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Post by capitalgull on Feb 24, 2009 22:45:26 GMT
Well, I eschewed the chance of listening to the game on the radio tonight and instead made the 10-minute train journey to watch a team we could well be playing in the BSP next season, Hampton and Richmond at the Beveree against Bishop's Stortford.
And if you think the referee Torquay had to put up with tonight was bad, you should have seen the efforts of one Mr Carl Berry of Cheam in Surrey. So pally with the players and the management he forgot he actually had to apply the laws of the game on the pitch.
I was stood next to a Scottish guy, who I later found out was Chelsea's youth and welfare officer Gerry Harvey, and he said he could not believe the poor guy's ineptitude.
But at the end of a fiery 90 minutes, which included a run out for former Gull Stevland Angus in the back for Stortford, the Beavers took another step towards at least getting a place in the BSS play-offs with a 2-1 win...all three goals coming from the penalty spot!! Stortford also had former Gulls loanee Narada Bernardon the bench, but he did not make an appearance.
Angus struggled badly, but it is worth nothing both of the Hampton goals came after he was taken off. Lost another yard of pace. Men to watch - Shaun McAuley the right winger for Hampton, and Harlee Deen from Stortford, a young kid who played well in the centre of midfield and then went into the back-four when Angus went off...sadly it was him who gave away the vital penalty.
A crowd of 278, and not one of them from either side would have found a good word to say for the man in black! (Probably not even his mum had she been in the crowd!!!)
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Feb 24, 2009 22:48:40 GMT
Nothing wrong with the performance or the manager tonight, we were robbed by some very poor decisions.  We certainly started the brighter with Benyon seemingly through on goal at one stage but given off-side. (I was towards the Ellacombe end on the pop side so wasn't really in a position to judge) Almost got a goal from a throw in that evaded everybody and the keeper just tipped over after misjudging the bounce!! The came the wonder goal from Green - received the ball just in from the touch line in his own half and cut inside and kept going and then hit his 30 yard shot sweetly into the top left corner of the net - should succeed Sills as goal of season  Basically, we were generally in control, but then came 15 minutes that turned the match on its head Their winger had the ball on the left side of the penalty area and crossed the ball staight into the chasing Mansell hitting him on the arm about waist high from point blank range. His arms were only up to the extent that anyone normally running would but ref was very definate about the penalty. Shortly after we broke another attack up on the edge on the penalty area and Wroe decided to run the ball across the edge of the box, at which point he was tackled and the shot from the right corner of the area just squeezed in off the inside of the post. The third goal came from the right wing with Hodges too slow to make the covering tackle - not sure where Nicholson was at this point? Shock  Then the fightback, Sills was unlucky not to score from a shot to the nearside left hand post which went for a corner. Then a free kick was gained from just outside the penalty area from a similar hand ball to the penalty. The cross from Nicholson was met by Hargreaves at the far post to head home! 3-2 Half time. The second half was unending pressure to get that elusive goal. Benyon had a good chance to score early on but hit over from just inside the penalty area. The pop side linesman then preceded to go to pieces. Missed, basic corners, blatent fouls - shirt tugging / sumo wrestling etc etc. To cap it off, he decided for some reason to disallow the equaliser From the right wing, Green took the ball well into the box and I thought decided to shoot but hooked the ball well wide of the goal (but with my view blocked), Benyon got the ball just inside the six yard box to slot home. If anyone else can explain why it was offside, I would be very interested.  The "winner" was scored shortly after from close range by Christie. Despite a frantic finish the winning goal could not be found. I thought Carayol was excellent tonight and Green performed a much better job than Dsane on the wing. Wroe was poor tonight and lucky to be kept on the pitch. |
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Feb 24, 2009 23:06:46 GMT
The first thing to say is you won't get better entertainment anywhere for £15 and yes the result is not what was required, but I'm glad I went and not stayed in and watched Man U.
I forgot to take my note pad today so this report will be as it comes and I will add to it tomorrow. For the first 10 Min's It looked like FGR had just come for a draw and playing three upfront we had no width what soever and I did not look to be working or was ever going to work.
I have said before that Green is at his best running in the middle of the pitch and not having to run from the middle out wide, as he has been doing. He picked the ball up on the half way line close to the popside, he just ran toward the edge of the box and hit the sweetest shot into the top left hand corner, you will not see a better goal scored at Plainmoor.
