Welling United v Torquay United

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Post by gullintwoplaces »

Seems the officials stole that game from us. Not the first time this season.
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Post by Dave »

Sounded like a great backs to the wall performance and a fully deserved point. Interesting to see whether the club does appeal the red card.
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Post by kevgull »

A great battling draw or more points dropped due to defensive woes?

COYY!!!
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Post by Dave »

Considering we've had our goalkeeper,possibly, harshly sent off after 29 minutes, I'd call this a battling point, rather than 2 dropped.
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Post by Jeff »

Hard to say if that will turn out to be a hard fought, worthwhile point or a case of what might have been if we hadn't been harshly reduced to 10 men. A match short on quality from both sides which suggests a long hard season.

The early sparring was uneventful with neither side getting into too threatening a position. In fact, Briscoe had just worked himself half a yard and fired a shot straight into the keeper when Welling went up the other end and scored. In a passage of play that summed up our first half, a quick ball out from the back exposed our defence for a lack of pace. The Welling right winger beat Smith and got to the by-line, and pull the ball back square for the on-rushing attacker. The first shot - from no more than 6yds out - was superbly saved by Speiss. But unfortunately, the rebound fell right to the feet of another Welling forward who slammed the ball into the roof of the net.

Welling tried a few times to expose our back 3, and Ex just about managed to get enough of the ball to thwart another attack, much to the home protestations. Shortly afterwards, we scored out of nowhere. A nothing free kick on the right hand side was curled into the box by Butler, sailing over everyone's heads, bouncing in the 6yd box and settling in the corner of the net with the keeper rooted to the spot. Lucky, but you'll take that.

Then came the controversial point in the game. Another long ball out from the back had Ex struggling, so Speiss came out to win the ball. His jump and catch was cleanly in the area, but a combination of his momentum and a clattering from the Welling forward sent him tumbling over the top and outside of his box. Fair enough, it's handball and a definite free kick and probably a yellow card. But never a red, which is what was given. When the Lino flagged I genuinely thought it was going to be for the follow-through challenge on Speiss, not for handball. Either way, Speiss was off and our game plan out the window. The free kick came to nothing, and -aside from a bizarre situation where Lavercombe allowed a bouncing lob to clip the top of the bar at walking pace, and Fisher half volleying wide when well placed - we gamely hung on till half time.

The second half brought a change in shape - Smith went across to right back, Hurst to right wing in a 4-4-1 formation. And it nearly paid off when Hurst won the ball on the halfway line and burst through, only to get caught in two minds and put his cross/shot wide of the goal.

The next 30 mins or so were dull as dishwater. Nothing was sticking to Fisher up front, and Welling didn't really cause any problems other than blasting a few shots over the bar.

The introduction of Quigley for Fisher then led to a fairly frantic end to the game where both sides had chances to win it. Lavercombe pulled off two great saves to keep out Welling, whilst a few last ditch blocks went in from Angus, Smith and Ex to keep things together. Whilst at the other end, a twisting turning Briscoe was denied by a low save which Quigley couldn't quite get onto the rebound of. And after some great hold up play by Quigley, Heslop slammed a shot wide of the post. But there was nothing more clear cut than that, and in truth it petered out into a draw.

Being my first game of the season, I was a little disheartened by how we played. Very little movement up front and no cohesion, although I thought Quigley looked more of a useful forward than fisher, despite some slightly lazy closing down towards the end. Midfield wise, Heslop was largely anonymous for most of the game, although did ok towards the end when we needed an extra bit of cover at the back. Briscoe had a shocker, couldn't get into the game at all really and was ineffectual. We need someone in the midfield who can split the play open. Hurst was a bit wayward positioning wise as a full back, but was better as an orthodox wide midfielder. And Ex, for all the long throws is an absolute liability when trying to defend against anyone with pace. Balls in the air are bread and butter to him, but anyone running at him was lethal.

