Div 3 Press - AUGUST'06

Post Match Press Release :From the 'WELL'
"Its just gone Noon half past Monsoon on the Banks of the river Nile" ........Sorry must concentrate & switch off my MP3 or I wont get the full Press award again this week ! ...
OK "MADNESS complete MADNESS! & I am not referring to the lyrics above but to the performance of the 11 players who took to the pitch in Orange shirts at the WELL in the week 9 match up with Forfar.Admittedly star strikers Strikers Scott Macdonald & Phil O'donnell were both rested but the three strikers who did play should have posessed enough guile to outwit a weak looking Forfar defence ..But no !The fact is they could only muster 3 shots between them. This unsatisfactory lack of fire-power was undoubtedly the Major factor in what was a very dissapointing day for the Well boys eventually losing 2-1 at home to lowly Forfar ... Not good enough !
All credit to New Forfar boss David Blair who sent a team to do a job & they did it. Things will change in our next match , I promise the fans that ! " SESL/awall.gif

Press release Match 10 from the WELL
Match 10 saw Veteran SESL manager Kev Hull bring his Airdrie team to the Well.
Hulls team selection certainly raised a few eyebrows around the ground as #1 Keeper Lee Holluis was left sitting on the bench & #3 keeper Peter Cherrie was selected to play as a Sweeper? in a 4-5-1 line-up that was also missing top DM Stephen Docherty! & strikers Gow & Coyle!
The lack of Class in the Diamonds team was apparent from the start as Wells' twin strikers O'Donnel & Macdonald mesmerised them with their skill & pace . It was no surprise then when MacDonald picked out O'Donnell with an inch perfect pass in the 18th minute and the latter duly dispatched it into the corner of the net!
15 Minutes later McDonald himself finished off a sublime passage of play with a deft lob over the keeper ... 2-0 & the Well boys are lording it over the Diamonds!
The home side then sit back & absorb some spirited counter attacking from the Diamonds ...
Half time sees numerous changes as Gow & Docherty are introduced by Kev Hull in an attempt to rescue the situation. To no avail as MacDonald continues his virtuoso performance ,almost scoring in the 55th minute & scoring 1 minute later with a superbly taken effort.
3-0 Game over despite spirited attempts by the Diamonds to get one back.
The boys in Orange & Black leave the pitch to a standing ovation (what a difference a week makes!)
Another Captains bonus for Jimmy Vincent & Motherwell maintain their challenge for DIvision 3 honours.
Just two points off the top in 3rd place as the Bankies do us a favour by over turning Jackies St Mirren ! SESL/cool.gif

After 2 bad home losses in the last session, partly due to not being capable of writing the correct substitution tactics ( SESL/abigcry.gif

), I realised I was about to play an "old" adversary in Dave Dowson when we travelled to MOT.

I did not attempt to train up my rookie keeper but trusted in Dubourdeau and threw a few trusty defenders in front of him. Big surprise to see Cimerotic racing away from the MOT defence to give us a 14th minute lead. Problem was they don't allow you to build a concrete wall on the goal line so MOT understandably came back at FOR. I wonder if Dave's team would ever have equalised if Beauchamp had not been sent off for commenting on the referee's nice sun tan in the 69th minute.

It allowed MOT's next attack to result in the game becoming all square. However Aspinall (even at this stage having a cracking season) gave us the points 6 minutes from time, and left Dave's team little chance of getting a deserved point as we put up the stall shutters.

We then, buoyed by this unexpected win welcomed STRanraer, who were in the middle of the division alongside us. In a whirlwind start Dunn and Collins had FOR 2-0 up inside 8 minutes and that was the way it stayed despite good chances for both teams. Martin's ordering off in the final minute for STR was ridiculous, but in keeping with some of the bookings that went on before.

So FOR gained 6 points from a session we hoped for 3 (or 4) and we are in a respectable position, while we visit Jackie's steamroller of a squad (St Mirren) next week to run up a few goals against us. and welcome MONtrose to our humble abode.

