believe the score stood at 2-0 before Tom Hateley's excellent free kick made it 2-1 and gave Motherwell the vital away goal. The Danish defence were all over the place and i agree with "well" manager Craig Brown that Motherwell deserved at least a draw. Only bad finishing kept the Fir park side from getting an even better result. For the return leg Motherwell should attack this team , yes they are decent going forward but their defence is awful , i expect "well" to score maybe up to 3 goals (that's how bad odense defence was) and hopefully they can limit the Danish runners up to 1 goal in return. Motherwell in the Europa League Group Stages eh , well it looks like it will happen , what an achievement for Craig Brown and his team.
Next to celtic who showed their class and dominance to beat Dutch outfit Utrecht 2-0. After a slow start just like the Inverness game , Celtic began to play and it was Mexican Internationalist Efrain Juarez who opened the scoring in 19 minutes. Georgios Samaras then added a second on 34 minutes as Celtic began to cruise in this tie. After the break Celtic seemed content to sit back and hit on the break as Utrecht didn't have the quality to break Celtic and impressive debutant Daniel Majstorovic down. The 2-0 win sets Neil Lennon's side up for the return game very nicely , Celtic know 1 away goal and its all over. I expect Celtic to do this no problem as the gulf from being a top Scottish club to a mid table Dutch club is huge. If and when Celtic go through then they will be in pot 2 of the seeds so hopefully this will give them a good chance of progressing to the knock-out stages.
Lastly to Tannadice where Dundee Utd were given a lesson in European football by AEK Athens. The Greek side ran out 1-0 winners in a game where Utd had very few chances. Rafik Djebbour got the only goal of the game in 11 minutes as Utd struggled against a team who kept the ball better than them. What Utd would have gained is experience , especially the younger players who many were playing in their first European tie. Peter Houston will be looking for a miracle in the 2nd leg as Utd travel to the hostile Athens. Houston knows that Utd MUST get the first goal across there if his team is to have any chance of pulling this off. One chink of light is that AEK might take their eye off the ball as they start their league campaign 4 days after the Utd game but the smart money is AEK to repeat what they did lat night. Another tough night in store for the Arabs then.
Starting with Motherwell and their trip to Denmark to face Odense BK. OHHHH how angry was i watching this game on the internet??. Odense were their for the taking. Motherwell played very well and i couldn't believe the score stood at 2-0 before Tom Hateley's excellent free kick made it 2-1 and gave Motherwell the vital away goal. The Danish defence were all over the place and i agree with "well" manager Craig Brown that Motherwell deserved at least a draw. Only bad finishing kept the Fir park side from getting an even better result. For the return leg Motherwell should attack this team , yes they are decent going forward but their defence is awful , i expect "well" to score maybe up to 3 goals (that's how bad odense defence was) and hopefully they can limit the Danish runners up to 1 goal in return. Motherwell in the Europa League Group Stages eh , well it looks like it will happen , what an achievement for Craig Brown and his team.
Next to celtic who showed their class and dominance to beat Dutch outfit Utrecht 2-0. After a slow start just like the Inverness game , Celtic began to play and it was Mexican Internationalist Efrain Juarez who opened the scoring in 19 minutes. Georgios Samaras then added a second on 34 minutes as Celtic began to cruise in this tie. After the break Celtic seemed content to sit back and hit on the break as Utrecht didn't have the quality to break Celtic and impressive debutant Daniel Majstorovic down. The 2-0 win sets Neil Lennon's side up for the return game very nicely , Celtic know 1 away goal and its all over. I expect Celtic to do this no problem as the gulf from being a top Scottish club to a mid table Dutch club is huge. If and when Celtic go through then they will be in pot 2 of the seeds so hopefully this will give them a good chance of progressing to the knock-out stages.
Lastly to Tannadice where Dundee Utd were given a lesson in European football by AEK Athens. The Greek side ran out 1-0 winners in a game where Utd had very few chances. Rafik Djebbour got the only goal of the game in 11 minutes as Utd struggled against a team who kept the ball better than them. What Utd would have gained is experience , especially the younger players who many were playing in their first European tie. Peter Houston will be looking for a miracle in the 2nd leg as Utd travel to the hostile Athens. Houston knows that Utd MUST get the first goal across there if his team is to have any chance of pulling this off. One chink of light is that AEK might take their eye off the ball as they start their league campaign 4 days after the Utd game but the smart money is AEK to repeat what they did lat night. Another tough night in store for the Arabs then.
Thursday 19 August 2010
Europa League - Odense BK vs Motherwell Preview
Well the Fans will be enjoying this European adventure but i bet their bank balance wont be. For the 3rd time in a month Motherwell travel to a part of Scandinavia , this time Denmark as they try and make it to the Europa League group stages. So far Craig Brown and Archie Knox have done an amazing job leading Motherwell through 2 rounds and winning 3 out of 4 matches against Breidablik of Iceland and Aalesunds of Norway. Tonight they will face their toughest test vs Danish League runners-up Odense BK in a match that can lead to massive paydays if Brown and Co can come up with a plan to defeat their opponents.
Motherwell have now been playing competitively for a month now , Odense have also been playing for around the same time so at least Motherwell wont have the disadvantage of the last 2 round playing against teams who were half way through their season. The Steelmen started their SPL season on Sunday live on ESPN and were very unlucky to be beaten 3-2 by Hibs. Too many missed chances especially in the 1st half put paid to Motherwell getting of to a good start to match their European exploits. Again Motherwell will be looking to top European scorer Jamie Murphy to do the damage in Denmark having scored in the 2 previous rounds and also vs Hibs at the weekend. John Sutton has also started scoring so that again will be a help especially as the Fir Park side will at least want an away goal in Denmark. The money made so far from this European run will be a great help to Craig Brown's plans for the SPL season , if Motherwell actually do make it through then its a wonderful achievement and surely will allow Brown to buy another 2-3 players they need.
The Danish side Odense BK are enjoying a bright period in their history , two successive 2nd place finishes have given Odense manger Niels Thorborg a chance to make it through to the group stages proper after being beaten by Italian side Genoa 4-2 on aggregate last season. So far this season the Danish runners up have already saw of Bosnian side Zrinjski 5-3 on aggregate , all goals coming in the 1st leg in Odense BK's stadium Tre-For Park. Motherwell fans will no doubt recognise some of the Odense stars , former Man Utd stars Roy Carroll and Eric Djemba-Djemba are joined by Danish legend Thomas Helveg as Odense try and go one better and win the Danish Superliga from FC Copenhagen.
Prediction - with Motherwell being tight defensively so far in Europe and Odense conceding 3 vs Zrinjski , i think Motherwell will score across in Denmark. My problem is that the step up in class especially in the away game might be a step too far for Craig Brown's men. Odense aren't world beaters and who knows what will happen when they visit Fir Park next week but I'm going for a 2-1 win for Odense , saying that though who would be surprised if Motherwell came away with a result?? , 1-1 or a narrow win is not out of the question . Hopefully my prediction is wrong as id love to see Motherwell make it to the group stages.
Motherwell have now been playing competitively for a month now , Odense have also been playing for around the same time so at least Motherwell wont have the disadvantage of the last 2 round playing against teams who were half way through their season. The Steelmen started their SPL season on Sunday live on ESPN and were very unlucky to be beaten 3-2 by Hibs. Too many missed chances especially in the 1st half put paid to Motherwell getting of to a good start to match their European exploits. Again Motherwell will be looking to top European scorer Jamie Murphy to do the damage in Denmark having scored in the 2 previous rounds and also vs Hibs at the weekend. John Sutton has also started scoring so that again will be a help especially as the Fir Park side will at least want an away goal in Denmark. The money made so far from this European run will be a great help to Craig Brown's plans for the SPL season , if Motherwell actually do make it through then its a wonderful achievement and surely will allow Brown to buy another 2-3 players they need.
The Danish side Odense BK are enjoying a bright period in their history , two successive 2nd place finishes have given Odense manger Niels Thorborg a chance to make it through to the group stages proper after being beaten by Italian side Genoa 4-2 on aggregate last season. So far this season the Danish runners up have already saw of Bosnian side Zrinjski 5-3 on aggregate , all goals coming in the 1st leg in Odense BK's stadium Tre-For Park. Motherwell fans will no doubt recognise some of the Odense stars , former Man Utd stars Roy Carroll and Eric Djemba-Djemba are joined by Danish legend Thomas Helveg as Odense try and go one better and win the Danish Superliga from FC Copenhagen.
Prediction - with Motherwell being tight defensively so far in Europe and Odense conceding 3 vs Zrinjski , i think Motherwell will score across in Denmark. My problem is that the step up in class especially in the away game might be a step too far for Craig Brown's men. Odense aren't world beaters and who knows what will happen when they visit Fir Park next week but I'm going for a 2-1 win for Odense , saying that though who would be surprised if Motherwell came away with a result?? , 1-1 or a narrow win is not out of the question . Hopefully my prediction is wrong as id love to see Motherwell make it to the group stages.
Europa League - Dundee Utd vs AEK Athens Preview
It was season 2005/06 that Dundee Utd last played in Europe. Its a campaign that the Utd fans would rather forget as the Arabs crashed out of the UEFA cup by drawing 2-2 against Finnish minnows MYPA. This time the Scottish Cup Winners take on experienced Greek outfit AEK Athens , who recently beat Champions Rangers 1-0 in the Sydney Festival of Football. The Athens game will not only be a test for Utd's young squad but also Manager Peter Houston as he takes charge of a side in European competition for the first time.
Dundee Utd go into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw away to St Mirren , that game might give them a slight advantage in terms of real match fitness as AEK dont start in their league till the 29th of August. Utd now boast 3 full Scottish internationalists in Kenneth , Conway and Robertson , Gary Kenneth started in the game vs Sweden last week and Scott Robertson came on as a 2nd half sub , but both would have gained valuable experience and hopefully this can help Utd get a result in this difficult game. It is also a big game for David Goodwillie , each season this youngster is getting better and better. Goodwillie is a star of the Scotland U21 team and scored the opening goal in Utd's Scottish Cup win vs Ross County in May. This will be a big step up for the lad and it will be very interesting to see how he plays.
AEK are in financial trouble , they sold star defender Daniel Majstorovic to Celtic this week basically to get him off the wage bill. I watched the AEK vs Rangers game on the Internet last month and AEK although very good on the ball looked very suspect in the air and were a bit lucky to beat Rangers as the Scottish champions missed a host of chances. The Greeks though scored an excellent goal with Aussie Nathan Burns finsihing of a fine passing move by beating Allan McGregor with a bullet header. Coach Dušan Bajević has returned for the 3rd time to the club and although in financial trouble has been able to sign very good players in Nikolaos Liberopoulos, Traianos Dellas, and Papa Bouba Diop. AEK reached the final of the Greek cup last season but were beaten 15-14 on penalties by Olympiakos , AEK also finished 4th in the Greek league qualifying for the Europa League.
Prediction - make no bones about it , this is a very hard tie for Dundee Utd to win. AEK are rightly favorites and it would be a huge achievement for Utd to go through. At Tannadice though i can see Utd getting a draw , i think 1-1 but 0-0 would be better, I just cant see Utd keeping this decent Greek side out. Hopefully I'm wrong and Utd turn back the clock to the 80's and produce a great performance.
Dundee Utd go into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw away to St Mirren , that game might give them a slight advantage in terms of real match fitness as AEK dont start in their league till the 29th of August. Utd now boast 3 full Scottish internationalists in Kenneth , Conway and Robertson , Gary Kenneth started in the game vs Sweden last week and Scott Robertson came on as a 2nd half sub , but both would have gained valuable experience and hopefully this can help Utd get a result in this difficult game. It is also a big game for David Goodwillie , each season this youngster is getting better and better. Goodwillie is a star of the Scotland U21 team and scored the opening goal in Utd's Scottish Cup win vs Ross County in May. This will be a big step up for the lad and it will be very interesting to see how he plays.
AEK are in financial trouble , they sold star defender Daniel Majstorovic to Celtic this week basically to get him off the wage bill. I watched the AEK vs Rangers game on the Internet last month and AEK although very good on the ball looked very suspect in the air and were a bit lucky to beat Rangers as the Scottish champions missed a host of chances. The Greeks though scored an excellent goal with Aussie Nathan Burns finsihing of a fine passing move by beating Allan McGregor with a bullet header. Coach Dušan Bajević has returned for the 3rd time to the club and although in financial trouble has been able to sign very good players in Nikolaos Liberopoulos, Traianos Dellas, and Papa Bouba Diop. AEK reached the final of the Greek cup last season but were beaten 15-14 on penalties by Olympiakos , AEK also finished 4th in the Greek league qualifying for the Europa League.
Prediction - make no bones about it , this is a very hard tie for Dundee Utd to win. AEK are rightly favorites and it would be a huge achievement for Utd to go through. At Tannadice though i can see Utd getting a draw , i think 1-1 but 0-0 would be better, I just cant see Utd keeping this decent Greek side out. Hopefully I'm wrong and Utd turn back the clock to the 80's and produce a great performance.
Europa League - Celtic vs FC Utrecht Preview
Celtic return to European action tonight as they take on Dutch team FC Utrecht. Its a return to Parkhead for former Rangers coach Jan Wouters as he is the assistant to boss Ton Du Chatinier. Neil Lennon's men will be looking for a better showing after being dumped out the Champions League Qualifiers by Braga. The Parkhead side will be on a high going into this game as on Saturday they started their assault the SPL title by gaining a 1-0 win vs 1st Division champions Inverness.
This week Celtic have already added Swedish captain Daniel Majstorovic and Honduras Internationalist Emilio Izaguirre to the 7 players already signed. The Swedish defender has already put his name forward for his debut tonight as Celtic will chase a 1st leg advantage to take to Holland with them in 7 days time. Izaguirre will need to wait on his work permit before he figures in manage Lennon's plans.
If Celtic are to progress to the Europa League Group stage then they must stop new Dutch Internationalist Ricky van Wolfswinkel , has has already scored 6 goals this season , 3 of them in Europe and 3 in the Eredivisie. The 21 year old made his full Holland debut this month in the 1-1 draw away to Ukraine , its also been reported that Liverpool are interested in signing the young hit man. So far FC Utrecht have disposed of Albanians SK Tirana 5-1 on aggregate and Swiss side Luzern 4-1 over 2 legs so Utrecht are certainly in form for this this competition.
Neil Lennon will have some important picks to make for this game , does he bring in the Swede Majstorovic for his debut even though his defence kept a clean sheet on Saturday??. Who will start up front?? will there be 1 or 2 strikers remembering that Gary Hooper is missing with injury ad how in-effective Samaras was vs Braga. Whoever he picks must do a job as the Celtic fans will be expecting Lennon's side to make it through to Groups stages for the 2nd year in a row.
