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Fermín Romero bristled when it was suggested that his players were already ‘on the beach’.
“We were up against a very strong side who were simply too good for us and we can have no complaints”, he said.
“They are our benchmark and where we want to be, but we could be two or three seasons away from there. That’s the harsh truth”.
“We have the nucleus of a good side but it will take time to bring the youngsters up to their full potential and make us into the real force I believe we can become”.
Elswhere, the final play-off places and relegation place were decided. A 6-1 defeat at home against Inverness saw Oboy shot join Elgin, who themselves lost 4-0 at St Andrew Paisley, in the fifth tier next season. St Andrew and Inverness will both play a relegation play-off while Paisley Pirates have been confirmed in the Division III play-off.
The only game where nothing was at stake produced easily the game of the day and a veritable goalfest as Badger Loyal won 9-4 at Winbat wonderers.
So, another disappointing season for Brook Street, but there is without doubt grounds for optimism going forward.
“Tomorrow will be a very tough game as Pirates are a very strong side, but they are where we want to be, and we know what we need to do to get there”.
With two defeats in their opening three games Brook Street’s title challenge was over before it even started, but since then Fermín Romero’s side have rallied and go into the match tomorrow with another runners-up place guaranteed.
“Since our defeat in week three we have been unbeaten and have been playing some good football”, the Brook Street coach said this afternoon.
“We’ve built up good momentum and we are looking to continue it into the start of next season”, he added.
“Tomorrow will be a very tough game as Pirates are a very strong side, but they are where we want to be, and we know what we need to do to get there”.
With a full squad to choose from Fermín has options available to him regarding both formation and personnel. Whether he plays it safe or tries to be more adventurous in a game where nothing is at stake remains to be seen.
Despite his best efforts, Inverness keeper Ali Ballantyne can’t get back across his goal to deny Joe Anderson his 14th goal of the season.
“Yes it’s tedious and I’m sick of always being second best”, admitted Fermín when the news broke. “Hopefully they won’t mess up the play-off this time and we’ll get a new team in. It just enforces exactly why you have to win all of your games in this league”.
He continued, “We’ve got the foundation of a really good side in place here and if everyone plays to their potential, we will have a side capable of finally getting out of this division.
Turning to this afternoon’s match he said, “We got goals early on and that set the tone of the game. Three in each half is a good return and what is more pleasing is that they came from all areas of the park”.
He continued, “We played at a high intensity and our passing and build up play were both excellent”.
“Needless to say, our finishing wasn’t too bad either”, he added with a smile.
Aldo Pellone got the ball rolling in the sixth minute when a reverse pass caught the home defenders out leaving him free to drive the ball low into the net.
Five minutes later Adam Doyle swung over a free-kick that was headed on at the near post by Paul Hughes. Expecting him to go for goal took the home defence on the hop leaving Joe Anderson free to roll the ball into the net at the back post.
With only twenty-two minutes played Brook Street went three-up when Diego Misuraca pounced on a short backpass and fired high past Ali Ballantyne in the Inverness goal.
Ballantyne however saved his side from going further behind just after the half-hour mark when he got his fingertips to a powerful Aldo Pellone drive which looked netbound all the way.
Twelve minutes into the second half the Inverness keeper was left horribly exposed when his central defenders were posted missing, allowing Paul Hughes a free run through on goal before unleashing a real thunderbolt of a shot that gave the keeper no chance whatsoever.
A minute later Brook Street looked to have messed up a free kick routine when it landed at the edge of the box, but no-one had noticed Raúl Colen edging into position and he blasted the ball home to put Brook Street five-up and out of sight.
Raúl went close to adding a sixth goal in the sixty-fourth minute but his diving header was turned round the post by Ali Ballantyne at full stretch.
That sixth goal would come however Brook Street fans had to wait until a minute from time when a superb through ball played in Kari Kienberger who made no mistake.
And with that, some of the outstanding issues in the league were decided. Paisley Pirates 4-0 win over St Andrew Paisley ensured the title would remain in Paisley for a second season and that Brook Street Athletic will finish second. At the other end of the table Elgin were relegated after only a season in the fourth tier, however the final automatic relegation place along with the relegation play-off places are not quite yet decided.
Oboy shot are favourites to go down trailing Inverness by only three points but a vastly inferior goal difference, and with the sides meeting next weekend , it would take a 9-0 Oboy win to send Inverness down and Oboy into the play-offs. The other play-off place is a straight fight between Winbat wonderers and St Andrew Paisley. Winbat have the harder finish as they are at home to Badger Loyal while St Andrew Paisley are at home to Elgin. Time will tell.
Aldo Pellone scores Brook Street’s goal in the 2-1 defeat at St Andrew earlier in the season.
The defeat on the third week of the season killed off any realistic chance Brook Street had of challenging for the title, being it their second defeat in just three games. Pay-back for that may be on the minds of some, but Fermín is concentrating more upon keeping the unbeaten run going.
