Deadline Day Terrace

Hi folks,

It's deadline day and it's time for a new episode of The Terrace. Check it out here or search for 'The Terrace' on iTunes.

On this week's show we will look back on the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-finals of the weekend, as well as the SPL action which saw Hibs slip further in to relegation woes.

We talk Pressley, Livi and Arbroath in the SFL round-up and hand-pick a couple of upcoming Scottish Cup games which have tickled our fancy.

There midweek SPL action to preview as well as our usual other features.

Enjoy the show

Raith Rovers 1 v 2 Falkirk

Click here or read below for my report of the match at Starks Park this afternoon. It was published on the official Raith Rovers website.

Falkirk Hold On For Vital Three Points

A first half wonder strike from Jack Compton and mistake from Rovers keeper' David McGurn allowing striker Mark Stewart to fire home, was enough to give Falkirk a huge 3 points at Starks Park this afternoon, after a Laurie Ellis header had put the hosts ahead.

In truth, the match was fairly evenly contested with the Starks Park side having a few better chances.

Despite the defeat, Raith stay top of the 1^st Division but Falkirk are very much back in the race for promotion as they are now just 7 points behind Raith with a game in hand.

Falkirk's star player in the SPL, Pedro Moutinho, re-signed for the Bairns yesterday and it would be fair to say he struggled to find his feet today. His performance was summed up in a weakly struck effort eight minutes into the first half which McGurn comfortably gathered. Moments before this, Raith had almost taken the lead when a Falkirk clearance fell to Allan Walker who half-volleyed the ball just wide of Robert Olejnik's post.

However, the 2,829 fans inside Starks Park would not have to wait long for the opening goal. 10 minutes in, a Walker corner was cleared as far as Iain Davidson whose back post cross was met by the head of the unchallenged Ellis and the ball looped over the helpless Olejnik into the back of the net.

Falkirk tried to strike back through Ryan Flynn as he strode down the Rovers half and if it was not for the close attention of Stephen Simmons his strike may have beaten McGurn.

The play began to slow down as referee Bobby Madden appeared to become a little whistle-happy until the 38^th minute Falkirk hauled themselves back into the match with an absolute peach of a strike. Compton received the ball on the right wing with not a Rovers player in sight and the 22-year-old drove forward towards the box dodging a Davidson tackle, cutting inside past Willie Dyer and then belted the ball from 25 yards out, clipping the bar on the way into goal. Compton's effort was applauded by both sets of fans.

4 minutes later Raith had lost another goal. Compton scraped a weak effort at goal which McGurn looked to have covered, but the ball bounced off his hands and onto the foot of Stewart who had the easiest of jobs to pass the ball into the back of the net.

Iain Williamson, who had replaced Scott McBride after a head knock, had a chance to bring Raith level at half time but his injury time strike was cleared off the line by Falkirk.

Williamson had another dig at goal shortly after the break but failed to connect with the ball properly before Falkirk's Stewart should have added another goal to his tally. Compton was causing more problems down the right wing, skipping past Dyer and crossing into the box where he found Stewart just yards out, but he somehow hit the ball straight at McGurn, who gathered comfortably.

Compton was proving to be Falkirk's creative spark and on the 66^th minute he used his pace to ease past Mark Campbell and despite being at a very tight angle, fired a good effort just wide of the goal. Two minutes later Campbell proved his worth as he cleared a Stewart header off the line.

Raith were provided a welcome boost on the 71^st minute as Brian McLean took Walker clean out 40 yards out and picked up his second yellow card of the match. McLean appeared to injure himself in the process of the tackle but had no choice but to walk down the tunnel for another mistimed tackle.

Despite having the man advantage, Raith's luck looked to have run out as a Campbell cross was gathered by the clean through John Baird but his effort crashed off the bar and clear.

Raith piled men forward and unsurprisingly looked uncomfortable when Falkirk counter-attacked, but it was Raith's Williamson who went closest to grabbing the next goal with two stoppage time attempts. Firstly a Gregory Tade cross was flicked at goal by Williamson, but Olejnik held the ball comfortably and 1 minute later Olejnik was called into action for the final time as he tipped Williamson's pile-driver wide of the post.

