Captain’s Log with Jim McAlister
Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend.
The beginning of the build up to the Falkirk game came after a free weekend during which the gaffer gave the boys Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off to go away and clear our heads and recharge the batteries.
It was good for some of the far-travelled lads to get home and catch up with friends and family, but when Monday morning came it was back to hard work.
You could tell from the training sessions, which were brilliantly set up, that there was a hunger and desire to get three points on the board for the new gaffer.
We were visited by the community staff, who do an amazing job, and the kids on the train like a pro camp as they spectated at Parklea on top of their own sessions. I hope they all had a great week, felt the benefits, and learned a thing or two.
With it being the school holidays, Jack Iredale, Kyle Thomson, Ruaridh Langan, and Kerr Waddell also visited the community camps.
Supporting these events are the least the squad can do and everyone enjoys going along and having a chat with the kids and taking time to participate.
This leads me onto the game on Saturday. First of all, I thought the attitude and concentration from the players was excellent.
With everything that’s gone on and the intense atmosphere, it could have been very easy to lose discipline and focus on the task in hand, which was collecting three points.
We expected Falkirk to come flying at us in the first 15 to 20 minutes, and that’s exactly what happened, but at no point did we ever feel as if we were on the back foot.
When the game settled down I thought we took control and were very unlucky not to go in leading at the break, especially after seeing Gary Oliver’s superb volley from 25 yards hit the post.
The game obviously changed on the red card for goalkeeper Leo Fasan after his foul on Tidser. Personally, I thought it was a red card all day long.
From them on our game management was superb. We didn’t panic and start banging it long; we stuck to our game plan and remained patient.
And we got our just rewards when Bob McHugh headed in following a brilliant assist from big Kerr. From there we saw the game out brilliantly, with the minimum of fuss. You can’t ask for much more than a win and cleansheet.
The behaviour of the fans on Saturday must be complimented. It was great to play in such an atmosphere and it certainly helped that you all stayed with us as we probed for the winner, so thank you very much.
This weekend we make another long journey north following our recent visit to Inverness. This time we travel that little bit further to Dingwall for our match against Ross County.
Since we beat them at Cappielow earlier in the season, they have certainly gone from strength to strength, so it will be an extremely difficult game – but also one we go into with confidence.
It’s always fascinating looking at the results every weekend. It’s so hard to call any of the fixtures, and the teams that prove successful are going to be the ones that can bounce three or four wins together.
For everyone travelling up to the game on Saturday, I wish you all a safe journey. Hopefully it’s our turn to string a few victories together.
C’mon the Ton!
Jim
