Post Match Pints

12. Back at Pebble Beach

For the first time in nearly a decade, the U.S. Open returns to one of the most scenic courses in the world: Pebble Beach, California. Looming cliffs, crashing tides and tiny greens. Pebble Beach is going to throw it all at 156 of the best players in the world this week. It’s going to be glorious.

Iconic 7th hole measuring just 109 yards. Wind depending it can be a flick with a wedge, or a massive 6 iron!

The course.

The Tiger Woods PGA Tour gamer’s will know this one.

Pebble Beach will play 7,075 yards for the U.S. Open. Since 2010, only one U.S. Open venue has been shorter (Merion, 2013). It still provides a stiff challenge, though. The average winning score in U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach is 283 strokes (the course has played as a par-71 in the past two U.S. Opens)

The list of champions at Pebble Beach proves that the course is more than just pretty to look at! Many of the game’s greatest, from Nicklaus to Watson to Woods, have won U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach.

How will Pebble Beach play?

Over the last couple of years, those at the bottom of the pecking order have been pretty vocal on the way the USGA have set up their US Open courses. Its widely thought the organisers want the winning score to be Level Par. This golf course needs no tinkering. The winds off the coast give the course another dimension, one that doesn’t need any more fuel to the already blazing fire. Michael Fish has predicted cool and breezy conditions, without a whole lot of wind, which could leave the greens dry and slicker than promised. The USGA’s run out of second chances with some players, however one in particular is calling these guys out. Brooks Koepka!

Is Brooks gonna win this one too?

Possibly! Koepka arrives at Pebble as the two-time defending U.S. Open champion and the two-time defending PGA Championship victor. That’s a hell of a statement, and he knows it. He has commented numerous times about the lack of recognition he gets for his achievements, compared to others if they were in his situation. Koepka’s one of the best bets for this weekend, even if he won’t be able to pummel this course into submission the way he has others. He is aiming to win back to back to back US Opens, something only one person has ever done. Willie Anderson – The Scotsman captured the U.S. Open in 1903, ’04 and ’05. The inaugural U.S. Open was in 1895, no one had done it before and none has done it since.

Koepka will aim to emulate WIllie Anderson’s achievement

Then there is Tiger. The Beach suits Woods game down to a tee…has what he needs in his bag to stay in contention: precise iron play. That’s what kept him in the Masters when everyone else fell apart. As Koepka said in his press conference, “keep it in the fairway and stick it on the green, there should be no problems”. This is exactly what everyone needs, but especially Tiger. He will need to putt well, and he can’t get wayward off the tee or he’s gubbed. Do not be surprised to see him sniffing around the final groups on Sunday.

Who else has a good shot?

Pebble Beach is a short track compared to more recent U.S. Opens, which brings quite a few shorter hitters into the hunt. Most of these short hitters will need to be solid approach players. Bringing names like McIlroy, Speith and DJ into the equation. McIlroy is fresh off a win in Canada and Thomas, who was injured for the second major of the year, will want to come back with a bang.

Other noticible entrants include. Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Cantley, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Na (The guy whos walking putts in when they are 3 feet from the cup). However with most golf tournements, there will be a few surprises springing up over the coming 4 days – so enjoy it!

Cheers!

11. Start of a new era.

Every journey starts with a single step!

A tough few days of viewing for us Scots. An unconvincing win and an absolute battering signals the beginning of the Steve Clarke era. He will now wait out the summer away from football and will come back to the tough task of going between the Scottish Premiership and English Premier League. Meticulously going over the players available for his next squad – the players who will get us to our first major tournament since 1998.

Burke’s winner – typically, untypical.

Oliver Burke’s late winner against Cyprus at Hampden Park kept the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign alive.

Steve Clarke’s first game in charge of the national team on Saturday night was loaded with added pressure given the situation he has taken over. The loss to Kazakhstan in the opening Group I fixture, before an unimpressive beating of San Marino.

Fresh from his Champions League victory, captain Andy Robertson fired Scotland into the lead in the 61st minute with a superb strike from 20 yards out. However in very typical fashion, with three minutes remaining, Cyprus defender Ioannis Kousoulos stunned the Tartan Army when he headed in from a corner.

It threatened to be another dismal result for the Scots but two minutes later and untypically, we managed to get a winner. Oliver Burke grabbed his first senior Scotland goal after his header had rebounded off the post. A decent crowd of 31, 277 breathed a sigh of relief as did Clarke on the sidelines.

