Match Report

Back at Farrow Fields looking for our first home points of the season, and as we had already got a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture with an emergency keeper and a makeshift team, hopes were high.

Once again the team showed several changes, some returning faces (Jez, Gibbo) and several positional switches. Steve B. Snr took the flag, allowing Mark Edwards to come in to the back four.

Our line up, then, was…

Jez Allen – GK
Steve Blanchard jnr - RB
Mark Edwards – CB
Todd Arnold – CB
Colin Brazier – LB
Luke Allen– RM
Neil Barnes– CM
Tom Smart – CM
Scott Barnes – LM
James Foyle – CF
Matt Gardiner – CF

Matt Lenton, Steve Blanchard snr and Connor Barclay were our subs.

One of our problems this season has been starting very slowly, and despite stressing the need to come out firing, once again we conceded early. Things did not improve and we found ourselves 3-0 down after half an hour. We were making occasional raids on the visitors’ defence but Matt and James were having to live off scraps.

With his second goal in as many weeks (usually it’s one per season) Todd got us into the game before half time with a free kick which deflected in off the end of the wall, leaving the keeper stranded.

Voices were raised during the interval, no bad thing in itself. It must be equally frustrating watching on as it is playing in these circumstances, and we knew we should be doing much better.

This time we really did come out fired up and took the game to the opposition, but just as he had given us a lifeline, Todd snatched it away again with a defensive clanger and at 1-4 there was no coming back. Lord Hood were in dreamland with their biggest win of the season and topped their day off with a fifth goal.

OK, a deeply disappointing day. What do we need to take from it? People watching from the sidelines were saying that we play well when we have the ball, but struggle when we don’t, and I see the sense in that. We must make it harder for opposing teams to get near our goal. We must also learn to move the ball more quickly, even if it means going backwards for a pass or two.

With a cup tie against a high-riding first division team sandwiched in between games against the two league leaders, the next few weeks will be challenging to say the least, but we have the quality to give anyone a game as long as we can stay in it for the first twenty minutes!!!

Scott and Luke both worked hard and threatened down the flanks today, with Scott getting the MoM.