I was surprised to get an email and a phone call earlier this week to say that I had won a pair of tickets for this match in an online competition/draw thingy. Not beause I didn't remember entering (I did!) but because I hardly ever win anything in raffles, draws or competitions. A nice surprise then, and a good reason to drag my occasional attendee teenage son along to the game. I know he'd come more often if home games didn't involve a three hour round trip stuck in a car with his dad!
I thought it would be interesting to listen to what he thought of the game and our team - just to get another point of view. When I collected our tickets from reception, I realised that we would be getting an alternative point of view in another sense as the tickets were for the South Stand Upper. I'm normally an East Stand right sider, and had never been up in the lofty heights before, but given that the tickets up there are dearer than the East Stand, I fully expected prawn sarnies and a pint of foaming ale to be laid on, and was hoping for hot and cold running floozies to serve them. What we got was wind. Not from eating too many canapes, but the sort that seemed to have been sent directly from the Russian steppes to remind up that winter was not yet over. It was brass monkeys. It was also very quiet. The SSUers can be lampooned sometimes, but it is the god's honest truth that a bloke a few seats down had a tartan travel rug tucked in over his legs and at one point , the only sound you could hear was a chap two rows back opening a packet of chewy toffees. I promise. But - you get a really good view. You do get a completely different impression of the game and I can see why some managers occasionally decide to sit in the stands to watch at least part of the game.
Anyway - let's get on or we'll all freeze to death sitting here. I'll try to type quietly, we don't want to wake anyone up now, do we?
Team unchanged. Toss won. Female cheerleader/gymnastics thing watched (for a bit then ignored).
It started a bit cagey, as they say. Not much happened until Wes Thomas, the leading Cheltenham striker, found the net from an offside position. There were no real protests from the men in red and white. Then Tommy Craddock found himself in a one on one with the Robin's keeper. A slightly heavy touch put him a bit close to the keeper and his shot cannoned away to safety. TC should probably have done better. Oxford then took charge, with Cheltenham looking to attack on the break. A couple of good attempts from Constable, a few passes that almost split the visitors defence, some excellent attacking play from Batt and the rejuvenated Tonkin and a whole load of nice passing lead to no goals. Then a rare Cheltenham attack lead to a goal. A hopeful punt up field looked as if it was no threat. Jake Wright left it for Ryan Clarke to collect, Clarke was either too slow or simply too far away to get it, Wes Thomas nipped in between the dithering duo and lobbed the keeper (very well) to put us one down. Undeservedly on the balance of play, but you can't do that in defence and hope to get away with it too often. So, 20 minutes or so of the half left. We had been creating so much, surely we could come back.
We did. Some lovely work from Batt down the right, a good cross and Craddock repeated his goal of a couple of weeks ago by side-of-facing the ball into the bottom left corner. Some of the SSU got up and cheered a bit. We then went into passing mode and looked generally comfortable if not very threatening (except for one corner that their goalie punched into his own net - disallowed for some pushing in the area. Hmm) until half time.
Now, as regular readers will know, I am a HUGE fan of Rosie's entertaining crossbar challenges, but with the temperature plummeting (Son - 'Dad, do you know your lips have gone blue?') we took refuge in the 'refreshments area'. I don't usually buy food or drink from the stadium but, despite last week's revelation that we do NOT get any of the catering income, I decided that we needed something hot. Two cups of coffee and a bag of smarties later and OGB was richer by £6.10. But at least our hands were warm, even if his heart is cold.
Unfortunately, we also missed the repeat performance of the cheerleaders/gymnasts. Damnation.
The teams re-emerged and from the kick off, Cheltenham put the yellows under considerable pressure for the first 10 minutes of the half. We simply couldn't get out of our own half. A series of corners, a missed header and not much else was all that resulted though. We then took the game by the scruff of the neck and looked as if we were going to take all three points. Batt and Constable came close, Tonkin made some good runs. Helslop came on for Hall and Potter replaced Craddock. Neither substitution seemed to help really, in fact probably the opposite, although both were fairly logical. Hall looked knackered, but Heslop didn't really provide much forward impetus. The idea of Potter running at a tired defence also appealed, but he didn't really do that either. Rather than staying out wide and beating the man that Batt had been tormenting all afternoon he kept wandering into the middle, often trying to do too much himself rather than looking for a final pass. We obviously thought we could win the game, but Cheltenham thought they could do the same and were dangerous on the break.
It all looked to have gone terminally pear shaped when the otherwise excellent Tonkin made a rash challenge inside the Us penalty area (yes, it was inside). It was a silly thing to do - the man was going away from goal posing no real danger, but he went over like a sack of spuds. Did Tonks get the ball first? Maybe. Did it look like a penalty? Well from the SSU it probably did. Up stepped the leading Cheltenham scorer, down went the best keeper in the division, and away went the ball for a corner. Phew. Squeaky bum time.
The final few minutes were a bit of a mess. We kept missing passes, kept trying to be just that bit too clever. The final whistle ended the match, giving us our first draw since time began. We tottered down the concrete steps on blocks of ice that had replaced our feet, past the pink bull and away.
Son's view:
Tonkin was the best player on the pitch
Beano spent far too much time offside
My view:
Tonkin was the best player on the pitch
Beano might have been in an offside position for much of the time, but he wasn't (as far as I can recall) actually given offside once, since he moved back onside before the ball was passed to him.
We still need more shooting. Not wild blazing away from the half way line, but the confidence to have a go when the opportunity presents itself. Clist had several chance to shoot today, but didn't. He wasn't the only one.
It was a game we should have won and could easily have lost. So perhaps a draw was fair in the end.
Whatever opposition fans say, you can hear the East Stand loud and clear. In the SSU you can also hear the oppostion fans better than in the East Stand and (because of the way the stands face) they sound louder in comparision to the east Stand than they really are.
We need a clean sheet (yawn). Maybe Tuesday?
An enjoyable game between two decent teams - going to football is a pleasure at the moment. I hope the more than 7,000 yellows fans there agreed. Perhaps they'll all come back next home game.
The SSU View:
Good.
But I'm going back home to the East Stand next time. I missed the noise and the banter.
A couple of tricky away games coming up. I'm off to both - see some of you there.
COME ON YOU YELLOWS!
Oxford United, Stereo Photography, Old Amusement Machines, Odd Musical Instruments and more.
Saturday 29 January 2011
Wednesday 26 January 2011
Very Shrew'd Indeed vs Shrewsbury (L2)
I love night games, home or away. They have a special atmosphere that somehow can never be duplicated when it's daylight. For some time (it seemed like years at the time) we couldn't win a home match on a Tuesday night, but that run was ended a little time ago.
