[ Tue 26th Mar] v Rothwell Corinthians, KO 7:45pm UCL1 HOME

[FOOTYMAN]

[quote="BartonRaz"]The simple fact is if we play like that on Saturday we'll lose. It wasn't that bad but we're going to have to up it considerably if we want to take anything off Oadby. We held on by the skin of our teeth however we were the better side and deserved the win. Job done in that respect.

I agree. It wasn't a convincing performance and I thought Gilly should have started at Centre back with Parky, to continue the understanding of the defence, going into the biggest game of the season, and he has a bit of pace about him. Although we had 10 men at the finish, they nearly nicked a point, which would have killed our hopes of topping the league.
I just hope Starms has enough faith in the team he put out tonight. Although I suspect a couple of changes coming up for Saturday, Sam may unfotunately be one of them. Hope he recovers fully.

COYD

[Bobos]

Best of luck Sam, hope to see you back soon.
Disappointing performance, but 3 points is 3 points. The ref was awful and we've got him again on saturday :?

[SouthRushdenJFC]

I hope Sam's injury is not too serious.

Well done to the crowd who endured that last night, and the players for keeping going and still trying to play football although nothing was working and it was freezing cold.

We can all say "he was rubbish", "he shouldn't be on the pitch" and so on but we must remember that these lads will have been at work all day so can't always turn it on like a tap.

They will know that they didn't perform and Saturday will be a different story.

[Formic]

I didn't think the referee was having too bad a game until the Sam Brown incident - perhaps a bit over fussy on where throw-ins were taken, but we gave the ref at Sileby stick for having the opposite policy. The ref was also ready to explain his decision after the game, which was commendable, and if you don't see an incident properly you can't just make a decision based on how bad the injury is - as we saw in the Sunderland v Wigan game.

Similarly, whilst I'd agree one of the offside decisions was clearly wrong (although others were criticised despite being correct), as Sam Brown was clearly onside when he ran onto a chip forwards, but he and Deven Elwood were a long way from the official and at that distance its not so easy to spot that Elwood wasn't close enough to the ball to be interfering with play.

Sam Brown's tweets overnight suggest the injury might not be as bad as first feared.

[bozzer]

looking at the video this morning it was a shocking challenge, I don't think it was intentional at all but he went right over the ball and just really got Sams legs, how the lino didn't see it i'll never know

[UttoDiamond]

To be fair I thought the young girl doing the line did OK actually, its difficult to judge offsides from the terrace, and like Formic, I agree she probably only got the Sam Brown one wrong.

The only thing I got annoyed about was some immature chanting aimed at her towards the end of the second half. We need to encourage more young officials of any gender into the game, and hopefully she will go onto better things and not be put off.

Regarding the rest of the game we were coasting really, not out of second gear. At the end of the day three points is three points and we keep the pressure on at the top.

Positives from the game include Lance's performance - was my MOM, and thought Dev and Ben played well when they came on.

Negatives - Brownie's injury (defo out Saturday), Alfie and Jake's form - Jake in particular looks out of nick.

[rushdenman]

I think we at least match or better the other top teams in almost every respect except the critical areas of finishing and decision making with the final ball.
There were several occasions again last night where either the final shot was poorly directed or the option of a pass to a better placed colleague was ignored. Both Newman and Taylor are guilty in this respect, and I am still to be convinced that that compliment each other as well as they might.

[Trek]

Both Newman and Taylor are guilty in this respect, and I am still to be convinced that that compliment each other as well as they might.

I think you are right and I bet if you asked those two I should imagine that they would also agree with you. Alfie seems to play better when paired with Dev and Jake also seems more comfortable with Ben.
A problem for the management.

[BartonRaz]

Some interesting points re: Jake & Alfie. I agree with many of them.

Alfie hasn't been the same player since his return from injury, and Jake hasn't been the same player since Alfie returned. It's quite weird. Jake plays better with Ben, and Alfie plays better with Dev. I'm not sure what i'd choose.

Despite having two exceptional strikers at this level (ignoring the fact they don't seem capable of playing together) it's a shame that we're not scoring the goals the other top sides are and this might actually cost us in the end if it comes down to goal difference.

[Formic]

Some interesting points re: Jake & Alfie. I agree with many of them.

Alfie hasn't been the same player since his return from injury, and Jake hasn't been the same player since Alfie returned. It's quite weird. Jake plays better with Ben, and Alfie plays better with Dev. I'm not sure what i'd choose.

Despite having two exceptional strikers at this level (ignoring the fact they don't seem capable of playing together) it's a shame that we're not scoring the goals the other top sides are and this might actually cost us in the end if it comes down to goal difference.

I agree. I thought last night's game might have been a good opportunity to try either of those combinations again - neither Dev nor Ben have had much of an opportunity lately (apart from that odd game against Olney when we tried Dev in a 4-3-3 with Jake and Alfie).

We seem to be scraping narrow victories at home recently (Olney, Potton, Rothwell) and we all know the risk of a late goal wrecking our league position after what happened against Sileby - so I think it might cost us more than just our goal difference.