Cray Valley Paper Mills FC Vs ETFC (FA Cup 4QR)

[The Crowing Cockerel]

So, on paper a great chance to advance. The bookies have us down as the favourites, but this is a Cray Valley side who have beaten Lordswood, Uxbridge, Northwood and Carshalton to get to this stage. They've scored 10 goals in 3 FA Cup matches at home - and Carshalton lost two out of three games against them to crash out of both FA competitions. Gavin described them as a Step 3 side playing at Step 4. Make no mistake, Cray Valley will take some beating tomorrow. We're going to need a Halesowen-type performance to stand a chance. If we can produce that then we've got half a chance!

[Raingod]

Yes excited for this one ...  think it will be tough .. wonder if Lyle will be fit/available  to play against us - if so let's make sure we dont concede any free kicks in the final third ..

Hoping we take a lot of support and cheer the team into the draw on Monday ..  whilst I would take a draw over a defeat it will be a real hassle as I am meant to be up north with work Mon-Weds so would have to find some creative excuses for a reschdule if so!

Team wise, wasnt at Chesham so can't comment on performances ... given Sykes is cup tied I would expect Birch to come back in and a repeat of the Halesowen line up .. or could we give our young new forward a start?

[The Crowing Cockerel]

1 hour ago, Raingod said:

wonder if Lyle will be fit/available  to play against us - if so let's make sure we dont concede any free kicks in the final third ..

Cray Valley's match preview says he's their only injury absentee this weekend - which I suppose is a shame.

[lovely stuff]

Our best tactic would be to try to minimise giving away corners. Also try to minimise free-kicks and throw-in's in the final third of the pitch. Also be very careful of sending's off and penalties. All these things are Cray's best chance of winning.

If we are wary of their tactics and match them for desire, then our extra quality should (should) see us over the line.

Edited October 13, 2023 by lovely stuff

[The Crowing Cockerel]

If you look at the Cray Valley squad almost all of them have Isthmian Prem/National League South experience. I think it really is a lottery tomorrow. Their Manager Steve McKimm has obviously got them playing very well as they're unbeaten this season. I think we've got goals in us - we showed that last week. Lets just hope its one more than them!

[djwilf]

Come on Town....let s put in a performance for the season!!!  

[dwhe]

0-1 town wyllie

[dwhe]

1-1

[dwhe]

1-2

[seemgee]

7 minutes ago, dwhe said:

1-2

Beckles-Richards

[dwhe]

2-2

sorry seemgee, i thought you wernt here reporting

[seemgee]

3-2 down 66 mins

[seemgee]

Youngs 2nd yellow down to 10 men 90 mins

4-2 down added time

[seemgee]

5-2

[Ignored by most]

Oh well another year to wait 

[The Crowing Cockerel]

Its taken till the middle of October to say this, but here I go: Gavin got it wrong. The tactics and formation were wrong, and the worst thing: it felt like a return to the bad old days of Andy Leese hoof ball. I appreciate there's a time and a place to 'go long', but surely it wasn't today with the personnel we had available. Time and again the ball was played long down the middle of the park and time and again the Cray centre halves tidied up. Some may point to the 2 goals we did score as vindicating the policy, but they came from two errors from the centre half rather than anything wonderfully creative on our part. It was a crying shame that at no time did we try and play the ball out wide and stretch the opposition. On another day we go in 2-1 up with the ref blowing his half-time whistle on time, Richmond plants his header in the top corner, and Dylan is awarded a penalty. Equally, Cray hit the crossbar and had 3 or 4 other gilt-edged opportunities. The midfield appeared over-run and Scott Thomas looked past his best.

Conceding 9 goals in 2 games has done a great deal to undermine the hope I had 4 weeks ago. We crash out in lacklustre fashion and miss out on a wonderful opportunity which may not come around again for a few years. It appears that Gavin is not, in fact, the Messiah.

[4wembleyfinals]

No being able to attend matches still, I fully appreciate the reasons for your critique of our current position and feel your disappointment too.

Without having seen things for myself, other than the highlights of some of our games.  From the  reports I have read, including Gavin's own  observations, things aren't going as well as we, or he, had hoped for on the pitch. I think that I will therefore  delay my views until we hear what he has to say.

In my gut I feel that certain players, from the previous seasons,  still have not bought into his philosophy and have reverted back to their old ways. Especially those in midfield.

If I recall in fairness he never suggested he was the  "Messiah" and promised no miracles. But he was clear as to his beliefs and how the game should be played and the players he would like to attract. I think , therefore, he should be given time to recruit players that think his way. After all we have never had a really good midfielder since Billy Crook left. Remember where he came from and who was the manager.

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by 4wembleyfinals

[djwilf]

Missed the first goal unfortunately,   their equaliser was quite comical/fortunate in that Rhys seemed wrong footed or flat footed with a mis hit at the back post.   Our 2nd was a nice move which Reece finished well, however think their equaliser on the stroke of half time was a gamechanger as we couldn't seem to hold on to our lead for long.

2nd half was a completely different game.   We couldn't keep the ball, most of our play was eaten up by their centre halves.   Wouldn't say they were really 3 goals better than us but they seemed to have much more of the ball in the last half hour and we rarely troubled their keeper apart from Dylan seemingly fouled in the area and we really didn't get anything from the assistant on the bench side with what should have been a clear corner which was given as a goal kick.

We seemed overrun in the 2nd half and our defence was put under more and more pressure.  Equally, we didn't hold on to the ball enough up front and it was really crying out for someone like Jake to hold the ball up for others and to also ensure it didn't come back straight away.   Despite one goal each, I thought both Marcus and Reece had quiet games and it could have been different had Reece created something when he was put in with a poor back pass.

Cray were worth their goals second half, they created much more, hit the crossbar and the pitch seemed to be tilting towards our goal.   Whatever adjustments Cray made certainly worked, we looked very leggy at the end, probably as we didn't control the play enough and the last couple of goals really hurt.   Tactically or physically, we definitely were 2nd best after half time.

 

Be interesting to see how this bunch of players responds after today.   Very tough loss and so near but yet so far and a real shame we couldn't get over the line.

ps, what was all the fuss about that the Ref stopped the game start of 2nd half?  Seemed a few of the Town "fans" were involved and some unhappy fans towards the end of the game.   Not what you want to see.

[Kent Towner]

Embarrassing performance...embarrassing behaviour by the usual suspects.

Non-League grounds and alcohol...bad news.

[Benjrider10]

Good summary djwilf. We played well in the first half and Cray’s second equaliser was indeed a game-changer. This will read like sour grapes but that second goal was, I thought, considerably past the “minimum 5 minutes” injury time the referee added to the first half. 5 minutes was about right but the equaliser came a good 7 minutes into the supposedly 5.

But we didn’t create anything in the second half and you knew it wasn’t going to be our day when the ref waved away what looked like a cast iron penalty to me, when we were 2-3 down. Good luck to Cray, they deserved to go through.

Don’t know what all the shenanigans were near the clubhouse but if was some of our younger supporters making a nuisance of themselves, then shame on them.