Ye won’t change the world in 7 days. So far as football teams go, managing to get a win with Scotland is never easy. Clarke has a Nations League play-off semi-final next year as a Euro qualification safety net, should we fail to get out this group.

A Gulf in Class

Akin to the McFadden goal against France, We were looking for another miracle last night, but it never came.

Clarke made FIVE changes to the team that only just edged the Cypriots 2-1 at Hampden on Saturday. Big names were missing although injuries had taken most out of the game. Robertson, who didn’t even make the bench, while Ryan Fraser and James Forrest were also rumored to have picked up knocks.

The Belgium squad amassed a load of international experience. Vertonghen (114) Witsel (103) and Hazard (102) all above the centenary caps list, with Kompany and Alderweireld not far behind. Yet, for a valiant 44 minutes, the Tartan Army believed. Because for nearly a whole half, Scotland held on against the world’s best team. It was a long 44 minutes mind you, relentless pressure with a bit of a training ground feeling of attack vs defense. Then right as stoppage time started one lapse in concentration, saw the entire Scotland teams stop, while Eden Hazard didn’t. He set up a teasing ball for Romelu Lukaku to nod home and take a deserved lead into half time.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, and the striker had scored his second. A thunderous strike from de Bruyne brought out one of many good saves from David Marshall, but he could only parry straight to Lukaku to place into an empty net. A late charge with the Belgians firmly coasting, saw a bit of light. A good break saw Scott McKenna with just Courtious to beat, a stramash then took place between Forrest and McGregor before than chance was gone. It could have set up a nervy ending to the game had we managed to somehow claw a goal back. Seconds from the end, Kevin de Bruyne made it 3-0.

Image result for scotland vs belgium — Lukaku makes it 2-0

The positives…

Yes, there were some.

The average age of this squad was 25 years old, so having players gain experience of 2 international games, one against the best in the game, will be invaluable. I felt Taylor and McLean impressed against Belgium while we looked dangerous with the Robertson and Fraser combination against Cyprus. Kenny McLeans impressed in a game where we were completely overwhelmed. A partnership of McLean and McGinn could be on the cards if the latter can bring his club form to the Scotland camp.

With the toughest game of the campaign now out the way, the look now goes to September to see how Clarkes first few months in charge will pan out. One things for sure, the optimism among the fans is certainly as high as I can remember.

Cheers!

10. Marmite of Football – Internationals

1978 – Argentina, the year Scotland were going to win the world cup. Alas, out in the group stages. From then on the trend has been the same (France ’98 apart)….disappointment.

In my lifetime the national game has been a typical roller coaster journey. We now find ourselves with a new manager, seemingly a strange sense of optimism within the media and a varied and exciting group of players on paper. So why is everyone not on board!?

I’m a fan of the national side, having had my supporters membership since 2004. I follow them on social media, which has a knack for people trolling through waiting for bites. There is no denying a sense of entitlement some fans have over their players. Continuously you see comments relating to Celtic and Rangers fans boasting that they’re glad one of their squad isn’t picked to represent Scotland. Just one example from the current squad selection – Rangers fans moaning that Ryan Jack wasn’t picked (would have been in my squad ahead of Shinnie), then back it up with how glad they are about it! Could you imagine this happening with Spurs fans saying the same about Harry Kane and his commitment to England? What exactly does this say about Scotland’s’ footballing culture?

Scotland’s football culture

As a fan of a “wee team*” I always felt that being a Scotland fan was about more than the players on the pitch. It was a time where I got to cheer on the “best” players our country had to offer, no matter the club they played for. Does it help now that Killie have 4 internationalist? Of course!! Now don’t get me wrong, I know a number of Celtic and Rangers fans who are as Scotland daft as me. But I also know the flip side of the coin – Celtic fans following Ireland, Rangers fans following England/Northern Ireland – is it too simple to say that some issues surrounding these clubs also follow them into the international game?

Politics is something that is hard to differentiate away from football – its a platform for people to express themselves to a large audience. People feel its a representation of something greater, and it should be! There have been instances where those that didn’t vote for Scottish Independence felt they weren’t welcome to support their national football team…because of how they voted…mental patter.

It really disappoints me when I hear people say the couldn’t give a shit about the national team, especially when reasons outwith football come into it. I would love to know the team got the backing of everyone, should we ever manage to make another major tournament. The squad should be treated like the England squad in last years world cup. Say what you want about our neighbours, they back their team to the hill…then push them down it when they fail!

Can Clarke take us anywhere?

