Cheltenham Town v Torquay United

[exilegull]

Fletch - I agree that there is very little between robbo and Ellis - I really rate Robbo. Oastler has done well also.
But I think Robbo is much better at right back than Mansell - he brings extra height and solidity to the overall back 4, his positional play is far better and his size often means that he can muscle out smaller wingers. A winger that is good enough to skin robbo can do the same to Manse. What's lost going forward I think is made up by Mansell in midfield as he is very good at supporting the wingers - Oastler for me is most effective sat in front of the back four where as Manse is box to box.
Also if I look over the last 4 years I think our spells of good form have been with Manse in centre-mid - first half of our first season in the BSP, the end of last season and start of this. I don't think it is coincidence.

[Trojan 67]

We've got a young side who haven't learnt yet how to kill and then close out a game.

Crawley tactics anyone ?

Don't answer that as we all know our manager is too honest at times.

[Fletch]

Fletch - I agree that there is very little between robbo and Ellis - I really rate Robbo. Oastler has done well also.
But I think Robbo is much better at right back than Mansell - he brings extra height and solidity to the overall back 4, his positional play is far better and his size often means that he can muscle out smaller wingers. A winger that is good enough to skin robbo can do the same to Manse. What's lost going forward I think is made up by Mansell in midfield as he is very good at supporting the wingers - Oastler for me is most effective sat in front of the back four where as Manse is box to box.
Also if I look over the last 4 years I think our spells of good form have been with Manse in centre-mid - first half of our first season in the BSP, the end of last season and start of this. I don't think it is coincidence.

I dont disagree exile. I think Manse brings more to the midfield than he does to RB. The problem for me however is centre back. Whatever the reason, Ellis has been well out of form since the start of the year. Robbo however has looked the part since moving back inside.

If we had another RB to go there then great, Manse could move back into midfield (harsh though that would be on Oastler). With our depth of squad though we have to do the best with the players we have. Either way, it may be viewed as 2 points lost tonight but its also 5 unbeaten now (since Robbo moved back inside)

[Trojan 67]

We've got a young side who haven't learnt yet how to kill and then close out a game.

Crawley tactics anyone ?

Don't answer that as we all know our manager is too honest at times.

I'll answer that Mr Trojan if you don't mind. For all his good points PB has some weaknesses. He appears to want to sub players who can hold the ball up with players who can't.

Keep possession, keep some players upfield, don't give away needless freekicks, run the ball into the opposition corners etc, etc.

Learning the hard way may be the only way PB will learn. More hard work on the training ground please with reference to the above points.

[Regiment]

FFS.

I wish I had a quid for every late goal we've given away.

I just can't believe that tonight, really couldn't see us coming away with anything other than 3 points. We weren't great, but cheltenham were poor at best. The officials were a disgrace, although the lino at the far end seemed to do ok, just a shame he had dumb and dumber for colleagues.

However, for me, the reason we threw it away was one thing.......the decision to take Billy Kee off. I didn't think he played particularly well, but he kept their defence busy, and more importantly, wouldn't have allowed their keeper to bring the ball to the half way line before launching it into our penalty area, time and again.

Gutted. AARGHH!!!!!!!


Brady.

[Fletch]

Brady, being as you were there, did Billy look like he'd run himself into the ground or was he limping slightly?

[stratfordgull]

Just home. Referee and one linesman absolutely abysmal. Cheltenham were poor and deserved nothing from the game, but we really did our best to hand over that point.

Potter made a couple of good saves but his choice to punch downwards cost us for the first goal, and he wasn't in a great position for the second either. Having said that, without the idiotic referee, there wouldn't have been a first goal, and if we could have just tried to hold the ball a little, then there would have been no chance created for the second.

Pitch was badly cut up, and their number 3 might as well have put the refs shirt on and had a go because he couldn't do anything in his own shirt.....Don't understand the substitutions either?

[Jeff]

Sorry for the late report for anyone who was waiting for it, had a few login issues so am stopped en route!

