Deity on a pedal cycle, that wasn't good. In fairness, there were some positives. Nathan Craig can sure pass a ball, proving that it isn't any more difficult in the first XI than in the reserves. Despite being as depleted as we are ever likely to be and coming up against the most sustained onslaught that we are going to have to put up with (albeit with a considerable lack of genuine talent), we resisted pretty well.
Negatives were a very tentative looking Pokey, I lost count of the times the ball went into the 6 yard box and MP was notive to be seen. I know comparisons are unfair, but for the OG, Bobby would have been 5 yards in front of Saahsy, catching the ball above his head, as opposed to pissing about waiting for it to bounce.
Sadly, there's more: whatever the question is, I'm not sure Danny Leadbitter is the answer.
I don't think Rene was taken off for the sake of his booking, which was **** ing stupid.
All in, pleased enough with an away point, draw your away games, win your home games, go up. Simples.
Matt.
Port Vale v Torquay United - 1/9/12
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ferrarilover
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J5 said, "ferrarilover is 100% correct"
Bit of a wierd game really. Half time we were 1-0 up and pretty comfortable, certainly didn't look like a makeshift team including two 18 year olds and a full league debutant. There were a couple of sticky moments defensively which we dealt with reasonably well and we created a few decent openings which we didn't really make the most of. A couple of times there was a chance to ping a shot away from distance and we looked reluctant to do so and thus our attacks fizzled out to nothing.
Our goal was a really nice bit of play, Rene did well to create a bit of space for himself AND drag two defenders towards the ball, and when it looked like he was going to bend it into the top corner he laid a sublimely weighted ball perfectly into the stride of a lung-busting Ian Morris who coolly slotted into the corner, it was a classy goal in a game devoid of much quality. It was an excellent run from Morris, full of desire to make a difference, the sort of thing Mansell did all of last season, and the sort of thing Bodin should learn to do. Shame the popsiders didn't see Morris at somewhere near his best today.
Second half it was pretty obvious that Adams had dished out a bit of a bollocking at half time. A more purposeful Vale had us on the back foot for the majority of the second period and it was the sort of game that last season we would somehow have seen out for 1-0.When Pokey pulled out a world class save I had that feeling i got so many times last season. The fact we gave them the equaliser makes it all the more galling, a simple error in communication between goalkeeper and back 4 led to Saah glancing it into his own net with no Vale player near him. This gift woke their crowd up and then from then on there was only going to be one winner as we defended deeper and attacked ineptly.
Saah nearly 'Ellis'ed' it into his own net again only for the post to save him, Nico cleared one off the line, a couple of headed efforts went narrowly over and their corner count kept getting higher and higher, but we withstood the pressure for a valuable point and that will do players like Kirtys and Nathan the power of good.
Considering our injury and suspension list, a point is a fine result and the unbeaten run continues. The experience for Niall, Kirtys and Nathan Craig will be vital for their progression and they all came through with reputations intact. I thought Kirtys McKenzie was excellent, but then based on what I saw during pre-season I would have had absolutely no hesitation starting him.
People might say we got away with it today, but the point is that apart from a totally avoidable and unfortunate own goal Vale could not score past us. We withstood whatever they threw at us, and that included the referee giving them free-kicks left, right and centre for little more than breathing in the vague direcion of a Vale player. The second half hardly saw us get out of our own half so the team, and youngsters in particular, should take great confidence from coming away with a very hard-earned point. With Downes, Easton and maybe Stevens back in the squad for Argyle we have nothing to worry about at all. We have a very bright future at the club. Big credit to Geoff Harrop.
Poke. 7. 2 excellent saves but still slightly indecisive, equaliser ultimately down to him for not being vocal enough. Saw him at services on way home, absolute gentleman.
Oastler. 7. consistently good.
Saah. 7. 2 glaring errors nearly cost us the match but didn't seem to let it effect him. A class act.
Mackenzie. 8. Couldn't tell it was his debut. Very assured, more than good enough to be CB no.3.
Nico 7. Little protection from Bodin so performed a tough job very well, experience vital.