Prediction - I expect Celtic to win this game but it wont be easy as Utrecht have a bit of form so far in this competition (they certainly score goals). Looking more closely at Utrecht though shows that they were beaten 3-1 away to Feyenoord in the opening game of the Dutch season , that might show the barometer of the Utrecht side. Celtic to win 2-1 maybe 3-1 if Celtic play really well.
This week Celtic have already added Swedish captain Daniel Majstorovic and Honduras Internationalist Emilio Izaguirre to the 7 players already signed. The Swedish defender has already put his name forward for his debut tonight as Celtic will chase a 1st leg advantage to take to Holland with them in 7 days time. Izaguirre will need to wait on his work permit before he figures in manage Lennon's plans.
If Celtic are to progress to the Europa League Group stage then they must stop new Dutch Internationalist Ricky van Wolfswinkel , has has already scored 6 goals this season , 3 of them in Europe and 3 in the Eredivisie. The 21 year old made his full Holland debut this month in the 1-1 draw away to Ukraine , its also been reported that Liverpool are interested in signing the young hit man. So far FC Utrecht have disposed of Albanians SK Tirana 5-1 on aggregate and Swiss side Luzern 4-1 over 2 legs so Utrecht are certainly in form for this this competition.
Neil Lennon will have some important picks to make for this game , does he bring in the Swede Majstorovic for his debut even though his defence kept a clean sheet on Saturday??. Who will start up front?? will there be 1 or 2 strikers remembering that Gary Hooper is missing with injury ad how in-effective Samaras was vs Braga. Whoever he picks must do a job as the Celtic fans will be expecting Lennon's side to make it through to Groups stages for the 2nd year in a row.
Prediction - I expect Celtic to win this game but it wont be easy as Utrecht have a bit of form so far in this competition (they certainly score goals). Looking more closely at Utrecht though shows that they were beaten 3-1 away to Feyenoord in the opening game of the Dutch season , that might show the barometer of the Utrecht side. Celtic to win 2-1 maybe 3-1 if Celtic play really well.
Tuesday 17 August 2010
SFL Week 2 Round up
First of all i apologise for being late with this report , Secondly again sorry as this report is not as long as last weeks round up. Time has been a problem this week but i should be able to return to my normal writing time and standard tomorrow as i will preview the Scottish clubs in the Europa League on Thursday.
SFL 1st Division Week 2 Results...
Dunfermline 2 v 0 Morton
Partick Thistle 1 v 0 Dundee
Queen of the South 1 v 3 Raith Rovers
Ross County 0 v 1 Falkirk
Stirling Albion 1 v 3 Cowdenbeath
SFL 2nd Division Week 2 Results....
Airdrie 2 v 3 Ayr Utd
Alloa 3 v 2 East Fife
Bechin 0 v 0 Stenhousemuir
Dumbarton 1 v 2 Livingston
Peterhead 1 v 2 Forfar
SFL 3rd Division Week 2 Results....
Arbroath 0 v 2 Annan Athletic
Berwick Rangers 6 v 2 Elgin
East Stirling 2 v 1 Montrose
Queens Park 0 v 1 Clyde
Stranraer 3 v 2 Albion Rovers
Only 4 teams in the whole of the SFL have a 100% record , Raith and Dunfermline inthe 1st division , Forfar in the 2nd and Annan Athletic in the 3rd. Biggest crowd of the day in the SFL was at East End Park as Dunfermline beat Morton. Highest scoring match was Berwick Rangers thrashing Elgin 6-2.
SFL 1st Division Week 2 Results...
Dunfermline 2 v 0 Morton
Partick Thistle 1 v 0 Dundee
Queen of the South 1 v 3 Raith Rovers
Ross County 0 v 1 Falkirk
Stirling Albion 1 v 3 Cowdenbeath
SFL 2nd Division Week 2 Results....
Airdrie 2 v 3 Ayr Utd
Alloa 3 v 2 East Fife
Bechin 0 v 0 Stenhousemuir
Dumbarton 1 v 2 Livingston
Peterhead 1 v 2 Forfar
SFL 3rd Division Week 2 Results....
Arbroath 0 v 2 Annan Athletic
Berwick Rangers 6 v 2 Elgin
East Stirling 2 v 1 Montrose
Queens Park 0 v 1 Clyde
Stranraer 3 v 2 Albion Rovers
Only 4 teams in the whole of the SFL have a 100% record , Raith and Dunfermline inthe 1st division , Forfar in the 2nd and Annan Athletic in the 3rd. Biggest crowd of the day in the SFL was at East End Park as Dunfermline beat Morton. Highest scoring match was Berwick Rangers thrashing Elgin 6-2.
Monday 16 August 2010
SPL Week 1 Round Up
Saturday and Sunday saw all 4 of Scottish football Leagues host a full card for the first time this season. With The SPL starting this weekend it joins the SFL sides who have been playing now for 4 weeks now in 3 completions.
The SPL got underway with the early kick off at Inverness where the 1st division champions took on Celtic. After a slow start where Inverness dominated the first 30 mins , Celtic totally took over and fully deserves their 1-0 win courtesy of Paddy McCourt's 56th minute goal. It should have been 3 or 4 for Celtic but for bad finishing. Jamie Forrest was closest for Celtic adding to their lead as the sub came on and had a blistering drive crash off the bar.
Champions Rangers starting their quest for a 3rd straight title by seeing off Kilmarnock 2-1 in front of the biggest crown in Scotland (45,739). Kenny Miller got the opener in 16th minute when a failed clearance hit him on the back and shot straight into the net. Rangers 2nd goal was created by Miller as he fed Naismith in wide and Striker who was playing in midfield blasted the ball home. Killie pulled one back exactly 1 minute later when Papac gave away a penalty. Jamie Hamill easily sent McGregor the wrong way as Killie got a life-line. James Beattie made his debut for Rangers and should have scored on 50 minutes as he pounced on a mistake by Fraser Wright but the striker took too long to get his shot off.
Paul Hartley had the performance of the day as he scored a hat-trick of penalties as Aberdeen saw of Hamilton 4-0. Hartley will now surely be pushing for a place in the Scotland squad for the up coming EURO 2012 Qualifiers in 3 weeks time. Zander Diamond scored Aberdeen's other goal as the result gave Mark McGhee the perfect start to the season. The men from the North East now need to show consistency and Hamilton must improve greatly if they are to survive for a 3rd straight season in the SPL.
Hearts and St Johnstone played out a 1-1 draw where 2 goals in 2 minutes just before half time decided this game. Callum Elliot got the opening goal in 44 minutes but it was immediately cancelled out by St Johnstone new boy Sam Parkin. Steven Anderson was sent off in 72 minutes for St Johnstone for a rash tackle on Spaniard Suso Santana , Hearts then pressed for the winner but never really put the St Johnstone defence and new keeper Enkelmen under enough pressure so the points were shared.
New St Mirren boss Danny Lennon was just one minute away from the perfect start as his St Mirren team were beating Dundee Utd 1-0 until a John Daly goal spoiled his day. The buddies had taken the lead with Simon Lynch finding the top corner with an excellent strike from outside the box. It looked it would finish that was until a bad touch by new signing Jure Travner set up the Utd captain from 6 yard to rescue a point for his Europa League bound team.
Sunday's game was a replay of last season's 6-6 draw between Motherwell and Hibs. This game didn't disappoint as Hibs finally ran out 3-2 winners thanks to goals from Stokes , Hanlon and Miller. Motherwell had dominated the first half and were rewarded in 14 minutes when John Sutton opened his SPL account for the season. Stokes Scrambled a goal right on half time for Hibs to make it 1-1 , a result that they didn't deserve. A dubious Paul Hanlon goal put Hibs in front on 64 minutes , the defender using his arm to get the ball over the line. Liam miller then put the Easter road men 3-1 up on 73 minutes before Jamie Murphy Pulled a goal back and continued his great form to the start of season from the penalty spot. Motherwell will feel hard done by in this game and didn't deserve to get beat but they can now look forward to their Europa League play off on Thursday vs Odense BK.
Aberdeen 4 v 0 Hamilton
Hearts 1 v 1 St Johnstone
Inverness 0 v 1 Celtic
Motherwell 2 v 3 Hibs
Rangers 2 v 1 Kilmarnock
St Mirren 1 v 1 Dundee Utd
In week 1 i think Mark McGhee will be the most please of all the SPL manager's as a 4-0 win against a team that won a Pittodrie twice last season cannot be sniffed at. Paul Hartley should also get player of the week as his hat-trick makes him the SPLs top goals scorer. Hamilton as already mention will need to improve , but its early and I'm sure manager Billy Reid will get the best out of his squad in the coming season.
Celtic looked sharp against Inverness and Neil Lennon must hope that the last hour's performance vs ICT continues on Thursday night Europa League game vs Utrecht. Inverness will just be looking to build on the first 30 minutes where they were excellent.
Rangers looked strong although one look at their bench tells the story of why they need another 3-4 players , other than Alexander and Velicka , the rest of the subs were kids. Have to say Killie looked very good vs Rangers , they were well organised and gave Rangers plenty of problems especially in the first half. Invincible should have definitely scored.
Hearts should have got the win vs St Johnstone , if Jim Jefferies men want to be contesting the European places then beating a team with 10 men on your park is a must. St Johnstone showed why they stayed up with ease last season by staying strong and keeping Hearts out , early impressions are that St Johnstone wont suffer from second season syndrome.
Dundee Utd will need to improve before their Europa league tie vs AEK Athens on Thursday , hopefully a full house can cheer the arabs onto a famous win vs the Greek side. St Mirren will be quietly satisfied by their performance against Utd , its a decent start vs one of the harder teams in the league , definitely something to build on.
Motherwell will now travel to Denmark looking for that away goal that could prove crucial in what is Turning out to be a great European adventure for the steel men. Hopefully another piece of Murphy magic does the job. Hibs have started well again but John Hughes must hope that Hibs don't fade like they did last season. Hibs will now face Rangers next week in what promises to be a cracker infront of the Sky Cameras and Hibs new stand.
Thank the lord the football season is now fully back....yeee haaaa
The SPL got underway with the early kick off at Inverness where the 1st division champions took on Celtic. After a slow start where Inverness dominated the first 30 mins , Celtic totally took over and fully deserves their 1-0 win courtesy of Paddy McCourt's 56th minute goal. It should have been 3 or 4 for Celtic but for bad finishing. Jamie Forrest was closest for Celtic adding to their lead as the sub came on and had a blistering drive crash off the bar.
Champions Rangers starting their quest for a 3rd straight title by seeing off Kilmarnock 2-1 in front of the biggest crown in Scotland (45,739). Kenny Miller got the opener in 16th minute when a failed clearance hit him on the back and shot straight into the net. Rangers 2nd goal was created by Miller as he fed Naismith in wide and Striker who was playing in midfield blasted the ball home. Killie pulled one back exactly 1 minute later when Papac gave away a penalty. Jamie Hamill easily sent McGregor the wrong way as Killie got a life-line. James Beattie made his debut for Rangers and should have scored on 50 minutes as he pounced on a mistake by Fraser Wright but the striker took too long to get his shot off.
Paul Hartley had the performance of the day as he scored a hat-trick of penalties as Aberdeen saw of Hamilton 4-0. Hartley will now surely be pushing for a place in the Scotland squad for the up coming EURO 2012 Qualifiers in 3 weeks time. Zander Diamond scored Aberdeen's other goal as the result gave Mark McGhee the perfect start to the season. The men from the North East now need to show consistency and Hamilton must improve greatly if they are to survive for a 3rd straight season in the SPL.
Hearts and St Johnstone played out a 1-1 draw where 2 goals in 2 minutes just before half time decided this game. Callum Elliot got the opening goal in 44 minutes but it was immediately cancelled out by St Johnstone new boy Sam Parkin. Steven Anderson was sent off in 72 minutes for St Johnstone for a rash tackle on Spaniard Suso Santana , Hearts then pressed for the winner but never really put the St Johnstone defence and new keeper Enkelmen under enough pressure so the points were shared.
New St Mirren boss Danny Lennon was just one minute away from the perfect start as his St Mirren team were beating Dundee Utd 1-0 until a John Daly goal spoiled his day. The buddies had taken the lead with Simon Lynch finding the top corner with an excellent strike from outside the box. It looked it would finish that was until a bad touch by new signing Jure Travner set up the Utd captain from 6 yard to rescue a point for his Europa League bound team.
Sunday's game was a replay of last season's 6-6 draw between Motherwell and Hibs. This game didn't disappoint as Hibs finally ran out 3-2 winners thanks to goals from Stokes , Hanlon and Miller. Motherwell had dominated the first half and were rewarded in 14 minutes when John Sutton opened his SPL account for the season. Stokes Scrambled a goal right on half time for Hibs to make it 1-1 , a result that they didn't deserve. A dubious Paul Hanlon goal put Hibs in front on 64 minutes , the defender using his arm to get the ball over the line. Liam miller then put the Easter road men 3-1 up on 73 minutes before Jamie Murphy Pulled a goal back and continued his great form to the start of season from the penalty spot. Motherwell will feel hard done by in this game and didn't deserve to get beat but they can now look forward to their Europa League play off on Thursday vs Odense BK.
Aberdeen 4 v 0 Hamilton
Hearts 1 v 1 St Johnstone
Inverness 0 v 1 Celtic
Motherwell 2 v 3 Hibs
Rangers 2 v 1 Kilmarnock
St Mirren 1 v 1 Dundee Utd
In week 1 i think Mark McGhee will be the most please of all the SPL manager's as a 4-0 win against a team that won a Pittodrie twice last season cannot be sniffed at. Paul Hartley should also get player of the week as his hat-trick makes him the SPLs top goals scorer. Hamilton as already mention will need to improve , but its early and I'm sure manager Billy Reid will get the best out of his squad in the coming season.
Celtic looked sharp against Inverness and Neil Lennon must hope that the last hour's performance vs ICT continues on Thursday night Europa League game vs Utrecht. Inverness will just be looking to build on the first 30 minutes where they were excellent.
Rangers looked strong although one look at their bench tells the story of why they need another 3-4 players , other than Alexander and Velicka , the rest of the subs were kids. Have to say Killie looked very good vs Rangers , they were well organised and gave Rangers plenty of problems especially in the first half. Invincible should have definitely scored.
Hearts should have got the win vs St Johnstone , if Jim Jefferies men want to be contesting the European places then beating a team with 10 men on your park is a must. St Johnstone showed why they stayed up with ease last season by staying strong and keeping Hearts out , early impressions are that St Johnstone wont suffer from second season syndrome.
Dundee Utd will need to improve before their Europa league tie vs AEK Athens on Thursday , hopefully a full house can cheer the arabs onto a famous win vs the Greek side. St Mirren will be quietly satisfied by their performance against Utd , its a decent start vs one of the harder teams in the league , definitely something to build on.
