The Camberwell verdict is in.
‘That was the sh*ttest 5-3 I’ve ever seen.’
My god. What a horror show. 8 wins in 9 and we concede 5 to a side at the bottom of the league. Only Barnsley.
Like the Wolves game, we looked disjointed without a left wing back. Flitcroft played Kennedy left back, again, and gave the disaster that is Jim McNulty a run out. (His career must feel like Groundhog Day. Doing well at Brighton, he gets injured and finds himself surplus to requirements upon his return, and so it is here. He’s been awful ALL season.) Oh, and with Delap somewhere out right and with Crainie and Foster in the middle, and Wiseman on the bench, I make Bobby Hassell approximately 8th choice to get a game in our defence. A defence which let in 5 against rock bottom Bristol City.
It was an odd game. 1st 10 mins, they ran riot down our left, then we got to grips and pretty much ran the match. I can forgive the 1st goal – their bloke clearly climbs all over our defender, before Stead headed home. The ref blew his whistle, pointed to the penalty area…I wondered why the Bristol fans were still cheering, he’d obviously disallowed it. But he hadn’t. The start of a very bad day.
Thereafter, the game reminded me of a school match (our championship-winning year, natch) I remember from yesteryear. We were playing our big rivals away and the star striker missed a couple of early chances. They then scored with every shot they had (6) before said star striker bagged a couple late on before blaming everyone else for our defeat. Well, BFC on Satdy missed early chances, they started bagging, then after the game was lost, started scoring. And so it was, that if you ignore Bristol’s 1st four goals, we won 3-1 and looked like we’d score every time we touched the ball.
At 4-0, Hicksy and Loko had seen enough, but before they even got out of the ground, we’d pulled one back. It was amusing to see their about-turn back into the stands (‘we can see you sneaking IN!’) The goal itself was a scrappy effort, the ball being cleared from behind the line before an onrushing Tunnicliffe (I think) putting it in. I see the goal has since been given to O’Grady, so presumably it was he who knocked it over the line in the 1st place, though I swear the linesman hadn’t given it, so without the 2nd effort, I don’t think it woulda stood.
2nd goal was a great finish by Polish Tom, burying it for the edge of the box as he ran in, and the 3rd was another low finish from the edge of the box from the outstanding Scotland. HE’LL be playing in this division next season, even if we’re not.
Unfortunately, time and space preclude the description of Bristol’s other goals, beyond that they were ALL THE SAME. A dead ball is hoofed into our box and forwards who’ve been unable to score all season are like kids in a sweet shop versus Steele, Kennedy, Crainie and McNulty (Foster proving so awful he’d been dragged off in the 1st half). How many headers we failed to win was unbelievable. And we still had the ref to thank for chalking off a 6th, as the goal of the game (a beautiful curled effort from the edge of the box) was ruled out for a negligible foul on Perkins.
So, was it the worst of the season? Given what went on before (8 wins in 9, a high level of expectation, capitulation against a crap team), I’d say so. Tho given that we had most of the match and somehow conceded 5, I think the general opinion was ‘it was just one of them days.’
There was again good support from the fans. I did like a chant of ‘we can see you sneaking out’ to winning Bristol fans staggering out, unused to success. And then we retired to the Tobacco Factory for more cider or dark beer (depending on your taste). At least THAT bit went well. Then I saved Selwood from accidentally buying 8.5% Oranjeboom at the offy, in favour of something he could handle and we went cans on the way home, baby Oranjeboom (still 5%), Tetleys or Stella.
Oh, and the evening was topped off for me and Andy when we got chatting to a couple of homosexuals in a pub in Paddington. One of them was a Malteser ‘with learning difficulties’ (his mate said). Anyway, twas an interesting conversation, tho Mr Reed was bladdered.
Nearly forgot:
*** No-one
** Scotland. Held the ball, attacked…scored. What a player!
* Harewood. Like Scotland, without the goal.
