Post by stevek192 on Mar 31, 2018 8:05:54 GMT
After only picking up 2 of our last 9 points contended then it was really a tall ask to make the Play Offs and with the difficult games coming up I think it is more of a case of getting as many points as we can and hopefully finishing around the same place as last year . To do this it was essential we won yesterday in what probably would be the easiest game we have left this season. It was never going to be an easy game though especially with a team that has been badly hit by injuries. Sinclair, james Clarke, Broadbent, Lee Brown , Leadbitter and Sercombe all missing and it is testament to Darrell's management that we could still put out a team and still have experienced players on the bench.
To be honest i was quite excited by the fact that we had two wingers including a first start for Mensah and with Byron Moore on the bench the ability to change things if necessary. the one area we look a bit lightweight on is the midfield with the middle two picking themselves although we did have two youngsters Hargreaves and Russe on the bench which must encourage the rest of the Development squad to see members of their team getting into the squad.
We made a good start to the game and went close on several occasions and some of the football played was quick and exciting although half time was reached with no goals. There were some bright moments from both wingers and some delightful one touch football and I could not agree with some around me who thought we were poor. There are some people who only see a game based on goals scored and are very keen to pick up on the poor moments such as slack passing which we were guilty of at times rather than the moments where all we lacked was the final pass or finish. IMO the second half was not as good and we again conceded a poor goal following a poor Lines clearance which in fact spurred us on to yet again snatch victory from defeat. DC referred to the number of points we have taken from positions we have been behind as the best in all four divisions.
Slocombe 7.5 Wonderful save to keep out a close range volley in the first half and dealt comfortably with a couple of awkward crosses. Distribution was sound,quick and precise both kicking and more often throwing out. This aspect of his game for me makes him our number 1 keeper.
Partington 6.5 Solid defensively and always looking to provide an outlet and combined attack and defence well but my,oh my his crosses were overall dreadful which was unusual for him because if anything I would say the standard of his crosses was generally better than Leadbitter.
Lockyer 7 Back from International duty and had a steady controlled game.Whether or not I agree with him getting his place back straight away I can understand why DC does it and he let nobody down. Of course it could well have been that Broadbent and James Clarke were injured anyway and he had no choice.Whatever I would say that the Lockyer/Craig partnership has proved itself to be a good one and yesterday was no exception.Tom also went very close to scoring. One poor pass led to Ollie Clarke getting a stupid booking which really restriucted his game.
Craig 7 Solid,uncompromising and for me looks every inch the player we expected. His experience shines through and helped Bola out on a couple of occasions and generally cleared up well and vocally drove the team on. I would have him captain straight away although I suppose he does it anyway naturally.
Bola 6.5 A similar game to Partington with his defending not being quite as good but his attacking being slightly better and one super cross in the first half should have been finished off but for me we still need to find a striker who can lead the attack and also who attacks the ball as whatever standard of cross comes over we rarely look like scoring.Bola even managed to provide one cross that was probably worse than Partingtons efforts!!
Mensah 6 I see something there. Very raw but his close control with a bit of pace warrants more game time. Although everything he tried didn't come off at least he had the confidence to try it and was always looking to play the ball forward which of course is always going to lead to more stray passes. Could be a good signing as his confidence builds.
Lines 7 A hard working performance and always trying to get the team playing. Had three shots of note in the first half which was good to see and ice cool at the end with the penalty. On the negative side he should have done better with his clearance from the edge of the six yard box which presented Bury with the opening goal.
O. Clarke 6 Stupid booking early in the game and really that reflected in his performance and if we had an experienced midfielder on the bench I would have substituted him because an Ollie Clarke who cannot take a chance on winning a ball does not give much to the team and although he tried hard and did manage one cracking shot at goal in the first half I would say that half of his passes went to the opposition which was poor considering that he is nowhere near as creative as Lines and his game really is about making the straight forward passes to keep us in possession.For me he is well off his performances last season and I hope DC will be looking for a replacement next season if we are to be successful.
Bennett 8.5 What a signing! We have an exciting player who is confident on the ball with an eye for a pass and the ability to beat players which he did regularly yesterday. very unlucky with a fantastic dipping shot after several turns that looked a goal all the way but hit the underside of the bar and came out. He won the penalty that provided the late winning goal and throughout gave the Bury players a torrid time.He could really become a fans favourite and although he doesn't score the goals that Billy Bodin did he does provide ;for me; a greater involvement generally. Well done DC in signing him.
