Game we could have won and might have lost, so we’ll take the point.
Thought we started both halves well particularly the 2nd but tired towards the end understandably.
Back 4 impressed me generally especially Mullarkey and Rodgers, good save from Eastwood from a poor pen, excelllent follow up save.

Need another option up top clearly as it felt very similar to games last season but sure it’ll come in time.

Crowd Flat apart from the pen save and Pell appearing.

Much to build on i think.

It was a Typical Town home game .
God I hope we’re gonna see a few more goals at home this season

Both teams played well, did the basics, passed it out wide and had opportunities to score. I think we're still missing a striker, which is still elusive to GTFC.

Agreed that there's a good start in there and that it wasn't great but not terrible either, which I think we can be fairly content with. On another day we lose that game 1-0 due to the penalty, but excellent goalkeeping kept us in it.

Thanks for that Hagrid. Pleased to see your positivity.
Just looked at the results as a whole for L2. I read a report talking up Wrexham, Notts County, Stockport and Bradford as promotion certainies, whereas Sutton and Crawley were as good as relegated. The first four all got beaten and Notts were thrashed.
I think it’s going to be like last years with up and downs and notthing certain until the final day.

Quoted from Plankton

Both teams played well, did the basics, passed it out wide and had opportunities to score. I think we're still missing a striker, which is still elusive to GTFC.

Agreed that there's a good start in there and that it wasn't great but not terrible either, which I think we can be fairly content with. On another day we lose that game 1-0 due to the penalty, but excellent goalkeeping kept us in it.

I’d resigned myself to then scoring that penalty and I was kind of hoping for Hurst to make a few subs and really have a go.
Once it was saved we just seemed to carry on as before

It looked like Town had just signed another option up front - Arthur - with 12 goals in the last 4 years - sub - and then put on the pitch today - bizarre.
Presumably most of the players on the subs bench were really injured.
Plus side - didn’t concede - even a penalty.
UTM

A decent effort from the lads today with good build up play but lacked a cutting edge and bodies in the box. A few long range shots in the second half, one of which drew a full stretch save from their keeper.
Good penalty save and follow up from Eastwood who otherwise was well protected by the back four.
Avoiding clichés about gel, there are encouraging signs but final balls and set piece delivery need to be better.

MOM either Rodgers or Hunt. But Conteh was pretty good

A point from a good team performance , tired towards the end against a big strong team but some good passing and movement but just missing that clinical finishing touch. Malarkey and Rodger’s both look good signings as does Eastwood who apart from the penalty save didn’t have much to do. A win would have been great but I’m happy with a point from our first game.

Mullarkey and Rodgers look good signings. Played quite well but we don’t have anybody in the squad that has ever been a prolific goal scorer. Okay saying “share the goals out” when we don’t have any players who can score.

To a man all of the new signings look like they’ve improved us. Rodgers and Conteh were superb,Vernam & Eisa look more dangerous as well.

I guess the disappointment was that the performance today mirrored multiple others from last season, no real cutting edge whilst looking like the better side. Hunt, Glennon & Clifton looked off it for me, all 3 failed on multiple occasions to play a cutting ball when we so desperately needed it.

Perhaps Wimbledon are a top side & this will be a great point. You never ever know what an opening day result looks like until way further on into the season. One things for sure though, we’re going to need far more cutting edge if we’re to achieve what we think this squad is capable of this season.

Mullarkey mom today. Very busy and lots of skill on the right. Very unlucky with his piledriver as the keeper.pulled off a great save

On the positives I thought we looked better than last season. The back four particularly looked very comfortable with each other and we have very good players in Mullarkey and Rogers. Always liked Maher but he's come on from last season
Conteh looks a natural talent and Hunt was good as well. Thought Vernam showed glimpses without causing them any real damage and that's were the problem might lie, creativity at the sharp end
I was excited by the Rose signing but he spent too much time on the floor appealing. However, to be fair to Rose we never really got behind Wimbledon and got good balls into him
Not sure how good Wimbledon are but they certainly defended competently
Interesting results all round today, think all the pre season favourites lost. The exception were Crawley who everyone had written off!!

Lots of good build up play that lead to nothing because of a lack of creativity/killer instinct up front. Typical Hurst team performance against a team that parks the bus because of the usual lack of a plan B.

Wimbledon were poor, they were completely reliant on that hoof ball to hit the counter and very little else. Which is worrying, but I'm going to put it down to 1st game jitters.

Thought Harry had an unusualy poor game today nothing he did seemed to work.

Conteh or Hunt for my MoM.

Thought it was same old with different players.
Back 4 look like a good unit.
Clifton, Eisa and Vernam were okay
I'm gutted about Hunt, I really want to see him do well but he wasn't at the races today. How he was the sponsors mom is beyond me. I hope he get a run in the side to get his confidence going because there is a player there somewhere.
Still it's a better start than last season so onwards and upwards UTM

Surprised Hunt got MOM thought he misplaced many passes. It’s okay when it’s an attacking pass to try break through the defence and it doesn’t work but thought he misplaced some simple easy passes.

Quoted from TAGG

Thought it was same old with different players.
Back 4 look like a good unit.
Clifton, Eisa and Vernam were okay
I'm gutted about Hunt, I really want to see him do well but he wasn't at the races today. How he was the sponsors mom is beyond me. I hope he get a run in the side to get his confidence going because there is a player there somewhere.
Still it's a better start than last season so onwards and upwards UTM

Hunt was only guilty of trying too much at times today. Most of our best play came when he got on the ball. Probably not MoM but ‘not at the races’ is way from what happened.

It’s a shame for the great work that the defence and midfield are doing - no end product since Grimsby Borough and Cleethorpes Town ( probably the games when new strikers get injured)

I hope someone can spark a goal or 3

UTM

I thought by and large they were pretty poor and we laboured in the final third. We looked most dangerous running at their defence. The ref let them get away with an awful lot of manhandling. Good point considering the penalty and felt more like a game where we would take 3 than 0. At least we didn't concede 5! UTM!

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Hunt was only guilty of trying too much at times today. Most of our best play came when he got on the ball. Probably not MoM but ‘not at the races’ is way from what happened.

Opinions
I think if you look at his pass completion I think it would be 10% at best.
I think he's a confidence player that why I want him to have a good run in the side rather than bit and bobing like last season.