I turned up hoping for the best. We have been playing well and despite the blip against Northampton on Saturday the confidence running through the team should be running high. It has been encouraging to see how well we have been playing recently, and success breeds success.
The bronze Ox statue in front of the stadium had recently been vandalised by someone who thought they were an artist. It was painted bright pink, but rather than mope about it the club had made a virtue out of it and had invited a Breast Cancer charity to collect - pink being the charity colour. Inside the stadium, Ollie the Ox was wearing a fetching pink shirt to match, and next Saturday has been designated a 'pink' day - so wear something pink for the Cheltenham game. A very very good response from the club. Whoever daubed the statue had better hope they are never named and shamed - there are 6,000 people who would like to have a quiet word with them!
Shewsbury would probably be a tough nut to crack, being fourth in the league and according to the radio unbeaten away since October. Not quite so impressive when you realised that this only meant 5 matches though! The Oxford team was unchanged from the starting lineup at Northampton - having a settled team is always a good thing, especially when they are winning... Two of our team (Asa Hall and James Constable) had been at Shrewsbury earlier in their careers, perhaps they'd put one over on their old team?
We won the toss, attacking the fence end first half, the match started and after a Constable chance, Shrewsbury won three corners in quick succession. The East Stand held their collective breath and sure enough from one of them a Shrews player got their head on the ball but fortunately it skewed just wide of Ryan Clarke's left hand post. Phew. Almost a repeat of the Southend/Bradford/Northampton incidents. It still needs sorting.
However, something else that needed sorting was Asa Hall's lack of goals. After ten minutes or so, that was sorted. Beano got to the Shrews goalline, pulled the ball back beautifully and Hall whacked it in. Brilliant. Oxford were well on top, and kept the pressure up for a while after the goal without looking hugely threatening. The Shrews then started to get back into it a bit and very undeservedly equalised after half an hour with a deflected shot that gave Clarke no chance. But this Oxford is made of sterner stuff than some previous teams, and went straight back on the attack. This adventurous approach looked to have paid off when the ref blew for a penalty a couple of minutes before half time. Batt seemed to have been brought down in the penalty area by a Shrews defender, and the ref pointed to the spot. From the other end of the pitch in the East Stand, it looked dubious, and so it proved. The Shrews players went and talked to the linesman, the ref evenually ambled over to do the same and the penalty changed into a corner instead. Drat. Probably the right decision, but the ref (who was veryinconsistent all night) should have gone to talk to his lino to start with. The ball had gone dead, so he hadn't had to stop play.
Half time came, and the team were applauded off at 1-1. The ref got a few boos. The half time crossbar challenge was a five from the left side vs five from the right side affair (it's nice to see that someone at the club reads this blog! Hello, whoever you are) - and did indeed generate more interest than recent affairs. That ended at 1-1 as well, so honour was satisfied. If there was one thing that seemed unlikely it was that the main event of the evening would finish all square. We had as usual looked a bit sketchy at the back and at times dangerous up front.
I thought the second half would be closely contested, but I turned out to be wrong (not for the first time). You could say that Shrewsbury never got going - or you could say that we simply bossed them out of the game. A free kick from MacLean and a good Asa Hall header from a Mclaren corner both failed to register before Beano took revenge on the club that rejected him with a nicely taken goal after an hour. 2-1 and 30 minutes to go.
We continued to press, Shrewsbury continued to create very little. Then CW introduced Alfie Potter. Suddenly we looked even more threatening against a tiring defence. Sometimes pace alone is enough, and Alfie has more than just pace. Shrewsbury had to try to look for an equaliser, but every time they went forward we nicked the ball and gave it to Alfie. He motored forwards, with the other forwards straining to keep up with him. This resulted in Shrewsbury being pinned back, and a host of half chances being created. With about a quarter of an hour to go, Constable got the ball on the right hand side of the Shrew's penalty area and slid the ball across the goalie and into the left hand side of the goal. YESSS!
The last fifteen minutes of the match were very comfortable - it hasn't been that many times this season that we have had the luxury of a 2 goal cushion going into the last knockings of the match. If any team was going to score another goal in that time, it was Oxford.
Man of the Match (is this a new thing? I don't remember it being announced before?) Beano went off with a couple of minutes to go, to a great ovation - which was repeated when the match finished. An excellent result against what was touted as a decent team. Up into the playoff places with confidence on the up and another home match on Saturday.
The trip home was long - ages to get out of the car park, then a closed road added half an hour to the trip - but since we'd won, I didn't mind too much!
Random thoughts:
Still no clean sheet (21 matches). But does it matter if we keep winning? I think it does, but maybe I'm wrong!
A fit-again Potter added a whole lot in the last quarter hour of the match - more than LSD did on Saturday, although admittedly in different circumstances.
Re the pink Ox - well done to the club for turning a negative into a real positive.
Our forwards are a real handful for opposition defences!
18 matches since a draw - is that getting to be some sort of record? Incidentally, of those 18 we have won 9 and lost 9 (27 points), If we had drawn them all and remained unbeaten then we would have 18 points.
I turned up hoping for the best. We have been playing well and despite the blip against Northampton on Saturday the confidence running through the team should be running high. It has been encouraging to see how well we have been playing recently, and success breeds success.
The bronze Ox statue in front of the stadium had recently been vandalised by someone who thought they were an artist. It was painted bright pink, but rather than mope about it the club had made a virtue out of it and had invited a Breast Cancer charity to collect - pink being the charity colour. Inside the stadium, Ollie the Ox was wearing a fetching pink shirt to match, and next Saturday has been designated a 'pink' day - so wear something pink for the Cheltenham game. A very very good response from the club. Whoever daubed the statue had better hope they are never named and shamed - there are 6,000 people who would like to have a quiet word with them!
Shewsbury would probably be a tough nut to crack, being fourth in the league and according to the radio unbeaten away since October. Not quite so impressive when you realised that this only meant 5 matches though! The Oxford team was unchanged from the starting lineup at Northampton - having a settled team is always a good thing, especially when they are winning... Two of our team (Asa Hall and James Constable) had been at Shrewsbury earlier in their careers, perhaps they'd put one over on their old team?
We won the toss, attacking the fence end first half, the match started and after a Constable chance, Shrewsbury won three corners in quick succession. The East Stand held their collective breath and sure enough from one of them a Shrews player got their head on the ball but fortunately it skewed just wide of Ryan Clarke's left hand post. Phew. Almost a repeat of the Southend/Bradford/Northampton incidents. It still needs sorting.
