MERTHYR v Dorchester

Team:
Garner
Davies Jones Baggridge Hugh
Traylor Evans Wright Jenkins
Mclaggon Reffell

Subs:Tancock, Bloom Bowen Brown Prosser.

1 down 8mins OG. Comical defending.

2 down - looked an innocuous chip... 32mins

1-2 straight from the kick-off! Another goalkeeping howler. Traylor 33mins. Game on!

Ref bottles a pen just before half time

H/t 1-2

1-3 another goalkeeping clanger. Although it's been coming. 80mins.

I said the ref bottled one earlier - he's just waved on the most blatant one you have ever seen!

Baggridge pulls one back with a bullet header from the first decent corner we've had 46mins...

And then a poor goal kick leads to 2-4

F/t 2-4. Best team won. Finished at 5pm!

and he got rid of Kerry instead of some of those out there today makes you wonder what our manager see's

Got to agree with the Kerry comment, but we have got to do something about our midfield we are getting overrun. Two stonewall penalties turned down by a poor referee,we also missed some decent chances second half plus our keeper had a mare today.m.o.m.????

Today's team:

Garner;
Davies,Jones,Baggridge,Hugh;
Traylor,Evans,Wright,Jenkins;
McLaggon,Reffell;

Subs:
Prosser for Hugh after about 57 minutes
Brown for Evans (injured?) after about 80 minutes
Bowen for Jenkins after about 88 minutes
Tancock
Bloom

Only change was Chris Hugh in place of James Bloom.

There was a real downpour lasting from just before the kick-off and for most of the first half, and the strong wind was to have some effect.

We made a bright start, and a spell of pressure ended with a shot by Corey Jenkins that was pushed away by the keeper.

But Dorchester took the lead with their first real attack. A player ran down the left and wasn't picked up, enabling him to cross the ball for the Dorchester no. 9 to get a header in which ended up in the net with Glyn Garner just unable to keep it out of the net.

That knocked the stuffing out of us a bit, and some poor final balls began to be played, including a couple of corners taken by Chris Hugh which were over-hit, perhaps not helped by the strong wind.

After about 30 minutes Kayne McLaggon got in a shot from the edge of the area that was just too high, but a minute later we were two down. There seemed no danger when the Dorchester no. 11 got the ball out on the left of midfield, but from about 30 yards he floated a shot over Garner and into the top corner. However, we got straight back into the game when Ian Traylor somehow got a left foot shoot past the keeper and inside the far post from the right of the area.

About a minute before the break some determined play from Keyon Reffell along the byline on the right saw him play the ball across the area, and with players queuing up to get in shots one of them seemed to be brought down, however no penalty was given and we couldn't manage to force the ball home.

Despite a poor spell after we went 1-0 down we'd perhaps deserved to be on level terms at half time as we'd contained Dorchester fairly well, with unfortunately them scoring with almost their only two efforts on goal.

A couple of minutes after the break Corey Jenkins ran down the left and got the ball across to Kayne McLaggon at the near post but he put the ball well wide.

In a rare attack by Dorchester after about 50 minutes Garner got a hand to a shot from close range and the ball was cleared away from the line by Adam Davies.

We made an attacking substitution after about 57 minutes, with Ryan Prosser replacing Chris Hugh. We went to 3-5-2 then, with Ian Traylor and Corey Jenkins out wide and Keyon Reffell behind the front two.

We had an opening after about 65 minutes after a free kick into the Dorchester area. Kayne McLaggon got to the ball on the right of the area but shot wide. Another shot went wide about 7 minutes later, this time from Jarrad Wright from the edge of the area.

Ashley Evans had felt the effects of a blocked tackle when he tried a get a shot in and that was maybe why he went off with Jon Brown being brought on after 80 minutes.

Although the game was wearing on we were still looking good value for an equaliser if we could only keep our shots on target, but that went out of the window on about 83 minutes when Glyn Garner came out to the edge of his area on the left but failed to get the ball, allowing the player he was challenging to turn the ball past him and into the net.

There was controversy in our first attack after the goal when Kayne McLaggon, going after a loose ball inside the Dorchester area went over the goalkeeper, but again the referee waved play on.

I suppose to try something different, Jaye Bowen came on for Corey Jenkins with a couple of minutes of normal time to go.

About a minute into added time Ian Traylor put over a right wing corner for Rhys Baggridge to head straight into the net to make it 2-3, but it was soon 2-4 when we were outnumbered at the back, leaving an attacker free to put the ball in the net.

