bobby93 wrote:Maybe I am in the minority, but I thought in the first half we were okay. We kept possession well, moved the ball around the pitch nicely and asked plenty of questions of the opposition, particularly down the wings. Good half from Chappell and Ajala. Where we were struggling was up top, for some reason. Bowman and Duane were very quiet and played like they'd never met each other.
I fully expected us to use that uneventful but solid half as a base and kick up a gear in the second half, because Alfreton didn't look a great side and were happy to let us have the ball. The win, at that stage, was there for the taking. Whatever was said at half time evidently did not work.
I thought the substitutions were strange. Briscoe had a go but I would have liekd to see Yeoman come on much earlier. Richards for Harding was a weird one. Harding did okay and they are reasonably similar players. If anything Richards is more combative.
Another thought - Seabright's kicking is very full-on, in the end it led to a goal but clearly the defenders felt that a short pass was a better option as Downes and Pearce consistently loitered around the edge of the box at goal kicks. Unless that was tactical, I can't imagine that behaviour will do Seabright's confidence much good.
And finally - I think the media is blowing the Ajala comment up a bit, although I have to say CH is very quick to name and shame. I just hope that he is as quick to praise the players when they do something right.
KlinK wrote:I thought the game today was very entertaining and with the benefit of the view from the bench felt that we should have been three or four up at half time. Watching the game from up in the bench made me realise ( in this game and I assume this applies to many others) how much technical ability some of our players had but how many times they always seem to take the wrong option. What was especially good about todays game was that, excluding offsides, there were, I think, around only six fouls. This was down to two sides trying to play football and an excellent referee trying to allow the game to flow. As the less fancied team playing away from home I think a great deal of credit has to go to Bromley in the way they played and conducted themselves.
tommyg wrote:Just got back. Was torn whether to go today and am quickly regretting my decision. I mean, seriously, what is the point? I haven't been this disillusioned with the club since Chris Roberts was at the helm. There is almost an air of inevitably about us losing to teams like Braintree and Altrincham. Make no mistake about it, we deserved to lose today. We weren't bullied by a stereotypical run-of-the-mill non-league side full of big and ugly bruisers. In fact, they had quite a few small players. We were simply outplayed by a part-time team who played some neat football on the deck and showed more heart and desire. We were good in the first 10 minutes and final five. The rest was utter dross.
O'Achie is better with his back to goal because when he's in front of it he freezes. He missed a near-open goal early on and it's pointless playing him as a lone striker. He's good foil for another forward in a 4-4-2 but he hasn't got the right attributes to lead the line on his own. After letting Altrincham off the hook, they started to grow in confidence and peppered our goal with shots. Their opener came when Reeves out-jumped Pearce and lobbed Seabright with a looping header. A goalkeeper shouldn't be getting lobbed by a header. And Pearce shouldn't be getting out-jumped when a cross comes into our box.
We were lucky to go into the break only one down but it was only a matter of time before they would score a second after we swapped ends. Seabright parried a shot and their player was quickest to react to slot in the rebound. At that point I was resigned to defeat - until Briscoe scored a peach out of nothing, firing into the far corner from the edge of the box. Their goalkeeper didn't move. After that I thought we'd throw the kitchen sink at them but it wasn't until they had a player sent off - his second yellow for a dive which was a good call by by referee - that we threatened to snatch an equaliser. Downes had a great chance but volleyed over, Seabright went up for a corner and almost got his head to it and we had a penalty appeal turned down. We couldn't see what happened as we were at the opposite end but Briscoe was so incensed I think he pushed the referee! In the end, though, we deserved diddly squat from the game.
