MERTHYR v Cinderford

Updates here! (Hopefully!!)

drove through Merthyr yesterday , going for a bank holiday spin. Made a point of locating Penydarren Park.

will endeavour to get to a home game before the end of season.

come on Martyrs, time to kick ass!!

Team: Cutlan willo Alun Newall Colborne Harris Newman leek Prosser Cornwall Traylor. Subs Marcus preen jones Tubbs Rewbs

Late change Marcus Griffiths replaces Ryan Newman who is ill. Only 4 subs now.

any news?

1 up Prosser 44mins toe poke at back post following long throw

H/t 1-0

brilliant

1-1. Cinderford equalised from close range in 51st min

73rd min subs. Rewbury and Preen on. Prosser and Alun Griffiths off

78th min sub. Jones on and Harris off

2 1 down 85mins

F/t lost 1-2

Well just when I thought Merthyr couldn't get any worse...they went and proved me wrong...cinderford town....that Brazilian team from Gloucester came and stole three points from us...worryingly we dragged them down to our level....clearly the rotation policy has turned a half decent side into half a team....is there a hidden agenda at play here....can we afford off the field to go up?...I remember the famous day when as Merthyr town we kept our top striker Cortez belle on the bench against Tiverton town....I hope it is not history repeating itself....anyway there is a saying there is always someone worse off than you...and today is was the Merthyr team on masse...colbourne was his usual player of the season best....gilo had a fair game despite his clanger....and he is overdue one...having saved us in a lot recent games from further embarrassment...but to end on a positive note....out of the cinders of this game....perhaps sheppy and co will revert to playing his strongest side.... A steady side...where the players can build up a knowledge of who is going to be where and not just whos turn is it to sit where on the substitutes bench....the only way is up and that time is now ....otherwise we should save our soccer lot money to buy some liposuction or anger management for some of our former players who had served us well....or even those on the pitch at the start of the game ....boz

Not good today ,both Yate and Paulton won today, Martyrs down to 6th

Boz1964 wrote:..I remember the famous day when as Merthyr town we kept our top striker Cortez belle on the bench against Tiverton town....

Do you mean the game against Redditch in May 2004 which we lost and failed to go into the new Conference South? As I remember it, when Cortez Belle did get onto the pitch in that game he was pretty useless.

Sadly the names of opponents games even years escape me....frustration with the last few games rage hot and then cool off once Saturday comes around again....I go to watch the town not to see them win ...I have seen enough of the taff's well thrashings to last a lifetime....but to see them perform and sadly they have been lacking a vital something of late...perhaps it is too much to expect three promotions in a row in successive seasons....but I know this squad of players have talent and can play better than they have at home this season....like all good teams ....you need a settled side..and I appreciate that to gain promotion you need to have a core of players who pick themselves and a system of play that suits the team...at home on a wide pitch ...wingers and a central striker who can score with his head....as for the match I thought was the Tiverton game....it is remembered by me as a crunch promotion match and we left our top scorer and most influential player on the bench... As time goes on it will probably turn into a european cup semi final against bayern munich from my nursing home....but lets hope we can make the play offs as on current form we do not look good enough to go up to the league we were originally relegated from....boz

Today's teams:-

Cutlan;
Williams,Newall,Colborne,A.Griffiths;
Leek,Harris;
Traylor,Prosser,Cornwall,M.Griffiths;

Subs:
Preen for Prosser after about 73 minutes
Rewbury for A.Griffiths at the same time
Jones for Harris (injured?) after about 79 minutes
Thomas

We played 4-2-4 for this match, with Marcus Griffiths and Ian Traylor in the wide positions and switching wings from time to time.

Cinderford started with Lewis Sommers up front and Sam O'Sullivan and Danny Haines on the bench so it was ex-players day on the pitch as well as off it.

After about 10 minutes Aaron Cornwall beat two men on the right of the area and fired in a shot which was pushed away by the keeper. Then Steve Williams ran into the area on the right and saw his ball across the goalmouth cleared off the line. A couple of minutes after that at the other end Lewis Sommers hit a dipping shot from 25 yards which went over Giles Cutlan, hit the bar and bounced down on the line. While Cutlan was still getting to his feet a Cinderford attacker got to the ball first, but put his header against the bar.

After about 17 minutes a clearance from the Cinderford keeper rebounded to Ryan Prosser, but with time to pick his spot he put his shot wide of the post. About 8 minutes later we had our best chance so far after good work by Marcus Griffiths on the right. He put the ball across the field to put Ian Traylor clear, but his shot hit the keeper.

Just before the half hour mark an attack down the right ended with a shot from Marcus Griffiths cleared off the line. Then on about 39 minutes Lewis Sommers came close again, running down the left to get in a good shot which was well pushed away by Giles Cutlan.

We took the lead just before the break when a long throw from Kris Leek on the right was headed on by Gary Colborne for Ryan Prosser to touch it into the net.

There was still time in the half for Giles Cutlan to have to push away a 25-yard shot.

