Saturday 15th September, 2012 at 8:57pm
Victory over Livingston today made it five wins from five in the league this season, a fact that clearly delighted Jackie McNamara when we spoke to him after today’s game.
“I thought we had a few more chances to kill the game off. I was disappointed with the goal that we lost. They managed to get the break in the box which I didn’t think that we got today; the ball never seemed to fall kindly for us. I was delighted though with the three points. I thought to a man we were outstanding. I said to the players before today’s game that this was a hard place to come; we didn’t have the best of results here last season. They are a side that fancy their chances this season and they have some good players, players that can hurt you. I thought that we handled them well, especially away from home, and we looked dangerous and capable of scoring more goals.”
“The boys are trying to play football and are giving everything that they’ve got. I think that’s reflected in the way they are playing. They don’t stop until the end of the 90 minutes. That’s right through the squad as well. There are players waiting to get their chance, that keeps everyone on their toes and there is a real desire to keep going.”
Although it was a deserved win, a one in which the winning margin could have been greater, we were still grateful for Scott Fox making an excellent save with the score at 2-1.
“Scott has been outstanding all season and I’m delighted for him. I was just disappointed with the goal that he did lose although there was nothing that he could do about it.”
At the other end Steven Lawless added a couple more goals to his tally for the season and it was the quality of the goals that really impressed the manager.
“The two goals were excellent. The first one was more of an individual goal and the second one came after we had had a lot of possession of the ball and there was a great reverse pass from Stephen O’Donnell and Steven has slotted it away with his right foot. I’m delighted for him.”
“I know how John Hughes likes to set his team up and I know that he likes to play the ball out from the back. It’s good to watch players playing that way. In the second half we didn’t need the chase the game and we were quite happy for them to have the ball at the back. When they did have the ball all their centre halves were doing was knocking long balls forward.”
The manager’s plans were upset somewhat when Steven Craig had to come off injured after barely ten minutes play but his replacement made a sizeable contribution to the eventual victory.
“I thought that Christie Elliott was magnificent when he came on. I thought he showed a lot of strength and great desire and I think it was a red card when the boy fouled him in the first. I thought that the defender was last man. The referee said that there was another player there but they were only there because Christie had been fouled. I think Christie caused a lot of problems today. He held the ball for us at times and he ran with the ball as well when there was the chance to do. I was delighted with him, that’s much more like the Christie Elliott that we know.”
So what is the extent of Craig’s injury?
“He got an injury to the top of his thigh after going in for a tackle. He felt that last week as well so we’re not sure if it is the same area or not. We need to try and see whether that is a problem.”
Now that we are top of the league sides are sure to be determined to try and knock us off that perch and end our perfect league record.
“I would rather have that than struggling at the foot of the table. I think that the pressure is always there for the players but they are handling it well. They are helping each other and playing like a team. That’s an encouraging thing for me. Things can go wrong. We lost Kris Doolan before the game today and then Steven Craig went off injured but Christie Elliott has come on and done really well. There’s some good competition there and I’ve heard that Mark McGuigan has scored the winner today for Albion Rovers. The players are delighted for him and he will benefit from his month on loan there.”
