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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 22, 2020 23:11:52 GMT
Another case of one step forward and two steps back, as Tuesday’s hard work was undone by a meagre showing this afternoon. We just can’t seem to string a few decent results together, which has been our real downfall lately as we have consistently been inconsistent. For a game that produced five goals it certainly didn’t feel entertaining, and to be fair the majority of the goals were very soft and preventable on both counts. I’ll give it to Brackley Town. They did their homework on us as they were a well-organised side who were tough to break down. We did gift them all three goals and did make it a tad too easy for them, but we simply cannot complain about this result at all. I am just so frustrated with us because I know that we can perform to the max like we did on Tuesday which quite rightly brought an ounce of goodness back, but that has faded away as today’s dismal show has taken the gloss out of it.
The first half was a really quiet affair, as I can only recall us having one chance which was a drastic one by Scott Burton. It was not a pretty one to endure, as the ball spent most of its time in the air, which is a major disappointment from today. We play much better with our quick intensity on the floor, but this afternoon we reverted to hoof ball which predictably did not work. Our midfield lacked any bite as they failed to control the game, and they backed away from tackles. They were slow and sloppy in possession too, whilst our distribution from defence was very inconsistent. Brackley Town had the first chance of the contest as Russ Griffiths had to beat away a Matt Lowe attempt. It took a while for the next key moment to arrive, as just after the half hour mark Dan Holman made it 1-0 to Brackley Town. It looked to me that Griffiths parried the ball out, which saw Holman gobble up the rebound by chipping in. Just before the interval our first chance of the half came, and it was a terrible one as a skewed hit by Burton was that bad it almost went out for a throw in - cue jeers from the Harry Mac. We had plenty of work to do going into the second half as we failed to get going in the first.
To be fair the second period was a lot more lively, and I admit that we did come out as an improved side. I’d say that for the first 20 minutes we were on top as we had more of the ball which allowed us to create more openings. We did rue a number of chances so to some extent we should have taken them, although to another we lacked ideas in defence as we were so fragile. Just a few seconds into the half Kevin Roberts blasted a powerful shot millimetres wide from long range. Our bright start continued as Brad Jackson fired over, whilst John Johnston smashed one wide from the left hand side. At the other end though our opponents almost doubled their tally as Shane Byrne side-footed past the post. We went on a rapid counter attack after that as good work by Anthony Dudley found Jackson who slotted past the target. Our improved start paid dividends as right on the hour mark James Jones tapped home from a George Glendon corner for us to make it 1-1, with him scoring his third goal in a month. Brad Jackson had yet another opportunity for us, and he was unlucky to not have put us in the lead as a powerful volley was straight at Danny Lewis. We received another sucker punch though, as an unmarked Thierry Audel headed in from a corner to make it 2-1 to Brackley Town. It’s been the story of the past few weeks as once again we failed to clear our lines, with the Frenchman netting a free header. Despite being a goal down we surprisingly brought defender Danny Livesey on, although to his credit he did put us back on level terms to make it 2-2. It was a fluke goal as the long punt downfield by Russ Griffiths was heavily assisted by the wind, which saw Livesey loop a header into the net. It looked like that was that, but it wasn’t as just like Tuesday night there was injury time drama. This time it was for the wrong reasons, as Matt Lowe made it 3-2 to Brackley Town following a miscommunication between Matty Waters and Russ Griffiths. Both have their fair share of the blame in my view because although Waters did well to shield the ball he should have just simply booted it away, whilst Russ should have came off his line. In the nick of time Livesey almost notched another equaliser as he headed onto the roof of the net. We got what we deserved, despite us going close to snatching a point.
It obviously wasn’t a game that produced top drawer displays, with the majority of our team underperforming miserably. Danny Livesey is my man of the match because he made an impact in his short cameo, as he was a lot more committed than everyone else and popped up with a goal. On the flip side, Russ Griffiths had a shocker and was at fault for all three goals. For the first he should have held on to the ball, for the second he should have claimed the corner or instructed his defence to do so, and obviously for the third he needed to come out to the ball. After a rocky start to the season he had a very strong spell between November and January, but in games such as today and at York City, he has returned to making bad errors. Meanwhile, Scott Burton was very poor because he was slow on the ball, made awkward passes (which isn’t helped by the fact he only uses one foot), and in my view he should have been taken off a lot earlier. Matty Waters has certainly had better games, and although he wasn’t good enough today he should have started, as Joel Taylor was still struggling from Tuesday. John Johnston continued his unsettled start because he often overdid things and ran into dead ends without any support, and backed away from tackles on the odd occasion.
