We can draw a veil over the first half and it was blindingly obvious that a change of formation was needed. The only disappointment was that it took forty five minutes for the second striker to appear.
Around the penalty spot
The second half saw us look like a team more determined to compete. O'Brien and Darren Smith for the last half hour, provided width and with Clarkson and Sheridan in the centre we looked much better.
There was plenty of discussion in the stands over the relegation of Sutton to the bench. He scored a couple at Inverurie and it was assumed that he and Clarkson would form the natural striking pair. It must be assumed that the manager has other plans.
The playing surface was awful. The ball rarely ran true and many of the misplaced passed and sliced clearances can be excused on that account. Stephen Craigan remarked on Saturday night that the team would rather have an away tie in the next round (assuming a successful replay) so that they would be able to pass on a decent surface. There's no doubt that the pitch has become a huge embarrassment to the club and the pressure must be building for the board to bite the bullet and spend some money to sort out the deep seated problem in the close season.