Just Back

Dissapointed today,  close game between two equally matched teams.  Cant fault the effort, just missing a bit of quality.  Thought Thanoj was our best player today, Duffy looked lost.

Never mind, lets do em in the league when we play them

York looked very average. We should stuff em in the league with our first choice team. Was very disappointed with Duffy, Wood and Makofo today. They were all useless and did nothing to stake a claim for a place in the first 11.

We did not deserve to lose that at all. Yorks defence is awful but in the end having 4 players out took its toll, we had nothing to bring on and no right midfielder for the entire game. York couldn't deal with Hearn at all but looked okay going forward, they were contained well enough. We'll 100% beat them in the league imo, with Miller, Garner, Elding and Soares back in the side we could've hit 3-4 today but in the end Hearn was playing about 3 positions at once.

Well done to York on getting through, looking at the results it's disappointing to go out because we'd have had a great chance of going through. Not gutted though, we've weighed York up and on that showing we'll hammer them, the fact they can have a fully fit 11 outplayed by a weakened side says a lot. I'd rather lose than get a replay though. Thanoj was brilliant, Duffy and Disley were absolute garbage. I'anson and Pearsons distribution was pretty woeful. He was shite when he came on but we really should've started with Serge even just to balance out the side, Church who played pretty well kept creeping inside meaning Hearn had to do too much leg work to get the ball. At least with Serge in there we would've had some balance if anything.

Thought we matched them well.considering it was by cfar our weakest team against their strongest! Whole team played well apart from Duffy and Disley who i thought were awful!

Referee was truly shocking today aswell!!! I think we will put it all over em in the league with our best players back.

Disagree with Wood, he looked ok when he came on but he won't come in on the wing and probably won't knock Silk out the team. Agree with Duffy and Makofo though, Duffy won a few a headers but they didn't really go anywhere and he spent the rest of the game falling over. Makofo was his usual self got the ball, ran forward and then lost it or gave it away.

Thought we missed the missing players today. Artus' set pieces and balance on the left, Elding's work rate up front and his partnership with Hearn, and Millers calming influence on the back 4 (although I thought I'anson steped in well). I also thought changing the midfield around didn't help, I think we missed Coulson on the right, he provides natural width and creativity and looked slightly uncomfortable on the left.

Taking the fact that we had players missing the managers hands were tied and we had to reshuffle the pack, so I for one am not too disappointed with the outcome against a decent York side. So time to roll out the cliche's and state the obvious... Let's concentrate on the league!

Today could well be a blessing in disguise. No excuses and no distractions from the play-offs now

Not too bad - don't think we were outplayed.  Nobody was really my MOM - I think it was more of a team effort.  York didn't look anything special.  Did Alan Buckley have any interesting thoughts on the team or on the situation at the club?

Quoted from sinkers13

Today could well be a blessing in disguise. No excuses and no distractions from the play-offs now

Agree, although it'd have been nice to reach both the playoff and trophy final, but the playoffs is far more important, and as you say going out of the trophy means we have no distractions or extra games.

Quoted from marinette

Not too bad - don't think we were outplayed.  Nobody was really my MOM - I think it was more of a team effort.  York didn't look anything special.  Did Alan Buckley have any interesting thoughts on the team or on the situation at the club?

I know he chose Thanoj as his man of the match.

Not too dissapointed with the result.

Plenty of effort but a lack of balance meant we lacked creativity.

York well orgainsed but if that is their strongest line up, I'd be confident of beating them in the league game with a first choice side out (or even a couple of injuries).

Thanoj and Townsend played very well Hearn a threat with little support and largely sound defensivly. Neither keeper was exactly over worked

Scrappy game, always want us to win but not fussed really, bonus if we won but a reply would of been a reet buddy.

onto braintree now lets intercourse um

First time I've seen Church, one paced is as complimentary as I can get and I know he was played out of position - then Makofo came on and showed why Church was picked in the first place!

Teams cancelled each other out really and not much to choose. We had a few chances and on another day would have been a goal up at half-time. always looked like a draw or a 1-0 to either side. This time it was to be york who put their chance away. They are very beatable and interestingly a couple of their big guns Walker and Blair were substituted. Thanoj again showed some great vision and is getting better all the time. Pearson and I'Anson were strong. today was a day when Duffy should have showed what he can do as it was a big chance for him to stake a claim but unfortunately he fell well short. He was looking for fouls, moaning and niggling all the time. I do not care for this side of his game. Some of his work was sloppy and he can do much better. Needs to get his head right for the next game. If we had had another striker on the bench, he would have been taken off today. Come on Duffs, now is your time to get it right.

Was a tight game with few clear cut chances. We didn't deserve to lose but we didn't quite do enough to win either. We contained York well in the first half and were the better team in the second. Thought Pearson, Thanoj and Hearn had good games.

It's a shame to get out at this stage but at least we can concentrate on the league now.

Quoted from oldun

Teams cancelled each other out really and not much to choose. We had a few chances and on another day would have been a goal up at half-time. always looked like a draw or a 1-0 to either side. This time it was to be york who put their chance away. They are very beatable and interestingly a couple of their big guns Walker and Blair were substituted. Thanoj again showed some great vision and is getting better all the time. Pearson and I'Anson were strong. today was a day when Duffy should have showed what he can do as it was a big chance for him to stake a claim but unfortunately he fell well short. He was looking for fouls, moaning and niggling all the time. I do not care for this side of his game. Some of his work was sloppy and he can do much better. Needs to get his head right for the next game. If we had had another striker on the bench, he would have been taken off today. Come on Duffs, now is your time to get it right.

