Swifty Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Didn't want to go to Harrow on Saturday anyway! A less than auspicious start to the season. We were aimless for the first half and Cockfosters deserved their two goal lead at the interval, from an unmarked but well guided header by Ben Andreos in the 20th and an unfortunate cushion header across goal by Alex in the 44th. After a touch of the hairdryers by Ben, we were markedly improved in the second half but still couldn't find our way back in an open 45 minutes. The new signings bedded in well despite the defeat, and sub Bayley Mummery brought out the best save of the night when a rocket on the turn was superbly saved by Tom Coulter. You knew it was going to be one of those nights when an away player went down with cramp right by the touchline in the 94th minute. Logic dictated that the ref ask the player to move over the touchline for treatment. After three whole minutes of treatment Russ helped him off the pitch involuntarily and was carded by the ref. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Chinnon Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 A fair summary, may I suggest. However, the referee was a bit disappointingly slow to show 'who was in charge', and I was bit concerned when he declined a nice cuppa and asked for a Ribena. In case anyone asks, my account has been hacked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Man Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Ed, not 100% sure but I think the yellow card at the end was for the player with cramp following his part in the earlier shoving match rather than Russ. One or two unsavoury comments from the touchline patrolling Ashford fan but a touch of humour when an older Ashford fan offered the cramp stricken Cockfosters player his walking stick Nice to say hello to all and sundry and a decent crowd for the first game back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Chinnon Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 TM - not so much about the "older Ashford fan"!! It was me, and I was just trying to assist (I promise), and the player took it in good heart which is how it was intended. I also thought that the ref was intending to book the stricken player, and not Russ, although it will come out in the wash. Good luck to Cockfosters in the final - decent people and polite, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Apologies if I got the card incident wrong. The view from and reactions in the Tangerine terrace suggested Russ had got carded. Mack's account's been hacked again? Methinks the problem's been caused by too many looks at the Russian / Asian / mature dating websites. ..er, allegedly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Man Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Mack, sorry, maybe I should have used the word mature He certainly did take it in good heart. Some good banter flying around as always and nice to see Johnno now of Spelly there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenMurray Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Swifty agree with your comments, we looked under prepared first half and think it showed that it was the first game on a Stadium pitch. The pitches we have been playing on in pre-season have been quite a lot smaller than ours. We were slow to shut down in the right areas and the mentality was not that of a semi-final first half. The lads responded well after the break, we created numerous good chances and it was crucial to see three new players come into the game and watch them do well. Bottom line, last night we were not good enough to deal with the specific threats that Cockfosters provided and we did not take our chances in front of goal, therefore we did not deserve anything from it from a competitive semi-final point of view, which I know was disappointing for supporters. In terms of preparation for the league season, it was an extremely valuable exercise and we move forward now to Abbey Rangers on Saturday. On the squad front, we completed two further signings last night in Scott Elgar and Scott Weight, who both add to the experience of the squad in the midfield area. It was great to see so many returning supporters last night and hope that a number of you can make the 'Meet The Players' evening on Thursday 6th August! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Cheers for the response, Guru. I knew you weren't overly happy with the first half when you told some of the players to get into the changing rooms pronto! Not sure if I can make the players' night on the 6th (my Dad goes into hospital again that day), but I'll come along if I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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