It was awful. Against a side who’d lost their last 2 home games to Blackpool and Northampton (one Cameron McGeehan scoring), whose confidence must be shot, who’re missing their star player Helik (yes, THAT Helik...centre half and top scorer last season!)...we ceded the early advantage and were never in the game. Slonina made a series of saves, Earl blocked another goalbound attempt and other efforts were high or wide. We squeaked to half-time with one paltry effort on target ourselves, a 20 yard bobbler from Connell. Half-time, a talking to from the manager, a tactical tweak, kicking towards our end...we could win this.
No we couldn’t. We retreated towards our goal and got up to 11 players behind the ball. With no-one up the pitch, balls came straight back. Was it a deliberate tactic, sucking them forward to launch cross after cross to our big centre halves, before we broke? Well, the first part was right, as we conceded 17 (seventeen) corners. It looked like a practice session, attack v defence. Try and break down the massed ranks of pink shirts. But with an hour gone, we’ve weathered the storm, and it’s time for Coach Clarke to take charge and make his move. On comes Jalo (Jalo Jalo), Benson for Beds and O’Keefe for Gent, Humphreys and Cotter. I’ll say this, Clarke’s changes this season have increasingly gained consistent (negative) results.
We went from an ostensible 5-3-1-1 (more like 8-1-1) to 442. KISS. Keep it simples, stupid! Hauling Gent was a no-brainer. Have we paid money for this guy? Humphreys hadn’t done too badly, considering he was playing midfield. No-one shoves him off the ball. Cotter? Well, putting on O’Keefe in his place defies explanation in my world, unless Cotter’s had his legs broken (plural; I’m sure he’d be better with one good leg than O’Keefe.)
Suddenly the game was open. We had the ball in THEIR half. We were giving Jalo the ball to his feet. He was running at them. Sometimes he didn’t even lose it. One run, as he cut inside, cut inside again, all the time onto his non-existent right foot, ended with him going down. My gut instinct was pen, but those at home confirm the ref was spot on. A dive, a yellow card. Our players can’t even cheat properly.
We also have a shot, as a half-cleared cross gives Cosgrove the chance of a snapshot from 10 yards. Over the bar. Difficult, but he’s a professional footballer. Oh yes, a BARNSLEY professional footballer. Wind in the neck of expectation. We have 20 minutes to hang on. But who’s this they’re bringing on? Herbert Kane! Christ, the match is in the bag now. Or b) we’re going to embarrass ourselves.
It’s b). Kane, the world’s second slowest player (behind, or ahead of, Jon Russell) leaves Earl for dead down their right after a quick 1-2. I don’t remember him ever doing that at Oakwell. With time, he can now pick a pass and he lays it inside for a Terrier to blaze it into the top corner from the edge of the box. That’s in the 83rd minute, but with time running out, they grab a second as the ball is half cleared and while 4 pink-shirted defenders stare at the spherical object, wondering what it is (the moon?), a blue and white shirt picks it up, strides forward and shoots low from 25 yards. Appalling from us, but it makes the scoreline a little more realistic. The away end streams out.
Onwards and upwards!
*** Slonina. Kept us in it 1st half with a series of saves and punches.
** Connell. Snapped into tackles and made 2 good runs.
* Jalo. I’m going to be generous to the former Boy Wonder. At least we attacked when he came on.
Londontykes’ MOTM: 1. Slonina 2. Connell 3. De Givigny
Despatches:
It was good to see so many pink shirts, the Reds deciding to wear pink for Breast Cancer awareness. Not that Mrs Reed liked it. She hates pink. Supporters’ Club reps handed out free pink shirts pre-match and Nozzer looked particularly fetching in his.
I was less amused with Huddersfield Town. Why DO they only give the away side 2,300 tickets when the stand holds 3,900? Wouldn’t they like to have (potentially) another 1,600 away fans paying £20-£25? That’s 30 grand they’ve turned down. Must have too much money. (For those who don’t know, since their Premiership days, what passes for their ultras have been given the rest.) Anyway, barely a couple of turnstiles open for 2,300 meant queuing for 15 minutes to get in. At least it was sunny.
Still, we got out of Hudds on the first train out and 7 minutes later were in the charming Pennine village of Slaithwaite where I chatted to a local Terrier. He wondered what we were chanting at Kane. ‘Well’, I said. ‘When your lot were chanting that he left us cos we are s***, he was the REASON we were s***. He gets the ball and he does f*** all.’ The fact Kane chose today to do one of those rare cameos where he actually does summat was the just the icing on the cake, the dogs*** on the shoe. The p*** that I’ve just licked from the nettle while doing an extremely accurate impression of a bulldog.
Drink du jour: post match Weihenstephaner in Hideaway (Slaithwaite).
Away: 2,366 (sellout).
The Damage:
£25 ent
£3.50 prog
£2.25 train
= £30.25
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