A deserved point away to a team that had invested heavily during the close season.
The Lions were out of the blocks quickly with Malone’s centre clipping the bar with their keeper nowhere.
A high press has them struggling and after a couple of near misses Jed fired home with his left peg from the edge of the box. 1-0 and deservedly up. We continued to press but we’re unable to convert our superiority into a another goal. Saville was put clear but the ball hung in the air to delay his advance. Rather than pass to Jed, who was free in space on the left, George fired a weak shot that was easily gathered and an excellent chance was wasted.
Teams can’t dominate entire games and we resorted to type and fell back. Big mistake. They gained confidence and bossed possession without looking dangerous until Dickie gathered the ball just inside our half and advanced unchallenged until unleashing a shot the flew pass Bart
. Could he have done better? Whisky will let us know later 
The last 20 minutes of the first half was a rerun of several performances last season and only a Bart save and last ditch Hutch tackle/clearance stopped us going in at half-time 2-1 down.
GR had clearly worked out what had gone wrong and adjusted to the tactics and we started the 2nd half on the front foot
A number of half-chances with Keif firing over, Smith (under pressure) heading wide but no cigar. They did nothing, albeit we needed a Bart finger tip save to prevent us going behind.
Smith replaced Afobe, who had put in a shift, and Leonard Evans. Smith created some problems with knock-ones and it’s a shame Bradshaw hadn’t replaced Jed to take advantage of them.
F-T 1-1. Probably the right result but could have been much better.
Joint MOTM Hutch and Keif.
Positives: Better and more controlled football and no ‘red dwarf’ Ballard, Keif and Saville turned in good performances.
Negatives: Still reverting to type of defending when taking the lead and resorting to long balls. Thought Danny looked vulnerable defensively and didn’t create as much going forward as we expected, although that could be down to Jed’s unpredictability. Leonard contributed more than Evans. If Saville and Jed are given free-roles we must ensure we cover them, their goal came from Saville being nowhere!
Overall: Encouraging
PS: Bumped into Peckham, he’s well just taking a rest from the Forum
The Lions were out of the blocks quickly with Malone’s centre clipping the bar with their keeper nowhere.
A high press has them struggling and after a couple of near misses Jed fired home with his left peg from the edge of the box. 1-0 and deservedly up. We continued to press but we’re unable to convert our superiority into a another goal. Saville was put clear but the ball hung in the air to delay his advance. Rather than pass to Jed, who was free in space on the left, George fired a weak shot that was easily gathered and an excellent chance was wasted.
Teams can’t dominate entire games and we resorted to type and fell back. Big mistake. They gained confidence and bossed possession without looking dangerous until Dickie gathered the ball just inside our half and advanced unchallenged until unleashing a shot the flew pass Bart
. Could he have done better? Whisky will let us know later The last 20 minutes of the first half was a rerun of several performances last season and only a Bart save and last ditch Hutch tackle/clearance stopped us going in at half-time 2-1 down.
GR had clearly worked out what had gone wrong and adjusted to the tactics and we started the 2nd half on the front foot
A number of half-chances with Keif firing over, Smith (under pressure) heading wide but no cigar. They did nothing, albeit we needed a Bart finger tip save to prevent us going behind.
Smith replaced Afobe, who had put in a shift, and Leonard Evans. Smith created some problems with knock-ones and it’s a shame Bradshaw hadn’t replaced Jed to take advantage of them.
F-T 1-1. Probably the right result but could have been much better.
Joint MOTM Hutch and Keif.
Positives: Better and more controlled football and no ‘red dwarf’
Ballard, Keif and Saville turned in good performances.Negatives: Still reverting to type of defending when taking the lead and resorting to long balls. Thought Danny looked vulnerable defensively and didn’t create as much going forward as we expected, although that could be down to Jed’s unpredictability. Leonard contributed more than Evans. If Saville and Jed are given free-roles we must ensure we cover them, their goal came from Saville being nowhere!
Overall: Encouraging
PS: Bumped into Peckham, he’s well just taking a rest from the Forum
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