Post by hatter_in_macc on Jan 24, 2016 0:46:57 GMT
My take, for COWS, on the afternoon's events at Cheltenham follows.
Done a little in haste after arriving home. Revision now beckons for those late-January exams...
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GLOUCESTER CITY v COUNTY: MATCH REPORT (23/01/2016)
By Hatter in Macc
A Game To Glos(s) Over, But A Well-Deserved Point!
A classic it was not, but the Hatters were good value for their draw against a team that had hitherto enjoyed nothing but victories since the turn of the year - and had won five of its last six matches in the Vanarama National League North.
The point gained against the ‘Tigers’ of Gloucester, who had beaten County on both of the two previous occasions when the two sides met at Cheltenham’s Whaddon Road - or the World of Smile Stadium, if you will (although many of you probably won’t...) - also represented a pleasing start for Jim Gannon in his third spell managing the Hatters.
And a fine turnout from a vocal County Faithful contingent, making up some 40 per cent of the total crowd, was there to greet Gannon for what was his first League match back in charge.
The returning boss made two changes to the starting line-up that had taken to the field in the Cheshire Senior Cup at Congleton four days earlier, just following confirmation of his appointment. Dean Henderson was handed back the goalkeeping gloves in preference to Ian Ormson, while Karl Ledsham replaced Kay Odejayi - with both Ormson and Odejayi being named among the substitutes.
As it happened, the 4-3-3 formation selected to start at Cheltenham was also different in a pair of respects from the side that kicked off County’s most recent League match, against Nuneaton, a week previously. Gareth Roberts and Kevin Holsgrove were there instead of Jamie Menagh (also now on the bench) and the injured Joe Garvin. The match was to mark Holsgrove’s League debut in a County shirt, almost seven months to the day since his arrival at Edgeley Park.
Whilst it was a dry, and relatively mild, afternoon in Gloucestershire, the area had endured more severe weather earlier in the week - with Cheltenham’s last home fixture having been called off, due to frost, as recently as Wednesday - and the Whaddon Road pitch looked to be cutting up in places.
A recipe for casualty? Well, one of some note was to occur - albeit just beyond the actual playing environs...
After just eight minutes, the Assistant Referee on the ground’s far side pulled up injured, and, in spite of treatment, was unable to continue. With no Fourth Officials attending matches at this level, play was suspended as a call went out for anybody in attendance who might be appropriately qualified to run the line. One such person thankfully made himself known without further ado, and was taken to be kitted out while the teams had time for a breather - as well as, for County’s players, a pitch-side briefing from the new Manager.
For all that, the interruption, which lasted well over ten minutes, did not exactly do wonders for the momentum of the game - although, if anything, the Hatters, in their turquoise change-kit, looked the better side for much of the remainder of the half. John Marsden created the contest’s inaugural chance by skipping past Billy Jones and chipping just wide of the left post. And the same upright was narrowly missed when Menagh, a couple of minutes after replacing Glenn Rule, sent across a free kick from the right - with which Sean O’Hanlon could not quite properly connect.
Added time was destined to be the size of Canada, in view of the linesman’s injury. And so it transpired, when a whopping eleven minutes of it were announced. During the ninth, the hosts were to create their first and only opportunity of the half, when a free kick into the County box found Luke Hopper. The striker, who, a little earlier, was thwarted in a chase to the ball by Henderson after being played through, now turned deftly before unleashing a shot of no little venom from ten yards out - but the Hatters’ loan-‘keeper dived at full stretch and parried the effort away to deny Hopper again.
And so it came to pass that Hopper was denied what would have been a rare privilege, for him - or, indeed, any footballer - of appearing in the records as a goalscorer, with ’45 + 9’ alongside his name...
HALF-TIME: Gloucester 0, County 0.
If they had been pussycats for the most part ahead of the break, the hosts began the second half rather more in keeping with their nickname. Not exactly uncaged Tigers, granted - but a tad more menacing, and with slightly sharper teeth, than before, as they forced a quartet of corners inside the first fifteen minutes following the interval.
From the fourth of these corners, a flick on by Jones was to shave the crossbar. And, subsequently, Lewis Hall caused the hearts of Hatters to miss a beat when he dispossessed Menagh and advanced towards County’s box - although his eventual shot lacked pace, and was comfortably gathered by Henderson.
The Hatters defence, however, stood firm to weather this early storm. For good measure, Danny Morton played his part with a broken thumb - causing Hatters and himself alike to wince every time he took a throw-in - and Chris Smalley did so after shaving off his beard.
Free kicks for each team proved to be near-carbon copies of each other, as Menagh’s, from the right, was met by a diving Odejayi who headed just over, before Obi Anoruo - an old nemesis of County’s from his Colwyn Bay days - did likewise at the other end.
With three minutes of normal time remaining, County had the last - and, arguably, the best - chance of the afternoon, when Gloucester failed to clear. The ball fell to Menagah, towards the left of the home goal, but the winger’s attempt was lofted clear of the bar.
Three was also the number shown on the board by way of confirming further time added on - thereby ensuring that the game would be done and dusted after around 104 minutes. Still, of course, some considerable way short of the 203-minute record-breaking saga that Stopfordians witnessed at EP, in pre-floodlight times, almost seventy years ago, when only bad light was able to prevent County and Doncaster from concluding their Third Division North Cup replay!
Mind you, we had a lot further to travel home afterwards than our 1946 forbears did...!
FULL TIME: Gloucester 0, County 0.
Team: Henderson, Morton, Roberts, Montrose, O’Hanlon, Smalley, Holsgrove (Odejayi, 56), Rule (Menagh, 39), Brewster, Marsden, Ledsham.
Unused Subs: Ormson, Connolly, Tonge.
Booked: O’Hanlon.
