Northampton Town v Torquay United - 29/3/13

[OllieGull]

I really hope this appalling refereeing display doesn't mean too much come the end of the season.

[oxgull]

Feel a bit gutted even though I thought we might fall before hand. Worth a point in anyone's book but we are still fighting!! Keep the faith!!!!!

[Wisconsin_gull]

Outrageous - in the home kit!
The bloke's a c*ck

[Wisconsin_gull]

Shame not to get something tonight against one of the top teams in the league
Looks like we competed well and but for the man with the whistle may have had a point
Need to see the Gullplayer later
Keeping things interesting for the run in - feel ok with AK at the helm, we will be ok (just)

[Kernowgull]

bad day for us...had we won...would have been 15th..instead we are in trouble again..

Although obviously we cannot be complacent, I dont feel we're in too much trouble. Didnt see us winning this, a I cant see either York or Aldershot getting 6 points more than us over 5 games

[SteveDeckchair]

Why not? We did....

[Dave_Pougher]

Witht the greatest of respect, get over it Alan and move on. You and the team performed tonight with that ref we we'nt going to get anything. Theres an air of confidence that hasn't been around, after a defeat!, for a very long time so carry doing on what your doing mate, we're more than happy right now.

[Trojan 67]

Why are we not surprised at the superb standard of League 2 referees?

It is because of where they come from.

Aye, the Premier :

THE BLUE SQUARE PREMIER

That cahunt tonight needs to be banned from refereeing.

[tufc si]

More than worthy of a point tonight but the ref saw that, what a cock!! Rene's goal was about a mile offside. Benners should have had a stone wall pen and was very unlucky not to snatch a point at the end. Seen enough from us recently to know we WON'T be going down.

Thats it from me as my fingers are pretty much blocks of ice, that was flipping FREEZING!!

[miltonkeynesgull]

Just back after a marathon 20 mile journey home, and what an absolutely herculean effort from the boys tonight. Could not have asked for any more.

Northampton were a very physical, very ugly but pretty effective side. We were under the cosh for the first 25/30 minutes or so, with the Cobblers looking like scoring every time they came forward. It wasn't pretty - they bombed long throws and deep, high balls into the box at every opportunity - but they were threatening. Only a little luck and some wasteful finishing kept the score at 0-0. Platt looked very dangerous, and Angus really struggled if I'm honest. He consistently ended up on the wrong side of him and couldn't compete physically.

We looked dangerous on the counter, though, and strung a few nice moves together, and we grew in confidence as the half went on. Benyon's good work down the left and subsequent cross was very nearly turned in by Jarvis at the back post, and Jarvis followed that up shortly afterwards with a brilliant 20 yard run and fizzing shot which went narrowly wide.

Bayo was brought on at half time, which for me actually weakened the Cobblers. They were pretty poor in the second half and I think we actually had the better of the chances, with a couple of strong penalty shouts which I'd like to see again. Bayo did actually have the ball in the back of the net not long after, having been allowed a free header, but it was ruled out for offside. At the other end, more good work from Benyon and a teasing cross found Bodin at the far post, who headed just wide with the goal gaping.

A late goal seemed inevitable, and so it came in the 85th minute when Nicho was turned and beaten for pace (no surprise there), and the cross was headed in by the otherwise very poor O'Donovan. It was harsh, but certainly didn't dampen the spirit of the side, as we fashioned out a few more excellent chances. Rene fired across the goal and just wide of the far post, before Benyon put one straight at the keeper when clean through. Labadie then had a header off the line, before his shot from the edge of the area was cheekily deflected in by Rene. Unfortunately the flag was up.

So, rather annoyingly, we came away with nothing when we deserved at least a point. Northampton had more possession, and shots I'd imagine, but I still think we actually had the clearer chances. Important that we don't lose momentum now, and put it right on Monday. Play like that, and we'll win. Looking forward to being at Plainmoor for that one.