Today’s only positive has to be the brilliant atmosphere created in the Harry Mac. If only we could recreate that every week, as our home atmosphere has been very hit and miss this season. It felt like the old days today, and if smaller clubs like Kettering Town and Southport (for example) can create an atmosphere then surely we can, so hopefully it will be the norm from now on. Our next match is against Gateshead at home next Saturday in what will be our fourth consecutive home game. Just like today it will be another toughie, and given our dim record against The Heed we won’t be in for an easy afternoon.
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Post by Borderlands on Feb 22, 2020 23:50:38 GMT
Need to get Elliott back in the side and forget about Johnston, he's the ultimate passenger. He offers us absolutely nothing. Elton poor too but we knew that already. First half was dire. It was improved second half and I thought we'd have deserved a point but to throw it away like that is unforgivable. Any kind of consistency looks a long way away. A little concerning that our most recent new signings haven’t really lived up to expectations so farWhat is more concerning is that, whilst we are chasing a play off place, no one seems to be bothered that our new owner is bankrolling the club and paying a lot of money for these new signings. If we don’t go up and he realises that he is not going to get a return on his investment we will end up with player contracts that we cannot sustain. We will have learnt nothing from two years ago, and in all likelihood will be in a position that we can’t get out of this time.
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Post by RonD on Feb 22, 2020 23:53:47 GMT
We were the greatest thing since sliced bread at 9.45 on Tuesday . . . and a load of crap at 5.00 today . . .
Funny old game!
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Post by Anders on Feb 23, 2020 0:05:14 GMT
A little concerning that our most recent new signings haven’t really lived up to expectations so far What is more concerning is that, whilst we are chasing a play off place, no one seems to be bothered that our new owner is bankrolling the club and paying a lot of money for these new signings. If we don’t go up and he realises that he is not going to get a return on his investment we will end up with player contracts that we cannot sustain. We will have learnt nothing from two years ago, and in all likelihood will be in a position that we can’t get out of this time. What contracts can't we afford? Murphy isn't funding them.
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Post by Borderlands on Feb 23, 2020 0:40:17 GMT
What is more concerning is that, whilst we are chasing a play off place, no one seems to be bothered that our new owner is bankrolling the club and paying a lot of money for these new signings. If we don’t go up and he realises that he is not going to get a return on his investment we will end up with player contracts that we cannot sustain. We will have learnt nothing from two years ago, and in all likelihood will be in a position that we can’t get out of this time. What contracts can't we afford? Murphy isn't funding them. Can you be sure about that.
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Post by Anders on Feb 23, 2020 0:59:00 GMT
What contracts can't we afford? Murphy isn't funding them. Can you be sure about that. Yes, I can.
We have four players signed up for one year deals next season, in budget.
This isn't a few years ago where we had some clowns without the foresight to check if we could afford to pay the second year of two year contracts. These are one year deals, in budget.
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Post by bonecrusher on Feb 23, 2020 7:56:25 GMT
Can you be sure about that. Yes, I can.
We have four players signed up for one year deals next season, in budget.
This isn't a few years ago where we had some clowns without the foresight to check if we could afford to pay the second year of two year contracts. These are one year deals, in budget.
He's not the owner.
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Post by Hannibal on Feb 23, 2020 9:17:17 GMT
We were the greatest thing since sliced bread at 9.45 on Tuesday . . . and a load of crap at 5.00 today . . . Funny old game! Spot on! I thought the talk about auto promotion after Tuesday was a bit silly. Realistically we were looking at 3rd at best. With the games coming up I think 5th will be an achievement, but there's still the chance we will drop out of the top 7 if we don't stop giving 2 or 3 gifts every match. Teams with managers that do their homework have sussed us out.