The resultant corner came to nothing and Falkirk held on for a crucial three points. It was undoubtedly a thoroughly successful day for the Bairns as second placed Dunfermline Athletic also lost today at Firhill.

After picking up just 1 point from a possible 6 in these last two home fixtures, Raith will be hoping to extend their position at the top of the table next week at Stirling. Falkirk meanwhile will be keeping their fingers crossed that they can go on a Inverness-esq run till the end of the season now, but have it all to do, with a potentially tricky tie against Greenock Morton next weekend.

FREE 24 page preview of the Scottish League Cup semi-finals

Click here to read and/or download The Away End's latest digital magazine focusing on this weekend's Scottish League Cup Semi Finals between Celtic-Aberdeen and Rangers-Motherwell.

You can click on any of the following pictures to read my contributions.


Review of the expected Celtic defence:

Late drama on dramatic night for the 'Well:

Scottish League Cup semi final predictions:

A Shot At Glory

Click here for the latest edition of The Terrace in which I make my debut appearance with the radio show hosted by Alan Temple and Craig Fowler. You can also listen on iTunes here.

We discuss:

The SPL becomes more than a two-horse race….or did it?

There’s contrasting fortunes for the other club in the capital as Hibs lurch from one bad result to another - can the signings of Thornhill and Jean-Francois do anything to stem the tide of bade results down Easter Road way?

Meanwhile, Celtic continue to look more and more capable of taking the title back to the East End.

In the lower leagues we talk Jocky Scott, Queen of the South, Liam Buchanan, Darren Gribben and East Stirling in a packed round-up of life outside the top tier in Scotland.

As well as the usual packed week of SPL action there is also a couple of Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-finals to look forward to, as Stuart McCall’s Motherwell and Craig Brown’s Aberdeen look to shock Rangers and Celtic respectively at our national stadium.

Aside from that there is Where are they Now? and Punt of the Week.

Enjoy the show.

Raith Rovers 2 v 2 Greenock Morton

Click here or read below for my report of the match at Starks Park this afternoon. It was published on the official Raith Rovers website.

Last Gasp Strike Denies Rovers Victory

An 89th minute pile driver from Peter Weatherson denied Raith Rovers the opportunity to stretch their lead to four points at the top of the First Division this afternoon.

With Dunfermline Athletic’s game against Stirling Albion postponed, Raith were looking to take advantage against Greenock Morton.

At half time it looked like the job was almost done as Raith led 2-0 after John Baird and Allan Walker hit the target.

However, Morton made amends for their first period mistakes with Derek Lyle scoring just eight minutes into the second half and Weatherson completing the comeback, smashing a free kick into the top corner in the dying embers of the match.

The first half began with both sides creating chances and Morton boss Allan Moore was visibly perplexed when David O’Brien looked clean through on goal, only for referee Craig Thomson to bring the play back for a previous foul.

Michael Tidser had a long-range effort on goal for Morton, before keeper’ Colin Stewart made a comfortable save from Raith’s lively Baird.

O’Brien was running riot again on the 13th minute as he cut right through the Rovers midfield and David McGurn was relieved to see the winger’s shot stray wide of his post.

Three minutes later Raith took the lead through Baird. Morton failed to clear the ball from their box and Baird nipped in, dispossessed Grant Evans and had the simplest of tasks to slot the ball past Stewart from just indise the six yard box.

Raith really started to turn up the heat after their opening goal and Laurie Ellis was unlucky to see his front post header flash wide. Moments later, Raith carved open the Ton’ defence with a fantastic Iain Davidson pass forward which ended with Walker laying off Scott McBride, but the winger’s curling effort was on the wrong side of the post.

Mid-way through the half Raith had a scare when a Lyle cross was headed inches wide by David Graham.

