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Post by hatter_in_macc on Aug 15, 2019 11:01:48 GMT
Time, this Saturday, to go head to head with one of a handful of sides that we have never played before.
We appear to be gradually faring better against clubs with nicknames relating to flying things. Having lost against one set of 'Magpies', we went on to draw against another, before defeating the 'Bluebirds' - so, hopefully, we can repeat Tuesday's feat and ground the 'Spitfires'!
Post all the usual stuff here...
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Post by countyfan on Aug 16, 2019 9:23:43 GMT
Feeling a bit more confident After beating Barrow now. I Can see us edging This one 2-1.
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djm68
Random Canadian Substitute
George Whitelaw's Gut
Posts: 23
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Post by djm68 on Aug 16, 2019 12:46:16 GMT
Thoroughly enjoyed Tuesday's game. A very good football match.
I'm not being perverse, but I thought the referee was fine. She could have picked up on Barrow's attempts to slow down County's fist half momentum, but beyond that, I thought the abuse she got from loads of people around me was unjustified. You can have a dramatic football match with a bad referee, but it is almost impossible to have a truly good football match if the referee is incompetent.
Anyway, talking of 'momentum', a win tomorrow would make that League Table look really good! Can't make the game, but will be at Harrogate. It would be nice to go there on the back of back-to-back wins!
Hope to see some of you in 'Ye Olde Vic'. Supporters' Co-operative Trust calendars available behind the bar.
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Post by ceefer on Aug 16, 2019 18:22:17 GMT
Huge confidence boost from Tuesday night. Get the early goal and settle the nerves. 2-0 County
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Post by hermannsays on Aug 16, 2019 19:17:24 GMT
Having secured our first win with goals from across the team, let's hope the buzz continues tomorrow and the lads can get another 3 home points.
If we iron out some of the going to ground and playing too deep for too long, while improving set pieces and switching to ruthless mode as a forward unit, what's going to happen? 3 points and a clean sheet! And let's hope everyone JG calls on at any time is impactful like we know they can be.
Let's do this, JG and the boys!
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Post by another_ruined_saturday on Aug 16, 2019 21:52:31 GMT
I thought the abuse she got from loads of people around me was unjustified. You can have a dramatic football match with a bad referee, but it is almost impossible to have a truly good football match if the referee is incompetent. i think it was mostly fury that the barrow players seemed to con her a few times. but loud indignance is also part of the game, part of the drama. people work themselves up in order to be more a part of the spectacle, enjoy it more. i always think there's an element of it that it's an act, and it allows people to behave in ways that they can't during the working week. the mass fume definitely helps the atmosphere, and gives individuals a convenient culprit if the result isn't what they want. i limited myself to laughing sourly at how quick their 'keeper suddenly was with the ball once we were ahead...
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Post by gazz on Aug 16, 2019 21:57:53 GMT
I thought the abuse she got from loads of people around me was unjustified. You can have a dramatic football match with a bad referee, but it is almost impossible to have a truly good football match if the referee is incompetent. i think it was mostly fury that the barrow players seemed to con her a few times. but loud indignance is also part of the game, part of the drama. people work themselves up in order to be more a part of the spectacle, enjoy it more. i always think there's an element of it that it's an act, and it allows people to behave in ways that they can't during the working week. the mass fume definitely helps the atmosphere, and gives individuals a convenient culprit if the result isn't what they want. i limited myself to laughing sourly at how quick their 'keeper suddenly was with the ball once we were ahead... You've got a brilliant way of seeing the bigger picture, mate - excellently put.
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Post by hermannsays on Aug 17, 2019 16:50:34 GMT
3 points and a clean sheet - fantastic! While Tuesday night had the on-pitch excitement and a better atmosphere in the ground, today was a really solid performance with far better game management. This was the kind of professional performance that, if consistently achieved, will establish us in this league.
Eastleigh were as organised as Maidenhead (from the TV view I had of the latter) and had more technical players through the midfield and forward line. They played a pretty good 1st half and had some overloads created around Cowan (not his fault) which they should have punished us with. But perhaps their best chance was from a poorly dealt with long ball on Keane's side and Hinchliffe had to come to the rescue when Minihan had tried but failed to get in to cover and clear it.
