The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hartley deserves respect
A week that got football writers recalling Simon Stainrod and his fedora is discussed by Eric Nicolson and Ian Roache. And a pie-eating goalie also gets a mention...
Q It was up wi’ the bonnets as Dundee ended their 25-year wait for a home win over Rangers. What did you make of it?
IR: Whisper it but I was also working at the 4-3 game in 1992! This one was a fantastic win for the Dark Blues and definitely deserved. Manager Paul Hartley has his critics among the support but his tactics worked a treat as the players physically dominated and harried Rangers.
EN: Plenty of those Hartley critics get in touch to tell us why they aren’t fans of his but it is results and performances like this which show why he deserves a bit more respect than he often gets. As bad as Rangers were, there are several teams and managers in the league who wouldn’t have been able to exploit their weaknesses as effectively. Rangers were really only dropping points against top-five teams before Sunday, remember. Hartley got his game-plan and line-up spot on and the footsoldiers did their bit. I’ve thought all along that Dundee would be top half of the bottom half but sixth place should now be a realistic aim. Q Mark O’Hara was named the man-ofthe-match for his goalscoring display. The Dark Blues have a diamond there, do they not?
IR: Dundee had a few candidates but I would have voted for O’Hara for his clever, hard-working and skilful performance. His finish for the goal was one of a composed and confident player. He should earn the Dens club a few bob one day.
EN: If one moment summed up O’Hara’s contribution and Rangers’ shortcomings it was the former Killie man’s tracking back to rob the predictably laborious Danny Wilson of possession. O’Hara has taken over from Greg Stewart as Hartley’s signature signing. He took a chance on a fringe Rugby Park utility player and turned him into a quality attacking midfielder. Anyone else who saw this coming is being wise after the event. Q What did you make of the opposition and how can the Ibrox men get out of their current malaise?
IR: I have been saying since the game that Rangers didn’t look like Rangers and what I mean by that is that they didn’t have the physicality, presence and attacking threat that I have associated with their teams over the years, perhaps with the exception of the time spent down the divisions.
EN: Ian’s spot on. A lot of these Rangers players don’t fill that jersey. The next manager will have to gut the place. Will the Ibrox money men let him do it, though? Q Dundee United will have a final fling against St Mirren in the Irn Bru Cup decider but is it something to get excited about?
IR: “Excited” may be too strong a word to use but they might as well give it their best shot now they are in the final. Being honest, though, I’m not a fan of the tournament and consider it superfluous to what is already a busy season.
EN: I thought the picture of the weekend was Sean Dillon and Frank van der Struijk holding that semi-final winner’s banner after the game. Their solemn faces encapsulated the mixed emotions of players in bigger teams stuck in the lower leagues. They have done what they were supposed to do – won a game of football to get to a final. But they know they can’t celebrate too much because they shouldn’t be there in the first place. It’s even harder for fans – particularly when this year is the 30th anniversary of their club getting to European final. Q The Tangerines once again showed their good side before falling flat in a game and almost paying for that. How do you explain that?
IR: It is a worry. Watching the game I was thinking that United were doing themselves a lot of good psychologically by playing well on the way to a 3-0 lead. Losing the two goals in the second half and having to hang on, though, brought back the old defensive doubts.
EN: Not the easiest of questions, that one. Ray McKinnon called for leaders on the pitch after they drew with Queens at Tannadice and he still doesn’t have enough of them in my view. Q After that win up at Ross County, St Johnstone will secure another topsix finish. That’s a serious achievement, is it not?
IR: It certainly is and St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright and his players deserve all the praise that comes their way. Maybe some fans take this kind of success for granted but it might not always be this way for a team that has
United players won’t celebrate too much because they shouldn’t be there in the first place
punched above its weight when it comes to wage budget and size of club.
EN: The manager won’t say it but, yes, it’s pretty much done now you would think. I’d be shocked if they drop their commitment, though. Hearts have been far more up-anddown than Saints this season and that’s why I expect the Perth men to finish fourth.
Q We’ve had a pie-eating goalie on the bench at Sutton United this week but what’s the oddest/funniest sight you have seen when covering a game?
IR: Where do I start? I have literally seen one man and his dog standing behind a goal at Cowdenbeath; a life-sized model of a Dalek in the main stand at Dens; I sat beside a group of former Soviet Union submarine captains at a Scottish Cup final; and United’s goal-that-neverwas-but-was from Paddy Connolly at Firhill when “referee” Les Mottram had a brainstorm.
My own personal favourite, though, could be a cup-tie at East Fife when a young lad stood outside as the game raged on, waited patiently for the ball to be booted over the wall then legged it off into the sunset.
His pal then did the same thing about 10 minutes later. I had a clear view and both were still running when the final whistle blew.
EN: This is going to be the start of a whole new feature, isn’t it! I can’t remember the game or the year but a McDiarmid Park streaker managing to evade the police and stewards and then climb over a 12-foot gate at the corner of the ground without getting so much as a splinter doesn’t remove itself easily from memory
Nor does a St Johnstone legend booting Dundee United fans who had invaded the pitch after United’s 3-2 comeback that kept them in the Premier League.