Just Back

Very cold and poor conditions.
Thought Swindon were the better side going forward but not over impressed with their defensive qualities, numbers 2 & 5 were poor defensively.
Clear penalty and their free kick was quality.
Second half they had more of the ball, we defended far too deep considering we had the wind in our favour, but Embleton’s well struck effort was pushed away and Thomas’s intelligence saw him follow it in.
Macca, as usual kept us in it, Hendrie was superb, Whitmore very rusty, Fox very steady. Clifton didn’t have his best game but ran his nuts off.
Pleased with the 3 points

Looking ahead, its a great time to play notts county with our form at home, and its also a great time to play port vale away, as port vale have a poor home record, and we really need an away win.

I hope we've got some targets in mind to hopefully come in on january 1st as we've got lots of games to play, some really big ones too, and I think we'll have to start rotating a bit

Agree with all of that Cloudy.

Their number five must be the thickest footballer playing. Late on he made a bullet header clearance straight out of play and then proceeded to yell at the line for giving us the throw.

PS it’s fu cking cooold, it’s fu cking cooold.....

We had a better keeper and striker than them.
Looked a bit breezy. Players are working so hard and it’s now showing.
That’s all.

One of those games in terrible conditions when you're happy to come off the pitch with three points. Thought we scrapped hard against a team who showed a little bit more quality on the ball at times. A draw would have been a fair result but it's nice to win these sort of games. Embleton and Macca were the difference in enabling us to win today. Macca made a couple of decent saves and Embleton's shooting boots from long distance were key for the winning goal that Thomas followed up well to finish. Will feel a lot more confident when M Rose is on the pitch if we ever get another pen as our opener only just squeezed past their keepers hands. I thought Thomas did well up front on his own and Vernam had a decent first half. We were a bit lightweight and exposed in midfield at times second half. Pringle sees a pass really quickly and is a delight to watch, but him and whoever plays in front of Fox, whether it be Embleton or Vernam leave our full backs overloaded and really exposed at times. With the wind holding the ball up second half making it easier for their big fella to hold it up and harder for our defenders to defend against him coupled with the freedom of the flanks, Swindon found it easier to push us back than we did them in the first half. Our midfield defending out wide is a bit of an achilles heel for us and if I were an opposing manager, I'd be looking to exploit those areas. Having said that, we competed, battled and secured a hard fought victory. It was the sort of game that we would have easily lost over the past two years so well chuffed tonight with another three points. Things still to improve upon, but let's hope that picking three points up in games like this becomes a welcome habit..

Just thawed out after a hot shower. Jeez, that was cold today.

Great win in not very nice conditions, against a very spirited Swindon side, who much to their credit, went for the win, as did we. Not too much quality football on display, but they had some very tricky players, who kept our back line on its toes most of the game, and like last week, the away side will feel aggrieved at losing 2-1, as they deserved a point from the game i thought. Thought Wes Thomas' finish was excellent, and he could have easily put that high, wide, or both.

MOM for me was Macca, who didn't put a foot wrong, and i thought he was the main reason we came away with three points. Very tricky conditions for a keeper, but his handling was spot on. Can forgive his wayward kicking in that swirling wind. Agree with Cloudy on Hendrie. He inpresses me more every time i see him, and we hopefully will get him signed up.

Good battling win today against a side on a good run.

Just thawed out in spite of 5 layers!

Great result, OK performance and I suspect Swindon will be wondering how they didn't get something out of the game which was mainly because we've got a better keeper. That said, we do seem to let in a lot of free-kicks!

All in all, happy days and three points against County will really open up a gap.