There were some positives though. Butler I thought looked great, worked hard and played some good balls around. McDonald was a rock at the back, and Smith looked tidy too. Carmichael I though had a fairly decent game as well, breaking play up but we need someone in there who can pass it around. And we clearly have two decent keepers - Speiss can't be blamed in my eyes for the sending off, and on another day would have kept Welling out with a blinding save if the ball had fallen anywhere other than where it had for their goal. Lavercombe, after shaky beginnings, settled down and pulled off 2 great saves in the second half. Defensively we were ok when the ball was in the air. And I think there is potential in persevering with Quigley, provided we can get the right player alongside him.

We clearly aren't a cohesive team yet, and we are very reliant on set pieces and long throws for attacking opportunities as we rarely looked like carving an opportunity from open play. We have some good solid pros in the side, but no flair or creativity. It's all a bit predictable and one-dimensional at the moment. We have a solid enough backbone but need some attacking flair - hopefully Cox can get some players in from somewhere, as we need them!
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Post by arcadia »

forevertufc wrote:Sounded like a great backs to the wall performance and a fully deserved point. Interesting to see whether the club does appeal the red card.
It was not a sending off but save the money on the appeal the best keepers in goal now, one of the managers best decisions having a sub. keeper.
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Post by Dave »

If it's an unjust sending off, if there really is grounds to appeal, the club will have to appeal it regardless of who the best keeper is, it would be utter nonsense to do otherwise and cost the club more in the long run.
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Post by tommyg »

Just got home. Not sure if I'm pleased to collect a point or disappointed we dropped two. I'm somewhere in between. Obviously, we played three quarters of the match with 10 men and soaked up a lot of pressure, but like Welling, we had chances to win the game so a draw was probably a fair outcome.

We settled well in the opening five minutes, with Briscoe testing the goalkeeper with a low drive after some neat build-up play. But then Welling scored with their first attack after some slack defending. Butler was caught out of position as Welling attacked the right channel and our marking for the cross was non-existent. We were second-best to both balls - the first was superbly saved by Spiess at point-blank range and the second was smashed in by a Welling player on the rebound. We were too slow to react.

We got back on level terms through a set-piece - well it wasn't going to be from open play! Butler curled in a peach of a delivery - one of those that is whipped in between the defence and goalkeeper - and it went all the way into the far corner of the goal. Hurst celebrated so he must have got a touch but it was all down to Butler's ball - similar goal to the one Hurst scored at Halifax. Then came a few key turning points.

First, a ball over the top caught out Ex, who brought down their striker on the edge of the box with his outstretched leg. He was last man and it was one of those decisions that could have gone either way. I had a great view of the incident but couldn't tell if Ex got the ball - fortunately the referee sided with us but we'd have been screaming for a red card if it was a Welling defender. However, it didn't take long for the referee to go from hero to villain in yellow eyes. Again, it stemmed from a long ball over the defence. This time, Spiess decided to come and collect - which he did. But the problem was his momentum took him outside of the box and he still had the ball in his hands. There was absolutely no doubt about that but the debate was whether he was nudged by the striker after grabbing the ball, with the contact taking him outside of his area. It was another tough decision and honestly one I'd have to look at again. Usually, goalkeepers are well protected by referees but not on this occasion. Spiess was furious after being shown the red card. Maybe it was harsh. But we'd have been calling for their goalkeeper to be sent off if the same happened at the opposite end of the pitch.

Cox must have had a vision in his dream last night that this would happen because usually he doesn't stick a goalkeeper on the bench. I'd be interested to hear why today of all days he named Lavercombe as a sub. One theory I have is that Richards - who travelled with the squad - failed a late fitness test and therefore this created a free spot on the bench. Welling threatened a few times to score with the extra man and clipped the bar after their player got in between Angus and Lavercombe. However, the best chance fell to us and should have been buried. Briscoe played Fisher through and with only the keeper to beat, he laced his shot wide when it looked impossible not to hit the target. Maybe he should have taken an extra touch instead of firing first time on the half-volley. Every Torquay player had his head in hands after that miss - including Fisher. Quite ironic given the fans were singing 'Feed the Fish and he will score' earlier in the match...