Gutted. 2 points dropped but despite some awful refereeing, we brought it all on ourselves. We defended deeper and deeper and never did any of the pre-requisite things of closing a game out.

I was quite surprised to see both Macklin and LRT in the starting line up. On reflection LRT did o.k but Macklin was the usual waste of space. The first half was centred around lots of home possession but zero end product. We didnt look to have much about us going forward, but when we did boy did Robinson make it count. A superb cross-field pass from Stanley I think picked out Robinson on the left flank. One heavy touch was deliberate to create an angle inside, the second touch was a venomous shot to the near post, which home keeper Brown got a good hand on but could not keep out.

The rest of the half followed a pattern - plenty of home possession but no cutting edge. We carved out decent chances through a Branston header that was scrambled away at the near post, and a firm close range Robertson header that Brown saved and Zebroski couldn't quite bury the rebound. A slightly ominous sign toward the end of the half was Cheltenham building some pressure and swinging some corners under Potters bar. Danny seemed reluctant to claim, and led to a couple of laity moments that ultimately came to nothing.

Second half initially was all very similar too. A bit of pressure but nothing really too scary. The worst moment was when Branston showed he'd read some of the comments on here. Rather than routinely lashing one up the pitch, he attempted to turn and play. He slipped, and Matt Green was in. Lucky for us Green's worst attribute is still his finishing, as Potter was able to parry his weak effort to safety.

The introduction of Stevens for Macklin brought a bit more urgency, and soon we were 2-0 up. Danny got away on the left, cut inside and powered a shot at goal. Brown parried it up...........and it bounced in at the far post and in!!!!

Now that should have been that. Cheltenham hadn't overly threatened us, anything they had lumped forward was dealt with. All we needed to do was stay calm in possession, keep it tidy and play for the corners late on. What we did was non of the above. We defended deeper, increasingly lost possession and invited pressure onto ourselves. We were not helped by our tactics - Zebs should have gone down the middle to give us some aerial presence against a beast of a centre half like Steve Elliot. Instead we persisted with Kee, and time and again the ball came back onto our ever-retreating defence

We were also not helped by some awful refereering. The stats will show that we had 4 or 5 booked, far more than Cheltenham but it was not a dirty game and we were not the dirtier side. The nadir came when LRT was scythed down well after the ball had gone. The ref played a non-existent advantage, cheltenham broke only to be halted by a challenge from Oastler which was neither malicious or worthy of a booking. The result - booking for Oastler and not even a talking too for the home player who took out LRT.

Still this was with 11 minutes to go, and all we had to do was not give Cheltenham a glimmer of hope to stir a revival. From the free kick Oastler had conceded, we did just that. Swung over, Branston got a mis-directed head on it that only diverted it under Potters crossbar. Under pressure, Potter punched weakly to the feet of Goulding, who slammed home to set up a nervy last 11 mins.

And in that time, we did none of the given things to close the game out. Just surrendered territory and invited pressure. What riled me most was their keeper was coming to half way to lump the ball forward, completely unchallenged. O.k Stevens isn't much use at the back, get him to close him and hurry him. But no.

I'm quite angry with myself, as when one aimless ball drifted out in stoppage time I allowed myself to think "we've seen this out". You'd have thought I'd seen enough gulls games to know we're never safe. From the resulting goal kick, it carried all the way through. The home keeper takes it quick, to a centre half who strides to half way and lumps it unchallenged again. I think this time Green gets something on it against Robbo, Branston hesitated just a split second and Thomas flicks out a boot. The ball trickles right towards me and into the bottom corner. 2 points gone. (to be fair i may have the roles of our defenders mixed up in that, happened quite quick)

