Jennings
24/01/2009
The post match banter was somewhat subdued this week. No one could really understand how we had lost this game and moreover how we had lost 5-1, having beaten them twice last season. So in the end we all agreed that these were the main points for consideration.
- On balance we created as many chances as them, theirs went in, ours didn't.
- The pitch was in parts almost unplayable, particularly in the goalmouths where the mud was literally ankle deep, making it impossible to play our usual samba style brand of football.
- Their referee, wasn't a referee and was just some bloke they know with a whistle.
- Their linesman, sorry assistant referee, was a blatant cheat, disallowing a perfectly good goal.
- We got out clogged by a bunch of cloggers.
The starting line up looked good, Ian in goal, back four of Birdy, Chris Manley, Tinky and Shutout Arnold, a classy looking midfield of Gazza D, Rob Miller, Jonny Earl and Cushy and the now infamous strike force of AJ Crouch and Jermaine Baylis.
An impressive bench was packed with experience, guile and athletic prowess - Guz, Nige, Kitty, Tim and me.
First Half
We started OK, with probably the best of the first 10 minutes, without creating much in terms of chances, except one nice move which resulted in Jermaine Baylis rising well to meet a cross and power a header, off the corner of his buscuit in head back towards the surprised Cushy from whence it came, much to the delight and derision of the Hotspur substitutes.
It was then that things started to go wrong. Some sloppy defending from a Wymondham throw in saw the ball drop in our box, which we failed to clear and a Wymondham forward managed to poke the ball over the line. 1-0.
It was 2-0 soon after. A far post header from a corner was again not defended well, but to be fair to Rob Miller it probably should have been a foul as Mr Angry climbed all over him - next time Rob throw yourself on the floor screaming merry hell, like what I do, to get the refs attention.
Then we started to play a bit and got one back with AJ latching onto a long ball over the top, good first touch, calmly rounding the keeper and then tucked the ball into the net with a smart finish. 2-1, come on you Spurs.
Off came AJ, Jonny and Daryl, on went Guz, Nige and Kitty.
For the rest of the half we had Wymondham under the cosh, although we were still finding it hard to get any sort of rythym or consistency to our play. We should have equalised following a game of stuck in the mud goalmouth scramble, but somehow the ball managed to stay out after at least 3 of our players should have scored, Rob Miller with the last touch poking it wide when it seemed easier to score, although having later seen the state of the goalmouth, you are forgiven Rob, just.
Half Time, 2-1.
Tim and I came on for Birdy and Chris Manley for the 2nd half. Surely, we'd find some form and take the victory that should be ours. No we didn't and no we didn't.
Again we started the half reasonably well without creating too much, and then got hit with a sucker punch on the break as Wymondham made it 3-1 with a well struck shot that Ian got a good hand on but couldn't stop it creeping inside the far post.
It should have been 3-2 a few minutes later, however their linesman gave Nigel offside after he followed up a Guz header that came back off the bar. The ref gave the goal, then their players appealed, then their linesman sort of put his flag up. A long chat with the ref, resulted in the goal being disallowed for offside, with the claim that Nigel had been in an offside position when Guz had headed the ball, which was simply not the case - anyone who knows Nigel will tell you that he is physically incapable of getting ahead of the ball. Cheating so and so's.
That took the wind out of our sails a bit. I honestly think if that goal hadn't been disallowed, we'd have gone on and won comfortably. Instead, we missed chance after chance, some unlucky (me, Cushy), some just crap finishing (Cushy, AJ, Guz), meanwhile Wymondham went up the other end and scored another two.
Full Time, 5-1.
Not much else to say really, it just didn't happen for us. Our samba beat was flat. We'll just have to put it right in the return fixture. I should mention a rather impressive mud slide from Nigel following one particularly aggressive sliding tackle causing a mini tsunami last seen heading towards Morley.
Ratings
- Doy(5) - not his usual commanding self, probably disappointed not to have stopped a couple of the goals
- Bird(5) - all the usual commitment and energy, first touch looked a rusty
- Manley(5) - didn't enjoy the conditions and was unusually lacking bite in the tackle at times
- Tink(6) - probably the best defender on the day, but below his usual high standards
- Arnold(5) - very difficult pitch conditions to deal with, can do much better
- Davies(6) - worked really hard, difficult conditions for a tricky winger
- Miller(5) - struggled to make an impact on the game, still think he should have scored
- Earl(5) - worked hard but didn't impose himself as he did in the last game
- Cushion(5) - unusually below par performance, still playing catch up after injury
- Jennings*(7) - worked hard, well taken goal
- Baylis(6) - definately not his sort of pitch, remember Aylsham last year? Hope he's not a Chesney
- Walters(6) - unlucky not to score with a magnificent diving header, showed good pace at times
- Guzewich(6) - worked hard, moaned hard, unlucky with that header
- Kitson(5) - got found out a couple of times chasing back, distribution not good at times
- Death(6) - got stuck in, should have had a goal, one too many farter flicks for my liking - cut it out
- Culling(5) - showed good commitment, found conditions difficult
* managers man of the match
Overall Team Rating (a generous 6)
Perhaps the long break since the last game was a factor in making this look and feel like a pre-season friendly performance. We never really got going and when we did, missed chances and dodgy decisions knocked us back again. Oh well, its just a game and it's a good excuse to get out for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon and pretend to be younger and fitter than we really are.
Jem
Head Coach Director of Football Manager
Norwich Hotspur
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