As ever it's very pleasant on a matchday away from home to try a few beers that I have not sampled before and yesterday was no exception; good quality well-kept beer from local breweries in the faithful yet packed, Kemble Brewery Inn. What a lovely start to the afternoon as a pre-match treat before we ventured to the football to take on a side destroyed by a non-league outfit last week, what could possibly go wrong!
Maybe a touch surprisingly, Nathan tinkered with the team that beat Portsmouth last week, dropping Shinnie and Pelly, both of whom were good last week and bringing back Rea and Cornick. To be fair both Rea and Cornick have also been playing well during that unbeaten run so no real moans from me. We have a big squad of talented players so why not use them; seems fine to me but at the same time tough on those who can’t get a game. So, our Nathan certainly set up our side to go for the points. Unlike in the previous two games we have played at Cheltenham, we opened very brightly and really should, in my opinion, have been out of sight after twenty-five minutes but we only lead by the solitary goal and that itself was a collector's piece being a goal scored from a corner. However, our wasteful nature came to haunt us a few minutes ahead of half-time when some sloppy play down our right flank gave the home side a couple of opportunities to get the ball high into the area. A cross came over and was met by the giant Pell with the knockdown being scrambled into the net. Same old lower league problem that we have yet to overcome; the cross into the box for the giants to attack. We ourselves are not a team of giants and in fairness to Nathan, I would rather have his present skilful approach to the game as long as we can score at least one more goal than the opposition. So, after all that really good creative effort we were even at half-time when the game should have been over as a contest; we really should have been out of sight. However, with footy it’s not just about dominating and creating chances, we need the ball over the line. In the second half, the home side looked a lot perkier and to be fair to both sides each went out for the victory. We had chances including some from range that were not massively off target but Cheltenham were also creating the odd chance and just before we regained the lead, they should really have tucked away one themselves when a miss-hit in front of goal gave us a slice of possibly deserved luck. On reflection it was a miss similar to the one at Crawley a couple of weeks earlier that could have proved costly. The Elliott Lee goal was put away well with the move starting with a Sheehan freekick targeted at goal but blocked for Elliott to knock in a possible winner. With the clock ticking towards the end of added time we had a bit of defensive calamity with our keeper losing coordination between brain and limbs as the ball went probably unnecessarily out for a corner. The giant home keeper and everybody else gravitated into the Luton penalty area for the corner and again we were undone by the big lads in the air and the ball scrambled into the net for the equaliser. The game was over and depending on your mood, either two points dropped or a point won. Overall impression I honestly don't want to go to Cheltenham again to see Luton play in L2; we simply just can't win at the place. It’s a nice attractive town with lots going for it apart from that football ground that we have an allergic reaction to; let’s hope we don't have to go there again next season. Our performance in the first 25 minutes was really really quite good and we played much better yesterday than in the fixture last season and indeed better than in the McNulty rugby tackle game. So, a point won or two dropped? Well, we could have been behind before we regained the lead so I tend to move to the warmer feeling of a valuable away point in the bag. Maybe it would have been all three points had Nathan been able to sign the big commanding centre-back he pursued in the summer but who knows the new boy may have been a lot weaker than the “excellent on the deck" Rea and Sheehan. It’s just a L2 fact that many of the teams in the basement league rely on some big tall players and Cheltenham certainly had those by the lorry load. Yes, our more skilful defenders can overcome or at least mitigate that threat if we stop giving away free kicks and crossing opportunities but yesterday we did not do that. In addition, we also came up against a Cheltenham player who could throw the ball some distance into the penalty area and had those throws been a bit lower and faster they would have been a significant threat. Unsurprisingly the whole tactic of the home side was to launch high balls by whatever means into our penalty area and our undoing was in not limiting those launches. On the train ride home, in addition to drafting these notes, I had a scan at a couple of the Hatters fans sites and saw a fair bit of critical negativity and indeed in Nathan’s post-match interview he was totally down; he spoke with his emotions barely under control. At least there was none of this “Cheltenham is a difficult place to come to” nonsense but his views that we should have been really out of sight by half-time. Whilst I agree with the out of sight comments, I felt that for much of the game we played well and in particular that first 25 minutes. It was simply a day when we did not convert enough of the chances or half chances that came our way: so, no I am not going to be overly critical as it was, in my opinion, a hugely better performance than on our last two visits to the ground. We got a point, ok not the three we would have liked but let’s accept it and move on. A few thoughts on individual performances: Stech: well the second equaliser did not cover him in glory as the arms and legs got horribly confused but overall he played with confidence and looked solid. A daft thing will every now and again happen with a keeper; great keeper, let’s move on. Stacey: some good parts and some less good parts. Maybe he could do with a break out of the team for a couple of weeks. Potts: some excellent tackles and headers at both ends of the pitch. Let's get that contract extension drafted! I honestly reckon this guy is the best all-round defender at the club. Cuthbert: he had a lot to cope with holding back the tall boys and overall did well in my opinion. It’s simply never going to be easy against a team massed with goliath players. Sheehan: usual high quality on the ground but it was always going to be a tough challenge in the air. Rea: made some really good tackles especially in the second period but it's anybody's guess where the ball will go once he crosses the halfway line. He really is a centre back doing a decent job in front of the back four but I doubt that will be his long-term position in the game as his passing has a touch of randomness about it. Olly Lee: cracking good shot from range in the second half but maybe not really a game most suited to his skills when the going got a touch tough. Berry: good when he was in the game but drifted out of the game for periods. Cornick: as expected, looked more comfortable out wide rather than when he played more centrally where he tended to be crowded out. Nevertheless, he got a few shots that were in the general direction of the goal but sadly nowhere near on target: the accuracy sights are in need of recalibration but at least he carved out space himself for a couple of his stray shots. Hylton: did not look his usual self and did too much blind alley stuff for my liking. You should have scored Danny boy. Collins: injured just before halftime and before that, caused problems for the home defence but like Hylton, not really at his best and he should have put at least one effort away. The subs: Elliott Lee: got a full 45 minutes and in addition to scoring a goal, looked very decent with his close control. I still reckon he would make a very clever No.10. Pelly: a fairly late submission and never really had time to get into the game.
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Hi there, welcome to my site where I chronicle various things about the Hatters, a team I have followed since the mid 60’sArchives
December 2017
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