Tonight's Game!

[os]

We fell for it didn't we, first 30mins a bit of a swagger after Saturday cost us the game and by the time we woke up it proved too late. We were still by far the better side on the night just about every match stat was in our favour except the goal count, we gave them a 2 goal start still had about 6 or 7 clear chances, hit the post and had one cleared off the line and Watts score a penalty. Tooting just lofted the ball at us and it paid off with 2 poor goals, KS not his best game for me as certainly the free kick was hit straight through the gap in the wall?

We did not close T&M down and increase our work rate until we conceded the 2nd, it was a very sloppy defeat to what I think was quite a poor side with no other tactic other than just the high ball. If we had not won as we did on Saturday I don't think we would of lost tonight?

Just seen the table with T&M in the playoffs now, if they are a playoff side then this league is sh*t!

[Amber Aleman]

Well, that brought us back down to earth with a bump. This game could hardly have been more different from Saturday's. Wealdstone play a fairly similar style of football to us, which probably helped, but T&M are rather more rugged in their approach. We do tend to struggle against sides like that (Horsham and Canvey come to mind from this season).

There may have been a bit of complacency after Saturday, but I thought we started slowly, conceding free kicks in dangerous areas and with passes going astray. By the time we started putting their defence under any sort of pressure we were 2-0 down. James Norwood was tightly marked and so found this match a lot tougher than the last two. We did create enough chances in open play to come back and win, but, unlike on Saturday, failed to take them. The penalty came too late for us to have much chance of turning things round. The defeat moves T&M above us in the table, so we're now sixth.

Our home form this season has been weirdly inconsistent. Either we win at a canter (Margate in the league, Hornchurch, Uxbridge, Wealdstone), or we really struggle to impose ourselves (all the others). A few solid but unspectacular 2-0 victories wouldn't go amiss.

[medibot]

The opinion of the toots fans in the bar afterwards was that their first was actually miles offside (enjoy the stroke of luck tooting!) which explained why their bloke had so much space to score the opener and that our finishing was shite which certainly went some way to explaining why we didn't get a result.

We did hit the post and have one cleared off the line but we scored our first goal too late to have the sustained bout of pressure that might have recovered a point for us.

Judging by the awkward and apologetic manner in the bar afterwards most members of the squad were clearly embarrassed about the performance tonight and rightly so but hopefully it will be that embarrassment and their reaction to such an unpleasant experience that picks us straight up and out this self inflicted downer.

We need to work out how to beat the hard working "never give up" sides like Tooting etc (i am not belittling that approach btw, it is merely different to how we've set out to play this season) who probably don't match us for individual talent but still beat us because we play the game into their hands.

[taz]

I've heard of "after the lord mayors show" but tonight really was taking the piss.

After that performance it looked like we not only blagged our way into the after show party but subsequently accompanied his lordship to a 24hr strip club with free bar.

Fair play to Toots. The latest side to outfight & outgraft us this season. And on that evidence, they're not going to be the last. Not by a long way.

Absolute rubbish.

[os]

Dec 2, 2009 0:22:59 GMT taz said:

Fair play to Toots. The latest side to outfight & outgraft us this season. And on that evidence, they're not going to be the last. Not by a long way.

Absolute rubbish.

No question of that they got the goals and fought like Trojans to keep it, my sour grapes towards the game is pointed at us rather than them TBH.

But I don't think we were rubbish just a little lazy in the that first 30mins.

[ab]

One or two unduly harsh observations above IMO.

It was as frustrating as Saturday was thrilling, but credit has to go to a strong Tooting defensive display especially in the 2nd half. Give a side like that a two goal start - something really tangible to hold on to - and it is always going to be difficult.

That said; I lost count of the number of corners we forced, we hit the post, had most of the possession and spurned several very presentable chances.

You cannot fault the effort or commitment or quibble at the number of opportunities we created. Last night we just didn't convert them.

That's football. Onward and upward. We still have 78 points left to play for. On to Hornchurch.

[newsuttonfan09]

Very frustrated watching that.

Its the simple case that against a poor wealdstone team everyone can play well, against a physical, well drilled tooting team too many of the STAR players drift out of the game. I lost count how many times dp gave the ball away, eventually he just drifted out of the game. For perkins to giv that free kick away on the edge of the box was ridiculous, much prefer KES.

So frustrating that we cant win games like this, so many games we've lost when we should have won.

