Why celebrate a draw?
Aberdeen boasted a squad which has the likes of Gary Mackay Steven, Scott McKenna and Graeme Shinnie all in it. Whilst the Warriors would give a debut to, defender, Andrew Munro, who had just signed from Forfar.
The game started the way most people would have expected it to, Aberdeen dominated possession and rarely let the Warriors out of their own half. Despite this, the Dons struggled to get past a stubborn defence. That was until the 20th minute, where a excellent piece of play saw Max Lowe finish into an empty net after Graeme Smith, Stenhousemuir keeper, was drawn out by Shinnie. The Warriors failed to create anything of note from the first half, the only real chance was a volley by Sean Dickson, which ended up high in the stand behind the goal.
The second half started the way the first half ended, Aberdeen in control but not creating anything. Frustration drew from the home support, as the players passed the ball around the field looking for an opening in the Warriors resolute defence, something that never came. Aberdeen did start to create chances as the game progressed. Former Celtic man, Mackay Steven forced Smith into an excellent save, whilst Greg Stewart rattled the crossbar.
In the 70th minute, the Warriors had a rare foray forward. A goal kick eventually ended up in the box with Conner Duthie, who poorly gave the ball away after attempting a back heel. Aberdeen attempted to break away but Ruaridh Donaldson, quickly stopped that, won the ball back before composing himself. What followed sent the travelling support, into great celebration. Once he had the ball under control, Donaldson put in a worldie of a cross, finding the head of Mark McGuigan, who put the ball past a helpless Joe Lewis. Whilst the fans went into loud celebrations, I had to remain quiet and remember that I was filming the game.
The goal seemed to light up the game, neither team really had the better of the possession for the last 20 minutes, but Stenhousemuir should really have put a second past Aberdeen. Ross County loanee, Russell Dingwall drove forward and should have had a shot at goal, but instead played the ball out to Duthie, who put a cross into the box, only for it to be cleared.
As the game came down to the final few minutes, the nerves really started to kick in. Thoughts of a replay back at Ochilview were major. Aberdeen kept attacking until the referee blew for full time. Stenhousemuir's unbeaten record against the Dons remained intact.
Once the players had finished shaking hands with the opposition, they all came over to celebrate with the 300 strong jubilant fans. It's been a while since the Warriors have had celebrations like this. Our promotion celebrations were only witnessed by around 70 fans.
It's not often that Stenny get a good result against teams like Aberdeen, so why not celebrate? On social media, I've seen many Aberdeen fans comment, along the lines of, "Why celebrate a draw?". Well for most lower league clubs, they are all part time. Meaning going against full time teams, especially the Premiership teams, are seen as big occasions. The Warriors' last win against a side in the top tier was back in 2012, where Kilmarnock were beaten 2-1 in the League Cup, having won the competition the season before. It's still a game the fans talk about to this day, and the match against Aberdeen will be another one that is never forgotten. Although, it will be even better if the Warriors can see the Dons off in the replay which takes place on the 29th of this month.
My next post will most likely be talking about that game. So until then...