Too many below-par performances today. In fact, they were all rubbish apart from Chapell, Downes and Briscoe. Seabright still gives me the jitters, our full-backs - especially Berry - were poor and Pearce has gone from prized horse to carthorse in 12 months. Peacock strutted around again but doesn't actually do very much apart from looking pretty, Ajala huffed and puffed but had no end product, Cameron was woeful and I've already discussed O'Achie's shortcomings. And he may as well be as short as Danny Stevens because he never wins a header despite being 6ft 3in! Yeoman barely touched the ball when he came on but at least Briscoe proved to Hargreaves that had should be starting. He might be best mates with Mr Kipling but unlike most of our other jessies, he's not afraid to shoot and is one of very few players we have who can actually make a difference. Talking of making a difference, Young has carried this shoddy lot for most of the season. It would be nice if others could return the favour when our captain isn't at the races like today. I feel sorry for him. He looks so frustrated at the inadequacies of his team-mates that often he will try and do everything himself. It's like when you played football on the school playground and there was always a useless fat kid who would join in but nobody would ever pass him the ball because you knew he would immediately lose it. The problem for Young is that he has 10 of these useless fat kids with him on the pitch. If I was him I'd desert the sinking ship. He's too good for us and deserves better.
And Thea, next time keep your money in your pocket. Make the team get up at 5am and travel on the day because going the day before makes no difference whatsoever. Hargreaves will have to accept it or walk the plank. No mention of Altrincham's budget in his post-match interview I see. Forget the play-offs, we need to start looking over our shoulders. We still need three or four wins from our remaining 15 games and given we've won four in our last 20 (or something like that) it could soon be squeaky bum time. After all, Torquay don't do mid-table...
RussianGull wrote:Vauxhall Road won't make anyone's top ten of away stadia, but I guess it serves its purpose for them, the Portaloo facilities were a highlight as was the Fire Exit UPVC door, but then I guess it's visiting these stadiums that draws such numbers of away fans, I've read there were 200 of us which would more or less fit into my estimate, this was the most cramped I've been on away game for a long time and credit to the number of fans who travelled up and made a good atmosphere. There was more sand on the pitch than at Skegness and the HHT right back definitely knew the lay of the land as he always booted it to the same patch of the pitch were it bounced once and then stuck to the mud.
Onto the game, in the car on the way down I said to my Dad that I think MacDonald should be rested as he's only just come back and we're going to need him a lot in the coming weeks so I was surprised to see him start and CH put Pearce at right back. After he succumbed to injury I briefly thought the management were going to put Richards at centre back which would have been disastrous and in the end with McQuilkin coming to right back we saw how versatile this player is - sign him up on a 18 month contract! The first half was a non event and I would imagine a vast number of the away supporters still have sun spots in their eyes, it can't have made for pleasant playing conditions attacking into the winter sun but there was something missing in midfield which meant many potentially potent moves fizzed out.
Skipping over the penalty (I couldn't see the foul it was blocked by the sun and too far away) and moving on to the second half we shored up a bit but our energy levels certainly dropped whereas as Hemel kept running and running, their number 8 must be a marathon runner he was everywhere and he was a tidy player too. Ajala is fast becoming one of our best players always with the tackles and good going forward, I've heard talk of a bust up between Ajala and Bowman and there were signs that both players didn't really want to pass to each other this is something that CH must sort out. Our goal came from an Aaron Downes goal, the goals which we will miss if anyone does come in for him. We conceded far too many corners - I'm not sure if this reflects poorly on our defence kicking it out rather than trying to pass it out, or whether this reflects the attacking prowess of HHT. I'd be inclined for the later, they certainly deserved a point from us at least.
