Kmcalpin

I very much agree with Sieb and Jay's comments on another thread. Pre match I thought Mark McGhee would set us up to try to stop Hearts and so he did. Thats acceptable to a certain extent but not to the extent we did. Our formation was what a 3-5-1-1 or a 5-4-1? Whatever it was, the players were not comfortable and it showed. Despite having 5 at the back we still played very narrowly. We didn't compete in the midfield and Hearts' work rate was far higher than ours. We simply didn't get in their faces. Frequently, Cadden and Ainsworth were closed down by 2/3 or even 4 opponents on occasions. Ainsworth and Moult did not link up well at all, playing far too far apart and on occasion Moult playing wide left with Ainsworth in the middle. Our lone striker was far too isolated - no surprise there then. All too often in the first half we resorted to long high balls to whoever was up front with the inevitable results. That was because we picked the wrong midfield. No Lucas or Pearson to provide some offensive support. It was noticeable that after they came on we enjoyed our best spell. Up until the red card did our plan work? I'd argue no. We were very rarely seen as an attacking force and seemed content to hold on for 0-0 draw. It was only a matter of time before Hearts scored. However the first goal came that was our plan scuppered. However the main talking point was the referee. Andrew Dallas had a shocking and inconsistent game. As early as the 3rd minute the Hearts no 77 (whatever his name was) took to diving and that continued for 90+ minutes as Ian Cathro will know. Lasley was rightly booked for hauling him down but when he returned the favour he got off scot free with no foul even given. It was very annoying to see him plead with the referee later to book Lasley for a second time for guess what - diving! You can imagine my disgust when he scored 2 goals - in my book he didn't deserve them. The Martin booking was downright bizarre as others have said. However in my view it should have been a red card (albeit in error) as Moult was tearing into the box with a clear sight of goal. A goalscoring opportunity if ever there was. I thought Heneghan's yellow card was very harsh and McHugh's red downright absurd. A disappointing and frustrating day all round.

I thought Jules had a decent game although did make the odd mistake or two. Overall he did what I like defenders to do - first and foremost stop things from happening. It may be not be glamorous or eye catching but its important. He played Johnsen very well and I assume thats why he was subbed at half time. I thought Cadden had a reasonable game but lacked support and too often there was no end product.

Today's performance won't have made it any easier for you then. It still didn't work.

I think Mark McGhee called it wrong today but I wouldn't blame him for the outcome.

Zak Jules by a country mile. We may have found ourselves a new left back until the end of the season.

Is Bowman not an attacking option?

Don't forget that for spells last season he was played out of position ie a defensive holding midfielder which just isn't his game. No wonder he "disappeared" as you put it. Given the character of our other midfielders there's no need top play him in that role this time round. Let him play in a way that suits him.

Jules might not be a bad shout at left back actually. Supposedly he's a very big lad and Mark McGhee has commented before that we need to counter Hearts' physicality.

Seconded. Apart from anything else he's able to play on the left which has been a weak area for us so far this season.

Hearts have a very strong midfield and we'll struggle to compete with them, never mind outplay them. I can see the benefit of packing our midfield but as Weeyin says the danger is that Moult become isolated and we then resort to throwing high balls up to him when he's covered by 2 huge defenders. I also wonder how fit Pearo is - would he last 90 or even 80 minutes? Mark McGhee may also set us up to counteract Hearts and that would affect his line up. Still, its good to have options.

Problem is that Moult isn't really a target man. We have a few options but pluses and minuses with each one. Bowman up front with Moult or playing a 4-4-1-1 formation with Cadden just behind?

Pretty much agree with that although Frear is still very much an unknown quantity and may well feature as time goes on. .

Any further word on Pearo re-signing?

Not a player, but Gordon Young has left East Fife for a job in the USA.

Yes. Do you have a statistic for unhindered crosses?

Probably money in some shape or form. Maybe Celtic wanted his wages paid in full.

An important win but from the TV highlights it was worrying the amount of unhindered crosses County managed to sling into our box. Both our goals were well taken and it shows the importance of Moult and MacDonald to us. I wouldn't blame Samson for the goal as it appears that the County player backed in to him, which is a foul. Softish maybe. Had Samson flattened him he would have conceded a corner and maybe earned a red card. Dougie Arnott was great at that kind of thing.

Yes, but he came out of the deal quite nicely. I believe his "loyalty" was rewarded well. A good player but very easily unsettled. Lets not forget he did sign a 12 month contract with us last summer, although we don't know the specifics of it.

An important 3 points which gives us much needed breathing space. COYW. Safe journey home for our travelling fans.

From text updates it seems County are getting a few crosses into our box and winning headers there. It time we started defending 40 yards out from goal!

A very lop sided and slow midfield, with no cover for Hammell on the left. If County can keep Cadden quiet then we'll have no outball and Skippy will need to drop back and leaving Moult isolated.

He should be fit for tonight. Picked up a minor facial injury on Satutday.

I agree, but did I not read somewhere that it was the 4th official who drew Collum's attention to the incident?

Well, why not, as a member, write to the Society and make these points?

It costs £2,000 to submit an appeal - sum retunrnd if it is successful.