“Although we are within touching distance of Paisley Pirates, there’s no way they’re going to drop points before they come here on the final day of the season, so we must concentrate on our own performance and keep the pressure on, even if it is just a token effort, by winning our remaining games”.
He continued, “We’ve built up a good unbeaten run and I want us to still be unbeaten going into next season”.
Key to the long unbeaten run has been the ability to field a settled side, and although he has lost the services of Raúl Colen in recent weeks Alex Marker has proved to be a more than adequate stand-in.
“Losing Raúl for so long was a blow, but I always wanted strength in depth here and now that I’ve got it, replacing him wasn’t the huge problem it would have been before”.
He added, “That said, Alex [Marker] has been a revelation at wing-back so that’s an added bonus.
Will the exception of Raúl, Fermín has a full squad to select from so don’t expect wholesale changes.
Kick-off as always is at 16:30.
Gillis Jacob opens up the scoring for Brook Street last weekend.
Adding spice to the tie is the fact that a Brook Street win will take Fermín Romero’s side above the early season pace-setters for the first time this season. However the home side will be desperate to get their act together having slipped to three points behind Paisley Pirates with those sides meeting in Paisley next weekend.
“We had a very good win last week and we’ve been building on our recent good form”, said Fermín Romero this morning.
“We are looking for another win this afternoon that will see us continute to build momentum going into the run-in”, he added.
While pleased that his side are unbeaten in four games and looking to extend that run this afternoon, he admitted, “We are probably too far back for it to make any difference this season, but if we keep progressing it could make all the difference going into next season”.
Brook Street will however be without Kari Kienberger who sits out on a totting up suspension and Alex Marker who picked up a groin strain during Wednesday’s friendly match.
Kick-off at Smith Stadium is at 16:30.
Gillis Jacob lifts the ball over Andrin Fournier to open the scoring for Brook Street this afternoon.
After their late defeat the previous week by Paisley Pirates, Brook Street were probably the last side Gers would have wanted to face. However the fixture computer certainly did Gers no favours when it lined up a double-header against Brook Street sandwiched between meetings with last season’s Champions.
Brook Street were straight onto the front foot straight from kick-off and with nine minutes played, Gillis Jacob lifted the ball over the outrushing Gers keeper and into the net. It was one of those events when the ball seemed to be moving in slow motion but despite his best efforts to get back, Andrin Fournier couldn’t keep the ball out.
Gers fired right back and just two minutes later Zdzisław Szafruga broke through and fired Gers level.
If ever a goal spurred a side into action, this was it as Brook Street launched wave after wave of attacks on the Gers back line.
Diego Misuraca went close with a thunderous drive that left the crossbar rattling for a number of seconds with twenty-one minutes played, but Joe Anderson found the target a minute later with a low drive that went across the keeper and in at the far post.
Brook Street could smell blood now and went in for the kill. Kari Kienberger broke through on the right and when it looked like he had been pushed too far out, he whipped in a vicious shot which beat Andrin Fournier at his near post.
The home side were far from done though and with Gers reeling under the onslaught Joe Anderson found the net again in the twenty-seventh minute with a beautifully curled shot from the left that had Andrin Fournier grasping thin air.
With the score 4-1 at the break and Brook Street in complete control, it would be fully expected for them to ‘take it easy’ in the second half however this was far from the case and having survived a scare on the hour mark, set about their opponents with renewed vigour.
Seven minutes later it was 5-1 as Aldo Pellone broke through before dispatching the ball low and hard into the net.
Brook Street were unrelenting and but for interventions by post and crossbar, Adam Doyle and Kari Kienberger would both have added to Gers’ misery even before Mait Peterson blasted the ball inches over the crossbar in stoppage time.
“We were at our ruthless best today and it was probably the worst day Badger Loyal could have face us”, enthused Fermín Romero afterwards.
“We were superb all over the pitch and showed ourselves in a very good light”, he added. “Now we face them again next weekend at Smith Stadium and I would guess that they are looking forward to that a lot less than us”.
This win extends Brook Street’s unbeaten run to four games and keeps them in fourth place in the tableahead of Winbat on goal difference.
Elsewhere, Pirates capitalised on Badger Loyal’s defeat to go top with a 7-0 home win over Elgin, Paisley St Andrew remain three points off the pace following their 6-1 mauling of Inverness Motorbreath, while Oboy shot are already looking doomed following this afternoon’s 6-0 demolition at Winbat.
Balázs Polyák nets in Brook Street’s 4-0 win the last time Badger Loyal Rangers visited the LJG.
Meanwhile Fermín Romero’s Brook Street side will be looking to build on their three match unbeaten run as they strive to improve their league position.
“We know we will face a tough game, we always do against them”, the Brook Street Coach said, “but we’re up to the task and go into the match with confidence. The lads have trained hard this week and we have a good record against them”.