Well, he could certainly take us to Hampden, given our host stadium is one of the venues for the next Euros. Anyway, his managerial credentials and his recent history have gave a wind beneath the whole idea. If only the SFA could sort their ticket pricing out, Hampden could have been full tomorrow. £30 is pricing fans away from yet another football game, only weeks after the club season has ended. A bit of love island stuff now. “my type on paper”

The new Scotland coaching staff – Alex Dyer, Steven Reid and Steve Clarke

The squad in writing, on the whole, looks decent. Young in terms of international teams, with an average age of 25. There are a few players not in the squad who I would like to see – Liam Cooper, Ryan Jack and Olie McBurnie mainly, but they can’t all be winners. It will be interesting to see how Clarke approaches the game against Belgium. Cyprus should be a win…said that about the Kazakhs in game 1 as well! However the big test will be against the Belgians, will he employ his Killie tactics, stay tight and hit on the break? Sounds like a decent shout with the pace of Forrest and technical ability of McGinn. John McGinn is the player we should be building a team around, for me. However he needs to play, that’s the way we should adopt to get the best out of him.

The moral of the story

Leave everything else at the door, get behind the boys!

Cheers!

*not Celtic or Rangers

9. They’ve arrived.

Now that’s that for club football in terms of the big games. Ironic that 4 days after club footballs biggest game, the Scottish FA have the draw for the Betfred Cup, which is our League cup but the initial stages are treated as pre-season friendly’s. Anyway, my team don’t need to worry as the top 4 automatically go into the later stages, so that’s a bonus.

The Wee one…

Now its only wee because the Champions League is the big one…

It was an intense match between Chelsea and Arsenal for the Europa League, with Chelsea lifting the trophy after an unpredictable 4-1 win.

Chelsea took on their typical 4-3-3 lineup, while Arsenal stuck to a 3-4-1-2 formation. Chelseas strong front 3 of Hazard, Pedro and Giroud up top had a great balance of skill, pace and height. Arsenal began with Aubameyang and Lacazette up top with the even more unpredictable Ozil playing in behind.

To say the game started slowly would be kind. The drabest of drab first 45 minutes with not many talking points. A hopeful penalty claim from Arsenal along with one good save by Cech was only met with a close strike from Xhaka as the first 45 came to a close. uckily for them, there was not enough contact to give Arsenal a penalty after looking at it with VAR.

Now i don’t normally like a cliche, but this was a game of two halves.

It started in the best way possible for a neutral, Chelsea opening the scoring in the 49th minute of the match for the lead. Giroud with a fine glancing header against his old side, written in the stars for Arsenal TV. Just 10 minutes later it was 2-0. Pedro who would make history (more on that later) slotting Hazards pass into the bottom right hand corner.

Time for another quick breath, but just 3 minutes later Giroud was fouled and Chelsea had the chance to make it 3-0. Hazard stepping up and cooling rolling the ball past a diving Cech, who was making his last appearance for Arsenal before becoming Chelsea director of football…

Arsenal finally made a statement in the 69th minute when sub Alex Iwobi hit an amazing strike from outside the box which proved to be little more than a personal highlight for him.

The icing came on the Chelsea cake when good play from Hazard put Giroud through, he lofted a great ball back to Hazard who calmly placed the ball into the Arsenal net. A goal fitting to end a great 45 minutes.

It looks and sounds like that was the end for Hazard, his post match interview making it clear he was looking to move on. Real Madrid will be firm favorites to sign him, and with Chelsea’ transfer ban, who knows where they’ll end up next season. Now back to Pedro, he is now the only player to win the “Big 5” football trophies – Wold Cup, European Championship, Champions League, Europa League and the English Premier League. Not too shabby.

Pedro, just about, lifts the 5th of the “big 5”

The Big one…

Tottenham versus Liverpool. Champions League final, can only imagine what it must have been like for a player or manager in the dressing room before the game. The nerves, the excitement, the chat, the team talks! I’m sure at some stage during all of that, Poch would have said something along the lines of “keep it tight for the first 15 mins, settle into the game” 23 seconds after kick off..Liverpool awarded a penalty….”shit”.

The goal officially goes down as 2 minutes after Salah hammered the spot kick home, what a start, sadly, not a sign of things to come. Tottenhams inclusion of Harry Kane has been much talked since, but he sis start and had Alli, Ericksen and Son as his supporting midfielders. Liverpool played their ever too familiar a 4-3-3 formation.

In another game with little to talk about, a few strikes from Liverpool apart, the game fizzled into half time with neither team really taking control. Onto the second half…

Coming out in the second half, a good piece of goalkeeping by Lloris was followed by a chance for James Milner, but he couldn’t find the bottom corner.

