Yes we were poor weren’t we - the pitch was awful - moss farm was much better this morning.
However with the penalty, Warlows 2 chances, maccas chance, Evans 2 efforts we despite our v average day created a lot more than Prescot did. (2 significant efforts as Knutsfordian notes) Had 1 or 2 of these gone in we’d have won the game. They didn’t and we didn’t however - occasionally we are going to be unlucky and its not going to happen for us. The game reminded me a bit of Eastwood away.
We are still in the driving seat - keep the faith.
Only our third league loss of the season, which to my mind, is fantastic as it is only just March.
This game is in the past now, yes, we may have had chances to win it, but that doesn’t matter now. What does matter is that the players, and the fans pick themselves up from the dissapointment and focus on the game against Leek. As long as we bounce back well, I for one, will not be dissapointed.
So bring on Leek and lets have a performance we now we are capable of.
We put Prescot under alot of pressure in the first 20 minutes or so, but i would still say that in the save that JK made he was the keeper who was the first to be really tested - and that includes us having a penalty! In regards to that; why was TB taking it?! We have a 25 goal striker, we have Rod Thornley who has historically been a penalty taker, Rob Lloyd, Steve Brodie, Alex Brown… Why TB?! It was an awful penalty. Ok he scored one against Grantham last year, but that was just a case of hitting it as hard he could - there was no technique to it. He shouldn’t of taken it, and that’s where the game turned, IMO.
I think Rod deserves some credit for once again running his socks off. How many high balls were played into him though? That was meat and drink for their centre half.
When we brought Peers on i presumed it was with the aim of changing the game. i.e., changing from having no natural winger, to putting someone on who can stretch the play. Why then put Peers on as a 3rd forward and go even more narrow? Didn’t make sense to me at the time.
Were we too complacent? We were far from clinical in the early stages when we had Prescot on the back-foot. Did we presume that it was ok to miss a couple of chances because we’d be able to fashion more? Even Adam is allowed an off day, but normally he’d expect to have taken at least one of the early chances he had.
One defeat does not mean we wont be champions, but as i said before this game my worry is that we are not able to put a run of wins together. Infact our form for 2008 reads LWDWDWL. That’s mid-table form.
I’m sure Jim and Nige will get us going, but anything other than a win against Leek and we really will be in danger of putting ourselves under serious pressure.
Like whayt has been said already, whats done is done now and we have to move on! 3 losses and we r into march! that is not bad at all! Lets put it behind now and have a much needed 3 points against leek! Come on Witton!
The LEEK game now takes on greater signicance because we simply have to win it. We’ve put ourselves under pressure after Saturday and we seemed really disjointed without a natural wide player. Why Coo was sat on the Bench when he could have played wide right is a little bit mystifying. We never had an attack down the right all the second half. I understand the reasoning behind dropping Peersie to the bench and letting Morning go. You have to have discipline but its just a pity we seemed to lack this on Saturday on the field!
Its a shame because Alex was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch and shrugged off the fact that it was a cow patch not fit for even them to graze on!! We really must be more resilient when we play these kind of teams and not be complacent. C’mon lads lets get back to the style we are good at with one wide player and Steve Brodie coming narrow when he needs to. We can’t get away with playing 3 out and out central midfield players because the balance is all wrong. Lets get back to the pattern thats served us so well so far! I dread to think what will happen if we only make the play offs! We need to go up as champions so lets regroup and go out there and do it we are still the best team in this league but lets get out of it in the next one up please so we don’t have to go to places like Prescot again. (No disrespect to all at Prescot you work hard to keep going but your pitch is a disgrace but no excuses you deserved your win for your second half display!)
What I hate about the internet is the ability for people to have a kneejerk rant.
The match report sums it up, didn’t play well, still had the lions share of chances, awful pen - but TB had the balls to take it (scored last time) crap pitch, bad result - move on.
We’ve only lost 3 league games all season, all away by one goal!!!
Your’e dead right. Mine was not a rant more constructive critism. I feel if we’d played a wide player on the right we’d have beat Prescot and would now be sitting pretty on 72 points!! The fact Tony missed the pen was unfortunate but I did not see anyone else rushing to take it and how about all the other chances we failed to convert!We’ve just made it a little harder for ourselves thats all. As you are all saying Leek is potentailly a game we could also slip up in. If we get back to our normal pattern on Saturday and as you say get behind the lads I’m sure we will be on 72 points come Saturday night, but we can’t underestmate Leek. They only went down 1 nil at Buxton Saturday which shows they are improving!