I was both encouraged and discouraged watching that first game.

Encouraged because the quality of player is markedly better, but discouraged because we will not score enough goals with that system. We have to play two up front I think and presumably Pyke is going to play that role when fully fit.

We wont concede many though, the defence looks very classy.  

I thought Wimbledon were a difficult team to play against. Their midfield two were totally solid and I lost count of the number of times they cut out passes, eased players off the ball or won tackles.

It looked like their seriously rapid No. 10 was going to win it for them, but luckily a poor penalty and decent save showed why he'd started on the bench and he didn't do much after that.

Rose was knackered after an hour so the lack of a one for one replacement limited us. I think we were forced to knock it long more than was ideal by their press, but hopefully we can improve as the players get used to each other more.

Some decent performances from all the new signings without anybody really standing out too much.

For me, Hunt still needs a lot of improvement if he's going to fulfil his potential. He has to look after the ball better as he lost possession sloppily too many times (though both teams were very hit and miss in this regard).

Think we are somewhat behind Southampton since last year. Last night their pass completion and possession in the first half v The Owls of Sheffield were incredible. Think a record for Championship.

Didn’t get Hunt Mom took to long to get his passes away and closed down . Thought Conteh was outstanding given his lack of experience and.a fantastic prospect. Overall similar issues to last year suspect will do well away struggle to break teams down at home but early days.

Bold statement… Harvey Rodgers is the best central defender in league two.

We'll be alright. Bit more familiarity and confidence and Wilson and Khan available then I think we have good options. Might be a few weeks before we get going but I still fancy us to have a proper go at the top 7.

Am I allowed to be a bit disappointed and underwhelmed by that performance?

Two solid teams playing out a goal less draw felt very much last season, and there wasn't a lot to get excited about. Didn't really get behind their defence all game, and all our efforts, as good as some of them were, came from outside the box. Thought our crossing left as lot to be desired too, with most of them flat and easy to defend.

When the biggest cheer of the day comes from the home goalie saving a pen, you know you haven't created enough in the game. I crave some entertainment.

So, I'll now temper that by saying that it was the first game of the season; Wimbledon were very organised at the back and in midfield, which kept us at arms length, and we don't really know how good or bad a side they are. Thought their No 4 was excellent in the middle.

As for Town, we are definitely improved on last season and look very solid at the back. Rodgers and Mullarkey are an upgrade, and for me Mullarkey was my MOM. He looks very good already.

Conteh is also an upgrade on last season, but once again, our struggles seem to be in forward areas. The players look better than last years crop, but the same issues were apparent today. As stated earlier, that could be down to a Wimbledon side being better than we know. Hard to tell at this stage and I don't really start forming an opinion until 10 games have passed.

Almost 7000 home fans waiting for a take off that didn't materialise, in what was a curates egg of a game. Better players, trying to get it down and play, but again we draw a blank at home. Could have been worse had the pen gone in but it was poorly executed and fitted in with the general feel of the game.

At least we didn't lose at home to Harrogate.

Quoted from wuffing

Mullarkey mom today. Very busy and lots of skill on the right. Very unlucky with his piledriver as the keeper.pulled off a great save

I think it was Rodgers who had a shot from distance were the keeper pulled of a good save.

It did feel a bit same old, but I think we've got the makings of a decent side and like the signings made. Still wondering if the goalscoring is going to be our achilles heel again though.

As soon as I saw the wombles team come out for the line up I knew we were in for a difficult game . All looked about 6’2 and 14 stone . We started well but they took over and bossed things . A few good efforts from the edge of the box and good saves from their keeper.
Defence looked solid until they made the sub  second half  when he rattled us . Would love someone like El Hamadi up front.
We got ourselves together after the penalty miss and the draw was probably the fair result.
A point in the first game is ok and we should look back at this game against a decent team as a decent start .
Mom conteh who looks a class above. Always found a pass in tight situations and never bullied by a hard midfield opposition.
WTF was Rose doing all game throwing himself to the ground? Really poor and no surprise the ref wasn’t giving him anything. He needs to sort that out quickly. We actually looked better when he moved wide and a more physical player came on in the middle.

A good performance but still lacking that killer punch up front. Surprized that Rose wins so many headers. I just wish he would stop diving. He could have had a lot more free kicks where he was genuinely fouled but the referee was hesitant to give them because he was aware of Rose's actions.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

As soon as I saw the wombles team come out for the line up I knew we were in for a difficult game . All looked about 6’2 and 14 stone . We started well but they took over and bossed things . A few good efforts from the edge of the box and good saves from their keeper.
Defence looked solid until they made the sub  second half  when he rattled us . Would love someone like El Hamadi up front.
We got ourselves together after the penalty miss and the draw was probably the fair result.
A point in the first game is ok and we should look back at this game against a decent team as a decent start .
Mom conteh who looks a class above. Always found a pass in tight situations and never bullied by a hard midfield opposition.
WTF was Rose doing all game throwing himself to the ground? Really poor and no surprise the ref wasn’t giving him anything. He needs to sort that out quickly. We actually looked better when he moved wide and a more physical player came on in the middle.

I think that's a little unfair as Rose was manhandled to the ground several times by big CB's who appeared to be taking advantage of the new ruling by the EFL re physical contact.

Think Ginny and one or two others have summed things up quite well and amazing how some of us see the game totally differently. As many have said our problems remain in the attacking final third and physicality which I hoped Hursty would have addressed (physicality).

Not a fan of lone strikers although Eisa did play more centrally then I expected but simply our crossing still isn’t good enough and we just don’t get enough players in the box when crosses are coming in. I didn’t see any great desire from players to break into the box and get on the end of stuff.

Clearly have better technical players than last season but it’s frustrating watching us continually getting out muscled in contact. Really impressed with Conteh and the 2 new lads at the back. I said after the Lincoln game didn’t think playing on the right didn’t suit Harry and thought the same today and was very disappointed with Vernam but others seemed impressed so all about opinions.

I think Rose was trying to win too many free-kicks when being nudged by the big defenders. The referee wasn't having any of it and it backfired as he also waved away some obvious fouls on him. Boy that cried wolf and all that sort of thing. Other than that, he's got a great leap and won lots of headers he didn't have any right to get, but there was no support around him so it didn't come to anything much.

