Barnet v Torquay 11th November

[Dave]

Thanks for that tonight.

No worries Les, one that showing Barnet could be hauled in.

[lesgtfc]

No worries Les, one that showing Barnet could be hauled in.

Due to the stupid Conference fixture schedule we don't play them until the middle of January next year even though we've played yourselves and Dartford twice already and we visit Altrincham on Saturday who we've already played at home.

5 league wins on the bounce now so hopefully we can keep a decent run going until we play them.

[brucie]

Ajala has terrfic work rate. He reminds of Zebroski whlist he isn't as physically strong he tackles back well. Was lucky to stay on the pitch when he was booked but the referee evened it up when their full back fouled Ajala and then somehow failed to play the advantage when Bowman was forty yards in the clear and through on goal.
As well as getting the advantage wrong how on earth did their player escape a card for the foul on Ajala who also looked in the clear.

[Sunnysideup]

Ajala has terrfic work rate. He reminds of Zebroski whlist he isn't as physically strong he tackles back well. Was lucky to stay on the pitch when he was booked but the referee evened it up when their full back fouled Ajala and then somehow failed to play the advantage when Bowman was forty yards in the clear and through on goal.
As well as getting the advantage wrong how on earth did their player escape a card for the foul on Ajala who also looked in the clear.

If the ref hadnt blown for a free kick, it would have been a free kick to Barnet as Bowman was a good 3 yards offside when the ball was played to him. No advantage to play so free kick awarded. Ref had no other option really.

[Dave]

Think your being a bit kind to the referee their sunnyside, Bowman may well have been offside, bit if you look at the reply the referee wasn't even looking at where the play broke, his eyes were transfixed on the foul and he was to quick to blow up for it, look at the top refs they all would have given themselves time to check for an advantage first he clearly did not, that said he was guilty of the same with a decision that went against Barnet also, and Brice is right, Barnet had two players sent off for similar tackles Saturday, another ref and Ajala was off, just goes back to inconsistency between referees.

[Gulliball]

Bowman offside? He was inside his own half and about ten yards away from being offside when it was played over.

I also didn't think Pearce was that solid. All the back four came under a lot of pressure for 90 minutes, but Berry and Downes had much better games in my opinion, Pearce was bossed by Akinde.

Anyway, it was a very important win for us, and hopefully the start of another long unbeaten run.

[Modgull]

Tremendous result from a very good performance. For once we played full on for 90+ minutes.

Should have had at least two more goals and yet they hardly had a sniff apart from their two goals. No wonder Martin Allen (respect for his honesty and frankness) accepted his side were very much second best.

I thought Louis Briscoe was simply a class apart - he and Young are looking like fantastic signings on the part of Hargreaves.

Also thought Bowman was back to his best despite not scoring - he was a real handful all night and the commos summed it up neatly after the match by saying our CBs bullied their strikers and our strikers bullied their CBs.

Loved Ajala's contribution although he was lucky not to get a red for that tackle and should have put the game to bed when one on one with their goalkeeper.

Berry looked a good acquisition at RB but Cameron was really poor for the time he was on - what has happened to him?

Young and Richards were steady but will both see better days.

I don't blame Ricey for the second goal - the fault rests with Pearce who totally miscontrolled the through ball to gift them the chance. However, on the whole the defence performed well.

Can we build on this result now? If we can get a result on Saturday I'd say our season would be well back on track.

[Neal]

Just got in. Great little ground, the hive bar (home fans) was excellent and the best looking bar staff I've seen at a football ground. Burger OK, parking easy, the sound system best I've heard, easy to get out. Thoroughly enjoyable evening. Good number of Torquay fans in good voice, excellent!

[FavGull]

Just in too. First win I've been to this calendar year, been a long time coming. May post something more tomorrow but I head to bed happy. Three weeks til The Crabble looking forward to it already!

[Southampton Gull]

Tremendous result from a very good performance. For once we played full on for 90+ minutes.

Should have had at least two more goals and yet they hardly had a sniff apart from their two goals. No wonder Martin Allen (respect for his honesty and frankness) accepted his side were very much second best.

I thought Louis Briscoe was simply a class apart - he and Young are looking like fantastic signings on the part of Hargreaves.

Also thought Bowman was back to his best despite not scoring - he was a real handful all night and the commos summed it up neatly after the match by saying our CBs bullied their strikers and our strikers bullied their CBs.

Loved Ajala's contribution although he was lucky not to get a red for that tackle and should have put the game to bed when one on one with their goalkeeper.

Berry looked a good acquisition at RB but Cameron was really poor for the time he was on - what has happened to him?

Young and Richards were steady but will both see better days.

I don't blame Ricey for the second goal - the fault rests with Pearce who totally miscontrolled the through ball to gift them the chance. However, on the whole the defence performed well.

Can we build on this result now? If we can get a result on Saturday I'd say our season would be well back on track.

Agree with all of that, Briscoe is fast becoming my favourite player. He seems to have plenty of skill to score goals that not many others at this level can and is certainly proving to be an excellent signing.

