Three More In The Bag

This time around we could all see the potential banana skin – and were assuming the players did too. In the midst of the run of games against promotion contenders we squeezed in a very impressive 3-0 win against Exeter, admittedly at The Valley. A repeat of that was very much the order of the day, knowing that a win would take us into fourth place – and ideally with more breathing space above Bolton, if Bristol Rovers could do us a favour. Crawley would be going into the game with just three points and no wins in their last six, so the contrast in form couldn’t have been starker. At the same time nobody had (I trust) forgotten that night in early December when they beat us at home. Times were different then, for us at least, but – and with no disrespect intended – the thought of Crawley doing the double over us would surely be motivation enough.

We ended up with the points, but after another scrap, no chance to coast/relax. For that Crawley get some credit (at least until they rather lost their rag at the end) as they were always in the game. As so often of late (and unlike Exeter) we weren’t clinical enough in the final third to put a game to bed, but we nicked a goal and with the defence playing superbly that was enough. We won everything in the air at the back, scrambled and blocked when necessary, and when real danger loomed put bodies on the line, exemplified by Jones’ interception and collision with the post. He will have been everyone’s man of the match, deservedly so, but Gillesphey was not far behind.

There were some question marks over the team ahead of the game, depending on whether some might still be feeling the effects of Saturday’s game against Stockport, including Jones (the player) who had been clearly struggling to complete the game. As it turned out we had two changes to the starting XI, both in midfield. Gilbert was given a start in place of Berry, offering perhaps the prospect of better control of midfield at the expense of Berry’s greater goal threat, while Docherty was absent from the squad due to the birth of his son (and all best wishes go to mother and baby) and replaced by Anderson. There was also a surprise or two on the bench, with no Aneke (possibly due to his head injury on Saturday), with Kanu back in the squad, while Hylton was also given a berth, effectively replacing Anderson, and Mitchell was included again (as well as McIntyre) at the expense of Watson, presumably with an eye on something  among the opposition. So no change in formation/set-up but a modest reshuffling of the pack.

There was an ebb and flow to the first half as for spells they were on top and dominated possession, with good movement threatening to create a real chance and us unable to retain the ball, and times when we imposed ourselves on them and pushed them back. When we did they appeared fragile; when they pushed us back we did not. And most important we grabbed the lead.

Actual chances were few. In the first few minutes Jones went on a run down the right and delivered a low cross. That was cleared, just couldn’t help wondering that if Godden had been on the pitch he would have been on the end of it. Campbell headed down a ball in from the left for Gilbert to hit on the half-volley, well but too high. And before the half-hour mark Edwards delivered a ball across for Gilbert to strike but that one was blocked. All through this time they probed but never saw the whites of Mannion’s eyes.

We took the lead on 36 minutes. Jones actually misplaced a pass moving forward but then won the ball back, which wrongfooted them. He fed Edwards on the left. The cross was deflected by Gilbert but found Small around the far post. He had a lot to do and the angle was tight, but he moved it onto his right foot and hit a powerful low effort. Wollacott really should have kept it out but only managed to divert it inside the post. After that another long ball found Gilbert only for Wollacott to turn his effort wide.

At the break we were overall worth the lead and you just felt another goal and the game would be safe, Blackpool notwithstanding. Might then go on to get another. Instead through most of the second half the opportunities came our way but we didn’t capitalise, always leaving that element of doubt – as towards the end we were not as in control as we were against Barnsley.

An Edwards cross was headed away but Anderson pounced on the edge of the box. Hit it well but too close to Wollacott. Not long after Edwards’ evening was over as he pulled up, hopefully with nothing serious. In his place Godden came on and that involved changes, with Campbell going to the right side and Small switching back to the left. Campbell delivered a cross for Godden but his shot was blocked.

Crawley did again have moments. At times we had to resort to some desperate defending, smothering balls into the box. They had a good one-two to send a guy clear on the left but his low cross was cleared, plus a dive for an attempted penalty. Against that, Ramsay played in Campbell, who beat his guy and pulled back for Leaburn, whose shot was saved, then Campbell poked a shot from inside the box just wide. On 70 minutes from a free-kick Leaburn headed down and Godden’s shot on the turn was deflected just wide (not according to the ref who gave a goal kick). In the next minute Crawley had probably their most dangerous moment as a good cross from their left was headed for a guy at the far post to convert only for Jones to launch himself to get there first and put behind for a corner, his momentum producing a collision with the post (at first I thought it was his head and that we would be in real trouble).

