A lacklustre performance from CCK gifted AFC Stanley the three points at Wish Park. Two goals without reply gave the Premiership new-boys a deserved victory.
A much changed team once again took to the field for CCK, and the lack of synchronisation, and cohesion was evident from the early stages of the match. Passing moves were infrequent and invariably failed to create goalscoring opportunites. AFC Stanley on the other hand started with a confident swagger. An early shot forced a good save from Paul Muzzall. Possession was very much dominated by the blues who had a man over in the midfield. In fact it seemed they had a man over in every line of the pitch. Their 3-5-2 wing back formation allowed their central midfielders to keep the ball with ease, and this formed the foundation for a dominant first half display. After Paul Muzzall impressed again in goal, and Mike Spence single handedly rescued the side on numerous occasions, Stanley took the lead. A goalmouth scramble culminated with the ball ending up in the back of the net. However, quite why the referee didn't award a free kick for the physical assault endured by Josh Van Nes in the build up to the goal, only he will know. In fact the referee's overall performance almost made CCK's performance look good. Almost is a loose term as CCK never really got going. A long range effort from a Stanley midfielder crashed off the cross-bar. The technique and accuracy of the shot arguably deserved a goal. CCK in possession did look good at times. Dave Jones and Dan Harnden in particular were playing some good football. However, a lack of penetration and an inability to keep possession in more advanced areas of the pitch, meant CCK failed miserably to create any long range shooting chances, let alone any clear openings. The only threat to Stanley's goal was coming from set pieces, and none of the free kicks or corners that were launched into the box were met with much conviction. Defensively CCK seemed to be relatively tight. Mike Spence, Josh Van Nes, Dave Atherall, and Doug Reid were working hard to keep the Badgers in the game, as was Paul Muzzall. Pete Coggan and Ivan Sambles were also putting lots of effort in, and showed good hold up play. However, with three defenders marshalling the two of them, they were finding little fruit for their efforts. Josh Dalby was finding space on the left and played several crosses into the box, but with a numerical and significant height advantage in the area, Stanley had little trouble coping with CCK's aerial threat from open play. Tim Rose was battling hard to win the ball back for CCK, however, it seemed very much in vain as possession would then be squandered soon after. The first half petered out with CCK in need of an improved second half.
Paul Muzzall was the first CCK player to produce anything positive for CCK, he kept them in the game with a good stop using his legs. CCK did manage an attempt on goal not long after. Tim Rose broke forward and his shot was comfortably saved by AFC's keeper. When CCK had the ball, they didn't look too bad. Dave Jones was spraying the ball around the pitch, Pete Coggan was displaying some neat touches, and Dan Harnden was working hard down the right, causing Stanley problems. A goal still looked largely beyond The Badgers and it was Paul Muzzall who continued to see more of the ball than his counterpart. CCK's defence continued to hold out the Stanley advances and give their side a chance of grabbing something. An injury to Josh Dalby forced a change half-way through the second half. Mike Preston returned from his opening game injury to take his place on the left wing. He provided some good explosive pace and caused problems for their tiring right wing back. Dan Harnden continued to provide a similar threat from the opposite flank. Dave Atherall who had shown some good defensive clearances and blocks, made way for Ben Eneke who shuffled comfortably into his customary right back role. Both sides seemed to be tiring heading into the final stages of the match. Dan Harnden was replaced by the energetic Mark Edwards, whose enthusiasm and persistence obviously aggrivated the flagging left wing back. Stanley finally sealed the victory when their tall subsitute was allowed a free header from a corner. A mix up between Tim Rose and Dave Jones seemed to be the reasoning for the ease at which CCK's chances were completely crushed. The Badgers did then throw more men forward, but that couldn't bring them any chances or goals, and the final whistle signalled back to back losses accompanied by back to back blank scoresheets.
Tim Rose was clearly not happy with the teams performance when he spoke at his post match press conference, "We were simply not good enough today. We struggled to cope with their system and they took advantage of the numerical advantage they had in central areas of the pitch. Unfortunately we are struggling for continuity on the teamsheet at the moment, and this clearly didn't help our cause today, as there were so many changes in the team for one reason or another." Stand in captain Dave Jones feels the side need more belief if they are to start winning games, "On paper we have a strong squad, but we don't have that winning mentality at the moment. At the moment it almost feels like we're happy to just take part or play well, but we need far more ambition than that. We need to individually and collectively believe that we are going to win when we step on the pitch, and then have the adequate desire to match our confidence." Things don't get any easier for CCK as their next match is against current champions, Brighton Electricity. However, a scalp of that magnitude would surely kick start their season.
