Home Draw With East Stirling

Saturday’s 1-1 draw meant that the Warriors have now gone 4 games without a home win, an unenviable record that has gone a long way towards our current position in the league. Campbell was none too happy with the performance but also refreshingly honest regarding his own role in the result. “I felt we were very disjointed in the first half and never really adjusted to playing with a back 3, in the end it worked against us which was disappointing given that the players had all played in their respective positions during their careers. We thought that the players would be more comfortable with this style but it didn’t work out that way; I have to hold my hands up and say that I rushed Robbie Henderson back into selection too quickly, it was evident fairly early on that he wasn’t fit enough to continue and we had to revert to a back 4. Mark McKenzie caused us problems all afternoon down their right hand side and it was only a matter of time before they scored.”

McKenzie caused problems including the Shire goal!

At 1-0 down at half-time, Campbell made a further change minutes into the second half, again to the left side of our defence, replacing Darren Henderson with Craig Menzies. “We performed a bit better in the second half but nothing to set the heather on fire. Darren was struggling to impose himself on the game and Craig was able to cope better with their pace. Overall I thought he did well in most aspects of his performance doing enough to justify keeping his place in the team for Tuesday but we’ve discussed where he can do better especially with regards to his blunder that presented McKenzie with a glorious opportunity which thankfully he missed.”

Campbell was also full of praise for Tommy Sinclair’s performance especially his part in the equaliser. “Tommy did really well when he came on and gave us a bit more drive and energy in midfield. All credit to him, he never gave up in the passage of play that led to our goal and forced the defender into the mistake.”

Tommy Sinclair's Hard Work Earns a Point!

 

Away Win At Firs Park

 
Tuesday night saw The Warriors record their first win in 6 games and the first 3 points away from home since October 2006 to give everyone associated with the club a much needed boost. On a difficult playing surface, we scored the only goal of the game after 17 minutes with a Gareth Hutchison strike and Campbell was obviously delighted with the win. “We made a number of changes to the starting line up and also from a positional point of view with Kevin McLeish at right back. As a result, we took some time to settle and rode our luck a bit in the first 10 minutes or so with Willie making a good save together with a few shots off target. I felt the turning point in the game was JP McBride’s free kick striking the bar, we took heart from the chance, scored soon after and dominated the first half from there on in.”

In addition to McLeish switching to right back, Tommy Sinclair and Craig Menzies retained their places from Saturday with Stephen Aitken and Gareth Hutchison returning to the starting line up. “I thought we played with a bit more drive and energy than of late and was particularly impressed with our middle 3 who went about their business well. Brian and I discussed who should play at right back and felt we needed Paul Tyrell’s tackling ability in the middle of the park so chose Kevin who did really well in an accustomed role. I said after the game that this was an important victory at a difficult ground, we rode our luck at times but hopefully this will act as a springboard for the final quarter.”

Campbell was also full of praise for his 2 front men who gave their all for the cause on Tuesday night. “Gareth gave us energy up front and took his goal really well. John Dempster’s attitude and work rate were first class and his two runs and crosses in the second half were outstanding individual pieces of skill”

John Dempster Shown Scoring Against Montrose

 

Away To Elgin

We make the long trip to Borough Briggs on Saturday looking to break our duck at Elgin having lost there in the cup and league earlier this season. Campbell made the trip to Gayfield last night to watch them lose 2-1 to Arbroath in a match that saw 2 players sent off. “I was very impressed with Elgin, although they lost their best player on the night, Hugh Dickson who was sent off. I thought Elgin played well when we beat them 3-2 in January and from what I saw last night, they’re by no means the worst team in the Division. They like to play football and have good height in the team so we’ll have to play well to take anything from the game.”

Warriors On Their Way To Victory Against Elgin At Ochilview Earlier This Season

On the selection front, we have no suspensions but JP McBride’s booking on Saturday mean that he will serve a 3-match ban from Saturday 17 March. Brian McLaughlin, Mark Cowan, Craig McEwan and Gordon Connelly miss out with Robbie Henderson involved in training tonight before an assessment is made on his availability.
 

Youth Games

No youth games are scheduled for this coming weekend.

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