Postal produced a brilliant first half performance
in this League game at Woodside. There
has not been a half all season that Postal have
dominated as much.
Macmillan on the right was causing all sorts of
problems coming forward from defence. Mackie
and Patterson through the middle were linking well
with the front two of Turbine and McDonald who
looked like they would score everytime they came
forward.
By half time Postal were four up but had missed
about 5 more chances.
McDonald and Turbine
scored two a piece and it looked like it would be an
easy night for the Posties.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 4 - Continental 0
Postal started the second half well with
Mackie
scoring a great long range effort but it was all
downhill from there.
Keeper Wiseman gifted a pass out to the Continental
front man who took advantage to score the away sides
first.
Johnston then gave a way a pen. Wiseman did
well to save but the Continental players scored from
the rebound.
The 3rd goal was a defensive debacle. A clear
offside was missed by the ref but Postal acted like
schoolboys standing waiting for the whistel while
Continental concentrated on putting the ball in the
net.
Postal were now understandably jittery and with 5
minutes to go gave away a 4th when a long ball into
the edge of the box was flicked in behind the
defence for an away player to knock home.
Continental hit the bar in the last minute but
lucily for Postal they survived to take all 3
points.
Overall a great first half performance was tarnished
by a lack of effort and concentration in the second
half. It goes to show that we are not at a
level where we can drop our game and expect to walk
away with the points. That said, if we'd been
asked before hand if we'd have taken a win by one
goal we would have taken it.
Postal turned up to Hazelhead on a sunny dry day.
Forrester injured himself on Wed night and Johnston
called off late. Summers and McDonald took
their place in the starting line up.
Postal started well and were soon in the lead.
A cross into the box eventually fell to
G.Patterson
who slammed home from close range.
Postal had most of the play but the pitch was
horrendous and both teams really struggled to get
the ball down on the deck. To be honest
though, Postal should really have been controlling
and passing the ball better than they were.
The last 10 minutes of the first half, Theologians
pushed on a bit more and were rewarded when slack
defending alllowed a cross into the box from the
Postal left, and even slacker defending allowed an
unmarked player to easily head home the equaliser.
HALF
TIME - Theologians 1 - Postal ALC 1
Postal were again the better team in the second half
but the quality of play wasn't much improved.
They scored the second when good work from Summers
on the right saw him produce a low cross where
Turbine
was on hand to knock home his 11th of the season.
More horrendous defending gave Theos another
equaliser though. A simple cross into the
Postal box saw them stand and look at it rather than
clear it and the Theos foward said "thank you very
much" and knocked it past the helpless Wiseman.
Luckily Postal, since October, have refused to lie
down and accept defeat or draws and this was another
occasion where they rolled the sleeves up and fought
on. They got the winner when a ball into the
box fell to the feet of MOM
Alan Mackie
who shot home from 12 yards to take all 3 points
back to Woodside.
Postal had another chance when Summers should have
headed home from a great Mackie cross but his effort
went over the bar.
Overall, the exertions of Wed night possibly played
it's part in this lacklustre performance from
Postal. Credit to them though for battling on
to win all 3 points in their push to secure
promotion in the second half of the season.
6/4/11 -
Postal ALC V Don Athletic
(Castle Rovers Cup Final)
Postal ALC 3 - Don Athletic 1
Postal produced one of their best performances of
the season to lift the Castle Rovers Cup. At
times it wasn't pretty but the workrate and hunger
to lift the cup was evident in everyone involved.
On a perfect evening for football Postal arrived to
face a Don Athletic team who have been flying this
season. The pitch wasn't in great conditon and
the first half saw Postal struggle to get their
passing game going and get control of the ball.
They were, though, winning more of the ball than Don
Athletic, with B.Patterson dominant in the air in
the centre of the park.
Every attack from Don Athletic seemed to centre
round their number 10 but Davy Wood was playing him
well, giving him very little joy.
It was Athletic who broke the deadlock though,
midway through the half. A long throw in from
the Postal left saw an Athletic player head the ball
first and unluckily for Postal it looped over keeper
Wiseman's head and into the net. This was very
hardgoing on Postal but it never affected their
performance in any way and they continued to
dominate the opposition.
Postal had a half chance when G.Patterson had a
header at the back post from a corner but his effort
went wide of the post.
Another Postal half chance saw Forrester work his
way into a good position but his pass to Ure saw the
chance missed. The half finished with Postal
one behind.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 0 - Don Athletic 1
Postal started the 2nd half the way they finished
the first. Totally commited to winning the
ball. They also started to get more control of
the ball and the passing improved.
They were rewarded soon enough when great work from
Turbine to win the ball on the byeline saw him whip
in the ball low from the right which found
Forrester
running in to blast the ball home.
The pace of the game refused to die down and at
one-one it was obviously a nervous time for the
Postal bench. A change had to be made when
Macmillan had to come off injured which saw Ure move
to right back and McDonald go into Left mid.
With 15 minutes to go Summers came on for Johnston
and soon after Postal were awarded a penalty.
A great run from Ure from the right back area into
the box saw him hacked down. Davy Wood stepped
up but his strike sailed over the bar.
Again this could have affected Postal but they never
let it and the game ended 1-1. Postal did have
a scare though when slackness on the Postal right
saw the number 11 cross for an unmarked Don Athletic
player to knock home for what would have been the
winner. Luckily for Postal the referee
signalled that it was offside and Postal breathed a
sight of relief.
EXTRA
TIME - Postal ALC 1 - Don Athletic 1
The game was barely 5 minutes old when
Turbine
sent the Postal bench into raptures. A long
ball over the top saw him react to it first and with
the keeper off his line he lobbed it expertly over
his head and into the empty net.
Postal spent the rest of the first period defending
their goal as Don Athletic pegged them back.
Wiseman made a superb save low to his left hand
corner to keep Postal ahead.
Turbine made way for Bruce just before the half
ended.
