Just back

Wow, tense.
In truth, probably not our finest display. Lacked a cutting edge up until the goal. Wrexham overran us in midfield with their three well on top.

Absolutely superb ball to Aswad Thomas for the goal. He'd been having a shocker up until that but put a peach of a ball into Hannah who's always there and always dispatches us.

Pond was an absolute rock at the back with Miller fitting in seemlessly. McKeown dealt with a couple of dodgy pass backs but, despite pressure, didn't have to make a proper save. Hatton now established himself as first choice right back.

Going forward, as ever, the only concern and it's going to be a loooong couple of games until Ross is back. Cookie looked clumsy again today.

Neilson and Marshall okay in flits and starts with the former getting a great reception when he went off. Appreciated it clearly but, unfortunately, don't think we'll see him again. Shame as he showed glimpses and touches of brilliance again tonight.

Wrexham are a good team and will definitely make the play offs. Definitely deserved a point but when we've got a predator like Hannah in our team, it's always going to swing the pendulum in our favour.

Onwards and upwards. If anyone doubted our title credentials before that, they've just been well and truly silenced. GOING UP!

Agree with all of that apart from the cookie thing! Thought he was immense today, winning everything and battling! UTM Bring On the Gimps!!!

Everyone excellent, Niven quite awful IMO, but I allow that he may cause dizza to play a better game and Disley in this form is up there with any midfielder in the league!

Pond outstanding. End of.

Good second half. As the commentators kept saying, Scott and Hurst obviously got us to press them better second half which worked for us.

Dis and Del Boy got stuck in to their midfield, and we got Neilson on the ball a bit more.

Special mentions for me should go to Neilson who worked as hard as anyone out there when it could've been easy for him to slack off a bit in his last game. And Miller who continues to come in from the cold and put in solid performances.

I thought the game as a whole summed us up really - solid at the back, and likely to score if we create a chance going forward.

The more the second half wore on i was thinking to myself - if we just create one good chance i fancy us to win this.

Quoted from Tommy

I thought the game as a whole summed us up really - solid at the back, and likely to score if we create a chance going forward.

The more the second half wore on i was thinking to myself - if we just create one good chance i fancy us to win this.

This.
We're not pretty to watch and definitely not the best footballing team in the league but we're SO hard to beat. German efficiency... ODD!

I think its a good job Niven cant pass a ball, he wouldn't be at this level if he could. His positional sense and discipline are second to none, i lose count of the amount of times he breaks up the opposition. He made a great run tracking Cielslewics on the counter in the second half that potentially stopped them scoring. Worth his weight in gold imo.

Shocking in the first half - Wrexham will be kicking themselves for not punishing us with the possession they had and chances created. Second half - a bit better but still very frustrating going forward. Certain individuals want an age on the ball when there are options to play someone in or have a shot. The difference was Hannah of course, instinctively sliding in to finish off a low cross (Aswad's only decent contribution to the game).

I'm actually dreading Lincoln now. Got 0-0 written all over it with defeat at Mansfield duly following if Cook, Colbeck et al don't step up.

Putting all that to one side, great to be back on top.
We can now sit back and wait for the mighty Braintree to shock Newport tomorrow

The game could have gone either way with the difference being Hannah's nouse for goal. To be truthful he hadn't done a great deal up to that point but a great finish from easily the best pass of the night.

There was obviously concern about Wrexham's midfield capabilities and Disley played a lot deeper than he has in recent games.

A couple of notes of negativity: Both Neilsen and Marshall tried to do too much with the ball on several occasions. Cook won loads of ball in the air but we didn't profit from it at all.

Hannah got MOM but for me Pond was absolutely miles in front of anything on the pitch. One tackle in the box in the first half was Bobby Moore-esque.

Marshall poor IMO. Nowhere near as good as Neilson.

Shows just how important it is we sign Hannah. Ran his socks off the whole game, and chased everything...getting his reward with a good finish.

Pond also outstanding, although Miller slotted in as if he'd not been away so IMO his signature is less important, although would be delighted if he did sign.

Quoted from Codswede

Everyone excellent, Niven quite awful IMO, but I allow that he may cause dizza to play a better game and Disley in this form is up there with any midfielder in the league!

Really? His distribution might not be top notch but the reason you notice it is because he is always in the position to win the ball.

Quoted from jimgtfc

I think its a good job Niven cant pass a ball, he wouldn't be at this level if he could. His positional sense and discipline are second to none, i lose count of the amount of times he breaks up the opposition. He made a great run tracking Cielslewics on the counter in the second half that potentially stopped them scoring. Worth his weight in gold imo.

