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Annan's Alba adventure comes to an end

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Chris Jardine | 16:31 UK time, Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Well, the shock win never happened and our Alba Challenge Cup run finally ended at Dens Park on Sunday.

We played a fantastic side in the semi-final and they really do have an incredible squad at their disposal.

Obviously, we wanted to win the game but it was always going to be a difficult task and in the main we were determined not to embarrass ourselves as players or as a football club and I think we managed that.

We received a standing ovation from our supporters after the game and I think they appreciated the difficult job we faced and also the effort and commitment every one of the players put in during the game.

You should know that your support for the team was greatly appreciated and we look forward to more of the same in the coming weeks.

Looking over into the stand and seeing the Dundee players missing made me realise the extent of the challenge facing us.

dundeeannan595.jpgColin McMenamin, Brian Kerr and Rab Douglas were looking on, while they had Darren Young, Gary Harkins and Leigh Griffiths at their disposal on the bench.

Still, I'm sure they were thinking exactly the same looking across at our dugout, with me sitting there!

It's fair to say there were a few tired legs at our reserve game on Tuesday night and I've never seen as much ice on the go as the physios did their best looking after all the lads' aches and pains at Dens Park.

We and that was a credit to the defensive job we did as a team.

Dundee enjoyed the bulk of possession and the number of shots they had on goal was incredible. But most of them were from distance and, apart from the goals, there weren't too many clear cut chances offered to our opponents.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my 45 minutes after coming on for Mike Jack at half time.

While I was watching the first half I felt that we were giving possession away too easily and were maybe panicking on the ball. Towards the end of the first half we began to improve and we were certainly better in the second half and even managed to create a couple of half chances.

Now that the cup run is over we must focus on the league for the next couple of weeks.

Before we face Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup we have three games in seven days, with two of these coming at Galabank.

I have no doubt that each of these fixtures will prove difficult but it is very important to our season that we aim to pick up at least six points from the nine that are up for grabs. We want to be at the top end of the table and to do that we have to start picking up points as there is already a little gap developing.

We are getting things right at one end of the park after three league clean sheets on the bounce but we need to start scoring at the other end to start turning these draws into victories.

As it stands, we are the second lowest scorers in the league with one more goal than our next opponents, Montrose... I'm sure a goal feast lies ahead at the weekend.
We are still waiting for our strikers to hit their first league goals of the season and Saturday would be a good place to start.

I mentioned our reserve game earlier and the boys put in another good shift and an even better performance as we managed a 5-1 win against Partick Thistle.

Phil Storey did his chances of a recall no harm with a hat-trick with Lee Hoolikan and Mike Jack also scoring in a match that gave some of us some much-needed game time and an opportunity for others to give their confidence a boost.

It was important to find the net and the quality of some of our goals was outstanding. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we have saved a few more for this weekend.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    LOL at your dugout comment!

  • Comment number 2.

    Good win, good performance!

  • Comment number 3.

    Good article, good luck at the weekend

  • Comment number 4.

    Great performance from the lads on Saturday, I thought we looked good against a full time outfit.
    As usual, when you came on Jardy we looked much more balanced and controlled. Hope Harry starts with you on Saturday, with Phil up front - lets get the goals flowing!!
    Dundee had a bit of luck for the first goal but a couple of tidy finishes in the second half gave them a deserved win. At no point did we look overwhelmed though and credit to the team and management on this. Standing ovation fully deserved.
    Mon the Annan!

  • Comment number 5.

    looking forward to the trip down on Saturday!

    A must win for both teams, the league is so close that we are discussing 6 pointers in October!

    Surely it's about time that we won a game and actually put the ball in the net!

  • Comment number 6.

    Yawn

  • Comment number 7.

    #4 - I hope the manager has read your comment so we will see come Saturday.
    #5 - I can see a 9 goal thriller coming tomorrow afternoon.
    #6 - After your last comment I'm pleased to see I'm not letting you down.

  • Comment number 8.

    You've nothing to be ashamed of Chris with 3-0 scoreline. Although not at the game and being a Dundee FC fan I read many comments on the official DFC forum saying how well Annan Athletic played, defended etc. As you say we had a lot of shots at goal and maybe should've scored more. You must've been doing something right. Good blog. All the Best!

  • Comment number 9.

    i thought you were man of the match in the second half , we sould sign you lol , as moko said Annan were very impressive and i will gladly report that mcmeniman is back!

  • Comment number 10.

    As a Livi fan, looking forward to the Livi - Annan game on Tuesday :)

    The league already looks as if it's beginning to split into a Top 5 - Bottom 5, and a Livingston win would simply increase that gap.

    I wonder if your cup run will affect your team on Tuesday night, hopefully a few tired legs out there :)

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