EXTRA
TIME Half Time - Postal ALC 2 - Don Athletic 1
Postal did much better in the second period in terms
of slowing the game up and keeping pocession of the
ball. Athletic huffed and puffed but rarely
threatend Wiseman in goal.
Postal sealed the game when Summers found himself
racing the Don Athletic keeper to a through ball.
The Postal man got to it first and poked it home.
Overall a fantastic night for Postal ALC. The
players proved that they have the skill and the
commitment to perform in these big games.
Everyone associaed with the club must have been
proud of that performance. We must now take
this into every game from now until the end of the
season to move up the league and hopefully go back
to Hillhead for the Dickie Trophy.
12/2/11 -
Postal ALC V Cammachmore
(Dickie Trophy)
Postal ALC 4 - Cammachmore 2
Postal produced one of their best performances of
the season so far to move into the Quarter Finals of
the Dickie Trophy.
On a wet, drizzly day, Postal played some great
stuff at times today and fully deserved to go
through against a stuffy Cammachmore side.
Straight from kick off Postal passed the ball well
and went on the attack with Mackie, Patterson, Ure
and Johnston all contributing from the midfield.
For all their good play though, as was the case last
week, Postal scored their first goal from a set
piece. The ball was sent in by Turbine and
when Cammach failed to clear,
Forrester
was on hand to score his tenth of the season.
Postal kept up the pocession and the chances.
B.Patterson had a clear run on goal but blasted
over. Bruce had a header at the back post, but
lacked power. Bruce also had a long range
effort go over the bar from the 18 yard line.
As is the case in amateur football, if you don't
take your chances it's usually not long before the
other team does. Cammach scored their
equaliser from a corner. Keeper Lynas came
out, but couldn't get hold of the ball and when it
dropped in the box it was poked home from the 6 yard
line.
Luckily, Postal responded almost immediately.
Mackie, now dominating proceedings from the middle
of the park, did well to break into the box and when
he skipped past the oncoming defender, he was
crudely tripped up. Bruce took the resultant
penalty but saw the Cammach keeper save his low shot
to the keeper's left.
Minutes later,
Mackie
saved Postal's blushes by once again collecting the
ball at pace, running into the box, one on one with
the keeper and despatching well into the net.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 2 - Cammachmore 1
Playing up the slope in the second half, Postal kept
the pressure on while continuing to pass around
Cammach.
Chris Turbine
scored the third for Postal when Forrester collected
the ball deep in his own half, dribbled to the by
line where he managed to cross the ball low to
Turbine who was on hand to knock the ball over the
line.
That should have been game over but a lack of
concentration at another corner kick saw Postal
switch off and lose a man at the front post who got
to the ball ahead of his marker to score.
Postal never let it affect them though and regained
their two goal advantage when
Forrester
picked up a through ball from Turbine to shoot low
past the Cammachmore keeper from the edge of the
area.
Disappointingly Mckerron was sent off late in the
game for descent. A very harsh decision in the
last minute of what was a good tempered game.
Overall a very good performance from Postal.
The passing at times was excellent and effort
unquestionable. Cammachmore take credit for
the work that they put in to make the game a good
one to watch. Lack of concentration for the
goals at set pieces is something to work on but we'd
take it if we put in this performance every week.
On a cold day at Woodside Postal increased their
current run to 7 games unbeaten.
Postal, with Goonan injured, Johnston and McKerron
missing through holiday and work commitments
welcomed back Wood, McDonald and Bruce to the
starting eleven.
Postal started well and immediately pinned the away
side back.
Bruce
was first to open the scoring when a Turbine corner
was whipped into the back post where the striker had
made a late run to nod home.
A few minutes later,
B.Patterson
scored an almost identical goal with the Bankhead
defence really struggling with the quality of the
corners coming in.
B.Patterson
doubled his tally when another Turbine ball into the
box (this time from a freekick) was met by the
midfielder who knocked home to effectively kill the
game.
To be honest Postal have played better this season
and at times were guilty of overplaying the ball
with the passing a bit slack. This let
Bankhead come more into the game but it was finished
as a contest just before half time when
Forrester
was drilled home his 8th of the season.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 4 - Bankhead 0
Postal struggled to get going in the second half.
Bankhead were certainly better organised but there
seemed a definite apathy to Postal's performance.
Bankhead managed to get a goal back with 20 minutes
to go when a cross came in from the Postal left,
Bankhead won the first header to send the ball into
the 6 yard area and won the second header to head
past Lynas. Poor defending but thankfully Postal
scored a 5th soon after.
A good run by B.Patterson saw him thread a ball to
Forrester
who confidently rounded the keeper to roll the ball
into the open net.
Turbine
scored a 6th for Postal with a minute to go to when
he collected the ball in the 6 yard box and rammed
it home.
Overall, not the best Postal performance but another
win and the team are looking confidant at the moment
coming into the business half of the season.
Well done.
Postal started the game very well. They
attacked from the beginning of the game and created
numerous chances before they finally got the
breakthrough.
Among the chances, Johnston saw a header at the back
post go over the bar from a corner, Turbine was sent
through one on one with the keeper but couldn't beat
him and Bruce had a couple of long range efforts.
Postal finally took the lead when G.Patterson rolled
back the years by collecting the ball on the half
way line, running through the dodgy Bankhead offside
trap and slotting calmly past the keeper.
The game seemed to turn on a ridiculous decision
from the referee. When
the Bankhead keeper
was stranded outside his box he jumped up to handle
the ball when it was lobbed over his head and going
for goal. Incredibly he managed to walk away
with only a booking. A decision which would
come back to haunt Postal later in the game when the
keeper made a number of one on one stops.
When they were so much on top of the game, Postal
lost concentration from a set piece and unmarked, a
Bankhead player collected the ball over the top of
the Postal defence and ran in unchallenged to knock
past Lynas.
HALF
TIME - Bankhead 1 - Postal ALC 1
Postal were stung in the first 5 minutes when a long
range cross/punt into the box somehow found it's way
over the top of the Postal keepers head to give the
bottom of the league team the lead.
