Of course, we should have won the game. I just watched a re-run of the BBC Alba coverage and for the most part was impressed by the way we set about the game. We made by far the majority of goal scoring opportunities and, on another day, might have won easily.
It is also the case that we should not have lost the goal in the 80th minute. Hammell was hobbling when Clancy sprinted down the wing and the winger had all the time in the world to deliver the telling cross. Craigan has signalled to the bench two minutes earlier that a substitution was needed but the bench was too slow to react. The ball was out of play on one occasion before the goal and the change could have been made. It’s all too easy with hindsight.
Hateley hits the wall with this effort
At least we got a look at young Mr Gunning and the first impression was good. He is tall and athletic and he showed that his left foot can deliver a powerful shot. No doubt we’ll see more of him while Hammell’s hamstring recovers.
McCall looked shell-shocked as the final whistle blew and later said, “It’s such a sore one to take. I thought Sunday was bad, but this is really painful. We’ve had two one-on-one chances, we’ve hit the bar, there’s been balls flying across the box; we’ve given our all. The football, given the conditions, was excellent and the desire of the lads was superb. But the bottom line is we’ve lost – and that’s a sore one to take. Anyone who was at that game will know we didn’t deserve to lose it; a draw would have been harsh on us, given the balance of play.”
Our next two league matches are at Ibrox and Pittodrie and we’ll need something special if our recent poor record is to be reversed. At the moment we have only one win in the last eleven SPL games. Could it extend to one in thirteen?
This week’s cup tie away day will offer some relief but anything other than a convincing win against Third Division opposition will turn on the alarm bells!