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Post by Si on Feb 23, 2020 9:28:59 GMT
It was utterly predictable though. I said in the bar before the game that it would be flat from the start, Brackley will do what they do and spoil the game and they are the exact team we struggle against. That's probably a bit disrespectful to Brackley who played more football than in previous visits, and have to say they are the hardest working team I've seen down here this season. Not sure if I've missed something but why wasnt Hughes even on the bench? If Asante wasnt 100% then why wouldn't you have a striker on the bench? Our only attacking option from the bench was Elton, and we all know that he is a complete dud. We didnt have the tools to break them down yesterday and to a man nobody was anywhere near the standards of tuesday night. It's been the theme of the season, unable to string results together, which is hugely frustrating given the talent in this team. I've backed Russ this season as I think he gets a hard time in a division where most keepers are awful, but he is in another bad spell at the moment and he cant be inspiring too much confidence to those in front of him. Not sure if the answer is bringing in a new keeper at this stage, but surely he has to be honest with himself and assess his shortcomings. He has the credentials which is all the more frustrating, but seems shit scared to come and smash defenders.
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Post by RonD on Feb 23, 2020 9:39:11 GMT
We were the greatest thing since sliced bread at 9.45 on Tuesday . . . and a load of crap at 5.00 today . . . Funny old game! Spot on! I thought the talk about auto promotion after Tuesday was a bit silly. Realistically we were looking at 3rd at best. With the games coming up I think 5th will be an achievement, but there's still the chance we will drop out of the top 7 if we don't stop giving 2 or 3 gifts every match. Teams with managers that do their homework have sussed us out. For me finishing third has always been a target. Got some work to do now though to make that. Could so without playing bloody Alty if we make 4-7 finish!!
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Post by chesterken on Feb 23, 2020 9:49:02 GMT
The disappointing thing for was we had over 1900 fans yesterday on a cold missable day with a half decent performance and a win that could have been 2200 for Next Saturday, the momentum would be building towards the playoffs. But in true Chester style we were crap and couldn’t string two passes together, we will now be very lucky to reach 1700 next week😔
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Post by South Wirral Blue on Feb 23, 2020 9:53:05 GMT
We were the greatest thing since sliced bread at 9.45 on Tuesday . . . and a load of crap at 5.00 today . . . Funny old game! Given how poor we were first half and the manner in which we threw away a point, you shouldn't be particularly surprised that fans were critical.
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Post by johny9 on Feb 23, 2020 11:09:22 GMT
let’s all be honest at this moment in time we are not good enough to go up and I’m ok with that I think another season of building won’t be a complete disaster , obviously would love us to go up this year but I think there is 3/4 teams better than us . I’m a fan of the managers and thin they are the right people for us but this record of conceding from corners / set pieces needs sorting ASAP. We concede the same types of goals every week and it’s so frustrating. In tight games we are losing because of set pieces which is worrying if we do get play offs. Our record against the current top 7 is .. Alty 1-1 Spennymoor 1-2 Brackley 1-1, 2-3 ( 2 corners ) York 0-1, 2-4 ( 2 corners ) Gateshead 0-2 ( 1 corner) Boston 1-1 Kings Lynn 2-2 ,3-2
P 10 w-1 d-4 l- 5
Also alty away in facup 0-1 ( corner )
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Post by steveo1 on Feb 23, 2020 11:18:02 GMT
It was utterly predictable though. I said in the bar before the game that it would be flat from the start, Brackley will do what they do and spoil the game and they are the exact team we struggle against. That's probably a bit disrespectful to Brackley who played more football than in previous visits, and have to say they are the hardest working team I've seen down here this season. Not sure if I've missed something but why wasnt Hughes even on the bench? If Asante wasnt 100% then why wouldn't you have a striker on the bench? Our only attacking option from the bench was Elton, and we all know that he is a complete dud. We didnt have the tools to break them down yesterday and to a man nobody was anywhere near the standards of tuesday night. It's been the theme of the season, unable to string results together, which is hugely frustrating given the talent in this team. I've backed Russ this season as I think he gets a hard time in a division where most keepers are awful, but he is in another bad spell at the moment and he cant be inspiring too much confidence to those in front of him. Not sure if the answer is bringing in a new keeper at this stage, but surely he has to be honest with himself and assess his shortcomings. He has the credentials which is all the more frustrating, but seems shit scared to come and smash defenders. Hughes injured his knee in training.
