Away to Banbury

Match Report > Click Here

The second half was an improvement and a better performance. We started to pass and move the ball, and when we do that we look a far better team.

The first half saw us doing a bit of defending, but we brought that upon ourselves again. We didn’t work hard enough to get the ball out of defence which forced Zac into kicking it long and against two large centre-halves thats not going to work. It invites the other team to come and attack you.

We were also off the pace in certain other areas. In central midfield, Smudger didn’t really get into the game and was giving the ball away quite a lot. Drew didn’t really get into the game up front either, so at half-time I had to change it and brought James Krause on at left-back, moved Chaffs into midfield, Danny Spendlove on the right and moved Scott Neilson up front. We then started to play.

We scored two quick goals which got us into a good position and, to be fair, we had two or three great chances to close the game out. Their keeper pulled off a fantastic save from Lee Chaffey and we had a few dangerous balls flying across the box that we didn’t quite get on the end of. The approach play and keeping of the ball was far better after the break.

Danny did OK, densively he’s not the greatest, but we are working on that with him. Going forward he did some good things, but he did some ordinary things giving the ball away in certain areas. James Krause looked very assured at left-back which allowed Ashley Fuller to have his best half so far this season. Ash was very effective, the two of them work very well together down the left. Scotty as usual was a real livewire up front. He’s been the stand-out player thus far. Neil Midgley had a much improved second half as did Ben Nunn who I thought did extremely well. Ben is going to be a very good player, he’s only 18 and his performances are improving.

Their equalizer, late in the game, was totally against the run of play. We were restricting them to banging the ball down the channels and trying to get on the end of it and on this occasion, sadly, we allowed their player into that channel and he got the turn on Dave Theobald who didn’t get close enough to him really to prevent the cross. It was a great finish into the bottom corner, but the ball in should have been cut out.

After the first half perhaps Banbury would have felt a bit aggrieved had they lost, but from our point of view, and from a playing point of view, it was much more of what I expect in the second half. We’re still leaking goals from poor positions when we are controlling games. It is something that I have got to look at. We shouldn’t be allowing ourselves to be turned in the central defensive positions. Teams will be quick to grasp that we are a little bit pedestrian in that area so that has got to change. With that in mind I’ve signed Mark Smith from Hitchin Town. He’s a vastly experienced centre-half having played 500 games at Conference level with a variety of clubs, is athletic and reads the game very well.

After what happened last week against Mangotsfield, where we lost a game we totally dominated, I can understand the fans’ frustrations, but we do have people out injured and we are trying to improvise in their absence. Added to that, opposing sides see us as a big game and a big team to play against and they raise their mark. I also have to say that a few of our players have under-performed so far. All those things combined have made it an ordinary start to the season for us, but one that is not irretrievable.

Another plus for me against Banbury was the performance of Mark E’Beyer. I know Mark has come in for some criticism from people, myself included, but during the first half he made three great defensive headers. One of which was a clearance off the line under real pressure. That’s a side of Mark’s game which I’ve asked him to improve upon. I thought he was the better midfielder of the two and that’s why he stayed on. He’s just got to add a bit more energy to his game and he will be fine. I saw good signs on Tuesday night though as an attacking force too. He kept the ball very well for us.

Saturday’s opponents Brackley have spent a bit of money and make no mistake they have some good players in their side that play good football, they get it forward early and have decent forwards. Their front six are a real handful. They are a little vulnerable at the back though, so it will be up to us to get at them and I think it will be a good game of football.

Finally, with regard to the Josh Simpson transfer situation. I’ve heard it said that the club lack ambition by selling him. Had we stayed in the Blue Square South, both Simpson and Gash wouldn’t have gone. Sheringham, Bowditch and Bruce probably wouldn’t have gone either. The fact of the matter is we are now operating at a lower level. The 280 fans that we are averaging at home at the moment don’t provide enough money for us to have a championship winning team, so we have to find finance from other sources to keep the club going and keep the team at a decent level, and that is why the transfers were sanctioned. We just have to get on with it. It is not a case of us lacking ambition at all.