I don't know if it was the changes from the usual starting line-up - Lew Watts at No. 2 in place of the injured Tommy O, Carl Bruce at No. 6 and Steve Hafner at No. 11, but I thought today's was one of the best footballing performances at home for Dartford for a long time, especially in the first half, which, in sheer footballing terms, was one of the most entertaining AND enthralling I think I've seen at PP. At last they were back to playing the sort of football we've all been calling for - on the ground, positive play, with a very solid defence and Eddie running rampant in midfield. With the Casuals play belying their league position and definitely confirming their current last-6-matches form guide (13 points and only 4 goals against), this match eventually proved to be one between two evenly-matched sides and two impregnable defences. The longer it went on, the more likely it looked like one goal would settle it - but that goal never came. The ball never quite ran kindly enough for us, with quite a lot of near misses and last ditch tackles and too many players not reading where the pass was going. Cassie, in particular, had 2-3 half-chances that on another day he might just have got his toe to - and one head-high shot which the GK did well to stick a hand out to save 9 yards off his goal-line, while Eddie had another two surging runs into the box stopped short at the last second. We did eventually get the ball into the net early in the second half, but can anybody behind the goal tell me if the "goal" really was offside? The GK took the free kick from where Cassie received the ball, but from where I was sitting I'm pretty sure he wasn't offside. Was it whoever tapped the ball in at the far post as Cassie's shot was going wide? Mind you, WC had their chances, too: Kess had to make at least 3 very good saves, including one where he had to scamper from blocking a shot near his left-hand post right across his goal to save the follow-up at his right-hand post. For once TB made his substitutions early - after about 55-60 minutes - bringing Ryno on for Haffie and Briggsie for Bruce, but the switches didn't really work. To my mind Briggsie was, unusually for him, virtually anonymous, while Ryno, for his part, despite looking more dangerous than Haffie, was back to his old frustrating ways - starting wide left but soon switching to the right, and firing in too many crosses too close to the GK (they were probably meant to be shots, knowing Ryno) . Give the guys their due, though: as the clock was winding down, they still kept on trying to play football without the big hoof upfield. But at the end of the day, Jay and Cassie just didn't "click", either individually or as a pair. Overall, despite the disappointment of seeing our play-off hopes dwindling further (I think somebody has just posted that it is not yet mathematically impossible), I think that, overall, a draw was a fair result. MOTM for me has got to be Eddie Mac: what a powerhouse and inspiring performance from him today - pity it didn't earn the reward it deserved.
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10 (26.3%)
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Topic: Walton Casuals home - 21st April 2007 (Read 11216 times)