Well, it's easy to blame the referee, but although we played better than against Frome we just weren't good enough against a competent side, not helped by conceding too many preventable goals. Having said that it would have been different if we'd been able to get our shots on target a bit more often. The fact is Dorchester took their chances and we didn't - even if we did score a couple. There were also too many poor final balls, including crosses.

Man of the match for me was Adam Davies.

As for the two penalty incidents, being 100 yards away I couldn't really tell about the first one, although someone certainly seemed to go over. For the second, I can only think the referee considered Kayne McLaggon just fell over the keeper who couldn't get out of his way, rather than being deliberately brought down. It was almost as if he'd resolved not to gave a penalty during the match just as much as he'd apparently seemed determined not to book anybody - being lenient to BOTH sides - until in the final minutes when he did book Dorchester's player-manager who'd been pushing and shoving Jarrad Wright following their goalkeeper getting injured.

We got away with playing poorly against Frome, but although nothing like as bad as that today we couldn't get away with it against a reasonably good side.

rustic wrote:Got to agree with the Kerry comment, but we have got to do something about our midfield we are getting overrun. Two stonewall penalties turned down by a poor referee,we also missed some decent chances second half plus our keeper had a mare today.m.o.m.????

We were so poor in all departments today there is absolutely nothing positive I can say.Probably our worst home performance since we reformed.
Why Ryan Prosser is being left out of the starting 11 is totally beyond me.The last I looked he was our top scorer!!
The Kerry situation may well come back and  bite us hard,as his natural flair was totally absent in the team today
M.O.M - Traylor or Baggridge for commitment,and battling spirit,not for the goals.

Firstly I think overall the best team won. Dorchester were one of the best-drilled sides I've seen for some time. At one time I counted a bank of five at the back, with a wave of four in front of them. And when they got the ball they broke at pace.

That said, I agree 2-4 was a bit harsh.

One of the challenges with young keepers is they can be brilliant one minute, and awful the next. Unfortunately today was the latter - I thought the lad was unfortunately to blame for all goals conceded. Just hope it doesn't dent his confidence and he learns from the experience. In fairness on a rain-swept, swirling wind day like today we needed someone with experience between the sticks.

The Kerry factor cropped up a couple of times in my conversations on the W**k Bank. Whilst personally I'd like to have seen him come on alongside Prosser, its just as likely he'd have got himself sent off within 5 minutes on a day like today! That said, if he did manage to stay on the pitch he would have been the one player possibly with the guile to unlock the visitors defence. Felt we were guilty of trying to play everything through Ashley Evans for long spells: there didn't - as the current vernacular goes - seem to be a Plan B.

With every respect, I thought the managers tactics were at best cruelly exposed; at worst poor today.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Glyn Garner in goals today? Hardly young or inexperienced.

Got to the ground a little after k/o, so couldn't get a programme.  Thought I heard there had been a change. If you are right, then absolutely no excuse for such an inept performance.

A bad day at the office. Let us hope that our positive goal difference is worth another extra point at the end of the season final table and the back log of games for the other sides around us also help us, Some tough games coming up.

Just uploaded some images from yesterday's game on club website.

Solihull Martyr wrote:Got to the ground a little after k/o, so couldn't get a programme.  

Copies should still be obtainable by post from John Strand: strand@salisburyclose.fsnet.co.uk

You don't miss a trick, do you!

Who is running the club shop these days please?!

Just out of interest with the weather being as it was numerous corner kicks/free kicks were over hit !!..Wouldn't it benefit the designated takers of these to spend 5 mins practising these against the wind to judge the weight of the ball against the wind ? we are out there an hour before K.O playing tip tap in a circle !!....just a thought

Going back to one of the previous comments made about 'having a young keeper between the sticks' when Clarke played three games in a row I felt our defence was more solid. Yes Clarke made one or two mistakes but that's what happens when you are young. Does anyone have a update on Clarke as he hasn't been in any league games squads since the arrival of Glyn. Is he still at the club or gone out on loan?
I hope Saturday was a one off for Glyn and has a better proformace tomorrow evening, was also nice to see Chris Hugh back in the starting 11 but what can we say about the referee, haven't had no luck what so ever with them this year sadly. Fingers crossed for 3 points tomorrow night. UP THE TOWN!!!!

Cameron played in the Development Team yesterday and made a couple of good saves.