fat_tony

Yeah, we did get plenty of credit. They were all creaming over Ojamaa on the radio when I made it back to the car, saying how they wished he was Scottish . Gave us a lot of credit for the win. By the time they moved on to Dunfermline they took it from the "missed opportunity" angle, which to be fair, it was for Dunfermline. Any team would look at a result like that, playing against 10 men for 70 minutes as a missed opportunity. Completely agree, Craigan should know better than to get involved and if he did nut the boy he'll just have to do the time. Like I said, just found it surprising as he's not one to get violent usually, a couple of verbals usually does the job.

From watching the highlights back, Ojamaa was definitely onside and Higdon pulled up the second the ball was played, taking himself out of the game. Poor decision to give the offside there. Still none the wiser about the red card. You can see Craigan going for a word with Barrowman but then the camera moves away. Craggs' reaction to the red isn't one of a player who's just stuck the head in someone though, he seems genuinely surprised by the decision. Don't know if there'll be enough evidence to appeal but hopefully the club will explore every option if it's felt to be incorrect. In saying that, I'm more confident that we can cope given Clancy and Hutch's performances last night.

Just in from the game so missed the sending off on Alba, anyone any the wiser? If Craggs did stick the head in Barrowman, we can't have any complaints but the fact that absolutely nobody saw it makes me question it. Plus, given the form of the ref for the rest of the game, he's hardly covered himself in glory. If Craggs did do it, he'll no doubt be his own harshest critic but it's certainly not like him. I was highly critical of Clancy after the Inverness game but thought he stepped in brilliantly today and big Hutch was superb alongside him. Higdon put in a real power of work as well and covered a load of ground, good to see his flicks and lay-offs getting picked up for once too. Jennings and Lasley ran themselves into the ground and made it seem like we weren't a man down at times. But wee OJ....what a game that lad had. Fantastic. They were all raving about him on the radio, so I certainly hope we can get something sorted for him as it would be one hell of a wise investment for the club. That ref was a clown. Wonder if the compliance officer will submit a complaint about that? It's a worry that we could be without Craigan for a couple of games (and Higdon for the next) but all in all, a lot of positives from tonight and a superb performance. That's the most I've enjoyed a visit to Fir Park in some time.

No question. An heroic performance from the entire team though, they should all be very proud of themselves.

Wonder if we'll be "offered" an extra 2 points since we should have had a penalty on Saturday? This whole thing's a farce. Instead of using video to resolve contentious decisions when they actually make a difference, it's being used to prosecute anything and everything, no matter how trivial.

Yeah, same thing at St Mirren and Falkirk. He need to learn to do what Sutton did and fall to his knees, force the ref to make the decision.

So we have the smallest squad in the league and some people want to get shot of 5 or 6 players, most of them on a free transfer? Tweed's got it bang on, we should be looking to strengthen by bringing people in, not "getting shot" of players. And remember, for the likes of Murphy and Humphrey to move, someone actually has to make a bid for them. Don't even get me started on the suggestion of releasing Higdon on a free...

You're being rather pedantic there. There's a big difference between fitness in terms of running on a track and a football match. Track atheletes are geared towards high levels of performance for a short time, football players need to do it in bursts over and extended period, switching from high to low intensity and back again many times. While you can build up things like stamina to a certain level, the best way to train for any type of competition is to practice at the same thing. Why do you think teams play pre-season matches etc? At this stage in the season, players who are playing every week are likely to be quite knackered as well, so I'd say you're talking about a different problem there with Hateley, Lasley et al. It'll be more tiredness with them than lack of match fitness.

Steve, Broomfield - Nail. Head. Couple of great posts.

This is the only part of your post that I can disagree with. I wouldn't in a million years drop Craigan for Clancy. We all know he ain't the best with the ball at his feet but even yesterday he made countless crucial interventions and without him it would have been more. I know he was partly to fault for the goal, not a lot I can say to defend that but a team is more than one man. Compare to Clancy's performance yesterday. Almost every pass he played put someone immediately under pressure and he was constantly out of position, so much so that Hutch and Craigan spent almost more time at right-back than Clancy did. Hateley at right-back I completely agree with, as well as your assessment of Jennings. Although we were playing badly with him in the team, you can see how much we suffer in midfield without him. Lasley needs him there to be allowed to go and play his own game. I did hear someone saying that Saunders should be back in training soon. I cannot wait for that, as I feel he gives us a much more reliable option than Clancy.

Can you imagine the outcry on here if every time Higdon pulled the ball down (most of the time with the service coming from behind him) he turned and attempted to shoot from 30 yards out? He's doing his job, just not getting the support. The midfield/wingers need to be anticipating the flick on and running into space.

Ah, fair enough, thought it sounded like something else at the time. Still absolutely no need, what a tool.

Agreed Steve. I lost count of the number of times he was fouled, yet got nothing. Or won the ball and had no-one within 20 yards to find. Or won a flick on but no-one was running behind to try to get onto it. Higdon's not the problem. He had a decent game today, played some cracking passes and was one of the few actually putting a tackle in when tracking runners. Daley could do with taking tips from him on how to track a man. In saying that, if we want to get the benefit of his play, McCall needs to be playing someone closer to him with instructions to anticipate his flick ons and trying to get in behind.

