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A wins the main thing but Christ did we make heavy weather of it!

Pleased that Doig got the nod in centre defence.

Felt we were too pedestrian in thought and action and lacked the intelligence to beat Hydes offside trap. None of our midfielders had the intelligence to make runs from deep. That is what Disley brings.

Some extremely nervy individual displays especially Thomas. Hannah had to score with his two first half chances and that would have eased the pressure.

The goal when it came was well struck but could the keeper have done better?

By and large the crowd stuck with the team which was good.

Let's hope Braintree fail to win this evening

The game changed when Tounkara came on, he made a massive difference!

Man of the match for me was Neilson. Boyce had a decent game too.

Was disappointed for the Shop today. He didn't get into at all for me and was rightly subbed.

If Ross Hannah would have squared for LJL instead of going for glory himself it would have been alot more comfortable, unbelievably selfish.
Having said that the hat trick has clearly boosted his confidence as he looked like a new player today so that could just be the boost we need going into the final stage of the season.

Quoted from Belfast Town

Was disappointed for the Shop today. He didn't get into at all for me and was rightly subbed.

Agreed! He won a few good headers though.

Quoted from moosey_club

If Ross Hannah would have squared for LJL instead of going for glory himself it would have been alot more comfortable, unbelievably selfish.
Having said that the hat trick has clearly boosted his confidence as he looked like a new player today so that could just be the boost we need going into the final stage of the season.

Hope so, he needs to watch the offsides though.

LJL was poop today and probably would have contrived to miss if Hannah had passed, more than happy if he scores the winner at Wembley however.

Can't agree with the comments about Doig - he looked dreadfully slow and his distribution was woeful. Kerr the best of the midfield, Hatton tidy but the rest didn't really do enough.

LJL had his chance just before he got taken off, and put it into the back of the pontoon stand

Right to be taken off too, thought he was poor today from a bad bunch

Not pretty , very nervy but job done.

Shop was wrong choice for me. Didn't need a battering ram, we needed someone to run at them like Tonk did. He had them panicking as soon as he came on.

I really want the Shop to do well but he just aint got it.

Very flat performance and crowd today. Was like an end of season dead rubber.

Phew that was hard work, especially against a Hyde team full of young kids and a pudding sub. Typical of many home games this season. We struggled to find a way through a defence playing a high line looking for offsides. We did not have the nouse or ability to vary our game and play the ball in behind them or get midfielders running through them. We persist with close passing in wide areas and end up losing posession or playing the ball back. Very frustrating. Only Hannah looked likely to score and was unlucky a couple of times in the first half, especially chipping the keeper but hitting the post. I feared it was not to be our day when LJL skied an open goal chance. If only he would just side foot the ball home in those situations instead of trying to blast it in. Hannah to the rescue though and huge relief all round and we are still in a good position to secure a playoff place but anything can happen and we failed to improve our goal difference.

I wouldn't look too much in to it, we know we can up our game against harder opposition (I hope)

Chris is spot on about missing Disley's runs beyond the forwards. He would have got through a few times today against Hyde's very high line. I'd imagine Disley will be straight back in the team if Thanoj doesn't impose himself on games more than he did today. Just passed him by but I've gone into that on another thread.

Kerr was the orchestrator of all our play. I like him, although he does play a few blind, round the corner flicks too many sometimes.

Thought Hatton was good again and played some lovely balls in the 1st half.

Doig and Boyce weren't really tested. But I was surprised to see Doig jump ahead of the recent sub Mcdonald in the pecking order to play. Both did alright in setting us off building from the back.

I'm pleased we stuck to trying to play football today. Granted it was against opposition who let us play a bit, but we stuck to it. By the end of the 1st half we should've been 3-0 up. As others have said Hannah should've squared to LJL, and then should've scored when he lifted it over the onrushing keeper & onto the post.

Second half we seemed to be going a bit flat and not getting in behind them as often. I thought Neilson was below par. His touch let him down several times and he either tried to be too clever or tried to do it all on his own running through a crowded central area.

