December 2007 - Posts
Boro earned a point against Rushden and Diamonds on Boxing Day with a 0-0 draw.
The game didn't really seem to get going and it was disappointing not to get a win or see a Boro goal, as the 3 points would have pushed us ever closer to the top 2.
Hopefully our next encounter with them at Broadhall way on New Year's Day will enable Boro to have 3 points in the bag.
Boro have been knocked out of all cups that they were currently playing in. Woking in the Setanta Shield knocked us out, we lost to Dorchester in the FA Trophy, and then to Barnet in the Herts Senior Cup.
Looking at the run of results, you wouldn't have thought that under Taylor we were doing well. But our league form is totally different. And too be honest, these cup defeats could be blessings in disguise, as now all we have to focus on is promotion, which is our main goal.
Obviously, if we don't get promotion there could be a lot of backlash as being the current FA Trophy holders, it would have been nice to have retained the title.
I guess we will have to see how it goes come the end of the season.
So Boro have Woking away tomorrow in the Setanta Shield.
I don't think the team will be a full strength side as we have all the Christmas fixtures coming up, which is always a stressful and busy time for any football team.
I did think about going to watch the game but I still need to get a few bits of shopping done, and as I am a Spurs supporter you can't really miss Spurs v Arsenal. I assume you will be able to listen to the game on the radio or online.
I do hope we win. Despite the fact people say this is a nothing cup, the confidence in the team wouldn't hurt and it's always nice to beat Woking, especially on their home turf.
I don't have a clue what the score will be. Woking could bring out a good side, we could. But I don't think we will. Both clubs could put out a side that isn't up to it's full potential as Woking will also be thinking about the Christmas period. It could be a great game, if there are a few young players playing, as they will want to impress their managers. Scoring a few goals will certainly not harm some players and again boost their confidence.
Whatever the score is, it shouldn't effect our side too much. But as I previously mentioned, a win would definately help Boro's confidence at the moment.
Boro went out of the FA Trophy competition on Saturday. It was a chance for Boro to retain their title after winning at Wembley. From what I can gather we had a squad that was barely there, what with all the injuries.
In my previous post I said I wouldn't have been THAT bothered if we lost because we would then be able to focus on the league. And to some extent that is still true, but I do worry that this loss could demoralise the team because looking at the fixture you would have expected Boro to win the game.
Dorchester scored a penalty in the 90th minute after Boro had made it all square in the 60th minute once Dorchester took the lead. Ok, so it was a late goal and a penalty, but still it shouldn't have happened. I thought that the competition would do wonders for Boro's confidence, so that now worries me because it could swing both ways.
We could either do really well in the league with no distractions. Or the loss could be a sign of things to come.
I am sure the team will be back in training this week, with the hope of building a better side that can go on and do really well in the league. We need to close Aldershot and Torquay down, and with them both still in the FA Trophy, like us last year, their minds could end up elsewehere. If we can win our games over the Christmas period, we will be well on the road to recovery.
So, tomorrow Boro are away at Dorchester in the FA Trophy in an attempt to retain the crown of being FA Trophy Cup Winners last season.
I think Taylor will put out a good side. It is a chance for us to continue rebuilding, and if I was a player I would want to win and retain the title.
Although, I don't think that their can be a top team out just because of all the injuries. It is definately a chance for all our loan players to have another run out and get some more match action.
Obviously, the league is the most important thing for us at the moment. But I don't think we should disregard the competition just because of that. The FA Trophy could give us some more drive and if we win, the players confidence will get even higher. It is important for the team to get on a roll. We are in a good position in the league before Christmas, and we could be set to go into the next round of the Trophy. That would be an excellent start to the reign of Peter Taylor.
If we go out, it won't be the end of the world. But I definately think this is a worthwhile competition to be in. Hopefully we will do the business again and continue with our winning ways.
Come on Boro!
On a dull, wet, and windy day, Boro managed to put three past Salisbury on Saturday. We had won the game and had now moved up into third place, which is exactly the positive note we needed.
It was great to see that we were beginning to show some confidence and determination again. I won't lie, there were some really frustrating times but as I have said before our fluency won't come until the whole team has played together more and we have our injured players back.
Ronnie Henry managed to score for Boro after 2 minutes. He was obviously really chuffed, and the players looked pleased for him too, as they all went over to congratulate him.
Yet, two minutes later he scored again but this time for the other team. It must be some kind of record to score 2 goals in 2 minutes, one for each side.
The cross came in and he was the one who had to clear it. Even though Ronnie's went in, if he hadn't had got it, I think the defender would have tucked it away.
Stokes managed to get the second goal for Boro after 17 minutes, and it was great to see a new player get a goal for the club.
Dobbo managed to get the third for us in the second half when the keeper made a save and it fell to him a few yards out.