But this was all with still 20 minutes of normal time left. As the game progressed and we didn’t get a second, our priority shifted more clearly to protecting what we had. There were no real chances in the rest of the game, including five minutes of stoppage time. Hylton and McIntyre were introduced in the final 10 minutes for Leaburn and Gilbert, while Mitchell replaced Campbell for the last minute.

Once again pretty it was not – but effective it certainly was. At the moment the defence works so well as a unit as well as individually, which means the players trust each other to do their jobs, with midfielders playing their part too. Three consecutive clean sheets (and four in the last five), both Crawley last night and Stockport managing just one effort on target despite having a majority of possession. Mannion has been gathering high balls well but, aside from the save against Stockport, has been very well protected. And to the list of plaudits I’d add Anderson, really because he was yellow-carded after just 26 minutes (for a late challenge) and you wondered if he’d be able to avoid another. He showed the maturity to do so.

Fourth. Back in December, even in mid-January after the Rotherham defeat, that was a very long way off. The play-offs have gone from being an aspiration to the minimum we want for the season. Of course we’re greedy bstards, we want to get out of this division, sure the players and management feel the same way. Today we can dream a little, come Saturday its back at it. No slip-ups, then see where the Wycombe v Wrexham and Bolton v Stockport fixtures leave us.

Excellent Point In The Circumstances

Come on you felt, just one more, please. Yes, we knew we’d be back asking for the same thing next time around, and the one after that, but yesterday’s game would round off the very challenging five-game spell, including four against promotion rivals. If nine points out of 12 could become 12 out of 15 we’d be up to fourth and able to sit back and watch the other results come in later. We also knew that a draw, away at a decent side, one which has (unfortunately) coped better than might have been expected from the loss in January of their main goalscorer, wouldn’t be a poor result. We’d shared the spoils with them at The Valley back in October (but very nearly won, against 10 men in the closing stages). But we’re on a roll and another victory would truly warm the heart.

Nobody said it would be easy, or pretty. By accident or design, and assisted by the referee’s leniency (he began the game by not giving them a penalty and after that no challenge on our players merited a free kick), the game turned into a slug fest in blustery conditions on a difficult surface, battles for physical supremacy all over the pitch, mostly won by the defenders of both sides. Stockport caused us problems with their set-up, with big guys up front able to hold up play and willing runners in support. We were pushed back into defending our box, which all those involved did manfully. Despite them having 59% possession, we restricted Stockport to one attempt on target, which drew an excellent save from Mannion, although they also hit the bar and had some fizz just wide or not converted. Trouble was they also nullified our attacking threat, with Campbell and Small barely in the game, neither able to get the space to run at their opposite numbers. For that you have to give them credit.

The outcome was a desperately tight game that you felt all the way through might be decided by one lapse of concentration. A draw was probably about right as neither side did enough in the final third to claim victory. But for me there was no doubt, it was a better result for us than for them. We went toe-to-toe in a physical encounter that in previous seasons we would have lost badly. All that was missing was the late winner as Gillesphey put the header wide, albeit from a tight angle. The point meant that we took 10 from the tough five games, suffering defeat only at Birmingham.

The team showed one change made by Jones, with Leaburn starting in place of Godden. Whether that was down to resting tired legs or with the opposition in mind, needing extra height in both boxes, wasn’t clear. That we ended up needing that height can’t be doubted, but we also missed Godden’s intelligent work up front with and without the ball, especially as Leaburn was consistently roughed up with no protection from the ref.

Both sides started the game looking likely to score. For us Leaburn couldn’t get control of a long ball down the channel and ended up shooting wide, while Docherty overhit a pass to Campbell in the clear. They had dangerous moments and after just five minutes a ball threaded behind Small saw him and their guy go down together in the box. Have to look at it several more times to see if there was material contact, but fortunately or not the ref gave nothing. Shortly after first Campbell and then Leaburn were clearly bundled off the ball and nothing was given. Is that consistency? Perhaps, but it encouraged their defenders to believe they could get away with anything.

There were more chances at both ends before the break. After an Edwards long throw was headed out he returned it. The cross was flicked on by a defender and Berry was just unable to make meaningful contact at the far post. Jones was onto a ball that had cleared Leaburn but his first touch was heavy and the opportunity was gone. Stockport had their openings too, winning free kicks and getting bodies into the box – but at the break, despite 63% possession, they had managed no efforts on target (against our one).

