Stalybridge

Very disappointed by tonight's result.

It was a tale of two halves.

In the first half we were shockingly bad, and allowed Stalybridge some success with their one dimensional long ball game. We were indecisive, stuck in 1st gear and just didn't play anywhere near the type of football we have come to expect. Luke Dean didn't have one of his better days and we were always going to struggle with Johnny on the pitch (he just doesn't cut it) . One huge mistake from Craig and we found ourselves 1 down in the first couple of minutes.

The second half was a different story, we probably had 70% of the possession, Bolder (by far head and shoulders above everyone) really started to dominate and a little bit more composure in front of goal and we should have got a draw at the very least. I guess when you play against 12 men (the ref included) you are always going to find it difficult. Words do not describe the ref tonight, probably the poorest I have witnessed in a long time. All in all they were there for the taking and it was one of those nights where we could have played for 3 hours and not scored.

One thing I did admire about Stalybridge was their number 11's pace, Weaver when we get these FA Cup funds, get your cheque book out and sign this guy, his pace was electric.

We were still on the bus 1st half!
And even when we did get going we just couldn't create any clear cut chances!
A few players missing, a few off the pace of the game, we played to narrow, with not enough width to get behind the StalyVegas fullbacks!

Looking at it from a different view, it was our second game in the space of 3 days, so the players were bound to be a little tired. Craig has been outstanding recently, and people do make mistakes. Unfortunately, it led to Stalybridge scoring.

I think the referees and linesmen/women who do work predominately on Blue Square matches need to be assessed more stringently, as in the last 3 years of watching town, I can count on one hand the number of decent refereeing performances that we have had. Last night was a prime example.

My friend was watching it last night as he is a Stalybridge fan, and he said that we deserved a draw last night.

We have had an amazing run recently, and we still have 3/4 games in hand on the rest of the league, so its not all doom and gloom.

Stay positive, as I believe that really big things will happen for this club in the future.

Neil I understand what you are saying and I am as positive as the next person regarding Harrogate Town but the first half wasn't down to fatigue, it was down to Weaver not preparing them properly.

They were too complacent, walked out as though they had won the game already, and when Stalybridge scored they spent far too long scratching their heads rather than getting a hold of the game - in the meantime Stalybridge could have bagged a couple more goals.

Now we are all excited about the cup competitions and it is a fantastic achievement for Town but we don't want to take our foot off the pedal when it comes to the league, because before we know it, we will have no games in hand and scrapping it out in the lower half. We also will have a huge gap now for a home league game looking at the weather so we need points on the table rather than getting complacent about games in hand and sitting in the lower half of the table.

Looking at the Stalybridge messageboard, they vary between thinking it was a fair result and thinking we should have got a draw. So it's probably not that bad a performance overall. We're going to lose a few let's face it.

Interesting comments about the ref. I've seen some poor ones over the years (not just at Wetherby Road). The officials at the Vauxhall match were a cut above as far as I was concerned (I think gedmaloney said the same) and apart from a couple of throw ins which I was doubtful of, I had no quibbles with anything they did. Nice to see that "normality" returned against the Celtic

trevdee wrote:Very disappointed by tonigheveryone) really started to dominate and a little bit more composure in front of goal and we should have got a draw at the very least. I guess when you play against 12 men (the ref included) you are always going to find it difficult. Words do not describe the ref tonight, probably the poorest I have witnessed in a long time. All in all they were there for the taking and it was one of those nights where we could have

I thought the ref had a great game. As for we were there for the taking I think Harrogate Town think they are better than what they are a bit big headed you just looked an average team.

Celtic Blue wrote:

trevdee wrote:Very disappointed by tonigheveryone) really started to dominate and a little bit more composure in front of goal and we should have got a draw at the very least. I guess when you play against 12 men (the ref included) you are always going to find it difficult. Words do not describe the ref tonight, probably the poorest I have witnessed in a long time. All in all they were there for the taking and it was one of those nights where we could have

I thought the ref had a great game. As for we were there for the taking I think Harrogate Town think they are better than what they are a bit big headed you just looked an average team.

An average team that's made the 2nd round of the fa cup. And how's that full time project going packed with youngsters? We considered the possibility before deciding it was a waste of time and didn't make financial sense.

Yep, we are going to lose some games of course, but still disappointing. Still think we probably need another decent striker in the squad: Allen really doesn't have it anymore. One of the troubles with cup runs is that 'everyone' (maybe semi-consciously), allows it to dominate their thinking (players, management, fans too), and other results suffer.
Saturday a tough encvounter but getting through to round two of the FA Trophy is worth fighting for.

town supporter wrote:

Celtic Blue wrote:

trevdee wrote:Very disappointed by tonigheveryone) really started to dominate and a little bit more composure in front of goal and we should have got a draw at the very least. I guess when you play against 12 men (the ref included) you are always going to find it difficult. Words do not describe the ref tonight, probably the poorest I have witnessed in a long time. All in all they were there for the taking and it was one of those nights where we could have

I thought the ref had a great game. As for we were there for the taking I think Harrogate Town think they are better than what they are a bit big headed you just looked an average team.

An average team that's made the 2nd round of the fa cup. And how's that full time project going packed with youngsters? We considered the possibility before deciding it was a waste of time and didn't make financial sense.

Well, you would say the referee had a great game, as your team won. However, if you had lost, you would have been criticising the referee.

trevdee wrote:Neil I understand what you are saying and I am as positive as the next person regarding Harrogate Town but the first half wasn't down to fatigue, it was down to Weaver not preparing them properly.

They were too complacent, walked out as though they had won the game already, and when Stalybridge scored they spent far too long scratching their heads rather than getting a hold of the game - in the meantime Stalybridge could have bagged a couple more goals.

Now we are all excited about the cup competitions and it is a fantastic achievement for Town but we don't want to take our foot off the pedal when it comes to the league, because before we know it, we will have no games in hand and scrapping it out in the lower half. We also will have a huge gap now for a home league game looking at the weather so we need points on the table rather than getting complacent about games in hand and sitting in the lower half of the table.

Its not as if we got thrashed, we were a bit slow out of the blocks and paid for it. A couple of wins in the league with our games in hand, and we will be in the top 10. It was just 1 defeat.

Onwards and Upwards!!

Just checked the Staly site. In the team line ups, they have Jose de Viega replacing Killock on 9 minutes. Shome Mistake Shurely...bit too long in the bar after the game perhaps?