 | Your
Report | Oldham Athletic v Salford City Your Report added at 17:14:05
Orlandi's goal was well taken and reflected a bright opening by 'Pool. After that we went into our shell, and rode our luck as Watford pressed and looked increasingly dangerous, but just could not find their final pass.
Parish looked competent and Peter Clarke was as determined as ever, even if he is not the defender he once was. Our second goal was a major surprise and very much against the run of play. A good cross from McMahon, arguably the only thing he got right all afternoon, and even then Davies nearly squandered the chance before slotting home at the second attempt.
A straw poll of those I spoke to at half time showed the majority would be happy with a point, which says a lot about the state of our club with a two goal first half lead for the first time this season.
In the event, even that relatively downbeat assessment proved to be over ambitious after a horrendous start to the second half with three goals conceded in the first nine minutes and two more in the next twelve !
All the goals were at the far end so it was difficult for me to pinpoint individual errors but as a defensive unit we were simply overrun, our tackling and marking was non existent and every attempted clearance went to a Watford man. Peter Clarke was taken off after colliding with a post trying to keep out their third (shades of Gary Briggs) and his reluctance to leave the field was a tribute to his commitment. You had to feel sorry for Niall Maher, his replacement, coming on for his debut in such circumstances.
I really can't find the words to describe it, but "abject, irresponsible, incompetent and totally inept" come to mind. I have seen many bad defeats over the 50 plus years I have followed the 'Pool, including the infamous 0-7 at Barnet, but nothing quite like this.
The cancer that exists at the top of our club has now spread to all corners and I am humiliated and embarrassed to have witnessed yesterday's debacle. As I left the ground I chatted to a young lad, who I think was a pal of Islam Feruz. His take on our second half capitulation was that it was akin
to match fixing !
In a sense, he was right. The Oystons have fixed it so that all our hopes, dreams, and pride in our beloved club have been destroyed and I fear it will only get worse in the months ahead. |
| Your
Report | Oldham Athletic v Salford City Your Report added at 15:15:02
Pleasantly surprised at the inadequacies in the Fulham defence which gifted us two goals, but we have not taken similar chances in previous games so well done Messrs Miller and Murphy. We could have gone 3-0 up, had Miller not scuffed a good chance straight a the 'keeper. The turning point was obviously McMahon's dismissal, which has already been covered ad nauseam in previous posts on various sites. Suffice to say, he should forfeit the captaincy in favour of Peter Clarke, who is a leader on the pitch.
Daniels was to blame for their first goal and Lewis, maybe, for their second, but both deserve enormous credit for their overall performances, especially in the second half when the ball only came out of our half a handful of times. Lewis made some outstanding saves to keep us in the game, including a superb diving interception at the feet of Rodallega in the first half. Dunne, Blackman, Perkins, Clarke, and Orlandi were OK for me, though I would like to see more from the Spaniard. He is a better player than he has shown us thus far. Even Lundstram showed some improvement, but is still a weak link, in my view.
Jacob Murphy is quick, enthusiastic, and has a few tricks in his locker. I would have left him on for the full 90 minutes, as his pace offered us a much better outlet than Miller or Ranger. He certainly didn't look as knackered as Miller, and nor should he, at 19 years old, and so close to scoring the winning goal on his League debut.
As for Fulham, they play at a high tempo and pass the ball well. Our strategy, especially after the break, was to allow them time and space to cross the ball, and then put our bodies on the line when the ball came into our box. A risky ploy, and certainly not to the liking of some fans sitting near me, but it almost worked. The outstanding Fulham player was Scott Parker. Always in the game, wanting the ball, setting up the play. Still a quality player, and sadly, we have no one like him.
Two games into the Lee Clark regime, and I wonder if it is significant that members of our "foreign legion" are slipping down the pecking order. No involvement in the match for the Oriol twins, Rentmeister, Zoko,
Dielna, etc. Maybe Mr Clark feels that home-based payers will have bigger hearts for the formidable task ahead of them. |
| Your
Report | Oldham Athletic v Salford City Your Report added at 08:41:57
Nothing to say about the first half other than it was very poor. Their opening goal came when Obita lost his marker, Delfouneso, from a throw in and from his cross, Murray's header somehow got away from Lewis.
The second half improvement, such as it was, was entirely due to the arrival of Ranger, who looked sharp and has a better first touch than anyone in our squad. For 15/20 minutes there was hope that we could rescue a point against a Reading side out of form and short on confidence. Even Delfouneso raised his game, but the few chances we did create fell to the wrong men, with Oriol and Clarke firing inches wide and Clarke and Lundstram failing to make any meaningful contact. I did not really see their second, but got the impression that Lewis could have done better, and the third was a clear penalty committed out of frustration by a player who seconds earlier had fluffed his lines in their box.
Ranger certainly made a difference. Surely he must start alongside Miller against Ipswich. Almost anyone could have gone off at half time to make way, and Zoko was no worse than many others. The decision to play arguably our most effective player Perkins at left back makes no sense to me, and even less to keep him there after he was booked. What message does this send to Dielna,who spent his afternoon on the bench ? I don't see what Lundstram or Mendy bring to the party and Delfouneso is not the promising England Under 21 international of two years ago. There is just a lack of quality throughout the squad.
After Cardiff, I thought we could get out of this, but now I can't find three teams to finish below us. |
| Your
Report | Oldham Athletic v Salford City Your Report added at 11:40:04
Tremendous team performance the like of which we have not seen since Holloway left. Even more impressive if you consider that Lewis, Clarke, Cubero, Orlandi all absent and Joan Oriol substituted in first 15 minutes.
Of course, we should not get too carried away by one win (out of eleven) but we are improving match by match and it is abundantly clear that the players, coaches and manager are really up for it now.
Best moment of the night for me ? Jose Riga's expression at the final whistle, closely followed by his post match interview. Never heard him speak so eloquently or for so long.
Last night might turn out to be the high point of a wretched season, who knows, but for two hours I was once again proud to be a Seasider after all the s**t we have had to take from the rest of the football world in recent months. |
| | Bobtheretiredbroker
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 0 | | Comment Votes: | 0 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 0 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.