Rice 8/10 - a couple of decent saves in the first half, a double save in the second half which from the away end looked really good, noticeable that he's coming off his line more and a valuable clean sheet. Something to build on! Ives 8/10 - Matured in the second half, this was the first time I'd seen him play and I was quietly impressed with him, in the first half he constantly tapped it out or hoofed it up pitch, second half he was finding Ajala, Bowman and Briscoe with his passing. One for the future, if he stays. Downes 7/10 - Captain for the day with a goal which settled the match, did well in handling their number 8 and 9, there was a couple of times when he was given the slip and Rice did enough to put the opposition off. Pearce 7/10 - Didn't really see pearce do much but he handled their tall guys well and a clean sheet is a clean sheet. MacDonald - Unfair to give him a score out of ten as he hadn't had much opportunity to do anything, he's a battler though and clearly wanted to play on - fair play, but we need you fit. If anything I'm disappointed CH didn't take him off immediately, slightly irresponsible when everyone could hear MacD shout in frustration when he first when down. McQuilkin 7/10 - Didn't see much of him in midfield but he's handy with a pass and calm on the ball which is something we need. He did well at right back and wouldn't be a bad replacement for Berry. I like him and think he can offer us something. Harding 5/10 - Did absolutely nothing, anonymous. Richards 5/10 - as above except for one shot where he should've done better. Chappel 7/10 - why Cameron was playing ahead of this guy in the league I do not understand, quick, good delivery into the (often empty) box and skilled on the ball, probed their defence and played well, from what I've seen and heard of him this year he's relishing his 1st team chances. Good lad. Briscoe 7/10 - Not sure where he was meant to be playing but sort of floated all over the place, though he's a big lad he can do some serious running if he thinks there's a decent chance at the end of it. Needs to work on link up play with Bowman and Ajala. Had a few chances but tried to do a lot on his own. Ajala 8/10 and MOTM for me. Ran his socks off, always with a tackle, looked for the pass, made the runs but unfortunately didn't have much opportunity to shoot. I like him and think with a bit more schooling could turn into our best player and one of our most saleable assets. Bowman 7/10. I've never really liked Bowman but if he wears a yellow shirt then I'll support him. Made lots of runs and got into good shooting positions, I found him very frustrating shooting on at least 2 occasions where there was no chance he was going to score so thin was the margin, especially when Briscoe or Ajala was steaming in at the far post. Bowman, Ajala, Briscoe need to go out get pissed and become best buddies and battle for each other on the pitch. With those three on the same wave length we could score many, many goals. O'Achie Came on did nothing.
One note on subs, why oh why would you get Ash Yeoman to strip off and do sprints and get ready to replace Bowman/Briscoe only to make him sit back down and then replace Briscoe with O'Achie. I fear we may lose Yeoman when I think he has a lot of potential. He looked totally void of motivation sat on the bench head resting on knuckle. I feel for him because he could have offered us something different in the dying stages.
Into the next round then with my fingers crossed for North Ferriby away. COYY!
tommyg wrote:A fair and predictable result between two out-of-form teams. Neither side really did enough to warrant the three points - it was very cagey up until the final five minutes when the game opened up and Wrexham's best chance was palmed away by Rice. Our clearest opportunity came within the first few minutes but a wasteful Yeoman was denied by the keeper after Briscoe put him clean through. We were solid at the back and tried to keep the ball on the deck but had no cutting edge in the final third. Bowman was at the game so must have failed a late fitness test - we definitely missed his presence up front and lacked creativity without Young (especially from a flurry of poor set-pieces).
Rice made two decent saves and looked assured in goal aside from one mis-hit clearance which fortunately he got away with. Downes and Pearce were excellent and probably our best two players. Ives did quite well - particularly in the first half - while Dawson had a mixed debut. Got beaten a couple of times and doesn't look particularly strong or quick - a clear downgrade on Berry but he's probably only trained a couple of times so too early to judge. Richards won a fair few headers and put himself about but was weak in possession. McQuilken was a lot more comfortable on the ball and looks a tidy player. There's just not much of him. He reminds me a little of O'Kane at the start of his Gulls career. Ajala huffed and puffed as he usually does but didn't provide any end product. Chapell was the best of our front six - whipped in some dangerous crosses and had the beating of his full-back. Yeoman missed a golden chance and will be disappointed not to have scored, while Briscoe was our worst player. Didn't really run or jump and isn't shedding any weight. O'Achie didn't change too much but at least chased down defenders unlike Briscoe and it was nice to see Prynn handed his debut. He won a couple of headers - which was a couple more than the much taller O'Achie!
Considering we had Young, Bowman, MacDonald, Harding and Cruise all out injured, this patched-up spotty side can be proud of their efforts. We had two youth team players finish the game, a debutant at right-back and McQuilken played for the first time in his favoured position. There was some encouraging stuff - we just lacked a clinical edge going forward.
Swanny wrote:I am delighted with the result and it's great to be in the semi-final and making a bit of money in the process. But what a poor performance today from Torquay and we could have had no complaints if we lost. FCUM had several clear chances that they did not convert and thankfully a piece of quality from us won us the match. Full credit to FCUM for their fully committed display and fabulous fans, all 1,363 of them. I have not heard such noise and passion from an away team for years. Only Portsmouth could rival that. I loved the vintage look of FCUM - players numbered 1 to 11, no names on the back of shirts or sponsor names on the front. It was a real throw back to how football used to be and their strip was just like what Best, Law and Charlton used to wear. Crowd a healthy 3,805 and sponsors MOTM going to match winner Bowman.
