Nice to be back to winning ways
Having been in the competition from 2016/2017 as the Scottish Challenge Cup expanded its borders – and in all three stages of sponsorship names: Irn-Bru Cup, Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup and now the SPFL Trust Trophy – it was nice to get back to winning ways.
The last time that we won was on November 12, 2017, when we beat Queen of the South on penalties at Park Hall.
Like all statistics however, they don’t always represent the big picture, and it’s worth noting that we were absent for three consecutive seasons due to the COVID-19 situation.
Nevertheless, it was good to get the 3-0 victory against Hibernian B at Meadowbank Stadium.
Two more debuts
With a number of recent signings, as well as younger players coming through the club system themselves, there have been several debuts of late.
The game in Scotland saw Luke Brennan and Brad Young added to the list, with both coming on in the second-half.
They put in energetic performances, slotted in well and contributed positively to the cause.
In fact, it’s true to say that it looks like they’ve been involved for much longer than the handful of days that they’ve both actually been at the club.
Depth of squad
Craig Harrison made full use of his allocated five substitutes and when you look at the players that came on, it shows the depth of quality that he currently has at his disposal.
When you’ve got Luke Brennan, Ryan Brobbel, Jared Harlock, Leo Smith and Brad Young all coming off the bench, that bodes very well indeed for the season ahead, especially as we are still fighting on four fronts as far as competitions are concerned.
Even in the short-term we have eight games in the month of September, so the squad is most definitely very important at the moment.
Goals, goals, goals
Our record currently in the JD Cymru Premier is just over three goals per game (16 from 5) and we maintained that statistic with the 3-0 win in Edinburgh.
The opener was an own goal, as Darren McGregor sent a looping header over the goalkeeper and into the back of his own net.
The second was a precision strike from Ben Clark in the penalty area, that established a comfortable lead going into the break.
It was game, set and match just nine minutes after the restart. With Adrian Cieslewicz letting Danny Redmond’s pass run through to Clark, an excellent ball in the box was met by the incoming Brad Young, who slotted home.
Another clean sheet
It’s easy for fans to focus on goals – and that’s a natural thing to do – however it was good to end the game with another clean sheet.
Following on from JD Cymru Premier wins of 1-0 and 6-0 against Colwyn Bay and Aberystwyth Town respectively, that means the defence has remained unbeaten for three matches on the bounce.
Although we rightly give praise to Connor Roberts and the players immediately in front of him, it really is something that the whole team can take credit for.
Even when we are leading comfortably in a game, when the opponent has a corner or a free-kick it’s not unusual to see all eleven TNS players back defending in the penalty area.
Lead image courtesy of Maurice Dougan.
