Match Report

More excellent Match Pictures from Andrew Thomas.

This was a great 'winning ugly' performance from the boys today. They dug deep and competed hard in all areas of the pitch in very dificult conditions (swirling wind, blustery rain, freezing cold, homer ref).

For the first twenty minutes, I thought we were going to be swamped, but we fought hard and defended really well, throwing bodies in the way of shots, plus one great save low down by Doris to keep us in it.

We only managed one attempt on goal in the first half an hour or so, a close in shot by Lawrence which went over the bar following a free kick, but in the last five minutes of the half we started to get on top and had two chances to go in one up (shots from Painter, believe it or not, and Pratley), but both were saved.

In the second half the game opened up and we began to wear them down, although they created a few chances of their own which they squandered through bad finishing. With 15 minutes or so to go, the ball was fed out to Robinson on the left just outside the area.

He'd done nothing all game, but he took on the full back, got almost to the byline and lashed in a hard, low shot-cum-cross which apparently was deflected into their goal by a defender, but from where we were, it looked to have gone straight in at the far post.

Cue pandemonium! For the next quarter of an hour, chants rang out from the travelling Jacks including "There's only one Steve McClaren", "England's Staying Home" and "Are You England in Disguise", much to the fury of the hundred or so Burberry clad chavs in the side stands flush against the away end. We survived one or two scares and Doris got booked for lingering over a goal kick, but once that ball hit the back of the net, you felt the three points were ours, in what had been a tight game that one goal was always going to settle.

Player ratings:

Doris 8 - two super saves, all round top performance.
Painter 7 - getting back to his competitive best and managed one foray upfield which ended with a good shot on target.
Monk 8.5 - simply outstanding captain's performance, pretty much kept Greenacre under wraps.
Lawrence 7 - very competent and competitive showing, only caught in possession once late on to put us under pressure, one great interception in midfield which resulted in him coming on -and on -and on almost to the penalty area, to cries of "Shoot!".
Rangel 6.5 - solid, not spectacular but did his job.
Robinson 6 - giving him extra point for goal, in truth a pretty lacklustre performance by his standards.
Pratley 8.5 - superb tireless and energetic display but for some reason the ref had it in for him, booked him for a couple of mis-timed but innocuous challenges and Martinez took him off before he was sent off.
Bodde 7.5 - good hard-working performance, won a lot of ball, got stuck in where it hurts, sprayed the ball around.
Anderson 6.5 - very closely marked, they'd done their homework, but still caused problems with his pace and trickery in second half. Poor corner taking.
Scotland 6.5 - carried on where he left off against Huddersfield in first half, i.e. a yard off the pace of the game, ineffectual, but came to life after half time (cup of ganja tea?). Strted to hold ball up well and bring others into game, one great move on edge of area to earn a yard for a shot which the keeper smothered.
Feeney 6 - did a reasonable targetman job in the first half but found himself in space in dangerous positions twice, only to wildly overhit the ball when a decent pass would have resulted in goals. A bit of a donkey in all honesty, hauled off after sixty minutes, presumably jet lagged.
Subs:

Bauza 6 - put himself about, worked hard and almost earned himself a goal by catching out a dozy defender dwelling on the ball on the edge of theare; their keeper turned his shot over the bar.
Britton 7 - introduced some craft and guile into our attack and looked fresh and sparky.
Orlandi - not on long enough.


Management team 9 - obviously motivated the team and made subs at the right time. This was a great reward for a long journey into the wet and miserable North. Can we now PLEASE put in a good home performance next Tuesday?

Tranmere 0 Swansea 1 - Soccernet

A late own goal was enough for Swansea to record their sixth away League One success of the season at Tranmere.

Steven Jennings was unlucky to turn an Andy Robinson cross into his own net in the 81st minute.

There was never much between these sides and the better chances fell to the Merseysiders.

But City goalkeeper Dorus De Vries made important saves from Antony Kay and Gareth Taylor in the opening half and continued to frustrate the Merseysiders later.

Substitutes Calvin Zola, Chris Greenacre, Ian Goodison and Shane Sherriff all wasted gilt-edged opportunities for Rovers as they fell to their third home reverse.

It took the visitors 40 minutes before they brought a save from home keeper Danny Coyne but as they warmed to their task after the break, Jason Scotland and substitute Guillem Bauza brought excellent stops from Coyne.

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