Nichols 6 Another none scoring performance however he did manage to get into positions that saw him have five or six attempts at goal which we have not seen previously and it was easy to see that if his overall form was good then with the confidence that would bring he would be capable of scoring goals and for that reason I feel that DC would be justified in persevering with him next season.
Harrison 6.5 Not his finest day by a long way but still a danger and still did enough work to justify his place. I'm still not sure if he is the natural "leader" of the attack or a player who should be playing alongside such a player because for me we just don't see him on the end of enough crosses.
Subs: Moore 7 Made a difference with his close control and ability to bring the ball forward. i very much hope that DC gives him another chance next season because he does have the ability to open up play and I would give him the last seven games on the right side as i feel he is the best option at the present time.
Telford 7.5 Took his goal excellently and I really feel that if his lack of chances means that we could sign him in the summer then he would be a risk worth taking.Whether Stoke will release him is another matter or whether his lack of opportunities may stop him wanting to come back. Dc works in a mysterious way and maybe this will be another ace in the pack.
Crowd 7 9,030 was a good crowd considering the fact that our Play Off chances are limited and the awful weather would have kept some away. It was a quieter Mem than usual but that could be down to the fact that it took us so long before we scored although i found the game exciting with some good moments of football that deserved the late goal.
Ref 6 An Ok performance. Got most things right although wasn't helped much by his linemen.
Bury 5 Should have been killed off in the first half as it was clear to see why they are where they are and I saw nothing to suggest that they have any chance of avoiding the drop. First double of the season and whilst they may question the penalty it was certainly a victory that we deserved.
DC Brilliant use of the squad and cannot fault in any way other than maybe could have brought Telford on earlier but we won and he scored so he got it right.
So we move on to another winnable game on Monday at Fleetwood although can't take it for granted because they have found their form recently and are on the up again after a disastrous middle of the season. that said it is another "Must win" game if we are to keep the interest going. It is very unlikely we will make the Play offs but much could depend on other results on Monday because if we could get the right result we would be left with four home games and only two away with possibly only being three or four points off the Play offs. Is a miracle on? Who knows because although it would take a miracle - with DC even that is possible. Keep on believing until it is impossible. UTG
To be honest i was quite excited by the fact that we had two wingers including a first start for Mensah and with Byron Moore on the bench the ability to change things if necessary. the one area we look a bit lightweight on is the midfield with the middle two picking themselves although we did have two youngsters Hargreaves and Russe on the bench which must encourage the rest of the Development squad to see members of their team getting into the squad.
We made a good start to the game and went close on several occasions and some of the football played was quick and exciting although half time was reached with no goals. There were some bright moments from both wingers and some delightful one touch football and I could not agree with some around me who thought we were poor. There are some people who only see a game based on goals scored and are very keen to pick up on the poor moments such as slack passing which we were guilty of at times rather than the moments where all we lacked was the final pass or finish. IMO the second half was not as good and we again conceded a poor goal following a poor Lines clearance which in fact spurred us on to yet again snatch victory from defeat. DC referred to the number of points we have taken from positions we have been behind as the best in all four divisions.
Slocombe 7.5 Wonderful save to keep out a close range volley in the first half and dealt comfortably with a couple of awkward crosses. Distribution was sound,quick and precise both kicking and more often throwing out. This aspect of his game for me makes him our number 1 keeper.
Partington 6.5 Solid defensively and always looking to provide an outlet and combined attack and defence well but my,oh my his crosses were overall dreadful which was unusual for him because if anything I would say the standard of his crosses was generally better than Leadbitter.
Lockyer 7 Back from International duty and had a steady controlled game.Whether or not I agree with him getting his place back straight away I can understand why DC does it and he let nobody down. Of course it could well have been that Broadbent and James Clarke were injured anyway and he had no choice.Whatever I would say that the Lockyer/Craig partnership has proved itself to be a good one and yesterday was no exception.Tom also went very close to scoring. One poor pass led to Ollie Clarke getting a stupid booking which really restriucted his game.
