Par-timer, Wed 6 May 10:03

A lot of very short memories amongst early posters on this thread. We hadn’t won either home game v Arbroath this season, and hadn’t won any of our last eight playoff matches, against QP/Rovers/DUFC/Cowden, so it’s good to get those monkeys off our back. Playoff games, like semi-finals, are usually tightly contested and are rarely classic matches, so taking a lead into the second leg is a real positive and gives us a strong platform to progress.

WarringtonPar, Wed 6 May 10:38

As above absolutely right, I don’t think the quality of our football is helped by the East End pitch, it’s been a long time since I saw it in such bad nick. More suitable to long ball teams like Arbroath. I thought the Pars did well last night, perhaps should have had two or three by half time but did really well to keep a clean sheet. It was always going to be tight.

red-star-par, Wed 6 May 13:20

WarringtonPar, Wed 6 May 10:38

As above absolutely right, I don’t think the quality of our football is helped by the East End pitch, it’s been a long time since I saw it in such bad nick. More suitable to long ball teams like Arbroath. I thought the Pars did well last night, perhaps should have had two or three by half time but did really well to keep a clean sheet. It was always going to be tight.

What is actually going on with the pitch over the last couple of seasons? It looks terrible and can`t be easy to play on. Did the club not invest heavily in it last summer as well? The groundsmen historically have done a great job on the playing surface but the last few years it`s not been good enough

Zwei Pints Bier und ein Päckchen Chips bitte

Indiapar1, Wed 6 May 14:00

I think the pitch suffers from the fact it is below road level in terms of drainage and is in part shade at various times of the day. This is more so during the winter when tge sun is low. It seems to be a bit patchy in places, obviously around the goalposts and in the corners. Not sure what the solution is, but I imagine we are playing more on it than back in the 1980`s for example.

It`s bloody tough being a legend
Ron Atkinson - 1983

McCaig`s Tower, Wed 6 May 14:25

I don’t think the result could be a surprise – disappointing, yes, particularly after getting a very good early goal, but no shock.

For a start, Arbroath finished above us in the table – I think they showed much more consistency over the season so maybe were slight favourites.

We’ve also had a lot of turmoil recently - huge cup ties then important league games interspersed with relatively meaningless fixtures. Lots of chopping and changing in the squad.

You can see it with teams in Europe – it’s a big jump from defending, defending, defending in Romania on the Thursday then trying to beat St Mirren at home on the Sunday. It’s very difficult to play consistently well in such circumstances, particularly at the tail end of the season when tiredness and fitness can become an issue. Squad rotation is essential, but performance can be compromised. Lennon will be used to such changes of environment with a succession of big games – the players not so much.

Then you’ve got the unfamiliarity of a two-legged match. The mentality has to be different – sure you want to put it to bed or at least be two goals ahead at half-way, but you certainly don’t want to be behind. It’s not surprising players are a bit more timid.

It’s not quite happening for some players – particularly Morrison – he’s constantly trying that little trick where he knocks the ball a yard away and tries to turn and run, but defenders are wise to it, and he loses possession. I think he probably needs to vary it a bit (but it only needs to work once and it’s a goal – compare Kane’s dummy and Tod’s turn for the goal last night).

Defensively we’re pretty solid, but my concern is we are going to get a couple of bad breaks – we have been riding our luck a little recently, and that can’t last, but I think we need to play with a bit more positivity. This is where a manager has to earn his corn

Zwei Pints Bier und ein Päckchen Chips bitte

par-ticular, Wed 6 May 21:21

Ok we’ve analysed this to death.
So what if they’re above us in the league. It’s now about 1 game, they have to win by more than 1 goal. Football is full of underdogs winning. We were inconsistent at times in the league but we beat 2 premier league teams on our road to the Scottish Cup Final. So we have it in us to go to Arbroath and win, and if we do then and only then should we worry about the next game.