Our crossing was poor, as was passing into their box, so can't really say if he'll manage to nip in between defenders to score goals.

On balance of giving away a penalty and their player taking the worst penalty ever I'll take a draw. We were industrious without being threatening, pressed well but maybe as people said that's a bit like last season. Hurst wants them to play that way and bought in players that work in that system but the end product needs to be there. Saw Vernam do most of the hard work and then fluff the final pass or scuff his shot and that was the case with other players too. Rose didn't do much of anything and was isolated much of the game with the only thing of note his constant appeals for a free kick. He was the boy who cried wolf today so the ref didn't buy it even when he was fouled.

There were positives in the defence looking assured playing out from the back and the midfield felt more involved than last season in making things happen but once again we looked poor in the final third. I hope that after a couple of games the coaches will be able to drum into the players what they want and get them scoring but on today's showing it remains to be seen where goals will be coming from. Had that penalty gone in then I think we would have struggled to get back into it as Wimbledon were hard to break down and able to counter effectively.

Looking at the weather forecast pre-match it was going to be a washout, fortunately, the weather people were wrong in that respect. It was dark and cloudy and, to me, that summed up the game. The new guys started to gel and gave a solid defence, the midfield looked ok but it was more of the same upfront.

Rose against some 6ft+ guy was never going to win any high balls. 1/2 men in their box was reminiscent of last year and limited us to long shots. Eastwood made a good penalty save but why o why did he keep hoofing the ball to the far left?

We certainly need more in attack as we saw with the wombles who attacked in numbers. A repeat of many of last year's games when our attacking was woeful.

All in all a goalless draw was a fair result but we need to up our game. Looking at the results some unfancied teams won and the fancied teams lost. It's all to play for so I'm still optimistic about promotion. Onwards and upwards with a win at County next Saturday.

UTM

Quoted from wuffing

Mullarkey mom today. Very busy and lots of skill on the right. Very unlucky with his piledriver as the keeper.pulled off a great save

Shhhhh...I'll correct you quietly...you meant Rogers pal...

We've been so dangerous at set pieces the last couple of years. Today we didn't look as threatening. I hope this improves as the players get more match time together. Given we don't score that meant goals in open play though it is a concern. Can't complain at the effort shown though and we're still a work in progress.

How anyone could say Hunt was MOM is beyond me. The midfield didn't create a single chance for the forwards, and he's supposed to be the one with the passing skills to play them in with incisive passes. He's going to need to step up in that regard as I can't see that we are going to score many headers this season with the size of our midfield and front line.

On the plus side Eastwood, Rogers, Mullarkey & Conteh were all quite impressive.

They were actually more of a threat from corners than us. Almost scored from one in the first half and a few hairy moments at the near post with headers almost made or just half-blocked.

Rodgers looks good in the air for long balls but he's not the meatiest centre back I've ever seen and I wonder if he'll struggle to have as much impact when there is argy bargy going on inside the box at corners.

I thought Maher looked classy today but he's another who's not the biggest.

Good attempt at a clever one for our first corner, however. It's just a pity that Glennon didn't make a better contact.

Enjoyed the game and I personally think we were the better side throughout but still not addressed a long standing issue despite a good transfer window. We severely lack a goal scorer. Looking back it’s been since Bogle/Amond season when we’ve been confident as fans watching a goal scoring chance taken…that’s 7 years ago. I appreciate every team in the land wants a 20 goal a season striker but we’ve not been near that for years now. I hope Rose and Pike can prove me wrong but starting 1 up top on opening home game of the season against a non-spectacular side (no offence intended to Wimbledon fans) isn’t going to set the fan base alight with excitement, despite all the hard work.

First game of season frustrations maybe, sod it, I’ll get a beer and be happy to have football back!

That was awful, same as last season, cannot break away teams down, on a positive note, the osmond is miles better than the sterile findus upper

It was loads better  than last season . We’ve signed some quality players who looked very good today .

Loads of positives, can’t remember the last time an opener was a classic. All the signings look excellent. Had their goalkeeper not had a great game and had we been given that penalty, it would have been very different.

Wonder what the Wrexham and Notts County forums look like tonight?

Just seen southend beat oldham 4-0, seems like everyone who was meant to walk their league got pumped

Thought I would take a bit of time to reflect on that .

Eastwood had a really good game , a lot more confidence in him after that , he shanked one kick after quite a poor backpass from Maher I think , but nothing came of it , a great penalty save .

We are obviously going for a more high risk approach at home this season which leaves us exposed on the counter and with a bit better quality The Wombles could have punished us .

The back 4 is quality though  , 4 players all comfortable in posession and improvement on last season . I think we will enjoy Malarkey it will be interesting to see who is the long term RW as that's maybe the one position I am not too sure about - Eisa looked very dangerous , very impressed and on another day the shot that hit the post creeps in . Vernam , although I am not his biggest fan reminded me of his strengths (mainly the fact he can go both on the outside or inside,so  alway leaves  the fullbacks guessing ) but also his final ball weakness .

Conteh is a rolls royce of a footballer and it will be fun to watch him develop as it seems so far he is very much playing within himself (or that's a tactic Hurst wants ) and not getting ahead of the play , which he did effectively at Gateshead in a different role .

Danny Rose was Danny Rose , but we need to get more bodies around him for him to be very effective .

We would probably have lost that last season and we have a point on the board .

Reasonably happy , but still question whether we have the killer instinct to go from an inconsistent  higher mid table team to consistent top 7 or 3 material . Time will tell , but great to be back .

UTM

Quoted from GrimRob

We've been so dangerous at set pieces the last couple of years. Today we didn't look as threatening. I hope this improves as the players get more match time together. Given we don't score that meant goals in open play though it is a concern. Can't complain at the effort shown though and we're still a work in progress.

Horses for courses

Waterfall was(is) our main threat from set pieces.
But Hurst has upgraded with a better cb in general .

I thought the set pieces were okay, looked relatively well rehearsed. Although halfway through the second half, Croft remarked that we are trying new corners as the opposition will have no idea what we do for them and can’t plan for them. Next corner, Wimbledon put a man on the edge of the area to stop the drilled ball and Hunt drills it directly to him! It was as if Hunt had decided they were the instructions he was given and he was going for it, despite the fact they’d sussed it out within 3 corners.