Then came a torturous 10 minutes for Liverpool fans. Tottenham came close to tying it up in the 81st minute. Son weaved his way to 25 yards from goal before he took a shot. The first real save from Liverpool keeper, Allison, pushed the ball away. However, Tottenham’s Rose kept the play alive and fired a ball to the feet of Moura, but Allison saved well again. A couple more chances for Spurs left the twitching bumholes of Liverpool fans on the edge of their seats.

Origi celebrates the nail in Tottenhams Champions League coffin

84 minutes on the clock, . Tottenham failed to clear a Liverpool corner which gave Matip the unlikely assist as he delivered to the feet of Origi. His precise finish found the bottom corner with his left foot and it was job done! The relief was clear to see as Van Dijk sprawled across the turf, Andy Robertson sprinting with his arms aloft. That was it, they knew they had done enough.

Liverpool Champions of Europe for a 6th time, and a homecoming well worth catching up on.

Now whats next?!

Well, marmite time – International football, you either love it or hate it…

Cheers!

8. Poch vs Klopp

One of them will lift their first major trophy for their current club….and its the big one!

The Champions League has been rather underwhelming the last couple of years. Not this year though, pish your pants excitement! The final will need to be something special to match either of the semis!

Wanda Metropolitano

Unlike the lesser stated Europa League venue, this is a proper football stadium. No stands 500 miles away from the pitch and a full capacity expected with a proper atmosphere. Although getting a ticket wont be easy. With a capacity of 63,500 ,the two clubs received 17,000 tickets each. Clearly a long way short of meeting demand.

Another 4,000 tickets were made available to the general public, and the remaining 25,500 will be allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters. UEFA living up to their usual patter by patching true fans.

How did we get here?

Liverpool produced one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history to beat Barcelona 4-0, overturning a 3-goal first-leg deficit and advancing to their second successive final with a 4-3 aggregate victory.

Two goals each from stand-in forward Divock Origi and halftime substitute Georginio Wijnaldum left Barcelona utterly shell-shocked after a Liverpool performance full of passion, belief and determination. A special night for the Anfield faithful with a trip to their second successive Champions League final. In 2018 they lost out 3-1 to Real Madrid in Kiev.

Lucas Moura scored a stoppage-time winner to complete a hat-trick and seal a sensational 3-2 comeback win for Tottenham Hotspur to take them past Ajax on the away goals rule. Spurs looked down and out at halftime after Matthijs de Ligt’s fifth-minute header and a superb 35th minute effort by Hakim Ziyech put Ajax in complete command of the tie having won the first leg 1-0 in London. Lucas Mouras performance stunned the Johan Cruyff ArenA, 24 hours after Liverpool’s miracle comeback, Tottenham produced their own heroics to reach their first European Cup final.

XI

The fitness of Harry Kane is the headline selection headache for Pochettino with the England captain still recovering from an ankle injury picked up in the quarter-final first leg win over Manchester City.

The man himself says he’s “ready to go” after channeling his inner Usain Bolt after the semi final win, but it’ll be down to his manager to make the call. Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose are expected to be it after training knocks.

For the Reds, midfielder Naby Keita will miss the game with a muscle strain with Roberto Firminos fitness still as questionable as his teeth. He is the only member of the squad who faces a late race for fitness with Andy Robertson, who felt a calf strain against Wolves, declared good to go.

Predicted line ups –

Lloris	Alisson
Trippier	Alexander-Arnold
Alderweireld	Matip
Vertonghen	Van Dijk
Rose	Robertson
Sissoko	Fabinho
Wanyama	Henderson
Alli	Wijnaldum
Erikson	Mane
Son	Salah
Moura	Firmino

Whats the odds?

Odds to lift the trophy;
Tottenham – 6/4
Liverpool – 1/2

The psychology of a one-country final makes this one tough to call. Liverpool are clearly the better team – their league position illustrates that fairly neatly – and they arrive in Madrid in better form too. The previous meetings this year have both finished 2-1 to Liverpool, close ties but 6 points from 6 could be a physiological factor come Saturday.

Prediction Tottenham 0 – 2 Liverpool

Enjoy folks, Cheers!

7. 23.00 in Baku!

UEFA often come under fire for making decisions with their pocket over their head. This year, they have kept up traditions. 11pm local time the football worlds eyes turn to Baku, in the oil rich Azerbaijan. Around 14,000 tickets were allocated to the finalist fan base – in a 70,000 capacity stadium. The majority of tickets going to corporate sponsors. Travel looks heavy shite as well, with many fans forking out massive sums to get to the Caspian Sea.