Duffy frustrates me so much. You just know there's a good player in there somewhere.

i thought disley looked poor today. did anyone see me?

Thanoj man of the match for me - York was nothing special, But we were poor at times, Glad to see wood back, Let's kick on now learn from this and get into the playoffs.

Quoted from aaron rattray

i thought disley looked poor today. did anyone see me?

Nope.

gary silk is one paced and cant read the game , bad desison to bring coulson off for wood , i would have taken silk off and put wood right back , coulson onto the right cos he looked lost at times on the right , and church is never a footballer let alone a right winger , think we could have won if the subs had been used right

Quoted from jimgtfc

Duffy frustrates me so much. You just know there's a good player in there somewhere.

Just shows how the fans see it - Duffy started well and if you really wanted to pick a defining moment it was actually when Hearn shot when he should have squared to Duffy 3 minutes before Yorks goal.

Quoted from griggsy11

gary silk is one paced and cant read the game , bad desison to bring coulson off for wood , i would have taken silk off and put wood right back , coulson onto the right cos he looked lost at times on the right , and church is never a footballer let alone a right winger , think we could have won if the subs had been used right

Massively harsh on Chruch, he played well out of position today.

For the first time in a while I felt S&H got the substitutions wrong. Playing Coulson out left was wrong but to make a change by bringing Wood on for Church and leaving Coulson out there was a mistake imo. Church off, Coulson right flank Mokofo left to give a natural balance would have been a better move. But hey ho they are the bosses, Yes I am dissapointed but not gutted and was pleased that nobody booed at the final whistle.
UTMM

was a decent performance by town today and we could have won it several times (their keeper made some vital saves) then it was ended by a scrappy goal by kerr who decided to take it upon himself to goad the fans at our end of the lower findus, i couldn't see from where i was sitting but there was a big penalty shout in the second half too from a hand ball i believe but nothing was given.

Quoted from The_Laughing_Mariner

Dissapointed today,  close game between two equally matched teams.  Cant fault the effort, just missing a bit of quality.  Thought Thanoj was our best player today, Duffy looked lost.

Never mind, lets do em in the league when we play them

my thoughts too, we'll have a full squad to choose from too

onwards and upwards

Quoted from griggsy11

gary silk is one paced and cant read the game , bad desison to bring coulson off for wood , i would have taken silk off and put wood right back , coulson onto the right cos he looked lost at times on the right , and church is never a footballer let alone a right winger , think we could have won if the subs had been used right

Ridiculous comment about Church, he's been very good since his return from loan. It's thanks to him we won at Southport.

Just back myself - I thought Pearson was MOTM today and Thanoj was brilliant as well. Duffy has contributed brilliantly from the bench of late but he has neither the pace to keep up with Hearn on the counter, nor the fitness to do the leg work off the ball, unlike Elding. That is why Elding starts and we missed it today.

Disappointed to lose but I'd rather that than in the league.

I thought Hurst substution for Churchy was poor - why didn't he introduce Makofo? We needed to bring on an attacking plaer. We played 50 odd minutes with three defensively mimded midfielders and then he brought on Wood at a time when we clearly needed to go for it. I love Bradders but his crossing is poor and he's more of a central midfielder (like Church). I think Makofo - bearing in mind before his injury he was in good form) deserved a crack at having half an hour to do something attacking wise.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Just shows how the fans see it - Duffy started well and if you really wanted to pick a defining moment it was actually when Hearn shot when he should have squared to Duffy 3 minutes before Yorks goal.

Agree with you

Cant say I'm fussed we lost, plus I got Rob Scott to sign my programme so its a good day...good day.

just my opinion on church , lets face it he only gets in the team when others cant play , You name 1 good game hes had  but i think hes been poor overall , maybe to inconsistant ???

Quoted from griggsy11

just my opinion on church , lets face it he only gets in the team when others cant play , You name 1 good game hes had  but i think hes been poor overall , maybe to inconsistant ???

To be fair I don't think he's had a long enough run in the team to build up any form.

your prob right , but at this moment in time theres better players keeping him out and i think today shows why , fair enuf he was out of position but he pulls out of challanges alot and turns his back on the ball too much

Church doesn't even run like a footballer - let alone play like one.

Leave him alone its not even Sunday  

Quoted from we will return

Disagree with Wood, he looked ok when he came on but he won't come in on the wing and probably won't knock Silk out the team. Agree with Duffy and Makofo though, Duffy won a few a headers but they didn't really go anywhere and he spent the rest of the game falling over. Makofo was his usual self got the ball, ran forward and then lost it or gave it away.

duffy in my opinion is heskey-esque he's very good at headers, winning balls in the air and holding the ball, other than that he's not very good at other things

I went today, it was cold and I was bored shitless, my lad enjoyed it though.

Away games are much more fun - might sneak to Fleetwood and Luton.

UTM

Quoted from STB

I went today, it was cold and I was bored shitless, my lad enjoyed it though.

Away games are much more fun - might sneak to Fleetwood and Luton.

UTM

what do mean sneak?  

I had high hopes for church when he returned from loan. Panther had just left, we were in need of a tough tackling midfielder, and Thanoj was inexperienced and in and out the team. It's sort of gone the other way.

Quoted from Mariner Ronnie

what do mean sneak?  