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Post by Lobster on Feb 23, 2020 11:50:52 GMT
We were the greatest thing since sliced bread at 9.45 on Tuesday . . . and a load of crap at 5.00 today . . . Funny old game! Given how poor we were first half and the manner in which we threw away a point, you shouldn't be particularly surprised that fans were critical. Is there maybe an argument though that there was a bit of an overreaction to both results? Two narrow games against strong sides, both decided in the dying moments, one went for us, one against us. I get that there was a big difference between the two performances, and I share the frustration, but I don't think either result means we will or won't go up.
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Post by paulinem on Feb 23, 2020 12:31:27 GMT
A little concerning that our most recent new signings haven’t really lived up to expectations so far What is more concerning is that, whilst we are chasing a play off place, no one seems to be bothered that our new owner is bankrolling the club and paying a lot of money for these new signings. If we don’t go up and he realises that he is not going to get a return on his investment we will end up with player contracts that we cannot sustain. We will have learnt nothing from two years ago, and in all likelihood will be in a position that we can’t get out of this time. Borderlands (apologies if I know you) there is a forum where you can raise such queries and concerns and it’s the CFU formal meeting. There is no point in winding other supporters up after a disappointing defeat yesterday as most of us don’t know the answers but in the running of the club it is very relevant and could be clarified by the Board. The next formal CFU meeting (for members) will be taking place on Thursday 9 April (I assume in the Blues Bar) and for anyone who can’t get there like us Exiles the meeting is streamed. Just contact Jeff Banks on jeff.banks@chesterfc.com and I am sure Jeff would be very happy to send you the link and also receive any questions for the meeting if you cannot be there. It’s up to us collectively to make sure the club is being run professionally and within our means. There’s no point in throwing bricks on here.
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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 23, 2020 12:41:50 GMT
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Post by steveo1 on Feb 23, 2020 14:07:42 GMT
WOW. Where is Griffiths going? Why come out? Most the Brackley player gets is a corner. Absolutely embarrassing. Waters does really well tbf, he doesn’t bank on his keeper to come charging out. Keeper poor for first goal as well.
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Post by g1 on Feb 23, 2020 15:45:05 GMT
WOW. Where is Griffiths going? Why come out? Most the Brackley player gets is a corner. Absolutely embarrassing. Waters does really well tbf, he doesn’t bank on his keeper to come charging out. Keeper poor for first goal as well. waters should belt it out but agreed he should do better
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Post by bonecrusher on Feb 23, 2020 15:46:05 GMT
The bad news for Griffiths is that the third goal actually looks worse for him on the reply. I actually thought that Waters was as much at fault for the third one as him, but having seen the reply that was a mind boggling piss poor bit of keeping and when he comes Waters has to expect him to come with some conviction at least. I wouldn't expect to see that crap in the park. I understand that Jonno says we can't afford 2 goalkeepers, but one half decent one is a must surely. Anyone swap him for Shenton at this point?
Would be interesting to know the opinion of the players on their keeper. Kev Roberts certainly seemed to have a few comments in the aftermath of that rubbish.
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Post by South Wirral Blue on Feb 23, 2020 16:01:45 GMT
The bad news for Griffiths is that the third goal actually looks worse for him on the reply. I actually thought that Waters was as much at fault for the third one as him, but having seen the reply that was a mind boggling piss poor bit of keeping and when he comes Waters has to expect him to come with some conviction at least. I wouldn't expect to see that crap in the park. Yeah yesterday I thought it looked like a bit of a Sunday league goal to let in but having seen it again I think I was being generous.
