3Match Report
Stenhousemuir v Berwick Rangers at Ochilview Park ,
Stenhousemuir on 11.07.09
Pre- Season Friendly Att 131
Stenhousemuir 3 [Bradley 15,39, Dalziel 42] v Berwick Rangers 0
The only pre-season friendly at Ochilview this season as opposed to Stirlingshire Cup was against friends Berwick Rangers but turned out an unsatisfactory experience for both clubs in one way or another.
This was Berwick’s first outing this season and in the early stages of the game they struggled with the tempo of the game and also the strength of the Stenhousemuir team. Within the first 15 minutes they had two players have to leave the pitch after knocks Wayne Sproule and Steven Notman.
Stenhousemuir on the other hand looked more confidence and were passing the ball better and had more general movement in the team. They took the lead in the 15th minute when Kevin Bradley making his first appearance in a Warriors shirt diverted a Kevin Motion shot wide of Mark Peat in the Berwick goals. Motion had a blistering effort tipped over by Peat in 33 minutes and at that stage of the game things were looking good for the home side.
This was to change in the 36th minute when Chris McLeod was sent off by Craig Charleston after easing a Berwick attacker off the ball but the referee deemed after a long hesitation that he had denied a goal scoring opportunity and sent the player off much to the astonishment of everyone. A minute later Jordan Smith was cautioned after comments made to him.
In the 39th minute it was the turn of Berwick to be exacerbated by the referee when Stenhousemuir scored their second goal. Bradley once again was the marksman as he finished off a move that started with a quickly taken freekick. The Berwick players were angered that it had been allowed to be taken and it is fair to say that they had a case as a defender was still being lectured by the referee when it was taken. Their ire was compounded in the 42nd minute when Stenhousemuir were awarded a penalty after Gary Thom was deemed to have been fouled but it looked an innocuous challenge. Scott Dalziel was not bothered about that however and tucked the penalty past Peat.
The second half saw Berwick not surprisingly have more of the play than the first period and it was a good workout for the Warriors as they played as a team supporting each other to keep their opponents at bay. Of course there are always going to be some chances created and Scott Bennett did well to save a close range Stuart Callaghan effort after the keeper had an aberration and picked up a pass back. It was Callaghan who came closest to scoring from either team when a long range effort crashed off the bar in the 78th minute. In the end the Warriors held on fairly comfortable and they would have been happy with the performance but of concern will be the suspension of Chris McLeod for the start of the league campaign which soured an otherwise good day for the club.
Stenhousemuir – Bennett, Caine [Lyle h/t], S.Thomson, Thom, Smith [b37], McLeod [so 36], Love [ Stirling 66], Molloy, Dalziel [Diack h/t], Bradley [O’Reilly 66] and Motion [Scullion h/t]. Sub not used – McCluskey.
Berwick Rangers – Peat, Notman [Cennarazzo 15], McMahon, Smith, Ewart [McLean 68], Callaghan, McMenamin, Currie , Brazil , Sproule [Manson 5] and Greenhill [Little 74]. Sub not used – Cairns
Referee – Craig Charleston