Dave (FOR)

At last, our fortunes changed against the Broch. It was always going to be emotional for me, playing against my old team, but football is a serious business these days. While I was happy to take the three points, to get me off the mark, it was a shame to see the Broch struggling, and I'm sure the return fixture will be just as tough, both on and off the pitch.

Anyway, the tactics and formation paid off, although I thought the 4-1 scoreline flattered us. Even so, the three points were very welcome, although they may be a bit lonely in the weeks to come. The shot count suggested a MON win, but not by so many, and playing without a SW produced only one offside, allowing us 12 shots. I feel we deserved to win, but when you're in the basement like both of us are, you have to make your own luck. It was a real six-pointer, even so early in the season, and I'm just relieved to get a win under my belt.

I didn't realise beforehand that East Fife were so far down the table. I just looked at the squad in the preview and presumed that they were higher up, and planned accordingly. The team I fielded was stronger, but still not strong enough. Once again, the shot count favoured the winner, and I have no complaints about the result. The better team on the day won, so we can only move on to the games ahead.

Our next games feature Clydebank and Forfar, both managed by guys I know and/or remember from my MSWL days. If only CB's manager could field a team as strong as his baseball team - at least we would be fairly evenly-matched. Instead, my only option is damage limitation. I seem to remember FOR's manager being pleasantly surprised that, as an Englishman, I supported his antipathy for England FC and all its works. That still stands. Even so, I don't expect much mercy. He still isn't the referee in the news story, by the way.

In the long-term, I'm still rebuilding Montrose. We have a lack of younger players and a surplus of older players, so it would take a few more seasons before even a competent manager could challenge for promotion. Instead, poor old Montrose is saddled with me, and my enthusiasm isn't balanced by ability, so expect to see us hanging around the lower reaches of Division 3 for a while to come yet.

Having said that, don't expect me to fade away. I may not be the most active manager, partly due to a demanding work roster, but I'm not going to give up on Montrose just because they are struggling. On the contrary, I'll stick at it unless I get the chance to manage someone who is struggling even more than Montrose is.

Is there a team struggling even more than Montrose is?

ROS Press
Currently riding a 5 match undefeated streak, ROS is going to be put to the -*test*-('") with their upcoming matches. The first of these is having a go at RAN for the start of their next cup series. I think of our matchup against the RAN as David vs. Goliath. All I can say is that ROS will take a go at RAN and what happens will happen. Realistically speaking, we simply don't have the horses to compete with RAN.
Our next two league matches are against GM and ELG. Both of these sides are rather solid and well coached teams. They both have solid 'keeping and a tough backfield, along with the ability to score goals as indicated by both of their respective GF & GA records. I feel that ROS matches up well with both GM and ELG on the offensive side of things but not so good for us on the defensive side of things. These two matches represent an early season -*test*-('") for ROS. ROS has GM and ELG picked to finish in the top 5 in D-3 behind SM, CLY, and FOR.
ROS missed out on a chance to creep up higher on the D-3 ladder by playing to a draw with EST this past week. ROS Manager Len Lear stated,"We held the decided edge in play and really took it to them but EST's 'keeper was truly spectacular.
In our 2nd match of the week, ROS took the 3 points from BRE with a 3 -1 win.
This match proved to be closer that what was expected. Lear stated,"BRE was a tough side. I think we took them a little too lightly and this almost cost us. BRE, I think, is going to be another one of the D-3 sides that will prove to be solid contenders in the 2nd half of the season." SESL/cool.gif

CB Press
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Bankies manager in defence of his sporting empire!

Sports supremo McDermott of McDermott Inc this morning had to refute rumours of doing MOT any favours by winning against SM. McDermott was quoted as saying "That $%^&$%� from motherwell can &^%$%$ and *&%$%$� with his us beating SM to help them out". Those of a mild manner may wish to replace the words above by "nasty fellow", "kid himself" & "wake up and smell the coffee" if they think it helps, despite those not being the words used...... SESL/tongueout.gif

Suffice to say Mr McDermott considers last weeks defeat by MOT to be a rogue result and our current second position is more than merited by his excellent management skills and the teams potential.