Second half we switched formation to 4-4-1 with Smith playing right-back and Hurst in front of him. Briscoe was wide left. Welling kept knocking on the door and would have finished us off if they had a half-decent striker. Lavercombe made two excellent saves, Angus made a vital goal-saving challenge and I even think a Welling player inadvertently blocked a goal-bound strike after a scramble inside the area. There were other chances too but we survived the onslaught and even had opportunities to win it ourselves.

Hurst and Heslop both shot wide from good positions on the right-hand side of the area and Briscoe stabbed over a shot from a long throw to the far post before almost scoring a stunning solo goal. Moments after some idiot shouted a derogatory comment at him about how he earns more than our whole midfield combined, he nutmegged one player, dumped another on his backside with a neat turn and then drilled in a low strike which looked destined for the bottom corner - but the keeper dived down and made a splendid save. It was the one moment of real quality in the game.

I thought that was Briscoe's best performance of the season. He still drifts in and out of the game but he caused problems. Fisher had an off day and never recovered from that miss. Lavelle-Moore was unlucky to be sacrificed after the red card but it was the right decision. Quigley came on and set up a good chance for Heslop, who again I wasn't impressed with today. One of those midfielders who is invisible for most of the match. Carmichael was the more noticeable of the two and put in some excellent tackles. Both lacked quality in possession.

Hurst will probably end up being our top scorer at this rate. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a 4-4-2 playing in front of the full-back like he did in the second half because he's great going forward but leaves holes in defence. However, Ex couldn't play in a 4-4-2 because he's too slow. He was turned too many times in the second half. But that throw... it's out biggest weapon so we need him in the team. If only we had a specials team for set-pieces like our American friends! He'd be ideal. Angus made one big mistake in the second half when he lost possession in a dangerous area which led to a Lavercombe save but he defended well other than that hiccup. Smith was excellent again. My MOTM and not the first time I've said that this season. Butler had a decent game, although was out of position for the first goal. His set-pieces were much better today. Spiess made one brilliant save in the build-up to Welling's goal which he could do nothing about before being sent off. Lavercombe pulled out some great stops in the second half but punted a few goal-kicks straight out of play.

Think that's it. Well done if you got through that. Time to watch X Factor, erm, I mean Spanish football...

Added in 6 minutes 38 seconds:
I see Butler has been credited with our goal. It looked to me like Hurst celebrated but maybe he was just pleased for his fellow wing-back.
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Post by Southampton Gull »

SuperNickyWroe wrote: Agree dave.
Some posters seem to have an issue with goalkeepers......

Makes a change from managers then I guess ;-)
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Post by Jeff »

Also think it's well worth making a special mention for the yellow army yesterday. First game I've been too for a long time, but our fans made the atmosphere fantastic. Non stop singing and banter - I think it reflected really well on us as a club.

Not sure if it's always like that these days, but it certainly inspired me to make the trip to Kiddy on Tuesday.

Well done to all those involved
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Post by Colorado Gull »

Jeff wrote:Also think it's well worth making a special mention for the yellow army yesterday. First game I've been too for a long time, but our fans made the atmosphere fantastic. Non stop singing and banter - I think it reflected really well on us as a club.

Not sure if it's always like that these days, but it certainly inspired me to make the trip to Kiddy on Tuesday.

Well done to all those involved


Great to hear. Trying to get to every away game (as well as home games) this year, always have the drum with me. A fantastic group of us always go with the travel club and create a great atmosphere everywhere we go (people wanna know...).

Same again on Tuesday.
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Post by tommyg »

Also agree about the atmosphere - been brilliant in the three away games I've attended this season. The drum makes a massive difference so well done Danny. One minor complaint - during the 'bounce' song, there's one guy who shouts out 'f*****g bounce' at the top of his voices all the time and that's very irritating. Don't think there's any need for it personally but then I can be a grumpy git!
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Post by robc »

Agree with tommyg about that guy in the middle of the bounce chant, does my head in!

Also, a bit of back and forth with the opposition fans is great, but 15 minutes solid of focusing on one group of kids, repeatedly chanting about the STD status of 13 year old girls, etc, gets really tiresome.

The constant chanting and drumming other than that was a credit to the club, let's focus on supporting the guys on the pitch, rather than nonsense off it?
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