It had been a fairly even half overall, with good defending at one end (Cinderford's) and good luck at the other (ours) keeping the score down, although Ryan Prosser and Aaron Cornwall had generally been unable to make much headway against the centre of the Cinderford defence.

Five minutes after the break the scores were level when a free kick from 30 yards was blocked and fell for an attacker to put in a shot which Giles Cutlan could only parry away to an attacker who slotted home. Three minutes later we had another chance from a long throw, but Ryan Prosser put his header straight at the keeper.

After about 71 minutes there was another Cinderford clearance off the line when Ian Traylor got in a shot from close range. We made a change a couple of minutes later, with Garyn Preen replacing Ryan Prosser, and Jamie Rewbury on for Alun Griffiths with Jon Newall going to left back.

Matthew Harris had required some treatment after what seemed to be a clash of heads, and he eventually went off to be replaced by Luke Jones. He put in a good shot from 20 yards after about 83 minutes which had to be fingertipped over the bar by the Cinderford keeper.

With Danny Haines and Sam O'Sullivan both on as substitutes for Cinderford the latter won the game for them after about 86 minutes. He muscled Steve Williams off the ball down Cinderford's left and set up a colleague for a shot which was well saved by Giles Cutlan. But we couldn't clear the ball and it came back to O'Sullivan for him to put in a shot which hit the bar and bounced down, but unlike in the first half this time it was over the line before being cleared.

Well, a second home game in a row which we should never have lost - but again one which we scarcely deserved to win. We perhaps didn't make the most of the opprtunities to score which we had, although Cinderford defended well, and maybe there was a tendency to try and beat one man too many in their penalty area - especially from Aaron Cornwall. One or two players weren't at their best today, but Matthew Harris and Kris Leek did well in the two-man midfield.

We're out of a play-off position now, with Yate and Paulton both winning, but only a point behind and with two games in hand on both of them (plus a better goal difference). We'll have to see whether those in-hand games being crammed into the few remaining weeks of the season will make a difference or not.

Boz1964 wrote: ...as for the match I thought was the Tiverton game....it is remembered by me as a crunch promotion match and we left our top scorer and most influential player on the bench...

I think it must be that Redditch game you remember. The thing about the end of that season was everything seemed to fall apart towards the end, and the impression with Cortez Belle was that he wasn't interested in playing for the club any more (he then left to join Chester City). Given the way he'd playing at that time (although still top scorer) it was no surprise he'd been left on the bench for that match - although the majority of the players had been no better.

The Southern League Premier Division which we were in at that time was what is now called Step 2. If we'd won that match and gone into the new Conference South we'd still have been at Step 2, so it wouldn't really have been promotion. By losing it we stayed in the Southern League and found ourselves at Step 3 - so it was really relegation.

But as far as recent games are concerned, I think you'll not be the only one questioning the rotation policy. When the results are not coming it does leave itself open to criticism.

Unlike the end of that 2003/04 season I don't think you can fault the current players' attitude, so let's hope we can battle on, start taking the chances again, and get in the play-offs - then anything can happen.

A lot of hype has been put on our website and forum of the signing of alex long.Well where was he today that he could not slot in for newman who was ill.He should be at the ground just to see the standard of football and learn a little about the club or is he going to be another jamie wean .Young luke had more shots at goal when he came on than some of our forwards had during the whole game

Six points from seven games doesn't conjure up a picture of a team striving for the play-offs.
Merthyr should have put some of the first-half chances away while we seem to be rather shaky at the back these days.
I wasn't sure about taking Ryan Prosser off as it left us without a big man in the middle.
There's no point in appealing for more support if such performances on the field are poor.
It did beggar the question if the club as a whole are looking for promotion this season.
If we don't make the play-offs, it will still have been a good season considering how far Merthyr Town have come in two years but after being in the top four for so long, recent displays have been more than disappointing. And our home record is now won 8, drawn 4 and lost 5, not as convincing as our away results.
All-right, we are still in with a chance of the play-offs but I wonder....
As regards, Alex Long, it would be a lot to ask him to step up from South Wales Senior League to Southern League straightaway. I assume he is being groomed for next season although an extra body may be needed with all these game coming up.

Swansea Jack, only four home games left!

where is he being groomed if he was on the bench today it would
have been nice to see what he could do,was prosser injured if not
why take him off.We seem reluctant to shoot at the moment and possibly
playing to many passes when in and around the box,but all is not lost yet
let,s get back to form lads.

i think preen should start and not play cornwall he had a shocker today .

rustic wrote:.We seem reluctant to shoot at the moment and possibly
playing too many passes when in and around the box,.

That certainly seemed to be the case in the second half at least.

Regarding Alex Long, I did spot a player in a track suit some distance away who I didn't recognise joining in the early part of the pre-match warm-up, and wondered if that was him.

If Ryan Newman had not been taken ill he would have started the game, with Marcus Griffiths making up the full five on the bench. I don't know what the rules are, but - assuming Alex Long was there - maybe by the time Newman dropped out it was too late to add anyone else to the team sheet.