A poor first half, a much better second half and a deserved three points.
We started brightly on the front foot and pushed them back from the start. There was some good movement down the left with Murray and Saville and Jed looked lively on the right. They looked shell shocked from the off and we took full advantage. There was some good forward play and we got an early free kick thirty yards from goal. Jed hit a decent shot which their keeper saved but nothing came from the corner. They were offering very little and good movement down the right with a cross to Benik should have resulted in the first goal but he blazed it over. They finally got a toehold in the game and some good movement down their left saw a firm cross which Bart held on to well. From then onwards for much of the rest of the half they came back into it. They were doing nothing fancy but holding onto the ball, making some good triangles, keeping us at arms length and controlling the play in the middle. Their 14, Ajaria was involved in much of their threat. He was leggy, had a swagger about him and could not be shaken off the ball easily. Although they had the better of the possession they really didn’t fashion a decent chance. We were struggling to get back into it. We were not helping ourselves.Smith was getting a header or two up front but Benik looked short of a decent touch and we didn’t make any chances. It was frustrating to watch and lacked any excitement. Surely things must change after the break as we didn’t look as if we could find a winner with the eleven who went off.
The writing was on the wall during the break as Bennett was not kicking around with the rest in the middle. Sure enough he came on with Molly for the second half and Dutch and Smith went off. We had more attacking intent about us in the next five minutes than we had shown in the first 45. We were playing higher, had a constant outlet on the left with Molly and a real sense of aggression with Bennett. When they played the ball up to him he would control it with one touch and turn and run at their defence. We pressed them back and started to look a threat. The ref helped us. They knocked the ball forward to near the half way line but Hutch saw it coming. He got his head in front of their forward and directed the ball on to Billy, who was in the clear. The ref blew up and gave a free kick to us when it was obvious that he should have played on. That action really riled the crowd who could see that we were building up a head of steam. There was a lot of shouting from the stands which urged us on, shut up their mob who were shouting their heads off. There was some good forward movement. Molly had a shot and also a decent cross to Jed on the far post but nothing came of it. You could see that they were rocking and then we applied the pressure. A good ball to Jed on the right caught out their full back. He was in no mans land, Leonard ran behind him and took Jed’s pass to the line before hitting a low cross to Benik who was five yards out and tapped it home. The Den went nuts. They tried hard to get back into it but their possession and forward movement presented no threat. They took off Ajari off, brought on a muscly centre forward who made his presence felt on Murray soon after but never saw yellow. At the death we brought on Danny for Benik, they got a dangerous free kick which their attacker hit straight at the wall and we saw out the added three without drama.
Bart was solid and Leonard made the goal well with an intelligent run and cross for the goal. Hutch was his normal solid self and Cooper was a good partner. Murray always looks dependable and he played well. Dutch was aggressive and got a yellow but offered little going forward. Billy was very busy for ninety minutes and Saville got better as the game progressed. Smith tried but posed title threat and Benik had a poor first half but a better second and took his goal well. Molly looked back to his normal self but MOM was Bennett who changed the game with his aggressive running and willingness to move forward a every opportunity. Danny had a decent five minute cameo at the death.
It was a revelation to see us play 4-4-2 at the start but we did not sustain our good play. Our clueless manager changed it around at half time which gave us new life. Three points, a clean sheet and now eighth equal on points with Luton who are sixth. This was no classic but it had movement and purpose in the second half, a decent goal and we gained a worthy three points.
We started brightly on the front foot and pushed them back from the start. There was some good movement down the left with Murray and Saville and Jed looked lively on the right. They looked shell shocked from the off and we took full advantage. There was some good forward play and we got an early free kick thirty yards from goal. Jed hit a decent shot which their keeper saved but nothing came from the corner. They were offering very little and good movement down the right with a cross to Benik should have resulted in the first goal but he blazed it over. They finally got a toehold in the game and some good movement down their left saw a firm cross which Bart held on to well. From then onwards for much of the rest of the half they came back into it. They were doing nothing fancy but holding onto the ball, making some good triangles, keeping us at arms length and controlling the play in the middle. Their 14, Ajaria was involved in much of their threat. He was leggy, had a swagger about him and could not be shaken off the ball easily. Although they had the better of the possession they really didn’t fashion a decent chance. We were struggling to get back into it. We were not helping ourselves.Smith was getting a header or two up front but Benik looked short of a decent touch and we didn’t make any chances. It was frustrating to watch and lacked any excitement. Surely things must change after the break as we didn’t look as if we could find a winner with the eleven who went off.
The writing was on the wall during the break as Bennett was not kicking around with the rest in the middle. Sure enough he came on with Molly for the second half and Dutch and Smith went off. We had more attacking intent about us in the next five minutes than we had shown in the first 45. We were playing higher, had a constant outlet on the left with Molly and a real sense of aggression with Bennett. When they played the ball up to him he would control it with one touch and turn and run at their defence. We pressed them back and started to look a threat. The ref helped us. They knocked the ball forward to near the half way line but Hutch saw it coming. He got his head in front of their forward and directed the ball on to Billy, who was in the clear. The ref blew up and gave a free kick to us when it was obvious that he should have played on. That action really riled the crowd who could see that we were building up a head of steam. There was a lot of shouting from the stands which urged us on, shut up their mob who were shouting their heads off. There was some good forward movement. Molly had a shot and also a decent cross to Jed on the far post but nothing came of it. You could see that they were rocking and then we applied the pressure. A good ball to Jed on the right caught out their full back. He was in no mans land, Leonard ran behind him and took Jed’s pass to the line before hitting a low cross to Benik who was five yards out and tapped it home. The Den went nuts. They tried hard to get back into it but their possession and forward movement presented no threat. They took off Ajari off, brought on a muscly centre forward who made his presence felt on Murray soon after but never saw yellow. At the death we brought on Danny for Benik, they got a dangerous free kick which their attacker hit straight at the wall and we saw out the added three without drama.
Bart was solid and Leonard made the goal well with an intelligent run and cross for the goal. Hutch was his normal solid self and Cooper was a good partner. Murray always looks dependable and he played well. Dutch was aggressive and got a yellow but offered little going forward. Billy was very busy for ninety minutes and Saville got better as the game progressed. Smith tried but posed title threat and Benik had a poor first half but a better second and took his goal well. Molly looked back to his normal self but MOM was Bennett who changed the game with his aggressive running and willingness to move forward a every opportunity. Danny had a decent five minute cameo at the death.
It was a revelation to see us play 4-4-2 at the start but we did not sustain our good play. Our clueless manager changed it around at half time which gave us new life. Three points, a clean sheet and now eighth equal on points with Luton who are sixth. This was no classic but it had movement and purpose in the second half, a decent goal and we gained a worthy three points.
