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Fleet 0-1 Margate

Chris1

By Chris1
in Margate Forum

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Chris1 Newbie

Chris1

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Old heads beat young legs as Margate kept their cool to hang on to a 1-0 lead and win a trip to Whitstable. Margate were just about worth the half-time lead, but in the second half Fleet’s youngsters became increasingly ragged as they chased the game. Despite plenty of drama there were few shots on target, and although we breathed sighs of relief at the end, any other result would have been an injustice.

 

Fleet won the toss and elected to kick downhill in the first half, a tactic discussed on their forum. If Margate’s old slope was a hill then this was a mountainside by the way, and not a very smooth one either.

 

After initial exchanges it was Fleet who took the game to Margate for a 20-minute spell in the middle of the first half. A lovely pass by Fleet’s best player James Field found Philip John with only the keeper to beat, but his weak shot from a narrow angle was put out for a corner by Louis Smith. They shot wide and high in two subsequent attacks.

 

Gate fans looked worried when Hockton twisted his knee, and shortly afterwards needed treatment for a head injury. However, he recovered to play the full 90 minutes.

 

Margate weathered the storm and began to look more threatening. After a good chance when Hockton was called narrowly offside the ball again came to Danny in the centre of the box, where he somehow managed to escape the attentions of several defenders to score from about ten yards on ?? minutes*.

 

Towards the end of the half Fleet put a free kick narrowly over the bar, although the keeper had it covered, and again went close when John pulled his shot wide.

 

We also had the unusual sight of the ref pacing out 10 yards for a free kick, only to find Margate’s wall was actually a yard too far away.

 

During Fleet’s period of pressure Wild picked up a booking as he tried to recover from his mistake by pulling a player back right under the ref’s nose.

 

Robinson replaced Justin Skinner at half time, with Jackson dropping to left back.

 

The fact that only three of Fleets players were older than 22 began to tell as they tried to move the ball forward too quickly, allowing Margate’s defence to clear most of their advances.

 

Fleet’s Eddie Smith was lucky to stay on after a crunching tackle on SCS at the start of the second half.

 

Margate kept their shape while Fleet started to become more desperate. Legs became tired and passes started to go astray, and for much of the half Margate looked the more likely to find the net. Some long-range shots by Fleet had the crowd ooh-ing and aah-ing, but most of it was dealt with competently by Gates tall central defence pairing, or else sailed wide or high.

 

Protheroe shaved the post, and Hockton shot weakly after controlling the ball beautifully.

 

Another Fleet booking ensued as petulance crept in after Margate won a free kick.

 

The home side’s best chance came towards the end as Protheroe’s attempted clearance went straight up in the air. As the ball bounced dangerously in the box John latched onto it left footed, only to rattle the crossbar.

 

The final whistle is always a relief in a cup game, especially when extra time looms a long way from home, but overall the boys deserved their victory today.

 

Defence (right to left): Smith, Wild, Trott, Skinner (Jackson in the second half). Smith had a very good game and looks to be a good prospect. Wild was a bit patchy and we do need a fast central defender in the mould of our recent short-lived signing. Skinner/Jackson worked better than Jackson/Robinson.

 

Scott C-S did nothing wrong as ever.

 

Midfield: Abbott, Protheroe, McKimm, Jackson (Robinson in the second half). Protheroe was very influential. McKimm was looking tired towards the end.

 

Forwards: Pinnock, Hockton. Danny worked hard, played unselfishly, and took his goal well. I would almost give him MOM except for the following:

 

Robin Trott was back to his commanding best, heading out powerfully to turn defence into attack, marshalling his defence, and most of all shouting encouragement to the boys throughout the match. His influence definitely fired the team, and if our opponents were more ‘up for it’ last Saturday then we definitely matched them today. Man of the Match in this spectator's opinion.

 

Bring on the Wombles!

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michael Newbie

michael

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Brilliant report.

 

Think it flatters Margate somewhat as i thought Fleet were the better side esp. in first half.

 

It was all about results tonight though so who cares, and whilst our performance was not very special, it was never going to be on that pitch which was not conducive to football.It was a well worn pitch that you normally get in about mid feb. as opposed to mid sept.Having siad that, to be fair to Fleet-we have and will play on worse during the season so may aswell get used to it ;and grinding out the results

There should be no criticism of the performance because you could not perform on it-it was simply about the result and we got it-superb

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JeremyJacobs Newbie

JeremyJacobs

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Just got back in. Chris1's report spot. I managed to have a chat with Trotty afterwards. He was delighted with the performance. I didn't ask him about Skins. Not sure whether his substitution by Aaron Robinson was tactical. Smith at right-back looked good. Great finish by DH.

 

Whitstable next. I think we last played them in 1959. ( We hadn't played Cray W for 45 years either until last years Cup exit )

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Cookie Newbie

Cookie

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Chris's report a good one.Well done Chris.Now where were you tonight?. Please show yourself next time so as to put a face to the name for curiosity reasons only.Just two slight corrections,the high ball clearance that lead to the shot from them that rattled the crossbar was indeed by Abbot & not Protheroe. Goal scored in the 38th minute of the first half. Apart from that you are spot on.

Hard earned victory but a slightly easier game than Saturdays. Pitch was diobalical.Yes Rob you were spot on with your description of the pitch. Thanks.Didnt think it would be THAT bad though. Imagine a carpet worn in many places thats what the pitch looked like.I dont think it helped the home team that much let alone our team.Hardly saw a white line & how the ref passed it fit because of that is anyones guess.Still,glad he did in the end.

All worked very hard after we got the goal. Were a bit tired & lacking before that but certainly enjoyed their share of play second half.Gutsy performance but still some way short of what we are capable of.Great result nevertheless & well worth the journey in the end. Well we won so I would say that. About 40 Gate fans there & about 200ish altogether in attendance.

Bring on the oystermen!!

Dons first though,Saturday. All try & be there!

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Cookie Newbie

Cookie

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Just one other thing from tonight that needs addressing & which was more than noticeable.

Too many free kicks given away from just outside the penalty area.Either bad tackling,lost ball,bad ball control & trying to retrieve,pulling an opponent,etc etc.We need to cut these things out or we will be punished in future games.We got away with it tonight but other more experienced teams will bury us if these silly little free kicks in & around that area arent stamped out.There were many tonight.Fortunately we got lucky on this occasion.

 

However I think we just shaded the game overall on performance though the opposition didnt perform like they did on Saturday & at the same time our lads upped their game. Not by much but by just enough to see out the victory.

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michael Newbie

michael

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In retrospect, the pitch was probably good/early practice of things to come.

It was a february pitch -not a Sept pitch.

 

We played on a few worse last year,and will do so again this season;and as winter approaches, we will have to get used to games/performances like last night where we grind out the result through working hard.

Thats why i thought it was such a good win as we grinded it out, and augers well maybe for the many similar style peformances that will be needed as the season progresses into winter and wet sticky pitches.

 

Never mind sexy football, lets just get the wins .

A winning team will attract the attendances

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Cookie Newbie

Cookie

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And "to the nil" Michael. Happy bunny you eh?

Actually 2 of em'.Doubly happy then.Arent we all!

Still loads of improvement required though to get back to where we were but we're getting there.Lets hope we can sustain this form at least & even better it again on Saturday.

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michael Newbie

michael

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Don't concede the nil and always get a point.

 

Great stuff in the last two games, but typical-it does not matter quite so much in the Cup when a win is everything-.

 

Trust we 'won't concede the nil' again on saturday and minimally get a point

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