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Post by Hannibal on Feb 23, 2020 16:50:03 GMT
Another case of one step forward and two steps back, as Tuesday’s hard work was undone by a meagre showing this afternoon. We just can’t seem to string a few decent results together, which has been our real downfall lately as we have consistently been inconsistent. For a game that produced five goals it certainly didn’t feel entertaining, and to be fair the majority of the goals were very soft and preventable on both counts. I’ll give it to Brackley Town. They did their homework on us as they were a well-organised side who were tough to break down. We did gift them all three goals and did make it a tad too easy for them, but we simply cannot complain about this result at all. I am just so frustrated with us because I know that we can perform to the max like we did on Tuesday which quite rightly brought an ounce of goodness back, but that has faded away as today’s dismal show has taken the gloss out of it. The first half was a really quiet affair, as I can only recall us having one chance which was a drastic one by Scott Burton. It was not a pretty one to endure, as the ball spent most of its time in the air, which is a major disappointment from today. We play much better with our quick intensity on the floor, but this afternoon we reverted to hoof ball which predictably did not work. Our midfield lacked any bite as they failed to control the game, and they backed away from tackles. They were slow and sloppy in possession too, whilst our distribution from defence was very inconsistent. Brackley Town had the first chance of the contest as Russ Griffiths had to beat away a Matt Lowe attempt. It took a while for the next key moment to arrive, as just after the half hour mark Dan Holman made it 1-0 to Brackley Town. It looked to me that Griffiths parried the ball out, which saw Holman gobble up the rebound by chipping in. Just before the interval our first chance of the half came, and it was a terrible one as a skewed hit by Burton was that bad it almost went out for a throw in - cue jeers from the Harry Mac. We had plenty of work to do going into the second half as we failed to get going in the first. To be fair the second period was a lot more lively, and I admit that we did come out as an improved side. I’d say that for the first 20 minutes we were on top as we had more of the ball which allowed us to create more openings. We did rue a number of chances so to some extent we should have taken them, although to another we lacked ideas in defence as we were so fragile. Just a few seconds into the half Kevin Roberts blasted a powerful shot millimetres wide from long range. Our bright start continued as Brad Jackson fired over, whilst John Johnston smashed one wide from the left hand side. At the other end though our opponents almost doubled their tally as Shane Byrne side-footed past the post. We went on a rapid counter attack after that as good work by Anthony Dudley found Jackson who slotted past the target. Our improved start paid dividends as right on the hour mark James Jones tapped home from a George Glendon corner for us to make it 1-1, with him scoring his third goal in a month. Brad Jackson had yet another opportunity for us, and he was unlucky to not have put us in the lead as a powerful volley was straight at Danny Lewis. We received another sucker punch though, as an unmarked Thierry Audel headed in from a corner to make it 2-1 to Brackley Town. It’s been the story of the past few weeks as once again we failed to clear our lines, with the Frenchman netting a free header. Despite being a goal down we surprisingly brought defender Danny Livesey on, although to his credit he did put us back on level terms to make it 2-2. It was a fluke goal as the long punt downfield by Russ Griffiths was heavily assisted by the wind, which saw Livesey loop a header into the net. It looked like that was that, but it wasn’t as just like Tuesday night there was injury time drama. This time it was for the wrong reasons, as Matt Lowe made it 3-2 to Brackley Town following a miscommunication between Matty Waters and Russ Griffiths. Both have their fair share of the blame in my view because although Waters did well to shield the ball he should have just simply booted it away, whilst Russ should have came off his line. In the nick of time Livesey almost notched another equaliser as he headed onto the roof of the net. We got what we deserved, despite us going close to snatching a point. It obviously wasn’t a game that produced top drawer displays, with the majority of our team underperforming miserably. Danny Livesey is my man of the match because he made an impact in his short cameo, as he was a lot more committed than everyone else and popped up with a goal. On the flip side, Russ Griffiths had a shocker and was at fault for all three goals. For the first he should have held on to the ball, for the second he should have claimed the corner or instructed his defence to do so, and obviously for the third he needed to come out to the ball. After a rocky start to the season he had a very strong spell between November and January, but in games such as today and at York City, he has returned to making bad errors. Meanwhile, Scott Burton was very poor because he was slow on the ball, made awkward passes (which isn’t helped by the fact he only uses one foot), and in my view he should have been taken off a lot earlier. Matty Waters has certainly had better games, and although he wasn’t good enough today he should have started, as Joel Taylor was still struggling from Tuesday. John Johnston continued his unsettled start because he often overdid things and ran into dead ends without any support, and backed away from tackles on the odd occasion. Today’s only positive has to be the brilliant atmosphere created in the Harry Mac. If only we could recreate that every week, as our home atmosphere has been very hit and miss this season. It felt like the old days today, and if smaller clubs like Kettering Town and Southport (for example) can create an atmosphere then surely we can, so hopefully it will be the norm from now on. Our next match is against Gateshead at home next Saturday in what will be our fourth consecutive home game. Just like today it will be another toughie, and given our dim record against The Heed we won’t be in for an easy afternoon. Is that the same Dan Holman who makes a habit of scoring against us?