Mansell. 7. Excellent and calm in possession, covered every blade of grass without it, still our most important player.
Craig 7. Kept the ball moving and looked good in the air, couple of beautiful crossfield passes.
Morris 8. Combative, industrious and a very well taken goal, very good in the air.
Thompson 6. Started off with good intent, clear to see he has a footballer's brain, waned second half when our attacking impetus faded.
Howe. 6. Starved of service for most of the game but made it count when he had it, intelligent assist for Morris' goal. Would like to see him shoot on sight, we know he can do it.
Bodin 6. Tried hard and nothing came off for him, struggled to get into the game and link up.
Leadbitter (Thompson) 6. looked a bit confused as to his role when he came on but time on the pitch indicates he is making progress.
Jarvis (Howe) 6. Like against Rochdale, really tough ask to make an impact when under the cosh, no service when he came on.
Cruise (Bodin) not enough time to make an impact.
Referee 5. Absolute cack, allowed the crowd to make his decisions for him, and most of them were wrong. Could have played advantage for us on a couple of crucial counter attacking occasions and brought the play back.
Burslem 5. Looks even worse in the daylight. Friendly stewards though and atleast 100 or so of their fans tried to get behind their team. The over-riding feeling of that stadium though is of a team stuck in a rut and living in the past.
TUFC fans 8. Very disappointing turn out, couldn't have been more than 150, so credit to those who did turn up and attempting the difficult task of making noise in a stand far too big for us.
Our goal was a really nice bit of play, Rene did well to create a bit of space for himself AND drag two defenders towards the ball, and when it looked like he was going to bend it into the top corner he laid a sublimely weighted ball perfectly into the stride of a lung-busting Ian Morris who coolly slotted into the corner, it was a classy goal in a game devoid of much quality. It was an excellent run from Morris, full of desire to make a difference, the sort of thing Mansell did all of last season, and the sort of thing Bodin should learn to do. Shame the popsiders didn't see Morris at somewhere near his best today.
Second half it was pretty obvious that Adams had dished out a bit of a bollocking at half time. A more purposeful Vale had us on the back foot for the majority of the second period and it was the sort of game that last season we would somehow have seen out for 1-0.When Pokey pulled out a world class save I had that feeling i got so many times last season. The fact we gave them the equaliser makes it all the more galling, a simple error in communication between goalkeeper and back 4 led to Saah glancing it into his own net with no Vale player near him. This gift woke their crowd up and then from then on there was only going to be one winner as we defended deeper and attacked ineptly.
Saah nearly 'Ellis'ed' it into his own net again only for the post to save him, Nico cleared one off the line, a couple of headed efforts went narrowly over and their corner count kept getting higher and higher, but we withstood the pressure for a valuable point and that will do players like Kirtys and Nathan the power of good.
Considering our injury and suspension list, a point is a fine result and the unbeaten run continues. The experience for Niall, Kirtys and Nathan Craig will be vital for their progression and they all came through with reputations intact. I thought Kirtys McKenzie was excellent, but then based on what I saw during pre-season I would have had absolutely no hesitation starting him.
People might say we got away with it today, but the point is that apart from a totally avoidable and unfortunate own goal Vale could not score past us. We withstood whatever they threw at us, and that included the referee giving them free-kicks left, right and centre for little more than breathing in the vague direcion of a Vale player. The second half hardly saw us get out of our own half so the team, and youngsters in particular, should take great confidence from coming away with a very hard-earned point. With Downes, Easton and maybe Stevens back in the squad for Argyle we have nothing to worry about at all. We have a very bright future at the club. Big credit to Geoff Harrop.
Poke. 7. 2 excellent saves but still slightly indecisive, equaliser ultimately down to him for not being vocal enough. Saw him at services on way home, absolute gentleman.
Oastler. 7. consistently good.
Saah. 7. 2 glaring errors nearly cost us the match but didn't seem to let it effect him. A class act.
Mackenzie. 8. Couldn't tell it was his debut. Very assured, more than good enough to be CB no.3.
Nico 7. Little protection from Bodin so performed a tough job very well, experience vital.