The rest of the game was basically Postal pounding
the Bankhead goal trying to get an equaliser.
Too many chances to remember never mind discuss.
Bruce
eventually managed to get the equaliser when he met
a cross to the back post and did well to guide it
home.
Again, Postal battered the Bankhead goal but the
quality and decision making at times was poor.
Frustratingly the game ended before Postal could get
a third.
Overall, a real sickner of a game. Postal
created chance after chance but just couldn't put
the ball into the net. When you combine that
with two gifts to the opposition and some
questionable refereeing decisions it never looked
like it was going to be Postal's day. On the
plus side, the application and effort was fine and
at least the chances were getting created.
6/11/10 -
Postal ALC V Trophies International
(League)
Postal ALC 3 - Trophies
International 2
Postal turned up to Woodside with a threadbare
squad. Manager C.Patterson had to be drafted
into the defence and Cumming made his first start
since 26th of September 2009.
Patterson must have been wishing he had stayed on
the sideline when he gifted Trophies 2 goals within
the first 15 minutes.
The first came after 5 minutes. A ball into
the Trophies striker's feet saw him ghost by
Patterson like he wasn't there and he simply passed
the ball into the net from about 12 yards out.
The second came soon after when the Trophies number
ten collected the ball in the box near the byeline.
Patterson clumsily tried to tackle and whacked the
striker on the shin resulting in a pen which the
Trophies number 4 duly dispatched (twice as it was
re-taken due to encroachment).
Credit to Postal though they refused to accept
defeat and were soon given a lifeline. A
combination of passes between Mackie and Ure on the
left saw Ure pass to
Turbine
who then took the ball into the box, composed
himself, and shot home past the Trophies keeper for
his 7th of the season.
Postal were now looking a lot more organised
defensively and had taken control of the midfield
with Johnston particularly impressive on the right
hand side in attack and defence.
The deserved equaliser came from
Neil McDonald.
A pass from Ure on the left saw Turbine flick on to
McDonald in the box who then shot home low into the
corner of the net.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 2 - Trophies International 2
Postal scored reasonably early in the half to give
themselves something to defend. A short corner
from McDonald to Turbine saw the big man swing the
ball into the box and the hardworking
Ure
was on hand to head home from 10 yards out past the
static keeper.
The rest of the half saw Postal sit deep (too deep
to be honest) and attack on the counter.
Postal had a few dodgy moments where they struggled
to clear their lines but they also had 2 or 3 clear
cut chances to add to their lead.
On one occasion Bruce found himself played in by
McDonald on the right of the box but his shot
somehow sclaffed off his foot, almost ending up at
the corner flag.
McDonald also had a great chance when he was sent
one on one with the keeper but tried to be too
clever with a curled shot and saw it miss the
target.
Trophies put a lot of pressure on the Postal defence
towards the end and they would have been relieved to
here the final whistle.
Overall a great fight back from the Posties.
In the past Postal have been guilty of giving up
when the going got tough but not today and the
management will have been greatly encouraged with
the attitude today. Excellent. Roll on
next Saturday.
FULL TIME –
Postal ALC 3 - Trophies International 2
30/10/10 -
Postal ALC V Feuchside
(North of Scotland Cup - First Round)
Postal ALC 6 - Feuchside 2
On a bright day at Woodside, Postal had a full squad
to choose from.
The first half was dominated by Postal and it wasn't
long before they opened the scoring. McKerron
collected the ball on the Postal right and played a
good ball inside the Feuchside full back for
Turbine
to run onto. Turbine's resultant shot sailed
over the head of the Feuchside keeper and into the
net.
The second goal was a cracker.
Macmillan
strode forward from defence, played a one-two, and
cut across the defender into the box. He then
slammed home high into the top corner.
Goal number three came from top scorer
McKerron
who sprung the Feuchside offside trap and found
himself one on one with the keeper which he duly
dispatched.
His strike partner
Bruce
made it 4 when a high looping cross from Johnston on
the right hand side found Bruce at the back post and
he headed home for his 4th of the season.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 4 - Feuchside 0
The second half saw a bit of a revival from
Feuchside and disappointingly for Postal they,
again, couldn't keep the ball out of the net after a
corner into the box.
Luckily Postal made it 5 soon after when
McKerron
scored his 8th of the season with a great strike
from outside the box high into the postage stamp.
Turbine scored his second of the game when good work
from McDonald on the left hand side saw his low
cross met by the big man at the back post.
Postal thought they had scored number 7 when the
ball sailed over the keepers head from a Bruce shot
and over the line, but amazingly the ref failed to
give it (as the country keeper laughed behind his
back).
Annoyingly Feuchside scored a second when they broke
quickly from a Postal corner and Postal found
themselves out numbered at the back.
Overall, it's obviously annoying to lose 2 goals
when we were so in control of the game but we cant
be too critical after scoring 6 (some of which were
crackers) and moving into the next round. We
now need to take this form into the league.
23/10/10 -
Postal ALC V University Strollers
(Castle Rovers Cup - Quarter Final)
Postal ALC 2 - University Strollers 1
They say it's better to be lucky than good and this
was certainly true in the first half of this league
cup Quarter final tie.
To be fair to Postal there didn't seem to be much
between the two sides in terms of general play but
the students must have created at least 4 or 5 clear
cut chances which they either missed or Lynas saved
whereas Postal troubled the away goal very little in
the first half.
With captain Patterson missing due to the arrival of
the twins on Wednesday, Laws regained his place in
the defence. McDonald (holidaying) was also
replaced by the fit again Bruce.
Postal were their own worse enemies at times in the
first period. Decent looking moves going
forward seemed to break down with the wrong pass or
passes not reaching their destination and with the
away side attacking quickly on the break Postal were
letting themselves down.
