We raced in to a 2-0 lead tonight, playing the kind of attacking, passing football that has been lacking in recent weeks. There's no doubt that we were good value for our 2-0 lead, what can also not be doubted is that we threw it away by letting the oppo pull the game back to 2-2.
Before the match I asked for an improved attitude from everybody, along with a willingness and desire to work for the team, and a strict adherence to playing our passing game. The way we went about tearing CP to shreds tonight was not as a result from my pre-match words, but it was as a result of a collective effort to do better than we have done in our recent losing streak. The credit for our turn around in fortunes tonight doesn't rest with me, but with all of us for showing the kind of fight and ambition that I hope we can start to replicate and even improve on in the coming weeks.
I'm afraid that in the frenetic pace of tonight's game I simply cannot recollect it all. What I can recall however, was my fellow Accies working their proverbial socks off when not in possession, but yet then passing through the oppo almost at will when we did have the ball. It was a joy to behold, and there's no doubt that the buzz in the dressing room following the game reflected that.
Goals tonight were scored by Phil Caldwell, Sam Herbert and Simon Mesner. But tonight's game was far from being all about the goalscorers. There were terrific performances put in all over the pitch, Lee Clifford absolutely dominated his penalty box, Phill Arnold put in another assured performance at both left back and centre back, Phil Caldwell took on the position of right midfield like a duck to water, Sam Herbert again proved what a fantastic link-up man he can be, Stuart Dade even made an overlapping run and put in a cross that resulted in a goal - albeit an unallowed goal thanks to the ref. The MOTM award went to Barry Gardener though. 'Bazza' reminded us all of just what a rock he can be at the heart of our defence. I was personally very pleased to see that my decision to award the MOTM to Barry was so warmly received by the rest of the squad. In this kind of form Barry leads by example and he set the bar high tonight, the most satisfying thing is that we all reached that level.
Interestingly, we've now scored goals in 20 consecutive games (10 out of 10 this year and the final 10 of last year). I'd hazard a guess that's got to be close to an Accies record, and is a true indicator of just how much of a potent attacking force we have become. This attacking power, along with a resolute defence and an unwavering willingness to work for each other, will reap us more rewards in the future by resulting in more goals, more victories, and more completely satisfying and rewarding Thursday nights, just like tonight.
Congratulations to everybody on a fabulous performance and result. You all deserved it.
Keep the faith!
Joe
2 comments:
Scoring in 20 consec games is indeed a club record! We've SMASHED the previous record, which was 16. Outstanding effort!
Gents what can i say about Thursday what a result. The whole team played so well the effort on the pitch was amazing. So it was a shock when i was given MOTM, it meant a whole lot more to get it on Thursday because of the way the whole team had played and to be honest i wouldn't have wanted to have to choose, so thank you once again and lets look forward to another good run of wins for the Accies.
Bazza.
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