The Gooners

Arsenal will play their first major European final in 13 years, their last final win was 25 years ago when they bagged the Cup Winners Cup against Parma in Copenhagen. A far cry from their team of invincible era, or the team which lost the 2006 Champions League final. Considering the caliber of club they once were, Arsenals success has been short measured in Europe.
The miss of Henrikh Mkhitaryan has hit headlines in the past few weeks. A lot of hearsay about who said what and why, but ultimately he has deiced not to travel to Baku due to political unrest with his homeland, Armenia. Apparently, UEFA have now hit Arsenal with a ‘solidarity’ ban – their plan to unveil warm up shirts with Mkhitaryans name have been quashed.

Arsenal skipper Laurent Koscielny has also been vocal in slamming Uefa in support of his team-mate.
“I’m not very happy because we need to leave one player behind and he can’t play in the final.
When one country has a political problem with another then UEFA shouldn’t give the final to that country
We want Mkhi with us because he is an important player for Arsenal.
This final is very far for the fans of both teams and it’s difficult and very expensive to travel to Baku.
We will play the game but it’s not the final we dreamed of.”

The Blues

Eden Hazard hit the winning penalty for Chelsea to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday and reach the Europa League final where they will meet fellow Londoners Arsenal.

The lively semi-final contest had finished 1-1 after the sides had produced the same scoreline in Frankfurt a week ago.

The build up for Chelsea has been a little less frantic regarding their players. N’golo Kante was a worry with a knee injury but looks likely to make the game. There has been more chat about their managerial situation and weather Maurizio Sari will be staying on as manager. Chelsea face a transfer ban for the next two windows and some think that’s enough to see Sarri say bye bye! Juventus looking a likely move for the Italian, with Chelsea Legend Frank Lampard already tipped to be his replacement.

Sarri could be on the move back to his homeland after the final

Kick off.

The game looks fairly evenly balanced. Arsenal finishing 4th just 3 points ahead of their London rivals. In the two Premier League meetings this year, each team came out victorious. Both home wins with action a plenty.

Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners in August last year. They began strong with a 2 goal lead after just 20 minutes. Arsenal fought back with goals from the now absent Mkhitaryan and an equaliser from Alex Iwobi. Marcos Alonso had the final say in the 81st minute, sealing the 3 points for the blues.

A 2 -0 win at the Emriates saw Arsenal end the Chelsea away win streak at 5 games. Goals from their main goal threat, Alexandre Lacazette and then their captain Laurent Koscielny was enough for the win. It was their 11th home game unbeaten and also saw Chelsea fail to score in their first away game in 11.

The prize!

The winners of the Europa League automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League. With Chelsea’s league position already securing Champions League football, if the do win the Europa league, the extra place goes to the 3rd placed team in the 5th ranked league in Europe. Meaning French side Lyon will be decked out in Chelsea gear for the final. Far more simple for Arsenal. Win, and you’re in the group stages of next years Champions League.

The winners will also claim more than £7 million in prize money and a share of the television money depending on how many teams for their country have featured in the competition. When Manchester United won the Europa League in 2016 they earned around £40 million in total from their success. They also get a pretty decent looking trophy for the cabinet…

Prediction – Chelsea 1 – 3 Arsenal

6. It all comes down to this…

Championship, League 1 and League 2 play-off finals will conclude this weekend, formally brining an end to the football season.

A format more commonly associated with american sports, us Scots have adapted it since 2007, allowing a 2 team relegation and promotion structure throughout the professional game. England have had a play-off system since 1987, could say we were a wee bit behind?!

Scotlands play-off system works differently to the English one (shock). Each tie is played over 2 legs, home and away, including the final. While in 1990, the English decided to treat it like a proper event and invite everyone and their granny to Wembley for a single leg final.

North of the wall – The ups, downs and undecided!

Premiership Promotion

Ross County have bounced straight back up to the top flight after being crowned champions of the second tier. At the end of their 5th consecutive season in the Premiership, Dundee will be heading back down to the Championship. Neil McCann left in October and Jim McIntyre couldn’t stop the inevitable, with the club amassing only 21 points.

Dundee United vs St Mirren

The Premiership will have a familiar face no matter what way this tie goes. The two clubs are well used to the Premiership but neither have experience the play-off format. A eye bleeding 0-0 draw last night, means its all to play for in Paisley on Sunday.

Robbie Neilson and Oran Kearney aim to take their teams into the Scottish Premiership

Championship, League 1 & League 2!

