Grays Athletic v Torquay United 3rd March 2009

No worries. The three points feels just fine.

*I don’t really understand the argument we should somehow be grateful for beating teams such as Grays. Surely we have a right to expect that without needing to feel a sense of relief when it happens.

*I didn't mean it Budleigh - a weak attempt at sarcasm. I agree with Rob entirely.

Yes the next six and just what figures will you be putting in your chart at the end of them there are more winnable games than losable in the next six games Andy and I think you graph might just be heading upward. ;D

I'm falling asleep at my computer here so this will be very brief.

The weather was awful, the first half not much better. A thunderous Nicho free kick was equalled by a delicious effort from the Grays number 5.

Grays really didn't threaten us in the second half, although Welsh showed a lot of promise down their left. (Side note, is this Ishmael Welsh that we had for a bit?)

Just when it seemed it was going to be one of those frustrating halves where we dominate but can't break through, on comes Carlisle to stoop in front of the Grays keeper to head the winner.

Some quick ratings (out of 10):

Bevan 7 - No chance with the goal. Kicking was poor.
Mansell 7.5 - Classic Nige.
Woods 7 - Solid.
Robertson 8 - Getting better each time.
Nicho 7.5 - Deadly as ever.
Carayol 6 - Poor.
Hargreaves 7 - Ever reliable.
Wroe 7 - Passed the ball well.
Green 7 - Better than at Oxford.
Sills 8.5 - Workhorse performance. My MOTM.
Benyon 7.5 - Put himself about a lot and looked up for it.

Thompson (on for Carayol) 8 - Looked very sharp indeed. Not one misplaced pass.

Carlisle and Adams weren't really on the field long enough to warrant ratings as such, but Carlisle got the winner and that's all that matters!

Right, I really need to get to bed!

It sure seemed he was having a really good game from what I was hearing on the radio, I felt the commentary was good tonight, heard most of the action and the summerier did his job without taking it over and prating on like others have done in the past.

I'll post some more in the morning (and some photos) but it was a pretty poor game given the weather conditions. Nico scored a wonderful free kick from around 30 yards which went into the bottom corner after the referee gave a dubious free kick against Benyon. A few minutes later the on loan Tony Dinning scored with a excellent dipping free kick which although Bevan got a strong hand to it, he was unable to stop it. We played much better in the second half with the weather conditions in our favour and I think we probably deserved the win in the end. Carlisle was probably about 3 yards offside when he scored but I really don't care. Carlisle came on to replace Matt Green and he played quite well looking at home on the left wing.

Benyon had a very good game and linked very well with Sills in the second half. His control was excellent given the conditions and he made a number of good runs. Tyrone Thompson injected pace, skill and excellent passing in the second half after coming on for the pacey but erratic Carayol. To be fair to Muzzie, Wroe and Hargreaves never really got hold of their midfield and Matt Green dropped quite deep in the first half. Wroe frustrates me. You can't criticize his skill or ability but sometimes he has to realise that every pass he makes doesn't have to be world class, but that it might be wise to keep the ball by taking the simple option. Mansell still dives in too much but I guess he'll never change. He'll just get up and blame someone else

510 watching the match tonight. 150 maybe from Torquay, 200 tops.

On a final note, their forward Andy Pugh looked very good. Excellent control, held the ball up well, a sharp turner and an eye for goal. I think he's on loan from Gillingham.

Interesting to read Chris Hayes' view that Carlisle's winner was offside from the almost perfect vantage point of the away seating.

I was sat with Ilych (Ealinggull), TB1 , and Romford n Sal right behind OUR technical area (virtually on halfway) and the thought never occurred to us..............can't say I noticed any protest on the pitch either.

To those who judged it a "poor game" I ask 'what do you expect on a night like that?' when the elements have to be battled as much as the opposition, and indeed Grays turned in a performance full of fight and no little technical ability much as I warned they would on here pre-match. You see, Grays build their ever changing squads the "right way" - by recruiting from the twilight zones of the neighbouring big clubs (or at least they have players who started and received their football education there) and thus technical ability, vision and imagination feature consistently in their play and we had the virtual luxury for the second time in a week of playing against an opposition (FGR being the other) who sought to pass and move rather than thump and clump, set their stall out to attack us at pace, rather than intimidate us with the overtly physical; and displayed a refreshing technical level of the game rarely seen at this level ~ Garry Brabin and his 3 pass wonders up at Cambridge take note!

To say Nicholson's goal was World Class would not be amiss, but to say it was from "30 yards" a little niggardly - 35, surely? 40, why not? Let's say thirty seven point five, and that was just points out of ten for an effort that never got an inch above an excellent playing surface and fairly screamed into the net behind the all scarlet clad Steve Arnold away to our right! What a goal and how fitting that the wonderful fans who had made it all the way up from far off Devon were the one's to see it rather than the moaners and groaners who like to get on the players' backs at home.

If ever something DID need to be seen at Plainmoor though it was Carlisles' superb diving header for the winner ~ I'm not so sure anyone else in the squad would have thought so pro-actively as to get himself into that position for Benyon's excellent cross..................no, not even Benyon himself. Dsane possibly, yes; but again many on the Pop don't like him much either do they?

Grays had the benefit of a central back pairing of Fabian Wilnis and Jamie Stuart, they of the school of excellence mould if now in the veteran stage and a midfield central core of Tony Dinning and Stuart Thurgood (ditto) and that was a wonderful foundation for a squad of no less than eight loanees to look to for experienced decision making and a degree of possession that was needed to preserve legs that rapidly began to run out of strength in the last third of the game on a demanding evening down on the Thames Estuary foreshore. The rain fairly swept in all night long and whilst it nicely "slicked" the playing surface, the wind proved to be a demanding question master as it frequently swirled into another angle and another direction from which to blow. That it was blowing fully into Scott Bevan's face when facing up to Tony Dinning's excellent spinning and dipping free kick from twenty five yards (yes, I think we ALL agreed on twenty five ) only added to the big keeper's problems as he DID get a hand to it, and he IS 6'7" tall; and he WAS at full stretch behind a well set up wall.................but to no avail, and we had seen two truly magnificent free kicks executed in one half on a modest little non league ground on a stormy, windswept night down amongst the riverside cranes and wharf of Grays. That it wasn't at the Maracana in the sunshine, nor at the business end of a World Cup Finals; that it was set before only the faithfull and die hard few who got to see for themselves ...............(surely one of the fairest and most knowledgeable REAL football crowds ever assembled?) was truly delicious.................as delicious as the half time Bovril. Proper stuff!