ETFC 1 Leatherhead 0

[The Crowing Cockerel]

3 points!

To be honest, I thought that was the only real positive to come out of this game. And yes, I appreciate that we were coming off a couple of bad results and managed to keep a clean sheet.

Let's be honest, Leatherhead were poor. The fact that they had 2 shots on target throughout the entire match and dominated territory in the 2nd half says a lot. I feel for their fans who drove around the M25 from Surrey to watch that game.

It really wasn't pretty from Town. Billy worked hard trying to feed off long balls pumped forward (- those 5k runs early in lockdown seem to have paid off!). It took about 35mins before either team strung 3 passes together. Long throws looked the most likely source of a goal for Town. Its back to playing the long ball game. Looks like it might be a long season.

[Richard Katemon]

Well quite enjoyed the game , plenty of effort and commitment and a great debut from Adam Pepera. Looking forward to Tuesday.

[55 seasons]

Could have been two or more up at half time but backs to the wall second half. Peppera was excellent and Jared Small worked tirelessly down the left side.Leatherhead did look poor. We were solid at the back but conceding this much ground for so long in a game will cost us against better sides.

[4wembleyfinals]

I think CC's report is a true reflection on the game as I saw.  A lot of hoofing the ball in the air and Billy B expect to bring it down against 3 defenders. Then when he did not most of the time there was no body within 30 yards of him. 

One thing that struct me was the body language of most of our players. I believe they too are getting tired of the way they are expected to play. It seems that no one is expected to play through midfield. In fact at times it was hard to fathom out who was our midfield. Blackman lined up as centre midfield but rarely appeared there.

Yes I am glad we won, it was needed, but as CC said, it is going to be a long season. Especially for both the supporters, and I suspect some of the team, if someone doesn't come up with alternative match plays which allows players express themselves more. That does not mean not using the long ball when appropriate.

But then that's me,  there will be others who see things differently.

It has been said that AL takes no salary. I don't know if its true or not. But, if true, I find it to be a strange state of affairs. Many may think it is admirable but then being a cynic I wonder if I would keep a chef who doesn't seem to be able to cook, whether he is paid or not. Just a thought.

[old towner]

8 hours ago, 4wembleyfinals said:

I think CC's report is a true reflection on the game as I saw.  A lot of hoofing the ball in the air and Billy B expect to bring it down against 3 defenders. Then when he did not most of the time there was no body within 30 yards of him. 

One thing that struct me was the body language of most of our players. I believe they too are getting tired of the way they are expected to play. It seems that no one is expected to play through midfield. In fact at times it was hard to fathom out who was our midfield. Blackman lined up as centre midfield but rarely appeared there.

Yes I am glad we won, it was needed, but as CC said, it is going to be a long season. Especially for both the supporters, and I suspect some of the team, if someone doesn't come up with alternative match plays which allows players express themselves more. That does not mean not using the long ball when appropriate.

But then that's me,  there will be others who see things differently.

It has been said that AL takes no salary. I don't know if its true or not. But, if true, I find it to be a strange state of affairs. Many may think it is admirable but then being a cynic I wonder if I would keep a chef who doesn't seem to be able to cook, whether he is paid or not. Just a thought.

every thing that has been said i agree  billy needs to grow another couple of feet  (put him in a grow bag !!) as i said befor high balls tall defender short stricker  you can see who wins  lets try a brand new systerm its call play football on the ground !!!

did AL get paid at Chesham UTD ?????

[Steph1]

I cannot understand the negative comments on this thread. We won and deserved to win.

Have you considered that we had a goal (correctly) disallowed in the first half - why we line up in off-side positions for free kicks amazes me. Leatherhead did not push up in any great degree but on the far side to the free kick I could easily see that there were at least 2 players in off-side positions. and this was the side where the lino was standing. Dumb or what!

There goalkeeper made at least 2 good saves in the first half so if we had gone in 3-0 up at half time it would not have been flattering to us.

Second half the Leatherhead goalkeeper made at least 1 brilliant save and as far as chances are concerned I feel that we had our share.

We had come off two defeats where we had conceded 9 goals to have a clean sheet against a team, albeit in the early stages of the season, who were above us at ko is a creditable performance.

You know that I am no fan of the manager but yesterday he produced the goods.