The Uni goal came eventually when the ball broke to
the edge of the Postal box. The home side
failed to close the initial ball down quickly enough
on the edge of the box and when it finally fell to a
Uni player in the box he dispatched past Lynas.
Postal had been huffing and puffing up to this point
and the best hope of getting a goal looked to be
coming from a corner. That is exactly what
happened a minute before half time. The corner
was swung in from the right hand side.
McKerron
headed on and it sneaked in at the back post with
the Uni number 3 struggling to get his foot in the
way.
A fortunate half time score for the home side who
would surely have been delighted to only have
conceded the one goal.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 1 - University Strollers 1
Shooting down the slope in the second half it was a
total change of fortune. Postal were now the
dominant force and Uni were struggling to get on the
ball.
Johnston had a good chance when he was sent clear on
the Postal right but the keeper made a good block.
Lynas in goal for Postal made a great save for
Postal when he blocked from close range when the
defence had lost their concentration and their men.
Uni also missed a sitter when the ball fell to one
of their players just outside the 6 yard box
unmarked but, luckily, he could only skew the ball
past the Postal post.
A controversial decision from the referee with 15
minutes to go saw Mackie receive his second booking
of the game and was duly sent off. A very
harsh decision against Mackie who had been having a
very good second half.
Soon after though, Turbine (who had just been moved
up front) was sent through on the left had side and
when he moved into the box with the ball he sent a
superb shot into the postage stamp past the helpless
keeper.
Postal spent the next 10 minutes defending for their
lives as the students pushed more and more men
forward. A few panicky moments but thankfully
Postal held on to book their place in the Semi
Final.
Overall the first half was obviously unacceptable
given the amount of chances that Uni were handed.
Some frank talking at half time though and a will to
win all over the park from Postal seems to have done
the job as it did last weekend. Again, job
done.
16/10/10 -
Monymusk V
Postal ALC
(Dickie Trophy - 2nd Round)
Monymusk 3 -
Postal ALC 4 (AET)
Postal welcomed back no fewer than 7 players
(Goonan, Cumming, Ure, Patterson, Mackie, Laws and
Mathers) into the squad from last weekend.
Postal started well and were certainly the stronger
force in midfield with Mackie in particular having a
strong first half.
That said, the home side had a few attacks and
looked good on the break down both flanks.
Keepe Lynas made a good save from one of these
attacks.
Postal took the lead when Neil McDonald found
himself played in down the left by a good ball from
McKerron. McDonald cut in from the left and
when he got his shot in it was deflected past the
Monymusk keeper for an own goal.
McKerron missed a sitter soon after when the ball
was played to him at the back post with the keeper
in no mans land at the front post but he couldn't
direct his shot on target and Monymusk were let off
the hook.
Postal made it 2 though when a corner from the left
hand side was headed into goal by another Monymusk
player for the 2nd own goal of the game.
At this point in the game, Postal were dominant and
although the 3rd division side were working hard
they weren't really troubling the Postal goal.
Annoyingly Postal gave the home side some hope going
into the second half.
A
strange decision from the referee gave Monymusk a
free kick just outside the Postal box and when
Postal switched off to a sideways pass into the box,
the musk player had an easy shot to beat Lynas.
HALF
TIME - Monymusk 1 - Postal ALC 2
Monymusk took a brow beating from their management
team at half time but it seemed to work as they came
out all guns blazing in the second half. They
were certainly quicker to the ball and pushed more
players on but Postal were causing their own
problems by sitting far too deep.
Mackie, just back from holiday was looking like he
was feeling the pace so was replaced by Laws 15
minutes into the half.
This couldn't really stop the flow forward from the
3rd division side though and it looked only a matter
of time before they scored. They did so with
20 minutes to go. Postal were slow to get out
to block the ball when it fell to a player on the
edge of the box but the boy still did well to fire
from distance into the net for the equaliser.
Luckily Postal (one one of their few second half
attacks) scored soon after. An excellent low
cross from the Postal right saw top scorer Johnston
on the end of it to knock home to restore Postal's
lead.
With the game coming to and end it looked like
Monymusk had missed their chance but credit to them
they kept battling away and when Postal failed (3
times) to clear the ball from the right of defence
it eventually fell to a Monymusk player who launched
an ambitious shot over the head of the Postal keeper
from all of 25 yards. Lynas misjudged the
flight of the ball and will be dissapointed to lose
a goal from that distance.
FULL TIME –
Monymusk 3 -
Postal ALC 3
In the past Postal might have folded, but today they
dug in and regained their shape and moved further up
the park in extra time.
They were rewarded when
Laws
was played in down the Postal right. He then
went past the keepr on the outside and slotted the
ball home for his first goal in a Postal shirt.
The remainder of extra time was fairly equal with
Monymusk obviously pushing more players forward as
time ran out, Postal did well to stop them creating
any real clear cut chances and the game finished.
Overall a very good first half. Poor second
half. Acceptable extra time period. Most
importantly Postal into the next round of the cup.
Credit to Monymusk who worked hard all game and gave
Postal a real fright.
Next up, Castle Rovers Cup Quarter Final.
For the Monymusk view of the game and some pictures
of the match clink on the following link:
A
disastrous hirst half sold all 3 points in this Div
2 North fixture.
Postal had a dessimated squad with only 9 of the
usual squad available, manager Patterson had to pull
on the boots, ex goaly Keith came out of retirement
to start out field and Scally pulled his spare knee
out of storage to do the boys a favour by taking a
place on the bench.
Postal started 3 at the back but it soon became
apparant that the formation was not going to work
with Torry playing with three up top and the away
side were soon 3 nil up.
The first came when a ball broke to the edge of the
Postal box and the Torry player's low shot sneaked
into the net low to Lynas' left hand side.
The second wasn't long in coming and the third goal
followed soon after when Postal were slow to shut
down a clearance from a corner and when a shot came
in from outside the box it bounced off of Mackenzie
at the back post and into the net.
It was
Mackenzie
who scored a great goal to give Postal some hope.
