Thoughts on Carshalton game.

[Chris1]

It was nice to see a quick Margate team getting numbers up to support the front men and still getting back to defend.

 

The formation was interesting, with Stubbs in a high central role supporting the front men Power (left) and Peters (right).

 

Unfortunately with all that running, and mainly young lads, we lacked the stamina to make it through to the end. So by about the 60 minute mark we started to get ragged and let them back into it.

 

Then having conceded a goal you could see the tide turn and I think with young lads you will always see the disappointment show in their game. I am not saying heads dropped, but the confidence definitely waned.

 

Forwards: Power, good skill and hit the post. Stubbs, loads of running in a key position. Peters, classy as ever, although luck didn't go his way.

 

Midfield: Hickman - plenty of effort and good attitude. Wilson - some good touches. Some might say Morris didn't shine, but he was out of position on the left. Quain came on like-for-like, but looked in need of match practice.

 

Defence: Taylor looked good most of the game alongside Smith in central defence, however was missing when Jolly was put through for the second. Parkinson (right back) is highly rated by Welling, but quite a few passes went astray. Nice goal though, and got forward plenty. Corbishley at left back was sound.

 

Special mention for goalie Mullins, who bossed his area well. Maybe could have been better positioned for the second, but let's not split hairs.

 

The team looked tight and well organised, however if we are going to win matches with pace we will have to find a way of keeping it going until the end, otherwise the same thing will happen.

 

Carshalton weren't all that to be honest, and we will face tougher tests by far. Still, it could have been worse.

[michael]

Agree with most of the above,and overall i thought the team did really really well.

Except one-all played well.

 

I saw it slightly different to Chris insofar as Mullins had very little to do except pick ball out of net twice and i don't think he could be faulted for either goal.He does worry me though, and were a couple of occasions when i thought he should have come for corners, and his shot stopping has not been tested yet.

 

I like the solid line up from BA and there were some very good performances all round.

 

Surprisingly, the football itself was as good as last season-if not better-team had gelled quite well.

 

Well done BA

 

Difficult to pick a mom-between wilson,smith ,taylor and power.

 

Heads did drop after the second goal .

 

Smith-immense-especially first half.Taylor-superb second half.

 

Power led the line really well-for Haworth fans-Power did as much running and again led line wel.

Wilson and Stubbs-good-wilson esp. in first half, stubbs esp in second half.

 

Parkinson solid defensively-but agree passing could have been better.

 

Margate marginally better side first half, Carlshalton better the second

 

The manor of the second goal was heartbreaking.

 

It has to be said that Hickman made a terrible error-square pass direct to there player in our own half and guy just waltzed through and scored.

Now all players make individual errors and you are disappointed but accept it.

However, it must be commented that Hickman had a shocking game up to then-i can't remeber one pass that found our own side-probably squandered 10 vital mins of possession by very poor passing.

Obviously captain because of his vocal ability,but he even went quiet in second half because he was playing so poorly.Did'nt even give cover to Parkinson when Parkinson went on soe very good forward runs.

Giving away the goal was an error but forgiveable-the rest of his performance though was so poor.A serious rethink needed here as we saw similar in the friendlies.

He needs to give an immense performance onTuesday to convince many of us i believe.

 

Otherwise, we should be very heartened by today.

 

The boys and management did good-even BA was well behaved on the sidelines.

 

well done Margate,and i just trust they are not too deflated.

 

(do agree with Chris that carshalton were poorish-but Margate take credit for making them look average.

[michael]

The other positive thing to add is that wilsons corner delivery is good,and with power, smith,taylor and parkinson we look a genuine threat at attacking corners.

 

(a bit disappointing therefore to concede from a corner to our own back post )

 

[Chris1]

I believe it was a free kick Michael, from about 25 yards out near the right touch line, but I agree with what you say in general. In fact there was a delay in taking the kick because a man was down, and during all that time nobody picked up Jolly in the centre of the area. As it happened it went to the far post where we had plenty of personnel, and it still went in.

[Drummer]

Some reasonable points made above about today's game. I would add that I thought that Corbishley had a really good first half and agree that Smith and Taylor look good - it's nice to see Louis Smith getting some long overdue credit as he has been a good servant to the club in the last two or three years, playing in a variety of defensive positions.

 

I don't know that "heads went down" after the first goal though - it did seem that we had a great first half hour then almost "took our foot off the gas" and allowed Carshalton back into the game when we were leading. Perhaps we just underestimate Carshalton? At 1-1 Power was unlucky with a shot that hit the bar so we could have taken the lead even then.