There's little to report about the actual match as we had so few chances of note. Our 4-3-2-1 formation just did not work and it was only when Chapell replaced the anonymous McQuilkin and reverted to 4-4-2 did we pose any sort of threat. There was no fluency about our game, if there were 1 or 2 good passes it was typically followed by a poor one. The only players to come out with credit were Rice who had a solid game, the lively Ives at left back, Richards who got stuck in in central midfield, debutant Frenchman Gueguen who replaced the injured Downes and looked a calm assurance at the back, and Chappell who ran well at a tiring FCUM defence. The home support was also lacking in chants and all the noise was coming from the away end. Both on the pitch and off we were quite embarrassing and FCUM did everything right but score.
Bowman did have a clear chance in the second half but predictably screwed his shot wide when through on goal on our right. It was our first serious attempt on goal. Meanwhile FCUM cranked up the pressure and it seemed a matter of time before they got a deserved goal. If they had a finisher today they would have ran out comfortable winners. Bowman until he scored was having a "mare" of a match and minutes before he scored he was clear on the left but crossed weakly to FCUM. Torquay fans vented their anger at him but soon after a threaded ball by Richards sent Bowman through on goal with their keeper to beat. Bowman held his nerve, rounded the keeper and slotted home on 82 minutes! All was forgiven and Bowman had turned from villian to hero in the space of a couple of minutes. FCUM struck the crossbar and kept the pressure up and the game opened up. Torquay should have had a second when Briscoe was through on the right but tried to find Bowman and the ball went tamely past the far post. Torquay held out as undeserved winners.
It was a poor and disjointed performance that gave me little confidence for the rest of the season. Downes is now out injured, MacDonald hobbled through most of the second half and we led a very charmed life today. Maybe our name is on the cup! As for FCUM they were a real credit, their players harried and hassled us out of our stride and they had the clearer chances and their fans were magnificent who gave their team a great send off at the end. It was good to see some Torquay fans staying giving them a good reception at the end. It was a memorable day for the atmosphere and that we won, but not for our performance.
Rjc70 wrote:An enjoyable match on a bitterly cold day. First half both sides were very disjointed.
Gueguen and MacDonald were solid throughout, although it was a weak header straight to their centre half from Gueguen that led to him looping a header over everyone and onto Burton's foot for a tap in. The defending from that looping header was non-existant. They hit the bar not long afterwards. Fits and starts from both sides for the remainder of that first half, with Chapell looking lively on the right before going off.
The best chance came near the end of the half where Bowman rounded their keeper, but had his shot well blocked. From the resulting corner came the breakthrough. I had a poor view but it was a timely equaliser in stoppage time of the first half. Seen it described as Gueguen chesting it down with back to goal, turning and volleying into the top corner. I saw the top corner bit.
Second half we were the better team throughout, I thought. Ajala played the sort of game I've become used to with him. Hardworking, plenty of skill and creative. Briscoe ran his socks off. Cameron showed the odd glimpse of what we know he's got. We flowed well going forward. I think it was from Ajala's persistence and squaring of the ball that Cameron hit the post from; it bounced onto Flitney's back and Bowman put into an empty net.
There was some pressure from Eastleigh, but I didn't get the feeling we were going to let this one slip. We were, quite simply, better than them. Not always enough, of course.
Rice 6.5 (Came out a bit more. Two good saves. Soft goal, but not the only one at fault.)
Pearce 6 (He's a centre back. But did alright. No Dawson in squad. Why? Cup tied for Wrexham games perhaps reasoning)
MacDonald 7.5 (Aggressively good)
Gueguen 7 (Like him. Composure.)
Ives 5.5 (Better going forward than defensively today. Got skinned once too often for mine and forever's liking)
Ajala 8 (my MOTM)
Young 6 (Not overrun.)
Richards 6.5 (good tackling. Poor distribution at times)
Chapell 7/Cameron 7 (flashes of what we like from both)
Briscoe 7 (Decent. Worked hard.)
