HUMILIATED

Subs

• Twist for Askey
• Evans for Abbott
• Glover for Abbey

Not Used

• Powell
• Barnes

This will be my last depressing match report of the season 2003/04. With any luck next season will allow us to enjoy more of those delightful winning ones that I wrote. (Seems ages ago doesn’t it).

Ok, the warm up…. Once again we had all 16 to choose from which is nice but very difficult as 2 lads cannot play. The lads were in high spirits and after a long season they seemed prepared to go out with a bang.

I had a little chat with the boys and just thanked them for all their efforts in training and on match days this season. The only changes to be made were Dean and Niall were back in the side at the expense of CJ and Dan.

Ok well that’s the nice bit done. The game kicked off and we had lost it before long. I remember being 2-0 down inside 4 minutes, which is never ideal. Highgate are a good team who will win our division and I more than expect them to do well in the Premier league next season. Whether they were 10 goals better than us though I would severely doubt.

I saw 3 noticeable differences in the two teams.

1). Highgate were playing for something (winning the league), our lads stopped playing the minute they walked off the pitch having beaten Castlehurst. We have too many people who only play when they think they really have to.

2). Highgate had a self belief. Winning breeds confidence and they have plenty of it. We tend to go a goal behind and give up there and then.

3). And the most disappointing one of all. Highgate’s players played in the positions they were asked to, and followed the instructions they were given. We had central defenders standing nowhere near the forwards. Fullbacks who marking the centre forwards. Wingers who were having to do the full backs jobs and two central midfielders who were left to cover about 70 yards of pitch with no other Ravens players insight as our forwards thought they would stand and enjoy the goal glut from the half way line.

Something that we need to learn very quickly is that if only 1 person isn’t doing their job then that will have a domino effect on everybody else around them. Too many players want to do their own thing.

From what I can remember there were about 7 goals lobbed over Ryan and Dan. I remember Ryan lost one that the forward poked in and the others were good goals scored by a very good team.

Ok, Positives. Michael had a decent 1^st half and is heading the ball more and more. Sonny was lively when he had the ball at his feet and Robert worked his socks off as usual. Lewis came on and did in half an hour what everybody seemed unable to do all game. He tackled hard, he passed the ball simply to other Ravens players and he tried to organise other people around him. 3 simple things that if we can get 11 players doing at the same time we will be a lot better off for. I am struggling to come up with anymore at the moment.

The season is over for us and we should finish somewhere just below mid table. Not bad considering where we were at one point, but, not good when I think of how many points we have thrown away.

Role on next season, there is a lot of work to be done.

Steve