In yesterday’s piece I said that I thought the losses to Aberdeen B and Hibernian wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things and it would only be an issue should we fail to get a result in last night’s league encounter with Queen of the South.
Fortunately, I was proved correct as our joint-biggest winning margin in the professional league system fired us to the top of the table in style.
When Brian Graham and Lewis Strapp departed after Phillips’ first went in, my dad turned to me and said, “well looks like Kettlewell is settling for five then.” How wrong he was.
An unrelenting free-flowing fear-inducing display continued right to the full-time whistle when Jamie Lindsay turned in a remarkable EIGHTH goal of the evening, adding a final flourish to this show-stopping performance.
It appears Nicky Clark isn’t any better as a manager than his pitiful showing for the Staggies last season.
Going into the game knowing it would take another four-goal victory to leapfrog Hamilton, the ruthless opening to the game was certainly encouraging, Hamilton finishing well before Graham lashed an effort into the top right.
I was a little disappointed going into half-time feeling we should have probably capitalised on several further chances. However, the team came out absolutely flying in the second half and, as confidence grew throughout the whole lineup, the floodgates were firmly opened.
My main takeaways from the game:
Chris Hamilton shines in first start
It was encouraging seeing the midfielder performing so well on his first league start after an unfortunate pre-season injury. The general feeling from Dunfermline fans when we got him seemed to be that they felt he was a pretty decent squad player in the Championship, so it was good to see him produce a great display straight away. Kettlewell also gave credit to his attitude throughout the injury and I think that highlights the mentality he brings to the squad.
Randall must start at right-back
When Dylan Smith first came into the county team aged 16, we looked like we had unearthed a solid talent in centre-half. There was a running joke on the Youth Football Scotland Podcast where I would always find a way to mention him each week, which wasn’t hard given he was captaining Scotland U19s. I just feel he has never looked totally comfortable at full-back and particularly this season it feels like we were consistently trying to progress down the left flank.
Randall, though, has extensive experience in that position. He’s not a marauding wing-back who’s going to try get forward at every opportunity but on the right of the back four he’s a solid option who is comfortable enough on the ball. I also think we have better pairings in centre-mid with Lindsay, Hamilton and Ross Docherty, so moving Randall to right-back gives us better balance right across the pitch.
Richard Chin firing his way into the starting line-up
When Chin signed for County, I seem to remember a much more mixed opinion from Raith fans than Dunfermline fans had on Hamilton, with many criticising his final ball. I think it’s fair to say that criticism seems to be justified with him struggling during the opening part of the season to consistently find a striker with his crossing.
However, ever since that goal against the Pars he has started to have a positive influence on County’s performances particularly through his pace in that East Kilbride game. Yesterday, he showed tremendous technique to hook his volley perfectly into the top corner – by far the pick of the bunch.
After that injury that had a few fans worried across County comment sections it was great to see him back involved and I am excited to see what he can produce with a sustained period in the team.
Next up a trip to Cove
After an eight-goal demolition of bottom side Queens, what can we do to second-bottom?
It would be criminal to complain about our attacking play after an 8-0 win, but the truth of the matter is we did still squander a few good chances that could have easily had us into double figures. That’s always going to happen at this level but in games where we get fewer chances that can make a big difference.
Accies are yet to concede a goal so until we get a few points ahead of them, we cannot afford to let up. With our home tie against them still not rescheduled, it could be a while before any gap opens up, so there can be no room for complacency. What better time to back up such a good performance than by carrying that momentum into Saturday?
As long as Jordan White doesn’t come back to bite us…
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