 

Judging by today's performance I think that BA & PS have started on what looks to be a good job and I hope that they get the support their efforts deserve.

[JeremyJacobs]

michaelmichael said "Heads did drop after the second goal"

 

this tends to happen with young sides. If we lose two or three on the spin.......

[Tony_T]

Being an exile, I didn't get to see any pre-season games but was heartened by our performance yesterday. It was nice to see good set pieces and an overall better-than-expected team performance. We have a long season ahead of us and there are definitely a few players in that team that will shine.

Wasn't totally unhappy with the result although I agree with Carshaltons manager, we deserved at least a point.

The main thing for me was no one 'gobbing off' at the ref constantly and it certainly seems like we will end more games with 11 men on the field!!! (so far anyway!)

 

KEEP IT UP BLUES AND WELL DONE BA FOR HIS TEAM AND SQUAD SELECTION!

[Jeff Trice]

In case it's of interest to anybody who didn't go yesterday here's a photo showing the new kit...

 

Michael Power

[Cookie]

Dammit,they've added those white frills to the bottom of the shorts.

[Jeff Trice]

For some reason there's also a couple of grey bits at the bottom of the shirt - don't show when it's tucked in though.

[michael]

Taken from the isthmian forum, in case anybody has not seen it, and is interested-here are some thoughts from a carlshalton supporter-and he got it about right.

 

 

Honest but drunk assessment is that our 3-5-2 didn't work at all. You should have been several up at half time. When we finally changed to 4-4-2 about midway through the second half, your youngsters couldn't cope with the change. Think we got lucky to be honest but you've got to keep thinking for ninety minutes and handle the changes to win.

 

Your 4 was lucky to stay on the pitch (as was our 8 - Paul Honey) for a couple of silly challenges. Other than that hard but clean game and could easily half been 3 points for you...

 

 

well done again though for yesterday margate-so disappointed for all involved after doing so well for 60 minutes

[Coffin Ender]

We can all pick holes in the performance, and to lose was disappointing, but you've got to remember we have a brand new team. Yesterday's first half was better than anything served up last season. It was ten times better than how we played at Carshalton last season, and I believe Carshalton will finish top half in May. As for heads going down, unlike everyone else I can't read our players' minds, however I think Carshalton changing their formation and bringing on some subs was a bigger factor in our defeat. We are a 'work in progress' but the management have done extremely well to put a decent-looking team together in a short period of time amid supposed chaos.

[michael]

Agree wholeheartedly -and in particular agree that it was better than anything 'served up' last season.

 

I really hope these guys get the support they deserve on tuesday .

 

I also think we need to get rid of the mindset of 'youth and inexperience'-in case it rubs off on the players too much.

 

Of course we will not win every game and yes we are a youngish side-but most are over 20 and that is not that young.

Equally of that squad yesterday, 13 at least have played at ryman or a higher level.

 

The simple facts are that most of them are pretty good players in their own right who can hold their own with most ,and are not the 'ryman journeymen' who we and most ryman supporters are used to seeing every week.

As BA stated-he is looking for players who are good and can improve-and to date,in most instances i think he has achieved that-with more to come.

 

Up the 'Gate

[Ian_Sanderson]

Was SCS injured ?

[Cookie]

Apparently he was batting at a cricket match & was "dropped". So he was "not out" there!

[Coffin Ender]

I hope we get good support on Tuesday. It could be a toughie so we'll need it. Hendon are very good going forward. Watch out for Byfield on the left, they signed him from Hillingdon in the summer, on his day he's like a poor man's Giggs. However, they are shaky at the back. Could be quite an entertaining game.

 

 

[bluedog]

I was at the game saturday and i was pleasantly surprised with the performance from the lads. After hearing we were favourites for the drop, I feel alot more optomistic for the season.

 

Its going to be a difficult season, but if we can play like we did first half I think we can finish top half of the league. I cannot believe after watching 3 games in pre season SCS was on the bench! His shot stopping will be needed this season with this new young team with have. Looking forward to the game Tuesday against a strong looking Hendon side.

[homeforegood]

watched pat mullin and scott in all the pre season games,management( which must include the legand)made the right decision.

mullin is not a shot stopper,he is a goalkeeper.

strang post this??.

[BlueGate Alan]

I think what HMF may be saying is that Mullins talks and commands at the back, or at least that's what I saw in pre season games. Nice choice to have after last season I believe!

 

Thanks for the reports, and though we lost sounds encouraging.

[blueblood]

I believe 21 is the average age of the lads.