It was hardly a game for the neutrals with a congested 90 minutes not helped by a slippery bobbly pitch which saw players on both sides struggling for grip and time on the ball. Chances in the first half were at a premium and we struggled to get the ball down and dictate our passing game as well as I think we would have liked. Tollgate looked dangerous with pace down the wings but I think our defending was good enough to limit them to half chances and shots from distance. When they did win corners, Driver's good handling and some committed headers meant that we dealt with their aerial threat quite well.
By contrast, we struggled to get our wingers in the game and also found it tough to support our front players without leaving gaps in midfield. Indeed, both sides looked most likely to score when breaking from the other side's forays forward. Leighton broke forward well from a Tollgate corner with a burst through the middle but could only find Phil in an offside position when he may have been better going himself.
Half time saw some forced substitutions and an inspirational and passionate team-talk from assistant manager Neil Ring. Black Boy started the second half brightly by finding Bates and Taff down the wings more regularly while at the back, Wager and Delo continued to look composed and matched the physical presence of the big Tollgate attackers. The midfield was again a battlefield but we certainly had periods where we edged it and managed to find a bit of space.
As the game wore on, it looked increasingly like one goal would settle it and that was exactly how it turned out. Some confusion by the Tollgate keeper led to a Black Boy corner after good pressing by Austin and we pushed men forward in search of an equaliser which ultimately became our undoing. When the ball was swung in and cleared, Tollgate broke with a long punt forward which was squared for a tap-in into the empty net from a yard with just a few minutes to play.
The result was maybe a bit harsh on us as we matched the home side for much of the match only to be denied a point at the death in a game where neither keeper was seriously worked and had nil-nil written all over it until the final moments.
For now though we really have to dust ourselves off and look to the next league match against Sporting '87 for a response in another mid-table clash (the kind of game we really should be looking to win). At the moment, it is very congested in the middle of the league so a win would see us leapfrog Sporting and we could end up anywhere between 3rd and 8th after the match - let's hope it's the former.
On one final note, there is a Black Boy social evening after the game on Saturday, regardless of whether we are playing Sporting or the Vet's, with live music and a potentially coma-inducing amount of beer. Everyone is welcome and it would be good to see as many people as possible there, even if you can only stay for a couple.
Peace Out.
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