Mansell. 7. Excellent and calm in possession, covered every blade of grass without it, still our most important player.
Craig 7. Kept the ball moving and looked good in the air, couple of beautiful crossfield passes.
Morris 8. Combative, industrious and a very well taken goal, very good in the air.
Thompson 6. Started off with good intent, clear to see he has a footballer's brain, waned second half when our attacking impetus faded.
Howe. 6. Starved of service for most of the game but made it count when he had it, intelligent assist for Morris' goal. Would like to see him shoot on sight, we know he can do it.
Bodin 6. Tried hard and nothing came off for him, struggled to get into the game and link up.
Leadbitter (Thompson) 6. looked a bit confused as to his role when he came on but time on the pitch indicates he is making progress.
Jarvis (Howe) 6. Like against Rochdale, really tough ask to make an impact when under the cosh, no service when he came on.
Cruise (Bodin) not enough time to make an impact.
Referee 5. Absolute cack, allowed the crowd to make his decisions for him, and most of them were wrong. Could have played advantage for us on a couple of crucial counter attacking occasions and brought the play back.
Burslem 5. Looks even worse in the daylight. Friendly stewards though and atleast 100 or so of their fans tried to get behind their team. The over-riding feeling of that stadium though is of a team stuck in a rut and living in the past.
TUFC fans 8. Very disappointing turn out, couldn't have been more than 150, so credit to those who did turn up and attempting the difficult task of making noise in a stand far too big for us.
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AustrianAndyGull
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Good stuff Ben lad, how do you manage to find the time and energy to write this stuff after just spending 4 hours on a motorway?!! 
I'm knackered and i only had to drive to Rotherham and then Chesterfield, got in at 8pm.
I'm knackered and i only had to drive to Rotherham and then Chesterfield, got in at 8pm.Strangely enough it was Pope Gregory the 9th inviting me for drinks aboard his steam yacht, the saucy sue currently wintering in montego bay with the England cricket team and the Balanese Goddess of plenty.
My thoughts. mmmm..... first impression was that it was a nice friendly place, wrong. After the game the single brain cells were there to be seen. No wonder these areas of the country are so rundown, what I saw explains it, too many retards, no hope.
Anyway I agree with a previous poster, thought Mackenzie had a good debut, well done. Niall didnt have much success today, the defender was very good and Niall couldnt get past him at all really, although he worked hard and covered well.
We had very little creativity to be honest but we defended bravely if a little luckily at times.
I think there are probably 10 teams inc us who are about equal, and it will be down to injuries and a little luck where any will finish.
Anyway I agree with a previous poster, thought Mackenzie had a good debut, well done. Niall didnt have much success today, the defender was very good and Niall couldnt get past him at all really, although he worked hard and covered well.
We had very little creativity to be honest but we defended bravely if a little luckily at times.
I think there are probably 10 teams inc us who are about equal, and it will be down to injuries and a little luck where any will finish.
Last edited by Neal on 02 Sep 2012, 09:27, edited 1 time in total.
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ferrarilover
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What you have to remember, Neal, is that for teams like Port Vale, a point at home against Torquay is a real achievement, so they get a bit excited.
Matt.
Matt.
J5 said, "ferrarilover is 100% correct"
Hahaha good one!ferrarilover wrote:What you have to remember, Neal, is that for teams like Port Vale, a point at home against Torquay is a real achievement, so they get a bit excited.
Matt.
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Plymouth Gull
Having just seen the goals, pleased Morris got his - well taken too after good play by Rene. Can't get over Saahs though, when I read about it I imagined a long ball which he's back peddling to take it off course (much like Chris Todd in the FA Trophy SF 2nd leg at York in 08) but it's worse than that. Still, he's been faultless since January really so hopefully it is just a one off and it hasn't hit his confidence too much.
Saw it last night and its a shocker no doubt, interesting to read that Pokey did give a shout and Saah has said he heard the shout, real shame that, as a shout from the keeper who has full vision should not be ignored.