However, something else that needed sorting was Asa Hall's lack of goals. After ten minutes or so, that was sorted. Beano got to the Shrews goalline, pulled the ball back beautifully and Hall whacked it in. Brilliant. Oxford were well on top, and kept the pressure up for a while after the goal without looking hugely threatening. The Shrews then started to get back into it a bit and very undeservedly equalised after half an hour with a deflected shot that gave Clarke no chance. But this Oxford is made of sterner stuff than some previous teams, and went straight back on the attack. This adventurous approach looked to have paid off when the ref blew for a penalty a couple of minutes before half time. Batt seemed to have been brought down in the penalty area by a Shrews defender, and the ref pointed to the spot. From the other end of the pitch in the East Stand, it looked dubious, and so it proved. The Shrews players went and talked to the linesman, the ref evenually ambled over to do the same and the penalty changed into a corner instead. Drat. Probably the right decision, but the ref (who was veryinconsistent all night) should have gone to talk to his lino to start with. The ball had gone dead, so he hadn't had to stop play.
Half time came, and the team were applauded off at 1-1. The ref got a few boos. The half time crossbar challenge was a five from the left side vs five from the right side affair (it's nice to see that someone at the club reads this blog! Hello, whoever you are) - and did indeed generate more interest than recent affairs. That ended at 1-1 as well, so honour was satisfied. If there was one thing that seemed unlikely it was that the main event of the evening would finish all square. We had as usual looked a bit sketchy at the back and at times dangerous up front.
I thought the second half would be closely contested, but I turned out to be wrong (not for the first time). You could say that Shrewsbury never got going - or you could say that we simply bossed them out of the game. A free kick from MacLean and a good Asa Hall header from a Mclaren corner both failed to register before Beano took revenge on the club that rejected him with a nicely taken goal after an hour. 2-1 and 30 minutes to go.
We continued to press, Shrewsbury continued to create very little. Then CW introduced Alfie Potter. Suddenly we looked even more threatening against a tiring defence. Sometimes pace alone is enough, and Alfie has more than just pace. Shrewsbury had to try to look for an equaliser, but every time they went forward we nicked the ball and gave it to Alfie. He motored forwards, with the other forwards straining to keep up with him. This resulted in Shrewsbury being pinned back, and a host of half chances being created. With about a quarter of an hour to go, Constable got the ball on the right hand side of the Shrew's penalty area and slid the ball across the goalie and into the left hand side of the goal. YESSS!
The last fifteen minutes of the match were very comfortable - it hasn't been that many times this season that we have had the luxury of a 2 goal cushion going into the last knockings of the match. If any team was going to score another goal in that time, it was Oxford.
Man of the Match (is this a new thing? I don't remember it being announced before?) Beano went off with a couple of minutes to go, to a great ovation - which was repeated when the match finished. An excellent result against what was touted as a decent team. Up into the playoff places with confidence on the up and another home match on Saturday.
The trip home was long - ages to get out of the car park, then a closed road added half an hour to the trip - but since we'd won, I didn't mind too much!
Random thoughts:
Still no clean sheet (21 matches). But does it matter if we keep winning? I think it does, but maybe I'm wrong!
A fit-again Potter added a whole lot in the last quarter hour of the match - more than LSD did on Saturday, although admittedly in different circumstances.
Re the pink Ox - well done to the club for turning a negative into a real positive.
Our forwards are a real handful for opposition defences!
18 matches since a draw - is that getting to be some sort of record? Incidentally, of those 18 we have won 9 and lost 9 (27 points), If we had drawn them all and remained unbeaten then we would have 18 points.
Saturday 22 January 2011
Cobblers! vs Northampton (L2)
Today's trip was to Northampton, City of Dreaming Lift Test Towers (you can have that one Northampton Borough Council if you're looking for a new marketing slogan). The closest league game of the season for me, a mere 25 minutes away. So a quick drive into Northants, having managed to have lunch at home on a Saturday for the first time in ages. Very civilized.
Parking was in a field - £2. Northampton: Cheaper than Chesterfield. There's another one.
A quick walk up to Sixfields and even though it was only 2.10 there was a good Us support already gathered in the South Stand behind the goal. Probably because there's naff all else to do around the stadium. Sixfields is a fairly bleak place. Windy. The corners open. Vinyl signs stuck straight onto stained concrete. Where was it reminding me of? Of course it has four sides (rather than the league 2 regulation three) and we took a side and a half of it. I was wearing the yellow shirt so, 2-1 to us was on the cards. It was getting a bit smelly so I doused myself in flea powder and Old Spice to make the matchday experience nicer for my neighbours in the stand.
The team included Beano as a starter, leaving Jack on the bench, with the newly reloaned Steve 'Macca' Mclean and Tom 'TC' Craddock joining the attack. See how I use their nicknames, it's just like I know them in real life! The Cobblers didn't start with their new signing Shaun Harrad. Apparently because he decided to join Northampton and leave Burton, he has had to go for a brain scan to see if there is a hole where his ambition gland should be.
We started well, and looked like the home team. However the real home team were getting all the decisions from the referee, Mr Andre 'I am a Premier League referee you know' Mariner and his dumpy sidekick with the yellow flag - who constantly let the Northampton players get away with offsides. Mr Andre 'I am a Premier League referee you know' Mariner had obviously decided that he wasn't playing the handball rule either as four Cobblers hands made suspicious ball deviations occur without any punishment. One involved the Cobblers player jumping into the air with his hand up, knocking the ball down and then shouting 'Yoo hoo, Mr Andre Mariner I've just handballed it' without any reprisals.
Meanwhile, Oxford were sticking to playing it with their feet and looked good doing it, but there was a touch of the Arsenals about it all - it didn't lead to many clearcut chances. Mostly due to the lack of any sideways movement up front. The strikers were running the channels, but not going on diagonal runs - which made them very easy to mark. Not that Northampton were doing much better really. They looked distinctly unthreatening, until they unleashed their deadly secret weapon. The corner. Dead ball crosses (well any sort of crosses really) have been our Achilles heel for a while now. One corner, a near post header and cobblers, one down with a few minutes to go until half time. How many games is that now without a clean sheet? 19? 20? Too bloody many, anyway.
Half time, and as against Bradford the team was applauded off despite being a goal down. Apart from some kids taking penalties in the centre circle into a very rickety temporary goal (ironically sponsored by Jewsons the building suppliers), the highlight was the good natured Oxford crowd keeping one of the balls kicked into the stand by a Cobblers player warming up. Teasing the steward about it, who then called a copper over (who I think said something along the lines of 'dont be so wet' before wandering off again) before himself wandering off a bit embarassed. It went on for a while and made me chuckle.