Thought today was a bit of a milestone, as we got the points against a decent Swindon side
I'm sure the possession stats would be in their favour
We got the only goal in open play & DC going off didn't seem to upset things too much
We played a lone striker at home and still won but as AB said in commentary, you play the system that suits the players you've got
Still love to see a box striker like Amond coming on in a 4-4-2
Well done MJ and the lads
UTM

Two very average sides and a draw would have been fair. But then a draw would have been fair last week so hey ho!!
Had we swapped keepers Swindon would have won today so Macca mom
Too much hoof ball for me but on the rare occasions we got it down we looked dangerous
Welcome 3 points

Really pleased with that result against a decent Swindon side, Macca certainly MOM for me, never put a foot wrong all game.
Good tactical move again by MJ to take Vernam off and replace him with Rose after we took the lead.
That extra midfielder snuffed out any chance of an equaliser, good all round performance in terrible conditions, very happy.
I think that’s the coldest I’ve been at a match since the midweek Salisbury City FA Cup loss that went to extra time.
UTM

Quoted from buckstown

Two very average sides and a draw would have been fair. But then a draw would have been fair last week so hey ho!!
Had we swapped keepers Swindon would have won today so Macca mom
Too much hoof ball for me but on the rare occasions we got it down we looked dangerous
Welcome 3 points

Much needed as well given the results below us. As you said could easily have been 2 draws = 2 points so an unlucky defeat and a slightly fortunate win has actually worked in our favour

Quoted from buckstown

Two very average sides and a draw would have been fair. But then a draw would have been fair last week so hey ho!!
Had we swapped keepers Swindon would have won today so Macca mom
Too much hoof ball for me but on the rare occasions we got it down we looked dangerous
Welcome 3 points

That is a bit harsh considering the appalling conditions. Both teams did well; a draw probably would have been fair but great to get the win.

Thought we sat back too deep in the second half and they sussed to cope with the wind against by driving the ball instead of lofting it. They did rely on their tall forward for a lot of their attacks. Thought Pringle was goof in places and poor at times. Harry ran his socks off again and how was that mot a penalty?

Need to get the extension to Embleton agreed as he gives a good attacking option and Macca was his usual magnificent save especially as it was so coooolllldddd!

Fair play to the Swindon fans travelling up to BP in this weather. Need to get some thermals for next game though!

Don't worry Mr Bump it will be a lot warmer next week.

In the cold light of day we will take 3 points..  Macca fully-deserved MOM.  Embleton was very positive today.

Was concerned at how easily they could run at and beat 2 of our players.  This happened a few times.

The ref gave a great example of applying the disadvantage rule.  They were clear near our goal in the 2nd half and he brought back play to give them a free kick on the halfway!

As we won, I will have a moan about their goal.   Pringle was moving across the pitch with 2 players free on the right.  We looked to have a promising attack.  He then played the ball right back to Macca.  Hard for him to kick it against the wind.  This let to their free kick, which was well-struck. (I did moan about Pringle  before they scored).  

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

In the cold light of day we will take 3 points..  Macca fully-deserved MOM.  Embleton was very positive today.

Was concerned at how easily they could run at and beat 2 of our players.  This happened a few times.

The ref gave a great example of applying the disadvantage rule.  They were clear near our goal in the 2nd half and he brought back play to give them a free kick on the halfway! Think you missed that Hessenthaler was fouled to free their player and therefore the ref brought play back for the 1st foul

As we won, I will have a moan about their goal.   Pringle was moving across the pitch with 2 players free on the right.  We looked to have a promising attack.  He then played the ball right back to Macca.  Hard for him to kick it against the wind.  This let to their free kick, which was well-struck. (I did moan about Pringle  before they scored).  Exactly and he only failed to make the pass because it was on his right foot. He therefore played what he thought was an easy pass to Macca. Pringle at times is just TOO one footed

So was Puskas

Really cold and really poor conditions I don't think either side got to grips with the swirling wind ad to be fair I think that Swindon will be disappointed to not take at least a point, with all that in mind we should be delighted to take all 3.

Thomas took the winner really well as it was coming back to him pretty quickly and once again Macca saved us with a few decent saves. I guess thats whats called winning ugly.