First name on the teamsheet imo.
Without a doubt the most influential player in the side.

A solid display which is the kind of display that wins you leagues. Pond was outstanding and I also thought Cook did well considering for a lot of the game he was chasing long ball after long ball which, against a solid team like Wrexham, is no easy task.

By the way: how many more times do we have to try that ground pass corner to the penalty spot before we score... Excellent movement.

Just got back ,,,great result but one downer ,,,lost my phone in lower j smiths ,,,,,,,anyone find it ,,,,,,,it's a galaxy s3

i hate people saying niven is poor !! alot of people assume all midfielders are only good if they attack, will Niven is a great player, my MOTM

Fantastic win that could be vital to our season.

It was a very tight game with hardly any clear cut chances. For most of the game, we weren't quite firing going forward but we took the one chance we had and were fantastic throughout defensively. Pond was terrific and Miller would start for virtually any other side in this league.

It was frustrating i didn't think we would score but we did, Marshall neilson and cook tried to take too many people on and a pass would have been better, set peices poor tonight, and when the ball gets played across the face of goal i would like players trying to get a touch than just standing there

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

i hate people saying niven is poor !! alot of people assume all midfielders are only good if they attack, will Niven is a great player, my MOTM

This. He played a fantastic ball over the top for (I think) Thomas to run onto 2nd half. Also Aswad had a decent game IMO, put 2 fantastic crosses right on the money early on, and another for the goal.

Quoted from AndyGTFC

Fantastic win that could be vital to our season.

It was a very tight game with hardly any clear cut chances. For most of the game, we weren't quite firing going forward but we took the one chance we had and were fantastic throughout defensively. Pond was terrific and Miller would start for virtually any other side in this league.

Correction, he'd start every game for every team in this league and a few in the league above imo. Unbelievable strength in depth at the back.

I do see what he does, but I spend a lot of time watching him just jogging about trying to guess where the ball will go. If he nullifies the oppositions best players then yeah I see why he's there, but there's times I wonder why Thanoj couldn't do the job with a much better final pass. Completely different players and think the duo are right to switch between games where Thanoj gets time on the ball. Don't see Niven as a weak link by any means, just reminds me of yard dog Stacey.

Quoted from Codswede

I do see what he does, but I spend a lot of time watching him just jogging about trying to guess where the ball will go. If he nullifies the oppositions best players then yeah I see why he's there, but there's times I wonder why Thanoj couldn't do the job with a much better final pass. Completely different players and think the duo are right to switch between games where Thanoj gets time on the ball. Don't see Niven as a weak link by any means, just reminds me of yard dog Stacey.

As much as i like thanoj, theres no way he could do niven's job, not strong enough, cant tackle as well, lacks positional and tactical sense and experience. With a midfield of Disley and Thanoj we would not have won that game.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

i hate people saying niven is poor !! alot of people assume all midfielders are only good if they attack, will Niven is a great player, my MOTM

Agreed I love Niven, unfortunately for him hes the type of midfielder we have been missing for the last few years and the type that you don't notice except when they make mistakes.

His mistakes are that he can't pass to save his life, so its even more noticeable. If he could he wouldn't be  at this level. He's a big reason we are so good at the back because he breaks up play so much. wouldn't say he was MoM tonight but he did his job well and he isn't poor and rarely has a poor game, passing aside.

I havent seen two better sides than the two in actiona t Bundell park tonight.

Evenly matached and both sides gave their all.

Pond was immense, Miller slotted in alongside him and despite Wrexham having plenty of possession they never opened us up. Someone went on about all their chances, i can't actually recall any clear chances as I can't think we had many either?

Cook won everything in the air. That is clearly a wekness in Wrexhams game. They miss Creighton who was injured early in the season. Neilson in hs last game gave his all and deserved his ovation at the end. He has had a good three months here which i think has benefitted him and GTFC.

Niven does what he does so well. He isnt a ball playing modfielder and has his limitations but he allows us to play. Disley had a good game too as they were often outnumbered in midfield.

Overall one fantastic ball from Thomas and jonny on the spots finish was the difference which i think our 2nd haf display just about deserved.