Always difficult to gauge opening day performances and results as there’s so little to benchmark against, but I’m reasonably happy with what felt like a fair point all round to me.

Yeah, it would have been great to have got our home duck out of the way early and smashed Wimbledon to smithereens today, but having kept an eye on the Dons’ business in the window and their pre-season form, I felt going into the game that they would be solid opposition and so it proved.

They’ve got some decent players, were very well organised at the back, constantly getting men behind the ball whenever we approached the final third and looked dangerous on the break. Of all the sides not generally fancied to do well, I think Wimbledon, along with us, are the most likely to trouble the leading pack.

On the whole, I thought we moved the ball better than last season and looked dangerous without ever truly looking like scoring, with the exception of a few longer range efforts which brought out some top draw saves from Bass in the Wimbledon goal. No surprise that the Wimbledon OS led with the headline “Brilliant Bass secures Dons draw”. A glaring opportunity for a fish pun missed, perhaps.

Eastwood too had a blinder between our sticks (and in front of our shiny new black, white and red stripey nets), and his penalty save shouldn’t overshadow his save in the first-half, at stretch and through a number of bodies. He was the pick of the debutants today for me, with Mullarkey and Rodgers not far behind.

To that end, I thought we looked good defensively if a little too last ditch at times, and we did seem to afford their number 9 Davison and Bugiel a little too much space at the back post at times. We were also too slow to react to the fresh pace of Al-Hamadi when he came on, despite an offside warning shot moments before his break through that led to the penalty. No doubt we’ll have been briefed on that; something to improve upon, but plenty of time to do it.

My final observation is that today’s attacking performance didn’t quite do enough to quell my unease that we lack a bit of height up top. Eastwood has one hell of a lofty kick on him, but despite Rose’s deceptive aerial ability it’s a big ask for him to win and make use of high balls against 6ft+ centre halves consistently for 90 minutes. Likewise, we put a number of dangerous looking balls into the Wimbledon box today without ever really doing anything with it. Rose got his head to one late in the first-half but just didn’t quite have the height to get on top of it and turn it into the net.

All-in-all, pretty entertaining as 0-0 draws go, and a score line that is a credit to the two goalkeepers above all else. It reminded me of last season’s draw at home with Bradford, which I rated as the most enjoyable home league game of that campaign. A low bar perhaps, but not a terrible platform to build on.

There will be plenty of more fancied teams than us feeling a lot more disappointed and frustrated tonight, that’s for sure.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Shhhhh...I'll correct you quietly...you meant Rogers Rodgers pal...

there you go ,I've corrected you quietly pal . ;)

Enjoyed the game.
Much more forward momentum than most of the matches last season.

Rose definitely won a fair bit in the air but there was nobody to benefit.
I think he could be a top player but we need to get others closer to him.

Agree about the new defenders and conteh. Definite upgrades though we were pretty lucky not to concede, not including the penalty.

Seems like a disappointing result but we are clearly progressing on and off the pitch.

I think we will do well.

Really hard to make too much comment sitting in the osmond corner except for 15 minutes of the second of we could and would have scored 2 or 3 goals on another day. Their keeper pulled off 2-3 amazing saves (unless it hit the post I'm not sure?)

The game wasn't awful but it wasn't fantastic. They defended very well and cleverly. We played well in patches. I'll save writing essays for when I watch the games on iplayer as it'll be clearer to see.
Motm for me I'd say any of the back 4 or Conteh.

Well it seemed to me a typical Grimsby performance much like last season, quite solid defensively and shouldn't concede too many but again lacking something up front which may indicate we won't be scoring too many.

Eastwood looked full of confidence and composed and did well for the penalty double save, Mullarkey didn't do too much first half I don't think but was one of our better players in 2nd half, Rodgers and Maher formed a good partnership and Glennon was Glennon really

Conteh looks very classy and his passing and vision at times was quality, more to come from him hopefully which is exciting! As for Hunt and Clifton, I thought they were both poor and I couldn't understand Hunt getting MOTM as he gave the ball away a lot, as he did last season and he does need to work on being more tidy in possession if he's going to progress, he has a lot of natural ability but he is not very tidy in possession sadly and not all of the misplaced passes were because he was trying balls through the eye of the needle, some of them were basis passes he should be making, and Clifton today seemed very hesitant in and out of possession, and seemed unaware of his surroundings, obviously we know he can do better and I'm sure he'll know that also.

Eisa was in and out of the game but when he was in the game he looked a real threat, much the same as Vernam and I would like to see us play with a partner up top with Rose to make the most of his ariel threat, maybe Wilson or Pyke when fit?


I don't feel we are going to score loads and loads of goals so we will need a solid and compact defence this season, which it looks like we might have, based on one game only obviously

A lot of criticism of Hunt. I thought he was decent and looked a nice pairing with Conteh. He looks to pass the ball forward and it doesn't always come off. We need someone to be liking to make those passes.

Can't say much more then many of the posters have already mentioned. There is a clear directive that we want to get the ball down and play and it the differences in the styles of the two teams were obvious from the start.

For the most part we contained them (albeit a ten minute spell in the first half and the few minutes in and around the penalty). When Al Hamadi came on, his pace gave them an instant boost and instantly exploited our high line but thankfully a mix of Eastwood's instincts and frankly, a very poor penalty, we survived. When you see the results from yesterday, having a tight defence will put us in very good stead for the season. Like most people have said, Rodgers and Malarkey are clear upgrades.

But as many as mentioned, we didn't create enough clear cut chances. Our final ball really lacked throughout the game (mixed with some bad decision making, Rose for example shooting from range when Clifton was begging for the ball on the right).

Considering he's barely played in the last few years, Eisa imo was our best attacking option. Very comfortable on the ball and not scared to take on or turn a defender. The fitter he gets, the most of a threat he'll be.

Again, the lack of physical presence up top was obvious. Rose needs a little assistance up there. The referee had clearly done his homework on Rose and was giving him nothing (though the penalty shout in the first half looked stone wall from my view?).

Just a few tweaks here and there and I honestly think we have team that will contend. Easy to forget we had 7 on debut.