Sets us up nicely for next week.
Big win for us if we get it. Should stop us looking over our shoulders and maybe just 6 points off playoffs. We can but dream....

Quoted from Bigdog

One of those games in terrible conditions when you're happy to come off the pitch with three points. Thought we scrapped hard against a team who showed a little bit more quality on the ball at times. A draw would have been a fair result but it's nice to win these sort of games. Embleton and Macca were the difference in enabling us to win today. Macca made a couple of decent saves and Embleton's shooting boots from long distance were key for the winning goal that Thomas followed up well to finish. Will feel a lot more confident when M Rose is on the pitch if we ever get another pen as our opener only just squeezed past their keepers hands. I thought Thomas did well up front on his own and Vernam had a decent first half. We were a bit lightweight and exposed in midfield at times second half. Pringle sees a pass really quickly and is a delight to watch, but him and whoever plays in front of Fox, whether it be Embleton or Vernam leave our full backs overloaded and really exposed at times. With the wind holding the ball up second half making it easier for their big fella to hold it up and harder for our defenders to defend against him coupled with the freedom of the flanks, Swindon found it easier to push us back than we did them in the first half. Our midfield defending out wide is a bit of an achilles heel for us and if I were an opposing manager, I'd be looking to exploit those areas. Having said that, we competed, battled and secured a hard fought victory. It was the sort of game that we would have easily lost over the past two years so well chuffed tonight with another three points. Things still to improve upon, but let's hope that picking three points up in games like this becomes a welcome habit..

Good insight Bigdog.

I'm intrigued what your thoughts are today on our defensive performance before and after Collins went off? I know you've been very "vocal" on here about how you believe DC holds us back in certain ways.

And I've read one or two people saying we defended too deep in the second half. This isn't a dig or sarcasm, I wasn't at the game and I know you'll have been paying attention to how (and where) we defended.

I know when defending a lead it's easy to drop a bit deeper, it just happens, and the conditions weren't ideal for either team, but just wandered what your observations might have been.

I think our first half disciplined performance won us the points today. We got to grips with the wind against better and quicker and at times came forward well with the ball on the deck. Swindon, especially there keeper and centre halves were curling them into touch to give us possession back. In fairness their keeper wasnt very good and didnt catch a ball all game.
Credit goes to the back 5 and whitmore when he came on, pringle in patches and Embleton, Clifton and Thomas worked there socks off. Macca was deservedly MOM
We seem to have a real reslience and fight for the cause at the moment so with that in mind i will say we deserved to win.
Bring on the county!

UTM

Quoted from Tommy

Good insight Bigdog.

I'm intrigued what your thoughts are today on our defensive performance before and after Collins went off? I know you've been very "vocal" on here about how you believe DC holds us back in certain ways.

And I've read one or two people saying we defended too deep in the second half. This isn't a dig or sarcasm, I wasn't at the game and I know you'll have been paying attention to how (and where) we defended.

I know when defending a lead it's easy to drop a bit deeper, it just happens, and the conditions weren't ideal for either team, but just wandered what your observations might have been.

JT was biggng up our defending on RH but the fact that Macca got MOTM suggests it wasn’t that good.

Quoted from Tommy

Good insight Bigdog.

I'm intrigued what your thoughts are today on our defensive performance before and after Collins went off? I know you've been very "vocal" on here about how you believe DC holds us back in certain ways.

And I've read one or two people saying we defended too deep in the second half. This isn't a dig or sarcasm, I wasn't at the game and I know you'll have been paying attention to how (and where) we defended.

I know when defending a lead it's easy to drop a bit deeper, it just happens, and the conditions weren't ideal for either team, but just wandered what your observations might have been.