In the lower Scottish Divisions, these guys are already either celebrating or commiserating on their holidays! Queen of the South maintained their Championship status beating League 1 Raith Rovers, 3-1 on aggregate. They will be joined by Arbroath who won League 1 this year while a dismal, point per game (36), Brechin were relegated to League 2.

Stenhousmuir will also drop down to league 2 after losing to Annan in their playoff tie. Peterhead were champions of League 2 and Clyde also take their place in League 1 after beating said Annan. Berwick Rangers drop out of the Football league all together after being thumped off non league Cove Rangers 7-0 over both legs. Welcome to the “big time”, Cove.

‘Em doon ere’

Newport County vs Tranmere Rovers

The drama begins to unfold on Saturday when League 2 sides Newport take on Tranmere Rovers…there is no doubt, Newport are the in form side, unbeaten in 12 games!

Tranmere will hope to make Mike Dean another video highlight as they did with their semi final win over Forrest Green. They have the main goal threat in England besides Mr Aguero. James Norwood has scored 32 goals in all competitions this season but has fired blanks in the two previous meetings with County.

Charlton Athletic vs Sunderland

Heading into Sunday when Sunderland make the considerably longer trip than their final counterparts, Charlton. The two clubs’ campaigns will end as they started. Sunderland running out 2-1 winners in their first game of League 1. Both teams have experience with each other in playoffs with a famous 4-4 draw being followed by a 7-6 penalty win for Charlton to secure their Premier League place for the 1998-99 season. This time, they’re playing for a place in the Championship!

Derby County vs Aston Villa

‘The richest game in world club football’ will see Derby County play against Aston Villa. The roller coaster games which got both teams here could rival either of this years Champions League semi finals! Full of action, drama and surprises.

Derby County, moved a step closer to the Premier League after reaching the Championship play-off final with a 4-2 win over Leeds United, as they roared back from a two-goal aggregate deficit to win 4-3.

Villa reached the championship playoff final with a 4-3 penalty shootout win after a tense semi-final second leg at The Hawthorns. Goalkeeper Jed Steer was the hero, saving spot-kicks from West Brom defenders Mason Holgate and Ahmed Hegazi after his side had lost 1-0 in normal time.

The Championship playoff final will take place at 3pm on Bank holiday Monday 27th May.

Money, Money, Money

Promotion to the Premier League for either club will see an uplift in revenue of at least £170m, rising to more than £290m if they survive their first season in the English Premier League!

Big players step up in big games. Hopefully they’ll provide plenty of excitement.

Cheers!

5. All Rhodes lead to Europe!

Killie vs Rangers

88 minutes on the clock. The game tied at 1-1, Eamon Brophy steps up and smashes his penalty kick into the net – sending Killie into Europe.

Sitting in a pub in Rhodes, Greece, wasn’t the location I had imagined to celebrate Killies success in getting to Europe. A close friends wedding took priority over what turned out to be Steve Clarkes last game as our manager.

The game itself began a bit scrappy. Killie looked a little tense with Rangers having the majority of possession and us doing what we do. Absorbing pressure and being first to any stray ball.

Rather out of nowhere, good play between Alan Power and Mulumbu who then played a great over the top ball sent Chris Burke through on goal and he slotted it into Wes Foderinghams far corner. Killie saw the game out to half time where Rangers came out at a hunner miles an hour.

A clash with Morelos saw Jamie MacDonalds rare start for Killie come to a halt, not before Morelos had fired an equaliser past him. Devlin McKay then made his debut – just the small matter of European football on the line, so no biggy.

That wasnt the last action we saw from a third choice keeper. MacKay has played backup to Daniel Bachman and Jamie MacDonald, while Rangers stopper Andrew Firth made an appearance for the injured Foderingham.

The late drama then started. Stephen O’Donnells shirt was clearly tugged but I’m not convinced there was enough for a penalty. Soft as a babys first shite is rather appropriate. As always though, sometimes these decisions go for and against you. Delighted on this occasion it went for us.

Brophy showed nerves of steel and powered his shot through the diving hand of Firth. A great effort by the keeper in fairness.

Killie defended the additional 6 minutes and European football was confirmed. Aberdeens 2-1 win at Hibs meant nothing and they now need to rely on Celtic winning the Scottish cup, which will give 4th place the last Euro qualifying spot.

Just at that a ten Euro note appeared on my table, a Rangers fan from the back of the bar offered me a celebratory pint. A class gesture for me and my mate, who’s an Irish adopted Killie fan! The pints were definitely flowing for the remainder of the night.