Really buzzing for the players and fans and am looking forward to a terrific atmosphere in the away areas at Sincil Bank on Boxing day

Wasn't the most attractive of games to watch for a neutrals perspective. Fortunally none of us are neutrals!!!!
What a 3 points and a superbv start to the festive period - vital we kick on now over the next 3 games.
Cooky was emense today best i've seen him, think his settling down now.
Pond was just Pond, it is so vital we keep him. I still wouldn't mind him seeing him play cm - he would be class there. Feel a bit for Miller, comes in does he job and doesnt play for weeks. Would mind seeing:
Miller Pearson
Pondy Thanoj/Nivern/Disley
As if you remember he is a cm that can play cb.
Hannah is a goal scorer, he gets one chance in 90 minutes. We win the game 1-0. Every team from sunday league to champions league needs a goal scorer even if thats all they do. The prospect of him and hearn playing together are what dreams are made off!
This is the best town team i've seen properly. Not that take much competiton  
Roll on Wednesday!
UTM

Quoted from bradzmilne

As if you remember he is a cm that can play cb.
UTM

I remember him telling Fleetwood he wouldnt play in midfield  & instead he went out on loan to a lower level club just to play at centre back!

Quoted from BIGChris

I remember him telling Fleetwood he wouldnt play in midfield  & instead he went out on loan to a lower level club just to play at centre back!

I heard an interesting rumour about him leaving fleetwood, not sure how true though - so wont say anything haha

ok it was,t pretty but wrex are a Good SIDE  let,s all take heart 2 derby games coming up and not take things for granted believe me it will be totally diff on Boxing day !! our three thumbed friends will be trying there hardest !!  one game at a time !!UTM

Niven does the job for us that Claude Makelele did for Chelsea when they were all but unbeatable  - at an obviously much higher level, he is priceless at breaking up opposition attacks - its not only excellent defensive players that have contributed to a fantastic defensive record, he  has played  a big part in that too, OK you have to counter the Niven style with the fact that he isn't going to be a threat going forward, or a creative passer - if he was he would be playing several tiers above us!
Disley is also an excellent player, although perhaps just a tad too similar to Niven, meaning when the ball breaks loose  at the edge of the opposition penalty area they are  BOTH often too deep to capitalise. Makalele had Lampard as a counter balance, perhaps Dis needs to gamble going forward a bit more, but hey- ho at the moment everything is brilliant results wise ( no tempting fate intended!).

We are so hard to score against. They had a lot of possesion but we are so disciplined and organised its like facing a wall at times. Pond is just immense and the midfield two are very dogged and do a great amount of pressuring and cutting angles off. Would love to get all the loanees here because that Wrexham team are the best team in this league (except us) but we matched them and beat them. UTM!

Fact is we are very difficult to beat. Work rate excellent all round. Must mention Marshall who worked his socks off all game. Not everything came off going forward, but I think he could develop into an excellent player and can play on either wing. He is tall enough to win some headers and is strong on the ball. If you don't concede you are always in with a shout and 1 0 was a good result in a tight game.

Fantastic result and most probably a deserved one for the dogged performance and the tactics employed IMO.

Constantly amazed how accurate Paul Hurst is in his analysis and evaluations !
On Premier he thought it could be tight and paid tribute to the players hard work after the final whistle.
Spot on yet again !
If he wasn't a manager sure he could get a job in public relations. (although suppose it's part of it...)

Such was the importance of keeping cards close to chests, pre-match tactics were kept quiet as a doormouse by Hurst (and on here).
But guess we all wondered if we could cope with their 3 in the middle and how we would ?...
Quite rightly everyone worked their socks off to close them down.  
Obviously this was the instruction pre-match and after half time.

Thought we got the shakes again a bit before the break but it's nothing to complain about, only to be aware of in future.
And thought we generally looked rock solid.
Was a bit concerned pre-match about Hatton defending at right back against a top team but tbf thought he did well enough even though Wrexham did come down our left side a few times 1st half. Interesting to note how Marshall & Neilson chipped in defensively too.

Generally thought we looked more dangerous going forward and they looked better in possession. (as expected)

Result could have gone either way and draw might have been fair, but you can't ask for more effort or application than what we saw.

Whilst I thought Wrexham had a possible weakness pre-match at set pieces that we failed to exploit, ironically it was a full back (who didn't even have a particularly great game) that made the difference.

So being objective, slight concerns over possession were merited (and to some extent still are but thought Niven passed it well tonight).
But when you've got different threats all over the park and look a big threat going forward, you've always got a chance of nicking one if you can be solid, hang in there and weather the storm.

HUGE game and a GREAT result  - well done !!!  

If Wrexham had a decent striker they would be miles clear IMO...but they dont. Very happy to see Morrell limp off...stretching for a ball semed to do his hamstring, they are so much better with him leading the line.

Very similar to the first game, tight affair but thats two games in which Wrexham seemed pretty toothless...testament to our defensive display i think.

