A WAKE UP CALL

Subs

• Stanley  for Cardall

• McLaughlin for M. Barber

• Evans for Askey

Not used : M Doyle

Well I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to write a report like this one.  I was really disappointed with not only how we played, but just the general attitude toward the defeat and the lack of disappointment.  It was a great chance for us to progress to the quarter finals where we would have come against a real team.  And that is the challenge I wanted.  I didn’t expect us to win the cup but I wanted a shot at one of the big boys, just to see how we are doing in the bigger scheme of things.

Anyway....  to the game.  Scott is back from injury and for the 1st time this season all 15 were available to me.  Which gives us a slight problem in the sense that 1 lad wont play.  Still, we’d have that than end up with 9 or 10.  We have good competition for places.  It’s nice for me to turn round and see a good calibre of player on the subs bench who can go on and make an impact.

Our performance lacked everything that has been good about us.  Sporting Celts would struggle in our league and most of the teams we have beat recently would give them a good hiding.  I didn’t see anybody in their side that I would want in our squad.

The goals we let in were awful.  A poor goal kick was sent straight back over Ryan's head 1-0.  The 2nd goal was a lad running straight through 5 or 6 poor and weak tackles before prodding into the net 2-0.  And their 3rd was a result of giving a free kick away in a bad area of the pitch..

Our goals, well Graham raced onto a through ball from Henry and smashed the ball into the net.  And Phil emulated their 1st goal by smashing a weak kick out, back over the keeper.

We have set a high standard in recent weeks, which we shouldn’t be dropping below.  Today we never passed a ball. Defenders wouldn’t head it and tackling was weak. Our midfield was non-existent.  In recent weeks we have won the bulk of the tackles and our midfield has been a driving force in defence and attack.  I thought other than CJ it was the rest of the midfields worst display.

Paul gave a battling display and was one of our better players but Graham never really got going.

In summary.  I felt we had an air of cockiness about us.  As if we were too good to be out there.  The passion and desire that we need had gone.  There was no attempt to play football and everybody was waiting on somebody else to go and win us the game.  You cannot hide from the ball in football and too many of our players didn’t want to know.  I’m hoping this was a one off as if we play like that against Hanbury next week it could be an embarrassing score line.

Remember all the things we have been doing right in the past months and that hard work isn’t a sometime thing, it’s an all the time thing.  We art much better than we were today.  Back to the league next week, and back to winning ways.

 Steve