rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Feb 28, 2019 23:24:16 GMT
Is this a local derby? I suppose the visitors think so after the reverse fixture where their typical home attendance of around 500 was boosted to over 1700 for our Tuesday night visit. Not that our away end will be packed out on Saturday so it won’t feel like one.
After a close run thing with fellow strugglers East Thurrock on Tuesday and dropping two points at Weston I don’t think anyone will be under estimating our opponents but having said that we are on a great home run going back to mid November with eight straight wins in the league, scoring 33 goals in the process but conceding 10 so no shortage of entertainment for those going to Plainmoor. (*not including the Truro away game on New Year’s Day with a further 3 making it 36 in nine - still an average of 4 home goals a game) The closest game ironically in that period was a 2-1 win against another relegation threatened team - Gloucester CIty.
There will be a straight forward change to our starting XI with the return of Cameron following his two match suspension who will be fresh and strengthens our defence. Keating will be unlucky not to start after his contribution on Tuesday but a big call to drop / rest either Andrews or Kalala and suspect he will be a second half substitution barring injuries and/or icebergs.
Weather forecast is not great but a lot of the rain seems to be coming immediately after the match so expect this to be on. COYY.
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 1, 2019 14:03:14 GMT
link - Johnson wants the team to do the talking tomorrow. Other news is Sendles-White picked up an Achilles injury and is a doubt but doesn’t sound like a long term issue. Dickson didn’t come on as he got booked while still on the sidelines.
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 1, 2019 16:02:44 GMT
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 1, 2019 19:49:00 GMT
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 1, 2019 22:50:42 GMT
Worth noting it is fan’s zone again pre match for anyone going a little early.
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Post by stig123 on Mar 2, 2019 15:50:37 GMT
Trailing 1-0 at half time again. Can we keep pulling rabbits out of the hat?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 17:00:06 GMT
Trailing 1-0 at half time again. Can we keep pulling rabbits out of the hat? Nope...playing the form team on Tuesday...happy days!
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Post by stig123 on Mar 2, 2019 17:05:08 GMT
2-1 home defeat...didn't see that coming. Top v bottom curse again.
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Post by Swanny on Mar 2, 2019 17:40:42 GMT
A disastrous day at Plainmoor and you could argue we got what we deserved. The truth is that the first half performance was woeful reminding me of the inept performances I used to see under Owers. Torquay had the wind in their favour in the first half but constantly over-hit the ball into touch. Players were mis-controlling the ball, there was no pace or momentum, it was all very ragged. Add to that a referee with no authority and did not give Torquay some key decisions like a good penalty call, or letting off their player from a red card for violent conduct, and Weston's keeper who took ages to take goal kicks without a warning - it all added to a very frustrating afternoon.
But Torquay ultimately had only themselves to blame for such a lack lustre first half performance. Even before Weston scored, they had two decent chances. MacDonald came to the rescue on one occasion with a fine 1-on-1 save and so the warning signs were there. But a few minutes later, Niate made a right hash of possession just outside his box instead of clearing his lines. Weston were through again and made no mistake slotting the ball past MacDonald. The game got very edgy with no real rhythm that clearly suited Weston who understandingly ran the clock down and put players behind the ball.
Torquay finally found their rhythm and passing in the second half and built sustained pressure with countless corners. But chances came and went until Janneh got fouled in the box and earned a penalty. Under great pressure Reid dispatched the penalty expertly into the bottom corner of the net. But Weston had the final say. Andrews got beaten on our right on the half-way line and the Weston player was through with no defender in sight. He coolly slotted the ball past MacDonald into the far corner and Torquay were finished. We got out of jail last Tuesday with a poor performance but we did not get away with it today. We got what we deserved by not getting our game together until well into the second half with too many players making too many mistakes. Niate, Evans, Andrews in particular had off days. Asa Hall in the second half did lead by example and there was no lack of effort in the second half by the team, but it is difficult to break teams down and we are becoming susceptible on the break.
It is also worrying that we have so few options on the bench. Keating again did well when coming on but we don't even have cover right now at centre back. There are worrying signs creeping in that opposing teams are sussing us out how to stop us and we do not have many options.
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 2, 2019 18:41:03 GMT
A rare below par performance for us at home not helped by some poor and weak officiating as we slid to defeat while pushing for winner which is not necessarily a bad thing I suppose.
We started the game quite tentatively and made three early defensive errors and you can only push your luck so far with their attacker finally able to get behind Niate and slide the ball home under MacDonald.
It turned out to be a very frustrating first half with their keeper in particular indulging in lots of time wasting which the ref never really cracked down upon. Also one incident where their player held on to the ball for our throw in, a talking to was given to him and Andrews involved in the altercation then a yellow came Cameron’s way for knocking the ball out of their player’s hands to slow things down at the next throw in.
We did have some chances in this half but unusually were not able to hit the target. We had a very good penalty shout with Lemonheigh-Evans playing a nice one two with Janneh in the box before being taken down from behind. I thought that was clear cot but the ref had a mare.
We did play much better in the second half putting Weston under a lot of pressure and at times really pegged them back deep into their own half. However once again shots were going just wide, hit well over from within the area, rebounding off our own player or coming off the crossbar from a Reid cross/shot.
We finally managed to get a deserved penalty when Janneh got away in the area and was brought down with Reid dispatched the resulting penalty away with aplomb into the bottom left hand corner. However, it was 70 minutes on the clock by this stage and time was running out. Keating came on for Andrews who was probably under par more than most but kept to the left side which did not suit.
