Hello and welcome back to another edition of Warriors Weekly. It was a Warriors Double at the weekend as both the men’s and women’s sides picked up wins. Read on to find out more and also who our men’s team drew in the Scottish Cup!

Stenhousemuir vs East Fife 

It’s a break from League Two action, but not a break from League Two rivals. 3rd place East Fife visited Ochilview in the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup looking to avenge their League loss to The Warriors just a few weeks earlier.

Sean Crighton was forced to miss out due to injury which opened the door for Mikey Miller to return to right back.

Brennan starts in goals with Higgins, Jamieson and Corbett making up the back 3 with Forbes, Wedderburn, Philp and Miller across the midfield. O’Reilly and Brown supported Yates up front.

It was a quick start for the home side with Euan O’Reilly causing some early issues. He played the ball through to Ross Philp who couldn’t get his shot away. The ball broke back to Euan, but the visiting keeper made a good save to prevent an early lead.

GOAL: Despite the attempts to stop an early lead, up steps Adam Corbett with his first goal of the season! Matty Yates delivered his usual dangerous corner which was met by Corbett. However, big Nat Wedderburn blocked the shot on the line and his attempted back heel into the net was blocked with the ball bouncing back to Corbett who smashed into the net from 5 yards out. STENHOUSEMUIR 1-0 EAST FIFE [Adam Corbett 3 minutes]

A quick start was very welcome for the home side who usually fall victim of other teams starting fast.

GOAL: Once again, The Warriors concede early. Jack Healy skipped between Forbes and Philp and drive a cross into the box which was missed by everybody and ended up in the far away corner to quickly equalise. STENHOUSEMUIR 1-1 EAST FIFE [Jack Healy 6 minutes] 

That next chance fell to the visitors, but this time the shot was dragged just wide of Brennan’s right hand post.

There was an ever better chance a few minutes later and should’ve been 2-1 to The Fifers but for a last ditch challenge from the covering Miller preventing East Fife from getting a shot away. The pressure continued though but the 2nd phase came to a close with a wild header from Schiavone that went well wide.

Up until that point, the visitors were looking most likely to take the lead, until Ross Forbes flighted a free kick from his own half in behind the defence.

GOAL: Euan O’Reilly managed to pick up the 2nd ball from the clearance and he played in Adam Brown. The midfielder flighted in an excellent cross which was missed by Philp, but not by Matty Yates who was waiting at the back post and managed to volley into the back of the net from just a few yards out. STENHOUSEMUIR 2-1 EAST FIFE [Matty Yates 31 minutes]

Matty Yates proving again how valuable he’s become to Stephen Swifts side with his 7th goal of the season. Add in 8 assists and he’s become a vital part of the first team.

Another good chance for The Warriors fell to Mikey Miller, but his shot was deflected over the bar. Euan O’Reilly again caused problems down the left this time and his cross was met by Yates who managed to bring the ball down and chip the ball back towards goal. Adam Brown was able to get under the ball but his shot was blocked with Miller in on the rebound, but his shot was blocked.

Straight from the corner, Ross Forbes had a good chance too to increase the lead. He picked up the ball on wide and opened up his body on the edge of the box to fire in a shot which was well saved by Beveridge in the visiting goal.

HALF TIME: STENHOUSEMUIR 2-1 EAST FIFE

Into the 2nd half and it was the visitors who had the first good chance. Almost identical to Ross Forbes’ attempt to close the first half, but this time it was Steven who forced a good save from Conor Brennan in the home goal.

Much of the 2nd half half became a non-contest with both teams cancelling each other out.

Euan O’Reilly continued to cause the away defence issues, but couldn’t get any shots on target.

In fact, it was the Fifers that almost got the games 4th goal with a speculative effort by Healy being tipped over the bar by Brennan. The visitors are really throwing all they can at securing an equaliser with Healy coming closest so far. The youngster has scored in both games this season against The Warriors, but has yet to see a victory against Stenhousemuir.

As the game was getting stretched, it was Beveridge’s turn to make a good save. Ross Forbes picked up the ball inside the box and he drove a vicious, angled shot towards goal, but the debutant keeper saved well.

FULL TIME: STENHOUSEMUIR 2-1 EAST FIFE

WarriorsTV spoke with Stephen Swift and Adam Corbett following the match. Click on their names to hear what they had to say. Highlights can be found HERE!

 

On Monday, we found out who we would be facing in the 3rd round of the Scottish Cup.

It’s a trip to Formartine United that await the Warriors. The tie will take place on the weekend of the 26th of November. Details to be confirmed.

We’re back in league action this Saturday and for the first time since the start of the month, we’re on the road. It’s a short trip to Coatbridge to take on Albion Rovers. The sides met in the opening game of the season, where a Thomas Orr goal was the difference in a 1-0 win for the Warriors. It’ll be a tough test on Saturday, as it always is at Cliftonhill.

Admission is set at £14/10/3 with cash or card being accepted at the turnstiles!

 

St Mirren vs Stenhousemuir

A few tough games and results mean the Warriors head into this match in 6th place in the table, while St Mirren sit in 4th. St Mirren managed a 10-0 win in their last game out while the Warriors lost 3-1 for the second time to Westdyke.

Jack Cameron named 2 changes from the side that played Westdyke last time out as Clare Wilson and one of the Trialists made the squad. Harkness started in goals with a back 3 of Clare Wilson, Paterson and Vickerman. Sullivan and Connolly played slightly higher than their usual full back roles, instead joining the midfield alongside the Trialist, Erin Wilson and Templeton. Montgomery and Eirinn Maguire started up front. Phee, Pearson, Richard-Campbell and Leah Jones made the bench.