Wouldn't blame Rice for the goal as there was a mistake from Pearce that let them through but he could have done better and I thought his organisation of the wall for the foul by Berry on McDonald was very poor. Aside from that he did more than enough to keep the jersey and build on his confidence. People just don't seem to realise what a massive thing it is for a keeper to have confidence, we have too many that moan at his every move and it's so counter-productive.

Great performance, as good as Alfreton was bad so lets build on it and stay in touch with the leading pack.

[Oil Beef Hooked]

The goals from last nights match are now available on BT Sport

http://sport.bt.com/video-0136381440198 ... 6628645001

Our first was a well worked goal and the third was a cracking turn and strike by Briscoe

As for the own goal, it looks to me that Stack's arm is already over the line, but then again I'll leave it to you guys and gals who have better eyesight than me to discuss.

An excellent win. Let's hope this brings back some confidence to the club and we go on another winning run.

[kevgull]

Bowman offside? He was inside his own half and about ten yards away from being offside when it was played over.

I also didn't think Pearce was that solid. All the back four came under a lot of pressure for 90 minutes, but Berry and Downes had much better games in my opinion, Pearce was bossed by Akinde.

Anyway, it was a very important win for us, and hopefully the start of another long unbeaten run.

If we remain unbeaten after the next 6 games, were are going up!

[brucie]

Some quite bizarre comments on here really.

Bowman was nowhere near offside as he has run from his own half. How an earth anyone can say that Akinde bossed Pearce is just beyond me. Akinde looked dangerous for the first five minutes but was snuffed out like a damp quib on bonfire night after that.
We came under pressure in the second half because the wind was against us and they were lumping the ball into our box - very difficult to defend against really, but thought we defended really well apart from the second goal with the mistake by Pearce and Rice could maybe have saved it.
The commentators were blaming Stack for Bristows second but I don't think he had a chance of saving it. He curved it back in and it reared up as it hit the wet surface. No chance in my book.
The worry was that Pearce and Berry would tire in the srcond half but both were excellent.
We could and should have won it by a bigger scoreline in the end.

[tommyg]

Cracking result. I was very impressed with the first half. Didn't create too many chances but we were clinical in front of goal and looked comfortable at the back. Kept Akinde and MacDonald quiet, although our defence, particularly Downes, copes better against slower forwards. Thought we controlled the half and while Barnet caused more problems in the second period, we stood up well and should have really finished them off with the chances we created at the end.

I was surprised Rice was recalled but thought he did well. Handling was good and dealt well with corners which is usually the glaring weakness in his game. Needs to learn to keep his legs closed and shouldn't have been beaten for the second goal, but Pearce must take a large portion of blame for that one. Having said that, I would actually keep Pearce and Downes together. I think they are a more dominant pairing and give us a bit more extra steel. Harsh on MacDonald because he hasn't done anything wrong but I wouldn't change a winning team, especially one which has just beaten the runaway league leaders away from home.

Downs was immense - he loves a battle and Barnet's direct tactics suited him to a tee. Cruise struggled a bit in the first half and had to be careful after he was booked early doors, but I thought he recovered well and was much stronger after the break. Berry was fantastic on his debut. The only mistake he made was giving a free-kick away on the edge of our box in the first half. We didn't see much of him going forward which is to be expected given the opposition we were playing, but defensively he was superb and covered a few times for the centre-backs by making some vital interceptions.

Young was one of the best players on the pitch. Delightful cross for the first goal and I think he should be credited with the second. Bowman didn't touch the ball - it deflected in off Stack but was already on target so should be given to our captain. He's a calming presence in midfield and always looks up before playing a pass. Richards also played well, made some useful tackles and kept it simple. Ajala was lucky not to be sent off and should have scored towards the end, but he was more lively than Cameron who has lost his swagger. He doesn't look fully fit and his confidence is low.

I actually thought Bowman was poor for 80 minutes and excellent in the final 10. Unlucky not to score in injury-time but Hargreaves did the right thing in keeping him on because he is fitter than Briscoe and puts defenders under more pressure. Briscoe, though, was my MOTM. Right place right time for the first goal and his second was a great strike, although Stack should have saved it. He looks far more effective up front and is our best finisher. I thought O'Achie did well when he came on and should have walked off with an assist, while Thompson also went on a couple of marauding runs but did show his inexperience by not taking the ball into the corner at the end (something Bowman did really well).

Hopefully we will carry this momentum into another tough game against FGR on Saturday. Same XI for me.

[PhilGull]

Three good goals from us, The first two were very well worked with players taking up the right positions at the right times and the third was a piece of class from a classy player.
Don't blame Ricey for either of our goals. Always disappointing to concede from a set-piece, defence could have done better on both. Rice took the correct decision on the second covering his near post, never nice to see a keeper beaten on the inside. It was up to a defender to bust a gut and get back on the line to clear anything wide of the keeper. Pearce made a mistake, they happen, the key is not to dwell on it and get stuck back in to the action straight away, he could have been back on the line to stop the goal, but given it was his first start of the season I'll forgive him that(!).

Onwards and upwards