Dover | Vital Football

Dover

Alfalf2

Vital Reserves Team
We should be beating the likes of Dover but they are scrapping for their lives and we are pushovers at home so I wouldn't be surprised if we lost again. We cant break teams down and get caught on the break time after time. If it had been an away game I would be more confident.
 
In the words of a poster who is now an infrequent visitor here.... not only are your glasses half empty they are not even rose tinted.

We’ll do em with our new found confidence 2-0
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We kick started their season way back in November, we owe them for that.

Braintree, last week were up against it with a very early red card.

Different gravy tomorrow, unless our two internationals receive their clearance and we make too many unnecessary changes to accommodate them [too soon imo]. We haven’t been too bad at home under Hignett, entertainment wise and putting a Tory spin on it we’ve not lost 66% of our home games under Hignett. Granted we’ve won one, drawn one and lost one but we’re in a better place mentally.

Not expecting us to easily brush them aside but we should take the lead, maintain control of the game and put it to bed with a second in the last 15 mins of the game.
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Dover 2-0 just before half time. You wonder how we just cant play at home. First goal was a ball over the top again. How many of those have the Vic faithful witnessed this season?
 
Pleased to be proved wrong. I just wish we could stop giving the opposition a two goal start before we consider playing.
 
Games in this league get more strange each week.

We were woeful first half, the system was at fault. Neither Kitching or Donaldson are good as wingbacks, Kitching lacks confidence going forward and it was laid bare today with most things breaking down with him in the first forty, Amos is much better in that position and it showed in the second half.
I have mostly berated Donaldson but he is much better attacking than defending. The 5-3-2/3-5-2 system doesn’t work for us, it’s one of the reasons we’re in the $h*t and possibly one of the reasons behind him not fulfilling his potential. We’re farting about with systems when the teams prospering are lumping it forward/over the top and it’s obviously paying off for them.

Midfield is a massive panic area, Hawkes and others on the receiving end of potential carrier ending short passes or hospital balls deserve better from Featherstone and Noble. Almost every pass Noble made today was wayward. Similarly Featherstone, only backward. Molyneux, and his like are the way forward.

Forwards are suffering as a result of a poor midfield, Kabamba is no longer getting the service he was in his first few games, James is a foot shorter than when he started as he covering twice as much ground as the whole midfield. He might not be a prolific goal scorer but he’s a friggin nuisance to opposition defences.

We’ve sorted the defence in readiness for next term, attacking wise we need one addition. Midfield needs shaking up and sorting or shipping out and we’ll be good to go.
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That victory, all but, ensures Pools' avoidance of relegation for this season. The remaining 9 games are now about building for next season, with the visit of Wrexham and Salford likely to show just how much strengthening of the squad is necessary for a realistic promotion challenge!
 
Games in this league get more strange each week.

We were woeful first half, the system was at fault. Neither Kitching or Donaldson are good as wingbacks, Kitching lacks confidence going forward and it was laid bare today with most things breaking down with him in the first forty, Amos is much better in that position and it showed in the second half.
I have mostly berated Donaldson but he is much better attacking than defending. The 5-3-2/3-5-2 system doesn’t work for us, it’s one of the reasons we’re in the $h*t and possibly one of the reasons behind him not fulfilling his potential. We’re farting about with systems when the teams prospering are lumping it forward/over the top and it’s obviously paying off for them.

Midfield is a massive panic area, Hawkes and others on the receiving end of potential carrier ending short passes or hospital balls deserve better from Featherstone and Noble. Almost every pass Noble made today was wayward. Similarly Featherstone, only backward. Molyneux, and his like are the way forward.

Forwards are suffering as a result of a poor midfield, Kabamba is no longer getting the service he was in his first few games, James is a foot shorter than when he started as he covering twice as much ground as the whole midfield. He might not be a prolific goal scorer but he’s a friggin nuisance to opposition defences.

We’ve sorted the defence in readiness for next term, attacking wise we need one addition. Midfield needs shaking up and sorting or shipping out and we’ll be good to go.
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Sounds like you were at the match, Billy. What did you reckon to the pens? Were we lucky or did you think they were both stonewall?
 
I wasn't at the match, but looking at the highlights the penalty awards certainly looked justified.

As to "stonewall" penalties, is there such a thing?
Each official seems to have their own interpretation as to what is allowed in the penalty area! This is an issue throughout the game, you only have to watch MOTD on any weekend to see examples of great variance from one official to another.
 
Southall was complaining about the pens saying the ref was influenced by the crowd. I saw the video and certainly the handball looked pretty clear but the second one maybe a bit suspect. I just wondered what Billy thought if he was at the game.
 
Aye I was at the game, the first was plain to see, the second was a little soft from my viewpoint in the town end.
The one that never was, think it was Kerr’s header, happened so fast couldn’t see whether the defender pushed the ball onto the bar with his hand or the header hit the bar then the defender’s hand but that was one that got away.

James is a nuisance no doubt, and when he gets into positions like that, he protects the ball so well, defenders don’t know how to cope with him.

It’s difficult for referees but if referees assistants had any autonomy or were given any autonomy by referees it would make their lives much easier. In the lower leagues we’ve seen so many autocratic referees overrule or influence decisions of assistant referees.

It’s supposed to balance itself out over the season anyway isn’t it?
We would have been in 15th position, only three points ahead of Dover if it had ended at half time. We got out of jail, let’s learn from it and move on.
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I guess some pens you don't get when you should while others go the other way. Seems to me what Luke James lacks in goals he makes up for in penalties awarded from fouls on him.