Not that we didn't have the odd bright moment ourselves, but I was pleased to get into HT having witnessed a more rounded performance - Thomas's movement was top notch, Mulhern held his position more than on Tuesday night and Dimaio and Osborne were looking to do things more incisively.
In the second half, Dimaio started getting his foot in when he spotted the opportunities to do it and he was nicking the ball in not only decent areas (their half) but also doing the odd bit of important work back closer to home. It was turning into the kind of #10 outing that keeps your place in the side week-to-week, a performance the manager can start feeling that, for all the trickery, you can be trusted out of possession too. Really, well done.
Once they got some poor long distribution out of their system in the 1st half, Eastleigh began passing out from the back more and retained possession well. But we were organised and hard-working and they found it hard to penetrate. On the other hand, we were again quite poor getting the ball out from the back when looking direct. It was quite telling that, with 3 CBs often against 2 FWs, we didn't really use the wide CBs to take the ball forward that much. Whether that was a bit of loss of confidence after a couple of moments where we lost possession going shorter or not, I don't know. But we turned over the ball far too much by way of back-to-front play. However, and just as the football gods would create, it was via that method that our goal came. Dimaio (actually, probably Mulhern) controlled a long ball wonderfully and, when all the ground were shouting for Connor to shoot (he was central 22 yards out), he slipped in Thomas on his right. Thomas kept composed and hit hard and low to the 'keeper's left. 1-0.
The second goal was sublime. A throw on the left and Osborne let it bounce and run across him, hitting it sweetly past the despairing 'keeper. If there's a better strike this season at EP, it really will have to be a 'worldie' to beat it because it was absolutely outstanding.
Palmer did really well at the back, getting important set-piece headers away and generally out-battling his opponents time and again. But my MotM was Thomas. He wasn't just one player today, he was two or three. Offering width, offering runs behind Mulhern, linking play into his feet, getting back to wing-back positions. Last season I said that if we can't be out-worked then it's going to be very hard for teams to beat us. He was the epitomy of that today. and had the quality to boot.
JG's well-deserved calling-out of Bell's lack of running for the team on Tuesday saw him enter the field and, within 2 minutes, make more shuttle runs that he did on Tuesday. I can appreciate that sometimes it must seem a pointless task but he rushed 2 CBs one after another, they had no time to bring the ball down and we ultimately got it back from their clearances. When he rushed their 'keeper, we ended with the throw-in in their half. He even defended brilliantly in our own box, receiving a pat on the back from Hinchliffe. A lack of experience was probably to blame for losing the ball up-field, but I can forgive that because he did help his team today. Well done.
And a shout-out for Festus Arthur. More minutes on the board and he too did well as a sub. Possible his only mis-step was staying in as a CB for a second phase which left Keane coming out into DM (and fouling outside out box) since their was no-one shielding. The best thing was that he (Arthur) had a presence. It felt like someone 'proper' was entering the pitch. He was shouting to team-mates and it kinda helps that he's physically a bit of scary-looking fella most #10s will think twice about going into challenges with.
So, credit to JG and the boys. Good tactics, good changes which did impact the game and at the right time too, and some of the attackers stepped outside 'their' way of playing today and, in difficult moments, dug in - do that each week and it's what earns respect on and off the pitch.
Very well done.
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Post by dudleyhatter on Aug 17, 2019 17:21:01 GMT
Skip in 20 seconds to see the second goal!
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Post by hermannsays on Aug 17, 2019 17:21:06 GMT
Remember, highlights on BT Sport at 7.30pm but, Osborne's goal is on this clip...
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Post by hermannsays on Aug 17, 2019 17:21:43 GMT
So good it's worth having on here twice!
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Post by gazz on Aug 17, 2019 18:09:39 GMT
What a strike from Dimaio! Cheers for posting, Duds & cheers for the replay, H - thoroughly warranted!
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Post by hermannsays on Aug 17, 2019 18:12:44 GMT
Hah! Just imagine Osborne later if BT highlights announce Dimaio for a second time!
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Post by gazz on Aug 17, 2019 18:18:47 GMT
Hah! Just imagine Osborne later if BT highlights announce Dimaio for a second time! It'll kick off on twitter, matey, that's for sure!
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Post by irishcountyfan on Aug 17, 2019 19:45:23 GMT
County are starting to find their feet now in this league,hopefully the confidence is mounting and who knows,an auld sneaky play off place might be there. You have to dream lads.
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