If we’d edged the first half on decent chances the picture changed early in the second as in the first 10 minutes they had three close calls. First, a ball in from the left was knocked back and their guy poked it goalwards only for Mannion to claw it away, with another not able to convert the rebound. A dangerous shot was deflected over our bar and from the corner another header back into the mix saw their guy flick at it and with Mannion a spectator it came back off the bar.

We were unable to get anything going in possession and it wasn’t surprising that changes came early. On 55 minutes Aneke and Anderson were brought on for Small and Berry. We weren’t getting the ball forward for Berry to get on the end of anything and Small had it seemed just one of those days when he couldn’t get involved. With now two big guys up front we were going long and the rest of the game was just about whether one side might nick what would probably be the winner. Aneke had a taste of what Leaburn had been going through as he suffered an early head injury and continued to get manhandled, the ref showing complete indifference.

A foul for us not given led to Edwards pulling a guy back and getting a yellow, then another on Leaburn, who was simply wrestled to the floor, saw them break and a low ball across goal from the left only just beat two of theirs. Our best moment came when on 88 minutes Anderson played a second ball back in and Gillesphey had a free header. But it was a tough one to convert, requiring a deft flick and he put it wide. And that, despite seven minutes of added time, was it.

There will have been some very tired bodies last night, not least Jones who played on despite being in discomfort. It was the very essence of a hard-won point. And a very welcome one at that. Being very hard you might say not winning reduces the chances of us being able to get to Wycombe and Wrexham and take second; we could end up having to beat both of them on their grounds to have a chance of that. At the same time, with Huddersfield, Leyton Orient and Barnsley all losing and Reading only taking a point, we’ve consolidated a play-off place, just a pity that Bolton are still hot on our heels.

There are for sure going to be plenty of twists and turns before the end of the season, resuming on Tuesday night when we travel to Crawley (to surely not suffer the indignity of them doing the double over us), Bolton go to Bristol Rovers, and Reading take on Wrexham (and on Saturday Bolton will be up against Stockport and Wycombe play Wrexham). But we’ve put ourselves in a position where, with 11 games to go, it will be a disappointment if we don’t make the play-offs, they are no longer just an aspiration.

And It Continues ...

Fair to say that after Saturday we were still pinching ourselves to see if it’s real. Into a play-off spot, automatic promotion spot only eight points away. How long could this go on? How many more times would Jones be able to announce an unchanged team/squad? The dressing room must be on cloud nine too – but hopefully with high confidence not diverting attention from the need for improvement in areas of the game and the immediate issue of two really tough challenges. Barnsley came to The Valley on the back of three straight wins having revived their play-off hopes (after they were only narrowly beaten by both Huddersfield and Stockport) – and while we’ve been knocking them in late in the day we haven’t forgotten that they matched us in that department at their place back in October, our 93rd minute goal to put us 2-1 up countered by their 95th minute equaliser.

We didn’t get a repeat of the drama of Saturday – but far more important we had a repeat of the outcome, another three points secured. And this time you could say it was down to a thoroughly professional (in the positive sense) display. Barnsley pulled us apart in the first 10 minutes but, helped for sure by taking the lead against the run of play, we progressively got on top and through the game effectively nullified their threat. This involved not just the defence but also the forwards running their socks off. As on Saturday we should have been more clinical in front of goal, but I honestly can’t remember feeling more comfortable defending a one-goal lead in the final stages than I was last night.

Barnsley’s manager talked of it being a ‘game too far’ for them, with suspensions and injuries before and during the game, also highlighting the significant impact of the first goal and how different things might have been if they had scored first when on top. That’s all fair enough. From our perspective we did what we needed to do – and did most of it very well.

For the team Jones had the same decision to make as on Saturday, whether or not to recall Docherty for Anderson. This time he did go for the switch, probably taking account of the greater threat from the opposition. Otherwise it was as you were.

Barnsley came out of the traps quickly and we barely got a touch of the ball in the first 10 minutes. The defending was desperate and improvised at times but we didn’t concede. And in what was probably only our second foray into their half, on 10 minutes Campbell moved inside and drew the foul, giving us a free-kick in a decent position, fairly central but a fair way out. Berry ran over the ball, leaving it for Gillesphey, who hit a low drive around the wall and towards the corner of the net. Their keeper got there quickly enough, but got his positioning wrong and if anything dived too soon, the ball going over his outstretched arm and in.

