Oh, what joy it is to go to a football match in Stevenage surely one of only a handful of towns within the UK that can make our beloved Luton appear truly attractive. In truth the carbuncle nature of the town is not the fault of the residents of this “quick build” post-war town that grew as part of the new towns post-war plan, rather it’s a fault of lack of planning to replace the pre-fab concrete structures that form the shopping centre and immediate estates; I feel for them. The day started out very nicely sharing a couple of pints and some good banter with fellow hatters in the Our Mutual Friend Pub on the Broadwater Estate in Stevenage. I have to say full marks to the landlord of this establishment which from the outside looks about as attractive as the now closed Parrot on Farley Hill. Once inside you soon get the taste of things with an excellent range of real ale all kept in first class condition; shame about the plastic pint glasses but I tell you a top up half “one for the road” is probably the most generous half pint in the UK. Oh, the Tring brewery bitter was just outstanding; well done Tring, see, something really good can come out of Hertfordshire. On to the ground and the game itself, the main event of the day. Nathan elected to make two changes, one enforced as Mullins was taking a day’s red card rest, gone fishing, to be replaced by Glen Rea and Gray giving Pelly a moments rest on the bench. In away games these days our general plan is to contain the opposition for the early part of the game and then impose ourselves on the game. Whatever happened to that fearful matching up stuff? Well, we did absolutely fine fairly early on when Cameron McGeehan’s shot took a deflection, I think it was off that knob head Dean Wells and went into the net; nice start. Our play thereafter for the first half was to push a fair conference side back and indeed it’s hard to reconcile why we only went in at half-time with a one-goal lead. Surely Hylton should have converted an opportunity to add at least another goal to that slim lead. It was not just Hylton who may have added to the tally, Cook and Potts could have with a little more luck scored. In the second half, Stevenage started to wake up and the game took on the dynamics of an FA Cup clash with both sides attacking, it was end to end stuff. Chances continued to be created by the Town, we hit the bar a couple of times and maybe we should have had a penalty when the awful Wells decided it was not just the keeper who could handle the ball on the deck; just how did the lino miss that one? Stevenages equaliser was really down to poor defending by us. Should the cross have been cut out, should the wide player who made the header have been picked up by more attentive defenders; I think so. I have to give full credit to Nathan who continued to press for the three points rather than sit back and close the match off. Deep into injury time Olly Lee cracked a ball from range against the bar. The ball was immediately cleared up-field and rather unluckily two of our players “decked each other” in the centre circle thus not helping the defence of the immediate breakaway that saw Godden crack in a 96th-minute winner. The chance was so similar to the one Hylton missed in the first half: it happens and I have to say I do rate Hylton. At the end of the game Fraser Franks celebrated in a way that made me think somebody had just told him he was a good footballer. We move on. My impressions of our player's performances: Walton: I would not really blame him for either goal but I am getting a tad concerned in that he stuck to his line too much. He is a giant and he should use that height to dominate just as he did at Plymouth. O’Donnell: he worked hard and was another crossbar hitter Cuthbert: no real complaints from me other then when fit I would rather see Sheehan as defender and captain. Rea: looked class all game and as ever, read the game well. Potts: found time to get forward a lot and I was happy enough with his game. Lee: well we know he is not the most robust tackler in the team, so nothing new there; a cracking good shot against the bar that could have taken all three points for us. Cook: in and out of the game; some good bits and some quiet bits. Gray: looked really good in the first half and made some telling interceptions; possibly faded later in the second half. McGeehan: start man for me. Just got all over the place, tackled well, scored; strangely his best game of the season ends in defeat. Marriott: could have scored when running in from the left but his boots need to be recalibrated I feel. Hylton: added a silly yellow to his collection and should have scored in the game: not a bad game but nowhere near his best. Pelly (sub): pretty poor ball control half of the time that did let him down somewhat. Vassalls (sub): early days; looks like a keen and speedy young man still learning. McQuoid (sub): only on a few minutes. In summary: we should have won the game and played well enough to do so. On another day we will play less well and win a game comfortably. No major worries in my view; onwards and upwards.
Curlz.
8/21/2016 09:43:26 am
Exellent read Whittler, looking forward to your write up on the Leeds game.
hatterswhittler
8/22/2016 01:50:28 am
Yes, I am really looking forward to the Leeds game; seems a long time since we have played them. Maybe a game for one of the youngsters to get another game.
GreenWoman
8/21/2016 10:32:17 am
Splendid. Like the closing interview. Looking forward to the next 'Whittle'.
hatterswhittler
8/22/2016 01:51:30 am
Thanks, the next whittle will be on the way shortly
lizard
8/22/2016 12:16:50 am
if you are writing a report of the Cambridge game then best stay away from the 14 hand pumps
hatterswhittler
8/22/2016 01:47:38 am
Well as ever, I will be pumped up for that one(or two) Comments are closed.
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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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