A move down the Postal left saw McDonald chip a ball
to the back post where Mackenzie volleyed into the
net.
G.Patterson missed a chance to get his second of the
season when the ball broke to him from a corner but
with plenty of time he snatched at it and launched
over the bar.
Postal couldn't build on it though and looked slow
and lumbering when Torry gathered the ball in the
Postal box and played some two touch stuff round the
Posties before sticking it away for a fourth to kill
the game.
HALF
TIME - Postal ALC 1 - Torry United 4
Postal defended better in the second half and had a
few chances to get a goal back. Forrester in
particular found himself one on one with the keeper
and when it looked like he had rounded him he
couldn't steady himself to put the ball away before
a defender blocked the chance.
McKerron also had a chance from a C.Patterson knock
down but blazed over the bar. Postal also had
a goal chopped off when the ref deemed Patterson had
fouled the defender at the corner.
With minutes left Torry scored a 5th. The
Torry number 9 went by C.Patterson like he wasn't
there down the left, knocked a cross in and the
Torry number 6 got his 4th of the day.
Overall a grim, grim performance. The only
positive to take from this defeat is that we surely
can't play worse.
Postal bombed out of the Scottish Cup at the first
time of asking against Westhill out in Westhill.
It was the proverbial game of two halves.
Postal played as well in the first half as they have
done all season. Great attitude, some good
football and totally in control of the game.
Unfortunatley Postal couldn't put the ball in the
net though and it came back to haunt them in the
second half.
HALF
TIME – Westhill 0 - Postal ALC 0
The game swung in the second half. Whether
Postal were sitting back or whether they were being
pushed back by Westhill is questionable but
the long and short of it is they were far too deep
in the first 15 minutes and were punished for it.
A
free kick gave away a few yards outside the box was
struck and snuck inside the post past Lynas.
A
shellshocked Postal gave away a second soon after
when a cross from the Postal left saw an unmarked
Westhill player waiting to head easily home.
Poor marking and poor concentration from the
markers.
McKerron
continued his recent goal scoring run by getting
Postal back to 2-1 but the stuffing was well and
truly knocked out of them when a Westhill players
shot from about 20 yards out some how went through
Lynas' outstretched hands and into the net.
With Postal pushing to get back into the game again,
they were hit by a sucker counter attack.
Another run up the Postal left hand side found the
Postal defence all over the place and the Westhill
number 9 knocked in the low cross to kill the game.
G.Patterson
got his first of the season when a cross into the
box fell to his feet in the 6 yard box and he
swivelled to knock into the net but it was too
little too late.
Overall a very frustrating game. As said, some
really encouraging stuff in the first half was let
down by sloppy goals in the second. If Postal
can match the first half performance in furture
games, it could turn their season around.
Let's hope so.
25/09/10 -
Postal ALC V University Strollers
(League)
Postal ALC 2 - University Strollers 3
Two corners for Postal the whole game tells it's own
story. By far the poorest performance of the
season for Postal as they struggled to cope with the
loss of players missing for various reasons.
It all started so well for Postal when McKerron
scored a terrific goal. The big man is on a
good run of form at the moment having scored 3 in
his previous two games and when he linked well with
Johnston on the edge of the Uni box he struck a
great long range shot into the postage stamp.
That was about the highlight of the game for Postal
as they failed to pass the ball with any success,
and as the half moved on gave up pocession, space
and territory to the students.
They were rocked further when Bruce had to go off
after 20 minutes with a groin injury. Ex
keeper Keith came on up front.
Macmillan on the Postal left was at least attempting
to play the ball on the deck in the first half but
with little success.
Luckily for Postal, Strollers didn't seem
particularly useful either, playing their first game
of the season and the half ended with Postal one up.
HALF
TIME – Postal ALC 1 - Uni Strollers 0
The second half was a defensive nightmare for
Postal. Uni scored when Postal failed to clear
their lines and when the ball broke it broke to a
player on the Postal left hand side who found
himself unmarked to easily knock past the Postal
keeper.
Uni were now running all over the Postal midfield
with Postal looking ragged and out of shape.
The second came when Postal failed again to clear a
cross into the box and a Uni player got in front of
his man to knock home unchallenged on the 6 yard
line.
Postal went 3 at the back soon after to try and pull
one back and did so soon after when Johnston
knocked home for his 6th of the season after a
scramble in the Strollers box.
Postal were still defending badly though and still
didn't look comfortable. When they were again
exposed down the left hand side, the resultant cut
back saw at least 2 unmarked players waiting to
knock home the winner with only a minute to go.
Overall Postal can blame the lack of bodies for the
defeat, and while that was certainly a factor, we
need to defend better both in midfield and at the
back before we can even think of moving up this
league.
18/09/10 -
Postal ALC V ARI Thistle (Castle
Rovers Cup)
Postal ALC 3 - ARI Thistle 1
For the second time in 3 weeks Postal met ARI
Thistle. With Forrester missing, Postal
started with McKerron and Bruce up front.
It was
Turbine
who got the opening goal. He was threaded
through into the box and somehow managed to get the
ball out of his feet in the 6 yard box to knock past
the keeper.
Postal had a couple of tricky points in the first
half when the number 10 did well to spit the defence
but it came to nothing in the end.
Mckerron
scored his second of the season when he was sent
through on the keeper and he did well to keep his
composure to round the keeper and send the ball into
the net.
ARI although not causing too many problems were
certainly playing better than they had done in there
last encounter at Woodside and were rewarded when
they scored a well worked free kick from the Postal
left hand side. The ball was knocked to the
side and number 10 slammed home from distance.
Luckily it wasn't long before Postal had scored
again. A cross into the box from the Postal
right was blatantly handled and McKerron
again stepped up to score low into the keeper's left
hand side.
HALF
TIME – Postal ALC 3 - ARI Thistle 1
The second half was an anti climax.
Neither team played particularly good football
although Postal did at least create some chances.