However, Morton were picking the ball out of their net soon after when Walker controlled a cross deep inside the box, switched feet and found the back of the net with a simple finish.

Morton had a great chance to strike back on the 33rd minute as Lyle ran through the Rovers defence, but he was thwarted at the last possible second with a superb Stephen Simmons sliding tackle.

Just before the break, Baird latched onto a long pass from the midfield and caught the ball on the half volley, but his effort was weak and Stewart tipped the ball round the post.

Morton came out in the second half fired up and it took them just 8 minutes to grab a goal back. Raith failed to clear their lines and Lyle intercepted the ball, belting it into the top corner, giving McGurn no chance.

Morton were now in the ascendancy and after Mark Campbell was caught on the ball Graham flicked the ball off him but from a tight angle, fired over the bar.

Five minutes later, McGurn made an unbelievable stop to keep Raith ahead when he reached out a desperate hand to make a point blank save from Allan Jenkins.

After the narrow escape, Raith began to push forward in search of a third and final goal. On the 66th minute, Walker dispatched a long ball up to Baird who crossed into the box, but Stewart saved McBride’s diving header.

One minute later, Rovers launched an all out assault on the Morton goal with no less than three chances being cleared of the line in quick succession starting with a Baird header blocked by Stewart, the rebound fell to Ellis who blasted in a shot only to see it cleared off the line by Kean to Campbell whose header was saved by Stewart.

Baird thought he had won the game for Raith on the 76th minute when Simmons played him clean through and the small striker thumped the ball home only to see linesman Graeme Leslie raise his flag for offside. It must have been a very close call, but to be fair to Leslie, his flag was up immediately.

Allan Moore urged his players to start pushing forward in numbers and just three minutes from time Graham should have equalised for the away side. Lyle found himself clean through but McGurn spread his body and saved well but when Graham received the rebound at the edge of the box he somehow missed the open goal.

However, with Raith sitting back and looking vulnerable, Simmons conceded a needless foul on the left edge of the box and from the resulting free kick; substitute Peter Weatherson lashed the ball into the net with the aide of a slight deflection.

All in all, a disappointing result for Rovers who will feel they practically had the three points in the bag at half time. However, Morton showed great desire and spirit to haul themselves back into the match for an important away point.

Raith now move two points clear of Dunfermline,at the top of the League Table but now both sides have played an equal number of games.

The Student Sport - Semester 2 - Week 2

The Student released their second issue of Semester Two today. You can download page one of the sport section here and page two here. It was edited by Alistair Shand and myself.

The Away End Podcast with Graham Ruthven, Will Lyon & Ross Dunbar

The first podcast of 2011 saw three new names make their debut; Graham Ruthven, Will Lyon and Ross Dunbar took charge of the show this week.

Neil Lennon and Celtic continue their crusade to drive all the referees out of Scotland, Kenny Miller may well be joining the referees on their flight to somewhere new, and with them gone we'll probably still be deciding what league format to go with.

The show can be listened on the web here, or can be accessed via iTunes here.

Something stirring in the Kingdom of Fife

Click here or read below for my article on the recent success of football in Fife. It was published on The Terrace.

Something stirring in the Kingdom of Fife

Season 2006/07 seems a long time ago now and Fife clubs, Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, East Fife and Raith Rovers have good reasons to push it to the back of their minds.

On 5 May 2007, Raith were humbled 3-1 in the second leg of the Second Division playoff final by Stirling Albion, meaning that the Kirkcaldy side would be stuck in the third tier of Scottish football for another long season. Seven days later Dunfermline fell to a 2-1 defeat at Inverness Caledonian Thistle to confirm their relegation to the First Division after seven brave years in the Scottish Premier League. On the same day East Fife fared no better as they were thrashed 3-0 by Queens Park in the Third Division playoff final, condemning them to the lowest tier of the Scottish Football League for another term. Meanwhile Cowdenbeath narrowly avoided relegation to Division 3 after finishing the season just six points off the relegation play-off position in Division 2.