Motherwell will now travel to Denmark looking for that away goal that could prove crucial in what is Turning out to be a great European adventure for the steel men. Hopefully another piece of Murphy magic does the job. Hibs have started well again but John Hughes must hope that Hibs don't fade like they did last season. Hibs will now face Rangers next week in what promises to be a cracker infront of the Sky Cameras and Hibs new stand.
Thank the lord the football season is now fully back....yeee haaaa
Saturday 14 August 2010
SPL Fixtures Round 1
Scottish Premier League
Inverness vs Celtic
Aberdeen vs Hamilton
Hearts vs St Johnstone
Rangers vs Kilmarnock
St Mirren vs Dundee Utd
Motherwell vs Hibs (SUN)
The SPL season kicks off with Celtic visit to Inverness at 12.15 , sky sports will be showing this game. Champions Rangers begin their defence of the title against relegation candidates Kilmarnock. Before Dundee Utd host AEK Athens in the Europa league they have a tricky game away to St Mirren. Hearts take on St Johnstone and Aberdeen will be looking to start well vs Hamilton Sundays game is a repear of the 12goal thriller of last season between Motherwell and Hibs.
My prediction is in the SFL round up where i have taken Rangers and Dunfermline to win.
Inverness vs Celtic
Aberdeen vs Hamilton
Hearts vs St Johnstone
Rangers vs Kilmarnock
St Mirren vs Dundee Utd
Motherwell vs Hibs (SUN)
The SPL season kicks off with Celtic visit to Inverness at 12.15 , sky sports will be showing this game. Champions Rangers begin their defence of the title against relegation candidates Kilmarnock. Before Dundee Utd host AEK Athens in the Europa league they have a tricky game away to St Mirren. Hearts take on St Johnstone and Aberdeen will be looking to start well vs Hamilton Sundays game is a repear of the 12goal thriller of last season between Motherwell and Hibs.
My prediction is in the SFL round up where i have taken Rangers and Dunfermline to win.
SFL Fixtures Round 2
Scottish 1st Division.....
Dunfermline vs Morton
Partick Thistle vs Dundee
Queen of the South vs Raith Rovers
Ross County vs Falkirk
Stirling vs Cowdenbeath
Like last week all these fixtures are very tight games to call. Biggest matches of the day will be at Firhill as Dundee visit Thistle and at Dingwall as Falkirk visit Ross County.
Scottish 2nd Division......
Airdrie vs Ayr Utd
Alloa vs East Fife
Brechin vs Stenhousemuir
Dumbarton vs Livingston
Peterhead vs Forfar
Match of the day must be the North East derby between Peterhead and Forfar , both are in great form and had wins midweek in the ALBA Challenge Cop.
Scottish 3rd Division......
Arbroath vs Annan Athletic
Berwick Rangers vs Elgin
East Stirling vs Montrose
Queens Park vs Clyde
Stranraer vs Albion Rovers
Top of the table clash between Arbroath and Annan Athletic should be a cracker with both teams scoring plenty of goals last week , another decent game will be at Hampden as Clyde visit Queens Park.
Prediction and bet for the week?? , all very hard game to pick this week but I'm going with Dunfermline to get a narrow win vs Morton. Add them to Rangers to beat Kilmarnock then you have a price of around 5/6.
Dunfermline vs Morton
Partick Thistle vs Dundee
Queen of the South vs Raith Rovers
Ross County vs Falkirk
Stirling vs Cowdenbeath
Like last week all these fixtures are very tight games to call. Biggest matches of the day will be at Firhill as Dundee visit Thistle and at Dingwall as Falkirk visit Ross County.
Scottish 2nd Division......
Airdrie vs Ayr Utd
Alloa vs East Fife
Brechin vs Stenhousemuir
Dumbarton vs Livingston
Peterhead vs Forfar
Match of the day must be the North East derby between Peterhead and Forfar , both are in great form and had wins midweek in the ALBA Challenge Cop.
Scottish 3rd Division......
Arbroath vs Annan Athletic
Berwick Rangers vs Elgin
East Stirling vs Montrose
Queens Park vs Clyde
Stranraer vs Albion Rovers
Top of the table clash between Arbroath and Annan Athletic should be a cracker with both teams scoring plenty of goals last week , another decent game will be at Hampden as Clyde visit Queens Park.
Prediction and bet for the week?? , all very hard game to pick this week but I'm going with Dunfermline to get a narrow win vs Morton. Add them to Rangers to beat Kilmarnock then you have a price of around 5/6.
Thursday 12 August 2010
SPL Predictions 2010/11
Scotland's top division returns on Saturday starting the SPL 2010/11 season. It all gets underway with an early kick-off between 1st Division champions Inverness taking on SPL runners up Celtic.
This is my preview on who i think will win the SPL , why they will win it , who will make Europe and who will be relegated. I will also add in who i think will win the CIS and Scottish cup. I have already taken Ross County to win the ALBA Challenge Cup , so that wee bet is going not bad just now as they made the 1/4 finals the other night.
ok here goes.....
CHAMPIONS - Rangers....Why??? , well they can do the thing that Celtic cant DEFEND. You can argue that Rangers defence is even stronger with Andy Webster returning from his loan spell at Utd. The Gers back 5 will be the same as it was last season , Bougherra is still there although Danny Wilson has left for Liverpool. Steve Davis has now moved into the centre of midfield beside Edu and McCulloch and now Rangers look even more solid. Kenny miller will be the lone striker with Naismith and Lafferty supporting from the wings. This is Rangers weakest point in the squad , yes they have lost players but really on 2 of them were first 11 picks (Thomson and Boyd). Novo , Beasley , Smith were all bit part players last season. Rangers need to buy 3-4 players to cement their squad , this week they have been strongly linked to Tommy Smith , James Beattie add to this Jelavic from Rapid then rangers would have the squad to go after their 3rd straight Title.
Runners up - Celtic....Why?? , as mentioned above its their defence that will let Neil Lennon down. Braga have already proved this and now Celtic have a very big game in the Europa League vs Utrecht. If Celtic lose that then there will be trouble early. Celtic have bought some good players in Juarez and Hooper , Murphy might do a job as will Israeli Kayal. Celtic have also paid a big wage for Welshman Joe Ledley so they will be looking for a return from him. With a few weeks till the transfer window Celtic still have a chance to buy some defenders but that might have to wait as Aiden McGeady has still not followed Artur Boruc and left the club. Again Celtic are link with Bellamy but with a wage of 90k a week it would break the bank unless all the Mcgeady money is used for it.
3rd - Hearts....Why?? , Jim Jefferies has bout 3 very good players who should fit into his SPL side nicely. Kyle and Elliot should give the Jam Tarts the goal threat they have been missing in the last few seasons whilst Darren Barr can help shore up a pretty decent defence. The reason i think they will get 3rd is that Dundee Utd haven't really improved their squad , so although it will be close , Hearts will get that 3rd spot but only if Romanov keeps his nose out of the 1st team affairs. Easier said than done.
4th - Dundee Utd....Why?? , Utd have just not added enough quality to their squad to fend of the other contenders. Douglas has been signed from Queens Park and Mentel from Man City , Utd need more especially if Gordon Strachan continues buying half of the Spl. Goodwillie and Conway are big players for Utd and will be expected to keep up the Consistency they showed that helped Utd get the results to stay 3rd last season and win the Scottish Cup. So far there is no new news of signings for Utd but if they can get another 2-3 in then they might be able to catch Hearts.
5th - Hibs....Why?? , 1 word CONSISTENCY. Last season Hibs were excellent up to December then they fell away and nearly lost their European place. They have goals aplenty with Riordan , Stokes and Nish and have strengthened at the back with Hart coming in from Preston. In midfield Manager Hughes has found a gem in De Graaf , he looks the part and scored twice in Hibs European defeat with Maribor. Hibs play exciting football but need to be consistent right through the season if they want to challenge for 3rd place , they are always a danger in the 1 off games in the cup and i think that might be Hibs best chance of glory this season.
6th - Aberdeen....Why?? , i wasn't going to pick Aberdeen to finish 6th but with the Signing of Paul Hartley i think that he might be the experience this Aberdeen needs to push into the top 6 after a terrible season 09/10. Mcghee has bought 6 players so far this summer to add some of the decent players he has at the club. Its a big season for Sone Aluko , the man has talent but only chooses to use it sparingly. The Langfield , Diamond , Hartley , Makie spine of the Aberdeen team is more than decent so its about time they and the rest of the Aberdeen team stepped up to the plate and stop under-achieving. McGhee has been given the tools , he must use them or he will end up sacked.
7th - Motherwell...Why?? , even with a small squad i feel Motherwell's secret weapon is former Scotland boss Craig Brown. Brown has already guided them through 2 rounds in Europe with only OB Odense standing between them and the Europa League Group stage. Ruddy , Coke , O'brien and Jutkiewicz have left but "well" still have Craigan , Hateley , Murphy and Sutton so like Aberdeen they have a decent spine of the team. Darren Randolf has come in from Charlton and has looked solid in goals so that was another good find. Motherwell fans should not expect the miracles of last season , getting into Europe again was huge but Brown's budget was cut again so to expect a 4th straight year in European competition will be a long shot. Motherwell i feel will be Aberdeen closest and most dangerous challengers for that 6th place finish.
8th - St Johnstone....Why?? , they will continue to play with that attacking style that saw them score many goals but also concede a few as well. Manager McInnes has signed some decent players from England like Dobie , Parkin and Haber. Jody Morris will be the captain and man mountain Duberry will remain at the back. Experienced keeper Encklemen has also been signed too battle for the no.1 Grahame Smith. Up front St Johnstone will be looking to Colin Samuel and Peter MacDonald to supply the goals with new signing Cleveland Taylor chipping in. I just feel that this season St Johnstone will be that step ahead of the bottom 3-4 so it will be a good job done again by Derek McInnes keeping then in the SPL.
9th - Inverness.....Why?? , Inverness have a winning team that will score goals in the SPL. Rooney along with Blumstein will be an excellent partnership if used. Inverness have also snapped up the very good former Partick Thistle keeper Jon Tuffey who was linked with Rangers. With a very experienced back 4 Inverness will always be hard to beat especially at home. Terry Butcher did a great job last season by timing their promotion bid to perfection. Keeping Inverness up will be their first target , getting as high up the table will be 2nd and a good cup run 3rd. If Inverness stay up the fans will be happy , i think they will quite easily.
10th - Kilmarnock.....Why?? , as we get to the bottom 3 it will be very close to who will actually be relegated. I dont really rate Mixu Paatelainen but i think he has added some decent players to his squad. Mehdi Taouil is a decent player as is Bryson , the experienced players will be asked to dig in , in what will be a long hard season for the Ayrshire men. New signing David Silva (no not that one) has signed from CSKA Sofia so it will be interesting to see what the winger offers. If Killie survive this season then it a great achievement. Killie will need to do without Kevin Kyle's goals , replace them and Killie will be ok. With Hamilton losing key players and St Mirren having a new manager , this could be the key for Killie to stay up....JUST.
11th - Hamilton.....why?? , Billy Reid has a better and more experienced squad than St Mirren. Yes Hamilton lost Mcarthur to Wigan but have made 8 signing with plenty of SPL experience. Flair will be provided by Portuguese twins Marco and Flavio Paixão , midfielder Alex Neil looked very good in patches although he needs to get over his injury's. Goalkeeper Tomas Cerny is still at Hamilton , hes a very very good goalkeeper who will be worth many points to a relegation battle team. To me Hamilton have just enough to stay up , it all really depends on how the St Mirren players from the lower divisons signed this year adapt to the SPL.
Relegated - St Mirren....why?? , Well they have lost long standing manager Gus McPherson but have replaced him with double promotion winning manager Danny Lennon. Can Lennon like his players make the step up?. St Mirren just dont score enough goals , that one of the major reason i think they will go down. Paul McGowan will add goals as hes on loan from Celtic but players like Dargo have failed to impress and score in a consistant manner. Andy Dorman and Billy Mehmet has left leaving a void of midfield to front goals. My main contention with St Mirren is that they have signed a few players form lower leagues , if they dont adapt then St Mirren might be in trouble. Four players are from Lennon's former club Cowdenbeath so its players the mangers knows and probably feels he can trust that will help the buddies in this relegation scrap. It will be close but the lack of goals will tell , St Mirren to go down.
League Cup - Hearts , rangers have bigger fish to fry and Celtic will be more intesrested in Europe etc , Hearts have a good tight Squad so they are my pick.
Scottish Cup - Celtic , by this time of the season Rangers will be going for the SPL title only leaving Celtic to power home in the 1 off games in the cup. Celtic might also win the League cup but all will depend on celtic still being in Europe and the amount of game they need to play.
This is my preview on who i think will win the SPL , why they will win it , who will make Europe and who will be relegated. I will also add in who i think will win the CIS and Scottish cup. I have already taken Ross County to win the ALBA Challenge Cup , so that wee bet is going not bad just now as they made the 1/4 finals the other night.
ok here goes.....
CHAMPIONS - Rangers....Why??? , well they can do the thing that Celtic cant DEFEND. You can argue that Rangers defence is even stronger with Andy Webster returning from his loan spell at Utd. The Gers back 5 will be the same as it was last season , Bougherra is still there although Danny Wilson has left for Liverpool. Steve Davis has now moved into the centre of midfield beside Edu and McCulloch and now Rangers look even more solid. Kenny miller will be the lone striker with Naismith and Lafferty supporting from the wings. This is Rangers weakest point in the squad , yes they have lost players but really on 2 of them were first 11 picks (Thomson and Boyd). Novo , Beasley , Smith were all bit part players last season. Rangers need to buy 3-4 players to cement their squad , this week they have been strongly linked to Tommy Smith , James Beattie add to this Jelavic from Rapid then rangers would have the squad to go after their 3rd straight Title.
Runners up - Celtic....Why?? , as mentioned above its their defence that will let Neil Lennon down. Braga have already proved this and now Celtic have a very big game in the Europa League vs Utrecht. If Celtic lose that then there will be trouble early. Celtic have bought some good players in Juarez and Hooper , Murphy might do a job as will Israeli Kayal. Celtic have also paid a big wage for Welshman Joe Ledley so they will be looking for a return from him. With a few weeks till the transfer window Celtic still have a chance to buy some defenders but that might have to wait as Aiden McGeady has still not followed Artur Boruc and left the club. Again Celtic are link with Bellamy but with a wage of 90k a week it would break the bank unless all the Mcgeady money is used for it.
3rd - Hearts....Why?? , Jim Jefferies has bout 3 very good players who should fit into his SPL side nicely. Kyle and Elliot should give the Jam Tarts the goal threat they have been missing in the last few seasons whilst Darren Barr can help shore up a pretty decent defence. The reason i think they will get 3rd is that Dundee Utd haven't really improved their squad , so although it will be close , Hearts will get that 3rd spot but only if Romanov keeps his nose out of the 1st team affairs. Easier said than done.
