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I'm not falling into the trap of thinking that Wimbledon are one of the worst sides in the division therefore a draw at home is disappointing. I don't think anyone on their right mind would think this. Ultimately we came from a late goal down to draw 1-1, we have a point and we have a goal. We should be very happy at this and it is something to build from. I see there were a few hammerings around the leagues today and it just goes to show that nothing is certain in football and a home draw against Wimbledon could turn out to be very valuable indeed, especially when you consider we have a fledgling side.

So all in all I am extremely pleased at the start we've made and can't wait to hear from the people who attended today. I'm looking forward very much to Morecambe next Saturday although i'm working on trying to get to Swindon on Tuesday. A big pat on the back for Knill, Brassy and the lads today.

Not long got in, bit of a scrappy start but that's more or less to be expected. Rice made a few really good saves so probably deserves MOTM, although I'd have gone for Downes myself. Of the new boys I was most impressed with Tonge, Harding and Pearce had decent games but Cameron needs to get stuck in a bit more. Jury's out on Ball and didn't really see enough of Hawley. Draw was a fair result, I think Wimbledon started off the better team but over the whole game both were pretty balanced.

Cheers Jase

brucie wrote:Luckily Rice will never play twenty games so we will never know. The result tomorrow could very much determine who wins the match. Personally I would prefer Poke playing on one leg to Rice.

Hmmm, I think we all guessed that Brucie. The same as saying there will be a result for us tomorow/

i think as long as we take the positives from the result then we can be pretty happy really, the 1st day is always nervy and besides could be worse! we could be pompy!

Rice was actually really good today. A couple of nervy moments in the first half but he grew into the game. Couldn't do much for the goal thanks to a big deflection.

Wombles looked alright, they packed the midfield which, against our invisible middle-two, saw them attack a lot more than us. A bit of a concern for me as we were getting attacked alot down the middle. A few comments for me...;

Rice - good. No major problems today.
Tonge - Looked solid enough. Likes to get the ball down.
Pearce - OK for his first start with the lads. Needs bedding in time though.
Downes - Solid as ever.
Nicho - Very meh. Can see Cruise being in his place soon to be honest.
Cameron - Did alright on the ball. There were a couple of hesitant times when he should have challenged but that'll come with experience.
Harding - Did okay.
Manse - as above. These two didn't see a lot of the ball.
Bodin - fancy footwork but little end product. Looks like he's picked up where he left off.
Ball - okay. fairly good in the air. Could be a great addition.
Benyon - struggled against the big defenders.

Chapell - exciting when he came on.
Thompson - set up the equaliser and looked more composed on the ball than before.

All in all, theres obviously work to be done, but its better than starting with a defeat!

Roll on Tuesday.

Cheers for that Nick, interesting reading.

Oh and by the way, what does 'meh' mean? I've seen it a few times now and have got no idea. Is it a Devon thing or just modern yoof terminology?

Happy with the result today, especially after conceding a late goal. I wasn't entirely sure if their goal was deflected, but I don't think ricey had much chance. Rice definitely does deserve credit for this match, made quite a few decent saves, one in the first half which he managed to tip round the post from about 6 yards, he also was always there to clear up the long balls. His distribution was also good and he has a very good kick on him, however he doesn't seem to like playing it short when it's on.

Pearce also had a decent game, all action committing himself to everything and winning most of his headers and some very important challenges. Downes as expected was great, again showing his scoring ability as well. Tonge and Nico were decent enough, a few wayward long passes, but on the whole decent performances.

Cameron had a bright spell in the first half where he looked really dangerous, definitely has ability to beat his man down the line, however he faded a little in the second half, probably because he was tired and so was subbed off. Bodin, very much like last season, quite an average performance, but with glimpses of skill and quality, however he was quite good defensively and won a fair few headers from long balls.

Mansell and Harding, as expected decent performances, some good passing spells, but a lot of scrappy play in the midfield in this game, with not too much happening on the deck.

Benyon had a quite decent performance, seems to have gained a bit of pace since the end of last season and was able to run in behind defenders more effectively, however he didn't have great supply and a lot of the time was expected to win headers against people 5-6 inches taller than him.
I think Ball played well, similar to Benyon, he didn't have great supply, but was able to use his height to his advantage and bring the ball down and win flick ons. He also seemed quite fast and strong and so was able to run at the defenders if he got space to turn. In the second half he flashed a shot from outside the box narrowly wide. Given a couple of games I think he will improve and start scoring.

Chapell wasn't really on long enough to judge, but he did have one shot from the wing which was quite close.

Thompson brought on 5 minutes from the end in a makeshift attacking right back role, put in two decent crosses, one which Downes scored from, however I wasn't too comfortable holding on to the draw with him playing in the unfamiliar position.

EDIT: Hawley was average, needs games as expected but could be very good when match fit

On the whole very happy with the performance and not too lose on the opening day, can't really judge the team as a a whole and how we will do this season, because it's too early days, at least it should be more exciting than last season!

AustrianAndyGull wrote:Oh and by the way, what does 'meh' mean? I've seen it a few times now and have got no idea. Is it a Devon thing or just modern yoof terminology?

It means very average - dull, basically. Don't think it's specific to Devon though!

It's modern internetisms. If you say the word out loud to yourself, you'll probably figure it out. Used in a sentence like, "Billy Bodin was a bit... meh". He was average and didn't do anything exciting.

Rice was really good today - looked safe and composed
Tonge okay - thought he got exposed a couple of times
Pearce - liked a lot but reckon there's the potential for some Aggreyesque gaffes there
Cameron - if more assertive could be dynamite
Chappell - promising
Harding - solid
Ball - reminded me of a more mobile Duane Darby - seemed to fade but robust
Hawley (Karl Hawley , Hawley, Hawley Hawley) will need games on todays evidence, but who wouldn't
Edgey today , but potential is there - Wimbledon are a big, big side and will be competitive based on todays showing

Kernowgull wrote:Full time. Commo reckon fair scoreline, although Rice MOTM!!! Be interesting to see what those there think.

Rice was very good, indeed. A very different, much more composed and confident player than I've seen previously.

Agree with the majority of what Nick said. Although I thought Cameron had a better game that comments on here would suggest. He ran at defenders and he wasn't that bad at tracking back. Him and Tonge looked fine - the problem side was on the left as Bodin and Nico were poor. In my opinion, both Cruise and Chappell have to start next time out. Ball was good but due to our lack of possession and poor crossing, neither he nor Benyon got much service. Harding was ok, so was Manse but they had their work cut out in the middle. Tonge was good, as was Pearce. The standouts were Downes and Rice. Downes for being an absolute rock at the back, and Rice for a couple of good saves - most notably the one where he dived across his goal in the first half when the forward looked to have an easy tap in. Hawley looked a bit off the pace and I'd hope with a bit more match practice he'd turn into a good signing. Thompson, although not on for long, was promising. A bit more composed and less hot headed than his brief spells last year. There's definitely a pro footballer in there. His cross for the goal was also very good.

All in all, ok. Decent in spells, a few things to be sorted out but we'll play much worse teams than Wimbledon this year.

we could try to claim meh as a devon saying hahaha