Torquay United V Rushden & Diamonds 7th March 2009

The

Benyons offside looked on from where we were on the popside, he seemed to be behind the defender as the ball was as played - I'm not sure whether Mr Kipling was too old, couldn't see or didn't know the offside rule. Perhaps it was all three.

There were several tugs and pushes in the penalty area - in the first half Robbo was about the head the ball in and got bundled off the ball. The second half we could see clear cut pulls on shirts - the ref was right where they 'occurred' but gave nothing Not sure the ref had the nads for the job either.

A game that ended in a draw, but felt more like a defeat for me, at halftime and chatting to tufc01 and chipnicker2, I only thought the game would end one way and that was a good win for us. Due to another poor ref and what some will say was a mistake from Woods, plus Sills going off early in the second half and the team losing its way, we really threw away three points today.

Bucks said he felt Green was doing well out on the left and played him there again and wilth Sills and Benyon up front it looked a good attacking line up. Carayol was picked ahead of Carlisle and Robertson kept his place along side Woods, so I was not to unhappy about the selected team.

We started very well and played some very good football with so many players showing good control on the ball and passing mostly well. Wroe make the odd poor pass, but I felt on the whole he did not have too bad a game.

Our first real chance came as early as the second minute, Sills was fouled outside the box,Nico put in a great ball to the far post and Woods came around the back and hit a volley that flew high over the bar. Then on four minutes a ball was pumped high to the edge of the box, Sills rose up and headed it towards the goal, but it was an easy catch for the Rushden keeper.

On eight minutes we had our first on many penalty shouts, not one was given mind you and one was as clear cut as you will ever see. Sills was clearing having his shirt tugged big-time, nothing given but the ball went out to Nico, who put the ball back into the box, Sills got his header in and in the end the ball feel to the edge of the box and Mansell hit a fierce shot that got blocked by a defender.

Just two minutes later Sills flicked on a good ball to Benyon who was just inside the box, but Benyons shot was very tame and lacked any power and just ran to the keeper. Our boys were getting far too much physical attention from the Rushden players and the ref seemed to have missed most of the fouls that were being committed, but he could not miss the hacking down of Carayol by their number 8, or was rightly booked for his challenge.

On eighteen minutes we saw what was a very clear penalty not given, Sills beat the keeper to the ball and it flew up and was coming down right in the middle of the goal. The ball was going to land on the head of the jumping Robertson, who was barged so hard he must have move four feet while he was in the air. Carayol sure has seemed to have done some work on his passing, he played a great ball from the right out to Green on the left, who in turn gave it to Nico who had put great balls in all game, but this time he got it all wrong and the ball went behind for a goal kick.

Rushen offered very little in the first half, but they did win a corner and the ball found its way to a player on the edge of the box, he hit a great volley that was swerving all over the place and fortunately for us it flew over the bar. Benyon got another chance on the twenty five minute mark but is header was easily saved.

Ten minutes later we could and should have seem Carayol on a one on one with the keeper, we broke over the half way line two against one, Green had the ball at his feet and was running with it, it just needed the ball being played to Carayol, who had raced through the middle, but Greens ball was poor and was cut out with ease.

It looked for a second around the thirty five minute mark that Bevan had scored, he kicked the ball from his hands so hard and high and it bounced so far up the pitch and over the keeper, but the ball dropped just a bit wide and missed the goal. We could have been one down five minutes before the end of the first half as Rushden created their best chance the ball was worked to a man they had over in the box and he hit a good shot, I felt it was hit too close to Bevan, but he still had to make the save which he did well.

Then straight after that scare, Woods played his best ball of the game up to Green who failed to get the ball into the box as it was blocked by a defender and went out for a corner. Carayol put the ball right into the middle of the box and there was Sills who had to stoop a little to head in to the goal. Rushden still had one more good chance to score just before the end of the half, but the ball was headed over and the forward who was unmarked should have done better.

So we get to half time and I was so pleased with how we played and controlled the game and if we had been given the decisions we should have been given, we could have gone in with a bigger lead, but we all know that one goal so often is never enough to win a game.

I will do a post on the swearing etc on the other thread later tonight, but things were really tested when Benyon was put through so clearly on-side, but was the linesman did not think so, but all we heard from the popside singers, was you don’t know what your doing. On fifteen minutes Sills went off injured and on came Stevens, from then on we started to lose our way a bit.

Green went to take up Sills place upfront, but we still kept putting high balls up to him, that he was never going to even win, I would make the point here that Sills had been winning so many of his headers during the time he was on the pitch.

The second Rushen player was booked on twenty minutes, a real bad challenge on Carayol, that had Bucks going mad and boy he can show emotion when he wants too. Stevens had a good chance as a free kick found him on the edge of the box and he volleyed the ball well, but the keeper got his fingers to it and tipped it over.

