v Cirencester

[Reading Rebel]

The bookies have Cirencester as odds on favourites to beat us tomorrow.

 

It's going to need a massive effort but I've got a feeling we will make a mockery of those odds.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Reading Rebel

[HorshamRebel]

Gives us something to fight against and prove that we are a lot better than our (black and white) scorelines show.

[3spirit]

Sounds like Cirencester pride themselves on being a very fit side and this has been one of the reasons they've been successful so far this season.

Let's hope our lot are ready for them and are inspired to turn them over.  

[RebelDelaney]

Can not make it today hope our fortunes change.

COYREBELS

[HEAVY TRUCKER]

well that shows how wrong bookies can be ! coyr

[3spirit]

Happy Days Are Here Again..........

With Slough and England Rugby team winning. Things are looking up !

 

Great performance from the Slough team today. A well deserved victory. Easily the better team. If anything we made hard work of it by not adding to 1-0 scoreline.

Breath-taking goal by Charlie Mpi again. Just goes to show what can be achieved, when players don't give up the ghost ,when closing down.

 

Very hard to pick a Man of the Match, which shows how well the team played.

Players who caught the eye for me were Luke Williams whose quick throwing was a big plus and the keeper, had a good game all round.

Gary McDonald never missed a header at the back and was so strong. Stuart Lake's confidence and experience beside Gary helped fill a big hole and the big boots of the missing Guy Hollis .

Sean Fraser put the tackles in and Ed Smith, like Charlie chased lost causes and deserved a goal.

 

My Men of the Match, though, was Charlie Mpi, who makes things happen , and for sheer effort and work rate in the second half, Jamie McClurg.

[Ian]

That's the Slough we want to see. Sometimes we can look like we are nervous in possession and don't want to retain the ball but today, in the second half especially, we seemed super confident and couldn't wait to get the ball. Thought the midfield were excellent today in that respect.

 

A great result and deserved three points but more than anything a great and positive performance.

[GlenSTFC]

Great result and sounds like a positive display for us part timers who weren't there today. Confidence booster beating the joint leaders and ahead of a tricky FA Cup tie next Saturday which I'm now looking forward to seeing

[Irishadrian]

Yes excellent all round performance and to think there were members of our forum who were not over the moon about Mpis return Just another good player never appreciated or understood by Bateman and consequently never used to optimum effect. There was an attitude and determination about the team today that has been missing  sometimes recently  They were determined to dig in play hard  and were only interested in the win. Cirencester are a good workmanlike side who will probably be in the top half at the end of the season  Nothing like as good as their early  days position suggested just as we a very much better than our early days position suggested. It also shows we have the players available now who can give any team in the league a good game I havent been persuaded by the people who tried to blame an initial poor start on injuries  No injured player has ever contributed to a poor performance. How can he? He isnt there. Its the responsibility of the team you do put out to produce a good performance and I think Neil and Jon are getting across the message that belief determination and attitudinal change will bring  rapidly improving results.

[Don Juan DeMarcus]

Outstanding engine. The closing down today was superb Cirencester never had time on the ball. We dominated them throughout mom mpi closely followed by Fraser.

[HorshamRebel]

By far the best performance of the season so far.

 

Here's the match photos : https://www.flickr.com/photos/horshamrebel/albums/72157658228178651

[Bernie Gogan]

Very pleased with the application today, we deserved that result and probably should have won by a couple of goals. Our strikers were a cionstant threat and as a team we competed well all over the pitch. Well taken goal by Charlie, an amazing bit of blocking and persistence right in front of me to create the opportunity for himself.

 

Great stuff, lets get some cup results now!

[Reading Rebel]

Happy Days Are Here Again..........

With Slough and England Rugby team winning. Things are looking up !

 

Great performance from the Slough team today. A well deserved victory. Easily the better team. If anything we made hard work of it by not adding to 1-0 scoreline.

Breath-taking goal by Charlie Mpi again. Just goes to show what can be achieved, when players don't give up the ghost ,when closing down.

 

Very hard to pick a Man of the Match, which shows how well the team played.

Players who caught the eye for me were Luke Williams whose quick throwing was a big plus and the keeper, had a good game all round.

Gary McDonald never missed a header at the back and was so strong. Stuart Lake's confidence and experience beside Gary helped fill a big hole and the big boots of the missing Guy Hollis .

Sean Fraser put the tackles in and Ed Smith, like Charlie chased lost causes and deserved a goal.

 

My Men of the Match, though, was Charlie Mpi, who makes things happen , and for sheer effort and work rate in the second half, Jamie McClurg.