Craig 7 Solid,uncompromising and for me looks every inch the player we expected. His experience shines through and helped Bola out on a couple of occasions and generally cleared up well and vocally drove the team on. I would have him captain straight away although I suppose he does it anyway naturally.
Bola 6.5 A similar game to Partington with his defending not being quite as good but his attacking being slightly better and one super cross in the first half should have been finished off but for me we still need to find a striker who can lead the attack and also who attacks the ball as whatever standard of cross comes over we rarely look like scoring.Bola even managed to provide one cross that was probably worse than Partingtons efforts!!
Mensah 6 I see something there. Very raw but his close control with a bit of pace warrants more game time. Although everything he tried didn't come off at least he had the confidence to try it and was always looking to play the ball forward which of course is always going to lead to more stray passes. Could be a good signing as his confidence builds.
Lines 7 A hard working performance and always trying to get the team playing. Had three shots of note in the first half which was good to see and ice cool at the end with the penalty. On the negative side he should have done better with his clearance from the edge of the six yard box which presented Bury with the opening goal.
O. Clarke 6 Stupid booking early in the game and really that reflected in his performance and if we had an experienced midfielder on the bench I would have substituted him because an Ollie Clarke who cannot take a chance on winning a ball does not give much to the team and although he tried hard and did manage one cracking shot at goal in the first half I would say that half of his passes went to the opposition which was poor considering that he is nowhere near as creative as Lines and his game really is about making the straight forward passes to keep us in possession.For me he is well off his performances last season and I hope DC will be looking for a replacement next season if we are to be successful.
Bennett 8.5 What a signing! We have an exciting player who is confident on the ball with an eye for a pass and the ability to beat players which he did regularly yesterday. very unlucky with a fantastic dipping shot after several turns that looked a goal all the way but hit the underside of the bar and came out. He won the penalty that provided the late winning goal and throughout gave the Bury players a torrid time.He could really become a fans favourite and although he doesn't score the goals that Billy Bodin did he does provide ;for me; a greater involvement generally. Well done DC in signing him.
Nichols 6 Another none scoring performance however he did manage to get into positions that saw him have five or six attempts at goal which we have not seen previously and it was easy to see that if his overall form was good then with the confidence that would bring he would be capable of scoring goals and for that reason I feel that DC would be justified in persevering with him next season.
Harrison 6.5 Not his finest day by a long way but still a danger and still did enough work to justify his place. I'm still not sure if he is the natural "leader" of the attack or a player who should be playing alongside such a player because for me we just don't see him on the end of enough crosses.
Subs: Moore 7 Made a difference with his close control and ability to bring the ball forward. i very much hope that DC gives him another chance next season because he does have the ability to open up play and I would give him the last seven games on the right side as i feel he is the best option at the present time.
Telford 7.5 Took his goal excellently and I really feel that if his lack of chances means that we could sign him in the summer then he would be a risk worth taking.Whether Stoke will release him is another matter or whether his lack of opportunities may stop him wanting to come back. Dc works in a mysterious way and maybe this will be another ace in the pack.
Crowd 7 9,030 was a good crowd considering the fact that our Play Off chances are limited and the awful weather would have kept some away. It was a quieter Mem than usual but that could be down to the fact that it took us so long before we scored although i found the game exciting with some good moments of football that deserved the late goal.
Ref 6 An Ok performance. Got most things right although wasn't helped much by his linemen.
Bury 5 Should have been killed off in the first half as it was clear to see why they are where they are and I saw nothing to suggest that they have any chance of avoiding the drop. First double of the season and whilst they may question the penalty it was certainly a victory that we deserved.
DC Brilliant use of the squad and cannot fault in any way other than maybe could have brought Telford on earlier but we won and he scored so he got it right.
So we move on to another winnable game on Monday at Fleetwood although can't take it for granted because they have found their form recently and are on the up again after a disastrous middle of the season. that said it is another "Must win" game if we are to keep the interest going. It is very unlikely we will make the Play offs but much could depend on other results on Monday because if we could get the right result we would be left with four home games and only two away with possibly only being three or four points off the Play offs. Is a miracle on? Who knows because although it would take a miracle - with DC even that is possible. Keep on believing until it is impossible. UTG