It was unexpected and undeserved, but most welcome. As was the save by Mannion which followed a few minutes later as their guy was able, with the run of the ball, to dribble through our defence into a very dangerous position. Fortunately his shot was close enough for Mannion to parry. After that alarm we did settle more into the game. Berry might have done better running onto a good ball to find him but had a heavy first touch. But through the rest of the half chances were few and far between, most of the play involving both sides getting behind the ball quickly when out of possession and us not often able to get Campbell or Small into positions to threaten, leaving Godden nothing to feed off.

At the break the stats showed they had edged possession and that we had had one effort on target (the goal) and just three attempts in total, against their nine (three on target). All that paled into insignificance set against the scoreline.

In the second half we really should have put the game to bed. Almost all the chances were for us. On 58 minutes good work from the increasingly effective Campbell ended with a low cross and Berry getting to it first, only for him to fail to make a decisive connection. From the other flank Small skinned his marker and found Docherty, who set up Berry again but the shot was weak. And after the first changes made by Jones – on 68 minutes it was Leaburn for Godden and Anderson for Berry – a Jones header from a corner hit the post only for the ref to give a foul against him (from the replays I saw nothing wrong), Coventry hit a powerful shot from distance which their keeper at full stretch turned around the post. All Barnsley offered was a fierce shot which went just wide.

Into the final 10 minutes and we had another good chance to make it two. Campbell again the provider, playing in Leaburn. His shot was reasonable but saved. That was almost the cue to shut things down. Aneke, McIntyre and Watson were introduced on 85 minutes for an exhausted Campbell, Docherty and Small. There was a minor alarm as Jones and Mannion went for the same ball, but it led to nothing. There was still the thought that we could end up losing four points this season to Barnsley in stoppage time, but in truth we ran down the clock quite comfortably, leaving the celebrations at the final whistle to be ones of satisfaction (rather than the outpouring of emotion as on Saturday).

We have to get through Stockport on Saturday before we can take stock – and even then we will have another two games the following week (away at Crawley, who will be looking to do the double over us, and home to Wigan) before there will be the chance for a breather.

In the interim, let’s just reflect and value the fact that, although we are often not the prettiest team in the division, we have worked out a style and set-up which is proving very effective. A 3-5-2/5-3-2 on paper but with one of the forwards (Campbell) operating mostly on the left side and one of the midfielders (Berry) often filling in as the second striker, combinations on both flanks (Edwards and Campbell, Ramsay and Small) which offer real attacking threats, a hardworking midfield, a tight defence, and players off the bench capable of doing different jobs depending on the situation (Aneke and Leaburn, Gilbert). 

We’ve been fortunate of late with injuries/accidents and suspensions and have to hope that continues, and deal with the fact that other teams will come up with plans to try to neutralise our threats. But for all this, if Jones doesn’t get manager of the month there is no doubt he bloody well deserves it.

Far From Perfect But What An End

No doubts about this six-pointer: a win would be fantastic, a draw acceptable (depending on the circumstances of course), a defeat a serious setback to our play-off ambitions. We ended up getting the whole gamut of emotions. For the first 45 minutes it looked like we would get something, quite possibly a win, as we more than edged the first half; they had chances too, but we’d not converted the only glaring one. For the second 45 we were looking down the barrel of a defeat, as Leyton Orient from the start upped their effort and had us on the back foot, took the lead, and looked as capable of adding to it as we did of levelling things up, even though we had a second moment when it seemed we had surely scored. Then in what ended up being eight minutes of stoppage time we went from likely to defeat to getting away with a merited point, then utter delight as we won the game with a carbon copy of our first. Cue pandemonium, wherever you watched the game from, and the complete reversal for them and their fans.

It was a game in which there were so many half-chances, good openings, for both teams. The final stats showed 36 attempts on goal, more than one every three minutes, almost evenly split, with 14 on target (nine for us, five for them). But nearly all of them were wasted; both keepers did well (until one had a stoppage time to really forget) but their saves were ones you’d expect them to make, including those involved in our two golden chances. Instead we had them taking the lead with a wonder strike from distance and us winning it with two if not free then barely challenged headers at the far post from corners.

Did we deserve all three points? I suspect the neutrals would say a draw would have been a fair result. Of course if you play eight minutes of stoppage time against anyone, never mind a defence that, although depleted, ranks among the tightest in the division, you are going to score twice very few times. Of course we don’t care, but there are still some lessons to take from the game.