Then Came Rushdens goal, Woods who had done so well all game, jumped to head the ball clear, sadly his jump was just an inch to short, one inch higher the ball reaches the half way line, but it came off the top of his head and went backwards toward the goal. Rushens no15 got to the ball first on the goaline and just outside the box beat Mansell with ease and ran into the box and hit a clean shot across Bevan in to the far corner,

How many times have we seen teams come to Plainmoor and see the ball fall to a player who takes with style the one chance he really gets in the game, while we seem to get plenty of chances and just fail to put them away. On seventy five minutes it looked like Robertson was clearly pushed over in the Rushden box, but you knew the ref was never going to give us anything and yet so many fouls outside the box that had much less contact, were being given as free kicks.

Five minutes later Green was busting towards the goal and from the edge of the box hit his shot high wide and handsome and maybe he should have taken the ball a bit further before he took his shot. Rushen often looked like they would get a second goal; they clearly had moved up a gear after they had scored, one fine shot from 25 yards saw Bevan having to dive to push the ball around the post.

We then saw another break out, this time Stevens was guilty of playing a poor ball that once again was cut out with ease and just after that we won a free kicked, the ball was rolled to Nico, who hit it well but straight at the Rushden keeper. We nearly lost the game right at the end, a shot was fired off by a Rushden player, it dipped and swerved and had Bevan completely beaten, but we got lucky as it hit the crossbar and stayed out. We had one more chance just after that Stevens put a low ball into the box and it went to Robertson, who was unable to turn it in to the net.

I can’t really fault any of the players, I did think Benyon looked far too lightweight today, he had been showing us a stronger side to his game, but he was pushed around far to easily by the Rushden defenders today. I felt for Woods, he will be blamed for the goal, but I just think that would be a bit unfair.

Carayol played one of his best game for us, his crossing was much better, he still hit a few to high and far to long, but he fully deserves to keep his place for the next game. Green worked hard and did OK, but is no replacement upfront as the target man for Sills, he needs the ball on the floor and not up in the air, those balls are well suited for Sills but he had gone off.

Hargreaves battled well and Wroe did well, apart from the odd strange pass, one near the end into the box and I don’t know what he saw, but the ball never went near anyone of our players. Nico and Mansell worked hard as ever, maybe Nico needs to change the throw ins sometimes, its always just long ones and everyone knows what’s coming and are ready to defend them.

So as I said at the start a draw that felt like a defeat, still its seven points from nine and we did not lose the game and we are still firmly in the driving seat.

Crackin' post that Dave - don't think Mr Thomas will write one better on Monday.

I thought Green was at fault for their goal by needlessly giving away a free kick 18 yards or so outside the Rushdens box

...I thought the players looked as if they had "left their legs" at Grays.

All in all a point was probably a fair result, Rushden are one of those inconsistent sides.....today i thought they were on their game.

So many (30/40 or more perhaps) balls played in to their box by way of corners, crosses and long throws......and very, very few clear cut chances created by us......points to decent defending by their 2 rather cynical but effective centre halfs.

You couldn't say we played badly.....we weren't quite at it, our forwards generally gave us little to get excited about. Sills got his goal and led the line as he always does, we sure missed him in that last 20 minutes or so, he could have been the difference.
Green was ineffective on the left again........he needs to play down the middle and Benyon apart from the run through on goal which from my position on the half way line .....was 2/3 yards ONSIDE, was kept firmly in check and had a quiet game.

The Benyon offside decision was a key moment in the game.....as he was away and gone and one on one with the keeper........the form he's in 2-0 and game over beckoned.

An exciting last 20 mins......with Rushden to their credit, not shutting up shop and always a threat......in the end we needed a bit of luck to get the winner, a ball to drop kindly or a mistake by their defence.

Neither happened.....a draw though, is not a disaster, Rushden will take points from our rivals without doubt in the upcoming weeks.

Onwards to Alty....

Why thank you dear kind Phil, my first attempts at match reports on the forum were not very good in my honest opinion. I have been working much harder on them and I do believe I can still do even better in the future.

The only problem I have now is, I have to concentrate watching the game so much harder and that means I have to shut my mouth up and not talk during the game. Do you have any idea how hard it is for one who's nickname was once yapper, to not talk for one and a half hours. I will tell you, its worse than needing a loo out on the road and not being able to find one. ;D

No, I was rather alluding to the unrealistic and irritating slant that so many seem to put with their "demands and expectations" that OUR club is somehow "punching below it's weight" in this league, that we have a natural right to be a Football League club and that anything less than promotion THIS season should see the manager walking.

It is clearly barely in the top half dozen supporting communities outside the Football League with crowds at Cambridge, Oxford, Wrexham, Chelmsford and Wimbledon putting ours to shame.

I am no fool and can perfectly well spot the Football League clubs who have managed to attain and somehow retain Football League status on even more dreadful crowds than ours.

Bateson WAS right in his assessment of the difficulties of maintaining professional football in the area, where he was WRONG (in my opinion) was in the assumption that the only way to present it was to batten down the hatches and run a minimalist organisation; but that was because he had to be a one man band and where things differ now is that the "burden" of responsibility is more sensibly spread between nearly a dozen people and that those very people are actively encouraging the fan base to reflect their enthusiasm and positivity by energetically seeking to improve the whole package of a visit to Plainmoor these days......................and a fat lot of thanks they are getting from the dozy old area!