1. Ryan Hardie (Raith Rovers)
Considering how many ne’rdewells, never-will-be’s and no-gooders have rocked up at Stark’s Park on loan over the years, perhaps it’s just the law of averages which has seen them landing an excellent one at long last. Rovers made huge strides towards a play-off place on Saturday with this 4-3 win over St. Mirren, but the victory owed everything to an extraordinary performance from Hat-Trick Hardie, who also set up the other goal for his front partner Mark Stewart. Hardie’s third goal was excellent, slaloming his way through the penalty area before thumping it past Jamie Langfield, and while his three goals were all good, his second was possibly helped by poor positioning from Langfield, who as one old soak bellowed, “Cry yersel a goalie? Ye cudny save a pound a week.” Indeed.
2. Chris Templeman (Montrose)
According to local folklore, Bamse was a Norwegian St. Bernard sea-dog who arrived in Montose off a Norwegian minesweeper in 1944. Apparently the dog would stand up on it’s hind-legs at the first hint of danger, and at over six-feet-tall would ward off any would-be assailants. Bamse was so popular that when he passed away in July of that year, all the schools in Montose closed as over 800 children lined the route to his graveyard funeral. If that’s the level of passion that the denizens of the town can whip up for some canine, then goodness knows how they’re feeling about Chris Templeman, who’s almost single-handedly warding off relegation rather than drunk sailors and Nazi’s. Spookily, just like the town’s favourite dog, Templeman is also over six-feet tall when he stands up and his two goals on Saturday in the Mo’s 4-2 win over East Stirling gave them an 8 point cushion over their tenth placed opponents. Move over Bamse, this town has a new hero.
3. Mark Kerr (Falkirk)
Mark Kerr may pay more than a passing resemblance to unfortunate looking actor Paul Kaye, but he hasn’t let his bad-looks hamstring him in life, as he continued his fine season turning in a typically assured performance against an Alloa side who appear to have accepted their fate. This could quite easily have finished six or seven nil on Saturday. That it ended up a mere two was down to lacklustre finishing and last-ditch defending. Kerr grabbed the second goal after 35 minutes and on another day would have had an assist or three, thanks to his pin-point, metronomic passes. The win meant Falkirk moved into second in the table and, in this form, Hibernian may struggle to overhaul them.
4. Michael Paton (Dunfermline Athletic)
The Pars extended their lead at the top of the table after a straightforward 5-0 win over a weakened Stenhousemuir side, who appeared to have one eye on the midweek game against Ayr. Considering how one-sided it was you can imagine the confusion when goalkeeper Sean Murdoch was presented with the man-of-the-match award. Admittedly these things are chosen by drunk people in hospitality, but unless the recipient was championed by a Mrs Murdoch it seems a trifle odd. The honour should have went to Michael Paton who not only banjoed a free-kick into the net from 25-yards to make it 2-0, but he also set up the Pars fourth in a showing which suggested the former Queen of the South man is starting to recapture something like his best form again.
5. Josh Todd (Annan Athletic)
There was oodles to admire about the 3-3 draw between Annan and Clyde at the weekend. Six goals, some great finishes, pleasingly inept defending, two comebacks, some scallywags brandishing real venomous up-yours signs to Josh Todd after the first of his two goals, and some incredible head-loss-type beef on the Pie and Bovril match thread. All-in-all, that’s a decent effort. While the entertainment was many, varied and fantastic, the match also showcased why both sides aren’t closer to the top-of-the-heap. Both looked ramshackle at the back, and while Barry Ferguson was adamant in an interview in midweek that it’s tricky to get promoted from this league without resorting to an agricultural style, the ability to defend is probably a necessity.