4th - Dundee Utd....Why?? , Utd have just not added enough quality to their squad to fend of the other contenders. Douglas has been signed from Queens Park and Mentel from Man City , Utd need more especially if Gordon Strachan continues buying half of the Spl. Goodwillie and Conway are big players for Utd and will be expected to keep up the Consistency they showed that helped Utd get the results to stay 3rd last season and win the Scottish Cup. So far there is no new news of signings for Utd but if they can get another 2-3 in then they might be able to catch Hearts.
5th - Hibs....Why?? , 1 word CONSISTENCY. Last season Hibs were excellent up to December then they fell away and nearly lost their European place. They have goals aplenty with Riordan , Stokes and Nish and have strengthened at the back with Hart coming in from Preston. In midfield Manager Hughes has found a gem in De Graaf , he looks the part and scored twice in Hibs European defeat with Maribor. Hibs play exciting football but need to be consistent right through the season if they want to challenge for 3rd place , they are always a danger in the 1 off games in the cup and i think that might be Hibs best chance of glory this season.
6th - Aberdeen....Why?? , i wasn't going to pick Aberdeen to finish 6th but with the Signing of Paul Hartley i think that he might be the experience this Aberdeen needs to push into the top 6 after a terrible season 09/10. Mcghee has bought 6 players so far this summer to add some of the decent players he has at the club. Its a big season for Sone Aluko , the man has talent but only chooses to use it sparingly. The Langfield , Diamond , Hartley , Makie spine of the Aberdeen team is more than decent so its about time they and the rest of the Aberdeen team stepped up to the plate and stop under-achieving. McGhee has been given the tools , he must use them or he will end up sacked.
7th - Motherwell...Why?? , even with a small squad i feel Motherwell's secret weapon is former Scotland boss Craig Brown. Brown has already guided them through 2 rounds in Europe with only OB Odense standing between them and the Europa League Group stage. Ruddy , Coke , O'brien and Jutkiewicz have left but "well" still have Craigan , Hateley , Murphy and Sutton so like Aberdeen they have a decent spine of the team. Darren Randolf has come in from Charlton and has looked solid in goals so that was another good find. Motherwell fans should not expect the miracles of last season , getting into Europe again was huge but Brown's budget was cut again so to expect a 4th straight year in European competition will be a long shot. Motherwell i feel will be Aberdeen closest and most dangerous challengers for that 6th place finish.
8th - St Johnstone....Why?? , they will continue to play with that attacking style that saw them score many goals but also concede a few as well. Manager McInnes has signed some decent players from England like Dobie , Parkin and Haber. Jody Morris will be the captain and man mountain Duberry will remain at the back. Experienced keeper Encklemen has also been signed too battle for the no.1 Grahame Smith. Up front St Johnstone will be looking to Colin Samuel and Peter MacDonald to supply the goals with new signing Cleveland Taylor chipping in. I just feel that this season St Johnstone will be that step ahead of the bottom 3-4 so it will be a good job done again by Derek McInnes keeping then in the SPL.
9th - Inverness.....Why?? , Inverness have a winning team that will score goals in the SPL. Rooney along with Blumstein will be an excellent partnership if used. Inverness have also snapped up the very good former Partick Thistle keeper Jon Tuffey who was linked with Rangers. With a very experienced back 4 Inverness will always be hard to beat especially at home. Terry Butcher did a great job last season by timing their promotion bid to perfection. Keeping Inverness up will be their first target , getting as high up the table will be 2nd and a good cup run 3rd. If Inverness stay up the fans will be happy , i think they will quite easily.
10th - Kilmarnock.....Why?? , as we get to the bottom 3 it will be very close to who will actually be relegated. I dont really rate Mixu Paatelainen but i think he has added some decent players to his squad. Mehdi Taouil is a decent player as is Bryson , the experienced players will be asked to dig in , in what will be a long hard season for the Ayrshire men. New signing David Silva (no not that one) has signed from CSKA Sofia so it will be interesting to see what the winger offers. If Killie survive this season then it a great achievement. Killie will need to do without Kevin Kyle's goals , replace them and Killie will be ok. With Hamilton losing key players and St Mirren having a new manager , this could be the key for Killie to stay up....JUST.
11th - Hamilton.....why?? , Billy Reid has a better and more experienced squad than St Mirren. Yes Hamilton lost Mcarthur to Wigan but have made 8 signing with plenty of SPL experience. Flair will be provided by Portuguese twins Marco and Flavio Paixão , midfielder Alex Neil looked very good in patches although he needs to get over his injury's. Goalkeeper Tomas Cerny is still at Hamilton , hes a very very good goalkeeper who will be worth many points to a relegation battle team. To me Hamilton have just enough to stay up , it all really depends on how the St Mirren players from the lower divisons signed this year adapt to the SPL.
Relegated - St Mirren....why?? , Well they have lost long standing manager Gus McPherson but have replaced him with double promotion winning manager Danny Lennon. Can Lennon like his players make the step up?. St Mirren just dont score enough goals , that one of the major reason i think they will go down. Paul McGowan will add goals as hes on loan from Celtic but players like Dargo have failed to impress and score in a consistant manner. Andy Dorman and Billy Mehmet has left leaving a void of midfield to front goals. My main contention with St Mirren is that they have signed a few players form lower leagues , if they dont adapt then St Mirren might be in trouble. Four players are from Lennon's former club Cowdenbeath so its players the mangers knows and probably feels he can trust that will help the buddies in this relegation scrap. It will be close but the lack of goals will tell , St Mirren to go down.
League Cup - Hearts , rangers have bigger fish to fry and Celtic will be more intesrested in Europe etc , Hearts have a good tight Squad so they are my pick.
Scottish Cup - Celtic , by this time of the season Rangers will be going for the SPL title only leaving Celtic to power home in the 1 off games in the cup. Celtic might also win the League cup but all will depend on celtic still being in Europe and the amount of game they need to play.
ALBA Challenge Cup 1/4 Final Draw
Today at Hampden the Draw for the Quarter Final of the ALBA Challenge Cup was made. These 4 Quarter finals will all take place on Sunday the 5th of September.
The draw is as follows....
Forfar Athletic v Ross County
Partick Thistle v Ayr United
Queen of the South v East Fife
Peterhead v Stenhousemuir
Some interesting ties with big games up North with Forfar and Ross County , Peterhead take on in form Stenhoiusemuir , Queen of the South will be favorites to see off East Fife as will Partick Thistle who have a home game vs Ayr Utd.
The draw is as follows....
Forfar Athletic v Ross County
Partick Thistle v Ayr United
Queen of the South v East Fife
Peterhead v Stenhousemuir
Some interesting ties with big games up North with Forfar and Ross County , Peterhead take on in form Stenhoiusemuir , Queen of the South will be favorites to see off East Fife as will Partick Thistle who have a home game vs Ayr Utd.
Sweden put Scotland to the Sword
Well that was interesting wasn't it?? NOT. Scotland were hammered last night as Sweden showed us the art of attacking football from midfield. Sweden also had star player Zlatan Ibrahimovic making his international comeback with a performance that shows why Barca paid all that money for him.
The game was only 4 minutes old when the Barca star opened the scoring with a tap in from 5 yards , Scotland could then have been 2 behind when Allan Mcgregor fumbled a drive by Toivonen before making a world class save to deny Elmander's follow up. Scotland's best chance in the 1st half fell to Charlie Adam as the Swedish keeper dropped a Mcfadden cross but Adam couldn't get enough on the ball to poke it home.
Sweden went 2 up in 39 minutes when FC Twente playmaker Bajrami beat Mcgregor at the second attempt after ghosting past Broadfoot and finsihing with top corner strike. At half time Scotland had not been in the game , 2-0 was certainly a fair result.
As the 2nd half got underway Scotland still couldn't keep the ball , any move was breaking down as the Swede's pressed the ball with their 4-3-2-1 formation. Scotland then conceded a weak 3rd goal as Ibrahimovic crossed from Sweden's left and PSV forward Toivonen rose above Berra to nod it home.
Scotland's best chance of the 2nd half fell to Kris Boyd as he made the Sweden keeper make a smart save after being put through by Darren Fletcher. As the game neared it end McGregor was again called into action by the impressive Toivonen.
This game has surely gave the manager and the fans more questions than answers , i still don't understand why Kenneth played when he was only brought in as a replacement. This is not having a go at the Utd stopper but if he was a late replacement then surely Levein was planning to play someone else in defence with Berra. Wallace never had his best game as he was exposed many times , will Steven Whitaker now come in vs Lithuania??. Our most creative player was Mcfadden but like many id like him to star for Scotland as the 2nd Striker , With Dorrans sure to return to the left flank when we start our EURO 2012 qualifiers then Mcfadden would be perfect foil in a free role to provide the support for Kenny Miller up front.
Overall the result wasn't the best , yes we were missing players but the Scotland fans expected better than what we watched last night. A performance like that in Lithuania will put us in big trouble. Levein and his players must step up to the plate now.....THE LITHUANIA GAME IS IN 3 WEEKS.
Better news last night was that the Scotland U21 team grabbed a last minute 1-1 draw vs Sweden at St Mirren Park. David Wotherspoon cancelling out a 16th minute strike by Sweden's Avdic.
The game was only 4 minutes old when the Barca star opened the scoring with a tap in from 5 yards , Scotland could then have been 2 behind when Allan Mcgregor fumbled a drive by Toivonen before making a world class save to deny Elmander's follow up. Scotland's best chance in the 1st half fell to Charlie Adam as the Swedish keeper dropped a Mcfadden cross but Adam couldn't get enough on the ball to poke it home.
Sweden went 2 up in 39 minutes when FC Twente playmaker Bajrami beat Mcgregor at the second attempt after ghosting past Broadfoot and finsihing with top corner strike. At half time Scotland had not been in the game , 2-0 was certainly a fair result.
As the 2nd half got underway Scotland still couldn't keep the ball , any move was breaking down as the Swede's pressed the ball with their 4-3-2-1 formation. Scotland then conceded a weak 3rd goal as Ibrahimovic crossed from Sweden's left and PSV forward Toivonen rose above Berra to nod it home.
Scotland's best chance of the 2nd half fell to Kris Boyd as he made the Sweden keeper make a smart save after being put through by Darren Fletcher. As the game neared it end McGregor was again called into action by the impressive Toivonen.
This game has surely gave the manager and the fans more questions than answers , i still don't understand why Kenneth played when he was only brought in as a replacement. This is not having a go at the Utd stopper but if he was a late replacement then surely Levein was planning to play someone else in defence with Berra. Wallace never had his best game as he was exposed many times , will Steven Whitaker now come in vs Lithuania??. Our most creative player was Mcfadden but like many id like him to star for Scotland as the 2nd Striker , With Dorrans sure to return to the left flank when we start our EURO 2012 qualifiers then Mcfadden would be perfect foil in a free role to provide the support for Kenny Miller up front.
Overall the result wasn't the best , yes we were missing players but the Scotland fans expected better than what we watched last night. A performance like that in Lithuania will put us in big trouble. Levein and his players must step up to the plate now.....THE LITHUANIA GAME IS IN 3 WEEKS.
Better news last night was that the Scotland U21 team grabbed a last minute 1-1 draw vs Sweden at St Mirren Park. David Wotherspoon cancelling out a 16th minute strike by Sweden's Avdic.
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Sweden vs Scotland Preview
Craig Levein takes charge of Scotland tonight for the 2nd time in a very hard test vs Sweden. With the 2 teams already naming the teams it gives us (the fans) a wee bit of time to discuss whats going to happen and if Levein has picked the right team. I think what you can say about the Scottish team tonight is that it has the nucleus of the first 11 that will play vs Lithuania next month. The 2 surprises that have got the Scottish fans talking is the placement of Kirk Broadfoot and Gary Kenneth in the first 11.
Going round the fans forums most thought that with all the call-offs that Levein would go for his strongest team??? , if you ask me and loads of other fans then playing Broadfoot in front of Whitaker is a mystery. No offence to Broadfoot but Whitaker is a better player with much more of a goal threat. I like Broadfoot as he never lets Rangers or Scotland down , he always gives 100% but Whitaker is the real deal and with Alan Hutton we have 2 very good right backs for Scotland.
Gary Kenneth is the other mystery as he takes his place in Levein's team , with all the palaver about the Middlesbrough players travelling when they had a game last night and that Kenneth was late in being drafted in by Levein , then its a bit weird hes starting in front of the more experienced McManus. I can understand why the Scotland manager has done this as he knows what McManus can do as he has played 22 times for Scotland. With Kenneth getting the shout for tonight it gives Levein and the fans the chance to see if the Dundee Utd player can make the step up from club football to international football.
Tonights team will see Scotland play in a 4-2-3-1 formation , the same way Levein set his team up vs the Czech Republic in March when Scott Brown gave the Scotland manager a winning start to his reign. It is also a great chance for £7m man Steven Fletcher to stake his claim for a regular starting position as he leads Scotland's attack tonight in the lone role. Charlie Adam will also win his 5th cap for Scotland , hopefully his goal scoring talents that sent Blackpool to the Premiership return tonight as Adam has also been given a chance to impress the Scotland boss.
Scotland team to play Sweden....
.............Mcgregor
Broadfoot.... Berra.... Kenneth.... Wallace
........Thomson.... D.Fletcher
....McFadden.... Robson........ Adam
..........S.Fletcher
Now to Sweden , the Scandinavians have been busy this year as they have already taken part in 5 international games (winning 4 and drawing 1). The Swede's will be boosted by the return of Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic who will spearhead a 4-3-2-1 formation used by boss Erik Hamlen. Ibrahimovic will be supported by PSV's Ola Toivonen and FC Twente's Emir Bajrami in what is an attack minded team. Sweden's only home game this year saw them take 4 off Bosnia in a 4-2 win so Scotland must beware as the Swede's have goal threats from all over their team.
The Swedish side to play Scotland tonight in Stockholm is....
..................Andreas Isaksson
Mikael Lustig....Olof Mellberg....Daniel Majstorovic....Behrang Safari
.....Anders Svensson.....Pontus Wernbloo....Johan Elmander
.............Ola Toivonen....Emir Bajrami
..................Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Prediction?? , well if I'm using my heart then id say Scotland will get a 1-1 draw tonight. But if I'm using my sensible head (no laughing at the back) then i feel Sweden will be too strong for this weakened Scotland side and will run out either 2-1 or 3-1 winners. If Scotland can take anything from this game then it would be a huge boost as it would not only be a very good result but it would show that WE have strength in depth , something we will need for the up-coming EURO 2012 Qualifiers.