Draw about right for me, we may have just edged it but didn’t create enough. Very bright start..we were on top early on, but didn’t test their keeper. Wimbledon well organised, despite no regular left back, and compact behind the ball. They gradually got into it..and started to exploit an off the pace Glennon, particularly in the first half..and crosses from that side found Davison with regularity, but again didn’t really hurt us..as we didn’t them. The one time Town found their passing game a lovely bit of football, unfortunately Rose couldn’t reach the cross. Rogers and Conteh particularly stood out for us.

Second half again we were on top, Rogers effort and Eisa’s shot, who did everything right, met with two decent saves from Bass. The introduction of Al Hamadi for them gave them a different option, in the break and direct pace..which resulted in a pen..slightly fortunate in that the initial ricochet in their box very lucky..but Al Hamada’s pace got him away and Clifton got caught out. Luckily for us a terrible penalty..and Eastwood did well with the rebound. Late pressure from us but as said draw probably fair..they were organised, ruffled a few feathers and will beat a few sides, mid table at a guess, us..susceptible at crosses early on, that’ll get sorted..Eastwood did ok but distribution not the best, Glennon off the pace for me, Rogers and Maher very good, Mullarkey nervy initially but showed his quality as game went on..Clifton not the best, Vernam a few moments but no end product and disappears, Rose needs someone nearer..doesn’t seem suited to the ‘Taylor’ role..Eisa I thought did well until tired late on..Hunt has to do more, obvious ability but careless sometimes..really want him to show his capability and willing him to do it..but needs to be soon. Conteh..just looked so comfortable in that role from the off..looks a great acquisition and you’d presume he’s only going to get better..just cleans everything up..anticipates..what a ridiculous booking by the way..a ref who let their players get away with sly off the ball stuff throughout.  Green and Pyke good little late cameos at the end..the new lad hard ask to come on late on and didn’t look fit.

All in all some very promising signs, along with some things to look at. We won’t challenge I don’t think, we won’t struggle..a slight improvement on last seasons position more than possible. We’ll know a bit more soon in a very difficult opening two months.

I will say well done to PH. As soon as Pell came on he brought Green on to match the physical side of his game

Defence looks to have been upgraded for sure. I wasn’t an Efete basher but Mullarkey is just better. Waterfall has been brilliant for two seasons so it’s bold taking him from the starting 11, but Rogers looks like he does all of the dirty work and uses the ball well too. Together with Maher they both look like classy defenders.

Going forward I thought it looked like pretty much more of the same from last season. I am convinced though that we have some better players in these areas so hopefully it’s just a bit of time to gel and a tweak or two that’s needed. I can’t remember us having a player in a long time that can turn his man either way like Eisa did yesterday.

Shame we couldn’t get the win but 0-0 not a bad result after the penalty incident and Pell coming on for the last 10 (20). Felt like it had 0-1 late Pell winner written all over it so I agree with the above about Green. Perfect sub to counter that new physical threat for the last few minutes.

Is Holohan unfit or just out of favour? I would like to see him back in the squad at least next game. Our central players all have quality but I think he’s the best player we have at driving us forward through the middle.

Quoted from quebec38

Defence looks to have been upgraded for sure. I wasn’t an Efete basher but Mullarkey is just better. Waterfall has been brilliant for two seasons so it’s bold taking him from the starting 11, but Rogers looks like he does all of the dirty work and uses the ball well too. Together with Maher they both look like classy defenders.

Going forward I thought it looked like pretty much more of the same from last season. I am convinced though that we have some better players in these areas so hopefully it’s just a bit of time to gel and a tweak or two that’s needed. I can’t remember us having a player in a long time that can turn his man either way like Eisa did yesterday.

Shame we couldn’t get the win but 0-0 not a bad result after the penalty incident and Pell coming on for the last 10 (20). Felt like it had 0-1 late Pell winner written all over it so I agree with the above about Green. Perfect sub to counter that new physical threat for the last few minutes.

Is Holohan unfit or just out of favour? I would like to see him back in the squad at least next game. Our central players all have quality but I think he’s the best player we have at driving us forward through the middle.

Seems that Khouri is seen as a better long term option than Holohan. It wouldn’t surprise me if Gav leaves in the window.

Quoted from quebec38

Defence looks to have been upgraded for sure. I wasn’t an Efete basher but Mullarkey is just better. Waterfall has been brilliant for two seasons so it’s bold taking him from the starting 11, but Rogers looks like he does all of the dirty work and uses the ball well too. Together with Maher they both look like classy defenders.

Going forward I thought it looked like pretty much more of the same from last season. I am convinced though that we have some better players in these areas so hopefully it’s just a bit of time to gel and a tweak or two that’s needed. I can’t remember us having a player in a long time that can turn his man either way like Eisa did yesterday.

Shame we couldn’t get the win but 0-0 not a bad result after the penalty incident and Pell coming on for the last 10 (20). Felt like it had 0-1 late Pell winner written all over it so I agree with the above about Green. Perfect sub to counter that new physical threat for the last few minutes.

Is Holohan unfit or just out of favour? I would like to see him back in the squad at least next game. Our central players all have quality but I think he’s the best player we have at driving us forward through the middle.

Conteh is better.

Gav is a squad player now in my opinion.

All said and done 7 new players in starting line up and a lot of bedding in needed. As the last couple of seasons the work ethic will be valuable, I agree we won't score for fun. however once this group fully gel they will be exciting to watch. This is still an ongoing project and it's good to be on the ride. As some results showed yesterday there will be no mugs in this league and we will need to fight for every point.

Quoted from VinnyGTFC

All said and done 7 new players in starting line up and a lot of bedding in needed. As the last couple of seasons the work ethic will be valuable, I agree we won't score for fun. however once this group fully gel they will be exciting to watch. This is still an ongoing project and it's good to be on the ride. As some results showed yesterday there will be no mugs in this league and we will need to fight for every point.

Agreed. Looked to me like we didn’t get close enough to Rose to support him. Vernam and Eisa tended to be too wide and we didn’t make enough runs from midfield.

Anyone got a link to PH post match? Can't seem to find it.

Quoted from ginnywings

Anyone got a link to PH post match? Can't seem to find it.

https://twitter.com/officialgtfc/status/1687881806916255744

Thank you.