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Post by Hannibal on Feb 23, 2020 16:59:44 GMT
I've been prepared to give Griffiths the benefit of the doubt, but that was a shocker of a display of goalkeeping. We really do need to get someone in because we are gifting too many goals.
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Post by weareblues on Feb 23, 2020 17:04:51 GMT
I don’t understand why Burton gets so much criticism, I thought he was one of our better players and can’t fault his effort. There were far too many other players not up to it today. Neither team deserved to win and I’d have been happy with a draw after coming from behind twice, but to lose to a totally avoidable goal like that is a tough one to take. It’s doesn’t really bode well for the play offs (if we qualify) that we’ve been beaten and conceded so many goals against Gateshead, York and Brackley in recent weeks. Gateshead will be another tough game next Saturday and they are on a very good run at the moment, although they also play Boston mid week. I'll tell you why Burton gets so much stick. He's crap. I have never seen such a one footed player in my life and almost every pass he plays is either sideways or backwards. Plays with his back to goal far too often. One of the worst signings we have made in the last two years. Look at what you’re saying read it again and then again Burton was quality Tuesday doesn’t deserve the abuse he gets
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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 23, 2020 17:11:11 GMT
Another case of one step forward and two steps back, as Tuesday’s hard work was undone by a meagre showing this afternoon. We just can’t seem to string a few decent results together, which has been our real downfall lately as we have consistently been inconsistent. For a game that produced five goals it certainly didn’t feel entertaining, and to be fair the majority of the goals were very soft and preventable on both counts. I’ll give it to Brackley Town. They did their homework on us as they were a well-organised side who were tough to break down. We did gift them all three goals and did make it a tad too easy for them, but we simply cannot complain about this result at all. I am just so frustrated with us because I know that we can perform to the max like we did on Tuesday which quite rightly brought an ounce of goodness back, but that has faded away as today’s dismal show has taken the gloss out of it. The first half was a really quiet affair, as I can only recall us having one chance which was a drastic one by Scott Burton. It was not a pretty one to endure, as the ball spent most of its time in the air, which is a major disappointment from today. We play much better with our quick intensity on the floor, but this afternoon we reverted to hoof ball which predictably did not work. Our midfield lacked any bite as they failed to control the game, and they backed away from tackles. They were slow and sloppy in possession too, whilst our distribution from defence was very inconsistent. Brackley Town had the first chance of the contest as Russ Griffiths had to beat away a Matt Lowe attempt. It took a while for the next key moment to arrive, as just after the half hour mark Dan Holman made it 1-0 to Brackley Town. It looked to me that Griffiths parried the ball out, which saw Holman gobble up the rebound by chipping in. Just before the interval our first chance of the half came, and it was a terrible one as a skewed hit by Burton was that bad it almost went out for a throw in - cue jeers from the Harry Mac. We had plenty of work to do going into the second half as we failed to get going in the first. To be fair the second period was a lot more lively, and I admit that we did come out as an improved side. I’d say that for the first 20 minutes we were on top as we had more of the ball which allowed us to create more openings. We did rue a number of chances so to some extent we should have taken them, although to another we lacked ideas in defence as we were so fragile. Just a few seconds into the half Kevin Roberts blasted a powerful shot millimetres wide from long range. Our bright start continued as Brad Jackson fired over, whilst John Johnston smashed one wide from the left hand side. At the other end though our opponents almost doubled their tally as Shane Byrne side-footed past the post. We went on a rapid counter attack after that as good work by Anthony Dudley found Jackson who slotted past the target. Our improved start paid dividends as right on the hour mark James Jones tapped home from a George Glendon corner for us to make it 1-1, with him scoring his third goal in a month. Brad Jackson had yet another opportunity for us, and he was unlucky to not have put us in the lead as a powerful volley was straight at Danny Lewis. We received another sucker punch though, as an unmarked Thierry Audel headed in from a corner to make it 2-1 to Brackley Town. It’s been the story of the past few weeks as once again we failed to clear our lines, with the Frenchman netting a free header. Despite being a goal down we surprisingly brought defender Danny Livesey on, although to his credit he did put us back on level terms to make it 2-2. It was a fluke goal as the long punt downfield by Russ Griffiths was heavily assisted by the wind, which saw Livesey loop a