I can't be entirely sure but it sounded like a "derogatory term for an Irish Catholic". Guy shouted abuse at him after his sliced clearance from the throw in that came to him, I think. Randolph informed the steward who seemed completely ignorant and returned to staring into space. God help us if there's an emergency and he's on duty. End of the game, he hopped the barrier and tried to go have a word. Thankfully the fans leaving the Cooper held him back. As good as it would be to see some of these pricks get their comeuppance, it would end up with the club all over the papers and Randolph in trouble. If Randy wants to report the issue, he's got every right but it's probably for the best that he didn't get a chance to go toe to toe!

Higdon for me. Thought he battled hard, won most of what he went for and played some nice stuff to bring others into the game. Said it all that he was at times having to track back into our half or go wide to get a chance to actually get on the ball. Thought Craigan was decent except for the goal, got turned far too easily. Randolph was his usual excellent self, no chance with the goal. Daley annoyed me today. Was excellent in the first half but seemed to give up in the second. There were some points he didn't even bother running after his man. I did think Clancy had a howler. Every pass he played put someone straight under pressure and he was constantly out of position. The goal came from him drifting out of position and Craigan having to step in to cover. Lost count of the number of times I saw Hutch out at right back too.

Exactly Rickoza. Plus, look at the last few years over December/January. 2010/11 - started dropping down the table prior to and after Brown left. Took a while to stabilise after McCall came in, probably into February before we really started turning around. 2009/10 - in freefall under Gannon until Brown came in and shored us up in January. 2008/09 - Bottom of the table at Christmas (I think) under McGhee and improved somewhat after the break. In know some of these coincided with managers being on their way out the door but look as far back as you like and we more often than not struggle around this time of year. Maybe it's the cold or just the size of squad but a slump is to be expected in any season and we seem to have ours around this time. We'll turn it around as we usually do but those writing our season off already need to take a few deep breaths. If we still haven't scored/won at home come March, then you can start the moaning.

Sad news indeed. What a gent as well, stopped and spoke to us for ages in Nancy while we were all three sheets to the wind. It seems we're on here sending condolences far too often. RIP Bill, thoughts are with those left behind.

Aye one of the lads from fives is a Morton fan so absolutely no way I can stomach a loss here...

Hard to believe it's been 4 years already. Number 10, never forgotten.

Pish. Didn't turn up today. Hateley sold 2 goals, which is unlike him to be fair. I happen to think that today aside, he's been one of the best full-backs in the league this season. Midfield was posted missing and Higdon did well when he could, but had no-one within a country mile to pass to on the rare occasion that he won the ball without getting fouled. When the hell will referees start giving him the credit? Missed Jennings and unfortunately got the tactics all wrong. Hearts had us sussed today, plain and simple. We would have walked away with a 0-0 had Hateley not sold the 2 goals. We could have played all night and not scored. Anyway, nevermind...still in 3rd, shite performance hopefully behind us, and onwards and upwards from here. Critical that we respond against Dunfermline and hopefully put on a show against Rangers, even if I'm not expecting anything from that game. Bad day at the office, but we're still 3rd by some distance and have the chance to right the wrongs in a few days.

I really don't understand how anyone could vote for Tom Hateley today. He gave away 2 goals and had a game to forget. I was shocked when the double substitution came up and he wasn't one of them. To be fair to the lad, he's been brilliant all season, but had a shocker today. One to forget. I voted for Higdon. Worked away, got nothing despite being fouled on almost every occasion by Zaliukas and won some decent headers, if not to much effect. Hard to pick an MoM today though.

The thing that pisses me off about this is that you can guarantee it will not be consistently reviewed and/or punished. If what Jennings did is considered to be violent or serious misconduct, then this should be enforced in every instance of similar behaviour throughout the season. It's not been so far and I can guarantee that it won't be in future. This fast-track review panel is just another way for the SFA to do whatever the hell they feel like in any given situation.

Exactly. I love how there's zero mention of the two footed lunge that sparked the entire incident.

The BBC are suggesting that the SFA are contemplating taking action on Goodwin using video evidence. I honestly don't think it looked like anything much but it was a red card and he's extremely lucky the ref didn't see it. I'm amazed how long he lasted in the game given the amount of fouls he committed that went unpunished. I thought the original tackle on Jennings was extremely reckless and worthy of a booking, more for intent than anything else. I've seen players get sent off for doing the same thing. As for the penalty, it looks like the offside was wrong but when I was at the game, I wasn't convinced that Hutch touched the St Mirren player and I've seen nothing to change that. Call it compensation for Goodwin still being on the park. Looking a bit more like ourselves though, a little more created in the way of chances, although we're still not creating as much as we should. Good to see some glimpses of the real Jamie Murphy as well, and I thought Daley, Higdon, Jennings, Craigan and Law turned in some decent performances. Worst I've seen from Hammell in a while though, not his usual consistent self, although I'm sure he'll be back to normal next weekend. Really impressed by how Hateley's come on this season. He seems to have really made the right-back slot his own and is looking much better defensively, as well as providing a real threat with his crosses. Just need to get people into the box now! I'd like to see McCall try switching Murphy and Law, or allowing them to switch themselves during the game, as I think with Law's tendency to go outside and Murphy's to drift in, we could create a few more chances and pick up more of Higgy's knock-downs. Looking forward to Tynecastle on Saturday!

Yeah, unfortunately it didn't look too promising. Fingers crossed it's not as bad as it looked and the guy pulled through. Horrible thing to happen, especially when you're just stepping out to head to a game of football.