The St Mirren squad was made up of Joanne Casey, Helen McLeod, Karen McCabe, Sorcha Turner, Gemma Dickson, Kelly Ross, Ceara Macintyre, Naomi Clark, Lesley Palmer, Ema Beka and Jennifer Caldwell. Missaghian-Shirazi, Fury, McLean, Nichol, Philip and Morrison formed the bench.

St Mirren got the game underway and started the stronger of the two sides. It was a scrappy start for the Warriors.

GOAL ST MIRREN: A through ball breaks the back 3 and plays in Ceara Macintyre who strikes it into the bottom left corner to give the home team the lead. ST MIRREN 1-0 STENHOUSEMUIR [Ceara Macintyre 5?]

GOAL STENHOUSEMUIR: The Trialist picks the ball up in the middle of the park for the Warriors and chips it in to Templeton who brings it down with her chest, turns and smashes it into the bottom left past the keeper. Great touch and goal. ST MIRREN 1-1 STENHOUSEMUIR [Templeton 17?]

A pass down the wing find Macintyre free on the right hand side of the pitch but she takes a poor touch and the ball rolls out for a throw in. She tries to recover it and ends up sliding into the Cameraman and destroys the Triopd. St Mirren 1 Tripod 0.

Vickerman gets caught in posession at the back and it allows St Mirren to apply some pressure. The ball is crossed in and a shot is laced in from the rebound, from outside the box, but Harkness manages to get the ball down well.

HALF TIME: ST MIRREN 1-1 STENHOUSEMUIR

A poor defensive head back to the keeper from St Mirren plays both Eirinn Maguire and Samantha Montgomery through on goal with the keeper out of her box but neither player can decide who should hit it and in the end the keeper gets a touch on it.

A free kick for the Warriors from outside the box is struck well by Templeton. It floats into the box and into the keepers hands. 5 Stenny players were lurking for the rebound but it wasn’t forthcoming.

St Mirren win a freekick in the attacking third of the pitch. Its lobbed in and finds a head in the crowd. The ball is nodded down and is heading towards the net, but Harkness makes a fantastic diving save to keep the scoreline level.

Templeton has done well in the middle of the park. Using her strength she turns the St Mirren defense and lays the ball into Connolly who gets a shot off. The keeper in the end saves it but the ball did bobble and looked a little dangerous.

YELLOW CARD: Clare Wilson picks up the first yellow card of the match for a bit of a heavy tackle.

YELLOW CARD: The Trialist picks up a yellow card for arguing with the referee after what appears to be a series of wrong decisions, including throw ins and corners.

SUBSTITUTION: The Trialist goes down after a big hit inside the box during a corner and has to be removed as Richard-Campbell comes on to replace her.

GOAL STENHOUSEMUIR: A freekick from about 35 yards out is hit by Templeton to perfection. It nestles in the top left corner, skiffing the post on the way in. No one was saving that. What a freekick! ST MIRREN 1-2 STENHOUSEMUIR [Templeton 87?]

Connolly intercepts the ball from the St Mirren defence and powers in to the edge of the box, shrugging off defenders as she goes. She unleashes a shot but in the end it didn’t have enough power to cause any real threat. It was fanatastic work to create the opportunity though!

FULL TIME: ST MIRREN 1-2 STENHOUSEMUIR

POST MATCH REACTION

We spoke to Head Coach Jack Cameron after the match.

Can you sum up how you are feeling after that match?

“I’m delighted with the result. We changed our tactic today to try and match their shape and I thought for large parts of the first half we got success but without really hurting them in the final third to try and kill the game, but im delighted that we managed to get the winner.”

Two goals for Templeton today. How pleased are you for her?

“Im delighted for Dibs. Shes done really well since she came in. Slightly different position for her today as we start adjusting to her as a group but shes been brilliant for us off the pitch as well as on it. You can see her qualities though with two massive goals for us getting us a massive win.”

Clare Wilson back in the squad today after an injury. Is that her back now?

“Clare has been out for a couple of weeks and we’ve tried not to rush her back too much. To be honest I would have preferred to have left it another week, but she trained well over the last week and a half with no problems and she was desperate to get back in and play. Obviously she is an important player for us. She is solid, wether its in midfield or in defense, shes a constant 8/10. So it was massive to get her back for us.”

A week off now for the team with no game next weekend. What are your plans for the break?

“We’re going to be training next week as normal but we are not going to schedule a friendly for the weekend and instead have a team day out. A lot of us are still quite new to the group, myself and the coaches included, so we want to use it as a sort of team bonding day.”

Highlights from the game can be found HERE!

It’s a week off for our women’s side but they’ll return to Ochilview next Sunday as they take on Airdrie. More information on that game in next week’s edition.

It’s the 5th round of the group stages for the 3 European Competitions this week.

Celtic and Rangers have already played their games. Celtic have been eliminated from Europe following a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk, whilst Rangers lost 3-0 to Napoli but can still drop into the Europa League with a 6 goal win in their final game against Ajax.

Hearts are in action later today as they take on RFS. The Jam Tarts need a win to stand any chance of advancing to the knockouts but a win for Fiorentina against Istanbul will end any hopes.

Elsewhere in Scottish Football, VAR got it’s first run out in our game last weekend, kicking off with Hibernian vs St Johnstone. Maybe one day we’ll see VAR at Ochilview…