Going round the fans forums most thought that with all the call-offs that Levein would go for his strongest team??? , if you ask me and loads of other fans then playing Broadfoot in front of Whitaker is a mystery. No offence to Broadfoot but Whitaker is a better player with much more of a goal threat. I like Broadfoot as he never lets Rangers or Scotland down , he always gives 100% but Whitaker is the real deal and with Alan Hutton we have 2 very good right backs for Scotland.
Gary Kenneth is the other mystery as he takes his place in Levein's team , with all the palaver about the Middlesbrough players travelling when they had a game last night and that Kenneth was late in being drafted in by Levein , then its a bit weird hes starting in front of the more experienced McManus. I can understand why the Scotland manager has done this as he knows what McManus can do as he has played 22 times for Scotland. With Kenneth getting the shout for tonight it gives Levein and the fans the chance to see if the Dundee Utd player can make the step up from club football to international football.
Tonights team will see Scotland play in a 4-2-3-1 formation , the same way Levein set his team up vs the Czech Republic in March when Scott Brown gave the Scotland manager a winning start to his reign. It is also a great chance for £7m man Steven Fletcher to stake his claim for a regular starting position as he leads Scotland's attack tonight in the lone role. Charlie Adam will also win his 5th cap for Scotland , hopefully his goal scoring talents that sent Blackpool to the Premiership return tonight as Adam has also been given a chance to impress the Scotland boss.
Scotland team to play Sweden....
.............Mcgregor
Broadfoot.... Berra.... Kenneth.... Wallace
........Thomson.... D.Fletcher
....McFadden.... Robson........ Adam
..........S.Fletcher
Now to Sweden , the Scandinavians have been busy this year as they have already taken part in 5 international games (winning 4 and drawing 1). The Swede's will be boosted by the return of Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic who will spearhead a 4-3-2-1 formation used by boss Erik Hamlen. Ibrahimovic will be supported by PSV's Ola Toivonen and FC Twente's Emir Bajrami in what is an attack minded team. Sweden's only home game this year saw them take 4 off Bosnia in a 4-2 win so Scotland must beware as the Swede's have goal threats from all over their team.
The Swedish side to play Scotland tonight in Stockholm is....
..................Andreas Isaksson
Mikael Lustig....Olof Mellberg....Daniel Majstorovic....Behrang Safari
.....Anders Svensson.....Pontus Wernbloo....Johan Elmander
.............Ola Toivonen....Emir Bajrami
..................Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Prediction?? , well if I'm using my heart then id say Scotland will get a 1-1 draw tonight. But if I'm using my sensible head (no laughing at the back) then i feel Sweden will be too strong for this weakened Scotland side and will run out either 2-1 or 3-1 winners. If Scotland can take anything from this game then it would be a huge boost as it would not only be a very good result but it would show that WE have strength in depth , something we will need for the up-coming EURO 2012 Qualifiers.
ALBA Challenge Cup 2nd Round Results...
Tuesday nights ALBA Challenge Cup games certainly were exciting , look no further than at Ochilview Park as Stenhousemuir caused the shock of the round by hammering holders Dundee 4-1. Alex williams got Stenny's 1st whilst Grant Anderson put "the warriors" 2-0 up at half time. Paul Quinn made it 3 in 63 minutes before Dundee marksman Leigh Griffin pulled one back. The final nail in Dundee coffin came in 83 minutes as Kevin Motion got Stenny's 4th , a great result for the 2nd division team.
Big match of the night was at East End Park as Dunfermiline and Queen of the South drew 1-1 before the Doonhammers won 6-5 on penalty's. David Weatherston had put Queen's in front on 53 minutes before Andy Kirk got the equaliser on 82minutes. The crowd of 1160 were then treated to penaltiy's. Andy Dowie was the offender for Dunfermline as his spot kick hit the bar to send Queen of the South through.
Biggest scorers of the night were Peterhead , The Blue Toon took 6 of East Stirling as they ran out 6-1 winners. The game was poised 1-1 at half-time before Peterhead totally dominated the 2nd half scoring 5 goals.
Other results from last night were Partick Thistle beating Berwick Rangers 2-1 , this was after Adam McClaren had put Rangers ahead. Ross County won the all 1st division tie by coming from behind to beat Morton 3-1. At Hampden Queens Park went down 3-2 to much improving Forfar Athletic , Forfar were 2-0 down with 20 minutes Left before they came back and won this game in extra time. East Fife beat 1st divison Stirling Albion 3-1 , the 2nd divison side were well worth thier win , goals came from Byrne , Johnstone and Cargil. Ayr Utd are also through to the Quarter Finals by by seeing off Cowdenbeath 2-0 , again a 2nd divison side beating a first.
Thats 4 in a row for myself , Peterhead did me proud by hammering East Stirling 6-1. If anyone put the bet on then it wouldn't have returned as much as my previous bets as Peterhead were only 1/2 on.
Big match of the night was at East End Park as Dunfermiline and Queen of the South drew 1-1 before the Doonhammers won 6-5 on penalty's. David Weatherston had put Queen's in front on 53 minutes before Andy Kirk got the equaliser on 82minutes. The crowd of 1160 were then treated to penaltiy's. Andy Dowie was the offender for Dunfermline as his spot kick hit the bar to send Queen of the South through.
Biggest scorers of the night were Peterhead , The Blue Toon took 6 of East Stirling as they ran out 6-1 winners. The game was poised 1-1 at half-time before Peterhead totally dominated the 2nd half scoring 5 goals.
Other results from last night were Partick Thistle beating Berwick Rangers 2-1 , this was after Adam McClaren had put Rangers ahead. Ross County won the all 1st division tie by coming from behind to beat Morton 3-1. At Hampden Queens Park went down 3-2 to much improving Forfar Athletic , Forfar were 2-0 down with 20 minutes Left before they came back and won this game in extra time. East Fife beat 1st divison Stirling Albion 3-1 , the 2nd divison side were well worth thier win , goals came from Byrne , Johnstone and Cargil. Ayr Utd are also through to the Quarter Finals by by seeing off Cowdenbeath 2-0 , again a 2nd divison side beating a first.
Thats 4 in a row for myself , Peterhead did me proud by hammering East Stirling 6-1. If anyone put the bet on then it wouldn't have returned as much as my previous bets as Peterhead were only 1/2 on.
Monday 9 August 2010
ALBA Challenge Cup 2nd Round Preview
Tuesday night see the return of the ALBA Challenge Cup. The 2nd round ties will see Representatives from all 3 Divisions. If you are looking for the tie of the round look no further than East End Park as 1st Division title hopefuls Dunfermline and Queen of the South go head to head. Cup holders Dundee travel to 2nd Division Stenhousemuir looking to add to their 3 wins in league and cup already this season. Could there be an upset at Firhill as Berwick Rangers travel to play Partick Thistle who will be looking to get back to winning ways after being hammered on saturday 4-0 by Raith Rovers.
the 2nd round fixtures are.....
Queens Park vs Forfar Athletic
Ayr Utd vs Cowdenbeath
Ross County vs Morton
Partick Thistle vs Berwick Rangers
Dunfermline vs Queen of the south
Stenhousemuir vs Dundee
Peterhead vs East Stirling
East Fife vs Stirling Albion
My bet for this round will be Peterhead to beat East Stirling , prices are around 1/2
the 2nd round fixtures are.....
Queens Park vs Forfar Athletic
Ayr Utd vs Cowdenbeath
Ross County vs Morton
Partick Thistle vs Berwick Rangers
Dunfermline vs Queen of the south
Stenhousemuir vs Dundee
Peterhead vs East Stirling
East Fife vs Stirling Albion
My bet for this round will be Peterhead to beat East Stirling , prices are around 1/2
SFL Week 1 Round-up...
It was goals , goals , goals this weekend as the SFL got underway. There was 54 goals scored in 15 games on Saturday , that's an average of 3.6 goals a game , very healthy indeed. The 2nd and 3rd division can take most of the credit as both divisions produced 23 goals each in 5 games. I'm sure the fans got their money worth.
In the 1st division Dunfermilne won the match of the day by beating Falkirk 1-0 , Pat Clarke getting the goal in 16 minutes. The Pars also missed a penalty , Andy Kirk being the offender. Dundee showed why they will be title challengers by holding out with 9 men to beat Queen of the South 1-0. Gary Harkins got the goal from a free-kick in the first half. Steven O'Reilly and debutant Netan Sansara were the men ordered off for Dundee. Performance of the day was at Stark's Park where Raith thrashed Partick Thistle 4-0. Mark Ferry got the opener but was over-shadowed by hat-trick hero John Baird scoring twice in the first half and a goal 8 minutes from time. Stirling Albion got a 0-0 draw away to Morton whilst Ross County showed their title credentials by travelling to Cowdenbeath and returning to Dingwall with a 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Michael Gardyne and Paul Di Giacomo
Cowdenbeath 0 v 2 Ross County
Dundee 1 v 0 Queen of the South
Falkirk 0 v 1 Dunfermline
Morton 0 v 0 Stirling Albion
Raith Rovers 4 v 0 Partick Thistle
The 2nd Division's big game was at Livingston as the title rivals played out a high scoring 3-3 draw. A crowd of 1389 the biggest of the day saw Alloa come from behind twice to snatch a draw with a last minute penalty from Andrew Scott. Livi were 2-0 up at half time before Smith and Prunty replied for Alloa. A Mcovoy own goal restored Livis's lead before Scott got that last min penalty as David Gormley was knocked down in the box. Forfar started well thumping Dumbarton 4-1 , Chris Templeman scoring twice. East Fife and Airdrie starred in a 6 goal thriller drawing 3-3. Airdrie showed powers of recovery as they came back twice against the Fifers. John Gemmel missed a penalty for Airdrie before scoring in the 50th minute , David Muir was sent off late as East Fife had to hold on for their draw. Brechin started with an excellent 2-0 win away to Ayr , McLauchlan and a late Molloy goal doing the damage. Stenhousemuir in front of the lowest crowd of the day beat Peterhead 3-1 , only 423 turned up to see Ross Clarke score twice on his league debut to condemn the Blue Toon to defeat.
Ayr 0 v 2 Brechin
East Fife 3 v 3 Airdrie
Forfar 4 v 1 Dumbarton
Livingston 3 v 3 Alloa
Stenhousemuir 3 v 1 Peterhead
There is only one place to start in the 3rd Division as Arbroath travelled to Elgin winning an incredible game 5-3. Keith Gibson got the only goal of the 1st half in 16 minutes before the game exploded in the 2nd Half. Paul Millar equalised for Elgin in 52 mins before McGowan put Arbroath back in front a minute later. Gibson snatched his 2nd of the game before Falkingham scored twice for Arbroath either side of Brian Cameron's consolation goal for Elgin. Albion Rovers and Berwick Rangers shared 4 goals Berwick came from behind twice to snatch a draw. Clyde and Stranraer also played out a 2-2 draw , in form striker Mark McKusker had put Clyde 2-0 up before Stranraer replied in 43 minutes , Craig Malcolm getting the goal. Sean Winter secured the draw for the blues with his first senior goal in 64 Min's. Queens Park as expected travelled to Montrose and came away with the win although it took a last minute penalty from Martin Mcbride to secure the win. Annan Athletic blew away East Stirling 3-1 with 3 goals in the first 20 minutes , Mike Jack , Jordon Halsman and Steven Sloan getting the goals for the Galabankies. East Stirling's only reply came from a own goal by Craig Summergill.
Albion Rovers 2 v 2 Berwick Rangers
Annan Athletic 3 v 1 East Stirling
Clyde 2 v 2 Sranraer
Elgin 3 v 5 Arbroath
Montrose 1 v 2 Queens Park
On a side note , got my bet up again by taking Queens Park to beat Montrose , that 3 out of 3 this season for me. Hopefully it continues when i pick a team out for the ALBA challenge cup games on Tuesday.
In the 1st division Dunfermilne won the match of the day by beating Falkirk 1-0 , Pat Clarke getting the goal in 16 minutes. The Pars also missed a penalty , Andy Kirk being the offender. Dundee showed why they will be title challengers by holding out with 9 men to beat Queen of the South 1-0. Gary Harkins got the goal from a free-kick in the first half. Steven O'Reilly and debutant Netan Sansara were the men ordered off for Dundee. Performance of the day was at Stark's Park where Raith thrashed Partick Thistle 4-0. Mark Ferry got the opener but was over-shadowed by hat-trick hero John Baird scoring twice in the first half and a goal 8 minutes from time. Stirling Albion got a 0-0 draw away to Morton whilst Ross County showed their title credentials by travelling to Cowdenbeath and returning to Dingwall with a 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Michael Gardyne and Paul Di Giacomo
Cowdenbeath 0 v 2 Ross County
Dundee 1 v 0 Queen of the South
Falkirk 0 v 1 Dunfermline
Morton 0 v 0 Stirling Albion
Raith Rovers 4 v 0 Partick Thistle
The 2nd Division's big game was at Livingston as the title rivals played out a high scoring 3-3 draw. A crowd of 1389 the biggest of the day saw Alloa come from behind twice to snatch a draw with a last minute penalty from Andrew Scott. Livi were 2-0 up at half time before Smith and Prunty replied for Alloa. A Mcovoy own goal restored Livis's lead before Scott got that last min penalty as David Gormley was knocked down in the box. Forfar started well thumping Dumbarton 4-1 , Chris Templeman scoring twice. East Fife and Airdrie starred in a 6 goal thriller drawing 3-3. Airdrie showed powers of recovery as they came back twice against the Fifers. John Gemmel missed a penalty for Airdrie before scoring in the 50th minute , David Muir was sent off late as East Fife had to hold on for their draw. Brechin started with an excellent 2-0 win away to Ayr , McLauchlan and a late Molloy goal doing the damage. Stenhousemuir in front of the lowest crowd of the day beat Peterhead 3-1 , only 423 turned up to see Ross Clarke score twice on his league debut to condemn the Blue Toon to defeat.
Ayr 0 v 2 Brechin
East Fife 3 v 3 Airdrie
Forfar 4 v 1 Dumbarton
Livingston 3 v 3 Alloa
Stenhousemuir 3 v 1 Peterhead
There is only one place to start in the 3rd Division as Arbroath travelled to Elgin winning an incredible game 5-3. Keith Gibson got the only goal of the 1st half in 16 minutes before the game exploded in the 2nd Half. Paul Millar equalised for Elgin in 52 mins before McGowan put Arbroath back in front a minute later. Gibson snatched his 2nd of the game before Falkingham scored twice for Arbroath either side of Brian Cameron's consolation goal for Elgin. Albion Rovers and Berwick Rangers shared 4 goals Berwick came from behind twice to snatch a draw. Clyde and Stranraer also played out a 2-2 draw , in form striker Mark McKusker had put Clyde 2-0 up before Stranraer replied in 43 minutes , Craig Malcolm getting the goal. Sean Winter secured the draw for the blues with his first senior goal in 64 Min's. Queens Park as expected travelled to Montrose and came away with the win although it took a last minute penalty from Martin Mcbride to secure the win. Annan Athletic blew away East Stirling 3-1 with 3 goals in the first 20 minutes , Mike Jack , Jordon Halsman and Steven Sloan getting the goals for the Galabankies. East Stirling's only reply came from a own goal by Craig Summergill.
