Welcome back! I'll start off with a quick word on last week’s game. We played Dumbarton away from home in what turned out to be a challenging game. Dumbarton were coming into the game with extreme confidence, winning five of their last six!  We were rather fortunate to take the lead at half time after a lacklustre first half performance but fortunately we improved our performance in the second half and got ourselves into a ‘comfortable’ lead.

I emphasise the word ‘comfortable’ as that’s exactly how we treated the game after the getting the three-goal cushion.  It was our own downfall and we took our opposition too lightly after going ahead. There’s no such thing as a “comfy” lead in this league, and although we came away with the three points, it’s a lesson learned from all of us and one we’ll do our best to not let happen again.

I’d like to say congratulations on behalf of the team to two of our players. Firstly, Stefan Scougall on getting his second call up to the U21s (in which he reluctantly had to pull out off through injury) and, secondly, to Jesus Garcia Tena on winning Player of the Month for the SFL. The big Spaniard has been fantastic since joining us and is a great asset to the team.

Scougs is amongst a number of players who picked up little niggles after Saturday's hard fought victory. One or two others have missed training at points this week but we're hoping that everyone will be fit and healthy come Saturday.

Scougs take a lot of kicks and bruises during games and is unfortunate on having to pull out of the U21s. We are all sure it won't be too long until he’s back in the squad fully fit! There are certainly a few more boys in the team who can’t be far off a call up, most notably, Marc McNulty, who is maturing every game and is turning into a fantastic player.

In my opinion, Sparky is technically one of the most naturally talented strikers I have came across. I’ve been fortunate enough to play full time football for ten years now, three of which took me on an adventure down in England, five in the First Division, one brief drop to the Second Division and an equally brief season under the SPL’s bright lights.

In all those years, with all the teammates and opposition players I’ve encountered, the biggest compliment I can pay Sparky is how much his finishing ability reminds me of my ex-team mate Stephen Dobbie, one of the most natural finishers you’ll ever see. And with a CV including Rangers, Hibs, Swansea, Blackpool, Brighton and now Crystal Palace, I’m sure Sparky won't mind me mentioning him in the same light. It surely can’t be long till he is lining up alongside Scougs in the Scotland set up.

A couple of the boys went for a little tennis competition earlier in the week (see pic above left). Callum Booth, Paul Watson (who I’m sure you were all pleased to see back in action last week like I was) and I went to Craiglockhart Tennis Centre for a bit of fun. We trained at the World of Soccer again because of the weather so it was only round the corner.

The results weren’t all that great on my behalf, but it was my first game in years! For those interested, results were as follows: Watson 5-1 Mango, Watson 5-2 Boothy, Boothy 5-1 Mango. Please believe me when I say the results do me no justice whatsoever! There were some close games in those sets!

We are a very close-knit team, on and off the field, a major factor in football and one which we think gives us a slight advantage over other teams. We have a little get together planned on Saturday after we play Dumbarton again at home. It’s always nice to get a positive result before a team get together so we’ll be 100% focused on the task ahead come 3pm!  I’m looking forward to seeing what some of the boys’ gear is like and will post pics up next week of who I think is the best and worst dressed - so be warned boys!  I'm hoping DJ doesn’t come in his signature checked shirt...

As promised the other week, here is a photo of Andy McNeil (right) trying to emulate his sporting hero, David Seaman. Which is which?

Hope you enjoyed this weeks blog and if you didn’t, well, just don’t read it next week….. :-)

Until next time...

Mango Barr
#livingwithmango