Ratings:
Potter - 6 - kicking and shot stopping good, needs to command area much better. I want to see Bevan back, as any manager scouting us will now have seen that high balls right into Potter cause trouble
Mansell - 6.5 - usual high energy stuff, but didn't get forward much
Robbo - 7 - won an awful lot, kept Cheltenham quiet but not helped by the rest of the team not defending from the front
Branston - 6.5 - a couple of slips, but won his fair share
LRT - 6.5 - decent enough, solid in the tackle. Still limited in what he can do but not so worried about him playing any more
Oastler - 7.5 - my MOTM. Like the way he does all the dirty things quietly and efficiently in midfield
Stanley - 7 - been impressed. Always plays the simple ball, although almost always facing our own goal when doing so
Macklin - 5 - never been a fan. Better than usual but can't beat a man, can't play up front and not suited to our formation
Robinson - 6 - great hit for the goal, but why subbed so early?
Kee - 5.5 - it's all very well putting it about, but it's not much use when you don't do anything with it.
Zebs - 7 - usual industry, shackled by early harsh booking
Subs:
Stevens - 6.5 - better than Macklin, should have played for the corners at the death rather than keep it alive though
O'Kane - 5 - still not the Eunan we know and love. What's happened here?!
Gilligan - 6 - won a couple in the air, but no real impact. Would be a better starting choice than Macklin for Saturday though.

The ref was utter garbage. Totally one-sided display.

I guess on reflection 11 points out of 15 isn't too bad, but we are still unable to close a game out. We also seem
Incapable of chasing a game and upping the pressure like Cheltenham did today, so unless we are a couple of goals out of sight with seconds left we are always liable to have a night like tonight. Somehow we are still right in the playoff race, and by my reckoning we should be owed a lot of late goals but we all know it doesn't work like that! And this weekend we have that thankless task of a trip to that graveyard in terms of our results that is accrington.

Anyway, I know a lot of you guys were there tonight so I hope my account of things from sitting 3 rows off the floor matches with those higher up! I hope I can bring you all better reviews from Accrington!

[tommyg]

How frustrating. Our inability to hold on to leads will be the difference between a promotion push and mid-table mediocrity at the end of the season. I'm not complaining with 12th, I've said all season I'd be happy if we finish around there, but if we could protect a lead we would be hunting for the title.

The facts back it up:

- Scored the first goal in 20 of our 30 matches (66.6% - higher than any other side), but only gone on to win half of them.

- Dropped 23 points from a winnng position - only lower than Cheltenham (24) who have played two extra games.

We just seem to hit the panic button and self-destruct. It's happened too many times to blame officials and the damn woodwork. I'm not sure if it's a mental thing, inexperience, bad tactics etc, but we are constantly putting ourselves in a winning position and then shooting ourselves in both feet.

As for tonight's team selection, you can't blame Buckle for keeping the back five as it was given our recent run, but Macklin? Where did that come from? I don't know how he performed but I don't understand how 'the odd one out' can leap above O'Kane, Gilligan, Stevens and even Halpin in the pecking order. He hasn't even been on the bench lately. I don't mean to criticise the player, but it was just a bizarre decision by Buckle.

This is probably a knee-jerk reaction (I wouldn't have said this at 9.20pm), but I would like to see us go back to basics on Saturday. Bring back Bevan, Nico and maybe Ellis and O'Kane. The players that have come in have performed well, but that's four points dropped from two games which we should have won.

[SuperNickyWroe]

thanks for the report (as usual) Jeff.

[Modgull]

Shame about the last few minutes but the support sounded awesome - 468 on a Tuesday night is quite brilliant - well done all who went!

[Southampton Gull]

Too annoyed to write anything other than the ref was utter tosh, Potter should never be punching the ball downwards on his own line, Bevan would have caught it above the players head like so many times before and don't anyone blame Branston because he was very good tonight.

Superb finish by Robinson, Oastler looks better and better every time I see him play, defended too deep at the end and as Jeff said, their keeper should have been closed down late in the game. Still unbeaten but could have been so much better.

[Regiment]

Brady, being as you were there, did Billy look like he'd run himself into the ground or was he limping slightly?

not sure to be honest. lets face it, he's not like benyon, who will chase the ball (and defenders) down all day long, but i don't know if he was tired and/or injured. but he wasn't at his best tonight. worked hard, had little support, and was feeding off scraps, but i think it was wrong decision to take him off (as it was to take off robinson too - very strange substitutions in my opinion).

