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Post by Amber Aleman on Sept 16, 2023 21:32:46 GMT
We were the better side for the first 40 minutes, but had nothing to show for it. Then they got the penalty, and from that point on it was the weakness in defence rather than attack that cost us.
With more discipline, we could have got a point from this match. Instead, it was our seventh consecutive league defeat. And by the way, we're now propping up the table.
Nine goals conceded in two games tells you that something is badly amiss.
It seems to me that the team has three problems.
1. As mentioned by Matt, some of the experienced players recruited in the summer didn't have much (or any) of a pre-season and so have been lacking match fitness. Fair enough, but this explanation is starting to wear a little thin.
2. We've been missing Craig Eastmond. A team should never depend heavily on any single player, but we certainly missed his midfield interceptions at the end of last season, and it seems we have again during the last few matches.
3. Most importantly, our defence has been suffering a collective meltdown since April. Some of these players have slumped more than others, but none is at the same level as last winter. During February and March last season, the team kept six clean sheets in league matches. Since then, they've kept none.
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Post by Del on Sept 17, 2023 11:38:30 GMT
Not a good situation for Matt or the players but still September so no need to go into panic mode yet like some appear to.
Points i noticed at Accrington were the tendency to kick the ball from the back towards Smith but most of the time he is either double marked or getting a nudge in the back so we need to vary this .The time we did score the ball was played along the deck . Didn't see that first goal as a penalty but as Matt says the first goal is all important at this level. If we were comfortably mid table losing a match at Accrington wouldn't be such a big deal but all these matches take on a higher significance at present. Got to say That Accrington had a very decent ground for their support and a fabulous bar area for pre match drinks.
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