Second half. Again we started like a train and after about then minutes scored an equaliser through a suspiciously-offside-looking Tom Craddock. But it was the same useless lump of a linesman, so I suppose it shouldn't have surprised us. Anyway, we deserved the goal for our superiority. Then it started to go a bit Pete Tong.
I don't know if it was overconfidence, or simply a belief that another goal was inevitable and anxiety to get it sooner rather than later, but bit by bit we started to lose the fluent passing and get more of the aimless hoofing. The ball then started to come back at us quicker, our midfield fell back and Northampton started to look like the home team for the first time in the afternoon. There were a few shaky moments, with Ryan Clarke making some good saves before a nice Northampton move pulled the otherwise very steady Harry Worley out of position, a cross was sent in to the space where Worley should have been and a Cobblers player headed firmly past Clarke to put Northampton back into the lead. Oh. That wasn't supposed to happen.
The game then went very end-to-end, and we didn't really keep the composure that had seen us win against Bradford. Sam 'Lazarus' Deering came on and added a bit, but not enough really. Beano was clean though on goal before Mr Yellow Flag gave him offside (he wasn't), I suspect making up for an earier incorrect decision. Very poor. A few half chances, a stonewall penalty on Beano that that bloody 'Premiership' ref for some reason didn't see (maybe he thought the team playing in red were Manchester United?) and a couple of dreadful corners taken by Heslop (Why? Why? Why? He has hardly delivered a decent one in his time with us!) - one hitting the first man, one floated straight to the goalkeeper, more hoofing upfield and that was about it. Andre Mariner wasted a couple of the three minutes injury time wagging his finger at a couple of players to make sure the Cobblers held on, and it was all over.
Hmm. After a long wait to get out of the car park (just like home!) the journey back into Bedfordshire was nice and quick. Talking of council straplines (as we weren't), the one on the road back home from Northampton used to say 'Bedfordshire - Central to the Oxford/Cambridge Arc'. Brilliant. 'Bedfordshire - between two other, nicer places which are actually quite a way away'.
Ah well - at least there's another match on Tuesday to try and put things right. Against Shrewsbury, who are (I think) fourth in the table. It should give us some idea how we match up against one of the better teams.
Oh - should have mentioned. Our support was great again today, but despite the numbers (and a good new song) some people just won't join in with the vocal support. We were louder than the poor Cobblers support - whatever is the atmosphere like there when the away team bring 86 fans? - but it seemed it was only the same regular away trippers making the noise. Go on , join in - it makes the whole day so much more fun. Even when we lose. Bugger.
Today's conclusions:
We were guilty of overplaying the ball an awful lot today. That lead to us being shot shy up front, and a bit creaky in defence at times.
That doesn't mean hoof it though - we look much better when playing it on the deck as much as possible - when it is safe to do so, of course!
I sound like a broken record, but can we try something else when defending corners? Like jumping for the ball from a running start rather than a standing one? The attackers are doing that and they therefore are getting about two foot in the air above our blokes.
Get someone else (anyone else) other than Heslop to take our corners.
A bit more challenging in midfield please. After doing it well when we were on top, we gave it up later in the game. It showed.
If we can't keep a clean sheet occasionally, then we won't fulfil our potential this season.
Just shoot! For God's sake SHOOT!
If there was a referee's assessor there today, Mr Andre 'Too big for his boots to bother to referee a league two match properly' Mariner will be running the line at Didcot next week.
For me, today shows why we will very probably end up in upper mid-table. We are inconsistent, and leaky at the back - which is never nice. We might sneak into the playoffs, but I think automatic promotion is out of our reach.
That bloody yellow shirt is in the washing machine on boil wash. I'll teach it to let me down!
Parking was in a field - £2. Northampton: Cheaper than Chesterfield. There's another one.
A quick walk up to Sixfields and even though it was only 2.10 there was a good Us support already gathered in the South Stand behind the goal. Probably because there's naff all else to do around the stadium. Sixfields is a fairly bleak place. Windy. The corners open. Vinyl signs stuck straight onto stained concrete. Where was it reminding me of? Of course it has four sides (rather than the league 2 regulation three) and we took a side and a half of it. I was wearing the yellow shirt so, 2-1 to us was on the cards. It was getting a bit smelly so I doused myself in flea powder and Old Spice to make the matchday experience nicer for my neighbours in the stand.
The team included Beano as a starter, leaving Jack on the bench, with the newly reloaned Steve 'Macca' Mclean and Tom 'TC' Craddock joining the attack. See how I use their nicknames, it's just like I know them in real life! The Cobblers didn't start with their new signing Shaun Harrad. Apparently because he decided to join Northampton and leave Burton, he has had to go for a brain scan to see if there is a hole where his ambition gland should be.
We started well, and looked like the home team. However the real home team were getting all the decisions from the referee, Mr Andre 'I am a Premier League referee you know' Mariner and his dumpy sidekick with the yellow flag - who constantly let the Northampton players get away with offsides. Mr Andre 'I am a Premier League referee you know' Mariner had obviously decided that he wasn't playing the handball rule either as four Cobblers hands made suspicious ball deviations occur without any punishment. One involved the Cobblers player jumping into the air with his hand up, knocking the ball down and then shouting 'Yoo hoo, Mr Andre Mariner I've just handballed it' without any reprisals.
Meanwhile, Oxford were sticking to playing it with their feet and looked good doing it, but there was a touch of the Arsenals about it all - it didn't lead to many clearcut chances. Mostly due to the lack of any sideways movement up front. The strikers were running the channels, but not going on diagonal runs - which made them very easy to mark. Not that Northampton were doing much better really. They looked distinctly unthreatening, until they unleashed their deadly secret weapon. The corner. Dead ball crosses (well any sort of crosses really) have been our Achilles heel for a while now. One corner, a near post header and cobblers, one down with a few minutes to go until half time. How many games is that now without a clean sheet? 19? 20? Too bloody many, anyway.
Half time, and as against Bradford the team was applauded off despite being a goal down. Apart from some kids taking penalties in the centre circle into a very rickety temporary goal (ironically sponsored by Jewsons the building suppliers), the highlight was the good natured Oxford crowd keeping one of the balls kicked into the stand by a Cobblers player warming up. Teasing the steward about it, who then called a copper over (who I think said something along the lines of 'dont be so wet' before wandering off again) before himself wandering off a bit embarassed. It went on for a while and made me chuckle.
Second half. Again we started like a train and after about then minutes scored an equaliser through a suspiciously-offside-looking Tom Craddock. But it was the same useless lump of a linesman, so I suppose it shouldn't have surprised us. Anyway, we deserved the goal for our superiority. Then it started to go a bit Pete Tong.