I then thought that the goal was worth the money to get in tonight and I believed at that point we would win in style and by three goals at least.As has been said you will not ever see a worse ref than the one we had tonight, got nothing right and allowed the FGR's keeper to waste all the time we wanted too and he also let others get away with so much time wasting.
A soft pen given, Mansell was not any distance from the FRG player who kicked it, but the ref gave it and their player hit hit hard and straight down the middle. It just seemed a hiccup and while we were making many mistakes and Wroe not having that good a game, I felt we would soon be back in front.
Why Wroe wanted to run back across the box with the ball I do not know, but he got robbed of the ball and we were two one behind. Our defense seemed all over the place and Woods was guilty of slicing a few balls, one that went back high into the box and toward goal, but Bevan jumped up and caught it.
FGR had the ball in midfield, played a great pass to the forward who just walked it into the box and hit it past Bevan, three one and I think I was in shock, or just having a dream that someone would wake me up from in a while.
Carayol was very poor in the first half and while Benyon worked hard he did nothing for me and I wished Bucks had gone with Christie from the start.Still the team kept at it and in injury time Mansell crossed in the ball and Sills got his head on it, not that much power, but the keeper made a great save, diving to his left to push it out.You felt that was going to be it for the first half, then we won a free kick just out side the box on the left hand side, Nico sent a great ball to the back post and Hargreaves headed in a great goal.
Second half and I was not sure how the game was going to end up, Green started going out more on the right and was not so effective and the game was calling out for changes to be made. Benyon thought he had scored, but it was given offside, could not tell from where I was, but you felt it was going to be another one of those games, where we seem to be on top, but can't score when we need to.
Benyon went off and on come Christie and it was not long before he got his goal, can't remember to much about really, but if only for the effort of some of our players it was deserved. We can blame the ref all we want, but the fact is we let in three goals and only got a point from a game at home against a team near the bottom.
I do fear for our game on Saturday, we will need to play much better than we did tonight and if we do not do that then I fear we will struggle to even make the play-offs.
A very poor crowd and one that was getting more hostile as the night went on, Steve 004 became aware that some were planning to kick off, due to the ref and he had is hands full, I did see a few removed, sadly they struggled to control our C singers tonight, who ruined the night for me, to the point I felt It was time to find something else to do with my time. Why do I want to be in the same place as some of the people who call themselves fans, well the good news is I will feel better tomorrow and remember its the club I support.
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Post by ohtobeatplainmoor on Feb 24, 2009 23:12:13 GMT
Righty-ho. Firstly - that was an unbelieveable display from the match officials - that ranks with some of the worst I have seen. The idiot in the middle of the pitch against Weymouth wasn't as bad as the guy tonight.
I would also add that I have never seen a team with black shorts and black socks and a black and white shirt ref'd with a IDENTICAL kit other than the white stripes - goalkeepers have to wear different socks - why didn't this idiot?
The amount of goalmouth melees meant that in a crowd of legs meant that he couldn't be distinguished in the heat of the moment.
Anyway, enough of those idiots. .........
Green scored such a wonderful goal and we nearly added a second when the keeper couldn't see the ball looping-in but it was scrambled for a corner. I thought we were in complete control but it all just went strangely wrong....
Wroe (who had the worst match I have seen him have for us - admittedly I'm not a fan of his but he was terrible tonight) set-up their player for the equaliser (with the deftest touch he produced all night) after what sounded like a cabon-copy of the penalty at Kettering.
Their time wasting at 1-1 was unbelievable - the ref would blow to make them hurry-up but they would carry-on dicking-around without any consequences.
The shape that we used meant that Nico and Mansell were exposed all too offten. We hardly had time to start chasing the game when FGR found themselves 3-1 up. I still didn't think we were out of it with the "firepower" we had on the pitch, Hargreaves leaping like a salmon to head the ball home from a Nico set piece to give us hope.
In the second half I felt that it would be a matter of time before we equalised, but we were frustrated by bizarre free-kicks given against us, time wasting and some very poor crossing and approach work.
Carayol looked dangerous at times and Benyon showed some good touches, but despite the feeling that the equaliser was inevitible we just couldn't unlock their defence until Benyon poked-home - but the flag went straight-up. I couldn't tell from where I was stood whether he was off-side or not but the linesman got everything else wrong tonight so he isn't getting the benefit of the doubt!