While we were attacking the ball was kicked out for a throw mid way into Weston’s half and Wynter took a quick throw but the ball was lost and Lemonheigh-Evans was unable to retrieve the situation and their forward was able to run clear into our area and slot the ball home.
With only six minutes remaining and the usual time wasting going on we were never able to build up a head of pressure to get an equaliser. The match finished with Lemonheigh-Evans charging towards the edge of their area where he appeared to be brought down but the referee saw a foul in favour of Weston capping off a pretty poor performance from him.
So to summarise, we were not on our game, initially defensively and then up front as we chased the game and can do a lot better than today.
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petef
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Post by petef on Mar 2, 2019 18:53:03 GMT
Some of the daft score arrogant predictions I read pre-match on social media were laughable - 7-0 double figures etc. Underestimate any team at your peril. Well our deficiencies were well and truly laid bare today though having said that on our day the deficiencies and weaknesses don't matter a jot and we still have the ability beat any team at this level. We also have to remember that many of our squad would struggle at a higher level than NLS OR National League, that's why they'r here at this level and are playing for us! Too many players had off days today almost as if the expectation levels had risen too high and they couldn't cope with the added pressure. Add that to Weston having absolutely zero to lose and plenty to prove the recipe for an upset was written long before a ball was kicked. It happens at every level and its somewhat of a shock when for months we have been rolling over teams for fun with fast flowing football - we've been spoiled for months week after week and we now face a mini crisis after we also got lucky in the previous fixture against another lowly and written off team in East Thurock. WSM had a game plan that worked well helped buy an inept referee who missed so much all game and failed to stamp on blatant time wasting. But who can blame them? Once they went ahead early after a basic Niate error it was going to be long and frustrating afternoon. They packed their penalty box, defended well and rode their luck for virtually the entire second half while we wasted and snatched at chances all afternoon and showed little composure on the ball when it mattered. If I was a supporter of WSM I would be asking serious questions as to why they don't do it every week. We were in semi panic mode until the penalty when their was some relief but a fantastic and speedy break out from the back on the Popside left CLEvans (not MOM ?? Andrews who had gone off by this time) who tried everything including wrestling and blocking to stop the man, flailing on the touch line and a brilliant solo finish completed the smash and grab victory for Weston. More time wasting in the final minutes followed of course and the whistle mercifully blew to leave our players looking totally dejected. As others have pointed out we had little on the bench to change things - if we don't fire on all cylinders and the pattern of play is dictated from KO we so often don't defend well and concede soft goals all to regularly. When did we last have a clean sheet?? No problem at all when we knock in four or five. GJ will have answers I'm certain and its more important than ever we continue to get behind this squad and not turn on them as I heard few in the crowd today. Personally I think we play better against sides with more ambition they leave more space for us to exploit. A tough one to follow that on Tuesday - For me I keep getting this de ja vu feeling from 1968 - surely they cant f**k it up this season!
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 2, 2019 20:57:24 GMT
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Post by stig123 on Mar 3, 2019 9:46:21 GMT
Makes Tuesday's game a must win.
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Post by chelstongull on Mar 3, 2019 10:58:10 GMT
That must have been the worse performance I’ve seen in many years with too much fannying around with the ball, a bench which didn’t and couldn’t change a game and one of the worse attempted tackles on the WSM no 16 I’ve even seen (thats tackling in general, not just on their no 16)- very powderpuff - shoulder him into the pop side for Cliffs sake.
Apart from the few 45 minute performances we’ve been poor since the Bath defeat. Yesterday’s performance wasn’t a one off.
The squad is too waafer thin and needs beefy additions and pronto.
Despite the ref who must have been trained by Brett Huxtable and some time tactics by their ‘keeper we still should have blown them away.
I’m sitting not far from the Prince of Plainmoor, may ask him to bring his boots Tuesday.
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petef
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Post by petef on Mar 3, 2019 11:59:05 GMT
Its going to be a tough and nervy run in for the top place. Both ourselves and Woking are getting the wobbles to some degree but fortunately those below us have also been unable to gain ground and I feel there is still a big enough of a gap in points for it still to be a two horse race though it would be foolish to be complacent.
My concern is we have dropped off of that wave we have been riding for a few months after GJ's arrival and have continued to concede sloppy goals against lesser opposition. Its that open style pressing game that continues to make us vulnerable to the breaks that have done for us recently. If the midfield and forwards are not on their games 100% this will continue to be a problem. There doesn't seem to be a plan to consolidate a lead other than keep going forward for more goals in the same open fashion. Great entertainment for sure and I'm not complaining but I reckon we've reached a point where we need another side to our game. When did we last have a clean sheet I find it hard to remember one in the last couple of months. When we go behind we tend to look a bit desperate and impatient and stop playing our normal game usually intensified by the delaying tactics we watched yesterday and will continue to happen if we concede early. Pretty sure its a psychological problem as much as anything and they're all just as desperate as us to get the right result.
This week, though not decisive is going to be the biggest of the season so far playing two in form teams tucked in behind us and Woking waiting to pounce and who will have gained considerable encouragement from yesterdays poor result and display. GJ will have a job on his hands to lift the players after that body blow defeat yesterday and he has little in the way of options on the sidelines - a real shame we more than likely wont see Opie Edwards in the shirt again this season and somewhat surprised he hasn't brought another body or two in.
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