Tonights game

[Alan W (GNFC)]

Slightly disappointing with opposition going down to 10 again, but the again an unbeaten run of 7 is still not bad going & its another away point after all.

[Alan W (GNFC)]

7 yellow cards (in the 2 for Rankin) and a total of 50 yellow cards in the 11 Conference games tonight !

[Hannah]

De Bolla seems to get booked every match!

[ColtheJock]

A good result for the Fleet, but our ability against 10 men is beginning to become a worry. I suppose in a way if we are being hard, that is 4 points dropped in two away games where the opposition have played a large chunk of the 2nd half with 10 men. Still 7 games unbeaten is a hugh positive and some injuries are part and parcel of the game. Just look at the problems Charlton are having at the moment on that front. Bookings and suspensions along with injuries have to be dealt with across the season and that could be the test for a not overly big squad of players. A win on Saturday I think would prove that the Fleet can be a force this season, and would set them up for the two big games to follow.

[Richard C]

http://www.rdfcnet-forum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=11540&sid=e4c0d23346df38003ed14143c2154e5a

 

Best side they have played this season - comments like this make me more and more confident . . .

[Harry J Allstars]

Away from home against a former league side that try and boot the ball out of the ground at every opportunity and with losing our two best centre backs add to that the team coach not arriving until 19:00 and I would have taken a point if offered it before the game.

 

However I am again dissapointed, not with the teams performance (this isn't a negative post), but with the fact that we didn't score.

 

We had a goal dissallowed, hit the bar twice (Danny Slatter and Ross Smith), had one cleared off the line and made the goalkeeper make a fine stop, the ball just would not go in for us in the first half when if you look at things we could have been (I'm not joking) 5-0 up.

 

Second half was a much more tonned down affair which saw "Rooshden" have more of the play. They had their chances and Lance was called in to action on a few occasions to perform at his excellent best.

 

Injurys are a worry but I think they'll be okay, they just looked like knocks and the management didn't want to risk them. I think Coleman went off because they were reduced to 10 mean and Liam wanted to capitalise on it with three up front.

 

Best moment of the night though has to go down to their mascot. A Lion wearing goalkeepers gloves running out of the tunnel just before kick off to lead the players out. Think Joan Of Arc leading her troops into battle against the British at the Battle of Patay riding past her men for inspiration on horse back, flag in one hand sword in the other. However this isn't 15th Century France and I doubt very much the Lion was sent by God to defeat the 'Fleet so it was perhaps over doing it a bit.

 

7 games unbeaten, and starting to make a name for ourselves. Can't wait for Saturday now. Roll on Dr Albans.

[Jimmy]

I didn't think I would be a little disappointed with a point at Rushden but in all fairness we could have and probably should have taken all 3. This is no exaggeration - we could have been 3-0 after half an hour.

 

Rushden were appalling, old Conference favourites like Wayne Hatswell and Paul Watson still clogging their way around with another pay day - no invention, no idea except big boot up the front and the idea that teams will just lie down and let the "big club" walk over them.

 

Mark Ricketts was a different class last night, along with the other boys and if you were a neutral you would have picked us out as the home, ex league side not them.

 

The unbeaten run stretches out to 7, hopefully to 8 against Dr Albans.

 

The injury front is worrying - but both did walk off the pitch - Macca clearly with a recurrence of his dead leg and Ross with what looked like some sort of muscle strain.

 

In addition to Harry's highlight of the guy in a lion costume running out with a flag was Daish giving Paul Hart a hard time and no doubt some "interesting" advice as they squared up in the first half and the nugget of info that Peter Hawkins used to be called Bruce Forsyth at Rushden.

 

A word on the referee - a permatanned incompetent with seemingly no grasp on the laws or how to interpret them - Rankine should have gone for the first elbow which happened next to him. Hopefully we won't cross paths again.

[Stu M]

Quote:

Jimmy said:
old Conference favourites like Wayne Hatswell

Did anyone use the words 'cuckold' and 'Mark Wright' in his direction?

[David Holden]

Quote:

Alan W (GNFC) said:
Keeling has hit the bar and we've had acouple of other near misses as well. De Bolla booked though his 4th yellow of the season according to official website(not 5th as Chas seemed to think)

I can't believe that you actually doubted the website.

Last night was Mark's 4th yellow.

[Fleet4Ever]

A good result for the Fleet, despite Rushden having a man dismissed. Having drawn with Exeter, Halifax and Rushden whilst beating Grays really shows how far we have come other the last couple of months and 7 games unbeatan reflects this.

At the start of the season, anything but relegation was thought to have been a good season but thats certainly not the case now. Majority of fans will now be expecting a top 10 finish? I certainly hope so.

The main coup for this season though so far, is the pace in which we play. With Keeling, DeBolla, Slatter, Coleman and Sodje all possesing very good pace, which is a handful for any defence.

Long may these performances continue, as you don't achieve or win anything for being 7th after 10 games. A very brighter season in prospect indeed though.

 

Win Saturday puts as in good stead for the Weymouth and Daggers games.

 

Appy' Days.

[Richard C]

Without even mentioning Moore's pace!!

[Fleet4Ever]

True. Just shows we are a team to be watched.

 

Surprise package? Maybe.

[Jeff]

Ssshhh!

[jc]

Quote:

Fleet4Ever said: Majority of fans will now be expecting a top 10 finish? I certainly hope so.

It'd be foolish to expect a top 10 finish after only ten games, but it is looking more plausible than it was at the beginning of the season.

Last night was yet another example of an away game this season where we made a blistering start, but were unable to sustain it through the second half as the opposition began to suss out our main modes of attack. That said, the fact that I'm seeing this, a minor issue compared to some of our problems on our travels last season, as a concern after draws at places like Halifax and Rushden, results of the kind that would have been pretty unlikely last season, hopefully shows that we will be able to show progression over the course of a season this time around compared to last year.

[Hempstead Gaz]

I think the results so far have taken nearly everyone by surprise, JC.

The most startling turn about, I think has been in our adventurous and open passing style of play.

How many teams play away at Rushden with a 3-4-3 line up when drawing 0-0?

9/10 teams would go for the draw.

[Fleet boys]

i went to the game and i have got to say it is a great stadium and great facilities but the parking is atrosious had to walk about half a mile to get to the ground(after finding a parking space)The game was excellent with the fleet all other them and we should have won at least 3-0 or more. In my opinion kelling was motm. He was always in space and we used him alot. I think that the turnout of 53 isnt to bad considering the distance and that it is a school night. got back at 11.55. Altogether a great game worth going to on any day of the week. UP THE FLEET <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[KShep]

A 0-0 game, two and a half hours away, on a school night. Was it worth it? Course it was! Great game, they were on the back foot for 80 out of the ninety minutes. One good moment was when we literally boxed them into their area, and their left-back and keeper were playing to-me-to-you until the keeper put a hasty clearance upfield. Referee was abysmal, I have never seen such a weak, spineless and generally substandard ref in five years of watching conference football, and that's saying something!