Mcdonald had a one on one with the keeper but
couldn't convert and Bruce had a few snap shots from
distance. Mackenzie coming off the bench also
saw a ball knock off the bar and over when he
latched onto a cross in the 6 yard box.
One of the ARI Thistle defenders was sent off with
only a minute to go in a decision which was very
harsh.
Overall the most important thing in cup games is to
get through and thats what Postal did. Job
done.
Kintore started the first half the stronger side and
were dominating the midfield without really causing
the Postal goalkeeper too much problems.
Kintore did look weak at the back though and Postal
looked like they could cause problems if they could
get the ball forward.
Two goals within a slack 10 minute period for Postal
put them on the back foot. The first came when
a cross form the Postal right saw the Kintore number
10 standing unmarked at the back post and he did
well to guide a decent header into the net.
Postal will be dissapointed with the poor marking
though.
The second came when a free kick was given away on
the edge of the box. A decent strike from the
Kintore player sailed past Lynas in goal.
After this Postal did much better for the last 15
minutes of the half and were rewarded when McKerron
picked up the ball on the edge of the Kintore box
and struck low from distance into the net for his
first of the season.
Postal finished the half on top and Kintore would
have been happy to get off still one up.
HALF
TIME – Kintore 2 - Postal ALC 1
Postal shot themselves in the foot within the first
minute of the second half. More slack
defending and marking saw Postal skinned down the
right and the cross into the box was slotted home at
the back post again.
Number 4 was very strange when the Postal defence
seemed to stand and watch a high ball into the box
but while they all stood watching it, the Kintore
number 10 promplty headed home.
Kintore struck another to kill the game off.
Postal's
Bruce
scored 2 in between times with two decent strikes
one particularly good with the keeper away from goal
he did well to guide it into the net from distance.
It was too little too late though.
Overall, it would be too easy to say Postal were up
against a Premier side and that was the reason for
the defeat. The fact is Postal didn't play as
well as they can do for large periods of the game
with the passing poor and concentration non existant
in some points.
Postal bounced back from the dissapointment of last
weekend's result in some style which saw a first
half goal bliz send the hospital boys home sick.
With Bruce and G.Patterson on holiday this week,
Postal welcomed back Wood into defence and Forrester
up front.
Postal had a great start to the game when, within 5
minutes they were in front. Mckerron picked
the ball up on the right of the box from a Patterson
pass and his shot come cross was met by Forrester
who, with his back to goal, flicked the ball past
the keeper and into the net.
The Postal defence took a little while to settle in
to the game and looked a tad vulnerable in the first
15 minutes of the half. Too many balls were
being allowed to bounce first and ARI had a couple
of runs into the box to force corners.
It was from a corner that ARI got their equaliser.
Keeper Wiseman came for the ball, missed it and an
unmarked ARI player managed to knock home the
resultant second ball with Johnston struggling to
clear it at the back post.
Luckily for Postal, they began to move the ball
around a lot better and soon took the lead again.
Another good move saw Forrester
played in one-on-one with the keeper. The
striker has obviously learned from his misses
earlier in the season and rather than blast it, he
cooly rounded the keepr to knock home.
Forrester
got his hat trick soon after to put Potal out of
sight.
Turbine
hadn't scored yet this season but got a good double
today. His first came when good work from
Forrester down the right hand side saw the big man
get on the end of the cut back to knock the ball
home.
His second came when Forrester took a low driven
corner into the front post and Turbine
collected the ball spun and sent the ball past the
keeper.
Postal could have had more and ARI were lucky to go
in only 4 down. B.Patterson had a decent goal
chopped off when he was deemed to be offside
following a run into the box where he latched on to
a through ball to lash home past the keeper.
Forrester also missed a snip when a low driven cross
along the goal face saw him swipe at fresh air to
miss.
HALF
TIME – Postal ALC 5 - ARI Thistle 1
Postal failed to match their goal scoring form of
the first half but were still by far the better side
in this period.
B.Patterson was first to trouble the ARI goal when
good work from McDonald (on for Johnston) saw him
chip a nice ball onto Patterson's head only to see
him hit the bar with his effort.
Luckily for Patterson, (unlucky for hat trick
seeking Turbine) he was on hand to knock home a
Turbine shot soon after. The ball seemed to be
heading into the keeper's bottom left corner when
Turbine shot but
Patterson
made sure by knocking the ball over the line for his
first of the season.
No more goals in the game but some more chances for
Postal. Ure had a great chance when he was
sent into the box on the left hand side but he could
only sky the ball over the bar.
McDonald also had a chance from the left hand side
but his shot went past the post.
A last minute through ball seen Mckerron and the
keeper racing to get to the ball first but it was
the stopper who won the sprint.
Wiseman in goal for Postal did particularly well
late in the game when he managed to get his face in
the way of the ARI forward racing in on goal
unmarked.
Overall a particularly "clinical" striking display
in the first half was just what the "doctor" ordered
after last week. Good to see Forrester get his
first hat trick of the season and Turbine get a
couple of goals which will hopefully now be the
first of many.
Inexcusable schoolboy defending from Postal and a
failure to convert pocession into goals allowed
Grammar to steal all 3 points on a hot sunny day at
Woodside.
Postal had most of the ball in the first half but
struggled to really trouble the Grammar keeper.
Postal's best chances came with crosses from the
right hand side long into the box on a couple of
occasions but both times Postal never worked the
goalkeeper at all.
One of Postals's best moves came when Macmillan was
threaded through by Ure but when he looked to have
been tripped in the box just before he was about to
pull the trigger, the referee waved the claims aside
to the frustration of the Postal sideline.
Grammar troubled Postal even less than Postal
troubled them in the first half.
HALF
TIME – Postal ALC 0 - Grammar FP's 0
Postal had even more of the ball in the second half
as they shot down the hill but the more the game
went on without them creating real clear cut chances
the more the worry that, like the Continental game,
FP's would sneak a goal.
