Daggers v Rovers

[Rockford's Love Child]

Carden has gone for the team I would have chosen, Kirby and almond out wide in a 442. Let's see how it goes......

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I've managed to get to the game. There's a great atmosphere. SWA almost half the crowd and probably twice the noise!

Strange bench - full of youngsters and no defenders! Definitely un-Brabin -like.

 

[Boz]

Listening on the radio it sounds like both sides have had decent chances. Some tactical switch midway through the half seems to have the pundits puzzled.

Agree with BBTC our bench looks puzzling. No defenders, though Duggan could play right-back and no Stephenson

 

[Sparky]

Can't complain about sending off.

Is it me or is Jennings struggling the longer the game goes on??

 

[Colin K]

You'd have put your shed on Cook scoring that! Gutted but at least a it's not a loss!

 

[Colin K]

Interesting to see during the interview saying the players are all behind Carden. Hmmm

 

[Mal]

they played with passion and motivation. Now all they need is plenty of shooting practice. That performance made up for Sutton.

 

[Boz]

It sounded like a spirited performance from Rovers, with some good saves from Scotty and Andy Cook missing a great chance to get all the points at the death. Sounds like the second yellow for Ihiekwe was inevitable. The radio pundits felt that it was right to take Norwood off when we went down to ten, as he was possibly carrying an injury and simply not tracking back. Jennings yellow was harsh, but he did well taking Osborne under his wing when he came on. Duggan had a good game at right-back. I look forward to hearing the thoughts of RLC, BBTC and any others at the game.

Tuesday is going to be very difficult with Jennings and Ikhy joining Hughes on the banned list and Lois unavailable on international duty to add to the injury list. Another dip in the loan market and recalling Evan Gumbs, perhaps?

 

[Cowshed Kid]

The players took a slating for their effort at Sutton. Rightly so.
For me that was a tremendous back to the wall last 40 mins. Lose, and we're 7 points behind them. And could have won it right at the end, though we'd ridden our luck to a degree at that stage.
Dare I say Carden could be a dark horse in the selection process. Listening to him he does come across far better than GB ever did. He's not frightened to change things is he?

 

[Cowshed Kid]

And what a great result for Chester. Pity the Dragons won though!

 

[Ian]

Good showing in the second half especially with 10-men. Cook should have scored at the end. Decent point but we still need more goals.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

As RLC has already said, we started 4-4-2 with Kirby on the left and Almond on the right.

The first half was poor. Although both sides tried to play football in the middle of the park, the defences had little problem in the final third. Daggers had a couple of half chances and a defender headed over from close range. I suspect we had the better chances down the other end, but I couldn’t tell from my position. (How did it look on TV?)

We started brighter after half-time. Kirby and Almond switched wings, then Almond swapped with Norwood. Unfortunately, just as Almond started to get into the game, the sending off occurred and he was replaced by Mitch Duggan, who went to right back with Sutton moving inside.

The game then became more open and fluid. It was end-to-end stuff with both sides going for the winner. As a result, more chances were created and it could have been a high-scoring game if the better ones had been taken. There were an unbelievable number of misses. Someone ought to put a clip of them on YouTube. It would last a while. Andy's was just the worst of a bad bunch.

My Man of the Match was Scott Davies, who was safe in the air and made three crucial saves. He is closely followed by Andy Cook, who has an amazingly good first touch and worked his socks off, especially when he was on his own up front. He might have edged it if he had got the goal he deserved at the end. The SWA were up on their feet convinced he’d score but it was a bad miss. He fell to the ground in frustration and I was gutted for him. I hope he gets over it quickly. Another honourable mention goes to Steve McNulty, who hardly put a foot wrong. He can be very delicate for a big man, but knows when to hoof it.

PC must fancy his chances of landing the job. The team looked organised and played with passion, especially when down to 10 men. He packed the bench with youngsters and those who came on were not overawed. (Was Vaughan injured?) The team worked hard and looks very fit.

I would have taken 0-0 before the game and certainly after an hour. Although we are now seventh, we are still only four points from automatic promotion. Dag & Red may be top, but they were nothing special – and just as profligate in front of goal as we are. We now have a busy period with the squad was depleted through injury and suspension. If we can get through October without slipping any more, we will be well placed. Either way, I think this season’s promotion race will be very close.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I was delighted with the performance today (yesterday). Even taking into account the period when we had ten men, I thought we edged the game as a whole and deserved three points. Certainly we created more chances than Dagenham, although both sides had periods when they were on top. After the sending off I thought Dagenham were actually quite poor and we generally looked very comfortable. Davies made one good save in this period and there was an effort against the post, but it was not as if we were hanging on for dear life. Equally, we maintained an attacking threat throughout the second half. The best chance of the game was Cook's in the last minute: it fell on his right foot, whereas if it had been on his left, it was a certain goal. Still can't believe he missed it though !

Individually, I thought Steve Jennings had his best game for some weeks and I was really impressed with Almond, who looks a very intelligent player, always able to find space and link the play. Mitch Duggan was outstanding as a makeshift right back and both the loanees showed spirit and did well when they came on. I thought Cook, Norwood and McNulty were all very good, the latter immense as always, and although our goal was not peppered with shots, Davies made two brilliant saves when called upon.

I have no complaints about the sending off, as it was a stupid and unnecessary tackle from Ihiekwe when he was already on a yellow card. However, Jennings' booking was very harsh and leaves us in a bit of a pickle on Tuesday night: Duggan and Osborne did well today, but is a big ask for two youngsters who have never started a game for us to form the midfield pairing.

I think Paul Carden also deserves a lot of credit for tonight's result. With the players we have missing and down to ten men for virtually the entire second half, to get a point was no mean feat and we might well have taken all three. This was in no small part down to the bold tactical decisions he made, before and during the game, not least his effective substitutions and the responsibility he gave to the youngsters. I don't think Brabin would have done the same. If performances continue in a similar vein in the weeks ahead I would not have any objection to him getting the job permanently, although it is clearly still early days. The players clearly respect him and his tactics have paid off so far, so the signs are encouraging.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think Maynard may actually be available on Tuesday as St Kitts don't play until Saturday. A midfield of Maynard and Duggan should be ok against Gateshead.

Edit: apparently Harris will be available for Tuesday but Maynard may already have gone overseas.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

RLC, I was thinking the same about PC. His whole approach seems so different from Brabin's. I thought all the youngsters looked comfortable and would like to see more of them, although not too many in the same game. I thought Jones had pace. Osbourne looked like he was enjoying it. Duggan showed what a versatile player he is. PC's use of subs was excellent. By bringing on fresh legs as players tired, we never seemed to be a man short. Morale should be sky high. I just hope Andy doesn't have any nightmares and the lads help him get over it.

 

[Boz]

It is too early to assess PC yet, but there are a number of positives. In particular here, the fact that we kept trying to win the game when a man short, whereas against York in the same circumstances it was damage limitation. The Minstermen were an undisputably weaker team than Daggers too. I'd like to know more of his reasoning for freezing Vaughan out and why things didn't work out for him at Southport. However his good start at least buys the Palioi time to consider the 50+ applications for the job rather than a need to be rushed into an appointment.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Yes, the treatment of Vaughan is strange. Perhaps we were obliged to put the loanees on the bench yesterday, but I don't want to see him frozen out a la Brabin. Carden does not seem to rate Stephenson that highly either.

 

[Ian]

Touching on what Boz was saying I think MP will be pretty happy with how PC is getting on as it gives him time to consider his options and the two performances have been decent so keeps the supporters fairly happy too.