6. Nathan Austin (East Fife)
Elgin wouldn’t have been keen on losing their unbeaten home record to anyone, that’s fairly obvious, but they definitely wouldn’t have wanted to lose it to East Fife on Saturday, a result which allowed the Fifers to overtake them at the top of League Two as the season enters its final quarter. Jim Weir hasn’t got too much wrong this term, but playing such a high defensive line against the quick, predatory Nathan Austin seemed foolhardy in the extreme. The proof of the pudding was Austin helping himself to two goals as the Elgin rearguard plodded along in his wake. That’s now just two wins in six for Elgin, whose season has started to go skew-shiff since centre-half Darryl McHardy plead guilty to headbutting someone outside Elgin’s famous nightspot, Joanna’s. On current form, Elgin will still be a League Two club when he’s released from Sing-Sing.
7. Jordan Thompson (Airdrieonians)
The goings-on of Cowdenbeath versus Airdrieonians were overshadowed by the concerning news of Eddie Wolecki-Black being rushed to hospital at half-time, but on the park the Diamonds made a welcome return to winning ways thanks in part to Jordan Thompon’s audacious opening goal in a 3-1 win. If last weekend’s 3-2 win over Stenhousemuir was a small step-forward for Cowdenbeath then this was one gigantic leap backwards, with the club now hovering close to the divisional trap-door and manager Colin Nish now looking more and more like a fall-guy with each misery-inducing fixture. His defence struggle to deal with anyone or anything, even on a good-day, but they were consistently pullled hither-and-tither by Thompson, then ragdolled by his partner Jim Lister on Saturday, who could and probably should have scored more than two. Airdrie are now back into the play-off places, while Cowden go into a relegation six-pointer against Forfar next Saturday.
8. Willie Dyer (Brechin City)
They aren’t actually going to do it, are they? Brechin City have only been off the bottom of the table for one weekend, back in August when they were presumably intoxicated by the dizzying heights of ninth. Yet here they are, after a 1-0 win over Ayr United, just one point behind Forfar Athletic. It was Brechin’s second win within a matter of days, after dishing out a rare old pumping to Garry Bollan’s disasters during the week, but this triumph was far harder to attain. Good play was at a premium on a park which resembled a lunar surface, but Willie Dyer adapted to it well, rolling back the years with a performance which was a throwback to the halcyon days when he was considered kind-of-okay at Morton, Dundee and Raith Rovers. In a quirk of fate, Brechin and Forfar face each other on the final day of the campaign. If it’s the match which decides the relegation issue, then that Angus derby will make the forthcoming Celtic v Rangers match look like an afternoon high-tea amongst pals.
9. Marc McCallum (Livingston)
Most level-headed, right-thinking fans may want those prize-heels Livingston to be relegated this season, but with seven points from their last nine, and three clean-sheets in their last five games, those haters and trolls might not get their wish. Saturday’s 2-0 win over Dumbarton was as rancid a spectacle as you could wish to see, with Dumbarton failing to capitalise on their first-half superiority due to a combination of curios decision-making and cabable custodianship from Marc McCallum. The goalkeeper also gets credited with an assist for Jordan White’s goal after his giant lump up the park was turned home by Livi forward. The win lifts Livi to within a point of a suddenly fragile looking Dumbarton, who must wish they could play Hibs every week.
10. Scott Burns (Stirling Albion)
Goodnight sweet prince. After three-quarters of a season which hinted at very little and offered up even less, the Arbroath board decided the time was right to offer Todd Lumsden his jotters after the umpteenth poor result of the campaign. Losing 1-0 to promotion-chasing Stirling Albion may not exactly be an embarrassing turn of events, but with the Red Lichties mustering up little in terms of effort and endeavour against a Stirling side missing seven first-teamers, the game was a bogey. Because of Stirling’s injury quandary, Scott Burns was handed a debut in the middle-of-the-park after a decent loan spell at Carluke Rovers. He impressed at both ends of the pitch, almost setting up Steven Doris after two minutes before bravely blocking a Mark Whatley effort in the first period. Reports that Dick Campbell was looking out his lucky bunnet have since been confirmed.
Written by Shaughan McGuigan