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Post by Newsboy on Apr 19, 2022 8:58:40 GMT
A look at our opponents👇
Dulwich 👇
St Albans 👇
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Post by Newsboy on Apr 21, 2022 10:35:45 GMT
Recent highlights against Concorde 👇
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Post by Newsboy on Apr 22, 2022 9:55:29 GMT
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Post by Newsboy on Apr 22, 2022 10:01:26 GMT
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Post by Newsboy on Apr 22, 2022 13:31:55 GMT
Top Goals against the Irons 👇
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Post by Newsboy on Apr 22, 2022 20:06:09 GMT
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 23, 2022 9:03:48 GMT
Three points today would be ideal.
City have never drawn at home to Braintree...won five of the seven we've played, but lost the last two. COYHs.!
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 23, 2022 16:05:22 GMT
Three points today would be ideal. City have never drawn at home to Braintree...won five of the seven we've played, but lost the last two. COYHs.! There's always a first time!! Sounds a close-run thing! |
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Post by Rijs on Apr 23, 2022 21:12:26 GMT
Indeed it was close-run! A first-ever home draw with the Iron, and I think a highest-ever league position guaranteed now, along with the play-off place, make this a significant day. But it was not a distinguished performance or match. This was mainly thanks to the stifling game plan Braintree implemented: a defensive set-up, lots of men behind the ball, little time given to opponents on the ball in their half, and what must be the most time-wasting I have seen from any team here. It began in the first half, and in the end the seven added minutes were surely considerably fewer than those already lost to multiple cramps and play-acted injuries. At least their twelve crusader fans, appropriately dressed for St George's Day, were able to offer us some entertainment which compensated for the utter boredom of their team's style of play.
That said, it was up to City to overcome that style, and they failed to do so. For most of the match, until the substitutions, we could not put our plentiful possession to use. In the final third we were too often ponderous and constipated: trying and even straining, but not producing anything. We needed the runs. It was crying out for someone to run through them like a dose of salts and beat the offside trap. All five first-half chances (none of them clearcut) came from the few moments when someone went at them with pace.
Zac McEachran, nearly always a delight to watch, was willing to have a go and his second-half fifty-yard run gave us a glimmer of hope, but his shot went just wide, as had several others from Bancroft, Iaciofano and McEachran himself before that. Braintree did defend well; there was usually a second man to beat and a covering body to block the shot. We just seemed to lack that extra zip which we have had in our better games earlier in the season. Maybe Potter should have started? In the end, the arrival of Ewan Clark and Nana Owusu on the flanks resulted in more dangerous balls into the box and woke up the quiet or frustrated crowd.
By that time we had conceded a goal after our only defensive slip, which gave the visitors even more reason to employ their delaying tactics. Yes, the laxative penalty was a soft one, but there was some justice in it not only because we were the better footballing side today, but also in view of the number of better shouts we have had refused, e.g. in the Dartford match. And one can understand the ref (who I thought was a good one today) himself being frustrated by the constant disruptions to the flow, and the ear-blasting he was getting from the Essex men, especially Ryan Maxwell on the touchline. Seven bookings for them speaks for itself.
Now we can have a break from league action and I hope, enjoy the Oxfordshire Senior Cup Final with United.
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Post by Newsboy on Apr 24, 2022 6:26:42 GMT
Ross Jenkins post match reaction 👇
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 24, 2022 8:12:17 GMT
Indeed it was close-run! A first-ever home draw with the Iron, and I think a highest-ever league position guaranteed now, along with the play-off place, make this a significant day. But it was not a distinguished performance or match. This was mainly thanks to the stifling game plan Braintree implemented: a defensive set-up, lots of men behind the ball, little time given to opponents on the ball in their half, and what must be the most time-wasting I have seen from any team here. It began in the first half, and in the end the seven added minutes were surely considerably fewer than those already lost to multiple cramps and play-acted injuries. At least their twelve crusader fans, appropriately dressed for St George's Day, were able to offer us some entertainment which compensated for the utter boredom of their team's style of play. That said, it was up to City to overcome that style, and they failed to do so. For most of the match, until the substitutions, we could not put our plentiful possession to use. In the final third we were too often ponderous and constipated: trying and even straining, but not producing anything. We needed the runs. It was crying out for someone to run through them like a dose of salts and beat the offside trap. All five first-half chances (none of them clearcut) came from the few moments when someone went at them with pace. Zac McEachran, nearly always a delight to watch, was willing to have a go and his second-half fifty-yard run gave us a glimmer of hope, but his shot went just wide, as had several others from Bancroft, Iaciofano and McEachran himself before that. Braintree did defend well; there was usually a second man to beat and a covering body to block the shot. We just seemed to lack that extra zip which we have had in our better games earlier in the season. Maybe Potter should have started? In the end, the arrival of Ewan Clark and Nana Owusu on the flanks resulted in more dangerous balls into the box and woke up the quiet or frustrated crowd. By that time we had conceded a goal after our only defensive slip, which gave the visitors even more reason to employ their delaying tactics. Yes, the laxative penalty was a soft one, but there was some justice in it not only because we were the better footballing side today, but also in view of the number of better shouts we have had refused, e.g. in the Dartford match. And one can understand the ref (who I thought was a good one today) himself being frustrated by the constant disruptions to the flow, and the ear-blasting he was getting from the Essex men, especially Ryan Maxwell on the touchline. Seven bookings for them speaks for itself. Now we can have a break from league action and I hope, enjoy the Oxfordshire Senior Cup Final with United. It sounds as though we play some good football, but sometimes need a Plan B or C, depending on the opposition, to produce the points. It will be interesting to see what sort of a side OU put out on Tuesday. |
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