I don't know really, I just like the term !

Quoted from STB

I don't know really, I just like the term !

That and the term garden creeping  

Just got back and had some time on the journey to reflect a bit. Not bitterly disappointed at going out but I felt we deserved the win more than them

It's a pity we lost the game as I thought we shaded the first half and they never got a look in until the last 15 minutes....but the game is about taking chances and that's what they did. So let's regroup and refocus on our number one priority....play offs and then promotion.

If that is their strongest side though, then we should have enough strength in depth to be able to take them in the league game.

They'll probably stick with the same tactics when they come next month, when hopefully next time we'll get a ref who does a bit more than just give free kicks for their persistent niggling fouls that broke up a lot of our attacks.

A couple of yellows for them today and they might have to have had a rethink their game plan but que sera sera...let's put this afternoon behind us and focus on the next couple of months in the league

UTM

Full strength and with proper options on the bench and we will batter them in the league.   They looked tidy and definitely worthy of their league position but based on what I saw of them on Wednesday and today they won't be able to live with us when we get going.

Those criticising the decision to bring Wood on should remember how excrement Serge was when he came on.   Fully appreciate he had little time to impress and is under pressure but in his brief cameo he showed a) why he's a forgotten and b) how far we've come since he was our main threat.  

Thanoj gets better each game, not seen anyone else at this level with better passing and vision.  

Quoted from jimgtfc

I had high hopes for church when he returned from loan. Panther had just left, we were in need of a tough tackling midfielder, and Thanoj was inexperienced and in and out the team. It's sort of gone the other way.

Thanoj, I'Anson and Pearson v good today, Townsend and Hearn good in parts, Duffy Ok to start. Silk & McKeown OK, Coulson in and out as usual, Disley similar, Church poor, Makofo dreadful & Brad was Brad.

Buko said in commentry when mafucko came on that his feet were quicker than his brain.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Church doesn't even run like a footballer - let alone play like one.

am not the only one who thinks this then  

I don't get all the criticism of Church today

He played his part in midfield and didn't do too much wrong...

I know that when people analyse a game they try to look for the weak links but you can't blame him for us losing

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Thanoj, I'Anson and Pearson v good today, Townsend and Hearn good in parts, Duffy Ok to start. Silk & McKeown OK, Coulson in and out as usual, Disley similar, Church poor, Makofo dreadful & Brad was Brad.

I think that sums it up well. That'll be a better write up than in the telegraph!

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Just shows how the fans see it - Duffy started well and if you really wanted to pick a defining moment it was actually when Hearn shot when he should have squared to Duffy 3 minutes before Yorks goal.

THIS: In time honoured fashion the Pontoon (or at least large parts of it) were looking for a scapegoat and Duffy fitted the bill. There was one occasion in the second half where Duffy ran back towards his own goal managed to nick the ball away from two converging York players but neither I'Anson or  Silk read or even reacted to his toe poke and York gained possession. The cries of "Wake up Duffy" would have been heard as far away as Scunny.

Personally I thought Disley's distribution was shocking especially going forward. Too many over hit or wayward passes throughout the team.

The back four did very well against York's lively forwards/midfield in that first 20 minutes. It looked an obvious game plan to catch us early but the fact that they failed shows just how far this Town team have come. Four months ago we could easily have been looking at a 2-0 deficit before we'd fully woken up.

Bradley Wood looked what he currently is someone woefully short of match practice and it was a tall order asking him to perform against a decent York midfield. I thought the goalscorer Kerr was the best player on the pitch.

Anyone have a view on the penalty shout? The ball looked to run down the defenders arm although it was hit at him from almost point blank range.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Full strength and with proper options on the bench and we will batter them in the league.   They looked tidy and definitely worthy of their league position but based on what I saw of them on Wednesday and today they won't be able to live with us when we get going.

Those criticising the decision to bring Wood on should remember how excrement Serge was when he came on.   Fully appreciate he had little time to impress and is under pressure but in his brief cameo he showed a) why he's a forgotten and b) how far we've come since he was our main threat.  

Thanoj gets better each game, not seen anyone else at this level with better passing and vision.  

I think that it was just disappointing to see Coulo come off and Wood come on. I would have switched Coulo to the right and put Sergio on the left. Yes, Makofo didn't do anything but it would have been worth a pop in my opinion. It was a negative substitution.

I don't think Church was as bad as some people are making out either. He won quite a few tackles and was playing out of position. Hearn has his poorest game for some time. He was by no means dross but it just didn't seem to run for him today.

Quoted from Paris Mariner

I think that it was just disappointing to see Coulo come off and Wood come on. I would have switched Coulo to the right and put Sergio on the left. Yes, Makofo didn't do anything but it would have been worth a pop in my opinion. It was a negative substitution.

I don't think Church was as bad as some people are making out either. He won quite a few tackles and was playing out of position. Hearn has his poorest game for some time. He was by no means dross but it just didn't seem to run for him today.

I think one of the problems was Hearn seemed to have two men at least on him so when Duffy was getting flicks on to him, he was always at a disadvantage

I was more disappointed that we didn't get down the line and put crosses in for Duffy to attack in the box rather than just being used as a straight-forward target man

I think it would have been fairer on Church for someone else to start wide right - let's face it, we could have started with Makofo left and Coulson right, or other combinations of either Coulson & Wood or Coulson & Southwell without playing Church out of position.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I think it would have been fairer on Church for someone else to start wide right - let's face it, we could have started with Makofo left and Coulson right, or other combinations of either Coulson & Wood or Coulson & Southwell without playing Church out of position.

