Home Defeat To Arbroath

Another home defeat to a last minute Kevin Webster strike saw The Warriors take nothing from a game which, after 80 minutes had the home fans hoping for a welcome three points. Warriors boss Campbell Money was quoted in the local media as saying that he could not believe that we had lost the game. Before training tonight, he reflected on what might have been. “I continued to see further positive signs of improvement in our overall play. I felt we were more solid at the back, won more ball in the middle of the park and upfront John Dempster and Andy Thomson showed glimpses of a solid partnership. In addition I was delighted with the contribution of Scott McManus when he came on.”

The winning goal brought heartbreak to all Warriors fans following on from an equaliser scored less than a minute after we had taken the lead with a first goal for Andy Thomson. Campbell was understandably bemused and annoyed at the manner in which both goals were conceded. “I simply don’t understand why players allow it to happen, you see similar circumstances up and down the country every weekend. We lost our concentration amid the euphoria of Andy’s strike and both goals were easily avoidable especially the second goal which was a catalogue of errors.”

Premature Celebration . . . 

Campbell stated last week that the match was an important one to win if we wanted to maintain any realistic ambitions of a play-off place and admitted that the defeat was a significant blow. “There’s a gap opening up between ourselves and the teams above us but we’ll remain positive and build on the encouraging signs from the last two matches.” 

Brian McLaughlin was substituted early in the game with a hamstring injury which will rule him out for the next 3 weeks and Campbell admitted that the substitution disrupted his plans. “Brian’s exit was significant as it changed how we set out to play the game and meant that JP McBride played further forward than we had planned. This was a mixed blessing during the game but you cannot lose someone of Brian’s quality without it having an impact.”
 

Away to Albion Rovers

 Gordon Connelly, Brian McLaughlin both miss out through injury and no suspensions to contend with; Scott McManus and Craig Menzies are both struggling with ankle injuries.

Some Injured Warriors!

 Following on from a heavy defeat last time out at Ochilview, Campbell knows that we’re in for a difficult match. “To be honest they battered us last time around and 4-0 was a fair if not kind reflection on our performance which was, quite frankly, the worst since Brian and I took over. On the positive side we have a far better idea of their style of play and their players and I’m confident that if we build on the positives of recent weeks then we should be able to take maximum points from the game.”
 

Scott McManus

As reported elsewhere, 16 year old Scott played in yesterday’s U17 international over in Belfast. Campbell made the trip to take in the game. “Scott performed pretty well in a match that never really got going and came off after 60 minutes of the game which ended 0-0. He suffered a recurrence of the ankle injury that has kept him out of our squad recently but he seemed to really enjoy the experience and will no doubt benefit in the longer term.”


 

Signing News

Both Paul Tyrrell and Brian McLaughlin have signed contract extensions until May 2008, joining Craig McEwan, Scott McCulloch, John Dempster and Andy Thomson as the foundation of the squad for next season.

Contract Extensions for Tyrrell & McLaughlin

Youth

Stenny youth flying high earlier this season!

The youth team have the following games coming up;

Friday 9^th February U19’S v Cowdenbeath KO 2000

Sunday 11^th February U15’s v Ayr United KO 1100

Sunday 11^th February U13’s v Dumbarton KO 1300

Tuesday 13^th February U17’s v Alloa KO 2000 

All fans welcome.

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