I have to ask, please somebody remind me of the hatred some (lots!) have for Harry Pell? I cannot remember where it stems from. I seem to remember he came in loan for a bit, and was on the losing side against us in the playoff semi for Eastleigh, but other than that my memory is hazy about the need for all this booing……

I seem to think it’s tied to him celebrating wildly/mockingly when playing against us. Don’t know of any reason why he would have some sort of grudge against the club so guess some see it as unnecessarily childish and provocative.

Quoted from chaos33

I seem to think it’s tied to him celebrating wildly/mockingly when playing against us. Don’t know of any reason why he would have some sort of grudge against the club so guess some see it as unnecessarily childish and provocative.

He was on loan to us at some point, wasn’t he? Seem to remember he didn’t stay long but can’t remember why.

Quoted from Heisenberg

I have to ask, please somebody remind me of the hatred some (lots!) have for Harry Pell? I cannot remember where it stems from. I seem to remember he came in loan for a bit, and was on the losing side against us in the playoff semi for Eastleigh, but other than that my memory is hazy about the need for all this booing……

Probably to do with his temporary spell with us and then playing for Cheltenham for a few years and falling down a lot.

Would be dissapointed to see Gav leave. Offers us something different in the middle and good for a goal as well.

Mullarkey is a huge improvement on Efetee IMO.

I like Hunt, think he's going to be a big player for us.

I now understand the Conteh hype. His football brain is incredible, he See's things before it happens. Hes always looking around before getting the ball and knows what to do.

Without hyping him too much, he could play League 1 already, and I think we might have to enjoy him this year, as I can see big offers coming in the summer, but they would need to be very big for us to let him go.

Quoted from Heisenberg

I have to ask, please somebody remind me of the hatred some (lots!) have for Harry Pell? I cannot remember where it stems from. I seem to remember he came in loan for a bit, and was on the losing side against us in the playoff semi for Eastleigh, but other than that my memory is hazy about the need for all this booing……

Didn't he do a sneaky little stamp on macca once?

Quoted from toontown

Didn't he do a sneaky little stamp on macca once?

That was Danny Wright.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Agreed. Looked to me like we didn’t get close enough to Rose to support him. Vernam and Eisa tended to be too wide and we didn’t make enough runs from midfield.

That's been a perennial problem with 3 up front under Hurst, never seen us make it work consistently as we don't get close enough to the central attacking player. I suppose the 3 behind the 1 up front is supposed to resolve that, so hopefully we can improve.

A big thing today was a disappointing day for Harry. Not on his game today for once.

Conteh - I really concentrated on him after his first pass and tackle, and thought that over 90 minutes, he only played one bad pass all game, and then chased down his mistake.

Rodgers and Mullarkay - both good signings with confidence and good understanding with Mayer.

Glennon seems to flatter again - some good play, followed by slow control and bad passing and crosses.

Hunt needs players to be available quicker, or be prepared to play easy passes lie Conteh achieved, keep the ball and go again when a better opportunity arises.

That is why Conteh shone, no out and out brilliance, but excellently steady and safe.

I keep harping on about George Lloyd, but he was the missing part today.

Rose wins headers (not sure how, but he does !)  Lloyd (not in their 18 today) would have been an obvious foil for getting the many knockdowns and his running / hustling game would help Rose to get more space to avoid some of the bullying he suffered today.

The ref had his number early doors so there wouldn't be any free kicks our way, but then he let their players shove our guys in other areas, and when our defenders pushed back, he seemed to spot every one.

Overall, a fair one point game that could easily have gone either way. Their sub up front certainly woke up our defenders with his blistering pace.

Let's hope injuries soon get better and we see the 11 that Hurst wants to play.

Great 1st home crowd - need to see some clinical finishing after more accurate crossing, though.

Certainly not a Leyton Orient opener !!

Good platform to work from with quality new signings in place.

Quoted from acko338

A big thing today was a disappointing day for Harry. Not on his game today for once.

Conteh - I really concentrated on him after his first pass and tackle, and thought that over 90 minutes, he only played one bad pass all game, and then chased down his mistake.

Rodgers and Mullarkay - both good signings with confidence and good understanding with Mayer.

Glennon seems to flatter again - some good play, followed by slow control and bad passing and crosses.

Hunt needs players to be available quicker, or be prepared to play easy passes lie Conteh achieved, keep the ball and go again when a better opportunity arises.

That is why Conteh shone, no out and out brilliance, but excellently steady and safe.

I keep harping on about George Lloyd, but he was the missing part today.

Rose wins headers (not sure how, but he does !)  Lloyd (not in their 18 today) would have been an obvious foil for getting the many knockdowns and his running / hustling game would help Rose to get more space to avoid some of the bullying he suffered today.

The ref had his number early doors so there wouldn't be any free kicks our way, but then he let their players shove our guys in other areas, and when our defenders pushed back, he seemed to spot every one.

Overall, a fair one point game that could easily have gone either way. Their sub up front certainly woke up our defenders with his blistering pace.

Let's hope injuries soon get better and we see the 11 that Hurst wants to play.

Great 1st home crowd - need to see some clinical finishing after more accurate crossing, though.

Certainly not a Leyton Orient opener !!

Good platform to work from with quality new signings in place.

I noticed that with the ref. He seemed to be card happy, 4 yellows for us ( don't know why really ) and 2 for them. Typical of most refs that come to BP.

Quoted from toontown

That's been a perennial problem with 3 up front under Hurst, never seen us make it work consistently as we don't get close enough to the central attacking player. I suppose the 3 behind the 1 up front is supposed to resolve that, so hopefully we can improve.

If we are going to continue with the 4-3-3 formation , I would suggest Hurst re-watches Conteh at Gateshead - breaking the lines , getting beyond the striker as the right of a 3 man midfield . Looks as though he want's him and Hunt to sit and dictate games if yesterday is anything to go by though .

Rodgers and Maher are the best pairing I’ve seen in years, very excited to see that pairing develop.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

Mullarkey is a huge improvement on Efetee IMO.

I like Hunt, think he's going to be a big player for us.

I now understand the Conteh hype. His football brain is incredible, he See's things before it happens. Hes always looking around before getting the ball and knows what to do.