Hannah's goal was a great finish. Tounkara came on and was lively but he had no end product to anything he did, except that curler that was heading for the top bin until the keeper pulled off one of a McKeown-esque save to tip it wide.

The result was the important thing today but we didn't play that bad either. Just lacked a killer instinct in the 1st half. Pleasing to see Hurst changing it and mixing things up a bit by putting Paddy left back.

MOM: Kerr or Hatton

Doesn't really fill me with confidence but god knows with this team at the minute. First half was woeful, they got good support from the crowd for the first 30 minutes at least, and just were so slow, lethargic, losing possesion too many times, hyde had had 3 or 4 shots, 2 I think were on target within the first 15 minutes. I really don't think they parked the bus today, they didn't really do much at all, i'd say 80% of the times they gained posession, they were given it by one of our players. If we played a half like that against a good side we'd have been a few goals down I think. Second half was a slight improvement, but much better after the subs. I think we should mix up our free kicks a bit, seemed too obvious even for hyde today.

So yeh, should've done alot better, but got the important 3 points, they really need to step up their game for the playoffs, but you feel like the potential should be there based on what we did in the first half of the season and in the FA cup. I thought hannah and boyce were good, thanoj was quite poor, LJL did a couple of good things early on but seemed to quickly fade away when we needed more urgency.

Dunno, i'd be much more positive if i'd just seen one gutsy or exciting performance recently, its just not there, really hope theyre just secretly saving themselves for the playoffs or something.

Can't say much without repeating what's already been said. Just thankful we got the points really. I don't see that as our full strength team. Some key players missing, for me.

MOM - difficult again, but having a striker score four goals in 2 games aint bad going for a team whose strikeforce doesn't score, so Ross Hannah gets it and well done to him.

Is Rodman ill or injured? Hope his absence isn't due to anything serious.

Quoted from marinette

Can't say much without repeating what's already been said. Just thankful we got the points really. I don't see that as our full strength team. Some key players missing, for me.

MOM - difficult again, but having a striker score four goals in 2 games aint bad going for a team whose strikeforce doesn't score, so Ross Hannah gets it and well done to him.

Is Rodman ill or injured? Hope his absence isn't due to anything serious.

Chest infection.

Quoted from ginnywings

Chest infection.

Thanks ginny. Not sure if I like the sound of that. GWS rodders.

;D ;D ;D ;D things took a change for the better after 3 good subs but still not sure we will get back up as Hurst is not good enough to take us there this season or next

Thought we deserved the win and it should have been 3 or 4 in my eyes. Doig, Hatton and Boyce were excellent and it was great to see Hannah score again. UTM

We have played like this many times this season . Am getting fed up with hearing " At least we got 3 points " Every player looked nervous , we went their level . Ball control poor , although never really in trouble we didn't trouble them . Big changes needed , just wonder what will happen next season if we don't get up .

A worried doctower .

Looking back I think the very first game of the season against Aldershot was a microcosm of the macrocosm that has been our season. Too cagey from the off against teams who would more than likely fold under pressure and a hyped up Blundell Park. But the slow starts give teams belief that we are not to be feared and they visibly grow in confidence. It's very difficult to up your game when you've started in low gear as we've seen repeatedly this season.O.K. we've stumbled into the playoffs but I bet nobody is scared of us. Still not confident but ever hopeful. UTM!

Quoted from Badger57

Looking back I think the very first game of the season against Aldershot was a microcosm of the macrocosm that has been our season. Too cagey from the off against teams who would more than likely fold under pressure and a hyped up Blundell Park. But the slow starts give teams belief that we are not to be feared and they visibly grow in confidence. It's very difficult to up your game when you've started in low gear as we've seen repeatedly this season.O.K. we've stumbled into the playoffs but I bet nobody is scared of us. Still not confident but ever hopeful. UTM!

Brilliant!

The longer the game went on the more frustrating it became. I'm glad someone else thought Hannah was a shade greedy for the one he should have squared to LJL.
Pretty poor display in large parts. For someone who is allegedly slow though Doig got back to make a fantastic tackle inside our box after we'd scored.

