Christmas day, not a bad day is it? Nice dinner, family, presents etc. all comforting stuff but come the evening as the day winds down and having eaten to modest excess, my thoughts turn to the count-down to the boxing day KO.
Expectations, expectations, but as it happens, the slight indigestion of Xmas excess seemed to take hold of a good number of our players against an incredibly ordinary “going nowhere, look at my silly shirt” Colchester side. In the first half we passed the ball to death across the back line as we looked for players making themselves available in midfield: sadly that simply was just not happening. With the ball loose on either the ground or up in the air, our midfield has to be congratulated for their consistency in almost always avoiding that loose ball. Sadly that pattern of passing around the back, lack of urgency and midfield absence continued throughout a completely forgettable first half; surely the second half would improve with some wise words from our management team. Oh, hang on, let’s leave Paul Hart out of that as I am still bewildered by his hallucinatory-delusional post match Exeter press talk; doubt I will ever recover from listening to that one. We did start the second half with a touch more urgency; well at least for the first ten minutes but that was really not sustained and we again returned to the large “LTFC deserted spaces” of mid-field as we gave up whatever formation we choose to label our approach; diamond or whatever in favour of Mary Celesteism. After twenty minutes of the second half, I turned to my mate and said that I would genuinely settle for a point as we were just not getting anywhere. However, both Mullins and Hylton had chances to shame my lack of belief but true for the day, wasted good opportunities. In fact at one point it seemed that a touch of Boxing Day Pantomime had entered play when a Colchester’s Garvan in a glorious position just a few yards out from our goal line swung his foot at the ball and gloriously kicked the air as he completely failed to make any form of contact! We should have been a goal behind then! Moving onto the Colchester winner; a half-cleared ball came out from a Colchester corner to the edge of our area and the unchallenged Slater blasted the ball into the bottom corner of Walton’s net: note the word “unchallenged”. So really that was it, game over, no points and another stutter from the misfiring midfield engine room. The point I would have settled for would have probably been a fairer result but really, any side seriously looking to capture an automatic promotion place simply has to do better than against such mundane opposition as Colchester. Overall Impression: On the day we were beaten by an incredibly average second division side whose brightest display came from their silly yellow fluorescent kit. Sadly with acres of unchallenged space in midfield, at least deserted by Hatters players, where we lost about 80% of the loose/second ball, a victory under such circumstances was always going to be a tall order and in the end, we fall further behind the leading three in league 2. The Sunday rant of a Tuesday: I find it difficult to understand how a performance such as our last league game, away to Blackpool, where the midfield were totally on their game, can be followed by such a dismal midfield showing where the midfield were either showing massive gaps i.e. totally absent from that crucial area of the pitch. When they were not absent, simply static, not in the slightest attempting to make space to give the man in possession options to make an effective pass. Frustratingly, I have written so many times this season about our “gone missing midfield”, it’s not a new phenomenon so what have our management team been doing about it? What makes it more baffling is that in my opinion a goal scoring midfielder such as McGeehan and the skills of Gilliead would surely be automatic choices for any good L2 side and certainly most L1 sides. Frustratingly we have some real talent and quality available in midfield, players really capable of hurting the opposition: the same could be said about Pelly but for some reason, his development seems to have gone into winter hibernation: which Pelly will turn up, the one wearing footy boots or the sleepy one wearing flip flops? For a promotion chasing team we need to average over 2pts a game at home and over 1.5 pts away to seriously challenge for a top three place, we are just nowhere near that at home: we have 1.45 points per game average at home and a decent 1.72 away; four wins from 11 home games is just not really “escape the basement” form. We are ponderous, predictable at home yet a healthy promotion prospect away from home. Looking at the top three sides two of them have managed a fortress mentality at home averaging just short of 2.5pts per game yet both marginally behind our excellent away form. The weakest home form in the top three is Plymouth with just slightly under 2 points per game at home yet totally magnificent away form. Some Impression of the team units rather than simply on individual players: With those figures from the above rant in mind, let’s take a break from assessing individual performances in the usual way and look at the three units of the team; defence, midfield and our strikers. Defenders: with Cuthbert playing so confidently when the team contains a commanding keeper, Walton, yesterday's other defenders O’Donnell, Rea & Justin are to my mind at least adequate enough to be part of a top three side. I don’t feel the defence were really massively troubled yesterday apart from the pantomime swinging leg attempt at goal by a Colchester’s Garvan. Midfield: just where do they go? What are the tactics worked on so hard on the training ground? As I said earlier, surely goal scoring McGeehan and the talented Gilliead could walk into any of the top teams in this league. The others apart from an “awake Pelly” are fairly average and in truth, far too similar. Where is the alert and challenging Nicholls or Horton type? Moving onto the Strikers, again, as with the defence, the strikers used yesterday were surely adequate for a top three L2 side provided they are offered decent service from the midfield. Oh well, onto the home game against Barnet and hopefully we can pick up points to aid our play-off place chances.