Without hyping him too much, he could play League 1 already, and I think we might have to enjoy him this year, as I can see big offers coming in the summer, but they would need to be very big for us to let him go.

I don't really see Hunt becoming a big player for us.

I do believe and hope he can become a very good player in time.

Quoted from Grimal

there you go ,I've corrected you quietly pal . ;)

Always one pedant!..🤣🤣

Quoted from DB

I noticed that with the ref. He seemed to be card happy, 4 yellows for us ( don't know why really ) and 2 for them. Typical of most refs that come to BP.

Ref didn’t give any cards first half. Of ours, Clifton for the pen, Green for the late barge, and Pyke for the late tackle were all bookings. He seemed to point round the pitch for Conteh. Theirs were for 2 late fouls and kicking the ball away. Refs are supposed to be clamping down on time wasting and any form of dissent. There’s going to be a lot of suspensions this year if it’s kept up.
Listening to Humberside on the way back and it appears any manager getting sent off is now not allowed to do an interview after the game. Ridiculous!!!

Left it a while before commenting as couldnt help feeling a bit disappointed at the final whistle. Post match spoke to a few of their fans out and about in Meggies and they all seemed over the moon with a point and clean sheet which reinforced my disapointment.
Not sure from what I have seen to date with the friendlies and first game that us shape and the system that has been used is going to reap the quantity of goals we want and likely need.
Decent additions around the team certainly and technically good but like many other posters no particular goal threat from our play. I think we only really cut them apart once in the game ,first half  down the left with Glennons cross just too high for Rose. Other than that ..3 efforts from range that worked the keeper. Not alot on the balance of play.
Would have liked to have seen a change in approach the longer the game went on to give their back line something to think about as just having Rose to deal with was fairly comfortable for them.

On reflection I am more disappointed than I was in real time, as it were.

Where ARE the goals going to come from? We haven't signed prolific strikers and seem to be banking on sharing the goals out, but apart from the odd long range effort there was no evidence of that either.

We have got good technical players and the defence looks very good, but I think we might struggle to score goals, especially at home.

It will be interesting to see if this team performs better away from home once we settle in to the season but it will be frustrating if we have spent to get better players but still don't score enough.

Can’t argue with Green’s yellow card to be honest…  8)

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

On reflection I am more disappointed than I was in real time, as it were.

Where ARE the goals going to come from? We haven't signed prolific strikers and seem to be banking on sharing the goals out, but apart from the odd long range effort there was no evidence of that either.

We have got good technical players and the defence looks very good, but I think we might struggle to score goals, especially at home.

It will be interesting to see if this team performs better away from home once we settle in to the season but it will be frustrating if we have spent to get better players but still don't score enough.

I think we’ve all got to remember that yesterday’s eleven represented a pretty significant rebuild with a view to us having more firepower all over the pitch. Whilst we didn’t get the result we wanted, most saw positive intent to play a better brand of football.

Let’s see what the next few weeks bring and I’m sure it will be tweaked if necessary.

Said to mates after game in post we will struggle to win games altho think will be harder to beat , i reckon wont beat top 11 hope am wrong

Remember we had Khan and Wilson out yesterday. With Gnahoua lacking in match sharpness and Pyke only just back from injury. It's also a very newish forward line and midfield with only two of the starting six yesterday being here last year. I agree that we may struggle with firepower a bit as it stands but things should improve as they gel a bit and we at least have some players with technical ability and it's an improvement on last season. Add that to improvements at the back and hopefully we will be competitive at the very least.

Quoted from 140381

Can’t argue with Green’s yellow card to be honest…  8)

No you can't,  but we certainly argue with Conteh's yellow. He won the ball and got carded for it.

Quoted from Heisenberg

I have to ask, please somebody remind me of the hatred some (lots!) have for Harry Pell? I cannot remember where it stems from. I seem to remember he came in loan for a bit, and was on the losing side against us in the playoff semi for Eastleigh, but other than that my memory is hazy about the need for all this booing……

He was unremarkable on loan to the point I can't even remember him in any game but the hatred started later than that. He's just a bit of a twit who likes to wind the crowd up and behaves as such during games. This was the most quiet I've seen him in years tbh, he didn't do too much in the game to warrant his reputation but in the past he's a massive cheat and wind-up merchant. Is gigantor but goes down like a sack of spuds anytime somebody comes near him. A couple of incidents against us I can actually recall is charging toward Macca on a pass back and shouting as he's about to kick the ball and I'm sure I recall him scoring against us and celebrating in front of the fans like he'd just scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final.

Wilson to come back from injury as well, don't forget. I suspect he's a sort of a plan B player there for when it isn't working for Rose. Reportedly quite quick and strong in possession, even if he's not the biggest guy.

I thought our passing looked better than last season. When the new players settle in this should improve further

With long range shooting we could have won. Or lost with the penalty.

Hunt was playing with new players - and Clifton off form. Some of the criticism seems harsh.  In the second half he had the ball and there was no movement ahead of him. Everyone was marked.  He opened his hands communicating that a pass was not on and that he was frustrated.

Quoted from mimma

No you can't,  but we certainly argue with Conteh's yellow. He won the ball and got carded for it.

I agree. Which is why I didn’t mention Conteh.

PA is excrement. Not enough seats. People left without tickets. Empty seats, attendance of 7500 but told it was sellout.

That’s what we do now isn’t it? Moan about these things?

As for the match, not really much to talk about. We look solid defensively as expected and Rodger won everything. Penalty was the right decision but was a woeful penalty.

Felt we could’ve got the win and their keeper pulled off three saves he had to make.

Conteh will get better and Eisa impressed me, thought Vernam was pretty anonymous apart from a run first half and I think that impacted Glennons game (bloke near me has found his new boo boy, Smith previously, Glennon this year). Green came on, got booked. We all laughed and we all wanted him to flatten Pell but I’d like to think we’re better than that. Can’t see Green being anything other than a sub to tighten things up.

Hunt did well, and considering it was a completely new starting 11 in so much they’ve never played a league game before, we looked to have a system and it will click, some fans just need some patience.

First game of the season often tells you very little anyway.

Onwards to the next game…

The XI was as most of us suspected, just the actual way they lined up perhaps less so.

