A welcome 3 points today and a welcome return of 2 away goals, if i told you i was expecting that to happen before kick off then i'd have been telling porkies. Big fat ones only reserved for the highest in power. If i told you i was expecting us to defend for 90 minutes and have 1 shot then you'd have been closer to the mark. The reality wasn't a million miles from this as York created many chances, most from the edge of the area admittedly but Pokey still had his hands warmed on several occasions whilst we dug in admirably for periods of defensive pressure. Meanwhile we attacked sporadically but getting men forward purposefully in those attacks.
We began well pushing and probing and restricting York to very little as the hosts struggled to get a foothold in the game. The home crowd were silent all through the half and apart from a few of us hardy Gulls trying to create some atmosphere it was pretty dead and depressing. We took the lead on 10 minutes when a pass from Nico let in Stevens who finished expertly into the bottom corner. The surprising thing was the amount of bodies we had in and around the area for the attack and it certainly paid off. York gradually came into the game as the half wore on and tested Pokey on a few occasions without really threatening too much. We had a few pushes forward and won a corner or two but created nothing of note.
The half time seemed to take an eternity and their players were out well before ours, a statement of intent perhaps? They got at us from the off and the pressure built up. I honestly thought that this would be it now for the remainder of the half and we'd have to somehow hold out and maybe get a draw. Downes and Saah were immense at the back and Nico and Oastler also had better games than i have seen so far this season. The Minstermen continued to test Pokey with potshots and he was thwarting them in return. An appeal for a York penalty fell on deaf ears when one of their players was through on goal and one of our lads ( sorry couldn't quite see who it was ) slammed into him bringing him down in the area. I must admit it didn't look pretty and hearts were in mouths for a moment but the ref didn't give it. I'll need to see it on a replay.
Anyway, Torquay were having the odd breakaway with Bodin looking to trick their defenders and seconds after York had made a sub, we had an attack when the ball broke to Rene inside the penalty area and with superb close control he delayed slightly, all the while holding off their defender before playing a ball across the area which wiped out their keeper and defence and on the 6 yard box was Joey to steer home the second. Again it was the fact that we had players IN SUPPORT AND IN DANGEROUS AREAS that we were able to score. Brilliant from Rene. York pressed further and continued to pepper Poke with potshots but we knew it was to be our day. Not great to watch but a much improved performance to all the others i've seen this season and with a little more confidence and ball retention it could have been so much better. The formation change to 4-4-2 was critical to the win and if we had played Rene up on his own and dropped deeper then York would have eventually found a way through and there would have been no way back playing like that.
A good day at the office and immense credit to Lingy and the boys for sticking their necks out and giving it a go and although there is a lot of room for improvement it was a big step in the right direction. I think the win masks what was still a generally average performance and if we had drawn i might not have been so positive but at the end of the day, i begged Martin to play two up front and offer us more going forward and he did this so massive thumbs up and deserved praise for him and i'm sorry for calling him a knob earlier this week! :Oops:
It was good to once again meet up with the usual gang of Ben, Alex, Big Ben, Scottish Dom, Gaz and some others i still don't know the names of yet and good of Bix to say hello too. I took a mate with me too ( ok f*ck off! I HAVE got one! ) and he had a good day out too. The matchday programme was sh*te but i had the most bizarre incident i have ever had whilst going through turnstiles. It was £17 to get in and i gave the bloke a £20. He then gave me a tenner change and sort of winked and said 'go on in mate'! He let me off with £7! I did think he was after some bum fun in the gents at half time but he let my mate in for the same! Err, maybe he wanted a threesome! SH*T!!
I don't know if that happened to any of you? ( getting in for a tenner that is and not the threesome in the bogs with men )
POKE 8 : Consistent, spilled a few shots but was confident, agile and made some great saves.
NICO 7 : Still nowhere near the Nico of old but put in a solid if unspectacular performance and set up the goal for Danny.
OASTLER 7: Getting his confidence back and somewhere near back to normal, solid and popped up in the box out of the blue for the second goal.
SAAH 9 : Not much got past him and he was immense once again.
DOWNES 8: Another solid partnership with Brian and one of the best headers of the ball i've seen.
EASTON 7 : Didn't notice him too much but did the simple thins well.
CRAIG 7: Some good play in the middle of the park and provided support for the forward players.
STEVENS 8: Started well, lively, got the goal and faded a little but worked hard for the team. Great finish for the first.
BODIN 7 : Worked hard and tried things which didn't come off but you could see he was knackered near the end. Didn't really have any chances or a huge impact on the game but his workrate has dramatically improved since the last time i saw him.
JARVIS 7 : Support for Rene up top, i thought he did well and he battled although he didn't have much of a sniff at goal.
HOWE 9 : Hold up play superb, great composure and awareness in setting up Oastler for the second. Needless booking though for dissent puts a downer on it.
Credit to all the fans there today too, not sure of the actual figures but it's close to Xmas and it was a rotten day weather wise to end the day and to be driving home in. So disappointed with the lack of atmosphere though.
All in all, a definate improvement, a cracking result and i'm so pleased for everyone tonight. I'm not falling into the trap that we can go and beat Daggers well by playing 4-4-2 next week though. Ling might decide to revert back and we could be discussing the same old failings again and go back to square one. I so hope that doesn't happen and we have a platform to build from now, we know we can beat a decent team in their own back yard playing 4-4-2 and with improvement it bodes well for future away games.
Just a word on Manse, we didn't really miss him today and for all his commitment and industry, we got through perfectly well in his absence. Maybe the time out will give him chance to have a breather , recharge and come back something a bit more like he was last season.
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