I was really pleased for the team, even if it wasn't pretty at times.
I was also really impressed with Tyrone Berry. He had 20minutes to shine at Boro, and I think he did just that. He came on and showed a lot of determination to get the ball and played some excellent balls into the box.
I wasn't too sure about Junior Lewis, as he seemed a bit out of the game. Although you can't judge these new players fully on one game, it will all take time. Lewis came off injured which is a bit annoying as that's another player added to the injury list.
On the plus side though, we saw the return of Mitchell Cole. It was excellent to see him back playing for Boro. Although he wasn't fully match fit, he still was excellent and was getting back and helping to defend.
One last mention on Damien Batt. I haven't seen him play that many times but Taylor seems to really like him. I am sure he is one of these players that will gain more confidence the more times he plays and you can already see that a bit with him. And can I just say, that shot he did after being on the pitch less than one minute was brilliant!
We don't have a league game for a while now (Rushden on Boxing Day), so for now we have to focus on the first round of the FA Trophy where we have drawn Dorchester Town.
Come on Boro!
So, we have Salisbury at home this weekend. The team, I am not sure of as we have so many injuries at the moment. Although I would imagine that Julian, Henry, Dobbo are definate starts.
Kiddiminster managed to beat Cambridge last night which is great for us as it now means that if we beat Salisbury on Saturday then we would go above them and move into third. The table as it stands is like this:
1 Aldershot 21 20 49
2 Torquay 20 22 45
3 Cambridge Utd 21 13 41
4 Stevenage 20 19 39
5 Histon 22 8 38
As you can see we have two games in hand over Histon which is good because even if they win against Woking at the weekend we will still have games in hand over them.
Torquay have Altrincham at home, and judging from Altrincham's performance the other week at Boro, if they play well, they could get something out of the game.
Aldershot have Stafford Rangers at home, so assuming Aldershot's position against Stafford's I would expect a home win there. But you never know.
If we won and everyone around us dropped points it would push us even closer to the top two. We would be 3 points behind Torquay and 7 points behind Aldershot. This would be such a bonus to us, but the likelyhood of that happening is slim. I would settle for Torquay dropping points though :)
On our team, I don't really know what could happen tomorrow. But I am sure all the lads out there will try their best.
Fingers crossed!
Believe it or not Boro have drawn Woking away in the fourth Round of the Setanta Shield. The match will probably be played on Saturday December 22, unless we get television coverage of the game.
So, it's a derby for us. I think it would be a good game. It always is against Woking. I am quite tempted to travel there, although it's so close to Christmas it may depend on how much Christmas shopping I have managed to do!
The rest of the draw looks like this (I have bolded the games where it is BSP v BSP):
Southern Section
Welling United v Grays Athletic
Woking v Stevenage Borough
Aldershot Town v Oxford
Salisbury City v Weymouth
Hampton & Richmond v Forest Green Rovers
Eastbourne United v Crawley Town
St Albans or Thurrock v Torquay United
Exeter City v Ebbsfleet United
Northern Section
Stafford Rangers v York City
Histon v Halifax Town
Cambridge United v Rushden & Diamonds
Nuneaton Borough v Altrincham
Hinckley v Kidderminster Harriers
Droylsden v Farsley Celtic
Barrow v Northwich Victoria
Burton Albion v Tamworth
I think the Aldershot v Oxford game could be quite good. Either way a big side will be going out.
Taylor has made another signing at Boro. He is a 20 year old winger called Tyrone Berry. He was previously a Crystal Palace trainee and played for Rushden last season.
At the moment I think we have alot of midfielders, but if Taylor is interested then fair play to him. He has to build his squad to how he likes to play and with our recent injury woes maybe it is a good decision.
Taylor has also expressed his views to The Comet about the latest goings on at Boro.
I think he has made some excellent points, and has drawn on factors that have been raised by fans.
Taylor has had a hard act to follow since the loss of Stimmo. But this will all take time, and let's not forget it took Stimmo a while to get Boro into winning ways. We have won games, but it just hasn't been pretty, but with what is going on behind the scenes as well as on the pitch it isn't exactly surprising.
The more worrying factor for me at the moment is the sheer amount of players that are out through injury or suspension.
The Maybe's
Tyron Sealey is back from his loan spell at Hitchin Town
Junior Lewis is fit
Mitchell Cole is a possible after his recent injury problems.
Mark Arber has a slight chance after an Achilles problem.
Unlikely
John Martin is serving the second of his three-game suspension.
Stuart Lewis is out to a calf injury.
Mark Molesley is out to a back injury
Lawrie Wilson has had a cartilage operation.
Ally John is still out after stabbing incident
Ollie Allen, Tes Bramble and Jerome Anderson remain on the treatment table
As you can see, our situation is ridiculous.
The team on Saturday... I have no idea. But let's just hope it's a winning one.