Bowman 8 (Worked his nuts off. Got his reward)
StretfordGull wrote:Unfortunately that was another abject performance.
In fact, we played very similar to when we played them 3 weeks ago, it's just that they were much better.
There was absolutely no cohesion to our play. We played 4-5-1 in the first half but one of them was Courtney Cameron, so it was more like a 4-4-1. Ajala isn't necessarily a winger either and put about one cross into the box all game. He never knows what he wants to do with the ball either and constantly loses it.
Courtney Richards was atrocious. The guy tries hard, unlike Cameron, but the ball just kind of seems to hit him and pings off in any which direction. He gets his foot in though, which makes him a better option to Harding still.
Young tried hard again, but the incompetence in our side means he's up against it every week.
I quite like Mcquilkin. Looks decent on the ball, gets about a bit.
Bowman wasn't bad. Not great either. It's hard to play up top on your own for an hour though.
Cameron may as well stay on the coach. I'm not sure why he's getting picked.
The back four weren't bad really. They had rather a lot to do all game. Pearce isn't a right back, obviously, and Ives looks desperately short of pace. I'm unconvinced whether he'll play at a top level as a result. He doesn't look much quicker than Nico. He's showing promise for a 17 year old though, no doubt.
I'll reserve judgement on Campbell for now. But I think he's used to having a lot more time on the ball, in lower leagues. Hopefully this is his level.
Their two goals: The first was a terrific hit. He had far too much space mind and the challenge that came in wasn't good enough.
The second was a mistake by Rice. It was going wide, or to safety and Rice essentially palmed it to their striker to score.
He did make a couple of excellent saves though.
The score could have been 6-1, so we'll have to just take it.
We'll have to play a lot better to turn it around, because we were outplayed today.
Can we do it?
I haven't seen a good performance since Chester, last year.
Swanny wrote:Should we really be surprised what happened today? For months our league form has been poor, up until the semi-final we've had the easiest draws we could wish for in the FA Trophy and we could not even reach the first round proper of the FA Cup. Our FA Trophy run has masked our dreadful performance overall this season. From our management down, we are simply not good enough. Today we hardly had a shot on target and once we conceded our whole game fell apart. Crowd a really good 3,255 with 372 from Wrexham, sponsors MOTM Downes - well at least he tries. I thought the only other player to come out today with credit was a solid performance by Rice in goal.
It was a decent atmosphere today and the home crowd was doing their bit with some good chanting and lots of yellow on show. With Wrexham supporters also vocal the game was all set up nicely for a decent cup-tie. I was very impressed with Wrexham's solid defence and in the first half they coped comfortably with our attacks. Likewise Torquay were rarely troubled in the first half but Torqauy had to show the initiative. Loanee Campbell did lose his marker well to get clear in the penalty area but badly scuffed his shot. Likewise Bowman had a couple of half chances but did not test their keeper. Torquay's main problem all afternoon was in central midfield where Luke Young was totally out-of-sorts and Richards might have won some tackles but his distribution was poor. Ajala on the left wing had little time on the ball and McQuilkin on the right wing did some tidy link up play with right back Guegen and crosses but not much else. There was no-one on the end of the crosses and strikers Bowman and Campbell had little impact all match. The bottom line is that Torquay did not have one shot on target in the first half.
Torquay had to up their game in the second half but it was not forthcoming. Chappel came on for McQuilkin but Wrexham got the vital breakthrough in controversial circumstances. Downes was adjuged to have handled the ball outside the penalty area on our left when it was more a case of ball to hand. In swung the free-kick and a Wrexham player got his head first to put the ball past Rice. We have let in so many goals from these sort of free-kicks and corners this season and in truth we always look vulnerable from them. On came Briscoe and O'Archie for for Campbell and Ajala but instead of rallying around Torquay capitulated big style. Wrexham sliced through Torquay on our left and in went goals 2 and 3 in similiar circumstances. Loads of home fans poured out of the ground after the 2nd. and 3rd. goals and Torquay resembled a disjointed mess. Some Popsiders were having a go at the players and McDonald foolishly responded to them and Downes had to drag MacDonald away - all this as the game was going on. There was no leadership from the dug-out or from the players. Young is no captain and showed a lack of discipline instead to add to his woeful performance today as a player. Boos rang out at the end with just a few home fans sympathetically clapping our players off the pitch.
