However, let's start at that day at Balmoor. The day got off to the worst possible start, when unforeseen circumstances meant I couldn't leave until 1:30 pm (giving me an hour and a half to make a hour and ¾ journey). Arriving in Peterhead (10 minutes late), I watched for a few minutes on top of the hill (great view of the game for absolutely free of charge!) and however tempting it was to watch the whole game there, I arrived inside the ground fifteen minutes late where a rather cocky Peterhead fan informed me that "Peterheid hadna scored yet" with a big emphasis on the yet!
Anyway to the action, where Peterhead were playing with two players that wore the black and white of Elgin last season, Ross County loan player Craig Campbell and former player of the year and captain Craig Tully, the latter of which nearly played a big part in the final outcome. Not long after arriving, Blue Toon took the lead when former Forres and Caley Thistle player Martin Bavidge's free kick deflected past an unlucky Kieron Renton who had no chance. It wasn't long before Blue Toon increased their lead. Renton making a huge error in misjudging his run out to Bavidge, whose effort hit the post but former Aberdeen striker Scott Michie was on hand to tap it in from 10 yards. The half time whistle came and, to be honest, Elgin were lucky it was only two.
Elgin came out fighting in the second half and created many chances. The breakthrough finaly came in the 55th minute when "Shuggy" headed home an Andy Roddie corner. The last half hour consisted of a lot of attacking football, Elgin desperate to get the equaliser and Peterhead hitting Elgin on the break, most notably when Hagen's 20 yard drive was spectacularly saved by the youngster in goals, Renton. Then came the moment every Elgin fan would've been talking about for days. Maybe ironically, it was Tully at the centre of the controversy. Tully quite clearly used his arm to control the ball in the box, an incident that was well seen by the large travelling support and all the players, just not by referee Mike Ritchie, a person who wasn't exactly the most popular of people with Elgin fans even before this incident. The only two excuses I can think for him are one - his line of sight wasn't clear and two - the fact he's local to the Peterhead area!!
Seven days later and the only team in the division not to have scored a goal visited Borough Briggs, a statistic that wouldn't last for much longer. Elgin played some great football in the first half, hitting the woodwork twice in quick succession and scoring what has to be said was a beauty of a goal. Elgin won a free kick out on the left. In the box, Martin Harty and Willie Martin, trotted together across the box and round the back, dragging markers with them, a move that left Boney free to score with his head. A move which resembled Aberdeen's famous "sheep" routine of a few season ago.
Every Elgin fan would've been feeling fairly comfortable at half time and why not? Their team had just dominated a half of football. Sadly they couldn't do the same in the second and the team that emerged looked more like the defensively shambolic side of last season rather than the solid side we had seen this season. Some shocking defending from Elgin led to not only Montrose's first goal of the season, but their second and third as well. A game that made a huge impact on Robbo as newspapers reported the manager spent some time alone in the dugout after the match and failed to show for any interviews.
This Saturday sees us return to Firs Park, a place which was not a happy hunting ground for Elgin last season. Shire recorded their only two victories of the season, both against Elgin, both at Firs Park. There is an expected bumper crowd on Saturday and Shire have showed signs this season that they are not as easy to beat as they were last season. With all that in their favour, I can't help but worry about the game this weekend. If we defend the way we did against Montrose, there is every chance of an upset. But on a slightly less pessimistic side of things, let's hope last week was just a hiccup. There's no way Robbo will have let anyone off for last week's dismal second half display and I'm sure we should expect a much better team to show up against Shire this weekend.
If Phil Reid recovers from a back injury, it will be a massive boost and I'm sure this may be the game he records his first goal for the club. Another player due to make his comeback is Jamie McKenzie, who's served his four match ban. A injury suffered at work may hamper any chances of him playing this Saturday, which is a shame as we have missed his hard work and steel in the middle of the park. I won't make a prediction but anything other than a lose or draw will be great in my opinion
In the week that Wayne Rooney makes the much talked about switch to Manchester United, I have to admit I'm rather disappointed about the lack of activity from Elgin this week in bringing in players. I don't believe Robbo's squad is nearly big enough. He said last season he wanted a small player pool, a gamble I don't think will pay off. Take Saturday for example. 2-1 down and chasing the game, what options does Robbo have available to him? A bench full of teenage skillseekers. If we are going to get results this season, we wont be able to rely on the same starting eleven every week, we need more depth. People may talk about the talent of these skillseekers, which I'm not denying any of them lack, I just don't think they're ready for third division football, especially if we are looking to succeed. The only ones I don't think this applies to are Phil Reid, Fraser Bremner and perhaps Iain Vigurs.