Exactly. I was surprised to to see him start given the options available. I actually thought they might revert to 4-3-3 today with Coulo, Duffer and Hearn (in that order) up top and Thanoj, Dis and Wood/Church in Midfield.

I love how Church is getting stick, people are just randomly picking a midfield player because that's were we looked weakest. They can't pick Thanoj because he obviously had a great game and won't pick Disley because he's played well this season, but today Disley was absolutely WOEFUL. Missed passes, missed tackles and just generally 2-3 yards behind. Church did well today out of position, that's an important fact, he wasn't playing in his favoured position but still looked decent. He's 10 of the player he was before he went out on loan but people are so narrow minded that they'll use that as an excuse to rip into him despite a decent performance. Think people are forgetting Southport and Bath were he came on and was fantastic.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I love how Church is getting stick, people are just randomly picking a midfield player because that's were we looked weakest. They can't pick Thanoj because he obviously had a great game and won't pick Disley because he's played well this season, but today Disley was absolutely WOEFUL. Missed passes, missed tackles and just generally 2-3 yards behind. Church did well today out of position, that's an important fact, he wasn't playing in his favoured position but still looked decent. He's 10 of the player he was before he went out on loan but people are so narrow minded that they'll use that as an excuse to rip into him despite a decent performance. Think people are forgetting Southport and Bath were he came on and was fantastic.

THIS ALSO:

i think we more than matched york today, nobody was poor but there wasnt really a stand out performance for me. we had atleast 3 or 4 nearly through on goal oppurtunities which we should of taken really. I think we was lacking a bit of sharpness maybe due too a few squad players coming into the side lacking a little match practice? i think if we was maybe half a second quicker we would of won this match 2 or 3.some decisions made whilst we was on the break was poor and just wish hearn would of been a little more selfish on the ball and run more with it or maybe shoot instead of looking for the pass.other than that i was happy with everyone who played today onwards and upwards.

yorks keeper was also outstanding imo.saying that mckeown didnt put a foot wrong all game

Quoted from pontoonlew

I love how Church is getting stick, people are just randomly picking a midfield player because that's were we looked weakest. They can't pick Thanoj because he obviously had a great game and won't pick Disley because he's played well this season, but today Disley was absolutely WOEFUL. Missed passes, missed tackles and just generally 2-3 yards behind. Church did well today out of position, that's an important fact, he wasn't playing in his favoured position but still looked decent. He's 10 of the player he was before he went out on loan but people are so narrow minded that they'll use that as an excuse to rip into him despite a decent performance. Think people are forgetting Southport and Bath were he came on and was fantastic.

Agree with you Lew...if Church had messed up as many times today as Disley did he'd have been hung drawn and quartered....why there has to be a scapegoat I don't know

The result didn't go our way so let's just move on - there's no real need for a post mortem because we didn't do that much wrong. The only criticism is that we just lacked that little bit of inspiration and inventiveness at times that might have allowed us to get in front

Quoted from barralad

Anyone have a view on the penalty shout? The ball looked to run down the defenders arm although it was hit at him from almost point blank range.

It would've been harsh but the ref set a precedent twice in the match which showed inconsistancy. Earlier on the ball got blasted at a York players arm twice and twice a harsh free-kick was given, why is it suddenly not handball because it's in the area? That said, I don't agree that it was a penalty, nor were the other two handballs because it was physically impossible to avoid all 3.

I think people are just calling the game as they saw it, I personally dont think he played well but as people have pointed out he was in an unfamiliar position and wasn't the worst player on display. I don't think anyone is slating him as a player in general.

I thought Church was decent, and did a good job in stopping York from playing by his 'Pantheresque' breaking up of their play.
I'm not sure why Coulson was taken off, but we seemed to go to pieces almost straight away when Serge came on. I haven't seen a Town player look so aimless since Jamie Clark.  
Throughout the game, Coulson was tracking back to defend when needed. Serge was nowhere near the box, and drifting around when they scored.
I feel bad that I'm singling him out, but today he was the worst player I've seen in a Town shirt for months.  

Quoted from jimgtfc

I think people are just calling the game as they saw it, I personally dont think he played well but as people have pointed out he was in an unfamiliar position and wasn't the worst player on display. I don't think anyone is slating him as a player in general.

To sum up - the three other players brought in were in familiar positions and performed well (Pearson & I'Anson) or reasonably (Duffy) - playing Church in a wide position made him stand out like a sore thumb.

To accommodate him they should have at least thought of going 4-3-3 with Hearn & Coulson alongside Duffy.

I thought Thanoj, Pearson and Townsend were our best players today and I think we were slightly unlucky and maybe a draw would have been a fair result. We need to concentrate on the league now and I'm sure the home game against York is now set up to be a great match which I think we will have a better chance of winning!

I was pleased with the level of commitment and hardwork today and clapped the team off at the end.

Made my main point about us dropping too deep(again) on another thread.

On reflection, York were generally closing us quicker than we were them and that's a bit suprising. (especially after Hearn and Coulo's pre-match comments)

We certainly battled and the lads put in a performace to be proud of, but we started nervy and at times maybe should have been all over them like a bad rash instead of standing off so far - push em back !

Eventually we got going and got stuck in.