I don't know if it was overconfidence, or simply a belief that another goal was inevitable and anxiety to get it sooner rather than later, but bit by bit we started to lose the fluent passing and get more of the aimless hoofing. The ball then started to come back at us quicker, our midfield fell back and Northampton started to look like the home team for the first time in the afternoon. There were a few shaky moments, with Ryan Clarke making some good saves before a nice Northampton move pulled the otherwise very steady Harry Worley out of position, a cross was sent in to the space where Worley should have been and a Cobblers player headed firmly past Clarke to put Northampton back into the lead. Oh. That wasn't supposed to happen.
The game then went very end-to-end, and we didn't really keep the composure that had seen us win against Bradford. Sam 'Lazarus' Deering came on and added a bit, but not enough really. Beano was clean though on goal before Mr Yellow Flag gave him offside (he wasn't), I suspect making up for an earier incorrect decision. Very poor. A few half chances, a stonewall penalty on Beano that that bloody 'Premiership' ref for some reason didn't see (maybe he thought the team playing in red were Manchester United?) and a couple of dreadful corners taken by Heslop (Why? Why? Why? He has hardly delivered a decent one in his time with us!) - one hitting the first man, one floated straight to the goalkeeper, more hoofing upfield and that was about it. Andre Mariner wasted a couple of the three minutes injury time wagging his finger at a couple of players to make sure the Cobblers held on, and it was all over.
Hmm. After a long wait to get out of the car park (just like home!) the journey back into Bedfordshire was nice and quick. Talking of council straplines (as we weren't), the one on the road back home from Northampton used to say 'Bedfordshire - Central to the Oxford/Cambridge Arc'. Brilliant. 'Bedfordshire - between two other, nicer places which are actually quite a way away'.
Ah well - at least there's another match on Tuesday to try and put things right. Against Shrewsbury, who are (I think) fourth in the table. It should give us some idea how we match up against one of the better teams.
Oh - should have mentioned. Our support was great again today, but despite the numbers (and a good new song) some people just won't join in with the vocal support. We were louder than the poor Cobblers support - whatever is the atmosphere like there when the away team bring 86 fans? - but it seemed it was only the same regular away trippers making the noise. Go on , join in - it makes the whole day so much more fun. Even when we lose. Bugger.
Today's conclusions:
We were guilty of overplaying the ball an awful lot today. That lead to us being shot shy up front, and a bit creaky in defence at times.
That doesn't mean hoof it though - we look much better when playing it on the deck as much as possible - when it is safe to do so, of course!
I sound like a broken record, but can we try something else when defending corners? Like jumping for the ball from a running start rather than a standing one? The attackers are doing that and they therefore are getting about two foot in the air above our blokes.
Get someone else (anyone else) other than Heslop to take our corners.
A bit more challenging in midfield please. After doing it well when we were on top, we gave it up later in the game. It showed.
If we can't keep a clean sheet occasionally, then we won't fulfil our potential this season.
Just shoot! For God's sake SHOOT!
If there was a referee's assessor there today, Mr Andre 'Too big for his boots to bother to referee a league two match properly' Mariner will be running the line at Didcot next week.
For me, today shows why we will very probably end up in upper mid-table. We are inconsistent, and leaky at the back - which is never nice. We might sneak into the playoffs, but I think automatic promotion is out of our reach.
That bloody yellow shirt is in the washing machine on boil wash. I'll teach it to let me down!
Saturday 15 January 2011
Bantamweights vs Heavyweights (Bradford L2)
Apart from the customary Kassam wind, nature was fairly kind to today's match. No snow, no fog, no torrential downpour. Which was nice as I had to park in the far car park - the east Stand carpark being full before 2 pm. I know there are lots of good things about having increased numbers of supporters, but why do they have to nick my parking place! :)
A decent crowd of over 7,000 were treated to an excellent match (from an Oxford perspective) which looked for a long time as if it might be the most one sided 1-0 defeat ever. The team was unchanged from the one that started at Aldershot - it's a while since that has happened - which meant Beano was on the bench, alongside the perhaps surprisingly recalled Sam Deering. Oxford started like a train, pushing Bradford back. A couple of early half chances went begging before the Bantams surprisingly took the lead. A corner was swung in, the Oxford defence stood stock still, a Bradford player headed the ball down and another poked it in. Hmm. I wasn't at the Southend match, but there were rumblings around me that it was similar to the first goal we conceded in that game. It was a poor goal to give away, and shows that work is still needed in that department. And as far as bad things about the match go, that's about it!
Roared on by a supportive crowd, the Us then took total charge. I don't know if the wind had an effect, but we gave up the hit and hope style we have slid into at times and played the ball on the floor. It won't shock anyone to know that we immediately looked like a top three team rather than a midtable one. The passing was crisp, the movement good. Batt and Tonkin (whose form is picking up very nicely) got forward and crossed the ball, the forwards looked lively, the midfield (marshalled by Mclaren) put their foot on the ball and controlled the pace of the match. The ball went wide of the Bradford goal, it went across the goal, it went everywhere but into the goal. 35 minutes of sustained pressure with no end product. But it will give you some idea how well we played, that a team losing 0-1 at home was given a standing ovation at the half time whistle. We had outplayed Bradford in every way (apart from actually scoring) for most of the half. Every player had done well, every player had made an effort. Had the half time break come at exactly the wrong time for us? I had flashbacks to the match away at Macclesfield where we looked excellent in the first half, and eleven blokes who looked like a football team but weren't had emerged from the dressing room after half time.
Half time. I didn't win the 50/50 for a change. Half of the youth of Oxfordshire have been bunking off their geography lessons judging by the half time hit the crossbar competition. It was supposed to be for people coming from outside Oxfordshire, half the contestants were from Banbury and Abingdon. It was chaotic in the extreme.
Second half, with Oxford kicking towards the East Stand, our preferred way of doing it. Any nerves about how we were going to play soon evaporated, with us taking charge at once. The pattern was very much the same as the end of the first half. Whether we were pressing Bradford back, or if they were trying to defend a lucky one goal lead for 81 minutes, I don't know. Probably a bit of both - but I don't think many teams in our division could have lived with us today. However, time went on and it was still advantage to the visitors. Clarke rushed out of his goal to make a good save at the feet of Omar Daly - I think - in a rare Bradford attack. After an hour, Beano came on for Midson (who had held the ball up and laid it off very well) and Heslop replaced Hall. Hall is a player that I seldom notice somehow. That doesn't mean he is doing anything wrong - it might well mean that he is doing his job in a throughly professional way, but I must admit when we signed him I though he was more of a goal scoring midfielder than he has turned out to be. Whatever, the midfield looked good with him in it. Hall doing the donkey work, Clist keeping the whole thing ticking and Mclaren protecting the back four and distributing the ball effectively.
