12-04-2015, 00:50
I Missed Again!
442, a slow start, a lead thrown away, Nuhui misses sitter and another draw. Seen it before!
Buxton was preferred to Vermijl, Maguire was selected ahead of Lee and Bus got the nod ahead of Nuhui.
Westwood made three brilliant saves to keep us in the match after Charlton ripped us open easily in the first half. They also had a goal disallowed for a borderline offside. Between these saves, we had a break of four against two defenders as Lavery ran at their defence. He had a choice of slipping it either way and slipped McGugan in perfectly but he shot tamely at the keeper when he should probably have dinked it.
Just when it looked like a goalless half, we scored with the best move of the match. Several players were involved down the right side with Buxton's cross giving Lavery a simple tap in. Full credit to Lavery for being there though. Full credit also to the referee as well for playing a good advantage in the build up.
We looked more threatening up front than usual with Lavery & Bus linking well. They both were finding good positions in the box and a second goal always looked a possibility with Isgrove & Maguire providing ammunition from the flanks.
Lee & Nuhui replaced McGugan & Bus and the game changed almost instantly. Nuhui gave the ball away twice and within minutes, Charlton were level. Westwood made a save but Helan didn't react quickly enough and allowed Gudmundsson to move the ball on to his favoured left side & fire home.
Lavery hit a magnificent thirty yard shot that came back off the bar and a minute later, Isgrove hit the same spot with a shot over his shoulder. Lavery left moments later, replaced by May. We went close a couple of times but should have won it when Nuhui missed the easiest chance of the season when May put it on a plate for him with a cross that took out the keeper.
Westwood - 8 - kept us in the game with four great saves
Buxton - 6 - dangerous going forward, set up goal
Lees - 6 - usual, untroubled
Zayatte - 6 - commanding
Helan - 5 - never looked comfortable
Maguire - 7 - best performance for ages
Hutchinson - 6 - shielded defence well
McGugan - 6 - a bit quiet
Isgrove - 7 - bright & pacy
Bus - 7 - lively
Lavery - 8 - constant threat, great control
.....................................................................
Lee - 6
Nuhui - 2 - terrible miss, kept falling over
May - 6
While there were a lot of similarities with previous home failures, there were a few plus points today. There were a few well constructed moves down each flank. The movement of Bus & Lavery gave the Charlton problems all afternoon & we maybe saw the beginnings of a good partnership. May looked lively when he came on but we were weaker after Bus & Lavery departed. However, we were still reliant on Westwood for keeping us in the match.
Met our new owner before the match & while he didn't say anything, it confirmed my view that he is a smart cookie. He clearly has plans but they are staying close to his chest for now.
442, a slow start, a lead thrown away, Nuhui misses sitter and another draw. Seen it before!
Buxton was preferred to Vermijl, Maguire was selected ahead of Lee and Bus got the nod ahead of Nuhui.
Westwood made three brilliant saves to keep us in the match after Charlton ripped us open easily in the first half. They also had a goal disallowed for a borderline offside. Between these saves, we had a break of four against two defenders as Lavery ran at their defence. He had a choice of slipping it either way and slipped McGugan in perfectly but he shot tamely at the keeper when he should probably have dinked it.
Just when it looked like a goalless half, we scored with the best move of the match. Several players were involved down the right side with Buxton's cross giving Lavery a simple tap in. Full credit to Lavery for being there though. Full credit also to the referee as well for playing a good advantage in the build up.
We looked more threatening up front than usual with Lavery & Bus linking well. They both were finding good positions in the box and a second goal always looked a possibility with Isgrove & Maguire providing ammunition from the flanks.
Lee & Nuhui replaced McGugan & Bus and the game changed almost instantly. Nuhui gave the ball away twice and within minutes, Charlton were level. Westwood made a save but Helan didn't react quickly enough and allowed Gudmundsson to move the ball on to his favoured left side & fire home.
Lavery hit a magnificent thirty yard shot that came back off the bar and a minute later, Isgrove hit the same spot with a shot over his shoulder. Lavery left moments later, replaced by May. We went close a couple of times but should have won it when Nuhui missed the easiest chance of the season when May put it on a plate for him with a cross that took out the keeper.
Westwood - 8 - kept us in the game with four great saves
Buxton - 6 - dangerous going forward, set up goal
Lees - 6 - usual, untroubled
Zayatte - 6 - commanding
Helan - 5 - never looked comfortable
Maguire - 7 - best performance for ages
Hutchinson - 6 - shielded defence well
McGugan - 6 - a bit quiet
Isgrove - 7 - bright & pacy
Bus - 7 - lively
Lavery - 8 - constant threat, great control
.....................................................................
Lee - 6
Nuhui - 2 - terrible miss, kept falling over
May - 6
While there were a lot of similarities with previous home failures, there were a few plus points today. There were a few well constructed moves down each flank. The movement of Bus & Lavery gave the Charlton problems all afternoon & we maybe saw the beginnings of a good partnership. May looked lively when he came on but we were weaker after Bus & Lavery departed. However, we were still reliant on Westwood for keeping us in the match.
Met our new owner before the match & while he didn't say anything, it confirmed my view that he is a smart cookie. He clearly has plans but they are staying close to his chest for now.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.