Swifty Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 A ground-out point against a very good passing side. No doubt Royston will be disappointed at not taking all three points. Without giving too much away, it seems the lads have been told to play a particular formation and in a particular way to stem the tide of goals conceded and it's worked for the last few games. I wasn't aware of this until our esteemed chairman told me in the second half that we were playing to plan. I assume we'll play this way until new signing Lee Scott recovers from injury. The problem was that many supporters didn't know the team was playing as directed and were generally unhappy at the end result, particular for the first hour or so. Royston took territorial advantage - defender Taylor Page and attacking midfielder Tom Malins were livewires and hot to handle, though we managed to keep them at bay - and were well on top for the first half without troubling Kyle or our resolute defence too much. Our first shot wasn't until the 40th minute and we scored from it. Joe, who'd played very deep and been very reserved beforehand, jinked into the box from the right and past two defenders before laying the ball on a plate for Kofi to knock it home from eight yards out. Kofi had a chance to make it 2-0 just before half time but his shot was too soft. Royston eventually equalised in the 57th minute. A 25 yard free kick was hit low to Kyle's right, and he pulled off a fine save but Ryan Lockett was first to the rebound by some distance. At this point Ashford got annoyed with themselves. started playing more the way we're used to and put Royston under some good pressure. Bairoh and sub Sammy got in each other's way for a header in front of an open goal, Palla made a nuisance of himself, and there was some lovely link-up and interchange play and a determination to push forward which seemed to be missing earlier. Royston had their chances but most were high and wide, except for Kaan Femmi's late shot low against a post. The ref lost the plot badly in the last ten minutes. Royston's keeper Will Norris didn't get booked for bringing the ball out of the area with his hands, and he'd been booked earlier for bringing Palla down near the touchline. There was also an altercation where Femmi and Russ could have walked but they only got yellows. The ref was able to count to ten when marching out distances for free kicks but failed miserably to get the walls anywhere near the full distance back. Man of the match for me today was Weighty. He made a couple of superb last-ditch tackles and was both vocal and determined, particularly after the equaliser. It was a case of 'drawing ugly' but a very handy point against the second placed team. Everyone stuck to their task, and you couldn't fault the resolution and spirit, even if the application wasn't always there. No doubt I'll have the rise taken out of me on Thursday night - either I need a new stopwatch, or the club needs a new tannoy announcer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUFFING BILLY Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 yes swifty i agree an ugly draw,but i have a few questions, 1st why was the club`s leading goal scorer Mark Bitmead left on the bench for most of the game? against 2nd in the league a very strange decision. 2nd Joe Bennet was having a wonderful game created the goal with a brilliant run along the wing and a pass to Kofi to score,caused problems all afternoon for Royston,his reward for all his hard work, to be taken off with 15 mins to go,shocking decision by the manager, no wonder some voices were raised at that one. 3rd Bairoh was having a poor game,it was his mis-control of the ball and subsequent foul on the Royston player which lead directly to the Royston equaliser,why was he not subbed? 4th Pietro is just not up to this level of football.why play him? 5th What has happened to our mid-field,we just do not use them, long ball from the back almost every time,lets play the ball out from the back, keep the ball and put pressure on our opponents. On the whole a resonable performance by the team up against 2nd in the league. Man of the match SW you must be joking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimBoyFat Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I wonder why some people come on here and spout utter rubbish that makes them look stupid, Puffing Billy were you at the game ? The manager made the decision to play Joe Bennett (who you yourself say had a wonderful game) in place of Mark Bitmead who didn't train on Thursday so why is that a strange decision, sounds like a good one. As for taking Joe off, anyone watching the game would have seen him go down with cramp when Bitz was brought on and struggle towards the end so he was taken off. Wrong decision ? Bairoh having a poor game ? Pietro not good enough ? ,Sorry that's just crap. You seem intent on slagging off individual players instead of getting behind a team that you claim to support. Makes me wonder...... SBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenwill Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Totally agree Phil I thought it was a very decent effort by the lads against a very competant Royston side. Managers decisions will allways upset somebody but to question substituting a player with a bad attack of cramp in the last minutes of the game is somewhat baffling Puffing Billy. Both Bairoh and Steve Weight as did the rest of the team played very well and through most of the game Steve's voice was the main one urging the team on. Definitly Man of the match for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith B Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I must confess to being a bit troubled by some of the comments on here. Whilst we cannot know of any un-announced tactics, we must have trust in our management team, or say openly otherwise. I did not manage to get to the game (for reasons I have previously shared), so must rely on this forum and the NLP. Sam Petherwick is doing a fine job in the Press role. Well done young man, and keep the good work up, please. However, just one question remains - is Puffing Billy related to Thomas the Tank Engine? I respect the right to have different opinions, but how can one person have so different views of the same game, compared to others? Is he an undercover agent for a local rival? Bairoh and Scott W (Tony - not Steve W as per your post, but you are forgiven!!!) are two cogs in a very good wheel (squad), IMHO. Keep it going, Burgo & Batts, plus their talented colleagues, and the under-stated efforts of Joe B, and the fine work by Ben Jacobs in caring for the pitch. Merry Christmas to you and yours! See you in the Spring, if not before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitbull Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I think Puffing Billy should grow a pair and attend next Thursday evening and he can then get a personal answer to his questions from the manager himself. This is unlikely though as he is getting the response he wants by people biting at the drivel he writes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenwill Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Apologies to Scott ,Though I expect he's been called worse than Steve in his career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manurgrate Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Blimey I dont know what Billy's been puffing but I bet its not legal! Bairaoh had an excellent game, he would have been my Man of the Match. Yes was partly at fault for the goal but that was his only mistake of the match and I thought Kyle ( although he too had an excellent match) was partly at fault for not having at least four in the wall. I didn't understand giving the kicker half the goal to aim at. The Puffer might be on slightly firmer ground with Mark Bitmead. It does seem a bit odd that probably our most talented player very rarely seems to play 90 minutes. I am not convinced that this advanced wing back position is the best way to use his talents. Overall a good result, we defended manfully and in response to questions about tactics , surely it is in response to the amount of goals that we were leaking a few weeks back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith B Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 For clarification purposes, let's remember that our manager is an Ashford legend goalkeeper, and his assistant a former fine centre-back. I am sure we are in good hands as far as defensive tactics are concerned - by the way, where are the next generations of Ross Davidson and Jim Heggarty? (Please don't say they are budding prison officers). (Only joking, your Honour). I feel very upbeat about our potential, albeit on a small but well managed budget. Like everyone else, Puffing Billy is entitled to have an opinion - even if many others disagree. Be nice to be able to put a face to the name though, as talking is far better than tweeting or chatting solely though the Forum. Gotta go - the cricket is about to start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUFFING BILLY Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Hi all, nice to know my sage words are being read,they are only my opinion,life would be very dull if we all thought the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith B Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Agree & respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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