Oh, how times have changed! Whilst there are still no Fife teams in the SPL, there is a great chance of one being there next season. If you take off the recently-confirmed 25 point deduction for Dundee then Dunfermline and Raith are actually sitting in the top two places of the First Division. There is currently only one point between the sides and Raith have a game in hand over their west Fife rivals.

Cowdenbeath, after two back-to-back promotions find themselves punching well above their weight in the First Division and are remarkably four (nine, if you take Dundee's point deduction into consideration) points clear of the automatic relegation. The Blue Brazil, tipped to go straight back down to Division 2, have defied the odds so far this season. East Fife are currently undergoing a bit of modification after Stevie Crawford stepped down as manager. Despite this, Hearts hero John Robertson has taken the reigns and has the Methil side sitting seventh in the Second Division and has already nabbed a Manager of the Month award.

Football in Fife hasn’t looked so rosy in many years. Cowdenbeath, East Fife and Raith are all in higher leagues compared to 2006/07 and Dunfermline fans will be currently enjoying watching their team fly to the top of the First Division rather than the horrible relegation suffered in 2007. So what has changed?

Dunfermline 
The situation at East End Park worsened before it got better. In season 2007/08 the Pars finished their return to Division 1 in a disappointing 5th place and suffered humiliating home defeats to Hamilton Academical (0-5) and Livingston (0-4) in the space of three weeks. After finishing as runners-up in the Scottish Cup the season previous, Dunfermline actually competed in Europe in 2007, but were knocked out at the first hurdle by BK Hacken.

The Pars board soon realised that manager Stephen Kenny was not capable of producing the goods that they demanded and he was sacked on 4 December 2007. Striker Jim McIntyre was handed the job on a permanent basis a month later. Since McIntyre's appointment, the Pars have steadily progressed and finished in a respectable third position in the last two seasons. McIntyre has disposed of dead wood at the club and has brought in some fantastic younger players such as Willie Gibson and Steven Bell. McIntyre has done a fine job and his side look favourites for promotion back into the SPL this season.

Raith Rovers
Season 2006-2007 ended in disappointment for Raith, but it had actually been the start of a new era. Hearts coach John McGlynn was hired on 20 November 2006 and steered Rovers from 9th place in Division 2 to finish 3rd. Rovers finished third again the following season and bowed out in the playoffs to Airdrie United. However, 2008/09 was to be the season that Raith finally hauled themselves back into the First Division, winning automatic promotion by finishing two points ahead of second-placed Ayr United.

McGlynn performed further miracles in 2009-2010 by leading the Starks Park club to 7th place (after amazingly heading the division for a period) and also took the club to their first Scottish Cup semi-final in 47 years.

After keeping Raith up in their return to the First Division, McGlynn added Brechin full back Willie Dyer, Cowdenbeath winger Scott McBride, Montrose keeper Andy McNeil and Airdrie forward John Baird to his squad. Despite these relatively unremarkable signings, Raith somehow find themselves just one point behind Dunfermline and in a promotion battle that even their most ambitious fans could not have predicted at the start of the season.

Cowdenbeath
The recent story of Cowdenbeath is just as impressive as their Kirkcaldy neighbours. However, the story begins with a failure, as in 2007/08 they were relegated to the Third Division, finishing 9th and, via the playoffs, succumbing to a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Arbroath.

The Central Park side sacked manager Brian Welsh in June 2008 and Danny Lennon stepped up from the playing staff to take control in the dugout, much like Jim McIntyre. Yet, much like McIntyre, Lennon proved to be a natural. His managerial reign started well as Cowden finished second in the 2008/09 season and although they lost on penalties to Stenhousemuir in the playoff final they were promoted just days before the start of the new season due to Livingston being demoted to the Third Division.

Remarkably, with a squad that Lennon had assembled to compete in the Third Division, Cowdenbeath performed well above expectations and finished third in Division 2. They defeated Alloa Athletic in the play-off semi-final and then swept past Brechin City 3-0 to unbelievably seal promotion to the First Division.
Danny Lennon left Cowdenbeath for SPL club St. Mirren in the summer, but the experienced Jimmy Nicholl has taken over and produced good results such as narrow victories over Dundee and Raith while a 5-1 romp over Stirling was a particular high point.

