Early Pre-Season objectives.......

After much discussion and deliberation amongst the coaches,  EDI have decided on their main targets when Pre-Season opens.

EDI will be looking to stengthen at both DF and MF positions but as for whether they will be looking for Rookies or more experienced players has yet to be decided. Another squad player will also be in the mix but again, whether that is another rookie or a more experienced player is still undecided.

The clubs finances are relatively fluid at the moment but the manager is reported to be satisfied that the funds will be available should any suitable player become an option near the start of the upcoming season. The trade board is certainly another choice but the manager has stated that it will only be a second choice if he cannot fill the positions in the squad that he sees as paramount for the new season.

Internal discussions have been ongoing at EDI this week and the main outcome appears to be that the board expect the manager to be spending less time contributing to the SESL site and more time focusing on just EDI as he aims to turn the fortunes of the club around and hopefully mount a promotion challenge in the next season or two.

Stirling lost 2-1 to Airdrieonians in the Div 2/3 playoff on Saturday.

The Binos were the underdogs going into the game and Airdrieonians were able to rest their players in their final league game whilst Stirling's T-11 were making sure of 6th spot in Division 3. I did of course stick with ball control again which has worked for us for most of the season and gives the opposition something to think about.  Although the lower GP value does impact on shot chances. 

On the day Kevin's better players were able to create and put away their chances and we will regroup for another promotion push next season. But we didn't do too bad for a team with the 2nd worst T-11 in the league.

Motherwell went into the final match against DUM needing the win to secure 6th place and a big financial boost for next season. Therefore, MOT put out the big £120k home bonus and went full tilt for the win. 

A big, big shot % advantage as well as the better GK had MOT feeling confident, and we did end up with the 10-5 shot advantage, with more shots falling to better shooters against a worst GK. But, it was not to be our day. DUM were able to have 3 goals creep in on 5 shots, for a final miserable day in net for our SL34 GK. 1-3 loss with 9 saves for the opposing GK, and MOT end up in 7th, no morale bonus in store for next season.

Our worst season in the division by far, despite the team not being in too bad of shape. We detailed how hard opponents were playing against us in the blog by nature of always having to play sides after they rested against STJ. I was surprised we even had the chance to rescue 6th place, but it's the hope that kills you.

On to next season - let's hope the schedule is kinder to us next time out!

I did once win a playoff playing stall for 90 minutes, no shots created and won 1-0 as they opponent played a couple of aggressive players and gave up a penalty.

Just saying...

Falkirk did what was expected and ended up finishing third bottom and being relegated. We did have some bad luck with key players getting injured but in the end we just weren't good enough to stay up. The second from last game was away at Celtic. We deservingly lost three one to remain thirtieth, three points from safety. The final match was at home against third placed Clydebank. We needed to win to have any chance of staying up. We started badly going a goal behind on 16 minutes but did equalise on 33 minutes to go into the second half all square. We couldn't find the winning goal and the game finished one apiece to relegate us. A winner would have kept us up. The only positive is we have three youth players fully trained up for next season.

The final Saturday of the season has gone, but it was a successful one for East Fife, as we notched up two wins.

We had much the better of things in our first match, against Stranraer.  Scott Shepherd (pictured) opened the scoring for us in the third minute and by half time had extended our lead to 3-0, with a goal from Trevor Brooking and a second from Shepherd.  In the second half we continued to dominate and Shepherd completed his hat-trick to give us a comfortable 4-0 win.

Our last match of the season was an away game against champions Livingston.  I can’t say we deserved it, but somehow we managed to win this one 0-1, the only goal of the match coming in the 68th minutes, a fine strike from Seb Ross.

So, we finish the season in 8th place.  Not as high as we had hoped for, but compensated for by our great performances in both cups.  Next season, promotion perhaps?

On Saturday Stirling will face Kevin's Airdrieonians FC in one of the Div 2/3 playoffs.

All players are available but Airdrieonians are better rested. Unlike last season we went for it in the last 2 games sacrificing EL management to make sure we at least got a shot at the play-off. It's apity we can't apply an EL boost for the play-off teams after the league season games are over to level the playing field a little bit. But that is part of the game and I have been on the other side of the draw.

It's been a fun season so far, I've pushed the ball control tactic as much as possible, sometimes even when it would be more beneficial to play more conservatively, especially with an OTF of 10.

We won't be sitting back when we face the Airdrieonians on Saturday 

Courtesy of Mr Copilot, apart from my addition in Italics and crossings out.

Raith Rovers delivered a commanding performance to secure a 4-0 victory over Lanarkshire Accies, to leave Roves ecstatic in avoiding the relegation playoffs.  The match kicked off with both teams opting for a 4-2-4 formation, but it was Raith Rovers who dominated from the start. Rhys Healey was instrumental early on, creating several chances, including a near miss in the 5th minute that was brilliantly saved by Ryan Fulton.

The breakthrough came in the 14th minute when Aidan Connolly’s cross found Luther Blissett, who headed home to give Raith Rovers the lead. They doubled their advantage in the 24th minute with a stunning long-range effort from Brazil. Despite some resistance from the Accies, Raith Rovers’ defense, led by GK Robbie Thomson, held firm.

In the second half, Rhys Healey continued to torment the Accies’ defense, eventually scoring in the 59th minute with a close-range header. Ken Sema added a fourth in the 67th minute with a looping header that left Ryan Fulton helpless.

The Accies struggled to find a way past Thomson, who made several crucial saves to maintain the clean sheet. Raith Rovers’ comprehensive victory highlighted their attacking prowess and defensive solidity, leaving the Accies with much to ponder as they face the dreaded playoffs.