Losing players to injury, illness, holiday, family commitments is part and parcel of the game but it was bitterly disappointing for the ten who did show up to be let down again by a no-show of a key team mate especially when various team mates had made big efforts to respond to player shortages.
Kim showed why he's captain and why he's head and shoulders above most when he pulled on the gloves ahead of reluctant team mates who failed to do out on pitch what he generally does better week in week out. The warning signs were there last week and were discussed in part with the few who made mid-week training. A small squad demands big responsbility and commitment. Too many players are turning in self indulgent, indisciplined performances with little regard for team structure. If this is because we are currently tight for players then it soon wont be the case. The object of the game is to win as a team. All over the pitch players are playing as individuals. The end result is poor decision making and poor football with little to enjoy either on or off the pitch.If you want to play for yourself dont expect to be certain of a place on the TEAM sheet.
We set up to accommodate the available 9 outfield players who included Lee, a late signing playing his first game in 18 months and Josh recovering from illness.We set up 3-5-1 with Josh as lone striker and just like last week we had a first minute chance to settle our nerves but last week Glen, this time Josh struck at the 'keeper. They replied and tested Bowles twice in the next couple of minutes and with a man short we were continually tested in that area throughout the game. In the 18th Steve headed clear to Sam who squeezed a pass under pressure to Josh who's powerful run saw him hold off the defender and slot past a decent 'keeper for 1-0. In the 28th Steve and Josh drove through with a double 1-2, Josh hit the bye-line but his driven cross just eluded Sam. We saw out the half playing decent committed football and enjoyed good possession. Roding only had 1 real chance and forced a great save from Kim 5 minutes before the interval.
Glen joined us for the second half with an injury and a declared birthday hangover but he was the body we needed to occupy the wide left area. We reverted to a more usual shape with Josh n Dazza in central midfield and it proved a disaster with everybody taking the foot of the gas, failing to put real pressure on the ball in any area of the pitch. At 1-0 and no need to chase the game it took just 30 seconds for Dazza to find himself the furthest player forward looking for a goal we didn't need. They cut through an empty midfield, pinged the ball behind Bowles and we were at 1-1 inside the first couple of minutes of the restart. On the left Bowles was calling for players to "take your time" when we actually needed to up our work rate. Working hard and playing at tempo is not the same as chasing the game! Before we could recover and inject any pace into our work we were being pressed in our own third with Kyle and Billy joining in the casual approach leading to a corner and a failure to deal with a simple grass cutter across the 6 yard box leaving us trailing 1-2.
Once we allowed the energy to seep out our game it was always going to a struggle but the first step is to do the simple things, do them quickly and do them well. From Billy's inability to play the way he was facing through to Dazza's wild swipe a 30 yard volley when he was in acres, through to Bowles playing 40 yard balls over the top for Lee to chase this was pretty much a complete collapse of our team shape, composure and understanding of the game.
Picking through the bones of the game its hard to pick the positives but i'll have a go. After illness all week Josh put in a huge effort in demanding circumstances; although rusty Lee played with discipline and effectiveness particularly in the 2nd half; Mark Grey put in a good shift; Glen showed his commitment and Kim put aside his disappointment at sacrificing a family birhday night out to pull on the gloves and pull off a fantastic save an a good all round performance. We were excellent in our attitude towards the ref even if we thought a couple of decisions from the lino were doubtful. And that's about it. This result will only become meaningful if we are unable to look at ourselves individually and understand what is needed to part of a successful winning team.
