Post by stevek192 on Apr 3, 2018 9:03:17 GMT
After another torturous journey for a Bank Holiday with the FA showing no real thoughts for fans it was a bleak north seaside resort that welcomed the Gas Army with over 500 braving the weather in what was a really small crowd of around 2800. The Team Sheet brought little in the way of surprises other than the return of Lee Brown after a long absence although I am sure the main talking point amongst Gashead's was the preference shown by DC of Nicholl's over Telford but we needn't have worried as the "injury crisis" which seems to have hit the club recently worsened as Nicholls suffered what looked a nasty back injury before the kick off and was helped off the pitch with no chance of playing any part in the game.
The game itself hinged on the sending off because until that point we had shaded affairs with our fair share of possession and if anything looked more dangerous than opposition who themselves are probably one of the form teams in the division. I would say this is based on teamwork and organisation rather than being a particularly attractive team to watch and brawn over brain would be a good description. As is often the case in this division the physical side seem to be the ones who get the decisions from officials who are less than competent in general.
Slocombe 6 Made a good stop from a free kick in the first half but in all honesty had very little to do. Could he have done better on both goals? Possibly on looking at the replays but I have a feeling that is harsh.
Partington 7 Reasonable performance until his injury cut short his afternoon. We seem to be losing full backs every game and whilst we welcomed back Lee Brown after a long lay off we will probably now be missing Partington for a few games to add to James Clarke and Daniel Leadbitter.
Lockyer 5.5 Looked like he was badly at fault for both goals - the first where he seemed in no mans land and the second a very poor header but both were after he had changed to right back and of course when we were down to 10 men.
Craig 7 The odd mistake but generally sound and not helped by the changes that were brought on by necessity.
Brown 7 MOM Good to see him back and made him Man of the Match becuase he probably shaded it over the other players I have given a 7. In truth nobody really excelled and this very winnable game became another missed opportunity following Lines totally unnecessary double booking. Lee provided a steady out let whole game and put over some decent crosses against a team who have built a wall of a defence similar to Bristol City with three giants.
.
Moore 7 Liked what I saw from him in what was a very hard working display with some good moments of close control and ability to make space for himself. I would be inclined to give him another years contract as he at last looks like a player who has something to offer.
Lines 3 What can be said other than he definitely cost us the game with his stupidity. yes it should have been our free kick which both Referee and Linesman got wrong but was that decision really worth argueing over? Was it really Chris's job to be involved as he was not involved in the incident and should have been the Captain complaining if anyone. It was such a finely balanced game that even a useless referee with previous against us this season should have been ignored. It was very much a case of hero to villain in a couple of days and with no real replacement available with all the injuries we have it really was a case where we could totally do without a suspension.
O. Clarke 6 Just doesn't do enough for me and once Lines was gone it left us so short of creativity in the middle and relying on hard work over skill on the ball.One good shot a game is just not enough and although i thought last season he had finally turned the corner this season has been a big struggle fort him to find his form.
Bennett 6.5 Busy performance. Lots of trickery and looking to make things happen but unfortunately yesterday they generally didn't happen and weren't going to happen once the Referee's or Line's action unbalanced the sides. I am sure we have an excellent player here who is capable of being a more than adequate replacement for Bodin. His confidence on the ball and ability with both feet kept the home sides defence busy all game and he looked the most likely creator of anything.
Telford 6 Unlucky to be substituted but had to be sacrificed for Lines stupidity. Ended up starting the game due to Nicholls late back injury in the pre match preparations and did ok. IMO he should have been starting anyway but it was a tough assignment against a defence that i believe made it four or five clean sheets on the trot.
Harrison 7 A very tough game against strong,physical opponents who were up for the fight. He worked hard throughout but must have looked jealously at opponents strikers who can just stay up front and do their jobs whilst he seems to have the world on his shoulders. How different the result may have been had his excellent dipping shot brought a deserved goal rather than coming back off the crossbar when the score was still nil-nil.