 

 

IMO you've left out Nathan Webb who was excellent and was the class act in midfield.

[Reading Rebel]

Yes excellent all round performance and to think there were members of our forum who were not over the moon about Mpis return Just another good player never appreciated or understood by Bateman and consequently never used to optimum effect. There was an attitude and determination about the team today that has been missing  sometimes recently  They were determined to dig in play hard  and were only interested in the win. Cirencester are a good workmanlike side who will probably be in the top half at the end of the season  Nothing like as good as their early  days position suggested just as we a very much better than our early days position suggested. It also shows we have the players available now who can give any team in the league a good game I havent been persuaded by the people who tried to blame an initial poor start on injuries  No injured player has ever contributed to a poor performance. How can he? He isnt there. Its the responsibility of the team you do put out to produce a good performance and I think Neil and Jon are getting across the message that belief determination and attitudinal change will bring  rapidly improving results.

 

 

Not sure I'm with you there Irish.

 

If you have key players missing i.e. Gary McDonald, Stuart Lake, Nathan Webb etc it's bound to make a difference to the team.

 

Yes the players who replace them have to try to step up to the mark but how can you replace the experience and quality of our two center backs? 

[Reading Rebel]

Terrific all round team performance.

 

First half we were dominant without putting the ball in the net.

 

Second half the persistence of Charlie Mpi was rewarded with a great lob over the keeper.

 

1-0 is always a bit edgy and for all our dominance we really should have scored at least another to put the game to bed.

 

Stuart Lake and Gary McDonald looked a solid partnership.

 

I thought Nathan Webb was excellent today and easily the best I've seen him play for us.

 

My MOTM was Charlie Mpi for his overall play and excellent goal closely followed by Nathan Webb and Gary McDonald.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Reading Rebel

[3spirit]

IMO you've left out Nathan Webb who was excellent and was the class act in midfield.

 

Nathan played well but you could name the whole side, as no Slough player had a duff game. Nathan looked tired and feeling his injury, when he came off and he was the obvious man to withdraw.

I thought we may have opted for Lewis Putman as a replacement to play on the left, as an attacking threat, to replace Nathan but the managers were right not to be as gun-ho, as we needed the result and the 3 points foremost.

Searsy shored us up.

 

Besides Lewis was probably drained of his energy, after his exertions on his honeymoon ! ha ha !  

[Graham Cox]

Apart from the first 15 minutes we were the better side in a really good game , sealed with that lovely goal, already a contender for goal of the season. Though the scoreline was not emphatic, I thought the performance better than the thrashing of Histon. 

 

Dont we all hate those last five minutes when the score is still 1-0............definitely the squeaky bum time as the great Sir Alex always said.

 

MOTM for me was Nathan,,,,,,,,,,,I assume his withdrawal for just because of tiredness and not for tactical reasons---the Cirencester supporters around me couldnt believe we took off what several of them described as our best player.

 

Now for the cups !!!

[Jon Underwood]

Apart from the first 15 minutes we were the better side in a really good game , sealed with that lovely goal, already a contender for goal of the season. Though the scoreline was not emphatic, I thought the performance better than the thrashing of Histon. 

 

Dont we all hate those last five minutes when the score is still 1-0............definitely the squeaky bum time as the great Sir Alex always said.

 

MOTM for me was Nathan,,,,,,,,,,,I assume his withdrawal for just because of tiredness and not for tactical reasons---the Cirencester supporters around me couldnt believe we took off what several of them described as our best player.

 

Now for the cups !!!

 

Nath actually asked to come off as he was starting to struggle. Gave us an opportunity to bring on a more defensive midfielder in Searsy as they were pushing more and more players forward in search of an equaliser.

 

I would say he is only 90% fit at the moment but is such an important player to us that we wanted to play him. Agree he was excellent yesterday.

[Sir Rebel1965]

Just what the doctor ordered and what we know the team can do.

[Mr Rebel]

Excellent effort from all the team with a few players upping their games from last few weeks

 

Not a huge amount in it in terms of chances between the sides but with the pressure we enforced on them and how much of the ball we had was definitely a game we deserved to win on the balance of play.

 

Was delighted with how quickly and often we regained possession and we lolked much tougher to break down than we often have at home

 

Winning goal take a bow Mr Mpi. Determination and hunger to not allow the defender an easy clearance, desire to then get up from the tackle and make the loose ball his before an outrageous lob from the wing measured to perfection. Our bench's reaction all in unison arms raised in near disbelief said it all