I like to think that we've got enough in the team now to really go and teams and make them worry about us.  Clifton wide and Hunt sitting deep alongside Conteh feels more about us worrying than the other way round.  

It's first game and I think Hurst might have factored in the unknown element and obvious fatigue late-on, but I do think we could have been a bit braver with Eisa wide and Hunt further up alongside Clifton.  

That said though, the attacking options we've got are exciting and on most days I do fancy at least one of Vernam, Eisa, Mullarkey or Glennon to find their man/the goal from when we overload teams.  Saturday was just one of those days were none of them hit the spot.  We'll also have better options off the bench than two guys with only 15 minutes in their tanks.

We need to enjoy both Conteh and Mullarkey whilst we can because neither will be with us too long, unfortunately.  Both look levels above and it's kudos to the club for attracting them.

Quoted from diehardmariner

We need to enjoy both Conteh and Mullarkey whilst we can because neither will be with us too long, unfortunately.  Both look levels above and it's kudos to the club for attracting them.

Agree with this, which kind of begs the question; what on earth has Toby Mullarkey been doing slumming it down in non-league until the age of 27? From what I’ve seen he looks every bit a top-end League Two full-back.

Late developer?

Quoted from aldi_01

PA is excrement. Not enough seats. People left without tickets. Empty seats, attendance of 7500 but told it was sellout.

That’s what we do now isn’t it? Moan about these things?

As for the match, not really much to talk about. We look solid defensively as expected and Rodger won everything. Penalty was the right decision but was a woeful penalty.

Felt we could’ve got the win and their keeper pulled off three saves he had to make.

Conteh will get better and Eisa impressed me, thought Vernam was pretty anonymous apart from a run first half and I think that impacted Glennons game (bloke near me has found his new boo boy, Smith previously, Glennon this year). Green came on, got booked. We all laughed and we all wanted him to flatten Pell but I’d like to think we’re better than that. Can’t see Green being anything other than a sub to tighten things up.

Hunt did well, and considering it was a completely new starting 11 in so much they’ve never played a league game before, we looked to have a system and it will click, some fans just need some patience.

First game of the season often tells you very little anyway.

Onwards to the next game…

Shall we just have a forum that discusses everything that suits you ? A bit like the Scunny Fans Facebook page . You could run it , I’m sure mr sherbet has plenty of advice .  
Joking apart , this is a forum to chat about stuff .

Conteh tackle hardly a foul.  Not a yellow.  

Conteh tackle hardly a foul.  Not a yellow.  

Reminded me so much of last season, better passing/movement probably but totally toothless in the final 3rd. We have an improved squad but still can't see us scoring 2 goals very often. Rarely more than a couple of players in the box from open play and not picked out by crosses. Also still a bit lightweight, lots of players knocked/nudged off the ball easily. Conteh looks superb, Rose won more headers in the game than Taylor did all last season, but some of his dives were theatrical. Decent point but we need to be far better if we want to make the playoffs.

Quoted from Poojah

Agree with this, which kind of begs the question; what on earth has Toby Mullarkey been doing slumming it down in non-league until the age of 27? From what I’ve seen he looks every bit a top-end League Two full-back.

Late developer?

Didn't realise he was that 'old'.

Found this - https://altrinchamfc.com/blogs/news/toby-mullarkey-to-be-able-to-call-myself-a-professional-footballer-is-all-i-ve-ever-wanted - in which he perhaps hints a bit about not making the step-up into the mens game as quickly as he anticipated, few injuries that halted his progress too.

At absolute face-value he's a big, strong unit who's mobile too.  That ticks a lot of boxes for lower league teams, that he's not too shabby with the ball at his face just makes his late progress that much more of a puzzle.

Different position, but John Cockerill was 29 when we signed him from Stafford Rangers...

Quoted from Poojah

Agree with this, which kind of begs the question; what on earth has Toby Mullarkey been doing slumming it down in non-league until the age of 27? From what I’ve seen he looks every bit a top-end League Two full-back.

Late developer?

Do you not think we are getting a little carried away after 1 game?

Mullarkey looks decent and Conteh had a good game. Everybody seems to think we will struggle to keep hold of them. I think they will do well but I'd be surprised if by January people are still so excited by those 2.  

You'd think in Clifton we have the ideal L2 central midfielder for making late bursts into the box to try and get on to the end of it. In fact, Harry's movement and timing of his runs are probably the main thing he's improved on in the last two years to take him to the next level. I would also fancy Hunt to at least hit the target if he was around the edge of the box looking for any deflections or knock downs. I think the ingredients are there for a good team, just got to get the blend and application right but I'm sure we will.

Quoted from Poojah

Agree with this, which kind of begs the question; what on earth has Toby Mullarkey been doing slumming it down in non-league until the age of 27? From what I’ve seen he looks every bit a top-end League Two full-back.

Late developer?

Didn’t even make the National League until age 26 so certainly an excellent spot given we were apparently trying to sign him in January

Quoted from diehardmariner

The XI was as most of us suspected, just the actual way they lined up perhaps less so.

I like to think that we've got enough in the team now to really go and teams and make them worry about us.  Clifton wide and Hunt sitting deep alongside Conteh feels more about us worrying than the other way round.  

It's first game and I think Hurst might have factored in the unknown element and obvious fatigue late-on, but I do think we could have been a bit braver with Eisa wide and Hunt further up alongside Clifton.  

That said though, the attacking options we've got are exciting and on most days I do fancy at least one of Vernam, Eisa, Mullarkey or Glennon to find their man/the goal from when we overload teams.  Saturday was just one of those days were none of them hit the spot.  We'll also have better options off the bench than two guys with only 15 minutes in their tanks.

We need to enjoy both Conteh and Mullarkey whilst we can because neither will be with us too long, unfortunately.  Both look levels above and it's kudos to the club for attracting them.

Not sure yet I agree that our attacking options are exciting, I thought we looked ineffective in the penalty area.

Our crossing and passing into the box was pretty dire on the day. Their right-back alone managed many more decent crosses than all of our team put together.

Hopefully, it was just an off-day and we can put some better balls into the box in most games.

It looked as though the partnerships weren't really there yet. The links between defence and midfield were a bit hit and miss - not many overlaps, not anticipating runs - that sort of thing. Early in the season so hopefully they will gel better the more they train and play together.