Christie didn't look anywhere near fit - in fact he seemed to have gone backwards since his debut, but he got the equaliser in a scramble with 10 minutes left. To be fair, FGR didn't change their approach - they parked the proverbial bus in front of the goal.
I knew that the winner wouldn't come when Wroe gave his textbook "lean-back" stance and swiped the ball tamely over from the bar to the despair of the crowd and that was more or less it.
In real terms (our rivals all seeming to win), tonight was a very poor result. There is no point in blaming the ref and his pultroon of an assistant, we have to do enough to win the game without them being a factor.
Whilst clawing-back a 2 goals to equalise should leave you feeling happy, the sloppy play in the middle of the pitch at times meant that FGR were made to look like world beaters.
There was no lack of effort tonight and we were not outfought, but again we didn't do enough to win.
I've never been one to call for the head of Buckle and tonight is no different- (especially so close to the end of the game), but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't losing faith in us making the play-offs. We tried something very different tonight and in some way we looked like a threat, but other times we looked hopelessly exposed.
I can understand why that was the smallest (non) league crowd I have seen for some considerable time. They are not going to get bigger in the foreseeable future either.
I would like to see Hargreaves partnered by Hodges in the midfield at Oxford and pop Robertson or ellis alongside Woods. However, Oxford will be another team above us come the final whistle on Saturday if some of the sloppy play this evening is to be repeated - which it seems to be week after week at the moment.
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Feb 24, 2009 23:17:16 GMT
Greeting to you timp1 and welcome to the forum, ohtobeatplainmoor top man again, posting updates live from the ground so many thanks, I hope it is not costing you a fortune to do it.
Still going over the game in my mind and still trying to decide what I made of it all, but as good as the come back may be seem, I think this is a damaging result on our play-off hopes.
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Post by ohtobeatplainmoor on Feb 24, 2009 23:33:03 GMT
No Dave, I've got an unlimited data contract so it doesn't cost a penny more.
I have it on most of the day rather than use my laptop at work, refreshing from time to time when no-one is watching - the site is compulsive viewing these days due to the quality of EVERY contributor. Even when my girlfriend thinks I'm way from reading about TUFC, I'm still doing it on the sly!!
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Feb 24, 2009 23:44:23 GMT
ohtobeatplainmoor, as I said I think its great that you do it and has to be a forum first it was good to meet Merses mate for the first time tonight atheringtongull a true Devonian if ever I saw one, not sure what his views will be on the game tonight, also great to chat with Jon Phil(clelstongull) timbo, Baron got past me somehow ;D and tufc01 and young chips2. Steve 004 and the stewards had there hands full tonight and merse is so correct when he says we have a unhealthy undertone of undesirables now at Plainmoor and while there are other reasons the gates are falling this bunch is not helping and its time for the club to make its feelings known and get on top of it before things get out of hand in the ground. |
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Post by jmgull on Feb 25, 2009 0:49:59 GMT
....Pretty much agree with a lot of what RJDgull and DaveR has said about tonights game.
Just a few of my thoughts...
Games against Forest Green always seem to be crackers dont they? They move the ball well and their play is always pleasing on the eye.......if they ever manage to sign some decent defenders they will be a force in this league, at the back they were there for the taking.
The manager shouldn't get his usual slaughtering after this game.....99 times out of 100 that penalty wouldnt have been given, it was a crucial decision at a crucial time that gave FGR an undeserved foothold in the game
The selection was a bold attacking move....Green in place of Dsane on the left and Carayol on the right gave us real pace and intent down the flanks, not sure that Green has the discipline in his game to continue in this role, defensively his failure to track back will leave Nicholson very exposed against the better sides in this league. At home though, it gives our attacking play another dimension.
As i've said the (daft) penalty decision changed the whole complection of the game, after Greens sumptious goal it looked like a case of how many would we score.......we lost our discipline for a spell and were punished clinically. You always felt though that we had goals in us tonight and so it proved........so frustrating that we didnt go on to win the game though, a decent comeback but 2 points dropped against a struggling side.
I did think that Bucks left Christie on the bench for far too long, FGR's weak defence were there to be bullied (made for a Sills, Christie partnership) though they were too strong for Benyon who had a quiet game and should have come off at half time.
I have a feeling that Elliot's run in the side is over again for the time being, with Green or Christie about to replace him - my moneys on Green for Oxford.
Real shame that our increasing band of fairweather fans missed a really entertaining game tonight.
