Quote:
Originally Posted by mab
 First half thought we bossed the game and unlucky not to go in at half time at least 2 goals to the good,How the ref mist that hand ball i'll never know,nice to see jimmy back although not for long  young Guthrie played well as did the team as a whole,second half just could seem to get going and pinned back for most ,thought the ref and main stand liner were awful for almost the 90 mins |
Agree with most of that mab; all except for the part about the referee and the liner. I thought the standard of officiating was good enough for the majority of the game. The penalty looked very dubious to me from my angle (just looked as if their player was out-muscled rather than fouled), but I'd have to see it again.
Positives from the game: Our first-half confidence, spirit and organisation. The partnership between Kevin Long and Kern 'the Colonel' Millar, Luke Joyce's midfield domination and Kurtis Guthrie's first half performance.
Negatives: Almost everything else. Kevin McIntyre is not a full-back. On the ball he is good, he tackles well, but his positioning is absolutely awful in that role; always drifting inside. The Iron's right winger could've built a car park in the amount of space he was given down that flank. Our attacking three playing behind the striker were completely ineffective. Barnett is a central player playing out of position; he is unwilling to track back on the flanks or interchange with the others in the three. Lindfield is still a novice at this system and manages to get himself isolated regularly but did work hard. Craney is a country mile off the pace and even failing in his distribution. Guthrie was knackered in the second half due to a) his lack of match fitness to league football standard and b) the failure of the aforementioned attacking players to give him service. Coley's subs were laughable.
We desperately need two attacking midfield players that can push for starts, not just cover. On that note, I believe it was a big mistake to let go of Parkinson.
Lots learned from that tie for the league campaign.