It's the easiset thing after winning a tackle to want to get it forward quick but Townsend aside thought we lacked composure.
Seen it time and time again the balls bouncing about for eternity - you just want ONE player to control, get the ball down on the deck with a cool head !

This is the question though - is this the style S&H want to play to cos whilst I thought we passed it around really nicely at times, there was a lot of get-it-forward-quick ball today (especially from the back)

Long ball is great against the lower teams with Hearn running riot, but ideas wise, I'm not sure we knew exactly what our game plan was today.

Disley didn't pass it well but at times had little on - even Thanoj(who did well) lost the ball against a wall of players in front of him.

Did Scott and Hurst read the York managers article about them possibly going 5 at the back that may have suggested they were gonna park the bus at times ? I only saw it early this morning on the OS)

Our movement from throw ins is shocking and it sums up the lack of offensive movement at times.
Often when we did go forward, the support wasnt busting a gut to help out whilst York worked hard to get bodies back.

Don't get me wrong it was a close game and we could have won it as York did.

But if we want promotion we've got to raise our standards, be a bit smarter with ideas to break them down in the final 3rd and up our game a bit against the better sides like York. (especially those who pass it and have pace)

We can do it and we're not certainly not a million miles off but today is a reality check and there's work to be done.

I thought apart from the first 10 minutes, we dominated the 1st half, with Hearn really unlucky with a few chances (their keeper was excellent). They offered very little IMO.
Second half we didn't create as much, but neither did they. I personally thought Church played well, closing down and getting in tackles. We looked a lot weaker when he went off. And Serge was woeful when he came on. Duffy is a lot more effective as a substitute against tiring defences.

All-in-all I applauded the team for their efforts with a depleted squad. It was an undeserved smash-and-grab win for York and I think we'll be a different proposition in the league game with Miller, Garner, Soares, Artus and Elding available.

Quoted from HarryTheHaddock

I thought apart from the first 10 minutes, we dominated the 1st half, with Hearn really unlucky with a few chances (their keeper was excellent). They offered very little IMO.
Second half we didn't create as much, but neither did they. I personally thought Church played well, closing down and getting in tackles. We looked a lot weaker when he went off. And Serge was woeful when he came on. Duffy is a lot more effective as a substitute against tiring defences.

All-in-all I applauded the team for their efforts with a depleted squad. It was an undeserved smash-and-grab win for York and I think we'll be a different proposition in the league game with Miller, Garner, Soares, Artus and Elding available.

Strange you should mention that first ten minutes, because doesn't that seem to be a repetitive theme now?  We always seem to look (in footyspeak) as if we are 'on the back foot' for the first ten minutes of a game.  Not sure why that is...fortunately we usually seem to soak up the pressure and then take the game to the opposition.  Are the opposition just testing our defences?  Why don't we sound them out for a change and be a bit gung-ho for the first ten minutes of a game?

You mention Soares - I don't remember having seen him play.  Is he good?

Tbh i know we are out of the cup and it would have been nice to get to wembley, but cramming them two semi final legs into our already busy fixture list would have taken its toll on us i think, and i rather us stay fresh for the remaining league games.

Before kickoff we knew it was going to be difficult with Miller,Garner,Artus,Elding, Soares, and Hughes-Mason. But considering they brought there first team, I thought we matched them and the game could have gone either way,and a draw would have been a fair result.

The midfield was imbalanced with church having to play out wide, but considering York like to use the wings we cancelled the out. I know people say the boo boys get onto Duffy, but after todays performance you can see why, he doesn't look fit,he plods around aimlessly,doesn't win headers, doesn't hold play up, his passing was poor, id play Hughes Mason v Braintree.

York have now beat us twice and been honest they play some decent stuff, but at there place we had ridley,kempson and duffy starting and today we had 7 first teamers out. I cant wait for the league game at BP because i think we can turn them over with our strongest 11 on the field and wouldn't mind getting them in the playoffs should we get there. nothing to be scared of

Quoted from marinette

Strange you should mention that first ten minutes, because doesn't that seem to be a repetitive theme now?  We always seem to look (in footyspeak) as if we are 'on the back foot' for the first ten minutes of a game.  Not sure why that is...fortunately we usually seem to soak up the pressure and then take the game to the opposition.  Are the opposition just testing our defences?  Why don't we sound them out for a change and be a bit gung-ho for the first ten minutes of a game?

Good observation marinette.
Normally we're confident we can dominate teams over 90 minutes.
As for today, I'm not sure but there's no hard and fast rule that says you must start quick. (but I agree maybe we could have)
But I do notice it's often used by teams who might arguably struggle if they don't ?
So maybe it shows confidence is good ?
Who knows !

Not a bad performance today, really. A draw looked the most likely outcome until their late spell of pressure led to the goal. Other than that, neither keeper had too much to do although their keeper's save at the near post from Hearn in the first half was brilliant - I still don't know how he managed to get down to it so quickly.

Ultimately, the difference between the two teams was that they were able to lift their game a little towards the end of the second half due to some attacking substitutions. We, on the other hand, were down to the bare bones on the bench and neither Wood nor Makofo played very well when they came on. This isn't, perhaps, too much of a surprise as neither of them has played for a couple of months! Our defending for the goal was very lax, however, as we failed to clear the ball properly and didn't put enough effort into blocking the crosses which subsequently came in and it was almost inevitable that they were going to get a chance at some point. When it came, their player didn't make any mistake with his header.

