City v St.Albans

Rigg and Mann start.

Ok JG bit of inspiration for the run in please.

Inspiration in short supply today unfortunately. Facing a team who worked hard, defended doggedly, and had a keeper in good form we huffed and puffed but never really clicked into top gear. St. Albans scored from every on-target effort, and while flattered by the scoreline, showed they are genuine contenders for a play-off spot themselves. A major improvement needed next week against a team who will be battling for their NLS lives and, unlike us, have won three of their last five games..

Agree totally and we had no luck today .We miss Ryan Brunt up front or a quality striker .We haven’t had many games like this one but what a great season so far .I am sure we will come back from this next weekend and will be in the play offs as we deserve to be .

I'm afraid they do not look like a team of winners. They look like players that are happy to knock the ball around but not go that extra yard to fight for the result. 
How we miss Frankie.
The only chance we have is if he gets fit. 
A lot of people think it is a lack of strikers but we have been without a proper strike force all season.
Sol Pryce looked one helluva player for five minutes in his first game. Since then he has done nothing. Tom Smith is going through the motions. Mann is not match fit of course and nothing went right for Watto today.

First 10 minutes I didn't see that result coming. St Albans were workmanlike but didn't offer much to be honest. We didn't have much luck in front of goal today but I still think if we had scored first we would have gone on to win the game quite comfortably. As the game wore on the crowd became more subdued and there was a sense it wasn't to be our day. The problem is we don't have the plan B that Brunt gives us when he is available. Some great football at times today but it does allow teams to get behind the ball and make things very congested when we have to play catch up. I am sure we will get back to winning ways against Hungerford and we are still in a great position.

Hopefully Brunty will be back next week. I wouldn't start him but he is a great option to rough defenders up that are getting too comfortable.

I don't really like Amankwaah at right back. I would rather see him at cente half. He slows the ball up going forward down the right. We would be better with Joe at R back and Watto in front of him.

Agree totally with Sirkevs post.  Looked like we were going to win until they scored and although we knocked the ball around well enough there was no cutting edge.  Our keeper at fault for their second, he should have claimed the cross and was in no mans land.
Not surprised Morton was City MOM as he does play some great passes.  Smith looks like he is considering a career change.

What, apparently, Danny Baker called the Roman derby. If someone had asked how we had played straight after the game, I would have said **** but, to be fair, first half, we could have been 3-0 up at one point but for a great double save from their keeper and some clearances off the line. We were certainly the better side. However, there were no two ways about it, we didn't and haven't been taking our chances. To paraphrase a wag on the terraces, "We'd pass if we had a penalty". We play good patient football in the build-up but without a recognised striker to put it in the net, it just looks diffident. No offence to the players we played today but no way are any of them first team strikers and that has been our issue all season. We have got a good defence - usually - but we haven't got a 20+ a season striker - the players we signed thinking they are, aren't. Our top scorer, Ross, has 12 and doesn't start anywhere near regularly. We haven't won in 5 games, this was our heaviest home defeat of the season by a team sneaking into the play-offs. As it goes, in this league, we aren't the worst in form side with Woking being on an equally horrendous run and Dartford just dropped out of the players with a bad run while Billericay, with all their issues, have just brought a winless streak to an end this week. However, we don't want to drop any more points otherwise we will drop down the play-offs making it an extra game we have to play or even out of them together which would be terribly unfair on the team and supporters. Obviously, as we all know, football isn't fair.

The key for me now is to make sure we hang on to 5th place. 3rd and 4th are gone now so we will at best case be in that quarter final round - important to get that Wednesday night game at TP

I think most it been said already - it was not a 0 -3 and St Albans rode their luck at times but we have no one with a killer instinct in front of goal. In his post match interview the manager alluded to this when he said he was not happy that when we did get balls into the box it was more often than not that it was a St Albans head or boot that got there first.
Missed chances has been a season long problem and I would think we must have created more than any other team in this division but the conversion rate is abysmal.
Obviously the thinking behind signing Mills was that he would be the goal scorer but he never looked the part right from the start. If Brunt comes back it will be a help as at least he unsettles defenders but after a promising first part to the season his injury problems seem to have returned and appearances have been more limited.
The play offs are still there for the taking but would be able to make the step up? Both Braintree and Havent are coming straight back down - predictable with Braintree but I thought Havent looked equipped enough to at least stay up one season.

Ashley wrote:The key for me now is to make sure we hang on to 5th place. 3rd and 4th are gone now so we will at best case be in that quarter final round - important to get that Wednesday night game at TP

Agreed and that final match at Billericay is looking increasingly likely to be a mini play off for that 5th place and possibly who hosts the other on the following Wednesday! We don't want to be going there twice in five days!

We need to avoid having to go there for a win and the goal difference of 10 in our favour is unlikely to be overturned over Easter. Six points against Hungerford and Oxford and the most we'd need is a point. It's in our own hands and it would be great to host at least one play off at TP after such an enjoyable season.

On Saturday Ricay host Hemel, who have been on the beach for several weeks, but their trip to Dartford a week today could be tough unless the Darts blow it on Saturday at desperate Eastbourne. (Our free Saturday could be spent watching the scores and table being reshuffled - a win for us and defeat for St Albans on Friday would make it a less tense watch)

Of course St Albans could still reach 5th. A repeat of their performance at TP should be too much for doomed ETU and I predict that their opponents on Monday, Concord, will be out of it after their tough trips to Truro tomorrow and Woking on Saturday. But they host Torquay's promotion party on the last day...

The most important thing about the Billericay game is that we don’t go there needing to get something out of it to finish 7th!

Interesting to hear Jerry in his post match interview effectively saying that we are going to Hungerford to win ‘at all costs’. Three points there would certainly steady a ship that is starting to rock just a little.

Not sure what the difference in approach is between going out to win and going out to win at all costs. Does that mean Jerry will actually resort to long ball if we aren't winning?
Seems conflicted to me.

tovid wrote:Not sure what the difference in approach is between going out to win and going out to win at all costs. Does that mean Jerry will actually resort to long ball if we aren't winning?
Seems conflicted to me.

I think a kitchen sink may be involved!

LB wrote:

tovid wrote:Not sure what the difference in approach is between going out to win and going out to win at all costs. Does that mean Jerry will actually resort to long ball if we aren't winning?
Seems conflicted to me.

I think a kitchen sink may be involved!

Have we re-signed Dwayne Plummer!