Something that has been missing all season is a forward willing to gamble on an opponent making a mistake. There was at least one occasion today where Hannah only set off for a ball once their centre half had missed a high ball.

Teams seem unable to deal with Tounkara. I'm never quite sure what is in his mind when he gets the ball.

Saints and sinners...Hatton MOM. Very disappointed in Thanoj and Paddy.

Quoted from barralad

The longer the game went on the more frustrating it became. I'm glad someone else thought Hannah was a shade greedy for the one he should have squared to LJL.
Pretty poor display in large parts. For someone who is allegedly slow though Doig got back to make a fantastic tackle inside our box after we'd scored.

Something that has been missing all season is a forward willing to gamble on an opponent making a mistake. There was at least one occasion today where Hannah only set off for a ball once their centre half had missed a high ball.

Teams seem unable to deal with Tounkara. I'm never quite sure what is in his mind when he gets the ball.

Saints and sinners...Hatton MOM. Very disappointed in Thanoj and Paddy.

Agree with most of that, though I'm not sure what's best with Tonk - start him or use him as impact?

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Agree with most of that, though I'm not sure what's best with Tonk - start him or use him as impact?

I lean towards impact sub. Defenders get used to LJL then Tonka comes on and it's a different kettle of fish

Quoted from barralad

Saints and sinners...Hatton MOM. Very disappointed in Thanoj and Paddy.

Difficult one with Paddy. He's not a winger just like Artus wasn't a winger. Both capable of doing a job there sometimes but it will ultimately show that they're not wingers.

When I saw we were bringing two subs on I hoped the Colbeck change was going to be him on for Thanoj, with Paddy going in the middle.

Quoted from Tommy

Difficult one with Paddy. He's not s winger just like Artus wasn't a winger. Both capable of doing a job there sometimes but it will ultimately show that they're not wingers.

When I saw we were bringing two subs on I hoped the Colbeck change was going to be him on for Thanoj, with Paddy going in the middle.

Many had said (quite rightly) that all PH's subs are like for like so when Thomas came off and Paddy moved to left back I was pleasantly surprised

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Agree with most of that, though I'm not sure what's best with Tonk - start him or use him as impact?

For the reasons given elsewhere I'd use him as an impact sub. For all some thought he wasn't great today it took a very good save to deny him another goal.

Yeah I'd agree with that Chris. As I said in earlier post I was pleased Hurst showed a bit of 'thinking outside the box' and came up with kind of a plan B.

Your earlier comment about being pleased Doig got the nod interested me too Chris. I was surprised he went from being not in the 16 lately to starting, ahead of McDonald who's been waiting for a chance for a while now. There were a lot of rumours around McDonald over xmas/new year, but something doesn't seem right there, he's barely kicked a ball in 2014 after being in great form pre-Xmas.

Paddy never got in the game today on the wing..

But saying that hurst does have previous with playing centre mids on the wing.

File under frankie artus.

And cue the dislikes, I love em ya big babies :P

Quoted from Tommy

Yeah I'd agree with that Chris. As I said in earlier post I was pleased Hurst showed a bit of 'thinking outside the box' and came up with kind of a plan B.

Your earlier comment about being pleased Doig got the nod interested me too Chris. I was surprised he went from being not in the 16 lately to starting, ahead of McDonald who's been waiting for a chance for a while now. There were a lot of rumours around McDonald over xmas/new year, but something doesn't seem right there, he's barely kicked a ball in 2014 after being in great form pre-Xmas.

My thoughts are not about 'extra curricular' activities but feel, perhaps because of his size, McDonald needs a run of games to get into his stride. At the start of the season he looked a liability but eventually got match fit and looked a top player for this level.

His only start for months was at Dartford where he looked like Herman Munster! I just don't feel we have time to get Clayts up to speed hence i preferred Doig today

Made it much more difficult than it could and should have been, but another clean sheet without 3 or 4 first team players today (including two key players in Disley and Pearson). Agree with Chris that we had no midfield runners, Thanoj and Kerr are both too similar in that they both like to sit deep when in possession so Disley needs to start in the play offs for me (despite looking poor this season).