The end of the Clarke Era.

“sorry I couldn’t win you a trophy” was his end of season speech.

He has given Kilmarnock fans our club back. A man that transformed bottom of the league to Europe in 18 months, with a very small budget.

A man that challenged the football hierarchy in Scotland. Rightly or wrongly, he spoke his mind and made it clear he wasn’t going to keep quiet. Deflecting maybe, but honest always.

Thank you Steve Clarke, I was a proud Killie fan well before you came in but its clear you brought the love of our club back to others. Your legacy will live on through the club, I just hope the playing and supporting side can be built on.

Cheers, Stevie!

4. Straight down the middle!

A warning that doesn’t involve stray golf balls…

Tomorrow marks the 101st PGA championship , which will be played in Farmingdale, New York.

Golf is a funny game, an individual sport designed to test your mental toughness as well as physical capabilities. The modern day golfers are hitting further than ever, with technology so advanced, ways to combat it are being thought of. However, some venues bring down technology and place the skill back to equal measures.

The Black Course – Bethpage

Bethpage state park is situated about an hour East of Manhattan, on Long Island, and is home to 5 (18 hole) golf courses, named in order of difficulty – yellow, green, blue, red and black. The PGA Championship is traditionally played in August, but has been brought forward this year to be the second Major after the Masters. The meteorologist among you will know the temperatures are cooler in May, which will see less familiar course conditions to add another dimension to the way it plays. As can be seen in the above image, this course is considered “Extremely Difficult” and is for golfers of an ability a couple of light-years away from mine. Although some day I might have the ability to hit the fairways. Unlike most professional tournaments, this years PGA Championship will take place on a public golf course.

Measuring at 7426 yards, The Black course is an absolute slog! The par 71 has three Par 3’s over 200 yards, one par 5 which clocks over 600 yards added to by numerous long par 4’s. Its a far cry away from your local pitch and putt, that is for sure.

The black course has previously hosted the US Open twice and two FedEx cup playoff tournaments.

The Wannamaker Trophy. Presented to the PGA Championship winner

Who could win it?

156 players will take to the tee for the first round with most just hoping to make the cut on Saturday. There will be the usual big names in and around the top, and as always, big names will fail to make the weekend. The field will consist of former PGA champions including Jason Day, Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson. The last 5 Masters champions including Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, and Danny Willett. Last 5 US Open and Open Champions as well as the last 3 Players Champions which includes; Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari and Henrik Stenson. A star studded field of big name golfers, as well as some you’ve never heard of! One of which one will take home the winners prize of $1.98million.

Players of note

Tiger Woods – Looked nearly back to his best at The Masters, can he follow it up the second Major of the year?
Rory McIlroy – The Northern Irishman has enjoyed previous success at the PGA and was in decent form at the Masters. This combined with a good display at the Wells Fargo Championship last week puts him in contention.
Justin Rose – Ranked second in the world at the moment, his solid masters performance tailed off towards the later stages on the Sunday. Last week he was again sniffing around the top 5.
Brooks Koepka – Defending champion who was tied 2nd at the first major of the year. He’s in good form with a 4th place finish at last weeks Byron Nelson.
Rickie Fowler – The one everyone wants to see with a major. Even the rest of his fellow pros wouldn’t envy this guy taking top spot on Sunday. Having finished 2nd twice in 3 of the 4 majors, and 3rd in the other one, it can’t be long before he breaks this streak.

Rickie Fowler in his Sunday ‘Oklahoma State’ Orange getup.

An outside slice

Xander Schauffele – A name for the Scrabble enthusiast but this guy can hit a golf ball. Tied 2nd at the Masters and been ranked in the top 10 in the world all year.
Tony Finau – World number 15 has finished in the top 10 in the last 5 majors. Always seems to start strong on Thursday and Friday. Has to be worth a watch!
Tommy Fleetwood – Tommy is yet to win a major but playing solid golf with a top 10 at the British Masters. Can he find his Ryder Cup form again?
Patrick Cantlay – He has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four tournaments. Cantlay finished Tied 9th at the Masters, Tied 3rd for the RBC Heritage and Tied 6th at the World Golf Championship Mexico. He has made the cut in nine of 11 tournaments.
Jon Rahm – The Spaniard has only finished outside the top 10 twice this year, a well worthy bet if bookies are paying out top 10!*

Jon Rahm has been Mr Consistent on the tour

*Please note. I take no responsibility for losing bets, but will take all the credit for any winners.

Enjoy the 4 days of Golf, hopefully some of my predictions turn up!