“They will be looking to put last weekend’s defeat against Paisley behind them so we must be alert to any backlash”, Fermín warned.
“We’ve done our homework on them and now it’s time to put what we’ve learned into practice on the pitch”, he said before adding, “We are looking to get back into the race so three points for us is essential today”.
Brook Street have a full squad available but are unlikely to be much changed from the sides that have taken to the pitch in recent weeks. Kick-off is at 16:30.
Joe Anderson levels the scores this afternoon, but the home side would ultimately take all three points.
“Given the gulf between the two sides many expected us to be swept aside, however we matched them for the bulk of the game and I think we were unlucky not to take something from the match”.
“Our attitude and effort were both right up there and I have no complaints about my players’ performance today”.
Pirates had seen fit to sack their coach and replace him with Georg Graupner just hours before the kick-off of the new season which seemed a strange decision after giving him the chequebook during the close season.
The home side started strongly but Brook Street held firm until the thirty-second minute when recent £2.3M signing Aari Flemming fired Pirates into the lead.
Brook Street weren’t bowed however and went close to equalising just before half-time when Charlie Benham’s curling shot was turned round the post by an excellent Ramusis Savoskinas save.
Fermín Romero’s side started the second half on the front foot and deservedly equalised when Joe Anderson broke through and slammed the ball home.
The game ebbed and flowed with neither side looking like breaking the deadlock until the seventy-fifth minute when a speculative chip by Jakša Odić found its way over Benito Buda and into the net.
It was hard on the visitors, but Pirates had finally turned their dominance in possession into a goal.
The game after this point became a midfield stalemate and fizzled out with the points remaining in Paisley.
Elsewhere, there were opening day wins for Badger Loyal Rangers who demolished Winbat 8-1 at Smith Stadium, St Andrew Paisley had a 6-1 win at Elgin while new boys Inverness Motorbreath who had been reduced to ten men had to share the spoils with Oboy shot, the game ending 1-1.
Connor Hutton sscores Brook Street’s second goal in the 2-0 win the last time we visited Pirates Arena.
“Pirates have spent heavily during the close season as they put down a marker of their intentions this season”, Fermín Romero said when he spoke to the press this afternoon.
“It’s a big risk if there’s a chance you don’t make it, but given their experience in the Division III Play-Off at the end of last season, it’s perhaps understandable”, he added.
Asked about his own side’s approach he said, “Don’t get me wrong, we have money in the bank but we would rather build a side which can win not only this league but also Division III the next season. We’re going for long-term gain as opposed to a quick hit that could see us relegated at the end of next season and end up with a huge wage bill. We just don’t work that way”.
“I’m looking for a solid performance from my side in every game this season. We want sustained development in the squad”.
Gillis Jacob has been given the all-clear and Fermín has a full squad to select from.
Kick-off tomorrow is at 16:30 as always.
With the series switching window closing at the weekend the Scottish HFA have released the league fixtures for the new season. As seems to be the norm now, Brook Street will kick off the new league campaign with an away game, facing last season’s title winners and bookmakers favourites for this season’s title, Paisley Pirates.
League newcomers Inverness Motorbreath visit the LJG on 17 February before we hit the road again the following week to face St Andrew Paisley.
“It’s not the best of starts for us, but there are seldom easy easy fixtures in this Division”, admitted Fermín Romero this morning. “This is an extremely tough league to get out of and it may be that we have to concentrate on bringing players through who are at a level to not only get out of this Division but also Division III”.
He continued, “It’s a bold move, but we know we need to rebuild to get out of this league. It therefore makes more sense to build a side who can win this league and at least challenge in the next tier”.
“Our younger players are now getting gametime and our aim is to see them reach their full potential, build their experience and see them form the backbone of our future line-up”, he added.
Asked if he had been loyal to some players for too long he replied, “I don’t think being loyal to players is the problem; we’ve had very good players but they just couldn’t get us over the line and with the side ageing we need to rebuild”.
“If anything, I’d say that we possibly haven’t rebuilt enough and more often. We got good money for the lads who have left this close season and that will be used when the time is right and for the right player. There are a number of others who could have also left, and maybe they will during the season, who knows? We have exciting younger players coming through, but we also need the old heads so it’s all about timing and getting the balance right”.
Brook Street’s new season kicks off at Powderhall in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning when they face fifth tier side Gorgie’s XI. Kari Kienberger sits out the first game of the league campaign as he serves the suspension picked up on the final day defeat against Pirates, but will be available for the Cup tie for which Fermín has the full squad is avaiable.
“We’ll mix things up and try things out but all that matters is that we get through to the next round”, said Fermín. The Football Club have never gone out of the Scottish Cup in the First Round and it’s certainly not going to happen on my watch”.
Maybe we’ll go strong to start with and experiment once we get a few goals ahead. That’s the plan anyway”, he concluded.
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 1030.
This is Brook Street 