Stenhousemuir's slide frames Championship MatchDay 15
Barrie Moran previews MatchDay 15 in the Championship: Partick and Raith at the top, Livingston against in-form Morton, and Stenhousemuir's slump.
By Barrie Moran,
Stenhousemuir are fourth in the Scottish Championship on 23 points and have lost their last four. Across their last five they have scored 4 and conceded 12, and their goal difference for the season now stands at zero. A top-four place is being held up by work done earlier in the season. Directly beneath them sit Livingston, unbeaten in four. If one thing in this round is likely to shift, it is that.
All four matches kick off at 15:00 on Saturday 14 November. One match from the round has been moved to another week, so Dunfermline and Arbroath are not involved this weekend.
Partick Thistle and Raith Rovers at the top
Partick Thistle lead on 28 points and host Inverness at Firhill. Over their last five Partick have won three, drawn one and lost one, scoring 8 and conceding 4. Inverness are sixth on 20 and have gone two without a win, with 7 scored and 8 conceded over their last five. My view is that Partick Thistle and Inverness is a home win. The one thing that gives me pause is the last meeting, a 1-1 draw in Inverness. A second draw would not be a shock. An Inverness win would be.
Raith Rovers are second on 25, level with Partick on a goal difference of 11, and they go to Somerset Park. Their last five read D W L D W, and they have conceded only 3 in that time. Ayr United are seventh on 15, with a game in hand, but they have conceded 9 in their last five and lost their most recent match. Raith won the last meeting 2-0. On those numbers Ayr United against Raith Rovers leans towards the visitors. With Dunfermline sitting out on 25 points and unbeaten in five, a Raith win would move them clear in second for the weekend at least.
Livingston against Morton's winning run
This is the most interesting match of the round. Greenock Morton are ninth on 13, with a game in hand, but they have won their last four and scored 12 in their last five. They have also conceded 8 in that run, so their goals have been coming at both ends. Livingston have conceded 3 in their last five and won the last meeting 4-1 at Morton. I make Livingston against Greenock Morton a Livingston win, because Morton have not yet shown they can keep a side like this out. If Morton score early, I could be wrong about that. A Livingston win alongside another Stenhousemuir defeat would put Livingston into fourth.
Two losing runs meet at Ochilview
Two sides on four-match losing runs meet at Ochilview, so at least one of those runs will end. Queen's Park are bottom on 7 and have scored 4 and conceded 8 over their last five. Their only win in that spell was five matches ago. Stenhousemuir have also scored just 4 in their last five but have conceded far more. So Stenhousemuir against Queen's Park puts a leaky defence up against a blunt attack. Stenhousemuir won the last meeting 2-0 at Queen's Park. I lean narrowly towards Stenhousemuir, but the evidence is thin. A Queen's Park side that cannot score is the main reason to expect a home side in this state to stop the rot. If Queen's Park score first, I would not trust Stenhousemuir to recover.