RATINGS:
Poke - 8 - made some crucial saves. No chance for the goal.
Oastler - 6 - solid. Did nothing wrong.
Angus - 5 - Very shaky. Struggled to compete physically, and consistently caught out by the high ball.
Saah - 7 - Solid. Kept Bayo quiet when he came on.
Nicho - 6 - Didn't have much to do, but crucially caught short for their goal. Cruise back on Monday please.
Chapell - 6 - Quiet. Tidy in possession but didn't see much of it.
Manse - 6 - Poor distribution but leadership was back to the old Manse. Looks up for the battle.
Labadie - 7 - First time I've seen him, and really impressed. Quality on the ball, and always does the right thing.
Jarvis - 8 - Best I've seen him play. Took the game to Northampton, and posed a real threat. Excellent.
Benyon - 9 - My MOTM. Never stopped running, constant menace, competed in the air, and a real threat.
Howe - 6 - Very subdued. Marked out of the game.

REF - Crap. Inconsistent, missed a few clear pens and could easily have sent off the Cobblers play for a really late challenge on Benyon but bottled it.

[ferrarilover]

Witht the greatest of respect, get over it Alan and move on. You and the team performed tonight with that ref we we'nt going to get anything. Theres an air of confidence that hasn't been around, after a defeat!, for a very long time so carry doing on what your doing mate, we're more than happy right now.

This is a response to Knilly Allen's post-match comments? Brief summary for those who missed it?

Matt.

[Gullscorer]

We are not the only club to suffer the weird decisions of referee Darren Sheldrake. Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Colchester, and probably others, have all been dissatisfied (to say the least) with his performances as referee in the recent past..

[cambgull]

Just got back from the game. Have to say, I was fairly impressed with us today, but we definitely have some weak links in this team though. As for Northampton, they were a very well drilled side who spent the entire game making niggling challenges all over the pitch. I wouldn't say they were a dirty team, just physical. I don't think they will be good enough to stay up in League One, although a couple decent signings and they could be.

In the first half, we tried playing the long ball and it wasn't really working, it played into the hands of their defence who were strong throughout. I thought Benyon coped with it relatively well for a small guy, who although got knocked off the ball quite a few times, did manage to take down some long balls and control them. Howe often got his head to the long balls but there was almost never anyone in the right position for his flick ons apart from Benyon on one or two occasions. Northampton had the upper hand in the first 20-30 minutes and Roy O'Donovan upfront for them was a constant danger, although I don't remember much link up play between their two strikers, so they didn't create as many chances as the play suggested they should. I thought our defensive pairing looked pretty shaky. Saah had a poor first half and just could not cope with his opponent. Constant mistakes meant that MacDonald and Oastler were often having to cover for him. MacDonald was also having problems with his opposite and just could not cope physically and could've easily conceded a penalty within the first few minutes when he held back the Northampton striker which allowed Poke to collect a through ball that he would've been beaten to. Oastler was okay, although due to having to cover Saah, was often leaving the right side unguarded several times. Nico was fairly solid, but his passing was really quite terrible. I may have missed some, but I only saw him make 3 short passes in the entire game, every other time it was just hoofed up the line, towards Howe or out of the stadium.

As the half drew on, we started to sort some faults out and we perhaps edged it by the half time break, creating a couple chances through Benyon who worked hard all evening.

In the second half, the referee started having a massive impact on the game. I went to the game with a friend who is a Peterborough fan and has refereed at a lower level and did highlight quite a few mistakes that I wouldn't have noticed due to rose tinted specs. He really was utterly atrocious to both sides. I'd say we deserved 3 of our 4 bookings, but Northampton should have had far more, but ironically, not one of the two they eventually did get. He showed no consistency at any point, and would book us for an offence Northampton would commit a minute or two later and not get booked for. Benyon showed some good strength for his booking though, wrestling a well over 6 foot player and throwing him to the ground for pretty much no reason. A moment of frustration which tainted a very good performance from the little man.

Due to the referee's terrible ability to control the game, it started getting quite fiery and we had a penalty shout turned down which I somehow missed. I think I was zoning out at the time after the guy in front of me started whinging about something which was the least of our problems at the time. The same guy who got fed up with anyone saying anything bad about one of our players then proceeded to slag off Saah for about 10 minutes.