Cheers!

3. The weekend round up!

A weekend round up of games from around the UK. The big game on Saturday with Killie hosting Hibernian while Sunday saw the Premier League champion declared down South. There was also a game taking place in Glasgow, apparently.

Killie vs Hibs

We’re on our way….

The pressure was firmly on Steve Clarkes team as Aberdeens win on Friday night leapfrogged them into third place, the guaranteed European spot. This could be the writers curse, but id be willing to place your mortgage on Hearts losing this Scottish Cup Final they are “preparing” for. They are dire, a shadow of the team that started the season so strong. Although yes, injuries have hampered their league campaign. How they’ve got to the cup final, ill never know!

Back to the Killie.

A rapid start from the boys in blue and white saw us taking charge of the game pretty quickly. A corner in the first couple of minutes followed by some good play from the midfield set the stall for the first half. No clear cut chances came for either side until Alex Bruce was manhandled in the box and Eamon Brophy slotted his penalty home. Hibs manager Mr Heckinbottom decided to call out Bruce after the match as a “fucking diver”. Strong words indeed for a press room!

Brophy missed a great chance in the second half with Hibs lacking any real threat until Thomas Agyepong came off the bench. His pace and directness was a worry at a time where players were starting to feel the strain of the season.

Killie managed to hang on, making the final 10 minutes a rather nervy affair after Stuart Findlay went off after a clash of heads. Dicker slotted into centre back with Kris Boyd making possibly his last appearance at the club.

Killie held out and it all goes down to the last game. Match the Aberdeen result, and we are guaranteed a place in Europe. Lose on Sunday and Aberdeen win – We will all be getting behind Celtic in the cup final….

Them vs Them

Celtic visited Rangers on Sunday for the lunchtime fixture already having secured the title. This gave the media a big spoon to stir weeks before the contest. I was never aware a guard of honour could be so debated. Are we living in an era where the expectations of how one team act, are just given as the norm after that? Either way, the media had made a massive deal of this, far bigger than either of the clubs. Turned out as most thought, no guard of honour.
Its no secret i have little time for either of the Glasgow sisters and I feel this is a classic example of tabloids trying to create a story that doesn’t actually exist. Callum McGregors interview where he stated “we don’t need a pat on the back from anyone” sums it up rather well, for me. Fans should always think if the shoe was on the other foot.

The game itself will always bring hostility to the streets of Glasgow. Ironic that only weeks ago, everyone in tandem, came together after the passing of Billy McNeil. Both sides showed their respects impeccably for a man who everyone knew as a giant of the Scottish game. It just goes to show that deep down, it really is just a game, rivalries can and are put aside when the time is right…but we all love a football rivalry. Unfortunately it’s all too easy to revert back to normality.

Rangers dominated the derby at Ibrox. A goal inside 3 minutes pretty much set the stall for the rest of the game. Celtic looked a shade of the team they have been for the past few years, and most of this season. Burke was a player I always thought deserved a chance, but based on yesterday, he will be lucky to get any more minutes for Celtic. An impressive display from Rangers was typified with a good piece of play from Kamara, a clever dummy from Defoe and a good finish from Arfield, who was man of the match for me. What this result will do is ask questions from both sides of the city. There is no doubt since the last derby at Celtic park, Rangers have raised their game. They’ve won every game since the split. So how do Rangers carry these post split performances onto next season? And who do Celtic need to get into that dugout to ensure performances like that aren’t the norm when they visit Ibrox?

Liverpool have 97 points, still not enough.

Liverpool eclipsed the largest total of a second a placed team in English Premier League history yesterday. Winning at home to Wolves was the least Liverpool could do to stand any chance at the title. This accompanied by Man City dropping points at Brighton, would secure a much desired Liverpool title.

Sadio Mane put Liverpool ahead and then Glenn Murray put Brighton ahead…IT WAS HAPPENING!! For 90 seconds at least.
Sergio Aguero equalised for City who eventually went on to comfortably win 4-1 and secure back to back titles in the division. First team to do so since their Manchester rivals back in 2010. 14 wins on the trot is an amazing record to secure the title, not a single slip up shows just what Pep Guardiola is all about. Sensational.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is e768b9ea-97d9-4271-a4e1-e4290116ef00.jpg — Guardiola celebrates back to back Premier League titles

Liverpool now look forward to a Champions League Final in Madrid to end their season with a trophy. Should Liverpool go onto win the Champions League, I reckon if you offered Liverpool and Man City a trophy swap, both would be delighted!

Cheers!