I'm not sure I would ever have thought of Beano as an impact sub who plays out on the right (and of course he is much more than that), but he does the job very well. He gave new impetus to the attack, and Craddock moved into a more central role. Steve Maclean (possibly playing his last game for us) is such a good player - whoever he works with up front, he can adapt to their style and make intelligent choices about what to do with the ball. The pressure we were putting on the Bradford defence was now almost cruel - wave after wave of attack that they seemed powerless to stem. But still the ball wouldn't go in. Heroic defending by the Bradford back four and the goalkeeper kept us out. Surely though - they had to crack eventually?
They did. A scrappy 75th minute goal, Maclean's shot being saved by a naughty Bradford defenders hand. The ref blew for a penalty (and presumably a sending off) but the ball dribbled over the line anyway so he ignored his own decision and awarded the goal. A sensible decision really, if a bit unorthodox! Before we scored, the conventional wisdom in the stands was 'if we score one, we'll score two'. It's a way of consoling yourself when you haven't actually scored any at all of course, but in this case it looked inevitable - and so it proved. Bradford having sat back trying to protect their lead, now found it hard to generate much forward impetus, and looked as if they were now settling for a point (or trying to).
As long time OUFC watchers will know, this is an almost certain recipe for disaster. Ten minutes later and this footballing cliche also proved true, when another scramble in the Bradford penalty area lead to Tom Craddock heading (or side-of-the-facing) the ball into the same bottom corner as the equaliser. Bradford then tried a late rally but, after a sloppy backpass almost gave them an undeserved lifeline, they couldn't do anything about the result. Jimmy Sangere made his debut for the last few minutes and made a couple of important headers. A great ovation at the final whistle sent us all home happy.
A splendid team peformance, probably the best of the season really. We looked like a top three team for much of the match.
Thoughts afterwards -
What a one-sided match! The most comprehensive one goal margin win I have ever seen.
It was an excellent team performance - everyone played their part.
Our defence at corners still needs work - and we didn't look terribly dangerous from many of the 13 corners we had ourselves (although Beano missed a glorious chance from one).
Mclaren has improved our midfield by being in it, and our defence by protecting it.
Maclean. I hope he stays, but not at the expense of busting the budget, or upsetting the wage structure now in place.
We still over-play the ball in defence sometimes. Occasionally, a 'hoof' to get it out of danger or into the stands is a good idea.
18 matches without a clean sheet, but we have won six of the last seven. That doesn't really make much sense!
Fifth match in a row I've been to that I have worn the yellow shirt. Fifth match we have won 2-1.
Next match: Northampton away. Although for me it's the closest match of the season, just 20 minutes down the road. I'm expecting a 2-1 win, and a lot of space around me as the unwashed lucky polyester gets another outing. ;)
A decent crowd of over 7,000 were treated to an excellent match (from an Oxford perspective) which looked for a long time as if it might be the most one sided 1-0 defeat ever. The team was unchanged from the one that started at Aldershot - it's a while since that has happened - which meant Beano was on the bench, alongside the perhaps surprisingly recalled Sam Deering. Oxford started like a train, pushing Bradford back. A couple of early half chances went begging before the Bantams surprisingly took the lead. A corner was swung in, the Oxford defence stood stock still, a Bradford player headed the ball down and another poked it in. Hmm. I wasn't at the Southend match, but there were rumblings around me that it was similar to the first goal we conceded in that game. It was a poor goal to give away, and shows that work is still needed in that department. And as far as bad things about the match go, that's about it!
Roared on by a supportive crowd, the Us then took total charge. I don't know if the wind had an effect, but we gave up the hit and hope style we have slid into at times and played the ball on the floor. It won't shock anyone to know that we immediately looked like a top three team rather than a midtable one. The passing was crisp, the movement good. Batt and Tonkin (whose form is picking up very nicely) got forward and crossed the ball, the forwards looked lively, the midfield (marshalled by Mclaren) put their foot on the ball and controlled the pace of the match. The ball went wide of the Bradford goal, it went across the goal, it went everywhere but into the goal. 35 minutes of sustained pressure with no end product. But it will give you some idea how well we played, that a team losing 0-1 at home was given a standing ovation at the half time whistle. We had outplayed Bradford in every way (apart from actually scoring) for most of the half. Every player had done well, every player had made an effort. Had the half time break come at exactly the wrong time for us? I had flashbacks to the match away at Macclesfield where we looked excellent in the first half, and eleven blokes who looked like a football team but weren't had emerged from the dressing room after half time.
Half time. I didn't win the 50/50 for a change. Half of the youth of Oxfordshire have been bunking off their geography lessons judging by the half time hit the crossbar competition. It was supposed to be for people coming from outside Oxfordshire, half the contestants were from Banbury and Abingdon. It was chaotic in the extreme.
Second half, with Oxford kicking towards the East Stand, our preferred way of doing it. Any nerves about how we were going to play soon evaporated, with us taking charge at once. The pattern was very much the same as the end of the first half. Whether we were pressing Bradford back, or if they were trying to defend a lucky one goal lead for 81 minutes, I don't know. Probably a bit of both - but I don't think many teams in our division could have lived with us today. However, time went on and it was still advantage to the visitors. Clarke rushed out of his goal to make a good save at the feet of Omar Daly - I think - in a rare Bradford attack. After an hour, Beano came on for Midson (who had held the ball up and laid it off very well) and Heslop replaced Hall. Hall is a player that I seldom notice somehow. That doesn't mean he is doing anything wrong - it might well mean that he is doing his job in a throughly professional way, but I must admit when we signed him I though he was more of a goal scoring midfielder than he has turned out to be. Whatever, the midfield looked good with him in it. Hall doing the donkey work, Clist keeping the whole thing ticking and Mclaren protecting the back four and distributing the ball effectively.
I'm not sure I would ever have thought of Beano as an impact sub who plays out on the right (and of course he is much more than that), but he does the job very well. He gave new impetus to the attack, and Craddock moved into a more central role. Steve Maclean (possibly playing his last game for us) is such a good player - whoever he works with up front, he can adapt to their style and make intelligent choices about what to do with the ball. The pressure we were putting on the Bradford defence was now almost cruel - wave after wave of attack that they seemed powerless to stem. But still the ball wouldn't go in. Heroic defending by the Bradford back four and the goalkeeper kept us out. Surely though - they had to crack eventually?