Forget the telly, a pleasant, mild evening and only 1554!! - a really depressing figure.
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chelstongull
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Post by chelstongull on Feb 25, 2009 8:22:36 GMT
I thought that Woodsie had one of his worse games in a Yellow shirt for a long time.
Taking the officials apart (yes that would be nice), we can't carry on giving goals away like last night.
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Post by Budleigh on Feb 25, 2009 9:11:29 GMT
Whatever the result should've been taking all the above mentioned factors into consideration, I back up what Dave R says above... It was cracking entertainment for the money. And as to the attendance, it was always going to be on the low side with the televised Man Utd game but at least we didn't watch a sterile bore.
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Post by dazgull on Feb 25, 2009 9:12:36 GMT
Woods did have a bad game and obviously not fit. Robertson must have been going mad on the bench in the first half when Woods miskicked twice under no pressure and then gave the ball away which started the move off for the penalty. he will keep his place though so unlucky Robertson.
Wroe was also a major disappointment. His passing was way off and must have been still thinking he was strolling around the pitch in Malta. I would have taken him off with 30mins to go and brought Thompson on.
A very very frustrating evening and even though we got a late equaliser walking abck to the car it felt like a defeat.
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Post by David Graham's Eighth Pint on Feb 25, 2009 10:08:55 GMT
Guys, let’s not turn this into the “other” site. To suggest that we have no chance of getting to the playoffs is laughable.
We’re in the playoff zone for crying out loud!
Cast your minds back to September. We’ve just lost 1-0 away at Kidderminster and we’re teetering just above the relegation zone. After that, a so-called easy match at home to Northwich Victoria. The Yellows scrape three points thanks to a penalty awarded roughly half-an-hour into injury time. Cries of “We’ll never go up this year!” and “Buckle out!” ring around Plainmoor. A dozen or so league matches later and we’re back to where we “belong”: challenging for the title.
The playoffs are essentially cup games: form counts for nothing. We just need to concentrate on actually getting there. Stevenage Borough, for example, are on a tremendous run of form. If they continue their unbeaten run until the end of the season then fair play to them. But it will not matter a jot when it comes to the semi-finals.
Aussie, I don’t doubt it when people say the referee was poor, but can we really put that down as the reason we didn’t take all three points tonight? For you to make such drastic exclamations about the officials when you aren’t even at the game smacks of desperation mate.
At Kettering the referee was abysmal, but we played so badly in the first half that, frankly, we didn’t deserve to come away with a point. I can’t comment on last night’s performance, but conceding three at home to a team struggling for BSP survival does not scream out “solid performance”...
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petef
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Post by petef on Feb 25, 2009 10:11:53 GMT
Woods did have a bad game and obviously not fit. Robertson must have been going mad on the bench in the first half when Woods miskicked twice under no pressure and then gave the ball away which started the move off for the penalty. he will keep his place though so unlucky Robertson. [glow=red,2,300]Wroe was also a major disappointment. His passing was way off and must have been still thinking he was strolling around the pitch in Malta[/glow]. I would have taken him off with 30mins to go and brought Thompson on. A very very frustrating evening and even though we got a late equaliser walking abck to the car it felt like a defeat. At the end of the day that is exactly the reason why he is playing at our level as he simply cannot produce consistent performances game after game. There are only a few in the squad who you can say have performed consistently well for us and that is why we are not on the top of the pile. Yes it may be a talented squad that SHOULD make the playoffs but if individuals continue to fall below the expected standard after sometimes producing outstanding displays ( Coventry / Blackpool)you cannot expect success or indeed blame a manager. |
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Post by dazgull on Feb 25, 2009 10:29:47 GMT
Your spot on there Pete. This squad is good enough to do it but they are not consistant. Seems light years ago that between september and november we won 8 games on the trot in the league.
Since then however we have won 4 out of 12 and only 2 out of 7 at home during that period. We have just about the worst home record in the top 10 at the moment with us failing to win 9 out of 17 games.
There is still plenty of time though as we are only coming up to March but we have to start putting together some wins to at least let the other teams know we are still to be reckoned with.
Oxford will be extremely difficult and cant see us winning there plus its a setanta game and we seem to have an agreement with them that we wont win when being shown live.
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Post by David Graham's Eighth Pint on Feb 25, 2009 11:01:03 GMT
For the record, I watched the Manchester United game (well, I do live in Surrey...) and it was far from a dull 0-0. |
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