Back Sliding!

After two matches, when we looked like a team going forward, last weeks reverse at Portadown  proved it had just been a flash in the pan. In truth the writing was on the wall at the home game with the Ducks in the previous week, but fans were saying we won ugly, not my choice of words, I'd say we stole the points. With midfielder Thommo serving a suspension our manager needed to restore Ally to the team but he went with a defensive midfielder instead. Never mind the sending-off, we 'missed' three or four chances which would have given us at least a share of the spoils and we went back to what might have been.

We play Glenavon  next in what used to be eagerly awaited fixture for us, but now after last Saturday's reverse I sense a mood of foreboding in the camp. Not that its any surprise given our form there of late, but beside from that, we surrendered our unbeaten tag, to a very poor Ports side last week and that won't have gone unnoticed at Mourneview Park. No doubt Gary and the boys are sharpening up their game to beat our offside trap, which floundered so badly last week. The one bright thing on our horizon will be the inclusion of first-choice keeper Dwayne Nelson, due to Stuarty's suspension for his sending-off.

Dwayne hasn't figured on the first team, since Tipton of Linfield was allowed to dispossess him and score but it's great to see him back between sticks. Surely Spike will select Ally as well and Thommo, who has served his one-game ban. Maybe with a bit of luck we can get back to playing football, instead of standing around waiting for something to happen. The weather promises to be challenging, with 30mph winds forecast, but good teams can play in any conditions, but where does that leave United and Glenavon. No doubt come a quarter to five on Saturday we will have a clearer picture, methinks.

There's no respite for United , the very next week they have a 'double header' against Crusaders to look forward to, a semi-final of the league cup on next Tuesday at Seaview and a league match on Christmas Saturday at the Showgrounds. If that's not enough to whet the appetite of Sky Blue fans, we go to the Coleraine scum on Boxing Day on our last match in 2013. So you see a busy programme lies ahead of the Sky Blues and they need to start the ball rolling with a win on Saturday at Mourneview against Glenavon, who are going through a lean spell themselves, so we need to get going, COSB!