They did. A scrappy 75th minute goal, Maclean's shot being saved by a naughty Bradford defenders hand. The ref blew for a penalty (and presumably a sending off) but the ball dribbled over the line anyway so he ignored his own decision and awarded the goal. A sensible decision really, if a bit unorthodox! Before we scored, the conventional wisdom in the stands was 'if we score one, we'll score two'. It's a way of consoling yourself when you haven't actually scored any at all of course, but in this case it looked inevitable - and so it proved. Bradford having sat back trying to protect their lead, now found it hard to generate much forward impetus, and looked as if they were now settling for a point (or trying to).
As long time OUFC watchers will know, this is an almost certain recipe for disaster. Ten minutes later and this footballing cliche also proved true, when another scramble in the Bradford penalty area lead to Tom Craddock heading (or side-of-the-facing) the ball into the same bottom corner as the equaliser. Bradford then tried a late rally but, after a sloppy backpass almost gave them an undeserved lifeline, they couldn't do anything about the result. Jimmy Sangere made his debut for the last few minutes and made a couple of important headers. A great ovation at the final whistle sent us all home happy.
A splendid team peformance, probably the best of the season really. We looked like a top three team for much of the match.
Thoughts afterwards -
What a one-sided match! The most comprehensive one goal margin win I have ever seen.
It was an excellent team performance - everyone played their part.
Our defence at corners still needs work - and we didn't look terribly dangerous from many of the 13 corners we had ourselves (although Beano missed a glorious chance from one).
Mclaren has improved our midfield by being in it, and our defence by protecting it.
Maclean. I hope he stays, but not at the expense of busting the budget, or upsetting the wage structure now in place.
We still over-play the ball in defence sometimes. Occasionally, a 'hoof' to get it out of danger or into the stands is a good idea.
18 matches without a clean sheet, but we have won six of the last seven. That doesn't really make much sense!
Fifth match in a row I've been to that I have worn the yellow shirt. Fifth match we have won 2-1.
Next match: Northampton away. Although for me it's the closest match of the season, just 20 minutes down the road. I'm expecting a 2-1 win, and a lot of space around me as the unwashed lucky polyester gets another outing. ;)
Saturday 8 January 2011
Giving it our best Shot vs Aldershot (L2)
I'd never been to Aldershot before, but after missing the two New Year matches I just had to be there today. It's an awkward journey for me, and I had been rather put off by lurid descriptions of Aldershot - most of which portrayed it as something like downtown Beiruit, but with KwikSave.
The non-appearance of my ticket meant that I was driving to an all ticket match without a ticket, adding another level of uncertainty. I had rung the OUFC ticket office the night before and the helpful chap there said he'd add me to the list of people in a similar situation and that I could collect a replacement ticket at the Shots ticket office.
Arriving in Aldershot, it didn't look as bad as I feared. I even managed to park in the car park next to the ground. A quick trip to the ticket office and I was sorted (although my name didn't appear to be on any list, they gave me a replacement ticket easily enough). Back to the car for a listen to Arsenal vs Leeds for a bit. Time for a leisurely stroll onto the terrace.
Not. The stroll to the away terrace involved walking past the ground, down the road, turning left and wandering up a hill, going over the railway into a park and back down into the 'Recreation Ground', ending up (after about 15 minutes) about 100 yards from where I'd parked the car. My lungs are a bit crap at the moment, so by the time I got there I was puffing like a Sumo wrestler on 60 a day.
The 'Rec' is a bit of a wreck. One end is not fit for use, and the most vocal Shots fans are housed in the same cavernous barn-like stand as the away fans. Which does make for a decent atmosphere - the quality of the Shots support exceeding that of their team or the size of the home crowd. They do have a bloody drum, which is at least played in time. Thanks for small mercies. The whole experience is a bit 'non-league' though, which is where Aldershot might end up if they don't get their act togther.
The toilets are portaloos - I went before the match started, but I imagine they were fairly rank a couple of hours later after the 850 or so Yellows fans had got rid of all that beer.
A minutes silence before the game was observed immaculately - this time the TVP didn't think it was worth filming us standing up doing nothing.
The stand itself has an unfeasable number of iron girder supports right at the front. I moved several times before I had a reasonable view of both goals. That wasn't helped by the Aldershot sun aping that which shines at the Kassam, shining straight into the eyes of the fans in the main stand and those of the goalie down that end in the first half. Of course those crafty Shots won the toss and put us in to bat at that very end - Ryan Clarke had to brrow a cap from one of the Oxford faithful so he could see the Shots shots raining in on him (or not!).
Apart from the own goal scored by the Shots after about ten minutes (ta very much), the first half was fairly pedestrian. We fizzed a couple of crosses across the face of their goal, Jake Wright (or was it Maclaren?) tried to give a penalty away, failed and then tried to score an answering own goal with a peach of a diving header, failing at that as well. But Aldershot, as the home team and a goal behind, really offered very very little. We amused ourselves with some songs about Marvin Morgan, their disgraced striker, who made some ill judged comments about the supporters on Facebook. Why do footballers do that? The most entertaining thing about the first half was the singing (by both sets of fans) with with Oxford contingent easily holding their own. It was the first time I'd seen our new midfield stopper Maclaren play, and I was fairly impressed. He certainly protected the middle, won the ball and distributed it fairly well. Up front, Jack 'hat-trick hero' Midson worked hard (and tried to win a penalty that looked a bit 'theatrical' from where I was stood), but we were content for the most part to soak up what little pressure the Shots could manage.
Half time didn't involve much of anything apart from the sun saying goodnight and the temperature plummeting.
The Shots came out after half time with the look of a team that had been dodging tea cups for ten minutes, and took the initiative for the first few minutes. They soon ran out of steam though, with their only conceivable threat down our left, where we look a bit frail whether Tonks or Kinni are doing full back duty. Jack went off and was replaced by Beano, who went straight into default Beano mode - working like a Trojan, getting involved with everything and straying offside at every possible opportunity. We were getting pushed back a bit though, with Aldershot having to try and find an equaliser. Clist had a header narrowly wide and Asa Hall sent a screamer just over.
Then Aldershot scored a thoroughly undeserved equaliser, beating Batt down our right and crossing for a scrambled equaliser past the floundering Clarke. (Clarke, by the way has got over his unfortunate case of 'dropsy' - everything he caught stuck firm today.) There was about 15 minutes to go, and the idea that we might lose the match was a bit of a nightmare, having been so much the better team. Aldershot scented blood and started running at our defence. Most of the time though they seemed to forget that they actually had to score a goal in order to win the match, and didn't really look very dangerous. A draw was looming, when after some good work by Beano on the right, Maclean got the ball and passed up a half chance to shoot himself, intelligently laying the ball off to the much maligned Tom Craddock who gleefully accepted the chance, sending the yellow hordes loopy. There were still a few minutes left, but the Shots bubble had been well and truly burst.
