It was not pretty but I am sure none of us mind this so long we bag the 3 points.
Had Doncaster shown a bit more confidence with their finishing, they would have absolutely caned us Weaver made a superb save after 30 seconds.
Good noise from the 400 or so who went up.
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Comments
Straight from the kick of Donny attacked and an excellent save from Weaver parried the ball across to the right to a Donny player who was a couple of yards out but a superb blocking tackle by Cranie prevented what looked like a certain goal. Within a minute we took the lead from a Gray header direct from a long free kick which was pumped forward.
Very soon we found ourselves increasingly penned into our own half by a Donny team who played the ball around very neatly. Weaver made a superb tip over from a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area and a number of other saves which he accomplished with excellent handling. We offered very little in attack during this period and couldn't seem to break the stranglehold they had over us.
The second half was much more even with the game opening up. Varney had a couple of chances but failed to hit the target, Sam had a shot which flashed across the goal and Holland surprisingly blazed over from the edge of the box..:o)
Doncaster continued to play neat football and came close on a couple of occasions but Weaver did not have a meaningful save to make in the second half that I can remember. It looked like we might snatch a second to wrap the game up but final balls or shots were misdirected.
Pards brought on Basey for Sam and switched Bouazza to the right for the final 15 minutes or so. In the end, despite some corners, we defended well and really they didn't look like scoring.
It wasn't the best performance but the team worked really hard to grind out an excellent win. The 300 or so Addickted were in good voice for much of the game with many renditions of VFR
My ratings
Weaver - 10 - Excellent, some great saves and didn't mishandle the ball once even though it was very slippery due to the heavy rain
Cranie - 7 - much more assured performance than against Wolves. One goal saving block/tackle right at the start of the game before we scored. Needs to work on getting forward more.
Youga - 7 - typical Youga, some flashes of brilliance, some comical up and unders, getting caught out, making decent challenges - a mixed bag basically
Hudson - 9 - Another towering performance
Fortune - 8 - Good sold display
Holland - 7 - Usual huff and puff. Kept the ball better in the second half
Bailey - 7 - Tireless worker, couple of excellent surging runs, covered a huge amount of ground. Struggled a little to get a grip on thing especially in the first half
Bouazza - 7- Quiet first half, more involved in the second. No real goalscoring chances.
Sam - 6 - Worked hard but didn't make the most of the ball when he got it.
Varney - 7 - Usual hard working performance, sadly unable to convert the few clear cut chances which came his way
Gray - 7 - Good header for the goal. Other than that worked hard but didn't threaten to score again
Sub: Basey - 6 - Didn't get have too much time but linked well with Youga and Holland down the left side
Roll on Forest!!
Special praise must go to Weaver who made a fantastic save in the first half and was safe for the rest of the game and to Hudson who was an absolute rock (Rock Hudson?). Disappointments for me were Youga who gave the ball away at least 4 times in or around the box, Varney who seemed a second out on his timing on runs, tackles, shots and a word of warning to those who are going overboard about Bailey, he was poor and it really affected the way we played. We looked a bit stronger when one of the inneffectual widemen went off and basey came on to form a central midfield trio.
The pitch was difficult being one of those half grass half synthetic pitches and with the fine rain it made it very skiddy which our players found more difficult than theres. Liked very much their central midfielder Coppinger.
All in all a good day out though, nice ground, nice people and a nice result.
And well done to all of you who made the trip.
Steve, were you in the bog then when Sams shot just missed the post, Varney shot just over and just wide, Holland shot over or do you mean 1 attempt on target?
Steve, were you in the bog then when Sams shot just missed the post, Varney shot just over and just wide, Holland shot over or do you mean 1 attempt on target?
I gave Varney credit for his tireless work and he did come close on a couple of occasions. I gave Youga credit, both for the overall defensive work which held out for 89 minutes and also some of his movement forward. Sure it was an erratic display but not overall a poor one.
Unbelievably good tackle by Cranie in the first 30 seconds saved us from what I fear would have been a hammering if they had got their noses in front. I missed our goal as I was walking up to take my seat at the back. Plusses from last night Weaver who discovered he could come of his line for crosses, Hudson who was our MOM in my opinion & Bailey yet again. We defended well & showed spirit which is of course important, but football wise we were hopeless, sorry that's just my opinion though.
Is this what sitting in a car with NSS for a long period of time does to you?
;-)
Cranie 7
Youga 6
Fortune 7
Hudson 8
Sam 7
Holland 6
Bailey 7
Bouazza 6
Varney 6
Gray 7
These were my thoughts.
Overall imo delighted with the result, against a very good passing side. Only if Donny had a striker.
Need to play much better at Forest on saturday, but i would take a few more one nil away win scraps. No good for the ticker though.
Ha Ha not at all, I made a point of not sitting near him first half was standing with our good friend Maddison at the Back who spent the entire First Half shouting BooooAzza. Second half we had a couple of Totties sitting between us. Steve had a little moan after the game but he would if we had won 10-0 so to be expected. :-)
I think we were outplayed in the first half but that was as much down to them playing well as us playing badly because they pushed right up on us and it made it hard for us to find "out" balls. The second half was much more even. I don't remember Weaver actually making a meaniful save in the second half. That said, neither did their keeper but both team created chances which for one reason or another, weren't on target.
in that game they played nice football but never really hurt us in the last third.
If it had been the other way around and we had let in an early goal, had most of the play, lots of corners but not really forced the keeper to do much after the first minute would we be saying "well done Charlton, good play, keep it up" or would we be slating the strikers, the wingers, the CH who let there centre forward get in front of him to head home from 16 yards out, the lack of decent subs, the crowd, the manager, etc etc.
It was a dirty away win. 20 more please Mr Pardew.
Didn't last long did it?...
I couldn't wait for you to move on 300 years
Very lucky to have held out for the win. If they had a half decent striker, we would have lost quite comfortably.
This is not what i want to watch. We was taught a lesson in how to play football (passing).
Thats what all the best teams do.
We taught them a lesson in how to win at football (scoring)
I am sorry, but certainly in the second half you must have been watching a different game to me. How many saves did Weaver make in the second half then? We carved out some decent chances. No it wasn't always easy but we saw much more of the ball in the second half.
Like i said, if they had a half decent striker.
I wasn't happy when we lost to Wolves where we played ok but lost to a better team on the day.
I wasn't happy when we beat Donny 1-0 as they were so much better than us.
I'm not happy when we outplay teams and don't win, as that shows we are not ruthless enough.
I was reasonably happy when we beat Reading, although we really didn't defend well and could easilly have lost.
Summary. I am only happy when we completely outplay teams, score lots of goals and keep a clean sheet without giving the opposition a sniff. Therefore, I am almost never be happy, for I have completely unrealistic expectations.
In my personal life, I am on a low income/benefit, but I "deserve" to go on nice holidays and have nice things, without saving for them. Also, it's my bank's fault that I am now £250,000 in debt on credit cards and that my house - secured on a 850% mortgage - is in danger of repossession. Not that it will be repossessed of course - my legal aid barrister will see to that.
I am a dreamer.