If Hannah knew the offside rule it could've been more comfortable, lost count of the amount of offsides he had - he just sets off way too early every time. Unlucky with hitting the post when the keeper got a slight nick on it, but poor forward play when he failed to square it to LJL despite having 2 or 3 opportunities to do so. LJL poor (he's more the perfect away game striker so we can play more direct away from home), Tounkara looked like he might create something unlike anyone else on the pitch - this is where I felt we missed Rodman today. Colbeck offered little again, which suggests that we may be due another big performance from him at Wembley should we get there?!

Neilson was poor by his standards, gave the ball away numerous times, had a poor first touch too often today and didn't give Hatton an option when he had the ball, didn't turn and run at them but only gave it back to Hatton too often. Hatton MOM for me, closely followed by Boyce.

Hard to pick a MOM for me. Possibly Kerr although I feel he visibly tired as the game went on. He does do a great job in talking to the team though, keeping them focused and he always wants the ball. Hannah did some things well, including his goal, but at times, his first touch and timing were gash. LJL slightly disappointing, including his characteristic miss of a golden chance, but very often we give him cr@ppy balls to scrap for and when he wins them there was usually nobody near him to receive a pass or pick up a knockdown or flick, so felt sorry for him. I don't understand the thinking behind this tactic if I'm honest. If we must persist in trying to 'hit' him with a longer ball, we must get players closer to him to lend support, and we must do it quickly, or we're just squandering possession and setting him up to fail. Generally speaking I think we don't anticipate well, and we're not compact enough. We should be looking to support our front players much more quickly than we do.

Generally struck me how often our touch and ball/control and basic skills are sadly lacking, although pleased to see our set piece delivery improved from recent standards, albeit looking much less of a threat without Pearson in the team. Thought we missed Rodman and Disley, didn't make good use of Neilson or Paddy, and that Thomas was very disappointing. Some of our decision making looks very suspect to me - when to pass and when to hit a channel or long ball from deep, and there is a visible lack of clever movement from our strikes and centre midfielders. Genuine pace would have caused them all sorts of problems today, but, of course, we don't have any.

Result was everything and we had the chances to make it more comfortable but we were very predictably always going to make hard work of it. Worrying that this is not a 'one-off' performance, and that we'll have to improve significantly in all aspects to bring play off success, but it's a whole new ball game now and all of the contenders have proved they are beatable. Relieved to get the result and the play off place. We must keep tight and together from now on.

Thought shop did well today. Ross on fire, nielson tried hard but it didn't really click.

Quoted from moosey_club

If Ross Hannah would have squared for LJL instead of going for glory himself it would have been alot more comfortable, unbelievably selfish.
Having said that the hat trick has clearly boosted his confidence as he looked like a new player today so that could just be the boost we need going into the final stage of the season.

I cannot believe you have said that about Ross Hannah,he has now scored four goals in two games natural goalscoresers are very much to their own thinking.

I played at Town for a number of years with brilleant goal scorers like like Matt Tees,Stuart Brace,Kevin Drinkell, etc and not that I was a goalscorer I was a creative midfielder.

The times I can tell you when I got into far better positions than the names I have just mentioned and they never passed to me and missed. but that is a goal scorer.

Natural goalscorers will always go for a shot on goal rather than pass to a collegue who is in a better position, and that is a fact
NEW FOOTBALLER

My Dad was bang on in his assessment of Nielson today, he looks lots better on the left, he also makes Aswad look better as they link up very well when they get going. Today though we looked like we had a few players being used as square pegs in round holes, Nielson and Paddy being the moss obvious. Great to get in the play offs with a game to go, nose the time to make ten changes Paul.
Mom today was Hatton who didn't put a foot wrong.

Quoted from newfootballer

I cannot believe you have said that about Ross Hannah,he has now scored four goals in two games natural goalscoresers are very much to their own thinking.

I played at Town for a number of years with brilleant goal scorers like like Matt Tees,Stuart Brace,Kevin Drinkell, etc and not that I was a goalscorer I was a creative midfielder.

