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...conceded a goal in the first half of a league game since OCTOBER, when we beat Tamworth 3-2.


I thought this deserved its own thread because it's such a damn long time!



I am aware I've jinxed us now, and I'll take the blame for any first half goals we concede on Saturday. ;)

First half goals, second half goals, yellow cards, missed tackles.... :twisted:

Another great stat is that we've only conceded 3 goals in 10 games! And looking at those goals, 2 of them were when we were cruising at 4-0 and 6-0 and the other was because of an pathetic refereeing decision, the defence (and Dale of course) really have been outstanding in 2010

And to think some were questioning getting rid of Abbey. ;)

Olly wrote:Another great stat is that we've only conceded 3 goals in 10 games! And looking at those goals, 2 of them were when we were cruising at 4-0 and 6-0 and the other was because of an pathetic refereeing decision, the defence (and Dale of course) really have been outstanding in 2010

We have only conceded 1 goal (the disputed Oxford penalty) in the last 7 games. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of saves in anger that Dale has needed to make in those games which is a testament to the players in front of him.

You can expect us to concede at least 2 silly goals tomorrow now :oops:

10 league games played in 2010 so far, 18 goals scored, 3 conceded and just that scabby Oxford penalty in 7 games - impressive !!

However, my concerns are more up-front, we're not scoring. Great run of results, but just 3 goals in the last 5 games, before that we were scoring for fun !!! The run-in is not the time to dry up on the scoring front, thats my only concern. 1-0 wins against Tamworth and Histonm do little to boost my optimism as we look towards the Oxford, AFC Dons, scum and Crawley games.

Tomorrow and next Saturday we a great chance to build confidence and add some to the goals for column of the table before the real business starts, I'll be watching with interest to see who looks the most keen up-front. Time for certain players to step up to the mark and bring their shooting/scoring boots with them...................if they want to progress in their careers at a higher level come the summer of course ;)

I forgot to add, we need to guard against complacency tomorrow:

6th February - Blue Square Premier Mansfield 0-2 Gateshead

................and a certain Mr Clare will be keen to "do one" on us tomorrow !!!!

PigmanRDFC wrote: However, my concerns are more up-front, we're not scoring.

Agreed - although we have scored 54 goals in all league games, 17 came in 3 of them (in other words we are not consistent). Hopefully, a fully fit Tomlin will make a difference but we do need to convert more opportunities if we are to stay in the running. York and K*ttering face tough games tomorrow so we have a great chance to cement our place in the play off positions.

Turveyman wrote:

PigmanRDFC wrote: However, my concerns are more up-front, we're not scoring.

Agreed - although we have scored 54 goals in all league games, 17 came in 3 of them (in other words we are not consistent). Hopefully, a fully fit Tomlin will make a difference but we do need to convert more opportunities if we are to stay in the running. York and K*ttering face tough games tomorrow so we have a great chance to cement our place in the play off positions.

I'd agree with that too. We missed three or four "sitters" against Tamworth, despite not playing well, and had Dale and Robbo not combined to keep out the Tamworth chance early in the second half we could easily have been fighting for an equaliser. JE will have to pick his starting strikeforce to reflect our opponents in the next few games - Jeff was a good choice at Histon, but didn't really do the job against Tamworth, whereas I think Craig Farrell would have got a better return there - and I think he will be a good choice at Alty too. Aaron O'Connor is working really hard for the team, and profits when Tommo is playing well, but whether he'll be able to keep that up when we go into the intense period of seven games in four weeks I'm not too sure. Sam Smith looked a good option as sub at Tamworth, whereas Cliff Akurang didn't impress against Histon or K*ttering when he came on.

The first half no goals conceded record still stands strongly.