As for their disallowed goal, it was right up the other end of the pitch so I couldn't judge whether it was offside or not, but the only areas of the ground who didn't celebrate fully were the ones in line with the action, so I'd suggest it was the right decision. As for our disallowed goal, I'm really not sure either. I thought that whichever player scored had run from well inside the box but my mate thought it was someone who was hanging on the last man. I can't actually remember it very well, but the flick to put it in the net was fantastic. A moment of class, deserving of a goal.

Other than a Benyon chance where he managed to get a toe-end on the ball under pressure from the defender and goalkeeper, I felt we didn't test the keeper enough and too many shots were scuffed. Their keeper will certainly have had more difficult days.

Generally though, we played some good football and looked decent going forward when we started stringing passes together. I'm also glad we didn't fall apart when we fell behind, but if anything, made more effort to get the ball on the ground and pass to each other, rather than lump it up to Howe. If we had been playing the flowing passing moves early on, it would've been a very different game and we could be easily talking of a comfortable win at the moment. Instead, we suffer a 1-0 loss which considering their manager said a 0-0 draw would've been a fair result sums up our luck somewhat.

My ratings for the team:-

Poke - 8 - Don't think he put a foot wrong all game. I'd like to see him communicate a bit better though, I think that's where Olejnik's quality shone through.

Oastler - 7 - Was decent and they didn't get much down our right hand side, apart from once or twice when Joe was pulled out of position covering for a Saah muck up.
Saah - 6 - He would've had a 5 but he gained an extra point as he controlled Bayo well in the second half. In the first 45 though, I thought he was very poor.
MacDonald - 7 - Made some mistakes and was out muscled on several occasions. That said, he covered for Saah well and was not afraid of throwing himself about. A bit of time in a gym and some strength training and we could have a really good prospect.
Nico - 5 - Perhaps I'm being harsh on him, but his passing is awful, he was often beaten by their right winger and both their disallowed goal and the one that stood came from crosses on his side. I just don't think he's good enough any more.

Jarvis - 8 - Worked hard and seemed quite dangerous when he cut inside. If he had the eye for a through ball, he could be a very dangerous player indeed. For all I read about him not being quick enough as a winger, based on tonight, I'd say that was harsh.
Chappell - 7 - Often swapped wings with Jarvis and was decent, but I felt he would start trying to run past his full back from too far away. Seemed to be better cutting in from the right, which is a shame as so was Jarvis. Unfortunately, we can't have both on the same wing!
Labadie - 8 - Only had defence to worry about in the first half, as we kept playing hoof ball. In the second half though, he was definitely the starting point to a lot of attacks. Hard working and does the basics very well.
Mansell - 7 - Same as Labadie, he worked hard and was passing was decent too tonight.

Howe - 7 - Worked relatively hard but didn't really look like scoring. Linked up play between the midfield and Benyon well and did create a few chances with his flick ons and through balls. If he and Benyon can create and understanding between each other, they could be very dangerous.
Benyon - 9 - Probably my MOTM, worked very hard and I rarely saw him stop running. He really seemed to want a goal today with a bit more confidence, he could have put away one of his half-chances. A goal would've gotten him a 10.

All in all, I'm confident we won't be going down this year.

[Dutchgull]

I can only comment on what I heard on Radio Devon but when City supporter Alan Richardson gets vocal in having a go at how CRAP that excuse of a referee was I get really worried and wonder if there is some kind of hidden agenda or if some referees get some kind of "extra" payment from the home club ???? WTF is really going on ??

On those type of "performances" from supposedly unbiased officials clubs could get relegated ....

[bixieupnorth]

no report from our austrian correspondent?? was he too angry to file his copy??
having been out drinking and not heard a thing except a very late goal and a look at this thread that seems to indicate yet more dodgy officialdom?? surely we need a national referendum into the standard of refereeing in the 4th division??
night all!!