Well done to Wrexham, they were very solid, had a bit of know-how and knew how to finish. We had one shot on target, an Ives cross come shot that their keeper had to back pedal and tip over the bar. It could have been a flukey goal. Our whole club is really at rock bottom and at least today after this heavy defeat people attached to the club can face the truth. Our performances over the last few months simply have not merited a place in a cup final. Where do we go from here? Now that is a difficult one. Personally I think the experiment of raw yougnsters is not working and we need to look more to hardened pros. The same could be said of our management team but we are stuck with them for the foreseeable future. More tough times ahead I'm afraid.
tommyg wrote:Just got back. Absolutely spineless performance. I've given Hargreaves the benefit of the doubt up until now but I've had enough. Let's start with the bizarre team selection. Ajala on the bench?! He's been one of very few positives lately and his omission from the starting XI is a serious hint that Hargreaves has lost the plot. Gueguen has just been voted our Player of the Month (admittedly that doesn't say much at the moment) but his reward for that is to be... dropped to the bench. Richards is one of few players who actually shows passion and now he's out of the team. I think Hargreaves must just pick names out of a hat.
Our full-backs today made Tonge and Cruise look like Cafu and Carlos. Dawson thinks he's playing dodgeball because every time the ball was booted towards him he seemed to run away from it. He conceded the penalty after catching his opponent with a stray arm and was absolute rubbish. Ives was just as bad and was at fault for the first goal after his clearance went straight to a Telford player in the box. His favourite pass was back to Rice and he rarely crossed the halfway line. He looks a shadow of the player he was in his first few games and his confidence has been shattered. Pearce and Downes played quite well to be fair. Pearce made one mistake in the first half which went unpunished but they were solid. Rice was voted MOTM for his penalty save and could do nothing about the goal. Out goalkeeper being MOTM at home against a part-time team who are bottom of the league really does sum it up. The same part-time team have now done the double over us. For feck sake.
In midfield, Young had another poor game and McQuilkin quickly faded after a bright first 10 mins. He's too lightweight to play in a two-man midfield. Chapell is another player not strong enough and too inconsistent. He will beat his player and then shank a cross straight out of play. Reid had a debut to forget. Kept coming inside and waiting for the ball to come to him instead of actually going to the ball. Doesn't actually look very quick and can't head the ball.
Up front we were pathetic. Bowman is probably our best striker but wouldn't be fifth choice in most of our squads over the years. Completely miscued a shot towards the end and was never in the game. Ditto Campbell, who did force the keeper into a great save in the first half, but that was his only contribution. Ajala went on a couple of mazy runs when he came on and did more than the front six who started combined. Briscoe almost rescued a point with a piledriver which was tipped over and Yeoman only came on for a few minutes.
Their goalkeeper did make three of four excellent saves - the pick of the bunch being when he caught Pearce's goalbound header after tipping a Young free-kick onto the bar. Downes had a couple of golden chances with his head but we struggled to create opportunities in open play. We were second to every ball. There was no passion, no fight, just resignation throughout the team. I don't know what we do on the training ground. Our tactics today were to pass it back to the defence or keeper and then lump it aimlessly forward.
Huge boos at the end and fans calling for Hargreaves' head. He headed straight down the tunnel at the final whistle. Six or seven players had the bottle to come towards the Popside, including Young who was getting dog's abuse from one fan. Young was smiling sarcastically and shrugging his shoulders. You could tell he was clearly peed off but did the sensible thing and walked away. Rice came right over to the fans and was also getting stick. He did nothing wrong today and was pointing to himself to suggest as much. Hargreaves should have had the balls to come over but he left his players to deal with the abuse instead. So much for protecting his young lambs. The way we played today, I honestly can't see where the next win is going to come from. It's a good thing there is still a big gap between ourselves and the trap door.
tommyg wrote:I'll start with a positive - we were better than Saturday although that's not saying much! Thought we deserved something from the game but we lack quality and confidence in the final third. I didn't have a great view of the goal but our defence didn't cover themselves with glory. I think Downes and Dawson were too deep and played Chester onside when the ball came into the box, before it was tucked low past Rice into the corner. This came after Bowman missed another golden chance at 0-0 (how many times has that happened this season?) and Young watched a deflected free-kick cannon off the crossbar. Second half we were better with Young doing his best to drive the team on but we never had Chester on the ropes and they saw it out quite comfortably in the end.
