Warriors to face Huntly in the Scottish Cup

You may have noticed that over the course of the weekend the Scottish Cup proper got underway with all the first round matches being played between Saturday and Sunday. Therefore on Sunday, the draw for the second round was able to take place!

It’s the second round stage that the Warriors enter at this season and we were ball number 35 for the draw. In the end we were tied up with 7 times Highland League champions Huntly FC.

We’ve only faced off with Huntly on one previous occasion in which we ran out 3-1 winners. We will be looking for more of the same when we welcome them to Ochilview on Saturday the 23^rd of October with our sights set on progression to the 3^rd round.

Last time out

Stranraer 2-0 Warriors

Back on Saturday, the Warriors travelled down to Stair Park to take on Stranraer for our latest Cinch League 2 fixture. Heading into the game both sides were sitting on the same amount of points, making the outcome of this one very important indeed.

The sun was out as the game kicked off, however the boys were in trouble from the start as Yates broke up field for the home side in the 2^nd minute, before being brought down inside the box. After taking a second to consider what he’d just seen, the referee awarded a penalty to Stranraer. It was Watson that stepped up to take the spot kick but he was denied excellently by David Wilson who saved to preserve the stalemate as well as his good form.

Despite the let off, the Warriors did fall behind shortly afterwards in the 6^th minute. Watson was able to take the ball in on the edge of the box and turn, before attempting a shot which was deflected into the path of Yates. He then made no mistake as he slid the ball into the far corner to make it 1-0.

Our hosts continued to dominate as the game progressed and so nearly went two up when a Yates freekick only missed the top corner by an inch or two. They then got a better chance to score in the 36^th minute as the referee awarded them their second spot kick of the match. This time it was Yates that stepped up but astonishingly Wilson was there yet again to make the save and deny Stranraer.

Yates could easily have made up for it only 4 minutes later as he received the ball inside the area, turned Crighton and Jamieson, only to drag his shot wide from a position that he really should have been scoring from.

Heading into the second half, the Warriors made a double save as they looked to get themselves back into the match. However, their tasks would be made all the harder after only 4 minutes of the half as Stranraer finally doubled their advantage. The boys failed to clear a freekick into the box and Stranraer were able to rework it inside the area to create a shooting chance for Watson 10 yards out. His shot went low and hard into the bottom corner to the delight of the home fans.

This really took the wind out of the boys sails and despite getting into some good positions on occasion, they struggled to create any clear chances to score. The game fizzled out as Stranraer slowed the game down and saw it out to take home the 2-0 victory and all 3 points.

 

Stranraer: Scullion, Sonkur, Ross, Burns, Robertson, Gallagher, Woods, Brady, Watson, Smith, Yates

Substitutes: Walker, Langan, Irving, Ellis, N’Goy, Rennie, Moore

 

Stenhousemuir: Wilson, Corbett, Jamieson, Crighton, Coll, Forbes, Miller, Anderson, Brown, Orr, Thomson

Substitutes: Tapping, Marshall, O’Reilly, Hughes, R. Lyon, Graham, J. Lyon, Teirney, Wedderburn

 

Match highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqIq3r1et7Y

Stephen Swift interview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKW-YEtjFUw

Onto the next

Saturday 3pm – Elgin (H)

All Warriors supporters will be relieved to hear that this weekend we will all get a break from our brutal travelling schedule of late as we finally make our return to Ochilview! This Saturday its Elgin that are on the road, making the trip to play us in Cinch League 2.

Heading into the game the Warriors sit 10^th, however Elgin are only one point better off in 8^th place. This means a win for the Warriors guarantees that we will move off the bottom of the table as we will leapfrog at least Elgin. This is a scenario that our visitors will be looking to avoid as they set their sights on climbing potentially as high as 6^th with a victory.

Elgin haven’t won a league match since the 14^th of August, however in that time they have drawn with league leaders Kelty. The Warriors on the other hand will be keen to bounce back from a really poor away performance to Stranraer which came after positive results against Annan and Cove.

The Warriors have been victorious in two of the previous three encounters between the sides, including the 2-0 win at Ochilview back in April this year. This is a run which will no doubt give the boys a confidence boost.

Pay at the gate is in operation for this fixture with adult admission costing £14, concessions £9 and under 16’s just £5.

In addition, the wee bar will be open prior to kick off and there also remains a limited amount of spaces for hospitality.

If you are unable to join us at Ochilview but don’t want to miss the action, then you can purchase a pay per view stream for £10 at https://stenhousemuirfc.univtec.com/home

Warriors in the community now taking bookings for October camps!

Once again the Warriors in the Community’s football camps are back! They boast an excellent reputation for hosting successful school holiday camps and are now ready to go again this October.

In order to provide a service for all, we will be running 3 separate camps:

• Our usual girls and boys camp
• Our girls only camp
• Our mini maroons camp

Details for each camp are as follows:

Just in case you’re interested…

Scotland victorious over the Faroes

In their first ever competitive match at Hampden Park, the Scottish women’s side easily swept aside the Faroe Islands on Tuesday night. Please follow the link below to read more: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58627425

 SFSA are looking for female supporters to complete survey

The national fans organisation are teaming up with #HerGameToo to take a deeper look into the issue within our game which is sexist and misogynistic abuse. Help them with their study by following the link below and completing their survey:

https://s-f-s-a.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/hergametoo-survey

No blanket checks for Covid passports

This week, Nicola sturgeon has confirmed that blanket checks won’t be a requirement for football matches where it is asked that all attending have vaccine passports. The SFA and SPFL had previously voiced concern around the prospect of blanket checks. Please follow the link below to read more:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeon-confirms-scottish-football-25036463