Attendance: 791 (327 representing The Twelfth Man).
Done a little in haste after arriving home. Revision now beckons for those late-January exams...
*****************************************************************************************************
GLOUCESTER CITY v COUNTY: MATCH REPORT (23/01/2016)
By Hatter in Macc
A Game To Glos(s) Over, But A Well-Deserved Point!
A classic it was not, but the Hatters were good value for their draw against a team that had hitherto enjoyed nothing but victories since the turn of the year - and had won five of its last six matches in the Vanarama National League North.
The point gained against the ‘Tigers’ of Gloucester, who had beaten County on both of the two previous occasions when the two sides met at Cheltenham’s Whaddon Road - or the World of Smile Stadium, if you will (although many of you probably won’t...) - also represented a pleasing start for Jim Gannon in his third spell managing the Hatters.
And a fine turnout from a vocal County Faithful contingent, making up some 40 per cent of the total crowd, was there to greet Gannon for what was his first League match back in charge.
The returning boss made two changes to the starting line-up that had taken to the field in the Cheshire Senior Cup at Congleton four days earlier, just following confirmation of his appointment. Dean Henderson was handed back the goalkeeping gloves in preference to Ian Ormson, while Karl Ledsham replaced Kay Odejayi - with both Ormson and Odejayi being named among the substitutes.
As it happened, the 4-3-3 formation selected to start at Cheltenham was also different in a pair of respects from the side that kicked off County’s most recent League match, against Nuneaton, a week previously. Gareth Roberts and Kevin Holsgrove were there instead of Jamie Menagh (also now on the bench) and the injured Joe Garvin. The match was to mark Holsgrove’s League debut in a County shirt, almost seven months to the day since his arrival at Edgeley Park.
Whilst it was a dry, and relatively mild, afternoon in Gloucestershire, the area had endured more severe weather earlier in the week - with Cheltenham’s last home fixture having been called off, due to frost, as recently as Wednesday - and the Whaddon Road pitch looked to be cutting up in places.
A recipe for casualty? Well, one of some note was to occur - albeit just beyond the actual playing environs...
After just eight minutes, the Assistant Referee on the ground’s far side pulled up injured, and, in spite of treatment, was unable to continue. With no Fourth Officials attending matches at this level, play was suspended as a call went out for anybody in attendance who might be appropriately qualified to run the line. One such person thankfully made himself known without further ado, and was taken to be kitted out while the teams had time for a breather - as well as, for County’s players, a pitch-side briefing from the new Manager.
For all that, the interruption, which lasted well over ten minutes, did not exactly do wonders for the momentum of the game - although, if anything, the Hatters, in their turquoise change-kit, looked the better side for much of the remainder of the half. John Marsden created the contest’s inaugural chance by skipping past Billy Jones and chipping just wide of the left post. And the same upright was narrowly missed when Menagh, a couple of minutes after replacing Glenn Rule, sent across a free kick from the right - with which Sean O’Hanlon could not quite properly connect.
Added time was destined to be the size of Canada, in view of the linesman’s injury. And so it transpired, when a whopping eleven minutes of it were announced. During the ninth, the hosts were to create their first and only opportunity of the half, when a free kick into the County box found Luke Hopper. The striker, who, a little earlier, was thwarted in a chase to the ball by Henderson after being played through, now turned deftly before unleashing a shot of no little venom from ten yards out - but the Hatters’ loan-‘keeper dived at full stretch and parried the effort away to deny Hopper again.
And so it came to pass that Hopper was denied what would have been a rare privilege, for him - or, indeed, any footballer - of appearing in the records as a goalscorer, with ’45 + 9’ alongside his name...
HALF-TIME: Gloucester 0, County 0.
If they had been pussycats for the most part ahead of the break, the hosts began the second half rather more in keeping with their nickname. Not exactly uncaged Tigers, granted - but a tad more menacing, and with slightly sharper teeth, than before, as they forced a quartet of corners inside the first fifteen minutes following the interval.
From the fourth of these corners, a flick on by Jones was to shave the crossbar. And, subsequently, Lewis Hall caused the hearts of Hatters to miss a beat when he dispossessed Menagh and advanced towards County’s box - although his eventual shot lacked pace, and was comfortably gathered by Henderson.
The Hatters defence, however, stood firm to weather this early storm. For good measure, Danny Morton played his part with a broken thumb - causing Hatters and himself alike to wince every time he took a throw-in - and Chris Smalley did so after shaving off his beard.
Free kicks for each team proved to be near-carbon copies of each other, as Menagh’s, from the right, was met by a diving Odejayi who headed just over, before Obi Anoruo - an old nemesis of County’s from his Colwyn Bay days - did likewise at the other end.
With three minutes of normal time remaining, County had the last - and, arguably, the best - chance of the afternoon, when Gloucester failed to clear. The ball fell to Menagah, towards the left of the home goal, but the winger’s attempt was lofted clear of the bar.
Three was also the number shown on the board by way of confirming further time added on - thereby ensuring that the game would be done and dusted after around 104 minutes. Still, of course, some considerable way short of the 203-minute record-breaking saga that Stopfordians witnessed at EP, in pre-floodlight times, almost seventy years ago, when only bad light was able to prevent County and Doncaster from concluding their Third Division North Cup replay!
Mind you, we had a lot further to travel home afterwards than our 1946 forbears did...!
FULL TIME: Gloucester 0, County 0.
Team: Henderson, Morton, Roberts, Montrose, O’Hanlon, Smalley, Holsgrove (Odejayi, 56), Rule (Menagh, 39), Brewster, Marsden, Ledsham.
Unused Subs: Ormson, Connolly, Tonge.
Booked: O’Hanlon.
Attendance: 791 (327 representing The Twelfth Man).