When the away team did score the opening it was,
quite frankly, a disgracefully lazy loss of
concentration from Postal. Grammar were
awarded a corner kick from the their left hand side,
the ball was flighted directly into the centre of
the Postal box and with nobody marking him, a
Grammar player ran in and slammed a header past
Wiseman. Shocking defending and even more
worryingly there looked like there was at least one
more Grammar player unmarked who could have scored
if the first boy missed.
To their credit, Postal kept attempting to play
football going forward but were limited to creating
half chances. They scored the equaliser from a
half chance when
Macmillan
collected the ball on the right hand side and from
near the edge of the box fired home into the keepers
bottom right hand corner.
It was all Postal now as they pushed forward to get
a winner. The final ball was still
frustratingly poor though.
With less than a minute on the clock Postal gave
away a corner again on their right hand side.
If the first goal was bad, the Grammar winner was
downright scandalous. You would think that
having lost the first goal to an unmarked player
from a corner Postal would have learned their lesson
but when the ball was played to the front post it
was a Grammar player who was first to the ball again
to knock home.
Overall a really dissapointing result given the
pocession Postal had during the game.
Postal started the night at Woodside with a full
compliment of players on the field and on the bench.
Conditions were dry and the pitch looked in perfect
nick.
It was the away side who began the match the
livelier though. Right from the beginning of
the match their movement was good and they were
linking up well from midfield with Postal, at times,
chasing shadows.
Two uncharacteristic errors from Postal captain
G.Patterson in the first ten minutes saw the Postal
defence put under pressure. Luckily Postal
survived the scares on both occasions.
It wasn't long before Kaimhill deservedly broke the
deadlock though. A move down the Postal right
hand side saw some neat interplay between the
midfield and forwards before the number 9 stroked
home past Wiseman with Wood and McDonald stranded.
To their credit Postal continued to try and play the
ball on the deck. Wood and and Ure in
particular were getting a lot of joy but it wasn't
really materialising into chances.
Postal got on level terms with a lucky goal. A
cross from the Postal right hand side found
midfielder
Johnston
at the opposite side of the 6 yard box and his
looping header somehow found it's way over the
keeper's head and into the net. Fluke or skill
only CJ will know.
The half finished evenly. Kaimhill struggled
to keep going with their early pace and Postal were
beginning to pass the ball much better than the
opening period of the game. Turbine was now
getting on the ball and he had a half chance when he
shot from distance but it lacked power and never
really troubled the keeper.
Wiseman in goal for Postal had what looked like a
decent save when he dived to his right and managed
to hold the ball aswell. Decent effort but
possibly one for the cameras.
HALF
TIME –
Postal ALC 1 - Kaimhill United 1
Postal replaced Goonan and McDonald at half time
with Laws and Bruce and it wasn't long before Postal
had gone into the lead.
A period of pressure from Postal saw them get three
corners in succession. B.Patterson had a shot
saved off the line, G.Patterson had a header saved
and when Turbine swung in the third corner it was
Johnston
again who met the cross powerfully to get his 5th
goal of the season and Postal's winner on the night.
The game was getting a bit heated and the Postal
line were rightly agrieved when Wood was blatantly
stamped on by the Kaimhill number 9 with no free
kick given.
Turbine had a great chance when he was sent into the
box on the left hand side but frustratingly his shot
sailed over the Kaimhill bar.
Kaimhill were still trying to put in the effort but
were rarely troubling the Postal defence. On
the one occasion they did get through, Laws did well
to inject a bit of pace and clear the danger.
Macmillan replaced Mckerron and it was his good work
on the Postal right when sent in a low cross.
Bruce met it at the back post and with only the
keeper to beat unfortunatley sent the ball crashing
against the post.
Postal had a great chance to seal the game with only
minutes to play when Bruce did well on the left to
set up Johnston for his hat trick but he blazed over
the bar and the game ended soon after.
Overall a good, hard fought, 3 points.
Kaimhill certainly didn't look like a team who
haven't won a game yet and on this form will give
teams problems. Again, like the Portlethen
game, Postal showed the correct degree of patience,
skill, conentration and attitude to come back from
behind. A great shift once again from Ure who
is pulling a lot of the strings for Postal at the
moment and looking more like the player circa 2005.
A
sweltering hot sunny day saw Postal take on
Continental out at Webster Park Kingswells.
Postal made 4 changes from Monday night's game.
Wiseman came in for the holidaying Lynas, B.Laws
returned to right back, moving Bruce up front to
replace McKerron and A.Mackie and B.Patterson came
in for Collie and Forrester.
The first half was a fairly even affair.
Neither keeper was particularly bothered and both
sides had a number of corners each.
Postal were not playing as well as they had been
going forward though. There was no real rhythm
to their play as they continued to try and run with
the ball through a pitch which looked like it had
last been cut at the end of last season.
Any joy which Postal had in the first half happened
when the Continental back four attempted to play
offside. On one occasion McDonald found
himself clean through but when the keeper rushed out
to meet him outside the box he couldn't find the
pass or the shot to trouble the defence.
Twice Postal whipped in decent balls from the right
hand side into the 6 yard box but there was nobody
taking a gamble to attack the box and the ball was
easily dealt with.
HALF
TIME – Continental 0
-
Postal ALC 0
The second half performance wasn't much better to be
honest. Defensively Postal looked reasonably
comfortable and effort from the team couldn't really
be questioned but going forward there was a lack of
ideas and you couldn't really see where the goals
were going to come from.
The continental defence sorted themselves out in the
second half and looked a lot more comfortable.
Even though Postal dominated for large swathes of
the half, it was Continental who walked away with
all 3 points. When Postal slackly gave the ball
away, they still had 2 or 3 chances to clear the
ball but didn't and when the cross came in, Mackie
lost his man who headed into the net. That's
now 4 headed goals against in 3 games.
Postal had a real good chance to equalise when the
ball was sent into the Continental 6 yard box.
It bounced about for a bit and when it fell to
Johnston it looked like he just needed to blast home
but when it never dropped to him the defence managed
to get it clear.