Bankies manager in defence of his sporting empire!
(Hmm that sounds familiar!)

Yet again McDermott of McDermott Inc had to defend his sporting honour as he had to point out to the MON manager that Barcelona the other team in the McDermott Inc sporting stable is currently challenging for promotion to division one of the prestigious MSWL, whilst his Sandbaggers in The Max Baseball League are just suffering from some fine tuning problems and their recent form is more of an indication of the actual team performance..... and so yah boo to you too SESL/Moonie.gif

Fantastic week for the Bankies!

A fantastic week for the bankies, we hold Berwick in the Cup to find our way into the next round with a difficult draw against Dundee United to come. A tough match indeed for us, but then again at this stage in the cup theres no really easy draws left. (Though I dare say DUU would consider us the easy draw for them).

In the league we were up against two of our main competitors for the title, though if we're being honest SM have pretty much got the squad to take the title easily, the rest of us are fighting for scraps as the runners up in the playoff spots.

Stranraer up first who most tipsters are putting in the upper echelons of the league and looking good to challenge for playoff spots. A see-saw affair as we both scored plenty, and with a sending off the Bankies were glad to take then hold onto the lead.

The big match in D3 this week was up next, with Saint Mirren and Bankies meeting as the top two teams due to Motherwells defeat by Forfar (thanks to David Blair at Forfar for that!)

So the top two meet with Bankies expecting a good cuffing, but the grit and determination shown by the team in the previous game obviously held over as a very similar game was played out and we again held onto the lead in a topsy-turvy game with either team being in a position to walk away with three. If I'm being honest I have to say that I think we would have been happy with the draw, but the stats at the end of the game suggest we had more chances and it was probably the correct result at the end of it all.

What next for the Bankies?

The biggest challenge for the bankies will be keeping the teams in all the spoprting empire going as I move house to Bristol and will be flying home to the West Lothian area every weekend. Internet access will be a bit spotty as I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to do teams. Hopefully there wont be any (or many) NMRs during the next three or four weeks, but most of all I hope it doesnt affect our challenge for a playoff spot too much either.

This weeks matches, first the cup agains DUU as mentioned and I think we're expecting to drop out of the cup this round, though two good draws may be enough to keep us in.

In the league its Montrose a team holding up the rear guard of the league, but as I'm only too aware teams at the bottom can suddenly turn it around and begin a surge upwards at any time. So nothing is being taken for granted and a good squad will be put out to take care of the men of Montrose.

After that is East Stirlingshire, a team tangled with the Bankies in history in the Scottish Leagues, and in the SESL league this year EST look like a good team who only need to change a few draws into wins to change their fortunes. Again another match we cant take for granted in our efforts to stay up at the top.

So this week I'm predicting: draw(DUU), win (MON), win/draw (EST) for the Bankie boys. 5 points out of 9 with possibly 7 our of 9 would be a good week for us I think.

ROS PRESS

ROS coming off their nil-nil CUP draw against the famed RAN is in high spirits as they get set to do battle with ELG and GM. ROS Manager Lear stated," We managed a draw against the cream of the crop in the SESL, RAN. As a matter of record, SESL observers are saying that RAN didn't play their top squad against us. I hate to say it, but neither did we. All one has to do is look at the match result to see that this is true. Because of this, ROS goes into what is probably going to be their two most important matches of the 1st half of this season with a well rested lineup. "
Lear added," I think we possibly have a good shot at taking a possible six out of six points here , but it will be tough. I will be happy with 3 or 4 pts. out of these matches. Our ROS lads are truly playing to what they are capable of. All we can do now is take one match at a time and if our good run continues, maybe we will start to earn some respect." SESL/cool.gif