Albion Rovers 2 v 2 Berwick Rangers
Annan Athletic 3 v 1 East Stirling
Clyde 2 v 2 Sranraer
Elgin 3 v 5 Arbroath
Montrose 1 v 2 Queens Park
On a side note , got my bet up again by taking Queens Park to beat Montrose , that 3 out of 3 this season for me. Hopefully it continues when i pick a team out for the ALBA challenge cup games on Tuesday.
Saturday 7 August 2010
SFL Fixtures Round 1....
Scottish 1st Division Fixtures......
Cowdenbeath vs Ross County
Dundee vs Queen of the South
Falkirk vs Dunfermline
Morton vs Stirling Albion
Raith Rovers vs Partick Thistle
All very tight opening games , match of the division must be the Derby between Falkirk and Dunfermline , Very hard games to pick a winner in.
Scottish 2nd Division Fixtures......
Ayr Utd vs Brechin City
East Fife vs Airdrie Utd
Forfar Athletic vs Dumbarton
Livingston vs Alloa Athletic
Stenhousemuir vs Peterhead
Big match in Livingston as the 2 promotion hopefuls go head to head in round 1 , free scoring Peterhead will also look to carry on from their 2 cup wins by beating one of the relegation favorites Stenhousemuir.
Scottish 3rd Division Fixtures......
Albion Rovers vs Berwick Rangers
Annan Athletic vs East Stirling
Elgin vs Arbroath
Clyde vs Stranraer
Montrose vs Queens Park
Some tasty ties in this opening round , Clyde should be expected to beat Stranraer who lost 7 last week in the cup , Can Montrose keep out Queens park after conceding 8in 2 games?? , tough games again to pick.
My bet for the 1st round of games?? , i will be going for Queens Park to go away to Montrose and beat them with a few to spare , Montrose have looked terrible whilst Queens Park although losing to SPL side Inverness beat a good Livingston side in the ALBA Cup , Queens Price is around 6/5
Cowdenbeath vs Ross County
Dundee vs Queen of the South
Falkirk vs Dunfermline
Morton vs Stirling Albion
Raith Rovers vs Partick Thistle
All very tight opening games , match of the division must be the Derby between Falkirk and Dunfermline , Very hard games to pick a winner in.
Scottish 2nd Division Fixtures......
Ayr Utd vs Brechin City
East Fife vs Airdrie Utd
Forfar Athletic vs Dumbarton
Livingston vs Alloa Athletic
Stenhousemuir vs Peterhead
Big match in Livingston as the 2 promotion hopefuls go head to head in round 1 , free scoring Peterhead will also look to carry on from their 2 cup wins by beating one of the relegation favorites Stenhousemuir.
Scottish 3rd Division Fixtures......
Albion Rovers vs Berwick Rangers
Annan Athletic vs East Stirling
Elgin vs Arbroath
Clyde vs Stranraer
Montrose vs Queens Park
Some tasty ties in this opening round , Clyde should be expected to beat Stranraer who lost 7 last week in the cup , Can Montrose keep out Queens park after conceding 8in 2 games?? , tough games again to pick.
My bet for the 1st round of games?? , i will be going for Queens Park to go away to Montrose and beat them with a few to spare , Montrose have looked terrible whilst Queens Park although losing to SPL side Inverness beat a good Livingston side in the ALBA Cup , Queens Price is around 6/5
CIS League Cup 2nd round draw
The 2nd round of the CIS League cup was made today at lesser Hampden , this is the stage that the SPL clubs join the fray with the exception on our European entrants and Inverness who played in the first round.
All ties will be played on the 24th August , the fixtures are.....
Kilmarnock vs Airdrie Utd
Brechin vs Dundee
Hearts vs Elgin
Alloa vs Aberdeen
St Johnstone vs Morton
Ross County vs St Mirren
Inverness vs Peterhead
Partick Thistle vs Falkirk
Queen of the South vs Forfar
Raith Rovers vs Hamilton
Dunfermline vs Clyde
All ties will be played on the 24th August , the fixtures are.....
Kilmarnock vs Airdrie Utd
Brechin vs Dundee
Hearts vs Elgin
Alloa vs Aberdeen
St Johnstone vs Morton
Ross County vs St Mirren
Inverness vs Peterhead
Partick Thistle vs Falkirk
Queen of the South vs Forfar
Raith Rovers vs Hamilton
Dunfermline vs Clyde
Europa League draw for Scottish clubs
Today 3 of our clubs were involved in the final Europa League qualifiers , Celtic who were this week knocked out of the Champions League , Dundee Utd our national cup winners and Motherwell who have already saw off 2 teams to get here.
First Celtic , they will meet Dutch side Utrecht , a tough game for NeiL Lennon's side , the first leg will be at Parkhead with the return a week later , Celtic will hope their defence is sorted before taking on the dangerous Dutch.
Dundee Utd have been given a hard one but it could have been worse , AEK Athens are Utd's opponents , The greeks have already played Rangers in pre-season and emerged 1-0 winners , The first leg is at Tannadice so it will be crucial for Utd to take a lead over to hostile Athens.
Last but not least Motherwell , they really won a watch by drawing Odense Bk from Denmark , it could have Man City or Fenerbache for the Fir Park men , I'm sure Craig Brown will be quietly confident in his team as they have a real chance of making the Europa League out-right
As mentioned before if we get 2 out of 3 Scottish teams going through this round then we really have done well , the above 2 legs will take place on the 19th and 26th of August.
First Celtic , they will meet Dutch side Utrecht , a tough game for NeiL Lennon's side , the first leg will be at Parkhead with the return a week later , Celtic will hope their defence is sorted before taking on the dangerous Dutch.
Dundee Utd have been given a hard one but it could have been worse , AEK Athens are Utd's opponents , The greeks have already played Rangers in pre-season and emerged 1-0 winners , The first leg is at Tannadice so it will be crucial for Utd to take a lead over to hostile Athens.
Last but not least Motherwell , they really won a watch by drawing Odense Bk from Denmark , it could have Man City or Fenerbache for the Fir Park men , I'm sure Craig Brown will be quietly confident in his team as they have a real chance of making the Europa League out-right
As mentioned before if we get 2 out of 3 Scottish teams going through this round then we really have done well , the above 2 legs will take place on the 19th and 26th of August.
Friday 6 August 2010
SFL 1st , 2nd and 3rd season predictions...
Tomorrow it all starts , so far we have had a few cup games to wet our appetite but the official SFL season starts , the 1st 2nd and 3rd tiers of Scottish football get underway with some excellent games , its the start of a long journey that for some will be successful but for others DESPAIR.
So now the hard part , picking who will win the leagues and who will go down , also i will try and pick out who i think will win the ALBA Challenge Cup.
EASY eh???
Starting with the 1st division , i think there are up to 5 teams that have a chance of landing the league crown and getting promoted to the SPL , Dundee , Dunfermline , Ross County , Falkirk and Partick Thistle. Now who has the best squad?? id say probably Falkirk but they have an untested manager in Steven Pressley , this leads us to Dundee who have a smaller squad than last year but have kept goalscorer Leigh Griffiths , Dunfermline will be relying on Andy Kirk but are generally inconsistent , same can be said about Partick Thistle , its a massive season for Ian Mccall so he will be hoping the good start with 2 cup wins continues , that leaves us with Ross County who i think have a good young manager in Derek Adams , County have been a good cup team but can they win the big one???
my pick - Dundee , they blew it last year but i just think that the rest just don't have the consistency that Dundee showed last season , Dundee 1st and Ross County 2nd.
Relegation - I fear for Stirling Albion , its between them and Cowdenbeath who have lost a good few players to St Mirren , what the difference might be is the manager Jimmy Nicholl who has a lot more experience than rookie John O'neil. Albion to go down.
Now the 2nd division , i really think its Livingston's year as i only see a challenge from Alloa , my tip for surprise go at the title is Peterhead , Livi still have a full time squad and boast the experienced Robbie Winters in attack , Alloa went close last year and manager Allan Maitland will be hoping that the wasps can go one better this season , if anyone is to challenge Livi then its Alloa. Peterhead i think will have a good season , it would need to be exceptional to win the league but they have started well in the cups , new signing Dennis Wyness is playing well so that certainly gives them hope.
Prediction - Livingston , they have the best Squad , Alloa will run them close but i just cant see by Livi going up again the 1st division
Relegation - i was going to make this a 3 horse race and add Forfar into this but i can see Old times Dick Campbell leading "bridie bunch" to a mid table position , so the 2 teams who i think will struggle is Dumbarton and Stenhousemuir , Dumbarton have a better team that Stenhousemuir that was proved last season but my worry is the 2nd season syndrome , Stenny just escaped from the play-off last year so they will be looking for better this time around. Who will go down....Stenhousemuir.
Last SFL league to be predicted is the 3rd division , my favorites to go up are Clyde , East Stirling and Berwick Rangers. Starting with Clyde , have they finally found a division where they can win in?? , what about the former whipping boys in East Stirling who have made the play-offs the last 2 seasons , what about Berwick Rangers , my outside tip , manager Jimmy Crease has added to his front line so they will be a danger.
Prediction - its going to be 3rd time lucky for East Stirling , Berwick to get 2nd and Clyde 3rd.
Finish Bottom of the SFL - it is really between Montrose and Elgin , the Highlanders have much more fire power and have already beat Ayr in the Cup , Montrose already have been hammered twice 5-0 and 3-0. Montrose to finish bottom.
ALBA Challenge Cup Winners - Ross County , i just think its their year.
So now the hard part , picking who will win the leagues and who will go down , also i will try and pick out who i think will win the ALBA Challenge Cup.
EASY eh???
Starting with the 1st division , i think there are up to 5 teams that have a chance of landing the league crown and getting promoted to the SPL , Dundee , Dunfermline , Ross County , Falkirk and Partick Thistle. Now who has the best squad?? id say probably Falkirk but they have an untested manager in Steven Pressley , this leads us to Dundee who have a smaller squad than last year but have kept goalscorer Leigh Griffiths , Dunfermline will be relying on Andy Kirk but are generally inconsistent , same can be said about Partick Thistle , its a massive season for Ian Mccall so he will be hoping the good start with 2 cup wins continues , that leaves us with Ross County who i think have a good young manager in Derek Adams , County have been a good cup team but can they win the big one???
my pick - Dundee , they blew it last year but i just think that the rest just don't have the consistency that Dundee showed last season , Dundee 1st and Ross County 2nd.
Relegation - I fear for Stirling Albion , its between them and Cowdenbeath who have lost a good few players to St Mirren , what the difference might be is the manager Jimmy Nicholl who has a lot more experience than rookie John O'neil. Albion to go down.
Now the 2nd division , i really think its Livingston's year as i only see a challenge from Alloa , my tip for surprise go at the title is Peterhead , Livi still have a full time squad and boast the experienced Robbie Winters in attack , Alloa went close last year and manager Allan Maitland will be hoping that the wasps can go one better this season , if anyone is to challenge Livi then its Alloa. Peterhead i think will have a good season , it would need to be exceptional to win the league but they have started well in the cups , new signing Dennis Wyness is playing well so that certainly gives them hope.
Prediction - Livingston , they have the best Squad , Alloa will run them close but i just cant see by Livi going up again the 1st division
Relegation - i was going to make this a 3 horse race and add Forfar into this but i can see Old times Dick Campbell leading "bridie bunch" to a mid table position , so the 2 teams who i think will struggle is Dumbarton and Stenhousemuir , Dumbarton have a better team that Stenhousemuir that was proved last season but my worry is the 2nd season syndrome , Stenny just escaped from the play-off last year so they will be looking for better this time around. Who will go down....Stenhousemuir.
Last SFL league to be predicted is the 3rd division , my favorites to go up are Clyde , East Stirling and Berwick Rangers. Starting with Clyde , have they finally found a division where they can win in?? , what about the former whipping boys in East Stirling who have made the play-offs the last 2 seasons , what about Berwick Rangers , my outside tip , manager Jimmy Crease has added to his front line so they will be a danger.
Prediction - its going to be 3rd time lucky for East Stirling , Berwick to get 2nd and Clyde 3rd.
Finish Bottom of the SFL - it is really between Montrose and Elgin , the Highlanders have much more fire power and have already beat Ayr in the Cup , Montrose already have been hammered twice 5-0 and 3-0. Montrose to finish bottom.
ALBA Challenge Cup Winners - Ross County , i just think its their year.
Motherwell march on , Hibs are out
Motherwell continued their excellent run in Europe last night with a convincing 3-0 victory over Norwegians Aalesunds , goals in 4 and 13 minutes set Motherwell on their way to a 3rd win in 4 games in these early qualifiers.
Jamie Murphy got the first in 4 minutes followed by a John Sutton strike 9 minutes later , youngster Page finished the job with a minute to go as Craig Browns men will now take their place in the final qualifying draw tomorrow. The 4-1 aggregate win is Motherwell's biggest win in Europe this season.
In the East of Scotland Hibs bowed out of European competition by going down 3-2 at home to NK Maribor (6-2 on aggregate). The game was over after 19 minutes as Tavares scored to put Maribor 4-0 up on aggregate , Hibs did battle back with new signing De Graaf pulling 1 back before Mezga scored a penalty and Tavares got his second. Dutchman De Graaf did get a late consolation for Hibs but it was not enough as Hibs suffered their second straight defeat.
A mixed night for Scottish football but now Motherwell , Celtic and Dundee Utd will fly the flag for Scotland in the Europa Legaue final qualifiers , if we get 2 out of 3 going through to the group stages then its a job well done , Celtic are expected to go through as they are seeded , it would be great if 1 or even if lucky the 2 other teams were able to join them as it would be a massive boost for our football.
Jamie Murphy got the first in 4 minutes followed by a John Sutton strike 9 minutes later , youngster Page finished the job with a minute to go as Craig Browns men will now take their place in the final qualifying draw tomorrow. The 4-1 aggregate win is Motherwell's biggest win in Europe this season.
In the East of Scotland Hibs bowed out of European competition by going down 3-2 at home to NK Maribor (6-2 on aggregate). The game was over after 19 minutes as Tavares scored to put Maribor 4-0 up on aggregate , Hibs did battle back with new signing De Graaf pulling 1 back before Mezga scored a penalty and Tavares got his second. Dutchman De Graaf did get a late consolation for Hibs but it was not enough as Hibs suffered their second straight defeat.
A mixed night for Scottish football but now Motherwell , Celtic and Dundee Utd will fly the flag for Scotland in the Europa Legaue final qualifiers , if we get 2 out of 3 going through to the group stages then its a job well done , Celtic are expected to go through as they are seeded , it would be great if 1 or even if lucky the 2 other teams were able to join them as it would be a massive boost for our football.