Subs:
Sweeney 5 Looked very much like a player who has been out of the limelight this season and a mistake waiting to happen
Russe 5.5 Did all that could be asked of him and shows promise. plays the game simply and is economic with the ball but it was always going to be a struggle once the sides were uneven. Certainly one for the future and would like to see him in a game where we have a fair chance of doing well.
Gaffney 5 Did just OK in a short appearance.
Crowd 6 Good numbers but pretty quiet overall which isn't surprising in the circumstances. I don't like blaming officials but this season we just haven't had the rub of the green and I get the feeling there is a bit of a "North v South" ethic in the protection we have received but perhaps it is just the standard of refereeing is so poor that it just looks that way. The tackle that received a yellow card fully warranted a red IMO if there was any consistency in decisions. Lines probably told the referee the same as we were all thinking but we are in the position to do it and get away with it.
Ref 4 Make no mistake he has cost us six points this season with his total incompetance and i won't lose a nights sleep if I never see him again.
Fleetwood 6 A well organised side that are built around a huge back line and another giant in the midfield. The aerial dominance cried out for clever ground play and use of pace and craft but although I thought we were "ahead on points" at the time of the sending off we did not really look like scoring other than the Ellis strike that hit the underside of the bar. Both goals were well taken but it was another case of individual errors costing us the match and Lines stupidity was the worse error.
DC Was it another case of we should have shut up shop following the sending off and just seen out the point? I can fully understand that anything less than a victory was no good whatsoever to us and in all honesty we just aren't good enough anyway to pick up enough points from a very difficult remaining fixture list to stay in the running for the Play Offs and as DC pointed out with nine injuries plus a suspension we now have no chance.. The plus now is that we may see a few Development squad players given a chance. As regards the Team Selection I can't really justify the continued selection of Nicholls over Telford but that didn't matter anyway as Nicholls back injury saw him leave the field before the game had started.
The injury list is almost certainly going to bring an end to this seasons "tinkering" as we could well be without Partington, Sinclair, James Clarke, Sercombe, Leadbitter, Broadbent ,Bola, Nichols and of course Lines for the home game with Charlton to the extent that our chances of a better finish than last season looks very unlikely in what is becoming a very difficult end to the season. It is close to a crisis for selection and we can be grateful that we have managed to rack up the points we have since Christmas because with the present "numbers" a relegation fight could have been one step too many for the walking wounded. UTG
The game itself hinged on the sending off because until that point we had shaded affairs with our fair share of possession and if anything looked more dangerous than opposition who themselves are probably one of the form teams in the division. I would say this is based on teamwork and organisation rather than being a particularly attractive team to watch and brawn over brain would be a good description. As is often the case in this division the physical side seem to be the ones who get the decisions from officials who are less than competent in general.
Slocombe 6 Made a good stop from a free kick in the first half but in all honesty had very little to do. Could he have done better on both goals? Possibly on looking at the replays but I have a feeling that is harsh.
Partington 7 Reasonable performance until his injury cut short his afternoon. We seem to be losing full backs every game and whilst we welcomed back Lee Brown after a long lay off we will probably now be missing Partington for a few games to add to James Clarke and Daniel Leadbitter.
Lockyer 5.5 Looked like he was badly at fault for both goals - the first where he seemed in no mans land and the second a very poor header but both were after he had changed to right back and of course when we were down to 10 men.
Craig 7 The odd mistake but generally sound and not helped by the changes that were brought on by necessity.
Brown 7 MOM Good to see him back and made him Man of the Match becuase he probably shaded it over the other players I have given a 7. In truth nobody really excelled and this very winnable game became another missed opportunity following Lines totally unnecessary double booking. Lee provided a steady out let whole game and put over some decent crosses against a team who have built a wall of a defence similar to Bristol City with three giants.
.
Moore 7 Liked what I saw from him in what was a very hard working display with some good moments of close control and ability to make space for himself. I would be inclined to give him another years contract as he at last looks like a player who has something to offer.