First half the wind naturally pushed us back, but was too strong for Swindon to play throughballs without running out of play. Having played both at centre half and centre forward, I would say it's easier to play against the wind going forward as the ball will hold up more to be able to compete for it or turn the defence and put them under pressure and easier to defend against such a strong wind as it's difficult for a marked forward to get hold of it. Passes forward need to be really accurate whereas passes against the wind don't need to be as the ball holds up in the air to give time to compete. Also crossing with your natural foot from your natural flank is more dangerous against the wind as it's easier to bend into that uncertain area between defence and keeper and with a wind like today swirl around a bit. Swindon put a few balls in like that second half which put us under a bit of pressure.

So the wind pushed us back first half, while second half I thought Swindon's play pushed us back. At times their centre midfield drove through our centre midfield and our full backs were a little exposed at times. We were quite deep both halves. The first half I'd give credit to the wind, the second half I would give the opposition credit for pushing us back. Swindon played the ball on the ground much better than we did. To compare the two halves would be like comparing chalk and cheese when it came to the very different challenges we faced in both.

I thought DC did quite well before he went off, probably a bit too deep at times which gave their midfield too much time to play and left Clifton and Hessenthaler a bit exposed. For his first game back for nearly a month, I thought AW did really well after he adjusted to the pace of the game. It's weird but playing against the wind defensively many would instinctively think the best thing to do would be play deeper when it's completely the opposite and facing the wind you should play a little deeper to cut down the danger of the ball behind which holds up in the wind. In an ideal world it would be great if we were good enough to push up in both scenarios but I guess at this level there are always compromises not always with the defenders themselves and sometimes more to do with what happens in front of them including the quality of possession the oppo have. In Woolery, I thought Swindon had the best midfielder on the pitch and he really bossed it second half and was really surprised he got substituted near the end. They didn't seem to threaten as much after that and we played out the final ten minutes relatively comfortably.

On the whole in other games I think the AW/HD partnership play naturally at least 10 yards closer to our midfield than a DC/HD partnership. It closes down the space for the opposition to play in, get shots off and keep their heads down. They're generally prevented from shooting rather than having shots blocked with last minute lunges that fly anywhere and more importantly our defenders stay on their feet more too. At the same time it closes down the space on the flanks which means that the full backs push up to our wide men more who when closer in attendance are able to support Hendrie and Fox better. I thought Pringle cheated a bit today and when Hessenthaler was moved out to the right after Pringle was substituted, he did more to support Hendrie than Pringle did all game. Pringle is a luxury player who I enjoy watching with the ball but I'm not sure if he's a long term fix due to his lack of pace and willingness to work defensively. On the other side Fox did well but their full back had the freedom of the park second half to put some dangerous balls in after Vernam went off and it left us unbalanced as neither Embleton or Clifton fully assumed that role.

So, it was hard to compare DC and AW today as DC played most of the first half and AW the rest and all of the second and both faced very different propositions..

Quoted from HertsGTFC

JT was biggng up our defending on RH but the fact that Macca got MOTM suggests it wasn’t that good.

Jolley was bigging up our defending too. Swindon are a pacy side on a decent run and a lot better than most in this division. Even though they're mid-table at the minute, I expect them to be in and around the play-offs at the end of the season. Sometimes you have to give the oppo credit. Swindon are a much better side than Cheltenham, yet Cheltenham had more clear cut chances last week..

I'm no tactical expert but it looks to me that Jolley likes us to sit deep against the better teams to stay in the game early on, the only trouble with that is there's little outlet so the ball keeps coming back at us.
Then if we nick a goal we still sit deep to protect our lead and rely on the counter attack when they commit men forward to try and level the score.

The most pleasing thing for me is that our second-half performances have vastly improved recently.

Yeah probably one of the coldest days for a long time a biting strong wind and then lashing down with icy rain.  In between both teams struggled against the elements to play any sort of controlled football.  I thought apart from their keeper they handled the conditions better but our defence held firm and Macca made at least two cracking saves. Definite peno from where I was which Thomas thankfully hit it with enough power to prevent the keeper saving it despite getting a good hand to it. Their goal was well struck with the wind putting extra pace on it. (Jonney on the spot )Thomas did well to adjust himself for the winner after their keeper could only parry Embers fierce shot back out to him.