Overall, York looked to play some decent football and had a lot more pace than us with several nippy players. However, they weren't overly impressive and I think our full-strength team would have had enough in the bank to beat them. Our squad is still badly lacking in pace, however and I fear that this may be our downfall, should we make it into the play-offs.

Church was fine, considering he was playing out of position. As usual, I'm baffled as to why some players who do decently well seem to get slated on here. Duffy was the same as usual. Wins some headers, does some good stuff but never really looks like scoring and is ultimately disappointing. Of course, he had to get his usual booking at the end as well! That said, he was incorrectly flagged offside when put clean through by Hearn's flicked header in the second half - at least 2 of their defenders looked to be playing him onside.

Disley had a disappointing game for me. I just can't understand why such an experienced and otherwise capable player looks so off colour in some games. Some awful passes from midfield cocked up various chances for counter-attacks or just gave the ball away poorly. He's generally a capable player but I've not yet seen him lift his game when things aren't going well. I think our lack of goals from central midfield this season could also cost us in the long run.

Not sure about the penalty claim. It was one of those where the defender looked as though he was trying to keep his arm out of the way behind his back but still leant into the cross and it definitely hit his arm. I've seen them given before, that's for sure.

Though you never like to see a defeat, I think we would have struggled to win this competition as it would have been difficult to field anything like a full-strength team for the rest of the competition with injuries and some important players cup-tied. It may be the proverbial blessing in disguise to be knocked out at this stage and avoid the additional tiring fixture congestion. We just need to make sure that we can continue our good League form.

I thought we would struggle with the squad but the team would be ok.  We made 4 enforced changes to a winning team, 2 positional changes (Coulson and Church),  Disley having a poor game, Duffy in and out and not much on the right hand side going forward.  The subs added nothing.  

My original view of the team was more optimistic than it should have been.  However,we still did ok until about 3 mins before the goal when we could not clear our lines.  

Agree Thanoj played very well.  Townsend was good.  I loved his little cameo in the first half on the touchline opposite the corner on the Main Stand, when he dummied the City player by cutting back inside instead of putting into touch. Cool and confident.

I am more confident that we can beat them on the 13 March.  Hurst said on RH afterwards that they are pleased with the progress Artus is making, he should be back in a couple of weeks.This makes it touch and go for York game.

Quoted from HarryTheHaddock

I thought apart from the first 10 minutes, we dominated the 1st half, with Hearn really unlucky with a few chances (their keeper was excellent). They offered very little IMO.
Second half we didn't create as much, but neither did they. I personally thought Church played well, closing down and getting in tackles. We looked a lot weaker when he went off. And Serge was woeful when he came on. Duffy is a lot more effective as a substitute against tiring defences.

All-in-all I applauded the team for their efforts with a depleted squad. It was an undeserved smash-and-grab win for York and I think we'll be a different proposition in the league game with Miller, Garner, Soares, Artus and Elding available.

Don't forget KHM!

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

I am more confident that we can beat them on the 13 March.  Hurst said on RH afterwards that they are pleased with the progress Artus is making, he should be back in a couple of weeks.This makes it touch and go for York game.

I think Louis Soares will be playing in the league game should Artus not be fit, and looking at his goal haul from the wing for Hayes, (16) he aint a bad replacement, plus players like Miller and Elding will be back so we will be loads stronger!!!

Did Duffy look overweight?

Quoted from immariner

Did Duffy look overweight?

He did look leaner at the start of the season think he's a few pound too heavy. struggled today!!

Quoted from jimbo22

He did look leaner at the start of the season think he's a few pound too heavy. struggled today!!

He looked fine and would have had a tap in if Hearn hadn't been greedy.

maybe he would have had a tap in, but still think he is a few pounds too heavy and doesn't look as sharp as he has done at the start of the season. Thought he was poor today, dint win header or hold play up, his passing was woeful in the 2nd half too.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

He looked fine and would have had a tap in if Hearn hadn't been greedy.

Hearn got in that position 2-3 times and tried to square today and Duffy was non-existant in coming in, so i'm not suprised that on this occasion Hearn decided to go for it. He blasted it probably knowing the keeper would at least have to parry it and where was Duffy? Stood in the same spot crying that he didn't get the ball, I hate criticising Duffy because I like him but he let Hearn down at times today.

Quoted from pontoonlew

Hearn got in that position 2-3 times and tried to square today and Duffy was non-existant in coming in, so i'm not suprised that on this occasion Hearn decided to go for it. He blasted it probably knowing the keeper would at least have to parry it and where was Duffy? Stood in the same spot crying that he didn't get the ball, I hate criticising Duffy because I like him but he let Hearn down at times today.

Agree.
Duffy played one quality pass in the 2nd half out wide but generally was rubbish.
If he's overweight it's probably through not playing - tbh none of the subs looked particularly great including Bradley Wood (or was it playing right mid ?)

jimbob you say Disley had a poor game and understand 100% but he got his foot in the tackle more times than I could count !

Just watched the highlights and that handball is a penalty, I know earlier I said he couldn't had avoided it but my mind has changed and he definately could've. He leant right into the ball with the top of his arm.

it may look that hearn is greedy but he does it to set up whoever is in the box. far too many overhit and underhit passes. and at times when we coild of crossed it in first time we dodnt do that so the chance had gone. who agrees with me?

it may look that hearn is greedy but he does it to set up whoever is in the box. far too many overhit and underhit passes. and at times when we coild of crossed it in first time we dodnt do that so the chance had gone. who agrees with me?

