10. Marvin Andrews (Clyde)
There are three things that are certain in life. Death, taxes, and Marvin Andrews will play football forever. The hulking, happy-go-lucky pastor has made a career of heading a football further than most goalkeepers can punt it, and he was at it again on Saturday, scoring for Clyde, his 10th senior Scottish team, as they battled to a point against Elgin City. Incredibly, his equaliser for Barry Ferguson’s team during their 1-1 draw with Elgin wasn’t a header, but the tap-in from the Calypso Collosus did occur after he’d nutted the ball into the chest of an opponent at a velocity approaching mach-2. It was a game that wasn’t for the purist, nor indeed anyone who enjoys things which aren’t dreadfully awful, but the point each for two sides who are jostling for superiority in an the ultra-competitive League Two kept them both within striking distance of the top-of-the-table.
9. Carlos Mazana-Martinez (Stenhousemuir)
As ever, the signing of a hitherto unknown Spanish “starlet” caused ripples of excitement in the lower-league pond when Stenhousemuir revealed they’d acquired Carlos Mazana-Martinez during the summer. Setting aside the curiosity of describing a 24-year-old as a starlet, the former Glasgow University player has yet to fully impose himself on the mid-table-staple that is Stenhousemuir. However, more performances akin to the shift the Barcelona native put in during the 2-2 draw against Brechin could see him become a fixture in the Warrior’s midfield. His last-minute equaliser proved that it isn’t just his name which is terrific, as his excellent, side-foot volley from the edge of the area ensured the gap between themselves and Darren Dods rapidly improving side remained at four points. If Brown Ferguson can find a way to stop the alarming flow of goals his Stenhousemuir side continually haemorrhage then they should be hunky-dory.
8. David McGurn (Stranraer)
The Death of Bambi’s Mother (1942), the Beatles split up (1970), the first 15 minutes of Up (2009). Three sad moments, no doubt, but none come even remotely close to generating the pain and heartbreak felt by Raith Rovers fans when David McGurn flew the coop and joined Stranraer on loan at the end of August. The arrival of the man nicknamed The Witch has coincided with the Blues becoming extremely stingy at the back, and after a rather porous start to the season, which saw them concede 10 goals in their opening four league matches, they’ve conceded just three in their last five. They’ve got McGurn to thank for their latest clean-sheet, a 1-0 win over Airdrieonians. Not only did he palm a Liam Watt penalty past the post, late in the first-half he performed a double save from Caolan McAleer and Scott Smith with 10 minutes remaining and the score still at 0-0. After appearing to be League One cannon-fodder at the end of August, Stranraer are now just a point outside the play-off spots.
7. Jason Marr (Alloa Athletic)
St Mirren at home? Well, that can mean only two things, the visitors will leave with at least a point under their arm, and the locals will fizz and fume at full-time. The Buddies have yet to win a home match this season, although that shouldn’t cause too many looks of amazement as St Mirren have only won 31 league matches at St Mirren Park since it opened in January 2009, with a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock. Perhaps the fact Kevin Kyle scored the first ever competitive goal at the venue was a portentous sign. It was Danny Lennon’s Alloa Athletic side who were the latest team to sample the surroundings and thoroughly enjoy the experience and the narrative of Danny Lennon returning to Paisley gave the match an added something, which was a blessing, as it lacked almost everything else. The Wasps had a reasonably trouble-free afternoon but in central-defender Jason Marr they had a performer who managed to shackle Lawrence Shankland and particularly Steven Thompson effectively. Only a moment of indecision from his central partner Mikk Reintam prevented the clean-sheet. A defeat here would have seen Ian Murray’s men drop into the bottom two, but with matches coming up against Rangers, Falkirk, Hibernian and Raith Rovers the respite may be temporary.
6. Steven Saunders (Dumbarton)
It wasn’t exactly thrilling viewing, nor was it completely deserved but Dumbarton’s 2-1 win over Livingston on Saturday at least stopped the rot. The two early season wins over Hibernian and St Mirren made everyone sit up and take notice of the Sons, although to be fair we didn’t realise in August that the Paisley Point-Avoiders were quite so hideous. Since then though, while Steve Aitken’s outfit have fared reasonably well in terms of performances, they’ve only picked up one point, as they’ve slid down the table like a drunk on a bannister. Last week’s signing of Steven Saunders was seen as something of a surprise, especially when Dumbarton problems appear to lie up-front, however Saunders man-of-the-match performance at right-back was even more impressive when you consider the former Ross County defender hadn’t played a match since February. It was something of a hard-luck tale for Livingston but their task was made significantly more difficult by Myles Hippolyte’s petulant dismissal in the second-period. The Livi Lackadaisicals are once more stuck at the rump of the division.
5. Cammy Kerr (Peterhead)
I’d expected some good things from the Peterhead versus Forfar Athletic highlights package. I’d read about another fine show from Peterhead’s on-loan Dundee defender Cammy Kerr and I was also looking forward to viewing former-Championship-jobber-turned-League-One-stalwart Ian Campbell thwack in a strike from distance in the 2-2 draw. I wasn’t expecting the opening scene-setting shot though, which featured a sweep over some old men, looking impassively stoic in their Peterhead beanie hats, while Hit That Perfect Beat, a top-3 smash for Bronski Beat in 1985, blared out over the tannoy. Clearly the PA realised that copy of Now That’s What I Call Music 2 would come in handy eventually. Neither the Loons nor the Blue Toon have been in fine fettle of late, although the draw probably did more good for Forfar purely down to the fact that they were the side on their travels. Peterhead appear unable to shake off their current funk despite having a sprinkling of well-kent faces in their team as well as Dundee loanee Kerr, who was probably the game’s stand out performer and was involved in both goals. Kerr is scheduled to return to Dens Park in January, but it would possibly be advantageous for all concerned if manager Jim McInally could find a way to extend his stay at Balmoor a little longer.
4. Joe Cardle (Dunfermline Athletic)
After one win in four outings, Dunfermline returned to winning ways on Saturday, and whilst Faissal El Bhaktaoui managed to grab himself his obligatory goal, it wasn’t Fife’s finest former Futsal forward who reserved a place in the top-ten. Instead, it went to Joe Cardle after his sublime piece of craft and trickery inside the area allowed him to fire a wonderful finish past Ross Stewart to open the scoring during the Pars 3-0 win over Albion Rovers. Stewart could do little about the opener but he was entirely responsible for the second after he succeeded only in scooping Rhys McCabe’s tame effort high into the air before staggering into the net, taking the ball with him in the process. Top-notch custodianship. Special mention too to Albion Rovers manager Darren Young, who brought himself on in the 84th minute, picked up a booking in the 85th and was sent off in the 90th. Sterling stuff.
3. Nicky Devlin (Ayr United)
It must be pretty difficult to have a positive mental attitude if you’re a Cowdenbeath fan at the moment, although if you want to take a glass-half-full approach to their 5-0 gubbing off Ayr United on Saturday, at least they didn’t have anyone sent off. The defeat sent the Blue Brazilians bottom, and with a defence that’s currently on-track to concede over 100 goals this season that won’t change anytime soon. The Honest Men’s captain, Nicky Devlin, demonstrated exactly why he’s so highly regarded in the division, putting in his umpteenth impressively energetic display of the campaign. And while he didn’t etch his name onto the scoresheet, his swaggering advances down the line were a constant pain to Cowdenbeath. Devlin’s perseverance won the corner kick from which Ayr grabbed their third goal, which involved a remarkable piece of non-defending. When Gerry McLaughlin, a man who resembles a giant, bald albino can ghost into the box, apparently unseen by seven Cowdenbeath players, you know a team has issues. That’s far from Ayr’s concern though, as Ian McCall’s side head into the international break at the summit of League One.
2. Craig Sibbald (Falkirk)
Peter Houston was an angry, angry man on Saturday evening after referee Greg Aitken’s decision to award Rangers a rather soft looking free-kick with 10 minutes remaining, from which James Tavernier struck the decisive second goal in Rangers 3-1 win over Falkirk. Admittedly, the whistler presumably wasn’t responsible for Falkirk’s ramshackle wall, nor goalkeeper Danny Rogers decision to hide behind it rather than perform any goalkeeping duties. Still, why lay bare your own team’s inadequacies when you can indulge in a potty-mouthed rant at an official? Free-kick aside, the match was notable for featuring four fine, fizzing finishes, especially Will Vaulks, who almost ripped out the rigging with his effort which restored parity after Rangers had taken an early lead. The Bairns acquitted themselves well, and it was Craig Sibbald’s powerful showing in the middle of the park which just produced the man-of-the-match performance, ahead of Dean Shiels and Tom Taiwo. With a quarter of the campaign now home-an-hosed, the Championship looks very much like a two-horse race between Warburton’s Whizz-Kids and the Kirkcaldy Cool-Cats.
1. Dominique Malonga (Hibernian)
He may not have managed to recreate his squiggly-wiggly run and goal against Aberdeen, or score against Queen of the South at all for that matter, but Dominique Malonga cut an impressive figure at Palmerston Park on Saturday. Admittedly, this season’s Doonhamers vintage is a poor shadow of lasts, and the side on Saturday weren’t helped by James “Tinkerman” Fowler’s decision to play Lewis Kidd, a right-back by trade, up-front, despite having four forwards on the bench. It was bold, adventurous, and a real solid piece of out-the-box-thinking from Fowler, and it worked for all of three minutes, which is how long it took for Hibs to take the lead through Jason “Beanzema” Cummings, after good work down the left between Lewis Stevenson and the main-man Malonga. King Dom also set up Liam Henderson for the second, which was followed by the jug-eared midfielder celebrating in a fashion which suggested he really doesn’t like Dumfries, or its inhabitants. The biggest irritant concerning Malonga is his incredible penchant for inconsistency, so, after three good performances in succession, look out for some open-goal squandering real soon.
Written by Shaughan McGuigan (@ShaughanM)
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