I enjoyed the game and the winbut blimey we tried to shoot ourselfs in the foot more than once.
At times defensively some of the team seemed to doze off to what was happening around them which in turn led a to a spell of hoof ball to no one.
They had some obvious quality players in there ranks with some pace as they ran through our defense at times almost like they was not there.

It was a workman like showing today were on other days could have seen us smashed out of sight.

The tall lad upfront for Swindon looked a real handful and good on the deck too for a big lad.

I did notice Fox was very slow to get back at times today which made him look a bit lazy but this is probably down to who is in front of him not supporting enough.

I think we are looking like a player short for me, with pretty much 5 in the midfield we still seem lightweight, to me it looks like we need a good defensive mid as we struggle in the gap between defense and midfield and thats where a lot of there threat came from yesterday.

Attacking wise i think we look very capable now but we cant keep hoofing the the one man, it does not work. Shame Welsh does is not upto it now(according to some) as he would have probably snuffed out a lot of there attacks before they got started.

Collins going off did not really seem to make a lot of difference to me, there pace was still a threat and Whitmore didnt get to grips with it.


Macca won us that match and fully deserves the credit.

Donkey of the week for me Pringle, not one of his better games at all. good player when on song though.

Winning ugly
Never a bad thing
Can't always be 5-2 like v Tranmere
Poss unlucky to lose at Cheltenham
Poss lucky to win yesterday
Football is a fickle mistress!

Onward.....

PS: Tondeur on RH (admittedly not noted for his cup half full attitude) thinks keeping Embleton is 50/50
He implied Sunderland want him to try a 'bigger club'
But struggling to see how that works
L2 - why move him sidewards?
L1 - why let one of your possible promotion rivals have him?
Championship - no go

Strange...

Quoted from devs

Winning ugly
Never a bad thing
Can't always be 5-2 like v Tranmere
Poss unlucky to lose at Cheltenham
Poss lucky to win yesterday
Football is a fickle mistress!

Onward.....

PS: Tondeur on RH (admittedly not noted for his cup half full attitude) thinks keeping Embleton is 50/50
He implied Sunderland want him to try a 'bigger club'
But struggling to see how that works
L2 - why move him sidewards?
L1 - why let one of your possible promotion rivals have him?
Championship - no go

Strange...

Theres a club up the round from us in league 1 who certainly aren't rivals to sunderland this season. Put in a clause that he can't play against them and hope he takes points away from those at the top. It makes sense to me at least.  Hope we can keep him!

Hopefully he'll want to stay. He's settled in well and is playing superbly. There's a lot to be said for continuity!

I think Embleton will see the season out with us..  he is settled and enjoying his football.. He has said he is happy to stay. His  future lays further up the leagues than where we are that is for sure .but for this season he is happy here. I would not understand his home club wanting to upset the rytham at this point  

I really hope he stays, but who knows what will happen? How old is he, 19, I’m not sure?

The pro’s:
He’s happy playing here
He’s getting regular game time with a team trying to play football, that also suits him.
He’s playing well here.
If it went somewhere else he may not get to play as much
Their style may not suit him and so he regresses.

The con’s:
He’s clearly destined for a higher level than lower L2
He could end up at another club playing with better players around him, maybe.

On balance I think it’s better for us and him to remain for now, but as I said who knows the outcome.

I thought the referee yesterday deserved a mention.

In those conditions it is not just difficult for the players but with
the ball either holding up or picking up speed suddenly there are
going to be mistimed tackles and I thought the referee handled
the game sensibly.

He has shown no red cards this season and I believe he spent
only one year in the National League before being promoted to
the EFL.

Continue in that vein and he could go to the top.

Credit goes to him and both teams and btw, not one Swindon
player appealed against the penalty decision.