Lines 3 What can be said other than he definitely cost us the game with his stupidity. yes it should have been our free kick which both Referee and Linesman got wrong but was that decision really worth argueing over? Was it really Chris's job to be involved as he was not involved in the incident and should have been the Captain complaining if anyone. It was such a finely balanced game that even a useless referee with previous against us this season should have been ignored. It was very much a case of hero to villain in a couple of days and with no real replacement available with all the injuries we have it really was a case where we could totally do without a suspension.
O. Clarke 6 Just doesn't do enough for me and once Lines was gone it left us so short of creativity in the middle and relying on hard work over skill on the ball.One good shot a game is just not enough and although i thought last season he had finally turned the corner this season has been a big struggle fort him to find his form.
Bennett 6.5 Busy performance. Lots of trickery and looking to make things happen but unfortunately yesterday they generally didn't happen and weren't going to happen once the Referee's or Line's action unbalanced the sides. I am sure we have an excellent player here who is capable of being a more than adequate replacement for Bodin. His confidence on the ball and ability with both feet kept the home sides defence busy all game and he looked the most likely creator of anything.
Telford 6 Unlucky to be substituted but had to be sacrificed for Lines stupidity. Ended up starting the game due to Nicholls late back injury in the pre match preparations and did ok. IMO he should have been starting anyway but it was a tough assignment against a defence that i believe made it four or five clean sheets on the trot.
Harrison 7 A very tough game against strong,physical opponents who were up for the fight. He worked hard throughout but must have looked jealously at opponents strikers who can just stay up front and do their jobs whilst he seems to have the world on his shoulders. How different the result may have been had his excellent dipping shot brought a deserved goal rather than coming back off the crossbar when the score was still nil-nil.
Subs:
Sweeney 5 Looked very much like a player who has been out of the limelight this season and a mistake waiting to happen
Russe 5.5 Did all that could be asked of him and shows promise. plays the game simply and is economic with the ball but it was always going to be a struggle once the sides were uneven. Certainly one for the future and would like to see him in a game where we have a fair chance of doing well.
Gaffney 5 Did just OK in a short appearance.
Crowd 6 Good numbers but pretty quiet overall which isn't surprising in the circumstances. I don't like blaming officials but this season we just haven't had the rub of the green and I get the feeling there is a bit of a "North v South" ethic in the protection we have received but perhaps it is just the standard of refereeing is so poor that it just looks that way. The tackle that received a yellow card fully warranted a red IMO if there was any consistency in decisions. Lines probably told the referee the same as we were all thinking but we are in the position to do it and get away with it.
Ref 4 Make no mistake he has cost us six points this season with his total incompetance and i won't lose a nights sleep if I never see him again.
Fleetwood 6 A well organised side that are built around a huge back line and another giant in the midfield. The aerial dominance cried out for clever ground play and use of pace and craft but although I thought we were "ahead on points" at the time of the sending off we did not really look like scoring other than the Ellis strike that hit the underside of the bar. Both goals were well taken but it was another case of individual errors costing us the match and Lines stupidity was the worse error.
DC Was it another case of we should have shut up shop following the sending off and just seen out the point? I can fully understand that anything less than a victory was no good whatsoever to us and in all honesty we just aren't good enough anyway to pick up enough points from a very difficult remaining fixture list to stay in the running for the Play Offs and as DC pointed out with nine injuries plus a suspension we now have no chance.. The plus now is that we may see a few Development squad players given a chance. As regards the Team Selection I can't really justify the continued selection of Nicholls over Telford but that didn't matter anyway as Nicholls back injury saw him leave the field before the game had started.
The injury list is almost certainly going to bring an end to this seasons "tinkering" as we could well be without Partington, Sinclair, James Clarke, Sercombe, Leadbitter, Broadbent ,Bola, Nichols and of course Lines for the home game with Charlton to the extent that our chances of a better finish than last season looks very unlikely in what is becoming a very difficult end to the season. It is close to a crisis for selection and we can be grateful that we have managed to rack up the points we have since Christmas because with the present "numbers" a relegation fight could have been one step too many for the walking wounded. UTG