Rice 7 - few saves including one excellent stop in the second half. Given MOTM for the second game running.
Dawson 5 - played out of position and has no left foot. Better than Saturday but still unconvincing.
Downes 5 - slow to react and not as commanding as usual.
Pearce 5 - gone from our best player to a liability. No coordination and his distribution makes Branston look like Beckenbauer.
Gueguen 5 - looked like a centre-half playing at right-back. Caught out of position a few times but is at least good in the air and a decent passer. Was absolutely distraught at full-time.
Ajala 7 - didn't stop running. Our biggest threat going forward. Doesn't always come off but he at least is brave enough to run at defenders.
Harding 5 - has another different haircut although as we only see him once in a blue moon I'm surprised he's not got a ponytail. One good pass in the second half. That was it.
Young 7 - first half poor but was back to his best after the break. Tried to push the team forward and was very unlucky not to score. Best 45 minutes he's played in a long time.
Chapell 4 - nothing came off for him tonight. No end product which is why the rest of his career will be spent outside of the FL.
Briscoe 6 - probably has the best first touch in the squad. Controls the ball well and tries to link up play but he can't run with it. I'd stick with him up front though.
Bowman 2 - that's being kind. It was like playing against 12 players. One of the worst performances from a centre-forward I have ever seen. I'm honestly not exaggerating.
Richards and Yeoman were blah but only had about 20 minutes. Can't remember Campbell touching the ball.
I thought it was a decent team selection from Hargreaves. I would have started Richards instead of sicknote but I was happy with the line-up. What disappointed me was his substitutions. I know Briscoe does struggle to complete a full game but he wasn't breathing too heavily tonight and should have stayed on. Bowman must have some kinky pictures of Mrs Hargreaves in his locker as that's the only explanation I can think of for why he wasn't taken off. Cameron should have also replaced Chapell who needs to spend every training session working on his crossing. Regardless of the subs, they should have happened much sooner. Hargreaves just doesn't seem to be able to change a game when it's not going our way. Might struggle to get four figures for the attendance next Tuesday night.
WASTE OF MONEY
WASTE OF TIME
WAS BORED AFTER 10 MINUTES AND I AINT JOKING
AND IT WAS BLOODY COLD
How have you lot watched that for the last 3 months, bloody hell you lot need medals!
Ive witnessed some poor football in the last 35 years, but honestly, I hope Im not exaggerating, but that was awful.
If any of you think that's a bunch of footballers who are actually good but being managed poorly your off your heads!!!!! I have never seen a bunch with so little pace, bad first touch, terrible distribution. They are NOT professional footballers, sorry they are just not. If they were part timers I could accept it, but they are not, they do this every f ing day of their lives! Surely you can at least trap the bloody round thing!!!
Swanny wrote:At last a win for the Gulls! I thought we were good in patches today and probably just deserved a win. The big hero today was Bowman who replaced the injured Campbell on 15 minutes. Bowman did not have the best of receptions from the home crowd when he entered the fray but he responded in the best possible fashion. His 2 goals were very well taken and his overall contribution was excellent - holding the ball up, winning headers and linking play.
My first observation today was how sparse the crowd was and I was wondering if it was the lowest I've been to for a league match. It turned out it was 1,607 with 200+ from Kidderminster who mainly occupied the away end. For a change Torquay kicked towards the Family Stand in the first half. There was no sign of Kelvin Thomas by the way. Kidderminster posed very little threat in the first half and Torquay were the better side with some decent approach play. Bowman got the important breakthrough on 23 minutes who drilled a low, hard shot from just outside the penalty area that beat the keeper at his near post. Our spirits were finally lifted and as was the whole mood around Plainmoor. There were one or two other chances and we deserved our half-time 1-0 lead. There seemed a decent balance about our 4-4-2 formation and players positions. Bowman and Briscoe work well together in attack are are surely our best combination there. Young was putting a real good shift in midfield and at times produced some quality. McQuilkin offered little beside Young, he is so lightweight and his passing was not always great. Ajala had a poor first half - he got himself into promising positions but his final ball tended to go astray that resulted in our moves breaking down. Cameron on the left wing was a danger and linked play well. It was a reminder to me today that we DO have some quality in our team that are capable of doing well in this league if they play to their potential.