Just seen a slowmo of the Swindon goal. We will concede more of these if :-

A. If we pass back instead of taking responsibility.

B. If we keep giving free kicks away

c. We signal that one corner of the goal is wide open.

D. Our 6 foot CB's duck out the way!!

Great point about the ref
Common sense  in those conditions
And like all good refs hardly noticed him to be fair

Just watched the extended highlights. Was a lot better than expected after reading this thread/Twitter - they had some good chances, but it looks like we definetly attacked them and had plenty of good chances too.

Happy for Pringle to have an ‘off day’, as his passing and set piece delivery is the best we’ve had in years, imo. He’s an asset and we need him on the pitch.

Speaking of assets, Embleton is just getting better and better...his ability and willingness to have a go on goal from outside the box is crucial for us. If he stays we’re gonna get a lot more goals either from him, or from his rebounds.

Definitely one of the best refs we've had this season.

Quoted from Bigdog

First half the wind naturally pushed us back, but was too strong for Swindon to play throughballs without running out of play. Having played both at centre half and centre forward, I would say it's easier to play against the wind going forward as the ball will hold up more to be able to compete for it or turn the defence and put them under pressure and easier to defend against such a strong wind as it's difficult for a marked forward to get hold of it. Passes forward need to be really accurate whereas passes against the wind don't need to be as the ball holds up in the air to give time to compete. Also crossing with your natural foot from your natural flank is more dangerous against the wind as it's easier to bend into that uncertain area between defence and keeper and with a wind like today swirl around a bit. Swindon put a few balls in like that second half which put us under a bit of pressure.

So the wind pushed us back first half, while second half I thought Swindon's play pushed us back. At times their centre midfield drove through our centre midfield and our full backs were a little exposed at times. We were quite deep both halves. The first half I'd give credit to the wind, the second half I would give the opposition credit for pushing us back. Swindon played the ball on the ground much better than we did. To compare the two halves would be like comparing chalk and cheese when it came to the very different challenges we faced in both.

I thought DC did quite well before he went off, probably a bit too deep at times which gave their midfield too much time to play and left Clifton and Hessenthaler a bit exposed. For his first game back for nearly a month, I thought AW did really well after he adjusted to the pace of the game. It's weird but playing against the wind defensively many would instinctively think the best thing to do would be play deeper when it's completely the opposite and facing the wind you should play a little deeper to cut down the danger of the ball behind which holds up in the wind. In an ideal world it would be great if we were good enough to push up in both scenarios but I guess at this level there are always compromises not always with the defenders themselves and sometimes more to do with what happens in front of them including the quality of possession the oppo have. In Woolery, I thought Swindon had the best midfielder on the pitch and he really bossed it second half and was really surprised he got substituted near the end. They didn't seem to threaten as much after that and we played out the final ten minutes relatively comfortably.

On the whole in other games I think the AW/HD partnership play naturally at least 10 yards closer to our midfield than a DC/HD partnership. It closes down the space for the opposition to play in, get shots off and keep their heads down. They're generally prevented from shooting rather than having shots blocked with last minute lunges that fly anywhere and more importantly our defenders stay on their feet more too. At the same time it closes down the space on the flanks which means that the full backs push up to our wide men more who when closer in attendance are able to support Hendrie and Fox better. I thought Pringle cheated a bit today and when Hessenthaler was moved out to the right after Pringle was substituted, he did more to support Hendrie than Pringle did all game. Pringle is a luxury player who I enjoy watching with the ball but I'm not sure if he's a long term fix due to his lack of pace and willingness to work defensively. On the other side Fox did well but their full back had the freedom of the park second half to put some dangerous balls in after Vernam went off and it left us unbalanced as neither Embleton or Clifton fully assumed that role.

So, it was hard to compare DC and AW today as DC played most of the first half and AW the rest and all of the second and both faced very different propositions..

Thanks mate, appreciate the response. Thought the conditions might make it difficult to directly compare the two different partnerships.