East Fife 
The Fifers have had the hardest time of the four clubs in recent years, but most of their fans will admit that Division 2 is around their natural level anyway. Season 2007/08 saw a lot of investment in East Fife from Willie Gray and his financial backing paid off as the Methil side ran away with the Third Division title, finishing with 88 points, 23 more than runners-up Stranraer. 2008/09 was expected to be another successful year for East Fife, but Dave Baikie's side failed to make the impact they hoped, finishing sixth in the Second Division.

Striker Stevie Crawford had now taken over the reins and despite the withdrawal of funds from Gray, he managed to keep the team in the division, edging the dreaded play-offs by one point. Recently, John Robertson has taken over as manager which has allowed Crawford to solely focus on scoring goals again. It's still early in Robertson's tenure, but after beating Stenhousemuir 6-0 in their last league fixture they will be looking to push up the league from their current seventh position.

So there you have it. Considering the size of Fife, its football clubs are prospering and progressing very well. There is a fantastic chance of one of them being in the SPL next season and Cowdenbeath will be keen to stay up and keep punching above their weight in Division 1.

As a side note, it is interesting that Cowdenbeath (Danny Lennon), Dunfermline (Jim McIntyre) and Raith Rovers (John McGlynn) have had their clubs transformed by managers that were in their first permanent managerial job. It certainly backs the theory that older and experienced managers are being forced out of the game by chairmen looking for candidates that are in touch with the modern tactics and theories, as these young guns aim to bring success to the Kingdom.

Give Us Our Game Back

Click on the picture below for my article on the new SPL proposals set by Chief Executive Neil Doncaster. It was published in The Student.

The Student Sport - Semester 2 - Week 1

The Student released their first issue of Semester Two today. You can download page one of the sport section here and page two here. It was edited by Alistair Shand and myself.

“Massive” Foo Fighters Album Anticipated Soon

Click here or read below for my feature on Foo Fighters and their new album, to be released later this year. It was published on Pure Grain Audio.

Do they still have it in them to rock?

Foo Fighters have been a household name in the world of rock music for around sixteen years now and are hoping to release their seventh album this year. It would be fair to assert that their previous two efforts have been slightly disappointing for the hardcore fan as apart from a few decent singles, the music has become stale. Despite this, the Foos' have generally sold more albums with each new record, arguably because their music has become increasingly radio friendly.

However, there is now genuine excitement for the original Foo Fighters fans, who enjoyed the raw debut album and the ear bending The Colour & The Shape. Lead singer Dave Grohl has revealed that the new album, due out before the festival season, will sound 'massive'. The former Nirvana drummer has reunited with Butch Vig who produced Nirvana's classic Nevermind in the early nineties and Vig has stripped back the music to help it become heavier, using as little computer technology as possible.

Picture: NRK P3

The album, as of yet untitled, was recorded in Grohl's garage and will not contain any any acoustic orchestration or ballads, but just pure, hard, rock music.

Do the band still have what it takes though? Grohl has a strong love of pop music and the Washington hardcore punk scene that he grew up with, will now be a far and distant memory. Despite this, it seems that Grohl has somewhat rediscovered his roots. Foo Fighters recently took a two year hiatus which allowed Grohl to step back behind the drums for Them Crooked Vultures and it appears that during this time the 41-year-old enjoyed being part of a band who did not care for fancy effects or quiet, reflective songs.

There are fears that Foo Fighters have progressed too far from their raw beginnings and that they are unable to produce heavy songs with a melodic hook. A prime example of how it can go all wrong would be Feeder's latest album Renegades. The band ditched the acoustic guitars, cranked up the distortion pedal and found themselves looking a little silly with a lot of noise, but little quality.

However, faith must be placed in Grohl and company. They are intelligent musicians whose experience in this sector of the music industry is second to none.