Thursday 5 August 2010
Motherwell and the Old Master
Motherwell achieved by far the best result for Scottish teams in European action last week , their 1-1 draw with Norwegian cup winners Aalesunds gives them an excellent chance to make the final qualifiers for the Europa League group stage. Only that last minute penalty denied what would have been a momentous win for the Fir Park side.
The 1-1 draw leaves Motherwell manager Craig Brown with a dilemma , does he go all out for the win?? or does he hold back look to catch his opponents on the break?? , if anyone knows Craig Brown and the way he set up his Scotland team then Motherwell will be set up to catch Aalesunds on the break , the old master can certainly put a well organised team on the field , just look at "well's" results so far in these qualifiers , 1 goal conceded and by a penalty , all this with a threadbare squad.
The same team that nearly got the victory in Norway will probably start tonight , Brown doesn't have that much of a choice to change it , that's why its so important for Motherwell to progress as it would probably lead to a "big name" making their way to Fir Park , this would give the manager a bonus of a big money tie which can be used on potential new signings.
Prediction - If it wasn't for that last minute goal then Motherwell were probably 90% through , tonight will be a tense affair but in the end i think Motherwell will progress to the next round , it might even be in extra time. 1-0 to the "well" , if Aalesunds score then "well" still win it in extra time.
Tonight's match will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland 810MW
The 1-1 draw leaves Motherwell manager Craig Brown with a dilemma , does he go all out for the win?? or does he hold back look to catch his opponents on the break?? , if anyone knows Craig Brown and the way he set up his Scotland team then Motherwell will be set up to catch Aalesunds on the break , the old master can certainly put a well organised team on the field , just look at "well's" results so far in these qualifiers , 1 goal conceded and by a penalty , all this with a threadbare squad.
The same team that nearly got the victory in Norway will probably start tonight , Brown doesn't have that much of a choice to change it , that's why its so important for Motherwell to progress as it would probably lead to a "big name" making their way to Fir Park , this would give the manager a bonus of a big money tie which can be used on potential new signings.
Prediction - If it wasn't for that last minute goal then Motherwell were probably 90% through , tonight will be a tense affair but in the end i think Motherwell will progress to the next round , it might even be in extra time. 1-0 to the "well" , if Aalesunds score then "well" still win it in extra time.
Tonight's match will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland 810MW
Hughes must let Hibs loose on Maribor
Last week in Slovenia , John Hughes changed his attacking philosophy , for some strange reason he kept Anthony Stokes and Derek Riordan (Hibs most dangerous players)on the bench as he went 4-5-1 looking to contain NK Maribor.
A 3-0 hammering in Hughes 1st European game confirmed that he had got it wrong...BADLY , now Hughes has to go back to the formation and attacking football style that make Hibs the most attractive team to watch in the SPL , to do this the above 2 must start the game vs the Slovenian's.
To have any chance of turning this game around Hibs must play well but also keep that back door shut , last night Celtic paid the ultimate price by conceding an early goal as they chased the same result that Hibs need. With Sol Bamba apparently making his return to the team after being banned for turning up late from the world cup , it certainly shores up the Hibs defence that was severely exposed by the Maribor front line 7 days ago.
Prediction - again its bad new i think , 3-0 is just too much to ask from this Hibs team , Hibs should have went for it in Slovenia , I'm sure they would have scored if they went with their normal strike force. Tonight i think Hibs will have a good chance of winning the game as Maribor will probably sit back and defend their first leg result , but score 3 with out reply?? NO , i go for a 2-1 Hibs win and like Celtic a bit of pride restored.
A 3-0 hammering in Hughes 1st European game confirmed that he had got it wrong...BADLY , now Hughes has to go back to the formation and attacking football style that make Hibs the most attractive team to watch in the SPL , to do this the above 2 must start the game vs the Slovenian's.
To have any chance of turning this game around Hibs must play well but also keep that back door shut , last night Celtic paid the ultimate price by conceding an early goal as they chased the same result that Hibs need. With Sol Bamba apparently making his return to the team after being banned for turning up late from the world cup , it certainly shores up the Hibs defence that was severely exposed by the Maribor front line 7 days ago.
Prediction - again its bad new i think , 3-0 is just too much to ask from this Hibs team , Hibs should have went for it in Slovenia , I'm sure they would have scored if they went with their normal strike force. Tonight i think Hibs will have a good chance of winning the game as Maribor will probably sit back and defend their first leg result , but score 3 with out reply?? NO , i go for a 2-1 Hibs win and like Celtic a bit of pride restored.
Celtic lose the Braga rights
Well Celtic got the win last night vs Sporting Braga but as expected it wasnt enough , a 20th minute goal by Cesar was all it took to kill of Celtic's very faint chances of turning this Champions League qualifier around.
The manager knew it , the players knew it and the fans knew it , 1 slip and it was over , that was the task facing Celtic after their humiliation in Portugal last week , even though Celtic ended up winning this game 2-1 due to 2nd half goals from Hooper and Juarez , everyone an their dog knew it was too big a task for Celtic , especially when they have a defence that cant keep a clean sheet.
Celtic now will enter Fridays Europa League draw , not what the fans etc wanted but they have no choice , Lennon's team will be helped by being seeded so it is expected that they will take their place in the group stage for the 2nd year running.
Tonight the only winner for Scottish football was our co-efficent!
The manager knew it , the players knew it and the fans knew it , 1 slip and it was over , that was the task facing Celtic after their humiliation in Portugal last week , even though Celtic ended up winning this game 2-1 due to 2nd half goals from Hooper and Juarez , everyone an their dog knew it was too big a task for Celtic , especially when they have a defence that cant keep a clean sheet.
Celtic now will enter Fridays Europa League draw , not what the fans etc wanted but they have no choice , Lennon's team will be helped by being seeded so it is expected that they will take their place in the group stage for the 2nd year running.
Tonight the only winner for Scottish football was our co-efficent!
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Celtic chase a Portuguese miracle
They say that attack is the best form of defence?? , well for Celtic tonight vs Sporting Braga , its their defence that will decide if Celtic have any chance of turning over the 3-0 defeat they incurred in Portugal last week.
At the Emirates tournament at the weekend Celtic again showed that going forward they can certainly score goals , its their back line that just cant keep them out , Celtic scored 4 goals against Lyon and Arsenal , 2 against each team but they conceded 5 , with Braga only really needing 1 goal to totally finish Celtic's faint hopes of reaching the play-off round of the Champions League (celtic would need 5 if this happens) , it shows how much of an ask this will be for Neil Lennon's team.
Can Celtic do it??? , i say no , their back line is just not good enough to keep the flair of the Portuguese out , Celtic may well score 3 goals in this game but even if they do , can anyone be confident of a clean sheet??? , its still unknown if Scott Brown will make the team as he was injured vs Lyon , Aiden Mcgeady wont play either as he is in Russia thinking about a move to Spartak , so will Lennon turn to new strikers in Murphy and Hooper to get the goals??? , well after Samaras penalty miss vs Arsenal , i think its in Lennon's best interest to play 2 strikers who actually score goals.
Prediction - i think Celtic will win this game but it will not be enough to see them through , a 2-1 or even a 3-2 win looks on the cards , at least the win would boost Scotland's co-efficient but it would also mean that Celtic would take their place in the play-off draw for the Europa League on Friday.
At the Emirates tournament at the weekend Celtic again showed that going forward they can certainly score goals , its their back line that just cant keep them out , Celtic scored 4 goals against Lyon and Arsenal , 2 against each team but they conceded 5 , with Braga only really needing 1 goal to totally finish Celtic's faint hopes of reaching the play-off round of the Champions League (celtic would need 5 if this happens) , it shows how much of an ask this will be for Neil Lennon's team.
Can Celtic do it??? , i say no , their back line is just not good enough to keep the flair of the Portuguese out , Celtic may well score 3 goals in this game but even if they do , can anyone be confident of a clean sheet??? , its still unknown if Scott Brown will make the team as he was injured vs Lyon , Aiden Mcgeady wont play either as he is in Russia thinking about a move to Spartak , so will Lennon turn to new strikers in Murphy and Hooper to get the goals??? , well after Samaras penalty miss vs Arsenal , i think its in Lennon's best interest to play 2 strikers who actually score goals.
Prediction - i think Celtic will win this game but it will not be enough to see them through , a 2-1 or even a 3-2 win looks on the cards , at least the win would boost Scotland's co-efficient but it would also mean that Celtic would take their place in the play-off draw for the Europa League on Friday.
Tuesday 3 August 2010
Tried and tested for Scotland Manager Levein
Scotland manager Craig Levein today announced his squad for the friendly vs Sweden on August 11th. The match will be the managers first away game in charge of Scotland as he continues to prepare his squad for the double header in September vs Lithuania and Lichtenstein.
Alan Mcgregor was the main talking point as the Rangers keeper was reinstated to number 1 after Craig Gordons injury , Mcgregor has plenty of big match experience due to his involvement in the Champions League and UEFA Cup with Rangers. We are so lucky to have 2 or if you want 3 very good goalkeepers if you count Mcgregor's teammate Neil Alexander.
There was no room in the squad for Levein's old club players Gary Kenneth and Craig Conway , both were drafted into Levein's first squad against the Czech Republic , a match which saw Scotland win 1-0 , recalled to the squad was Stephen Mcmanus , he was joined by fellow Middlesbrough players Kris Boyd , Kevin Thomson and Barry Robson.
Now the controversial pick , if you trawl through the Scottish football sites , forums and blogs , then you will find that the majority of Scotland fans cant understand (myself included) why Chris Iwelumo has been given another chance , surely David Goodwillie or Steven Naismith are better choices than the man who missed THAT sitter vs Norway , so far I've not heard anything on why the Burnley hit man has been selected again.
The full Scotland Squad to face Sweden is as follows.....
Mcgregor , Alexander , Marshall
Hutton , Whitaker , Berra , Webster , Mcmanus , Wallace , Broadfoot
D.Fletcher , Brown , Thomson , Dorrins , Robson , Mcculloch , Adam , Morrison
Boyd , Miller , S.Fletcher , Mcfadden , Iwelumo
Hopefully Scotland set up in an attacking 4-5-1 , more like a 4-3-3 as we certainly have pace to burn up front. If i had the choice this would be my team to face the Swede's on the 11th.....
Mcgregor
Hutton Berra Webster Wallace
Brown Thomson D.Fletcher
Mcfadden miller Dorrans
2 attacking fullbacks , really solid central midfield and lots of pace up front , Mcfadden and Dorrans can pull back to become a midfield 5 when we are defending.
This tactics stuff is easy!!!!
Alan Mcgregor was the main talking point as the Rangers keeper was reinstated to number 1 after Craig Gordons injury , Mcgregor has plenty of big match experience due to his involvement in the Champions League and UEFA Cup with Rangers. We are so lucky to have 2 or if you want 3 very good goalkeepers if you count Mcgregor's teammate Neil Alexander.
There was no room in the squad for Levein's old club players Gary Kenneth and Craig Conway , both were drafted into Levein's first squad against the Czech Republic , a match which saw Scotland win 1-0 , recalled to the squad was Stephen Mcmanus , he was joined by fellow Middlesbrough players Kris Boyd , Kevin Thomson and Barry Robson.
Now the controversial pick , if you trawl through the Scottish football sites , forums and blogs , then you will find that the majority of Scotland fans cant understand (myself included) why Chris Iwelumo has been given another chance , surely David Goodwillie or Steven Naismith are better choices than the man who missed THAT sitter vs Norway , so far I've not heard anything on why the Burnley hit man has been selected again.
The full Scotland Squad to face Sweden is as follows.....
Mcgregor , Alexander , Marshall
Hutton , Whitaker , Berra , Webster , Mcmanus , Wallace , Broadfoot
D.Fletcher , Brown , Thomson , Dorrins , Robson , Mcculloch , Adam , Morrison
Boyd , Miller , S.Fletcher , Mcfadden , Iwelumo
Hopefully Scotland set up in an attacking 4-5-1 , more like a 4-3-3 as we certainly have pace to burn up front. If i had the choice this would be my team to face the Swede's on the 11th.....
Mcgregor
Hutton Berra Webster Wallace
Brown Thomson D.Fletcher
Mcfadden miller Dorrans
2 attacking fullbacks , really solid central midfield and lots of pace up front , Mcfadden and Dorrans can pull back to become a midfield 5 when we are defending.
This tactics stuff is easy!!!!
Sunday 1 August 2010
CIS League Cup 1st Round Report
The CIS League Cup got underway yesterday with plenty of goals but not very many shocks , there was goals galore at East End Park as Dunfermline beat Arbroath for the 2nd week in a row , this time the Pars ran out 5-2 winners , Queen of the South were also in the goals as they hammered Dumbarton 5-1 , Morton though did better than all teams in this round as they travelled south to Stranraer and won 7-1.
SPL side Inverness had a routine win vs 3rd division Queens park , the Highlanders winning 3-0 , Ross County won the tie of the round beating Livingston 2-1 and surviving with 10 men for the last 20 mins , Partick Thistle also sneaked a 1 goal win with a 1-0 win away to Annan Athletic.
Raith Rovers won local pride by seeing of East Fife 4-1 , Forfar caused a shock by travelling to Stirling and winning 2-1 whilst the only game to go into extra time was at Elgin when the hosts beat Ayr Utd 3-2 with the winning goal coming in the 120th minute.
Well i did it again , and this week was a bit easier , i backed both Dundee and Queen of the South to win this week and both came out trumps with 3-0 and 5-1 wins respectively against Montrose and Dumbarton.
All the scores from the 1st round are as follows.......
Albion 0 v 1 Airdrie , Annan Athletic 0 v 1 Partick Thistle , Clyde 2 v 1 Cowdenbeath , Dundee 3 v 0 Montrose , Dunfermline 5 v 2 Arbroath , Elgin 3 v 2 Ayr , Inverness 3 v 0 Queens Park , Peterhead 1 v 0 Berwick , QOS 5 v 1 Dumbarton , Raith 4 v 1 East Fife , Ross County 2 v 1 Livingston , Stenhousemuir 1 v 3 Brechin , Stirling 1 v 2 Forfar , Stranraer 1 v 7 Morton
Sundays only game was - East Stirling 1 v 2 Alloa Athletic
SPL side Inverness had a routine win vs 3rd division Queens park , the Highlanders winning 3-0 , Ross County won the tie of the round beating Livingston 2-1 and surviving with 10 men for the last 20 mins , Partick Thistle also sneaked a 1 goal win with a 1-0 win away to Annan Athletic.