On a positive note, million times better in the second half. Hopefully play like we did in the second half for the full game against Hornchurch.

[Stewart]

Let's be honest. We are not as good as we like to think we are

[dof]

Not at the game yesterday so cannot comment on how well or badly we played, but this result was always on the cards. After Saturdays euphoric win when we played well (from some of the comments you would have thought we had won the league!!! or the world cup ) but it was a league game worth 3 points, just like last night. There is no doubt about it Sutton have a better than average squad in this league, but unless we play to our full potential in every game, it will all count for nothing. Lets hope we can put together a string of results together starting this saturday!! Can't wait to get out of this league......but we have no devine right to promotion, it has to be earned.

[Burtie]

The thing that seemed apparent to me was that as soon as we went a goal behind, the belief seemed to drain from the players. Whenever the very best teams go behind, they take it personally - they get really angry. The opposition almost seem frightened to have provoked them. With us, our heads went down, and rather than getting more fired up, we became nervous and gave Toots the belief that they could win it.

It wasn't until the last 25 minutes that we got our confidence back enough to believe that we could get a goal back - and by then we had too much to do.

Just as Saturday's win didn't make us the best team in the league, nor does this make us the worst. Let's just make sure we take the sting of defeat into our next game.

[filbert]

I cannot add much more to the comments above. Tooting were always going to play like that as they always are well drilled and physical (a typical Billy Smith side). I wouldn't like to watch them too often - twice, this year three times, a season is far too many. However they stopped both our full backs attacking, had two players marking any wide runs we had and were sharper in mid field. The first goal was so blatantly offside that the lino should be embarassed but we still should have cleared the danger and giving away a free kick just outside the box when they have their own Alan Pouton aka Simon Parker was stupid but we did that all night. At least we gave it a good go in the second half and on another day we may have scored three (in a game on Saturday one team scored three on 90 minutes!!). Going 4-2-4 at the end was a gamble that nearly paid off. However over the 90 minutes we deserved what we got. If only you got half a goal per corner !! Over to you Sepp Blatter. I thought the ref had a poor game at times and when he whistled too early with Matt Hann in acres of space to run into the box that summed our evening up. The bookings were a little uneven although the sending off at the end helped redress the balance. One interesting fact is that we have won ALL our Saturday away league games this season. Bring on AFC I say.

[holmes]

Two things I would like to say about last night's 'performance'.

Firstly, while Saturday highlighted the potential within the squad, last night showed our limitations. Pouts and McKimm were running on empty, as I think Jason was at the end. We lacked the pace in the middle to retain posession and gave away to many sloppy, moronic fouls in the first half. Alan Payne said after the game that Sonny was 'not avaiable' for that game (reason ). We must have more competant cover in this area as Pouts and McKimm, great players that they are, can not play Saturday and Tuesday.

Secondly, we seem to have a a problem mentally when we go behind. Last season's side, for all their lack of pace, had a fighting spirit that kept them in the game right to the end. Going a goal down did not seem to significantly change their approach to the game. This side panic and lose their way, the shape wobbles and the artillary batteries open up. This plays into the hands of teams like Tooting. We need to find a backbone and some belief if we are going to challenge for the play-offs.

[os]

Where was CT last night he has had a lot to do with our recent movement and I think we missed him?

[frakey]

Blimey, we weren't that bad last night. Give T&M some credit. They have two good forwards in Parker & Vines, worked bloody hard in midfield and defended dogedly - I have to say that Dean Hamlin was arguably their MOM.

Yep, we started slowly conceded a controversial first goal & got done by a free-kick that was stupidly given away. 2-0 down is a mountain to climb but with a little more composure in front of goal we may have managed that.

My main problem is the inabilty of the team to perform at its best in midweek (only win was at Hastings & lost all the rest).

One good thing was how the pitch reacted to being played on after the recent deluge. The two attacking left flanks weren't great, probably hampering JN's progress to a degree (but Hamlin's efforts were the main cause) but the rest didn't cut up as much as it has in the past. I have been critical of the ground staff in the past but well done to them for preparing a half decent surface in the circumstances.

Another toughy on Saturday at a ground we have not won on since the early 1960's.

[Andy K]

Hmm what can I add. First half an hour was poor to say the least - we are a good side but didn't adapt to Tootings style of play. 2nd half was an improvement, and actually the last 10 mins I thought we could snatch a draw, but was not to be. The thing that got me was the number of balls we played either to no one or to one of their players.