What a miss - ace asleep in wrong house

Click here to read a story I wrote on Ross County midfielder Rocco Quinn who broke into the wrong house after a night out. It was published in the Daily Star.

Money's Too Tight To Mention

Click here or read below for my preview of the Scottish First Division for the 2011/12 season. It was published in the brand new Away End Magazine.

Money's Too Tight To Mention

If the First Division had a highlights package the opening credits would surely feature the song “Money's Too Tight To Mention”. The summer of 2011 has been a miserable period for many players in Scotland's second tier. Falkirk released eighteen players, Raith let fifteen go, twelve left Queen of the South, Morton saw off eleven and Dundee waved goodbye to nine.

However, there is one club bucking the trend. Highland outfit Ross County have been signing players like no tomorrow. Michael Fraser, Colin McMenamin, Grant Munro, Kurtis Byrne, Russell Duncan, Sam Morrow and Rocco Quinn have all made the journey to Dingwall forming what is expected to be a twenty-four man squad. It appears that Ross County are now finally prepared  to use the sizeable sum of money they gained when they reached the Scottish Cup final in 2010. Although it may take time for County's squad to gel they still have to be considered favourites for the title.

At the other end of the table it is expected that Ayr United will occupy tenth place for most, if not all of the season. United will remain a part-time club, despite Gareth Wardlaw joining from SPL side St. Mirren. In fact, they will be the only part-timers in the First Division and should find it harder to compete with the rest of the league.

Livingston are the other new arrivals from down below as they cruised to the Second Division title last season. Although they operate a full-time squad, the West Lothian side have yet to make a summer signing and may struggle to stay away from the dreaded relegation playoff spot.

Hamilton Academical are the other new side to join the First Division. They had a miserable campaign in the SPL last season, winning just one league game at home and scoring a measly twenty-four goals. Indeed, it looks like their goalscoring problems could continue for another season. The only striker Accies have on theirs books is Dougie Imrie. Therefore, it would be surprising if Hamilton were in a promotion battle come May 2012, especially considering the lack of experience they possess. A staggering nine of the twenty-one player squad are under the age of twenty.

The other six teams are much of a muchness. Having lost Gary Harkins, Craig Forsyth and Sean Higgins, Dundee are unlikely to be as strong as last season although they should be aiming for a top half finish.

As mentioned above, Raith Rovers made big summer cuts which included first team regulars Mark Campbell, Stephen Simmons and Gregory Tade. Therefore the Kirkcaldy side may struggle to go beyond mid-table this time around.

Greenock Morton have brought in a SPL strikeforce of Peter MacDonald and Andy Jackson along with four other players with similar experience and the Inverclyde club should be aiming for a promotion challenge. The loss of talisman Allan Jenkins however, will have been a significant blow for Allan Moore's men.

Falkirk's squad is still looking quite depleted despite the additions of Darren Dods and Bolton loanee Rhys Bennett. Important players such as Mark Stewart, Mark Twaddle and Robert Olejnik have left the Bairns recently and despite the departures, manager Steven Pressley is not sure if he can afford to bring in many more players to replace them.

Partick Thistle are in a transitional phase at the moment and should not be expected to be far above mid-table. They lost left back Paddy Boyle to SPL new boys Dunfermline Athletic, but have a decent squad who will be looking to make an impression on manager Jackie McNamara.

It is hard to predict how Queen of the South's season will transpire because the Doonhamers are still some way from having their squad completed. However, signings such as Simmons, Campbell and Kevin Smith are evidence of the club making a statement of intent to stay in the Division, despite their well known financial issues.

Ross County and Ayr United should, on paper, occupy first and tenth place, but depending on luck, injuries and tactical ingenuity the rest could almost be scattered in any of the remaining eight positions. The First Division has just become an even tighter league, who would have thought?

written by Will Lyon

Raith Rovers 0 v 1 Queen of the South - Saturday 30th April 2011

Click here or read below for my match report of the fixture between Raith Rovers and Queen of the South this afternoon. It was published on the official Raith Rovers website.

 

Raith slump to sixth home defeat

An injury time Colin McMenamin strike was enough for Queen of the South to seal three points this afternoon at Starks Park.

The team sheet from the game

Rovers needed three points to give themselves a chance of remaining in the title race with Dunfermline Athletic, but with the Pars winning away at Greenock, a Rovers win would have been futile in any case.

The match at Kirkcaldy was a low-key affair, with the home side having most of the chances in the first half and the visitors controlling spells of the second. However, it was the Palmerston side that emerged victors, condemning Rovers to their sixth defeat at Starks Park in league business.

Rovers manager John McGlynn made five changes from last week’s defeat at East End Park, bringing David McGurn, Dougie Hill, Scott McBride, Iain Williamson and Graham Weir into the starting eleven.

Indeed, it was Weir and Williamson who were causing problems early on, both going close in the opening exchanges.

John Baird struck a shot wide for Rovers on the ninth minute, before Queens had their first real chance. A long ball was played to McMenamin who beat Hill and struck at goal, only for McGurn to divert onto the post. However, Main Stand Assistant Steve Pullar had spotted an infringement in the build up to the shot and play was brought back.

Nineteen minutes in, Raith should have taken the lead. John Baird latched onto a cross ball and smashed at goal, but Roddy McKenzie spread himself big and made a great save. The ball fell back at Baird’s feet but his second effort hit the bar and sailed away from danger.

The rest of the first half proceeded with little incident until McMenamin got the better of Hill once more and attempted an audacious lob over McGurn only for the ball to nestle on top of the Rovers goal.

