No Case For Defense

Now, I was looking forward to last night’s game. Unforeseen circumstances meant that I missed the 1st half but It was ok I told myself, oor pre season games are always crap, I won’t miss much.

Joined the game 43 mins into the 1st half, as I switched on the telly I was reminded aboot the days I used to leave the London Road Tav to go into the home games around that time, I was also looking for a wee bonus in the scoreline.

I wished I had stayed in the pub that was floating around in ma mind when the scoreline became clear. 3-0. 3-0 to a team that are no better than a middle of the road EPL team, but with bigger ambitions, and one, apart from Martins, that I wouldn't swap for any of the current hoops 1st eleven.

See as a fan it’s the hope that kills you. When switching on the Tv it was hope of a decent scoreline, which set ma heart a pulsing. Now, I was watching blankly as Rob McLean and Gary Pallister talked us through the 1st half.

The highlights had hope. We had created chances but the goals we lost were shocking. Poor defending in wide areas, not cutting out, or putting enough pressure on the player playing the final baw was the problem. But the highlights did have hope. I took to the well honed mantra lets win the second half and sat doon, i had been standing in front of the telly for the whole of half time in a sober drunken daze, to watch the second half.

My hope was justified, as the half progressed the hoops had the toon on the backfoot. Right, we weren’t creating much, but oor midfield play, esp Donati, Broon and McGeady were doing enough to suggest to me that we are in for good things this season.

Then we had a 20 minute spell when the scoreline should have been reversed. Broon- my new favourite nark- could have scored four goals, he only scored one. We looked ok at the back, not Naylor right enough he had his worst game in a green shirt, and my aim for us to win the second period looked a sure bet.

They went doon to 10 men and had brought on a goalie to play up front. I thought, right we are not going to turn it round but the second half has positives, which I will cling too for dear life.

Then came the boot in the nunchucks. The blow that takes away the hope, makes yer class half full and makes you feel like you lose a tenner and find a fiver. Hartley, powderpuff and slow- at fault for two goals, allowed Millner to cut inside and score. 4-1. Bloody 4-1. The scoreline lost some of the respectability it had gained at 3-1 and losing 4 goals is embarrassing and unforgivable.

We deserve abuse for losing four goals. We deserve to be questioned why this happened. The press will have a field day with this and rightly so. Already the English based media are laughing at their take of the Scottish League being poor being shown to be correct. My thoughts this morning are with English based hoops who have to listen to workmates crowing this morning.

So why is it then I, during a sleepness night, the thoughts going round in ma mind were mostly positive. I was only taking the positive things I had seen, while remembering the bad but thinking it was not all that bad.

Every so often I would think of the poor defending, reminded me of the Motherwell 4-4 game a few years back, and say how can I take positives oot a 4-1 defeat. I’m I that deluded I think a defeat, an embarrassing scoreline but one I really feel flattered the boys from the big market, like we have just suffered bodes well for the new season?

As I say it’s the hope that kills you.

Forza