Despatches:
Dagnall looked lost, forced to play wide right. Tunnicliffe came, saw and disappeared. And aside from a goalline clearance, it’s true – there IS only one element to Delap’s game.
Like the Wolves game, we looked disjointed without a left wing back. Flitcroft played Kennedy left back, again, and gave the disaster that is Jim McNulty a run out. (His career must feel like Groundhog Day. Doing well at Brighton, he gets injured and finds himself surplus to requirements upon his return, and so it is here. He’s been awful ALL season.) Oh, and with Delap somewhere out right and with Crainie and Foster in the middle, and Wiseman on the bench, I make Bobby Hassell approximately 8th choice to get a game in our defence. A defence which let in 5 against rock bottom Bristol City.
It was an odd game. 1st 10 mins, they ran riot down our left, then we got to grips and pretty much ran the match. I can forgive the 1st goal – their bloke clearly climbs all over our defender, before Stead headed home. The ref blew his whistle, pointed to the penalty area…I wondered why the Bristol fans were still cheering, he’d obviously disallowed it. But he hadn’t. The start of a very bad day.
Thereafter, the game reminded me of a school match (our championship-winning year, natch) I remember from yesteryear. We were playing our big rivals away and the star striker missed a couple of early chances. They then scored with every shot they had (6) before said star striker bagged a couple late on before blaming everyone else for our defeat. Well, BFC on Satdy missed early chances, they started bagging, then after the game was lost, started scoring. And so it was, that if you ignore Bristol’s 1st four goals, we won 3-1 and looked like we’d score every time we touched the ball.
At 4-0, Hicksy and Loko had seen enough, but before they even got out of the ground, we’d pulled one back. It was amusing to see their about-turn back into the stands (‘we can see you sneaking IN!’) The goal itself was a scrappy effort, the ball being cleared from behind the line before an onrushing Tunnicliffe (I think) putting it in. I see the goal has since been given to O’Grady, so presumably it was he who knocked it over the line in the 1st place, though I swear the linesman hadn’t given it, so without the 2nd effort, I don’t think it woulda stood.
2nd goal was a great finish by Polish Tom, burying it for the edge of the box as he ran in, and the 3rd was another low finish from the edge of the box from the outstanding Scotland. HE’LL be playing in this division next season, even if we’re not.
Unfortunately, time and space preclude the description of Bristol’s other goals, beyond that they were ALL THE SAME. A dead ball is hoofed into our box and forwards who’ve been unable to score all season are like kids in a sweet shop versus Steele, Kennedy, Crainie and McNulty (Foster proving so awful he’d been dragged off in the 1st half). How many headers we failed to win was unbelievable. And we still had the ref to thank for chalking off a 6th, as the goal of the game (a beautiful curled effort from the edge of the box) was ruled out for a negligible foul on Perkins.
So, was it the worst of the season? Given what went on before (8 wins in 9, a high level of expectation, capitulation against a crap team), I’d say so. Tho given that we had most of the match and somehow conceded 5, I think the general opinion was ‘it was just one of them days.’
There was again good support from the fans. I did like a chant of ‘we can see you sneaking out’ to winning Bristol fans staggering out, unused to success. And then we retired to the Tobacco Factory for more cider or dark beer (depending on your taste). At least THAT bit went well. Then I saved Selwood from accidentally buying 8.5% Oranjeboom at the offy, in favour of something he could handle and we went cans on the way home, baby Oranjeboom (still 5%), Tetleys or Stella.
Oh, and the evening was topped off for me and Andy when we got chatting to a couple of homosexuals in a pub in Paddington. One of them was a Malteser ‘with learning difficulties’ (his mate said). Anyway, twas an interesting conversation, tho Mr Reed was bladdered.
Nearly forgot:
*** No-one
** Scotland. Held the ball, attacked…scored. What a player!
* Harewood. Like Scotland, without the goal.
Despatches:
Dagnall looked lost, forced to play wide right. Tunnicliffe came, saw and disappeared. And aside from a goalline clearance, it’s true – there IS only one element to Delap’s game.
that is all.
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