No Excuses!

On an evening that saw the return of another two players that would normally be part of our first team, injuries permitting, Wingate and Finchley faced Chelmsford City in a friendly match.   The returning players, Lairdy and Gaz, came home with sun tans that tell of the mediterranean, feta and olives.   It won’t last – Lairdy will be white as a sheet (or should that be sheep) within a few weeks whilst Gaz will probably retain his extra shade a bit longer.   Putting that aside, we again fielded a mix of first team regulars and youngsters on a pitch that was slippery as the evening saw periods of drizzle and occasional heavy rain.

Normally when we have a ‘quick’ pitch it allows our players to express their natural passing abilities so I would have expected to see an open passing game against Chelmsford who are a level above us in the football heirarchy.   That wasn’t what we got.    Let me start with the final score line – 6-0 to the visitors 😦   I don’t mind losing, sometimes it’s a positive thing in drawing attention to issues that need addressing but 6-0 is a drubbing and is way beyond the difference of stature between the sides.

Bobby, in goal, made a number of good saves and made a lot of use of his vocal chords during the game.  His language would often have earnt a 15 certificate at the local Vue Cinema!   Whilst I joked with his young lady after the match about sending him on an anger management course with Saint Gavin, I and she fully understood his rage and reaction to what was going on in the outfield.   The keeper is hostage to what happens in front of him – he is the last line of defence and can only do his job effectively if those in front have made it difficult for the attackers.

So what were the defence doing?   Well, in the first half of the game they seemed to do quite well and overall were probably the best unit of the team as a whole though they did get caught out more and more as the game wore on.   The issue, you see, was that in front of the defence everything was going to pot.   There was a fear of getting up close and personal with the opposition and a total lack of ideas.   Chelmsford closed everyone down very quickly whilst the W & F players gave them room to maneouvre and pick their passes.  Being closed down so quickly, the W & F midfield all too often resorted to the simple lofted ball forward in the hope of finding Leon or Murat up front – (actually, so did the defence).   The Chelmsford players read that route one tactic and it quickly became a waste of effort as they either allowed the off-side trap to work or intercepted the ball and went straight onto the attack themselves.  Yet we persisted in that failed tactic 😦   With Chelmsford consistently on the attack and no respite, our defence were stretched and often overwhelmed.

At one quiet period just before halftime, while an injury was being dealt with, I overheard the Chelmsford players talking on the field about our defensive tactics – apparently the holding tactic being used by our number 6 (that’ll be Keiron) whilst stopping their number 9 was allowing the rest of the team their space to get in behind – playing into their hands was how they put it – would have loved to pass that info to Dave but I’m not allowed in the dressing room.   Ironically, it was one period in the match when we did string some attacking moves together!

So, to sum up – devoid of ideas, no pressure on the opposition, too slow, not enough passing to feet.   The team’s performance in this match doesn’t bode well for the season ahead.   The one not-so-negative thing is that Chelmsford City have played three other Ryman League Premier sides – Carshalton, East Thurrock and Canvey Island – and beaten them too.   Lets hope that Uxbridge and Ware will see a better effort all round because I hate having to write such negative match reports 😦   Come on guys, give me something to really enthuse about!!!