There was a decision for Jones to make when it came to team selection, namely whether or not to bring back available-again Docherty for Anderson, who had stepped up so well against Exeter. Jones I guess opted for the line that if the guy in possession of the shirt has done nothing wrong he keeps it. So Docherty would be on the bench, with Kanu losing out and still no place for Mitchell. Tough on both of them but something has to give and it would seem that Mitchell has, at least for now, fallen below McIntyre in the pecking order. At least this meant a balance among the replacements, with two defensive (including a wing-back), two midfield, and two attacking options.

Again, I don’t propose to go through all the game’s incidents, it’s a day after the event and there were just too many. Enough for whichever side lost to have pointed to their missed opportunities but with nobody to blame but themselves.

So the first lesson is surely that we have to be more clinical in converting good openings in open play into goals. Sure, Berry has to feel that if only he had directed his header to anywhere other than down at their prostrate keeper it would have been a goal. And just how the Docherty shot in the second half did not end up as a goal is still a mystery. There’s no legislating for those moments, but others that came and went were more problematic.

Campbell, who was again central to most of our attacks, was played in and we had numbers up, but the move ended with a weak effort easily blocked (he seemed to be trying to repeat the effort against Exeter but from a wider angle), while an early break saw Edwards clear in space but Campbell’s first touch let him down. Godden had a shot on the turn around the penalty spot after their keeper spilled a high ball, colliding with his own player, which he couldn’t get on top of, nor could Berry control one that rebounded to him (not the one off the bar) and hit it well over. Coventry shot over the bar, as did Gilbert late on, while Aneke tried to curl one in from inside the box but didn’t get the angles right.

Perhaps it was just one of those days when for most of it looked as though we would never score. We had been pretty clinical against Exeter and you can’t get it right all the time.

Second, what was wrong with the defence? Forget their goal. It actually came after we had blocked successive shots from much more dangerous positions, seemed like the danger had passed as the ball was well outside our box. As soon as their guy hit it though, you felt ‘oh merde, this doesn’t look good’. Rather you have to criticise aspects of our display as there were too many misplaced passes which put us in danger, an offside trap sprung in the second half resulting in a very good chance for them. Ramsay in particular had a wobbly afternoon, very unusual. Give Leyton Orient some credit here. They passed the ball well and were adept at creating space with intelligent runs going forward. They even managed to bring on a winger for the last 10 minutes or so who scared the life out of me and so nearly laid on a second, which surely would have killed off the game. But I don’t doubt Jones and his team will be taking a look at some of their openings and our mistakes. That we only conceded one was due primarily to their failings in front of goal.

Did Jones’ substitutions change the game? Yes and no. He waited until the 68th minute before changing anything, with Leaburn, Docherty and Gilbert on for Anderson, Berry and Edwards, him being sacrificed for a shift in the set-up. Then on 77 minutes Aneke entered the fray for Coventry, by which time we were getting back to basics and going longer and longer, for good reason. It all led to a very happy combination of circumstances, but was it accident/desperation or design? Something Napoleon said about lucky generals comes to mind. 

Their keeper had already dropped one cross, albeit impeded by his own player, and misread another, which saw Ramsay fail to put away with a clean header. But when it came to stoppage time we had Leaburn, Aneke, Jones, Gillesphey and Ramsay to target and with Gilbert someone who it seems can deliver quality balls in from set pieces. With the others causing mayhem and occupying their main defenders, first Gillesphey and then Ramsay were left relatively free to head home at the far post from close range, having manoeuvred to find themselves up against smaller opponents. Was that the plan? If so it worked to perfection, even though it did rely on us getting the corners in the first place.

Apparently we’ve now scored more goals in stoppage time (10) than any other team in England. That is not accidental but it is in stark contrast with recent seasons, when the opposition tended to bring on effective fresh legs for the closing stages while we couldn’t do the same – and paid the price. The matchday squad now gives us options, whether through a change in formation, fresh legs in like-for-like changes, and increased physical presence up front when we are chasing games.

We have to keep our fingers crossed for the run-in that we avoid injuries and suspensions. In addition to the 18 in the squad yesterday you can add Maynard-Brewer as and when fit, Mitchell, Kanu and Ahadme in terms of players who would (I hope) expect to be in or around the first team. That may be enough, but we can also draw on Hylton and if needed the youngsters – Laqeretabua and Enslin have at least had a taste of it.

Will it be enough? Nobody knows, but we’re still on a roll and we’ve put ourselves in one of the play-off spots. Barnsley at The Valley on Tuesday night and Stockport away on Saturday have to be negotiated before we can breathe a little easier. But isn’t it a good feeling after a match like yesterday’s to be looking at the table and thinking … ‘eight points behind Wycombe, is it possible … we still have to play them …’?