Match Thread Away vs Forest Green Sept 19th

Where to start with a game like that. Even by Stuart's standards an utterly bizarre team selection followed by an utterly bizarre game. Guthrie an utter waste of space. How was he on the pitch ahead of Cooke or Pritchard?Two totally unprofessional decisions by the two O'Connors. After his mistake AOC should have just let his man go and POC should never have got involved. But then quite heroic defending that really deserved to come away with a win. Very poor game, very much like non-league, but full of incident. Where we go in the next few games God only knows. We've no pattern, not many players and precious little to be optimistic about.

 

Bronco, I wasn't questioning the statement that the Reece miss kick ended up with FG equalising rather to use a mistake as a reason we didn't win is fraught with danger. We were only ahead on two occasions because of FG mistakes. Goalkeeper dropped the ball and they missed a penalty. So in this instance we were the beneficiary of mistakes just as much as FG were.

So I then asked the question. If we put that aside what were the positives we could take from the performance, team selection etc etc?

 

Ahem, I already said Ismael and Watt were ineffective, and Clarke went completely missing. I was more referencing the situation where Guthrie was clearly struggling for fitness in the last twenty minutes (up front), and McCall was keeping him on the pitch.

 

If we hadn't taken those shots the keeper wouldn't have made the errors. Isn't that the general hope when shooting that the keeper lets the ball in? Or am I missing something here?

 

Didn't the keeper rise like a salmon to tip a POC header onto the bar in the first half?

SM said on the radio that he is on the phones tomoz and that he was already looking for a CB. It sounded like there could be some incomings soon.

 

Yep, he then went on to say that he found it easier to walk to the dressing room than when he first tried to get off the pitch but he'll be going for an xray.

The way Stuart was talking, Reece was nailed on for a start all season.

Hope the injury isn't too bad and he's back quickly.

 

Both FGs goals were our mistakes, both ours the same. It’s league 2 we’ll see it most weeks.

 

Funnily enough... I did...

 

Plus the two goals?

 

My positives would be that Reece continued his good progress. Wood again showed he's our best tackler/defender with a couple of important tackles/blocks and Watt has definitely shown to be a good signing.

Aside from that I'm struggling.

 

what about the build up to the first goal? according to yourself, we aren't in the need for a natural right-back at the moment as Sutton has been earmarked for that role. however, the first came from French not showing his player wide and down the line like a natural full-back would. he'd challenge the player to beat them on the outside and get a ball into the box but French let the lad drift infield and carry the ball to the edge of the box where the play led to a stupid free-kick being given and 1-1. we can say the player in the wall didn't do his job but if French does his correctly, it never gets to that point.

 

Was working this pm but if we had 2 sent off and Ismael, Watt, Clarke and Guthrie were ineffective or missing SOMEONE must have had a decent game as it was 5 v 11 (12 with the ref!)

 

As I posted hardly a classic, not sure they were both flukes the first is exactly what you tell young kids to do chase the keeper down hassle him that's how I saw Novak's goal, the second was a very good dangerous free kick right in the danger area now if the defender can't do their jobs don't criticise our players for taking advantage,

Ironically they had 2 shots on goal that got them a point, even though they had 59% possession, 24 shots and 9 corners.

 

I’d say naive. He got sucked in by a shithousery opponent who did a sly dirty elbow in the face for no reason and then dived

 

I'd add that it was positive Novak was in the box ready to capitalise on McGee's error. Last season there would have been nobody there to do that.

 

Edited for you.

 

Victoria sponge probably

 

Well it was either a miss kick or poor defending that lead to their equilizer so I'll give the kid the benefit.
Players do make mistakes in games which can lead to a result like today's, I will agree I was surprised by today's team selection, but having said that and accepting going forward we offered little, you have to ask was the team selection like that to get a result from the game, it was 1 - 1 when Anthony O'Connor got his red and actually winning when Paudie O'Connor saw red, so until Paudie got his marching orders we were very much in the game with the possibility of getting a point.

 

I'd say Wood did his usual, and probably was our MOM due him making a last ditch tackle to mop up French's mistake. Staunton was steady until he got unsteady. I've been kind to French, but his positioning was poor today. Almost as poor as Richard OD's kicks. Shocking.

Right at the beginning of today's thread, I stated that I've finally realised we're watching League Two football, purely because the first half was one of the most woeful first halves I've seen in a long while, and the second half, exciting though it was, was littered with mistakes, fouls, headbutts,sending offs, a penalty, a missed penalty, missed opportunities, misplaced passes and generally League Two rubbishness - by BOTH teams. It's normally the case that one team is better than the other, but today they were both as bad as each other.