York City v Rovers

[bring back the cowshed!]

Thanks for the reports everyone. Currently, I'm on holiday in USA and as the match was starting I was driving past the scene of the historical Battle of Yorktown. It seems the teams were trying to do their own re-enactment! From 3000 miles away, it's difficult to comment but I'm taking a lot of positives from this game. Despite dropping 8 points out of 9, we are still just 2 points off top. GB had the courage to replace CJ with Stephenson; he lasted 90 minutes and did not let down. When down to 10, he resisted the temptation to bring on an extra midfielder and carried in playing for a win. The team showed a lot of spirit, particularly when a man short. And finally, we got an away point with 10 men. OK, on the debit side we continued to be profligate in front of goal and we are now two key players missing for a few weeks, but I'm feeling generally positive. The need for a CJ/JH replacement is now even more urgent. Presumably the money is available, but does GB have suitable targets in mind?

 

[Mal]

BBTC, CJ is injured, no courage there, I am afraid.

 

[Boz]

BBTC, CJ is injured, no courage there, I am afraid.

I think BBTC refers to
GB opting for the inexperienced Stephenson ahead of Kirby/Harris for example.

 

[Mal]

I think BBTC refers to
GB opting for the inexperienced Stephenson ahead of Kirby/Harris for example.

oh, ok. Not sure he had much choice tbh, mekki and Kirby are not really CJ replacements imo

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Mal/Boz. What I was meaning was that GB, who is not known for taking risks or fielding youngsters, showed courage in giving Stephenson his full debut in a difficult away match when his first instinct might have been to play a more defensive replacement like Kirby or a more experienced player like Mekki. This and the fact he still went for the win after the sending off are very positive signs for me.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I really appreciate all those first-hand reports and regret that I can't attend more matches to contribute. However, I have a friend who supports York and was there. She sent me her analysis and I think it makes interesting reading. It backs up what has already been posted here but gives a home fan's slant.

"Tranmere started much brighter but their finishing was no better than ours. Some of our passing was very wayward -i.e. straight to the opposition.

Tranmere were very physical, picking up 4 yellow cards and a red one. We picked up 2 yellow cards, at least one of which was clearly for arguing with anyone who would listen. (Friend Jenny, who sits nearby, pronounced Tranmere as 'rough' in terms of their behaviour and I wondered if they knew just how delicate some of our lads were!).

Potentially I thought Tranmere had the skills to have us well and truly beaten by halftime but when it didn't go right for them immediately they became frustrated and their discipline crumbled. We seem to have a team that includes several players who don't know when to shut up or walk away. We already have one player suspended for picking up 5 yellow cards since the start of the season. A perfect combination for a battle!!!!!"

 

[Boz]

It's always interesting to get the opposing point of view, but not sure I entirely concur with BBTCs York-supporting friend. It didn't seem a particularly physical game and the card count is as much a reflection of the official's ineptitude as anything. We did lose our discipline in the sending-off incident, but the referee's failure to get a grip in the preceding moments was contributory to that.