The day started well for me as I managed to convince Legends’
bar staff that not EVERYONE was enthralled by a Chelsea / ManU cup match and
got one of the TV’s switched to the Doncaster / Swindon game
I make that 1 - 0 to me
Unfortunately Bournemouth first equalised by their North Stand bar people not recognising what a beer was, then they went 2-1 up as the steward steadfastly refused to believe he was allowed to change the TV channel to ANY match
I make that 1 - 0 to me
Unfortunately Bournemouth first equalised by their North Stand bar people not recognising what a beer was, then they went 2-1 up as the steward steadfastly refused to believe he was allowed to change the TV channel to ANY match
In the manner of pundits, I’d started brightly, but my legs went in the end and
didn’t deserve to take anything from the game – I hoped AFCB would fare better
How good was it to see Elphick back, banging his head and
studs against the goal-post. As he completed his ritual by running to the line
and back he turned to the North Stand and shouted for noise – clearly he was up
for this fight.
AFCB started well and Ritchie was soon a thorn in the Scunny
side as almost his first touch drew a foul, and a yellow card – it was going to
be a long afternoon for THAT defender
On 10 minutes it was O’Kane that broke through the Scunthorpe
defence on the left only to have his cross/shot blocked. The ball came out to
Pugh who crossed to the far post and Tubbs headed back across to the goal for Pitman
to steam in and crash the ball home on the volley
1-0
We’d all prayed for an early goal to steady the nerves and hopefully
be the start of a goal glut, but Scunthorpe had other ideas.
Having weathered a further few minutes of AFCB pressure
(including Pitman scoring again – from an
offside position) Scunthorpe started to get more possession and AFCB started to
sit further and further back, inviting them on.
Allsop was forced into a smart low save on 26 and on 30
minutes they had the ball in the net themselves from a corner as they blocked
Allsop off and headed in at the far post. Thankfully the ball had swung out of
play from the corner – the first but not the last time we were all happy to see
that happen.
On 33 minutes you could almost sense that Arter realised
AFCB were going flat as he charged from one side of the pitch to the other to
put in a perfect sliding tackle – that certainly raised the team and the crowd.
Saying that, he did follow it up with a tackle that if he
had connected, would have seen their midfielder’s legs fly into the East stand
as his torso bounced into the main – well, you can’t time it right all the
time, can you J
HT 1-0
The second half was a much more open affair which should
have, and did, suit AFCB more, but not without some heart in mouth moments.
AFCB have also discovered, much to my relief, that running
with the ball, actually at the other team, can reap far better rewards than a)
trying to pass the ball as soon as you’ve got it or b) hoofing the ball over
midfield and hoping the “magic would just happen”.
O’Kane, Arter and Daniels all had magnificent runs with the
ball, but rather like discovering your Thai bride has hidden “extras”, it all
ended very disappointingly – either with a shot so weak we’ll have to start
counting back passes as shots or with a seemingly point blank refusal to shoot
at all.
I’m not sure where this obsession for walking the ball into
the net has come from, but it has to stop – we need players with heart and
courage enough to take responsibility for scoring a goal. We cannot rely on
Pitman and Ritchie to be the only ones prepared to shoot
It was these 2 that came closest to extending the lead as
first Pitman struck the bar after Tubbs had pulled the ball back to him (even
though Tubbs was clean through and in a far better goal scoring position) and
Ritchie who unleashed a 20 yard curler that their keeper did well to save,
stretching to his right.
Scunthorpe brought on their big men and play became even
more stretched but the back 5 coped admirably. In fact the only 2 clean cut
chances Scunthorpe made were from slips from Elphick and Cook but such is their
pace and speed of recovery they were both able to get back and make last ditch
blocks.
That said, there were large parts of the second half that
literally were end to end as our midfield were mere bystanders as Scunthorpe
punted the ball long. AFCB looked the more likely to score but at only 1-0 – it
was a nerve jangler until the last few minutes
Summary – Yet another ugly win but I guess at this stage it’s
the win that matters. I never thought I’d say this – but we actually missed
Grabban. Sure, he can’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo at the moment but his
runs really stretch defences and he, for me, is Pitman’s partner of choice.
Tubbs did ok holding the ball up – but you can’t afford to have 2 slow attackers at this level IMO
and Pitman, who has really raised his work rate, is undroppable
Man of the Match – Arter – seemed like he cared the most and
tried the hardest. Some superb runs and cross field balls, just needs to
believe in himself more when near the goal
Ps - here's a link to a video of the day that @eloiseee_gullis:
Away Support
East Stand
Main Stand
North Stand
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