I thought Hursts Interview on RH was interesting. When asked if he regretted not starting Makofo on the wing instead of Church, he laughed ans said, 'No'. He also said that today reiterated what they thought about certain players. IMO I cannot see Makofo playing for Town again, Hurst said they will look at strengthening certain areas of the squad.
I'm not too disappointed with losing today, I thought we looked quite good in patches especially considering our changes. If York are expecting the same performance from us in 3 weeks, they are in for a big shock. UTMM

I've criticised disley in the past and I've come on here and prIsed him during his purple patch, but his recent performances have been well below par, he's just not doing enough bit of a week link in the team at mo in my opinion he needs to step it up.

Quoted from 2578

I've criticised disley in the past and I've come on here and prIsed him during his purple patch, but his recent performances have been well below par, he's just not doing enough bit of a week link in the team at mo in my opinion he needs to step it up.

disley is carry an ankle injury on his left foot clear to see...having said that he has to be honest with the managers, himself an most of all his team mates, an say i aint fit and has to sit out for a couple of weeks. it aint fair on the players that are 100% fit.

Quoted from HEARN 10 ELDING 39

disley is carry an ankle injury on his left foot clear to see...having said that he has to be honest with the managers, himself an most of all his team mates, an say i aint fit and has to sit out for a couple of weeks. it aint fair on the players that are 100% fit.

100% agree with you there, cant afford to be carrying anyone one at this stage of the season, disley for me just aint getting close to anyone. his passing is off, and looks to struggle when striking the ball when planting his foot.

Quoted from immariner

Did Duffy look overweight?

yes looks well over weight for me. has a bigger belly than me an im 35. ok not playing every week to stay trim, but surly he has to work harder in training to stay in shape.

also might sound daft but should eat less than he would if he was playing just because hes not gonna burn as much off.

Must be annoying for a fit player to sit it out knowing they could do better . With games now coming thick and fast we need 100% fit players.

After reflecting on the game,i think it's apparent that our fringe players are not up to the standard of the regular starters.I feel that the managements initial assessment of Duffy and Makofo was right and i think they would have offloaded both of them if they could have.Makofo is not and never will be a footballer and Duffy just doesn't do enough over 90 mins IMO.I think Hursts post match reaction spoke volumes about the future of one or two players.

Of the others,i think that Pearson is a great defender but is not yet a footballer.Gave the ball away on a number of occasions but if they can work on that side of his game and improve him in that regard,he will be a good player to have around.Can't make my mind up about Church.I agree with another poster that he doesn't run like a footballer and commented on that yesterday.He's a good athlete and you need one or two in this league,so i'll reserve judgement 'til he's had a run in his preferred position,if that ever materialises.

Disley had a poor game by his standards and i think Silk missed having Coulson in front of him and looked a bit exposed at times,especially as Church kept drifting inside.Hearn also missed Elding as did the team in general.

Thanoj and I'Anson both look very good prospects and think both will go onto better things eventually.Townsend is clearly a class above this league and will be hard to replace when he goes back.

We have now lost at home to all four top sides and only managed one goal against Wrexham but we have played none of them while on good form with a full strength side,so it remains to be seen where we stand in this league.Get everyone back and maybe add a quality loan signing or two and i feel we have enough to make the play offs.

On yesterdays showing,York are catchable.They certainly didn't look any better than us despite being full strength but the next couple of months will answer the questions.

duffy wasnt great yesterday but i think it is really unfair to single him out, knowbody was outstanding yesterday. just prior too kick off i noticed duffy was the one who approached every one of our players and gave a high five, sounds silly but doing small things like this shows that he cares for the club and for his team mates.

Quoted from ginnywings

After reflecting on the game,i think it's apparent that our fringe players are not up to the standard of the regular starters.I feel that the managements initial assessment of Duffy and Makofo was right and i think they would have offloaded both of them if they could have.Makofo is not and never will be a footballer and Duffy just doesn't do enough over 90 mins IMO.I think Hursts post match reaction spoke volumes about the future of one or two players.

I agree that neither are really good enough and I think most can see why they were transfer listed but they have both contributed this season to be fair to them, particularly Duffy in the last few games. They're just not good enough to start.

Yeah but remember what Hurst said about Duffy - that he needs a run in the side.

Let's face it, they're rusty because they haven't played - hardly suprising !

Even Bradley Wood didn't look his usual self.
Maybe cos he was out of position but not often you say that.
Think he should have started RB and judging by Silks 1st half, maybe he should have.

Duffy looked lethargic, to say he's a bit of a target man, it would help if he jumped sometimes rather than remaining static when the balls in the air and appealing for free kicks.

Quoted from 1600

Yeah but remember what Hurst said about Duffy - that he needs a run in the side.

Let's face it, they're rusty because they haven't played - hardly suprising !

Even Bradley Wood didn't look his usual self.
Maybe cos he was out of position but not often you say that.
Think he should have started RB and judging by Silks 1st half, maybe he should have.

lets face it your up duffys ar$e and he was shite. cant you just accept he aint good enough.wounder why after his performace fans do give him crap.  he was gash and over weight.

I said he had a rubbish game - how is that being up his ar$e ?

People keep saying I'm a big Duffy fan but I'm not at all, I just think some players get more stick for a bad game depending on who they are.

I can fully understand Dufy doesn't fit the "try your heart out" profile most Town fans including myself respect.
I was hacked off myself by him seemingly strolling around at times but that's the type of player he is and maybe it's not quite as black and white as Hurst points out when he talks about a run in the side.
That might be why he's overweight and he's done well recently as an impact sub.

