Weekend Club Report

Well, another week of club matches, both in Scotland and elsewhere, is in the bag. Let’s see how the Scotland internationals, and those hoping to become Scotland internationals, fared at their day jobs.

Craigie and Bardsley, Cleaning up the sheets
For a second match in a row, Sunderland failed to score, but they were saved by their strength at the back (or, by the fact that they were playing Derby. Boosh.) as Scotland #1 Craig Gordon and Phil “Man Without a Country” Bardsley recorded a clean sheet against the lowly Rams. Bardsley still hasn’t made up his mind whether he’s English, Scottish, or Irish. Maybe he’s going to emulate Samuel Eto’o and surprise us all by registering for Ghana.

Celts win ugly, but win nonetheless
The midweek matches in the SPL seemed a little backwards. One Old Firm team dominated their opponents, scoring freely and never looking in any danger at all. The other had no finishing ability whatsoever and almost blew a halftime lead. Nine times out of ten, Rangers are the ones that win ugly, but this week it was Celtic, who just barely got past my beloved Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-1. The defensive Scots, Gary Caldwell, Steven McManus and Lee Naylor did well, but the Inverness goal was down to a horrible error by Scott Brown, who looked shaky all game. Happens to everyone time and again. Celtic was more comfortable on the weekend, beating Hibernian at Easter Road 2-0.

Rangers still rolling
The SPL leaders have had no room for error the past two months, with Celtic winning their last ten league matches, but Rangers have been up to the task, going eleven straight themselves and making sure that it’s the Old Firm matches and not some banana peel that decides the SPL crown. On Wednesday, they went down to Edinburgh and absolutely demolished Hearts, 4-0. The weekend was a little trickier, having to come from behind against Aberdeen, but three goals from three Scots, Christian Dailly, Charlie Adam and Kris Boyd, were enough to take the match 3-1. One goal allowed in two matches for Scotland backup keeper Allan McGregor.

Hutton’s Carling Cup hangover
With all those pictures of Spurs players falling out of nightclubs after their Carling Cup win, there had to be a bit of a hangover on the pitch, and Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City were the proud recipients, beating Spurs 4-1. Scotland striker Gary McFadden didn’t get his name on the scoreline, but he was creative and troublesome the whole match, while Spurs and Scotland right back Alan Hutton might have still had a drink or two in at the starting whistle. He had a terrible match.

A mixed week for mini-captain Berra
Jambo captain Christophe Berra’s quest for his first senior cap had a mixed week, first taking a blow at the hands of Rangers. Allowing four goals as a captain is one thing, but if you’re a defender as well, you can’t get out of some liability. Things were quite different on the weekend, as Berra got another clean sheet in Hearts’ 3-0 win over Inverness.

Pilgrims hit a rock
Plymouth’s two new Scots, Gary Teale and Russell Anderson added nothing to their bid for George Burley’s affections, as Argyle went down to West Brom, 3-0.

Burnley boys hold Watford
Burnley defensive duo Steven Caldwell and Graham Alexander were anything but perfect this weekend, allowing two goals to Watford, but managed to hold onto a point in the tricky fixture. Their best shot at international attention will come with a promotion playoff spot, something they can almost taste, as they lie only a point behind 6th-place Ipswitch. Caldwell at least feels a run coming on.