Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Three counties in four days

It's been a hectic few days for me and seen my crappy old banger edge a few miles closer to the scrap yard!

On Friday evening I was back at Cheltenham to watch the Robins beat Rotherham to end the first half of the season on a high. While the Shrewsbury draw (see below) was a good point, this was a better performance.

Marlon Pack stood out and is definitely growing into a very accomplished performer at this level, but special praise should go to Luke Summerfield and Russell Penn who work their wotsits off to give Marlon the space to strut his stuff.

It will be interesting to see what sort of business manager Mark Yates can do in the transfer window. I don't think he'll have too much to spend on permanent deals, but the way that Cheltenham are playing must appeal to a few managers of top level clubs who want their talented youngsters to be blooded in the right way.

Another good win yesterday saw Cheltenham consolidate their position just behind League Two leaders Crawley (see below) and so they can now travel to Spurs for their FA Cup 3rd round tie this weekend and just enjoy the occasion.
My clipping from this game

On Saturday I stepped up a division and went to see Wycombe take on Stevenage.

Unfortunately for the Chairboys the result didn't go their way as both Boro wingers combined to give the visitors a late win. Luke Freeman's cross found the hard-working Lawrie Wilson lurking about eight yards out in the 82nd minute and he knocked the ball in gratefully.

The result was harsh on Wycombe as they deserved a point and even Wilson was honest enough to admit that fact. But, as he also pointed out, the league contenders will get away with results like this even when they aren't at their best.
My clipping from Monday's paper

Finally, I was at the Kassam for the first time in what seemed like ages as they took on Crawley yesterday.

Chris Wilder was understandably disappointed not to have walked away with all three points, but in my honest opinion, Crawley deserved something from the game.

Striker John Akinde missed several chances during the game and Sergio Torres saw a spectacular overhead kick from the edge of the box well saved by Ryan Clarke. The fact that Torres was fortunate to still be on the pitch as he should have been shown a second booking earlier in the game is by the by.

Tyrone Barnett's 90th minute volley was a sweet finish though and one that footballers of all levels dream about. So, while it may have ruined Chris Wilder's day, it was a fitting way to finish the game.

Special mention to Jon-Paul Pittman. The sub hasn't had the easiest of starts to his Oxford career (and was even loaned out to Crawley for four games), but he showed he knew who was paying his wages when he charged down Scott Shearer as the keeper dithered over a clearance. Once the ball had bounced into his path, J-P had no problem knocking in his first Us goal.

My clipping from this morning's paper

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