Won't hang Brian Saah for the mistake though, he has been flawless in his performances for a long time now and I am sure he will recover from it quickly.
Won't hang Brian Saah for the mistake though, he has been flawless in his performances for a long time now and I am sure he will recover from it quickly.
Formerly known as forevertufc
Was a big blunder, and looked even worse from behind the goal. Situation wasn't helped by him slicing one against the post minutes later. However to his eternal credit it didn't seem to effect him one bit, take out those two errors and it was another faultless dominant display for Brian. If Poke did call, its needs to be louder. I don't want to spend all season comparing him to Bobby because that would be unfair but last season that would not have happened. From the very first game last season there was an understanding between the back four and goalkeeper that just isn't there at the moment. Olejnik used to bellow, like Schmeichel, to leave the defender in absolutely no doubt whatsoever what was going on behind him, Poke really needs to do the same. His shot-stopping helped earn us yesterday's point, but his commanding of his area nearly threw it away.
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ferrarilover
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What, where did you read this? Surely this is Saahsy conceding that he did it deliberately? He knew the keeper wasn't there, he knew he was in the middle of the goal and 5 yards out, yet he headed it as he did anyway? If that bastard turns up at training in a new car any time soon, or with a flash new watch, I'm going to be bloody suspicious. Did anyone see him being handed a brown envelope by an official wearing a Port Vale tie?forevertufc wrote:Saw it last night and its a shocker no doubt, interesting to read that Pokey did give a shout and Saah has said he heard the shout, real shame that, as a shout from the keeper who has full vision should not be ignored.
Won't hang Brian Saah for the mistake though, he has been flawless in his performances for a long time now and I am sure he will recover from it quickly.
Matt.
J5 said, "ferrarilover is 100% correct"
Well I was just about to reply to Bengull, reading the link there is no doubt Pokey called, and Brain Saah heard him.....http://www.torquayunited.com/news/artic ... 47832.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;ferrarilover wrote: What, where did you read this? Surely this is Saahsy conceding that he did it deliberately? He knew the keeper wasn't there, he knew he was in the middle of the goal and 5 yards out, yet he headed it as he did anyway? If that b*****d turns up at training in a new car any time soon, or with a flash new watch, I'm going to be bloody suspicious. Did anyone see him being handed a brown envelope by an official wearing a Port Vale tie?
Matt.
Formerly known as forevertufc
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Gulliball
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Matt, just because the keeper calls, it doesn't mean he will get there before an opposition player. If a defender thinks he needs to take action then he will. He meant to head it away, or behind for a corner, and got it wrong. Even if Poke hadn't come he wouldn't have had much chance against a header from that range. It was the header that was the error, not the decision to take action. It was a rare mistake, which I'm sure everyone will put behind them. We have a big game 6 days away.
I wonder whether the call from Poke was very late. It kind of looked (at the time and on the highlights) that Saah was caught in two minds. I wonder whether he heard the call and wanted to get out of it, but had already gone past the point of no return. Thats why it looks such a ridiculous own goal to concede.
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AustrianAndyGull
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ferrarilover wrote: What, where did you read this? Surely this is Saahsy conceding that he did it deliberately? He knew the keeper wasn't there, he knew he was in the middle of the goal and 5 yards out, yet he headed it as he did anyway? If that b*****d turns up at training in a new car any time soon, or with a flash new watch, I'm going to be bloody suspicious. Did anyone see him being handed a brown envelope by an official wearing a Port Vale tie?
Matt.
Oh yeah Matt and what would be in this envelope? Chocolate buttons!!
They haven't got a pot to urinate in! It would have made history as being the cheapest bribe EVER!
Strangely enough it was Pope Gregory the 9th inviting me for drinks aboard his steam yacht, the saucy sue currently wintering in montego bay with the England cricket team and the Balanese Goddess of plenty.
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ferrarilover
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Racist!austrianandygull wrote:
Oh yeah Matt and what would be in this envelope? Chocolate buttons!!
They haven't got a pot to urinate in! It would have made history as being the cheapest bribe EVER!
Matt.
J5 said, "ferrarilover is 100% correct"
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