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Fog, fog, fog oh what a load of fog to drive through both in the early hours and later hours of an almost perfect day out; at times slowing to a crawl in the murky regions of Bedfordshire North Cambridgeshire. I should not moan, the train ride from MK was both comfy and warm; even after that combination of road and rail, I was back home in foggy Fenland by 10:15pm, impressive.
Anyway, pre-match and a couple of beautiful pints of well kept real ales from one of Blackpool’s gems, the Pump & Truncheon: was it six or was it eight hand pumps plus Lord knows how many ciders available. So, after a beer or two, a bag of seaside chips probably lovingly prepared and pre-packed in Lithuania, I had made the mistake of glancing into the chippies store room; it’s off to the game! Nathan made a few changes to last Saturday’s side; two forced with Alan Sheehan and Dan Potts both missing out through injury and Nathan getting over his “Buckleitis” reverted back to two strikers rather than three; Vassell was on the bench. The replacements for these three were Lee, Justin and Gilliead. Essentially NJ was sticking to that decent looking formation used last week against Carlisle with three centre-backs flanked by wing-backs O’Donnell & Justin with Lee in the holding role. What a lovely stadium Blackpool have. It’s been thoughtfully redeveloped on three sides with a temporary stand down one side that will be replaced if and when better times return to this once proud seaside club. It was sad to see the masses of vacant space within the ground as so many Blackpool supporters stayed away in protest towards the actions of their chairman; thankfully we have the excellent 2020 and dedicated backers of our own wonderful club. The matched started with both sides looked fairly lively in the early stages and apart from one mid-penalty area header from the giant Jamille Matt, all efforts from Blackpool were restricted to attempts from range that were well dealt with by the very confident Christian Walton including two really good saves from crisp well struck shots one of which was athletically turned over the bar by Walton: we really need to tell Brighton that he is not up to Championship standard, he would enjoy his football farmers with us, he best stay. Our team were easily keeping Blackpool at some distance from any threatening position, they were just rarely getting near the penalty area; whilst we were threatening ourselves and to my mind looking to be well in control. The first goal came from a rapid break out lead by our masked “Lone Ranger” Hylton accompanied by “hi-ho-silver” McGeehan flanked by “Tonto” Marriott. Marriott received the ball on the left from “kemosabe” Hylton, effortlessly cut inside his marker and then superbly placed the ball into the corner of the net; what a cracking goal. My apologies to any younger readers who have not had the delights of sitting through episodes of the Lone Ranger when they were youngsters but this was exciting stuff. After that opening goal, we came close on a couple of more occasions before half-time with efforts from McGeehan, Marriott and Lee in a good first half where we looked really splendid value for our lead. What a lovely confident first half with the entire eleven playing as a team, just what we needed: brilliant stuff. The second half had barely started when we doubled our lead: the goal came about as Gilliead held the ball well on the edge of the penalty area before slipping it onto the left for Justin to beautifully clip a ball over to the powerful onrushing McGeehan who stretched to firmly plant the ball into the back of the net. A very nice goal built from skill, confidence and power; one that certainly should be enjoyed at a higher level that L2. Even after that second goal we continued to press forward attacking down both flanks and coming close to a third goal on several occasions; we were honestly electric during that first fifteen minutes of the second half; simply streets ahead of Blackpool. It was a really well organised thoroughly professional performance with every player in a Luton shift giving a quality display. Overall impression: The players looked comfortable in a formation with what was a rather fluid three central defenders flanked by the ever willing to get forward pair of O’Donnell and the versatile Justin. I guess I will never be a fan of ferocious Olly Lee but I have to say he looked a more effective player with the benefit of the accomplished Glen Rea playing behind him. The setup was so enjoyable to watch from a Luton perspective as our players really supported each other and we saw the presence of a working midfield that uncharacteristically were first to the loose ball so often. Given a choice, I would have this formation ahead of the diamond as the players we currently have available just seem more comfortable with it. At the end of the game, It was nice how Nathan came over to the Hatters supporters with the players. Nathan was fully charged with emotion and came right into the arms of the adoring crowd behind the goal to embrace some of the Luton 1095 travelling fans. After the last away league game, Exeter, he actually came onto the Bobbers coach to thank the fans for travelling, what a guy, there is absolutely no doubting the man’s passion; this is his Luton team he is building and he is revelling in it. The Sunday Rant plus a thought or two Well, when Cullen came on as a second-half substitute he was given a touch of stick by some Hatters fans whilst a minority clapped his arrival. I am firmly in the latter camp as anybody who managed to score a perfect hat-trick whilst a Luton player, deserves some degree of respect. I could understand Jason Walker or Aaron O’Conner getting stick but Cullen?? Blackpool North Station is worth a rant in itself; managed in the style of a Siberian Gulag as far as passengers are concerned. The paying guests are held back by the camp guards and only allowed near the cattle trucks just before departure. The carriages themselves have seen better days and if I did not know better, I would have said the wheels had a puncture or two. Thank heavens we had the lovely Virgin trains from Preston onwards. A few thoughts on individual performances: Walton: he had a very confident game including making a couple of smart saves. His handling of the ball and anticipation were really first rate. O’Donnell: had a good game both in terms of his defending and willingness to get forward. The only flaw in his afternoon was a few wayward overhit passes but most of the time he managed to restrain those bionic calf muscles. Mullins: what you see is what you get with Johnny Mullins; a confident no-nonsense centre-back who reads the game well and is really efficient in what he does. Cuthbert: yet again our captain Cuthbert was a real physical tower of strength. His tackling was strong, his heading powerful as he attacked every ball in the air. I would say that he is currently playing some the best football of his career. Rea: a couple of early miss hit passes but soon the confident commanding Glen Rae emerged and stayed that way through the remainder of the game: what a class player he is at this level; his anticipation and awareness are above L2 standard. Justin: I thought young Justin had an outstanding game at left back; pace power and just so much confidence for one so young: a great lad in my opinion. His clever cross to McGeehan for our second goal was pure class. Lee: had a few loose moments earlier in the first half but his game settled down and from then on in he played well. He also had a really decent well placed shot from range in the second half that could have been our third. Gilliead: the young man had a very decent game always looking for the ball and making himself available as an outlet to receive a pass. Tired a touch in the second half and this often seems the case with the youngster but he will get there given time. Obviously, no use to Newcastle in the premier league so we best offer him a job! McGeehan: looks to me as if he is coming back to form: personally I think his form had drifted a touch since the transfer window speculation and that's easy enough to understand. I do sometimes give Cam some stick in the notes that I write, not because I don't rate him, because I certainly do rate him but more in frustration as I feel there is so much a fully adjusted McGeehan can offer. Anyway, as he had a good powerful physical game and took his goal well. Marriott: another player that is returning to form; he tenaciously fought for everything and looked a division higher in the way he took his goal. Kemosabe Hylton: Danny Boy gave it everything all afternoon and was the usual totally persistent pest to the home defence: plus a bonus of another game without a booking. The game changers: Pelly: came on for Cam who had picked up a knock part way through the second half. Smith gave the usual grafting performance we expect from him. Vassell: predictably came on to give Marriott a break. This man Vassell is blessed with the three P’s: pace, power and persistence: the Blackpool defence certainly knew he was on the pitch and at them. Smith: our Iniesta Smith replaced the tiring Gilliead and did had bit without reaching the heights we would like. The Teams Blackpool: Slocombe, Taylor, Robertson, Vassell, Potts, Aldred, Nolan (Gnanduillet, 81), Philliskirk (Osay-Samuel, 56), Matt (Cullen, 56), Pugh, Payne Luton: Walton, O'Donnell, Mullins, Cuthbert, McGeehan (Pelly, 71), Hylton, Marriott (Vassell, 75), Gilliead (Smith, 83), Rea, Lee, Justin Referee: Peter Banks Attendance: 3,992 and this included the noisy 1,095 supporting the Hatters on the last Saturday game before Christmas; brilliant, well done to all. Well, the forecaster got the weather conditions correct, a dreary yet wary wet December day with the rain getting heavier into the evening: the drive down could not have been easier but what a lot of water on the way back home after the match.
Pre-match was as enjoyable as ever with a couple of pints, this time a couple of pints of Wherry in the company of many Hatters fans whose expectations have been adjusted marginally downwards since that wonderful opening day’s 3-0 win at Plymouth. As ever whilst enjoying a beer we eagerly awaited the twitter announcement of the team selection; of course, we all expected diamonds are forever but hang on a moment! Our canny Jonesy made three changes from Saturdays line up against Solihull. The side on paper had a rather strange look seemingly packed with centre backs: Cuthbert, Sheehan, Mullins & Rea (holding midfield role) with the full backs being Potts who himself played well as a centre back at Swindon on Tuesday and on the right the two-goal hero from last weekend, O’Donnell. We’ve talked about the conventional midfield going missing a lot this season. Well to deny us that discussion Jonsey decided to remove a couple of them totally from the equation just leaving Cam as the creative type and in an almost Dr Who Tardis return to the Paul Buckle days, starting with three strikers: Marriott, Vassell and Hylton. Wow, what a change from the much-lamented graphite formation that crumbled under the slightest pressure. So with the team selection and the lovely Wherry to fuel our wet trudge to the beloved Kenny, the consensus was that Olly could not be bullied as he was on the bench but with Gilliead and Pelly also sitting it out as potential game changers, the game had a draw written all over it. After all this Carlisle team have a reputation for being really well organised and were the last team in the football league to have their first defeat and in total have only lost one game all season and were hovering on the magical two points per game average that will guarantee promotion. Well once the game was underway we did not have long to wait to find ourselves a goal behind within a few minutes; the third time in eight days we have conceded a goal before 5 minutes ticked by on the clock. This time the error firmly sits with young Walton who failed to hold onto the ball from a header and spilt it into the path of Kennedy to take the simplest of chances. Oh here we go, is it all uphill from here? Well the uphill struggle did not last too long following a really sweet move over on the left with Potts getting the ball out wide passing inside to Vassell who then slipped the ball to Marriott who made some space in the area before squaring the ball to Hylton for him to swivel, turn and slot the ball into the net. Goal number fourteen for “super Danny Hylton”; what a great signing this guy is turning out to be. This was turning into an entertaining open and fast flowing game with both sides showing plenty of spirit and Luton’s tough guy formation refusing to be bullied out of it; that in itself was just so pleasing to see. We then had a decent effort from Sheehan well held by keeper Gillespie before a rather bad miss in front of goal by jack Marriott from a good cross from O’Donnell. Unfortunately, Jack completely mucked up the chance and uncharacteristically headed the ball into the ground for the grateful Gillespie to catch the bounce up under the bar: should really have been 2-1 to the Hatters at that time. Carlisle continues to show why they are up in the top three; they move the ball, they are tough yet combine that with all the tricks the uglier side of 4th tier football. So having said that about our opponents, it made it all the more pleasing that this was one of our better first half performances of recent months. Early into the second half, Glen Rae had some room just outside the Carlisle area for a shot at goal; I am sure he did not hit the ball exactly as he had wanted to and his effort was saved by the keeper. Oh, what a lovely start to the second half that would have been had he found the top corner! The game continued to be open with the Hatters pressing and Carlisle breaking at speed when in possession particularly with the impressive No 10, Nicky Adams, am experienced midfielder who gained promotion with Northampton last season, involved in every charge. We then had our own version of a WW1 tank, Cameron McGeehan, using ever bit of his strength and power to try to physically shift the ball into the net. The keeper managed to hold onto the ball but was frustrated that the referee had not given a foul or stopped play for his fallen teammate: he kicked the ball out for a throw so his mate could get attention then gave his opinion to the referee and earned himself a booking. From the throw that went to Hylton, the expectation was that Hylton would knock the ball out for a goal-kick but evil Danny boy simply kicked the ball out for a throw to keep the pressure on Carlisle. I rather think that started a touch of niggle between Hylton and his old teammate at Oxford, Michael Raynes. Jones had to make a forced substitution with Gilliead replacing the injured Sheehan as he attempted an interception in a Carlisle move that came close. That substitution meant that we reverted to a back four with Gilliead adding a touch more guile to try and break Carlisle down. Should we have taken the lead when Cuthbert met a Gilliead corner and headed the ball with immense power; no come now, that would be silly, we don’t score from corners! Then Carlisle were reduced to 10 men with about eight minutes of normal time remaining. Hylton's old teammate from his Oxford days, Raynes, was spotted by the assistant referee to elbow Hylton and on the advice of the assistant referee received a straight red. As Raynes walked from the pitch his stare was firmly fixed on our Danny. Nothing sinister I am sure, just considering a polite chat over a post-match beer. We did have a couple more opportunities if not clear chances involving both McGeehan and Vassell. McGeehan's shot went over the bar and Vassell did not manage to pull the trigger and get his shot away. Pleasingly for Walton, there was an added time excellent save that balanced out his earlier spill that gave Carlisle their goal; I am sure he feels a lot happier now. Lots of added time but that’s how the score remained the points shared with a tough experienced Carlisle side that know and use all of the lower league tricks to manage the game. Overall Impression: I have to say I really enjoyed the game; yes it would have been great to win and on balance, I think we just about deserved a win but small margins etc. can make the difference in these hard-fought encounters. We certainly were not bullied in the way we have been many times this season and to be honest, I rather like the formation with a back three although maybe Jones was being a touch overly brave playing “Buckle style” with three strikers. We remain in 5th place in the league but really we have to start going on a run of wins. We have won three of our last ten games, lost once and drawn six times. We really need to convert some of those draws into victories as an average of 1.5 points a game just will not fuel a top seven spot. We have the likes of Wycombe, Barnet, Cambridge, Yeovil and Blackpool putting runs together and ghosting up the league: we really need to push on a touch. Will the three centre-back formation be used again or will NJ revert to his preferred style? An interesting one but as I see it now, we are not quite top three material but who knows what a change of formation and an experienced midfielder in January could change. The Sunday Rant: Did I miss the diamond at home? No, I certainly did not: our players, especially whoever plays at left back and the “Mary Celeste” midfield just don’t seem comfortable with it in the majority of games. I reckon that promotion from this ugly league can come down to fine margins and to be fair, we are doing pretty well in 5th place so maybe a little rant is a tad unfair. However, considering the season and not yesterday's game in isolation, we have three sections of the team: a very decent defence, a good attack lead by Hylton and that soft flaky midfield. Just a fine bit of tweaking from Nathan may just make us serious candidates for escape from this league to the promised land of league one where gifted players and diamonds, even rough ones, may flourish. As ever some impressions on our players performances: Walton: unfortunately fumbled a ball that was gratefully thumped away for Carlisle’s goal but redeemed himself in injury time for a save with his legs. O’Donnell: every ready to charge down the wing and attack. His crossing certainly seems to be improving and when Gilliead came on in the second period they linked up well. Cuthbert: superb solid game; when he is on form he is as good as any other centre back in the division.Very strong in the air and also made some good interceptions on the deck. Mullins: Mullins is Mullins; a decent centre back, never overly outstanding, never overly bad. Sheehan: more comfortable yesterday than when he has been strictly as a left back. Potts: decent and determined in defence but whatever we make of Dan, he is just not a natural wing back. Rea: introduced himself to the Carlisle players very early in the game to earn a booking: an ok game but not his best. McGeehan: I felt that McGeehan had his best game for several weeks; a good player in there we just need to bring it out a touch more and keep him involved in the game. Vassell: his electric pace gave the Carlisle defence a few anxious moments. He has lots of promise and may turn out to be a real star but I would have him back in the afternoons for relentless shooting practice. Marriott: decent hustling and bustling game and worked himself into some good positions: should really have put that header away in the first half. Hylton: no side in this league can relish the prospect of playing against Hylton a complete handful of a player that scores goals and typically yesterday was never out of the game. The Game Changers: Gilliead: looked good and gave us some skilful width when he came on. Pelly: tried a few clever passes that were unfortunately just a little overhit; like Vassell, when he sees the goal he really needs to pull the trigger. Cook: not on long enough to make an impression whether in many of his previous 90 minute appearances or yesterday's 7 minutes: boo, unfair on Cook because he is good in training; yes I know but we really need more from him and bit appearances from the bench rather than starting is best for now. The Teams; Luton: Walton, O’Donnell, Potts, Mullins, Cuthbert ©, Sheehan (Gilliead 62), Rea, McGeehan, Hylton, Vassell (Cook 90+5), Marriott (Pelly 67). Carlisle: Gillespie, Grainger © (Gillesphey 70), Joyce, Raynes, Kennedy, Jones (Lambe 34), Wyke, Adams, Brisley, S Miller (Devitt 81), T Miller. Well, what a day that was. Firstly a couple of gorgeous pints of Tring’s Squadron ale, I will definitely have that one again followed by some nicely cooked chips set a comfortable backdrop for the afternoon. Ok, it’s the FA Cup and I was, in all honesty, expecting to face a Solihull side very much up for the game and really going for their moment of glory; yes, we would have to take care.
With the pre-match enjoyment behind us, the crowd observed a minutes silence to respect and reflect both on the Chapecoense football team’s disaster and also the passing away of the most gifted defender I have even seen in a Luton shirt, Paul Futcher. Nathan made two changes to last week’s “Exeter zombie stomp” with Lee and Vassell dropping to the bench to be replaced by Gilliead and Marriott and with the game underway, both sides had a fairly open and attacking first few minutes. However, as far as Luton were concerned, after that first few minutes, we simply took on the style of football reminiscent of the Sow & Pigs second eleven pub side playing on Popes Meadow and kicking uphill. You have to give every credit to Solihull who were really out to enjoy their moment in the cup but honestly, for forty minutes of that first half, we were simply pretty dreadful. We gave away so many silly, niggly free kicks, we were continually second to the ball and the midfield once again simply vaporised never to be seen again during that first half. Amazingly to my mind, the normally so reliable Rae was making many errors and the timing his tackles was simply poor. Why do I mention Rae, well simply because he is usually Mr reliable but yesterday in the first half our reliable man sunk to the level of the pub eleven; we were really simply dire. Solihull quite deservedly took a two-goal lead with two very sweet strikes from Osborne and could almost have been three ahead at the break such was their hunger for the game. Solihull came out early for the second half but where was the Luton team; apparently Nathan was having a few extra words of encouragement. O’Donnell came on for young Justin who had been roughed up a lot in the first half and picked up an injury but that was the only change although Nathan could so easily have made use of all three game changers at half time. Straight from the start of the second half, the Hatters were at Solihull; pressurising them, pushing them back. We had started to remember the need for a touch of fight, determination and realised we could actually pass the ball. A touch of that determination was shown by Jack Marriott near the half way line on the main stand side when he physically dismissed a Solihull player moved forward a touch before releasing a super ball to the onrushing pair of Hylton & McGeehan. Hylton made clear to Cam that is was a ball for Danny boy and he moved into the area and sweetly tucked the ball away. Then a further three goals within the next nine minutes totally changed the complexion of the game. Firstly Mullins controlled the ball on the edge of the area and coolly slotted the ball away, followed by a 60-yard dash by Marriott on the left before he released the ball to O’Donnell who running into the area to calmly smack the ball past the keeper. With the fourth goal, Hylton turned provider for Marriott as he raced away to latch onto a low long Hylton pass and easily beat the goalkeeper: excellent stuff, just what Marriott deserved and also needed to boost his goal scoring confidence. Yes, what a turnaround and what a totally different Luton side had emerged, the Sow & Pigs second 11 had returned to Toddington and been replaced by an unrecognisable side that took the national league side apart. In that second half, unlike at Exeter last week, here was not a long high to be seen as we played the ball along the deck with both short range and long range passes; blimey, this was unexpected but nice. With time ticking on, it was obvious that Solihull were a completely spent force and further chances were created and to be fair, the Solihull keeper saved some of those decent attempts from the Hatters. Yet, further goals were to follow firstly from the “Madonald O’Donnell” sneaking a left-foot shot into the corner and then in added time, from Jack Marriott crowning a fine second half display by him as he ran onto a good low pass from McGeehan to tuck the ball away for goal number six. The job was done, the crowd entertained and the Hatters are in the hat for Monday’s third round draw. I truly would not have expected that at half time but in the end, I was very happy to have been within that rather small crowd that say three teams take part, Solihull, the pub team’s second 11 and finally an unrecognisable passing unit in orange shirts in the second half. Overall thoughts: We have been the underdogs in the past in cup games and raised our game too often outplay for long periods opposition from higher divisions and most of us I suspect thought we would see some of this. However, I doubt any expected such a dismal performance from our side as we saw in the first half. Yet, what a totally amazing contrast in the second half when a totally different mindset was shown by the Luton team and we absolutely took Solihull apart and truly we could have had even more goals. The Sunday Rant: Oh, yes, I know but here I go again about Mr Cook. I have not missed one of his games and seen a few, very few, glimpses of talent but he continually disappears from the show. He seems obviously low on confidence so really Nathan, why have him in the starting 11? I just don’t understand it; surely it would be better to start with Pelly and have Cook introduced from time to time form the bench until some confidence returns to his game. A few thoughts on individual performances: The Sow & Pigs 2nd 11 that turned up in the first half: Just awful but not only awful individually also awful as a collective item some call a team and as often happens devoid of a midfield. The whole first half is best forgotten and locked in a virus vault somewhere to sit alongside displays at Crawley, Cheltenham & Exeter. Those Guys in orange shirts who came out in the second half: Walton: easy second half with not a great deal to do. O’Donnell: replacing the injured Justin. Firstly SOD still retains that capability of scaring you to death by poorly weighted back passes but going forward he was really very strong and contributed two goals to the tally. He looked a very happy chap. Sheehan: is he really the LB answer? However, decent enough in the second half and had a really good free kick well saved by the Solihull keeper. Cuthbert: yes, he was on the field in the second half and did fine. Mullins: also turned up for the second half and as with Cuthbert was fine in that second period and scored with a lovely placed shot. Rea: decent second period and did his usual closing down stuff in front of the back four or was it back five later in the game, although to be fair defender O’Donnell was often playing more like an attacking midfielder. I wonder if O’Donnell with his powerful running could do something in midfield? Gilliead: always dangerous in the second half; I doubt he will be a premier league player with Newcastle so let’s get some money together. Cook: as ever does not do much bad and does not do that much that’s good enough to really justify selection in the starting eleven but Like Olly, he is good in training. McGeehan: quite a mix from our Cam, some good running and challenging and some rather sloppy short passes. Marriott: for me he was the star of the show in the second half with lots of powerful running, creating two goals and scoring two himself: well done Jack, good to have you back. Hylton: he enjoyed the second half. I liked the comment Nathan made about Danny being fit for the second half as he did sod all in the first half; good stuff Nathan.Second half subs: Potts and Vassell: did fine. The Teams: Luton: Walton, Mullins, Cuthbert, McGeehan, Hylton (Vassell, 82), Cook, Marriott, Gilliead (Potts, 76), Rea, Justin (O'Donnell, 45), Sheehan Unused subs: Smith, Pelly, Lee, King Solihull Moors: Lewis, Murombedzi, Franklin (Morris, 72), Daly, Gough, Asante, Byrne, Jones (Knights, 83), Fagbola, Osborne, Sterling (White, 82) Referee: Christopher Sarginson Attendance: 3,512 including 635 enthusiastic fans from Solihull. |
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December 2017
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