Could have been a more comfortable victory if on several occasions players could have squared it or looked up, Cook twice and Neilson going alone when others better placed.

Overall the result was fair, i had it even first half but pretty dominant second half.........and the ref....FFS! Hope his incompetence came across on the telly so he may get relegated.

Good start to the festive period and with Newport/ FGR /Wrexham playing each other over the next week or so  another 4/6 points would be very useful.

UTM

Niven is ace.

A short post, but a pithy one.

Well done also to the groundstaff. Although it was fortunate there was a break in the weather, the playing surface was excellent and did not cut up.

Thought it was the sort of performance that wins leagues. Didn't play particularly well but got the all important three points. To be fair to Wrexham, they are a good side and still have a better midfield than we do after three years in the conference, which is a worry. Think we have the better defence though and slightly better in the forward areas, which gave us the very slightest of edges.

We took the only guilt edged chance of the night and are now in a great position to push on. At least we would be if we were not about to lose Neilson and especially Hannah at a crucial period.


Don't think the three points would have come our way without those two last night but you never know. It will be interesting to see how we fare over the holidays without our main goal threat. Could be make or break but i can't see us scoring many with Cook, Pearson and Southwell up top.

The defence will have to be at their best but i think we have the best centre half in the league in Pond, with Miller and Pearson not far behind. The rest of the back five are very good too and Wood is very unlucky to be benched. Him and Miller would walk into just about all the sides in this division.

Even without Hannah neilson and Marshall we are a very tough team to beat

I watched it on tv and didn't think the ref was too bad. Only a couple of wrong decisions but that can be expected, as they are only human. He definitely was not incompetent.

Quoted from aaron rattray

Even without Hannah neilson and Marshall we are a very tough team to beat

Agree with this Aaron, But i am struggling to see were the goals would come from.

Quoted from cmackenzie4

Agree with this Aaron, But i am struggling to see were the goals would come from.

Their replacements for the next couple of games will probably be G Pearson and Colbeck, both capable of chipping in, just look back to the Mansfield game where they both got 2 each. And last week v Havant we easily scored 4, without either of them, I'm sure we'll cope.

I thought it was a very close game between two very decent teams. If we finish above Wrexham we'll probably win the title in my opinion. We seem to have the knack of beating the teams around us which is a fantastic habit to have. In terms of individuals I thought Nathan Pond was absolutely superb. He fills me with so much confidence and whilst we're very lucky to have three very good centre-backs I do think he's just that bit better than the other two. Fingers crossed for holding on to him.

Quoted from Alfie

Wow, tense.
In truth, probably not our finest display. Lacked a cutting edge up until the goal. Wrexham overran us in midfield with their three well on top.

Absolutely superb ball to Aswad Thomas for the goal. He'd been having a shocker up until that but put a peach of a ball into Hannah who's always there and always dispatches us.

Pond was an absolute rock at the back with Miller fitting in seemlessly. McKeown dealt with a couple of dodgy pass backs but, despite pressure, didn't have to make a proper save. Hatton now established himself as first choice right back.

Going forward, as ever, the only concern and it's going to be a loooong couple of games until Ross is back. Cookie looked clumsy again today.

Neilson and Marshall okay in flits and starts with the former getting a great reception when he went off. Appreciated it clearly but, unfortunately, don't think we'll see him again. Shame as he showed glimpses and touches of brilliance again tonight.

Wrexham are a good team and will definitely make the play offs. Definitely deserved a point but when we've got a predator like Hannah in our team, it's always going to swing the pendulum in our favour.

Onwards and upwards. If anyone doubted our title credentials before that, they've just been well and truly silenced. GOING UP!

Agree with most of that apart from Hatton and Cook, Hatton showed again he is poor defensively getting caught several times out of position and he fell asleep for their best chance in the second half where they missed that far post cross.

Cook won virtually everything in the air.

Nielsen had probably his best game but not sure how much we will miss him as he does too much and often loses the ball.

Marshall played similar last night and had plenty of times to pass the ball off but ended up losing it.

Niven was absolutely woeful in the first half but improved in the second.

Overall not a great game but on the second half display we deserved the points.

Quoted from Tinymariner

I watched it on tv and didn't think the ref was too bad. Only a couple of wrong decisions but that can be expected, as they are only human. He definitely was not incompetent.

4200 might well disagree Lol.

So from the armchair... how did it look?

What comments were made by the pundits and what was their overall opinions of the two teams?

Also who did they make MOM?

Just a quick thanks to the guy who found my phone ,,,,,,really thought I,d never see it again ,,,,,,,,,who ever you are have a great Xmas and new year ,,,,UTM