Anyone can have a bad game - look at his overall contribution and give him a break.  

Quoted from Total Football

lets face it your up duffys ar$e and he was shite. cant you just accept he aint good enough.wounder why after his performace fans do give him crap.  he was gash and over weight.

Your one of 'them' aren't you? The sort of fan who comes in hope that a player like Duffy has a bad game so you can give your brain dead opinion to them. Same fans who happily celebrate his goal and will remain silent (apart from booing them onto the pitch of course) for the rest of the time until they do something wrong. I wonder why fans give him crap actually, I wonder why a fan would give any of their own players crap.

It's fine to say they had a bad game, that's your opinion, but there is no place at this club for abusing players. Because all players can turn around, the masterminds in the Pontoon booed a certain Mr Elding at the start of the season for no reason, that's an Elding fact. 9 goals this season tells me that Duffy is a vital cogg in this side, despite being a bit part at times. Booing him and abusing him makes you look a pathetic imbecile.

Quoted from pontoonlew

Your one of 'them' aren't you? The sort of fan who comes in hope that a player like Duffy has a bad game so you can give your brain dead opinion to them. Same fans who happily celebrate his goal and will remain silent (apart from booing them onto the pitch of course) for the rest of the time until they do something wrong. I wonder why fans give him crap actually, I wonder why a fan would give any of their own players crap.

It's fine to say they had a bad game, that's your opinion, but there is no place at this club for abusing players. Because all players can turn around, the masterminds in the Pontoon booed a certain Mr Elding at the start of the season for no reason, that's an Elding fact. 9 goals this season tells me that Duffy is a vital cogg in this side, despite being a bit part at times. Booing him and abusing him makes you look a pathetic imbecile.

Plus we lost a game and its pick on Makofo this time

Duffy was bright for the first 20 minutes then he got a bang on the head and spent the rest of the first half looking for someone to blame. Truth is that he would have had a tap in if Hearn hadn't been greedy and everyone would have been raving about him. Duffy was no worse than Coulson, Church, Wood, Disley or Silk yesterday.

Quoted from pontoonlew

Your one of 'them' aren't you? The sort of fan who comes in hope that a player like Duffy has a bad game so you can give your brain dead opinion to them. Same fans who happily celebrate his goal and will remain silent (apart from booing them onto the pitch of course) for the rest of the time until they do something wrong. I wonder why fans give him crap actually, I wonder why a fan would give any of their own players crap.

It's fine to say they had a bad game, that's your opinion, but there is no place at this club for abusing players. Because all players can turn around, the masterminds in the Pontoon booed a certain Mr Elding at the start of the season for no reason, that's an Elding fact. 9 goals this season tells me that Duffy is a vital cogg in this side, despite being a bit part at times. Booing him and abusing him makes you look a pathetic imbecile.

Well said!

Bit late in getting on here to put my views on so apologies if i'm just repeating what's been said by others.

It was a very tight game and i think 0-0 would have been the fairest result judged on how the game panned out.
It seemed like York had most of the possession first half and worked it well between them right up until the final third, where they didn't quite have the guile to create many chances and our back 4 defended well.
The gap between our defence and midfield was too small which resulted in the York midfield having much more time on the ball when it came out to them than they should have had. It kept us solid and tight at the back but i'd have liked us as the home side to press them a bit more because in all honesty i don't think they would have had it in them to keep playing football under pressure.

Chambers and Blair the two wide forwards caused us problems with their movement when they came in off the flanks and drifted inside or behind Walker. York's number 8 in the middle was a good player but as the spare man when in possession it seemed he was afforded the same luxury role in their team as Power has for Lincoln.

For their possession in the first half i thought we had the best two chances of the half. Hearn having two shots from inside the box on the inside right channel - one was a great low save.
Second half was much more even in terms of possession and we pinned them back at times without creating too much still though.

Thanoj impressed me again (my MOM) and plays plenty of good balls into strikers' feet. This will be more evident when Elding is back in the side and there's more movement up front. Duffy unfortunately offered zero in terms of movement and anticipating play again and, for me, showed why he is a decent option to bring off the bench but doesn't offer enough to start matches.

Thought Church did a good job and put in a shift playing in a new position that doesn't even suit his attributes. Tucked in when needed to help us in the middle against their 3, and gave his all. Can't complain, he would have done all that the gaffers asked of him yesterday.

I was disappointed first and foremost that we lost a game, rather than that it meant we are out of the cup. At least now we won't have such selection problems again with player unavailable.

But doesn't it show how far we've come to have 7 players out and be unlucky to lose to York. I have every confidence we'll beat them, hopefully in front of a big crowd, in the league.

7 players missing?  Arthur hasnt played this season, niether has Soares and KHM has had two brief subs appearances.  
Only Artus, Miller, Garner and Elding could be classed as first teamers at the mo.

Quoted from The_Laughing_Mariner

7 players missing?  Arthur hasnt played this season, niether has Soares and KHM has had two brief subs appearances.  
Only Artus, Miller, Garner and Elding could be classed as first teamers at the mo.

Ok then I'll take Arthur out and make it 6 because those 6 were all likely to have been in the matchday 16 if available. Soares, KHM and maybe Elding wouldve been on the bench and if we'd been able to bring those on for the last half hour we'd have probably gone on to win.