Kidderminster came at Torquay in the second half. It was interesting to see Nicholson taking all their free-kicks and corners as well as the odd long throw. He still poses a threat in that respect. It was from a Nicholson free-kick about 35 yards that was flicked on and finished by at close range veteran Hughes. I'm afraid we still look so vulnerable defending free-kicks and corners and this was another goal conceded from a set-piece. Torquay's winner was a real quality team move that reminded me of our good run last October. Young found Ajala on the right with a beautiful cross field pass of probaly around 40 yards. Ajala threaded an inch perfect through ball for Bowman who slipped the ball past their keeper. There were some scares later in the match. Dawson, who did well at right back, made one last ditch tackle in the penalty box - something I have not seen much from a full-back of ours for a long time. There were a couple of clearances as well in our box when you expected Kidderminster to score. Rice came out for a cross and dropped the ball ut got away with it. Bowman nearly wrapped the game up near the end but his shot was blocked. Torquay held out the 5 minutes of added time and there were big celebrations at the end.
I thought today the team showed character and at times some good quality against another struggling side. There's an awful lot to sort out, we have weak areas in the team and very little back up. But there is quality in players like Bowman, Briscoe, and Young. Players like Cameron and Ajala do possess quality but are very hit-and-miss. I'm afraid defending set-pieces is still a weak point and has cost us so many goals and points this season. Last word to Nicholson - he applauded the Popsiders just before the game started and had a warm reception throughout by the home fans with even some "Nicholson" chants (one when there was a Torquay free-kick!). Nicholson was subbed near the end again to good applause from the home crowd.
royalgull wrote:Wasn't that our season in a nutshell?
Bright start by a vibrant attacking young team playing some good stuff, look imperious before something goes wrong and then it all caves in?
The first 20-25 minutes was as good as i've seen from us in a long long time, our two wingers helped stretch the game, the two central midfielders were getting on the ball making things happen and 2 v 2 up front Briscoe and Bowman were ripping them apart, we could easily have been 4-0 up at half time but for two good saves, 1 of them outstanding by their keeper. It wouldn't have flattered us.
Would have loved to be a fly in the dressing room at half time, did we say go out and protect it? Or did we say keep doing the same things, keep attacking, because let's face it other than the kudos and happiness of a win the result really is immaterial for us now. It's not going to define our season it'll just make a difference of us finishing 12th - 17th and as such there was no reason for us to be fearful, nervous or panic. Yet that's what we did.
Rather than go out second half and maintain the same tempo, the same passing principles we went into survival mode trying to protect our lead and it is something time and time again this group has shown to be incapable of doing, Telford, FGR twice, Dover, Alfreton all games off the top of my head we were in front or in control of only to collapse and again last night, it was almost inevitable once the first one went in. This group simply doesn't have the leaders, the fight, the concentration and the discipline to cope with and deal with a setback, one thing goes wrong and all of a sudden 2/3/4 things go wrong and we fold.
Really disappointing because none of Woking's goals were good goals so to speak they were all second balls they got to first the second goal was criminal after McQuilkin won an excellent header their guy picked it up and under no challenge thumped it back in just beyond sub standard play from us. In fact I don't recall Ricey having to do much in the game, in comparison Crowe has made 2 or 3 top saves on top of the two we scored. The only chance Woking really made was in stoppage time when their guy has put one over from inches out.
The injury too Bowman didn't help but you could tell he was struggling before that, the first half him and Briscoe ran riot, they looked absolutely superb but second half we just couldn't get them in the game, we were content just trying to boot it or head it away and we lost all control and impetus we'd got from the first half.
Also hated seeing Brian Saah and Scott Rendell playing for Woking what a waste. Two players that would make a massive difference to us but hey ho, overall a vintage Torquay away day, greeted by Paul Bastard in shorts in weather not suitable for summer attire followed by a Torquay collapse, lovely stuff.