[4wembleyfinals]

As I said I was glad we won.  I also said they were my thoughts and some would take a different view. But "negative comments" !!!!  No the fact that you disagree is acceptable. But believe a number of subscribers are expressing very positive views. Or should I say ways in which they believe a change of approach of the team management would secure more support. If this is negative then one can only assume that in your view how the team are ask to play is positive. 

[littlehampton]

It is always a great pleasure for me, living distance away, to visit the QEII Stadium on match-day, and yesterday was no exception. I would like to start my comments by saying well done and thanks to all our Board members and loyal supporters, who have worked so hard, in many different ways, to improve our ground and facilities, during these troubled times, and keep the Club on an even keel. You have done a fantastic job, for which you deserve great credit.

Moving on to yesterdays match, as Karl Marx might have said about our performance and the result "The end justifies the means." Sometimes you have to roll-up your sleeves, get stuck in, and win ugly. It wasn't quite like that yesterday, but our guys battled well against a very physical Leatherhead side, and after scoring an early goal, held on to their lead, and thoroughly deserved their win and three points, which lifted us back to 7th in the Table, just three points behind the leaders. Early days, and a long, long way to go!

Probably best not to comment on the referee's performance yesterday, so I won't. But, that said, I thought he was excessively lenient in dealing with some of the particularly bad tackles during the match, and surprised many people by adding on an unwarranted amount of added time, after one-minute had been confirmed.

In 48-hours time we host our re-arranged match against Kingstonian, who chalked up a 2-0 home win yesterday against Hornchurch, and come to us level on points, one place behind on goal difference. Should be another close, very exciting match. Don't miss it!  See you there!  ' UP THE TOWN'
 

[4wembleyfinals]

I concur with your remarks LH regarding the hard work and organisation of those behind the scene who have made it possible for us to see matches again despite the restrictions they are placed under.

But I still look forward to seeing a bit more style brought in to our play. I maybe wrong but I have the feeling that some of the players would too. However, as you said it's still early days and another win on Tuesday would not come amiss.

 

 

[Benjrider10]

12 hours ago, Steph1 said:

I cannot understand the negative comments on this thread. We won and deserved to win.

We had come off two defeats where we had conceded 9 goals to have a clean sheet against a team, albeit in the early stages of the season, who were above us at ko is a creditable performance.

I completely agree with Steph. Regular readers/contributors to this forum know who is a fan of the manager and who isn’t. It doesn’t matter, forums are for views to be aired. Personally, I’ve found Andy to be personable and approachable. Again, it doesn’t matter. He has shown plenty of times in the past that he knows where we need to strengthen and invariably he has recruited players who have improved the squad. 

As Steph says, we went into the Leatherhead match having been stuffed twice on the trot. I saw the Stortford match - we played some excellent, free-flowing football; quick passes along the ground; looked pretty good in patches - and conceded 4. Can’t speak for Horsham as I wasn’t there but I thought we played Leatherhead sensibly (cautiously; conservatively - delete as appropriate) and earned the win. Pepera was excellent and fully deserved the man of the match. In fact, I think the back 4 we saw yesterday were solid. Yes, we could have created more but look what happened at Stortford. I’ll happily take the 3 points. 

Losing in the FA cup was disappointing but a midweek away match against a team in form was a tough draw and penalties are a lottery.

We have players who can pass the ball around well, we just need to stitch together the playmaking (in parts) that we saw against Stortford with the grit and determination that we saw yesterday.

I would also like to see whoever partners Billy up front at home games, be closer to him. Too much distance between him and Jared Small yesterday, but that can be addressed.

Like Leatherhead, Kingstonian are close to us in the table so if we can get another win on Tuesday night, it will have been a decent start in the league.
 

 

[4wembleyfinals]

12 hours ago, Benjrider10 said:

We have players who can pass the ball around well, we just need to stitch together the playmaking

12 hours ago, Benjrider10 said:

I would also like to see whoever partners Billy up front at home games, be closer to him. Too much distance between him and Jared Small yesterday, but that can be addressed.

But this is the brunt of our argument B10. It has been at least 2-3 seasons many of us have made these points. How long does one have to wait for it to be addressed.  What we look forward to is a new team ethos ie a mixed pattern of play rather than the one dimensional way we continue to play. I agree with you we have the players to fit into a new pattern but when will they be able to show it? Only the playing management have control over this.

This not a personal issue just a straight forward football management  issue. That is all the manager should be judge on. Again I say this is how I see things but you have of course your own views.