FL2: Accrington Stanley vs Torquay United - 02/03

That was the first chance I've had to see the Gulls since Rotherham away - only a ten minute trip along the M65 for me this time. A draw was probably a fair result and it was important for us not to lose above all. The first 20 minutes or so we were quite neat and tidy in our passing and looked the better side, keeping possession well. Jarvis had a decent chance pretty well from the kick-off and might have been a little more decisive when he broke clear on the left, his shot being deflected for a corner. Billy's trickery worked a couple of good positions for us which didn't come to anything. Then Accie got on top with a series of corners , usually inswinging with a following wind and Poke dealt with them pretty well, usually by punching the ball away rather than risk trying to catch it under pressure. Accie were more dominant in the second half but we had a couple of spells, one in particular which definitely had them rattled. Bodin got in on the left and blazed over, with a definite touch from the keeper although a goal-kick was given - not the first poor decision against us by the referee. Two more were to follow; first Howe wriggled clear on the left only to go down for what seemed a blatant penalty, nothing given. Even worse then, Saah - up in the box following a corner - played it to Bodin only to be dumped on the floor by a defender. Again, nothing given. Just when it seemed to be heading for a draw it looked for one horrible moment as if Accie had won it. One of their players broke through a couple of poor challenges and hit a firm low shot which Poke parried into the path of a forward following up who netted, only for the offside flag to go up. There was still time for Utd to get a free kick at the other end and Nico hit a decent shot which the keeper scrambled away. Was it the only direct shot he had to deal with, we wondered ? All in all I thought Utd were not bad, having read all the recent match reports etc on the forum and expecting the worst. having said that I don't think Accie were great - despite the recent couple of results it was clear why they too had been on a poor run. Fo me the MOM was McDonald by a country mile as far as outfield players were concerned. Poke had a good game, having to deal with a lot of crosses and corners under pressure and often in a swirling breeze. The shots he spilled were well-struck and low down to his side. I thought Bodin looked lively and always with a trick or too - fans should definitley encourage him. Jarvis fitted in well and was ok, Oastler did well at the back and going forward. Manse and Lathrope worked hard in midfield but were occasionally guilty of giving the ball away needlessly. Couldn't fault Benyon -he held the ball up well and chased everything, including one seemingly totally lost cause where he ended up winning us a corner and another when he got laid out when the ball was smacked straight in his face as he closed down a defender.As for Rene I can see what some members mean when they say he has been subdued - that seems to describe his performance today perfectly.I was somewhat surprised when Leadbitter came on for Jarvis - seemed to be a clear statement we were settling for a point but - as I said before, that was number one priority, so objective achieved. Onward and ..... (upward ?) !

Many thanks for your excellent match report Peter G, its good to read one of your reports again; I hope both you and your brother are both well and happy.


Right lets get the negative out of the way, once again we failed to score a goal and that is a major concern as we need to score goals to win games to get enough points to get safer up the table. What is wrong with Howe? He seems to have gone off the boil completely; hard to believe earlier in the season he was so close to breaking a goal scoring record.

On to the positives, we finally stopped the losing run and earned a point, yes three would have been much better, but I think we would have all taken a point before kick-off if it had been offered to us. I said this morning all we need to do is match or better the results of the teams below us, this we did today and need to do for the last remaining eleven games.

Lets be honest its going to be a horrible time from now to the end of the season, as it stands we are now two points away from the drop zone, but we may in weeks ahead find ourselves in there. I believe that is going to happen and then the next week we will find ourselves a point or two above it again. As long as we end up on the final day above the drop zone, then we can all then just forget about this season and look forward to the next one.

We do have another hard game coming up against Oxford. I myself will be there and I hope as many as possible also come along as this is the time we do need to show our support. The rest will be up to the players and I hope by next Saturday we do have one or two new players in the side. Our defence is fine, we do need a striker and someone who can create from midfield. We know the problems the manager faces trying to get players to come down here, but Buckle always seemed to be able to do it and I’m sure our manager will also.

We all should feel a bit happier this weekend, we have a very good chance to stay in this division and its down to us to take it.

11 games to go and we need to win 5 of them,and that means scoring,something we just cant seem to do,hope knilly has a few tricks up his sleeve,others around us are finding the net worryingly

Thought Macklin looked a threat against Vale when introduced.
Knill says he is basing his team selection judged on how they perform and respond in training which is fair enough and as honest as you can get.
I have a feeling that whatever league we are in there will be plenty on their way and Macklin has had his chances in the past three seasons so wouldn't be surprised. Its pretty evident to me it needs an injection of new blood even Rene has lost any magic he had, who knows he may feel in his heart that he's had enough and just cannot be arsed anymore. Hes still scored getting on for half our goals this season. Just Imagine where we would be now without the goals he did actually score. Already down I would imagine. Knill certainly needs to get him re-motivated.
Good job we never had an offer for him as well at the season start in that respect.

Considering the two penalty appeals not given perhaps this poor offside decision evened itself out. I have often thought that when the officials realise they have made a big mistake, (not giving a pen), they `adjust` their decision making to compensate. Anyway, water under the bridge and all that. Good point. Feel loads better this Sunday morning. Might even take the dog in Sutton Park. He will wish we get a result every week! Actually looking forward to Oxford, though I realise the pitfalls of euphoric expectation. Thank you Mr Knill.

I find it heartening that clubs like Accrington are able to function in League two on such gates. I feel a sense of security with our 2000 ish. If they can do it, we can.

  Too right! At the moment we need all the luck in the world  and will gladly take any that comes our way. But this is not human error or misinterpretation of the laws, it's the sort of incompetence that is becoming more and more noticeable in the lower reaches of the football league. How on earth the linno reached this conclusion from a position directly in line with the last defender is beyond me. The Accy player who put the ball in the back of the net can be seen on the shoulder of Nico!  It sounded on the radio as if the time taken out of the game due to swapping officials was overlooked as well.  Not a good day at the office for all, but a more than satisfactory outcome for us. 

  Dave,
   I think you have been convinced by others regarding the Exeter penalty. It was soft admittedly and Bodin chose to go down when he could have stayed on his feet, but it was a penalty and I can understand why the referee gave it. It was very similar to one conceded by Oastler at Plainmoor only a few games before. Again I can understand why the referee gave that one too.  What I struggle to understand is why standards are slipping when thousands of pounds of FA cash is been spent every week, employing people to try improve things.