Postal huffed and puffed but, as said
previously, they never looked like troubling the
Continental defence.
Overall the effort from Postal probably can't be
questioned but some of the passing was woeful at
times, decision making not much better and to
continue the crazy running with the ball on a pitch
fit for the nearby coos simply silly. Roll on
Monday night so that we can forget this one.
09/08/10 -
Portlethen United V Postal ALC (League)
Portlethen United 3 -
Postal ALC 3
On a wet Monday night, Postal lined up against Div 3
champions Portlethen at a drenched Nicol Park.
Not only were conditions poor but the park itself
looked like it had been cut with a machete with
clumps of long grass all over the park.
With B.Patterson working and Laws injured, Postal
welcomed back Bruce to the defence and trialist
Collie came in to the midfield.
Portlethen are a young, quick team but Postal more
than matched them in the first half and got on the
scoresheet early when Ure
collected the ball just outside the Porty 18 yard
box and sent a screamer low into the keeper's right
hand side for his second goal of the season.
Portlethen were looking dangerous on the break but
were struggling to get in behind the Postal defence
and when the did, often saw the ball skid off the
surface and out for a goal kick.
Postal scored another well worked goal when good
passing from McDonald and Turbine on the Postal left
hand side saw the ball get fired across the
Portlethen 6 yard box and striker Forrester
bundled the ball over the line.
Forrester had a chance to get his second when he
latched on to a ball in behind the Portlethen
defence but with only the keeper to beat his shot
bounced off the keeper's right hand post.
A
real turning point in the match happened 5 minutes
before the half. Postal gave the ball away
cheaply and the resulting move, down the Postal
left, saw Portlethen have numerous attempts at goal
with Lynas making a good save from one of the
efforts. When the ball broke on the edge of
the box, Johnston looked to have made a decent block
but the referee thought otherwise and, to the Postal
benches disbelief, awarded a pen. Portlethen
slotted home at the second attempt after having to
retake the first attempt (the ref possibly felt
guilty about awarding it at all??).
HALF
TIME – Portlethen United 1 - Postal ALC 2
The second half belonged to Portlethen. The
were first to more 50-50 balls and were quicker and
more eager to get forward. Postal looked
slightly nervous and were possibly too eager to hold
on to the one goal advantage than to have a go at
getting a killer 3rd. Some slack passing and
making the wrong decisions on passes didn't help
either mind you.
Portlethen had been dominating but scored just at a
point where it looked like Postal had weathered the
storm. More controversy surrounded their
equaliser though. With the ball going out for
a throw the referee suddenly decided to ignore the
flag which he had given the sidelines and award the
throw to Portlethen. With Postal all at sea,
Porty flooded forward, whipped the ball into the 6
yard box and an unmarked player poked it home at the
back post.
Portlethen must have thought they had won it when a
simple looking free kick sent in high to the edge of
the box saw centre back G.Patterson slip and his man
headed home.
Postal had no option now but to try and throw
caution to the wind and were rewarded with a last
minute equaliser. They collected the ball on
the right, made some patient passing up the line
then crossed into the box where
Ure
was waiting to head home past the young keeper.
Overall given Postal's dominance in the first half
and Portlethen's in the second, a draw was a fair
result. Postal need to learn, though, that if
promotion is to be achieved this year we need to
close games out when we get 2 nil up. That
said, some questionable refereeing decisions didn't
help and credit to the boys for keeping going to the
final whistle.
Postal kick started the 2010/2011 campaign in sunny
conditions at Woodside. With 3 players
suspended and 3 more missing, Postal had to
re-shuffle with Ure moving into centre midfield and
Johnstone taking his place on the right of midfield.
Postal
started well and were rewarded after only 5 minutes. A
move down the left hand side saw the ball fall to C.Johnston
on the Postal right and from a tight angle he dispatched the
ball low to the keeper's right hand post.
Most of
the Postal play was coming down the left hand side and they
were hemming Scotstown back into their own half but were
becomming frustrated as the 2nd goal wasn't coming.
G.Patterson had a header from a corner sale over the bar,
Mckerron had a volley from the 6 yard box which missed the
target and Forrester stung the keepers hands from distance.
B.Patterson also had a decent run into the box but when he
went down, the referee waved play on.
It was
Johnston,
though, who got his and Postal's second not long before half
time when he cut in from the right hand side and lobbed the
ball over the keeper to send Postal in with a bit of
daylight between them and Scotstown.
HALF
TIME – Postal ALC 2 - Scotstown 0
A slightly worrying trend for Postal during the
preseason continued when Postal started the second
half slowly. Scotstown were pressing the home
side back and the passing and movement from Postal
had slipped a gear from the impressive first half
performance.
It wasn't long before Scotstown scored a deserved
goal. From a corner, poor marking saw the
Scotstown midfielder send a header toward goal which
was then knoced home by another Scotstown player.
This could have knocked Postal completely out their
stride but thankfully the reaction was good and the
two goal lead was re-established when the impressive
Ure
got his name on the scoresheet. A long thrown
in from the Postal right wasn't cleared properly and
when the ball fell to Ure he stabbed it past the
keeper.
Postal went 3 up when
Johnston
collected the ball on the right hand side, ran
unchallenged and slammed the ball high into the net
for his hat trick.
Forrester had a great chance when he did well to
dribble into the Scotstown defence but with the goal
gaping open he blasted the ball against the bar.
He had another chance when he managed to get to a
through ball just before the keeper but his shot
went just past the post.
More poor marking from a corner gave Scotstown a
second when one of their players bulleted a header
into the net but it was too late in the game to have
any impact.
Overall, the management can be very satisfied with
this opening display. For the most part the
effort and concentration were more than satisfactory
and at times the football played was of a decent
standard. Some moments saw Postal switch off
and the defence will be disapointed with the goals
that were conceded but the end result is the most
important thing and the 3 points in the bag.