Raith Rovers won local pride by seeing of East Fife 4-1 , Forfar caused a shock by travelling to Stirling and winning 2-1 whilst the only game to go into extra time was at Elgin when the hosts beat Ayr Utd 3-2 with the winning goal coming in the 120th minute.
Well i did it again , and this week was a bit easier , i backed both Dundee and Queen of the South to win this week and both came out trumps with 3-0 and 5-1 wins respectively against Montrose and Dumbarton.
All the scores from the 1st round are as follows.......
Albion 0 v 1 Airdrie , Annan Athletic 0 v 1 Partick Thistle , Clyde 2 v 1 Cowdenbeath , Dundee 3 v 0 Montrose , Dunfermline 5 v 2 Arbroath , Elgin 3 v 2 Ayr , Inverness 3 v 0 Queens Park , Peterhead 1 v 0 Berwick , QOS 5 v 1 Dumbarton , Raith 4 v 1 East Fife , Ross County 2 v 1 Livingston , Stenhousemuir 1 v 3 Brechin , Stirling 1 v 2 Forfar , Stranraer 1 v 7 Morton
Sundays only game was - East Stirling 1 v 2 Alloa Athletic
Friday 30 July 2010
CIS League Cup First Round Preview
The first national cup competition starts tomorrow as the CIS League cup gets underway , clubs from all Scotland's 4 divisions take part in this round but only Inverness the 1st division champions last season will be representing the SPL.
Match of the round has to be the derby between Raith Rovers and East fife , Rovers will be looking to get back to winning ways as they were knocked out of the ALBA challenge cup last weekend by Cowdenbeath , East Fife arguably were in the tie of the round as they finally beat Brechin City 4-3 in extra time.
When the draw was made I'm sure Berwick Rangers were happy...NOT , they make the long journey north to Peterhead , Dunfermline again take on Arbroath at East End Park , Ross County take on Livingston in a tasty game in Dingwall and Inverness start their campaign 2 weeks before the rest of the SPL with a home game vs Queens Park.
Sunday's only game is between East Stirling and Alloa Athletic
My tip for this round?? , well I'm going for the same teams as i did last week , Dundee to beat Montrose and Queen of the South to beat Dumbarton , both will get you just under even money.
The full draw is as follows.......
Dundee vs Montrose , Elgin City vs Ayr Utd , Dunfermline vs Arbroath , Annan Athletic vs Partick Thistle , Stirling Albion vs Forfar Athletic , Albion Rovers vs Airdrie Utd , Ross County vs Livingston , Stenhousemuir vs Brechin City , Raith Rovers vs East Fife , Clyde vs Cowdenbeath , Peterhead vs Berwick Rangers , Stranraer vs Morton , Queen of the South vs Dumbarton , Inverness vs Queens Park , East Stirling vs Alloa Athletic.
Match of the round has to be the derby between Raith Rovers and East fife , Rovers will be looking to get back to winning ways as they were knocked out of the ALBA challenge cup last weekend by Cowdenbeath , East Fife arguably were in the tie of the round as they finally beat Brechin City 4-3 in extra time.
When the draw was made I'm sure Berwick Rangers were happy...NOT , they make the long journey north to Peterhead , Dunfermline again take on Arbroath at East End Park , Ross County take on Livingston in a tasty game in Dingwall and Inverness start their campaign 2 weeks before the rest of the SPL with a home game vs Queens Park.
Sunday's only game is between East Stirling and Alloa Athletic
My tip for this round?? , well I'm going for the same teams as i did last week , Dundee to beat Montrose and Queen of the South to beat Dumbarton , both will get you just under even money.
The full draw is as follows.......
Dundee vs Montrose , Elgin City vs Ayr Utd , Dunfermline vs Arbroath , Annan Athletic vs Partick Thistle , Stirling Albion vs Forfar Athletic , Albion Rovers vs Airdrie Utd , Ross County vs Livingston , Stenhousemuir vs Brechin City , Raith Rovers vs East Fife , Clyde vs Cowdenbeath , Peterhead vs Berwick Rangers , Stranraer vs Morton , Queen of the South vs Dumbarton , Inverness vs Queens Park , East Stirling vs Alloa Athletic.
Murphys's law and Hibs hammered
At the end of the night for Scottish teams in European action , it was certainly a mixed bag of results , Motherwell again put in a very good performance whilst Hibs were totally outclassed in Slovenia.
First the good news , Motherwell look favorites to make it through to the last qualifying round of the Europa League as they travelled to Northern Norway and came back with a very positive 1-1 draw vs Aalesunds , A Jamie Murphy goal 3 minutes after half time nearly secured another win for manager Craig Brown. Murphy is now Motherwell's all time top European scorer although his night along with the manager and fans was ruined when Aalesunds equalised with a penalty in the last minute. In a weeks time Motherwell will surely be able to finish the tie and join Dundee Utd in the play-offs.
Now the bad , many including myself think that John Hughes got his team selection wrong when he dropped Anthony stokes and Derek Riordan from his starting line-up. Why drop your 2 biggest goal threats and just invite a team like NK Maribor onto you??. It all started to go wrong in 32 minutes when Josip Ilicic got the Slovenians first , the same player then added another goal on 52 minutes before the game was put out of reach for Hibs as Tavares put Maribor 3 in front. John Hughes responded with finally putting on Stokes and Riordan but the damage was already done and Hibs look all but out.
First the good news , Motherwell look favorites to make it through to the last qualifying round of the Europa League as they travelled to Northern Norway and came back with a very positive 1-1 draw vs Aalesunds , A Jamie Murphy goal 3 minutes after half time nearly secured another win for manager Craig Brown. Murphy is now Motherwell's all time top European scorer although his night along with the manager and fans was ruined when Aalesunds equalised with a penalty in the last minute. In a weeks time Motherwell will surely be able to finish the tie and join Dundee Utd in the play-offs.
Now the bad , many including myself think that John Hughes got his team selection wrong when he dropped Anthony stokes and Derek Riordan from his starting line-up. Why drop your 2 biggest goal threats and just invite a team like NK Maribor onto you??. It all started to go wrong in 32 minutes when Josip Ilicic got the Slovenians first , the same player then added another goal on 52 minutes before the game was put out of reach for Hibs as Tavares put Maribor 3 in front. John Hughes responded with finally putting on Stokes and Riordan but the damage was already done and Hibs look all but out.
Thursday 29 July 2010
Celtic destroyed in Portugal...
Well first of all , i got it wrong , i couldn't see Braga scoring anymore than 2 vs Celtic , i even took a scoring draw (1-1) but the reality is that Neil Lennon's Celtic never turned up last night as Sporting Braga totally dominated the SPL runners up.
After a slow start by both team it all started to go wrong when Braga were given a penalty when ki handled the ball in the box , Lennon complained furiously both at the time and at half time but it made no difference as Alan side footed his effort into the top corner on 25 minutes. At half time Celtic were still in the game but didn't have a real effort on goal
The heat in the stadium rescinded a bit in the 2nd half , only for the on field action to heat up , still Celtic were not posing much of a threat as Lennon's 4-2-3-1 was holding Braga but offensively there was nothing , Murphy made his debut by coming on for the in-effective Maloney , 5 mins later though this game was over as Elderson pounced on poor marking at a corner to make it 2-0.
Mexican Efrain Juarez was the replaced by James Forrest as Celtic tried to rescue an away goal , worse was to happen as 2 mins from time an excellent 35 year free kick from Matheus made it a night not to remember for Neil Lennon's 1st official game in charge.
At 3-0 the tie looks dead , i just cant see Celtic score 3 without reply at Parkhead , Braga were decent but Celtic were terrible , poor poor night for the fans and for Scottish football.
After a slow start by both team it all started to go wrong when Braga were given a penalty when ki handled the ball in the box , Lennon complained furiously both at the time and at half time but it made no difference as Alan side footed his effort into the top corner on 25 minutes. At half time Celtic were still in the game but didn't have a real effort on goal
The heat in the stadium rescinded a bit in the 2nd half , only for the on field action to heat up , still Celtic were not posing much of a threat as Lennon's 4-2-3-1 was holding Braga but offensively there was nothing , Murphy made his debut by coming on for the in-effective Maloney , 5 mins later though this game was over as Elderson pounced on poor marking at a corner to make it 2-0.
Mexican Efrain Juarez was the replaced by James Forrest as Celtic tried to rescue an away goal , worse was to happen as 2 mins from time an excellent 35 year free kick from Matheus made it a night not to remember for Neil Lennon's 1st official game in charge.
At 3-0 the tie looks dead , i just cant see Celtic score 3 without reply at Parkhead , Braga were decent but Celtic were terrible , poor poor night for the fans and for Scottish football.
Aalesund vs Motherwell preview.....
As Motherwell's European adventure continues in the North or Norway tonight it is hoped that Craig Browns team can continue the good work and results they had in the last qualifying round vs Breidablik. The opponents are Aalesund , Norwegian cup holders and currently 4th in the Norwegian league.
Tonight match takes place in the excellent Color Line Stadium , capacity 10,778. When Motherwell take to the field tonight well AstroTurf , they will be hoping their superior European experience counts as this will be Aalesunds first ever game in a European competition. Its already been reported in the Scottish press that Steven Craigan and co will be up against man mountain Tor Hogne Aaroy , at 6 foot 8 and a half inches , hes Europe's tallest players and Aalesunds top scorer this season.
Motherwell will probably name an unchanged side that beat Breidablik 1-0 in Iceland last week , Craig Brown still hasn't had a chance to add to his squad although if "well" get through this tie its expected some money will be made free. Brown will also know that Aalesund will be a step up in class from breidablik although he will set his Motherwell team up to get that important away goal and hopefully keep it tight at the back.
Prediction - the 2 games "well" have played are really going to help them here , Aalesund are better than breidablik but the Motherwell management team will know that they hold the aces in terms of experience. How will Aalesund react to their first euro game?? , will they be nervous and invite Motherwell onto them?? or will they be more attacking trying to get the tie over in this first leg?? , I'm going for a 1-1 draw here as i think there is not much between the sides , a good result for Motherwell and for Scottish football.
Tonight match takes place in the excellent Color Line Stadium , capacity 10,778. When Motherwell take to the field tonight well AstroTurf , they will be hoping their superior European experience counts as this will be Aalesunds first ever game in a European competition. Its already been reported in the Scottish press that Steven Craigan and co will be up against man mountain Tor Hogne Aaroy , at 6 foot 8 and a half inches , hes Europe's tallest players and Aalesunds top scorer this season.
Motherwell will probably name an unchanged side that beat Breidablik 1-0 in Iceland last week , Craig Brown still hasn't had a chance to add to his squad although if "well" get through this tie its expected some money will be made free. Brown will also know that Aalesund will be a step up in class from breidablik although he will set his Motherwell team up to get that important away goal and hopefully keep it tight at the back.
Prediction - the 2 games "well" have played are really going to help them here , Aalesund are better than breidablik but the Motherwell management team will know that they hold the aces in terms of experience. How will Aalesund react to their first euro game?? , will they be nervous and invite Motherwell onto them?? or will they be more attacking trying to get the tie over in this first leg?? , I'm going for a 1-1 draw here as i think there is not much between the sides , a good result for Motherwell and for Scottish football.
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Nk Maribor vs Hibs preview
John Hughes takes his first steps in to European club side management tomorrow night as his exciting Hibs side take on NK Maribor of Slovenia in the the 3rd round of the Europa League Qualifiers. Hibs have just finished a beneficial tour of Holland where Hughes squad was tested against decent oppositions like Vitesse Arnhem , NEC Nijmegen , Den Haag and Heracles.
As the Hibs squad prepare for their first match in Europe since 2005-06 (they have played in the now defunct Inter Toto Cup) they will have to do it without towering defender Sol Bamba who broke club rules by returning late from international duty at the World Cup , he has been left at home but manager Hughes will take heart that he has signed 3 very decent players in Dutchman Edwin de Graaf , Michael Hart from Preston and David Stephens from Norwich city.
The Slovenians have just recovered from financial hard times , they came 2nd in the Slovenian league last season although at the end of the 90s and the start of the this decade they were completely dominant winning 7 league titles in a row. Having already beaten old Hibs foes in Videoton (3-1 on agg) , Maribor will be confident of putting John Hughes euro rookies to the sword. Nk maribor will also have the advantage of playing 2 league games , a 5-0 home win over Triglav was followed with a 0-0 draw away to Rudar , Hibs will need to be aware of top scorer Viti Plut who has scored 3 times already this season.
The Hibees will be relying on their front line tonight to get the vital away goal or goals , when you players such as Derek Riordan and Anthony Stokes then you will always create chances , Riordan can create and score something from nothing and Stokes has just enjoyed and excellent season where he scored over 20 goals.
Prediction - I'm really looking forward to see how John Hughes sets his side up tomorrow , i think he is an exciting young coach who will move on to massive things , his side play nice attractive football (probably the best in the SPL) , although Hibs faded badly in the 2nd half of the season , I'm hoping that Hughes positive mentality can get Hibs a result tonight , so i would not rule out a goal scoring draw for Hibs , BUT...... the European experience is with the Slovenians here , that's why i think they will sneak this game 2-1 , i hope I'm wrong but i do expect Hibs to score in this game and make it a cracker at Easter road in a weeks time.
As the Hibs squad prepare for their first match in Europe since 2005-06 (they have played in the now defunct Inter Toto Cup) they will have to do it without towering defender Sol Bamba who broke club rules by returning late from international duty at the World Cup , he has been left at home but manager Hughes will take heart that he has signed 3 very decent players in Dutchman Edwin de Graaf , Michael Hart from Preston and David Stephens from Norwich city.
The Slovenians have just recovered from financial hard times , they came 2nd in the Slovenian league last season although at the end of the 90s and the start of the this decade they were completely dominant winning 7 league titles in a row. Having already beaten old Hibs foes in Videoton (3-1 on agg) , Maribor will be confident of putting John Hughes euro rookies to the sword. Nk maribor will also have the advantage of playing 2 league games , a 5-0 home win over Triglav was followed with a 0-0 draw away to Rudar , Hibs will need to be aware of top scorer Viti Plut who has scored 3 times already this season.
The Hibees will be relying on their front line tonight to get the vital away goal or goals , when you players such as Derek Riordan and Anthony Stokes then you will always create chances , Riordan can create and score something from nothing and Stokes has just enjoyed and excellent season where he scored over 20 goals.
Prediction - I'm really looking forward to see how John Hughes sets his side up tomorrow , i think he is an exciting young coach who will move on to massive things , his side play nice attractive football (probably the best in the SPL) , although Hibs faded badly in the 2nd half of the season , I'm hoping that Hughes positive mentality can get Hibs a result tonight , so i would not rule out a goal scoring draw for Hibs , BUT...... the European experience is with the Slovenians here , that's why i think they will sneak this game 2-1 , i hope I'm wrong but i do expect Hibs to score in this game and make it a cracker at Easter road in a weeks time.
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