header into the net. It looked like that was that, but it wasn’t as just like Tuesday night there was injury time drama. This time it was for the wrong reasons, as Matt Lowe made it 3-2 to Brackley Town following a miscommunication between Matty Waters and Russ Griffiths. Both have their fair share of the blame in my view because although Waters did well to shield the ball he should have just simply booted it away, whilst Russ should have came off his line. In the nick of time Livesey almost notched another equaliser as he headed onto the roof of the net. We got what we deserved, despite us going close to snatching a point. It obviously wasn’t a game that produced top drawer displays, with the majority of our team underperforming miserably. Danny Livesey is my man of the match because he made an impact in his short cameo, as he was a lot more committed than everyone else and popped up with a goal. On the flip side, Russ Griffiths had a shocker and was at fault for all three goals. For the first he should have held on to the ball, for the second he should have claimed the corner or instructed his defence to do so, and obviously for the third he needed to come out to the ball. After a rocky start to the season he had a very strong spell between November and January, but in games such as today and at York City, he has returned to making bad errors. Meanwhile, Scott Burton was very poor because he was slow on the ball, made awkward passes (which isn’t helped by the fact he only uses one foot), and in my view he should have been taken off a lot earlier. Matty Waters has certainly had better games, and although he wasn’t good enough today he should have started, as Joel Taylor was still struggling from Tuesday. John Johnston continued his unsettled start because he often overdid things and ran into dead ends without any support, and backed away from tackles on the odd occasion. Today’s only positive has to be the brilliant atmosphere created in the Harry Mac. If only we could recreate that every week, as our home atmosphere has been very hit and miss this season. It felt like the old days today, and if smaller clubs like Kettering Town and Southport (for example) can create an atmosphere then surely we can, so hopefully it will be the norm from now on. Our next match is against Gateshead at home next Saturday in what will be our fourth consecutive home game. Just like today it will be another toughie, and given our dim record against The Heed we won’t be in for an easy afternoon. Is that the same Dan Holman who makes a habit of scoring against us? Yes that’s the one. Former Woking, Dover, and Aldershot Town player.
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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 23, 2020 17:20:00 GMT
My match vlog:
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Post by Hannibal on Feb 23, 2020 17:59:39 GMT
Is that the same Dan Holman who makes a habit of scoring against us? Yes that’s the one. Former Woking, Dover, and Aldershot Town player. …..and Cheltenham Town? Also on loan down the road but only made a 20 minute sub appearance, so thankfully never scored a goat goal against us.
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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 23, 2020 18:23:13 GMT
Yes that’s the one. Former Woking, Dover, and Aldershot Town player. …..and Cheltenham Town? Also on loan down the road but only made a 20 minute sub appearance, so thankfully never scored a goat goal against us. Yeah he was at Cheltenham Town for a couple of years too.
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Post by Jack on Feb 23, 2020 20:33:09 GMT
Amazed at the comments about Brackley being a decent footballing side. I thought they were very direct and their whole game plan was winning the second balls. They definitely do it well, but they're limited.
They're very hard to play against and you can see why they do well every year, but we managed to score against them twice. That should have been more than enough! You'll never see three poorer goals to gift to the opposition, we totally shot ourselves in the foot yesterday.
Thought we were dreadful in the first half and fell exactly into the traps Brackley set for us. We were predictable, slow, side-to-side and became dragged into a really poor game. Teams love it when they get us playing at a low-tempo, because they know we'll give them a goal at some point. Second half, I actually thought we did okay and did more than enough to win the game. It was never going to be a classic, but we've blown what should at the very least have been a point.
We definitely need more from Johnston. It's all well and good sitting two wingers on the touchlines, but if they're marked high up the pitch they become very blunt. We are so much better when we play Dudley in the 10 and are brave on the ball to get him in between the lines. As soon as we do that, we've committed defenders and that's when you can slip Jackson and JJ in. Dudley has to show for it more and our midfielders have to be braver to find him.
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Post by chesterken on Feb 23, 2020 21:02:51 GMT
The midfield could start by pushing forward and not sitting alongside the back four that way we might be a little bit more creative in the final third.
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