Iain Davidson had a half chance at the start of the second half but his shot ended up comfortably over the bar.

Queens almost scored the opener on the 52nd minute when Mark Campbell slipped in the Raith box, followed by McGurn colliding with one of his own players, but somehow the Starks Park men managed to clear the ball to safety.

Seconds later, Queens broke quickly with Campbell again losing his footing, but a goal line block was made and once again Raith managed to sustain the pressure.

Raith hit back through McBride as he beat two men on the left and crossed a great ball to the front post with Weir connecting and sending his effort wide.

Raith kept up the offensive when Weir ran into the box, laying the ball to Williamson who saw his shot blocked and Baird’s follow up was also stopped in similar fashion.

Five minutes later Queens found themselves with a clear goal scoring opportunity. Davidson gave possession away from a short freekick and Ian McShane ran through on goal but after pulling the trigger, the ball bounced off the post and was cleared by the Raith defence.

Baird and substitute Craig Wilson both aimed efforts wide of the goal before fellow sub, Gregory Tade, tried an audacious scissor kick at goal.

The final fifteen minutes were played at a pace akin to a pre-season friendly but Queens were looking very dangerous on the break.

Two minutes into injury time, Grant Murray hauled down a Queens attacker, earning himself a yellow card but Bob Harris curled the free-kick inches wide of the post.

However, one minute later the Dumfries side claimed all three points as a vicious shot was swung across goal by Black, and McMenamin was all alone at the back post to force the ball over the line.

Falkirk suffered an injury time loss to Ross County and therefore Raith stay two points clear of the Bairns, but Rovers will be seeking to gain three points against Partick Thistle next week to cement second place.

written by Will Lyon

Terrace Travels #3: Queen of the South 0 - 2 Raith Rovers

Click here to read my article published on The Terrace where I describe a day out at the fitba' down Dumfries way.

First Division Round-Up - Saturday 12th February 2011

Fairytale Dees, sacking Staggies and a ceremony at Central Park...just another day in the First Division!

Neil McCann celebrates after scoring against Raith Rovers

After their CVA agreement on Tuesday, Dundee's financial problems appeared to heading towards an end. The question was, how would Dundee respond on the park to this welcome news? The answer would be provided in fairytale fashion with their match winner coming from a man who came out of retirement and played for no fee, just to help out his first ever senior side.

Dundee were facing top of the table Raith Rovers at Dens Park in a clash that would have been a top of the table one, if it were not for the Dees SFL imposed points deduction.

Both teams struggled to dictate play in the opening period but it would be Rovers who took the lead after a Grant Murray header beat former Scotland keeper' Rab Douglas.

However, few could have predicted the perfect comeback from the battling Dees. Gary Harkins stepped up 25 yards from goal and curled a stupendous freekick into the back of the net to haul Dundee level with just 7 minutes to go.

The fairytale comeback was complete, unbelievably, in the 5^th minute of stoppage time when 36-year-old Neil McCann, who came out of retirement to play for Dundee, controlled a cross and delicately looped the ball over the despairing Andrew McNeil to send the Dens Park crowd into raptures. Indeed, the joy on show from both Dundee's players and fans, would bring a tear to a glass eye after recent events.

Elsewhere in the First Division, Dunfermline Athletic romped to a 4-0 victory over struggling Cowdenbeath which means they are now just 2 points behind pace setters Raith, with a game in hand. Other landmarks in this game was an official ceremony for the unveiling of Cowdenbeath's brand new floodlights, but less pleasing for the Central Park side was watching former Blue Brazil striker, Liam Buchanan, scoring his first goal in Dunfermline colours.

At the other end of the table, Ross County laboured to a 0-0 draw against bottom side Stirling Albion and this would prove to be Willie McStay's last match in charge of the Staggies as he was relieved of his duties shortly after the match. Quite unbelievably, it was only McStay's 9^th game in charge of the Highland outfit.

Meanwhile, Queen of the South managed to hold Partick Thistle to a thrilling 3-3 draw at Palmerston after two late goals and Falkirk kept up with the title challengers after a narrow 1-0 win over Greenock Morton.

What we have learnt

Today was another reminder that first of all, there are likely to be many twists and turns in the race for promotion. The contenders could not be any more different as Raith are a physical and workman-like side, but Dunfermline are a fairly free-flowing and attacking outfit. However, we cannot forget about Falkirk, who need to place together some sort of Caley-esq consistency if they are to challenge for the title. Narrow wins over Raith and Morton are certainly a step in the right direction for Steven Pressley's men.

At the other end of the table, Dundee, who are as Jim Spence would claim, “morally” top of the league, are already up to 7^th place in the real world and bar a catastrophic collapse, are all but clear of relegation because they have a superior side to those around them. So that leaves Stirling rooted at the bottom, which looks like the position they will end up finishing in, unless new manager Jocky Scott can pull a few rabbits out of the hat. The more interesting battle down the bottom is likely to be between Ross County and Cowdenbeath as they battle it out to avoid slipping into the relegation play-off spot. Ross County have a huge decision to make with regards to a new manager and will arguably need to appoint an experienced head, while Cowdenbeath need to find their early season form again if they are to avoid nerve shredding play-off fixtures.

written by Will Lyon

First Division Still Keeping Up With The SPL

Click here for my latest article on how the Scottish First Division standards are still keeping up with the SPL despite the chronic lack of money in the league. It was published in the latest 52 page edition of Scotzine, which you can buy electronically for £1.00 or in print for £2.61. You can purchase the fanzine here.