The times I can tell you when I got into far better positions than the names I have just mentioned and they never passed to me and missed. but that is a goal scorer.

Natural goalscorers will always go for a shot on goal rather than pass to a collegue who is in a better position, and that is a fact
NEW FOOTBALLER

It was 0-0....a game we needed to win and preferably score a hatful to help with goal difference just in case results went other ways....LJL was in a far better position just like Hannah was at Alfreton.....a goal then would have settled the crowd, the team and given us a bit more confidence whcih i am sure would have led to plenty more.
Its a team game and the team needed the goal.
However pleased to see Ross looking sharp and confident today, the two chances he had and the goal today he would have been nowhere near a couple of games ago.

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

My Dad was bang on in his assessment of Nielson today, he looks lots better on the left, he also makes Aswad look better as they link up very well when they get going. Today though we looked like we had a few players being used as square pegs in round holes, Nielson and Paddy being the moss obvious. Great to get in the play offs with a game to go, nose the time to make ten changes Paul.
Mom today was Hatton who didn't put a foot wrong.

Agree about Neilson he doesn't really seem comfortable on the right, kept cutting inside into trouble instead of hugging the touchline. Think as PH said, we missed Rodders.

Quoted from newfootballer

I cannot believe you have said that about Ross Hannah,he has now scored four goals in two games natural goalscoresers are very much to their own thinking.

I played at Town for a number of years with brilleant goal scorers like like Matt Tees,Stuart Brace,Kevin Drinkell, etc and not that I was a goalscorer I was a creative midfielder.

The times I can tell you when I got into far better positions than the names I have just mentioned and they never passed to me and missed. but that is a goal scorer.

Natural goalscorers will always go for a shot on goal rather than pass to a collegue who is in a better position, and that is a fact
NEW FOOTBALLER

Played with Drinkell?

Are you sure??

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Played with Drinkell?

Are you sure??

In 5 games during the 1976/77 and 77/78 seasons!

It surprises me that Newfootballer retired in 1978 - of course he must have played with Kevin Drinkell (who had not scored many goals at that point) - but when I saw Drinks play in a 4-0 win for Norwich at Carlisle (with the likes of Steve Bruce)- he was the finished article - class act.

UTM

Obviously pleased as punch we are in the play offs but if we are third best team in Conference then it muse be a p*ss poor league
Very nervy performance which lacked guile, creativity and an ability to do the simple things... a microcosm of many performances I've seen this season (home and away)
Neillson - for someone who is as obviously talented as he is there is very little end product
Thanoj - big fan of him but he failed to impose himself on the game
Shop - big fan, but looked nervy
Aswad - thank god Hurst brought him off; it was almost cruel watching him suffer

We have stuttered over the line and now anything can happen - having said all that I'd be very surprised if we get promoted as we are not lethal up top and too prone to errors at the back

Today's performance summed up our season to be fair - stop/start; lacking conviction; lack of chances; lack of crosses; lack of bodies in the box; over complicating things

The win is everything - if we had drawn 0-0 you would have to out that performance down as pretty appalling against a team that had conceded 117 goals.

Quoted from Stevie Saunders

Obviously pleased as punch we are in the play offs but if we are third best team in Conference then it muse be a p*ss poor league
Very nervy performance which lacked guile, creativity and an ability to do the simple things... a microcosm of many performances I've seen this season (home and away)
Neillson - for someone who is as obviously talented as he is there is very little end product
Thanoj - big fan of him but he failed to impose himself on the game
Shop - big fan, but looked nervy
Aswad - thank god Hurst brought him off; it was almost cruel watching him suffer

We have stuttered over the line and now anything can happen - having said all that I'd be very surprised if we get promoted as we are not lethal up top and too prone to errors at the back

Today's performance summed up our season to be fair - stop/start; lacking conviction; lack of chances; lack of crosses; lack of bodies in the box; over complicating thing

The win is everything - if we had drawn 0-0 you would have to out that performance down as pretty appalling against a team that had conceded 117 goals.

This is the way I saw the game , but got slateded on the way home for being too degative .
I would think the other 3 teams would want us in the play offs .