[HRG]

Disappointed with the result and the ref was shite.
But my nosey self wants to know what made the stewards arsey?

[royalgull]

I'm home now, demolished some Maccy D's I'm still speechless what happened a couple of hours ago. Never in my life was I so confident in the opposition not scoring, they were byond dire, one of the worst teams i've ever seen, and we simply gave 2 points away.

It wasn't a great game, when we did get it down and get it wide we looked dangerous, took the lead with a superb goal from robinson. Quick free kick, cross field ball brilliantly brough down, out of his feet and thumped it in at the keepers near post. He got hands to it, maybe should have saved it but a lovely goal. Nearly two nil, we made a mess of a corner but the second ball in from Stanley was perfect, queue of Torquay players 6 yards out, didn't see who got the header in, keeper makes a miracle save.

At the other end we were fine, as we were for 79 minutes.

Nearly made it 2 nil straight after half time lovely move ended with Zebroski crossing low to Kee, hit first time agonisingly wide.

Cheltenhams best chance came from a long ball that Branston dwelled on, got caught in posession only for Potter to make a smart low save to keep it at 1-0.

Bucks made a couple of changes bringing Stevens on for Macklin who'd done ok for me, Robinson off for O Kane. Ball goes out for a throw in right by our own corner flag, one of the cheltenham coaches runs the length of the pitch to get the ball and accuse us of time wasting, we take the throw, the ball ends out at Danny Stevens feet, he then cut in from the left let a shot go straight at the keeper who pushed it straight up in the air only for it to drop over the line for 2-0. Quite funny, Game over.....oh.

Right this is where it all just went bizarre/wrong/b*llocks. Firstly LRT clears the ball down the left only to be taken out by a quite horrendous challenge. It's a minimum yellow card maybe more. The referee who has given us sweet f*ck all apart from book 2 of our players for kicking the ball away (Zebs one was ludicrous) gives us nothing again, the cheltenham player is barely touched by Oastler in the middle free kick and booking given!!! From that free kick it goes into the box, gets richocheted (sp) up into the air with tons of spin, drops right underneath the cross bar, Potts is surrounded by players both ours and theirs, he gets a punch on it but goes straight to their bloke 2-1. It was a horrendous ball for Potts to deal with. Yes I accept Bevan in that case would have had a better chance delaing with it simply down to him being about 7inches taller than Danny. Bevan is a rarity and not the norm to have a keeper of 6'6. You simpyl can't compare anybody to him when it comes to catching crosses. I don't think Potts could have done anymore with it. No way he could have caught that ball. It was a freak that the ball went where it did.

Even so, the ref stitched us up big time. It should have been our free kick, slowed the game down and we carry on 2-0. Because we didn't get the most blatent foul of the night, our players reacted and gave a stupid free kick away, they scored from it. Absolute bollox.

Even so I still felt we'd see it through, we started aimlessly giving the ball away into survival mode even though cheltenham other than chucking it long weren't hurting us. they had a scramble go wide of the post and then the goal.

94mins a long ball, Branston whose headed everything all night goes to head it but chucks his arms into the air claiming for a foul. He MAY have been pushed slightly but with this ref we were NEVER going to get the free kick. Branston has to do more to head the ball. It goes over him, bounces into our box, Robbo looks at Potts, Potts looks at Robbo, their bloke slides in gets studs on it and it bobbles in. Utter utter farce of a goal to chuck 2 points away against the worst side we'll play all season.

So annoyed disappointed angry it's untrue.

Ratings out of 10

Potts 6

Manse 6
LRT 7
Branston 6
Robbo 6

Macklin 6
Stanley 7
Oastler 7
Zebroski 8 - Motm

Robinson 7
Kee 7

Stevens 7
O Kane 5
Gilligan N/A