The walk back to the car was at least downhill, and the chavs with shanks in the hood (i'm down with the kids!) were too busy baying for their manager's blood to bother with us. Or they've all seen the light and converted to Buddhism - one of the two. There were unfeasable amounts of Hampshire Police around which might also have helped I suppose, including police on bicycles and horses - wonder if there's a promotion path that involves roller skates and mopeds? However the police were actually very friendly, chatting with the fans as we walked along.
Another away win, another worthwhile away trip.
Quick thoughts:
Maclaren is a good addition.
It's still vital we keep Maclean.
Once Asa scores one, he'll score a few.
We could do with being a little less elaborate sometimes - let's mix it up with a bit of direct running through the middle of the opposition defence.
A couple of months ago, out heads would have gone down after the equaliser and we would have lost this match, but we have discovered a battling spirit that will serve us well over the season.
Fourth match in a row I have won last season's yellow shirt - and the fourth 2-1 win.
The non-appearance of my ticket meant that I was driving to an all ticket match without a ticket, adding another level of uncertainty. I had rung the OUFC ticket office the night before and the helpful chap there said he'd add me to the list of people in a similar situation and that I could collect a replacement ticket at the Shots ticket office.
Arriving in Aldershot, it didn't look as bad as I feared. I even managed to park in the car park next to the ground. A quick trip to the ticket office and I was sorted (although my name didn't appear to be on any list, they gave me a replacement ticket easily enough). Back to the car for a listen to Arsenal vs Leeds for a bit. Time for a leisurely stroll onto the terrace.
Not. The stroll to the away terrace involved walking past the ground, down the road, turning left and wandering up a hill, going over the railway into a park and back down into the 'Recreation Ground', ending up (after about 15 minutes) about 100 yards from where I'd parked the car. My lungs are a bit crap at the moment, so by the time I got there I was puffing like a Sumo wrestler on 60 a day.
The 'Rec' is a bit of a wreck. One end is not fit for use, and the most vocal Shots fans are housed in the same cavernous barn-like stand as the away fans. Which does make for a decent atmosphere - the quality of the Shots support exceeding that of their team or the size of the home crowd. They do have a bloody drum, which is at least played in time. Thanks for small mercies. The whole experience is a bit 'non-league' though, which is where Aldershot might end up if they don't get their act togther.
The toilets are portaloos - I went before the match started, but I imagine they were fairly rank a couple of hours later after the 850 or so Yellows fans had got rid of all that beer.
A minutes silence before the game was observed immaculately - this time the TVP didn't think it was worth filming us standing up doing nothing.
The stand itself has an unfeasable number of iron girder supports right at the front. I moved several times before I had a reasonable view of both goals. That wasn't helped by the Aldershot sun aping that which shines at the Kassam, shining straight into the eyes of the fans in the main stand and those of the goalie down that end in the first half. Of course those crafty Shots won the toss and put us in to bat at that very end - Ryan Clarke had to brrow a cap from one of the Oxford faithful so he could see the Shots shots raining in on him (or not!).
Apart from the own goal scored by the Shots after about ten minutes (ta very much), the first half was fairly pedestrian. We fizzed a couple of crosses across the face of their goal, Jake Wright (or was it Maclaren?) tried to give a penalty away, failed and then tried to score an answering own goal with a peach of a diving header, failing at that as well. But Aldershot, as the home team and a goal behind, really offered very very little. We amused ourselves with some songs about Marvin Morgan, their disgraced striker, who made some ill judged comments about the supporters on Facebook. Why do footballers do that? The most entertaining thing about the first half was the singing (by both sets of fans) with with Oxford contingent easily holding their own. It was the first time I'd seen our new midfield stopper Maclaren play, and I was fairly impressed. He certainly protected the middle, won the ball and distributed it fairly well. Up front, Jack 'hat-trick hero' Midson worked hard (and tried to win a penalty that looked a bit 'theatrical' from where I was stood), but we were content for the most part to soak up what little pressure the Shots could manage.
Half time didn't involve much of anything apart from the sun saying goodnight and the temperature plummeting.
The Shots came out after half time with the look of a team that had been dodging tea cups for ten minutes, and took the initiative for the first few minutes. They soon ran out of steam though, with their only conceivable threat down our left, where we look a bit frail whether Tonks or Kinni are doing full back duty. Jack went off and was replaced by Beano, who went straight into default Beano mode - working like a Trojan, getting involved with everything and straying offside at every possible opportunity. We were getting pushed back a bit though, with Aldershot having to try and find an equaliser. Clist had a header narrowly wide and Asa Hall sent a screamer just over.
Then Aldershot scored a thoroughly undeserved equaliser, beating Batt down our right and crossing for a scrambled equaliser past the floundering Clarke. (Clarke, by the way has got over his unfortunate case of 'dropsy' - everything he caught stuck firm today.) There was about 15 minutes to go, and the idea that we might lose the match was a bit of a nightmare, having been so much the better team. Aldershot scented blood and started running at our defence. Most of the time though they seemed to forget that they actually had to score a goal in order to win the match, and didn't really look very dangerous. A draw was looming, when after some good work by Beano on the right, Maclean got the ball and passed up a half chance to shoot himself, intelligently laying the ball off to the much maligned Tom Craddock who gleefully accepted the chance, sending the yellow hordes loopy. There were still a few minutes left, but the Shots bubble had been well and truly burst.
The walk back to the car was at least downhill, and the chavs with shanks in the hood (i'm down with the kids!) were too busy baying for their manager's blood to bother with us. Or they've all seen the light and converted to Buddhism - one of the two. There were unfeasable amounts of Hampshire Police around which might also have helped I suppose, including police on bicycles and horses - wonder if there's a promotion path that involves roller skates and mopeds? However the police were actually very friendly, chatting with the fans as we walked along.
Another away win, another worthwhile away trip.
Quick thoughts:
Maclaren is a good addition.
It's still vital we keep Maclean.
Once Asa scores one, he'll score a few.
We could do with being a little less elaborate sometimes - let's mix it up with a bit of direct running through the middle of the opposition defence.
A couple of months ago, out heads would have gone down after the equaliser and we would have lost this match, but we have discovered a battling spirit that will serve us well over the season.
Fourth match in a row I have won last season's yellow shirt - and the fourth 2-1 win.
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