Boots received a crushing defeat in the league this weekend against mid-table rivals Inn the Bank, making the next few games all the more important for defining our season. Two goals in the first half following dubious refereeing decisions made it an uphill battle, and a third and fourth shortly after the break effectively killed the game off. With Boots pushing to get back in the game they were offered a ray of hope from a well-taken Patto goal, but the opposition used the space to make the result look like a one-sided beating!
Boots lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with Bally the lone striker and Griff playing in an unusual defensive midfielder role. The early exchanges were quite even, Boots having a few half chances from Bally and Crozier but seeing their shots being blocked or missing the target, while Sicky later had a header blocked on the line (by a stomach) and Dan narrowly missed a fierce header from Crozier’s corner. At the other end Dan, Brett, Licks and Matt seemed to coping with the attack well for the opening 20 minutes. However, the first strange decision occurred when a ball was played through to their striker, who Patto flagged for offside. The ref looked to be moving the whistle to his mouth and held his hand up before changing his mind, by which time Dan’s headed clearance (under pressure from the offside player) had landed at the feet of the right winger who rounded Matt (still waiting for the whistle) and finished past Frumpy. It was a cruel lesson about playing to the whistle, but still seemed extremely harsh! Boots began to see more of the ball in midfield, with Griff, Simon and Sam hassling well and debutant Rich showing some good touches on the right, but just before half time Inn the Bank made it 2-0 following a penalty given against Griffin. The alleged foul was for holding, which seemed a little harsh considering it occurs in every box across Europe week in week out without a penalty ever being given (and none of the opposition called for it)! Their defender duly dispatched the penalty beyond Frumpy.
Whilst Boots tried to get out of the blocks quickly in the second half with Patto and Pete coming on up front, Inn the Bank further extended their lead with two quick goals. The first from a cross where their player beat every defender to the deflected ball, and the fourth when Frumpy’s one-on-one save rolled out to an unmarked winger who curled the ball around the closing defenders from 20 yards. Patto grabbed a consolation goal when a good slide pass from Dan found him with a bit of space on the edge of the area, and he curled the ball home first time into the top right corner. Frustratingly thereafter Boots had a number of opportunities that they failed to convert, Pete had one scuffed shot cleared off the line and he also put a one-on-one wide, while Patto and Bally also had chances to cross but saw their final balls blocked, while Crozier curled a freekick over the wall (but also the bar) with the goalkeeper stranded. Inn the Bank proved the more clinical finishing off a further two chances as they made the most of the space; one a deflection past Frumpy and one where a cross found the attacker with an easy finish in the penalty box.
Overall the next few games are now very important to return to winning ways. We had the chances but failed to convert and we need to defend better as a team, closing the opposition faster, and we need to keep solid and retain the ball - we were on reflection guilty of leaving ourselves open as we chased the game. Finally the ref didn’t help things, but we need to learn to play to the whistle - we know we won’t get top refs or linesmen in this league so need to be safe not sorry!
Pete awarded Man of the Match to Dan Fowler, who despite having a particularly tricky afternoon with the rest of defence, still made some excellent tackles and was dominant in the air at both ends of the pitch.