Losing 3 games all season would probably mean we would have had the league practically won by now most seasons but there are some good sides in this league this season in the top 6 who’ve also been reasonably consistent so the pressure remains firmly on us to keep winning. The others have still got to play their games in hand so the pressure is on them to win those. At least we have the points on the board already. I sure the lads will bounce back but I definately don’t want to go back to Prescot next season(no offence!!). Onward and upward this is a great season its just on the rare occassion we get beat its so hard to swallow but lets learn from it and move on!!
I am an old man Andy and I still believe in the “Gypsy’s Curse” my Dad told me had been put on the Central Ground and now seems to haunt us up at Wincham. Am I paranoid!!
WHS.
Andy - when we left Valerie Park on saturday we all felt like Alex Brown - I watched him kick the door on his way to the dressing room - that is passion and what makes the beautiful game. The internet gives us a chance to vent our feelings too because we are passionate as well. I do not think any of the postings were kneejerk rants,more like constructive criticisms and right on the mark.
It has taken me 48hrs to come on and post I was so dissapointed with the result but like Andy said when I spoke to him who wouldn’t have taken 3 1-0 defeats away from home as the bleamishes on our record for the 07/08 season? As for the pen I believe others did want to take it but Tony insisted he wanted it, so look at that as you will good to see more than one player wanting it rather that someone being pushed forward?
It is without doubt another great season, I just cannot consider that it will end like the last one, I nearly cried last time, the canal will look inviting if it happens again!!! But I honestly do not think it will, in three weeks I go on a tour of Spain, I expect us to be nearly there when I go and home and dry by the time I get back a fortnight later. As they say “KEEP THE FAITH”, if I can, anyone can, I am the biggest pessimist I know.
WHS.
As said previously, it was only the second league defeat I had seen all season, I would most certainly have taken this at the start of the season. It’s the beginning of March, we have been top for six months and played some awesome football. Over 40 games the league table tells no lies, the best team will go up.
It is time to play with confidence, belief, commitment and desire (in fact just the way we have been doing since August)!!! In the first three quarters of the season we have won 21, drawn 6 and lost 3. Based on the next quarter (10 games of which 6 are at home and 4 are away), then if we get the same return and win 7, draw 2 and lose 1 then will earn another 23 points and finish on 92 points! I believe that if we do this then we will win the league by 5, 6 or more points.
Again as posted previously all that matters is the speed at which you bounce back, if you lose one then you just move on and win the next one!
We need to treat this a 10 game season which starts on Saturday and we have a head start! Most importantly get behind the lads on Saturday, let’s have all the Albion fans behind the goal and in good voice. Cheer the lads on for everything they have achieved so far and everything they WILL achieve come the end of April.
all what fans you only get 400 a game anyway looking forward to playing you lot next season an easy 6 points over the christmas period will do nicely:laugh:
But of course Mr Vics Fan according to the bloke who rings in on the football phone in this is not going to happen. His thoughts are survival in the conference this season. Next season the championship and then league football the season after, all on gates of less than a 800! What makes it all the more remarkable is that Northwich Victoria don’t even own the ground they play on so at least the 450 who watch our games know it is home and not owned by someone who is going to conman a fee out of you next season. I mean no disrespect to the guys who are putting money into Vics at the present time and who have saved them from extinction but I do wish some of the Vics fans would get real. Survival in the conference would be a massive achievement this season and halfway next season would be tremendous with the resources they have.
I have a lot of respect for those genuine Vics fans who have supported the club through thick and thin some of whom got banned and watched us every week at one stage. These are the realists who would set targets that are not impossible to achieve. League football is probably not one of them at the present time just as Witton could not contemplate the full conference at this stage.
I have to disagree with MONA on one crucial point. I think the Witton team, and more importantly its manager, are more than capable of holding their own in the Conference, and I don’t mean the Northern section, I mean the real thing. We could not win it but we are as good as Farsley, Droylsden, Weymouth, Stafford, Altricham and of course the SCUM across the canal. WE could possibly finish half way if we played to our full potential. As for the “Cloud Cuckoo Land” that the Vics fans live in, let them, reality will kick in soon enough.
WHS.
anyway looking forward to playing you lot next season an easy 6 points over the christmas period will do nicely:laugh: