Sat, 27th October - Dunfermline Carnegie 0-1 Erskine Stewarts Melville
Sorry, no full report received for this match yet.
Scorers: None
Sat, 13th October - Dunfermline Carnegie 7-2 InverRoss
That's much more like it....!!
With the squad having taken the opportunity to both air some home truths and to re-assess our objectives for this season, at training on the Tuesday before this game, it was obvious that there was renewed focus and energy within the camp going into this tie. Skipper Chalmers called for a fresh start to the season and for the Team to start playing to it's potential. His request was answered and the teams' invigorated mentality certainly paid dividends as we came out with a comprehensive win.
Not to say there aren't things to work on of course......
The tie saw the team welcoming the return of Stuart McCartney to the fold and he was to play his part in what was a very impressive scoreline. The first half was almost entirely dominated by Negie as we pressed , harried and passed our way to short corner after short corner and eventually some very well taken goals. Inveross we're knocked out of stride and were unable to establish any pattern to their play. In fact this first half performance was very similar to that which we had put in last season , almost a year to the day in fact, against the then National 2 table toppers Clydesdale. In this game, like that one, we gave the opposition no time to settle and used the ball intelligently in stringing moves together that both cut through and navigated around them. I can't recall the order of scoring in this tie but, the goals from open play were generally as a result of very good passing moves that resulted in us opening up the defence before passing off unselfishly to one of our men in space.
3-0 going to the half Stevie could only extol the virtues of the first half performance but at same time to caution that Inveross would certainly come out all guns blazing in the second....we should be prepared to match and indeed raise our performance to an even higher level.
True to their part of the script Inveross came straight at us from the off and were to score within first 5 minutes.... in fact this seemed to be the exact same script we'd been following against Clydesdale from year before. However, this time we were to re-write the script and instead of allowing Inveross to take the initiative instead were were to drive home our first half advantage and rattle in another four goals. Inveross did score again from a Penalty flick but, at this point it was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Despite going down to 9 with Yellows awarded to Chalmers and Green in the last qtr. of the game we still had more than enough in the bank to be able to withstand any further attempts on goal and the game ended with us recording a good win. Undoubtedly, we do need to address the work ethic straight after halftime, as inviting pressure on ourselves is becoming somewhat of a trend but, equally we showed good resilience to come back after losing the early goal.
This was undoubtedly a win based on a very solid overall Team effort, however, there were a couple of standouts I'd like to mention specifically....
Andy Kinnell was up for this game from the start until the final whistle and his superb goal in the second half was one based on both tenacity and individual skill.
Craig Duncan had one of his best games for the side in a long while. Using the ball and hurting the opposition in the final third with his trademark dribbles.
Mark Briggs has been fulfilling a variety of roles as somewhat of a utility player and while this can be unsettling for a young player he has risen to the challenges placed before him on every occasion. Even in this game, while playing in more of a favoured midfield role, he was switched from left to right but continued to maintain a very high work rate and an ability to create opportunities from tough situations.
Our Season finally got underway on Saturday......
Scorers: Chalmers (2), Duncan, Kinnell, McArtney, Briggs, Goldie
Sat, 6th October - Dunfermline Carnegie 1-2 Falkirk GHG
Another week off and again a different thinking Negie side turned up to play Falkirk at Rosyth on Saturday 6th Oct..
Unfortunately for us though it wasn't the positive thinking, fast paced, quick passing side that we all hoped for, but instead one which didn't put anything like enough effort into the game to get something out of it until it was way too late and another three points went a begging !
This isn't to say that we didn't have our fair share of goal scoring opportunities and chances to kill off Falkirk early in the encounter ...quite the opposite. Falkirk hardly threatened us in the first half while we on the other hand managed to conjour up 5 or possibly even 6 chances from short corners, but we came away empty handed on each occasion. In truth the Falkirk keeper pulled off some excellent saves to keep it all square but this is an area we need to continue to work on.
0-0 at the halfway point the script for Stevie C's team talk was straightforward. Stretch the game and up the intensity by 100%!!
Not heeding the warnings we allowed Falkirk into the game and not once but twice they scored what can best be described as soft and very scrappy goals.
Further short corners came our way and eventually we managed to slot one home. The difference in our play in the last 5-1 minutes was night and day and with only a few minutes remaining another short corner went a begging and our fate sealed as we went down 2-1.
In truth our cause wasn't helped by having just 12 playing staff ...especially with Jamie S. carrying an injury but, we should still have had more than enough to do the business. After the match Skipper Chalmers called for much more effort both at training and for the whole of our future encounters....let's see what Negie side turns up to play against InveRoss and hope it's the one who wants to win !!
Scorer: Ogilvie
Sat, 22nd September - Dunfermline Carnegie 8-1 Perthshire
Clearly the ‘Negie needed the week off to reflect on the sub par performance at Giffnock and, with the rest, we certainly performed at a level much closer to that when we drubbed Motherwell in the pre-season friendly.
A far better tempo and back to our passing game we found ourselves on top from the get go and goals began to be slotted home at fairly regular intervals. One of especial note coming from vetmeister Ogilvie who cooly slotted home from a short to give Negie a vital second. In support Mr Doyle's 4 goals certainly stood out almost as much as his leg hugging support stockings but in truth the growers were never really a significant threat and the gulf was there for all to see !! This result all the more impressive considering that the squad was limited to just 12 for this encounter and missing the likes of Clark, McCartney (hopefully soon to be registered) and sharp shooter Mr Bease. First 3 points and hopefully a signal that the result against Giffnock was simply a false start....we hope to build from here.
Having been asked for a re-schedule by the St.Andrew Universitans we find ourselves without a fixture next weekend and therefore it'll be Sat. 6th Oct. when we see Falkirk pitch up for our next League fixture at Rosyth.....let's hope we can recreate the form we exhibited against Perth Grow Bags rather than the Giddy Giffnockers !
P.S Could the "Sniper" who was responsible for the extraordinary act of cynical and cowardly violence which saw yours truly felled, mid-way through the first half, please hand yourself in to the authorities. There can be no other explanation for the fall which saw me lose skin from my elbow, knuckles and knee and I hope you are truly ashamed of yourself!
Scorers: Doyle (4), Ogilvie, Goldie, Briggs, Duncan
Sat, 8th September - Giffnock 5 – 2 Dunfermline Carnegie
What a difference a week makes. Having humbled the "Mothers" the previous weekend in a friendly Negie, should have traveled to Newton Mearns , via a Stevie Chalmers detour!, brim full of confidence. With Giffnock having plyed their trade in Div 3 for a few years the expectation was that if we had been able able to reproduce the form of the previous week then a result would have been a formality..... it wasn't to be and instead the result merely served as a wakeup call that Div 3 will be no foregone conclusion!!
Despite the majority of the personnel being the same, in fact there was no resemblance between the sides which played out the two fixtures. Against Giffnock we were a shadow of the Team which performed so well the previous week and whether it was the sand dunes were were playing on or the fact that we took this fixture too lightly we did not do ourselves justice. Giffnock played to their strengths...a direct no holds barred...in your face style of hockey while we could not find any flow or pattern to our play and resorted to the long ball rather than the passing style we've found to be successful. 2-0 up at half time Giffnock had not exhibited any particular advantages in terms of skill or fitness but we simply let them play.
As we pressed to get back on terms in the second half , we showed very briefly what might have been but despite two consolation goals from Sam Goldie and Ian Bease we were not able to have the concerted pressure required to get a result. The further three Giffnock goals were scrappy affairs but on balance they deserved to win. We found ourselves reflecting after the match and questioning our desire and commitment to win and get stuck-in when the chips are down .... if we don't all find these attributes within ourselves Division 3 is going to be a very hard slog indeed !!
Scorers: Sam Goldie, Ian Bease
