September 2008 - Posts
As I didn’t have time to write my “in other news” post last week, I am going to combine this week’s, with last week’s. A bit slack I know, as it has only been going for a week but hopefully I will get into the routine of writing it, and then I won’t be making excuses for not doing it.
Right, so here goes:
1. Apparently Robbie Savage could be the new manager of Wrexham, as their manager left last week.
2. Although according to some reports he is supposed to be going to Port Vale instead.
3. Blue Square have had to make an apology to Histon FC as they stated in a story that the club were having financial difficulties, which is incorrect.
4. In the MK Dons v Peterborough game at the weekend, Craig Dobson failed to even make the bench.
5. Aldershot managed to beat Gillingham 2-1 on September 20th. Although last week the Gills beat Port Vale.
6. Rushden and Diamonds are now 3-1 favourites to get promotion according to Blue Square. Stevenage are 4-1 to get promotion.
7. James Beadle has left York in a bid to get first team football.
8. Peter Taylor’s new side, are currently sitting pretty in second place in league two. The side are yet to close a game.
9. York's Sodje could be out for up to 6 weeks after his hamstring injury in his game against Boro.
I am really frustrated with myself. I somehow forgot to do my ‘Next Up’ report and as I am really superstitious I feel partly responsible for yesterday’s shenanigans! So i apologise.
It was a really good entertaining game, but I can’t get over the fact that we let slip a 2-0 lead. If we had got a third we could have killed them off completely.
They had 2 chances and they took them. It was so frustrating to see that two little lapses of concentration lead to us letting in goals.
I thought we were going to get off to a great start after 2 minutes in we had already managed to score. It looked like Thomas was close to getting his first goal, but his shot deflected off a York player, Morison and then was helped into the back of the net for an own goal by Robinson.
The second goal came quite soon after, when Morison was put through by Thomas, and he slotted the ball home. It looked like Thomas and Moro were linking up well, and the team were really pressuring York on the ball.
Then the match began to turn. Laird made a mistake and York capitalised on this and scored. It was really disappointing to see us concede, but we still had the upper hand, for now. Then right on half time we conceded again. Couldn’t believe it. We were 2-0 up, how were we drawing now?
In the second half it was crucial we came out well, and we did. But I was getting more and more frustrated. I started to vent my anger at Thomas. I know he wasn’t at fault for any of the goals, but everyone was making an effort, and it just seemed like he wasn’t. I don’t know how he thinks he can win the ball in the air if he doesn’t jump?
I think even Moro was getting annoyed with him as he also was shouting at him.
Then the unthinkable happened. York went in front. Obviously the fans went mental. We were not.
Luckily for me I only had to stay mad for another ten minutes because Moro, our little goal machine headed home to level the score to 3-3 after a brilliant cross from Vincenti.
A few chances went array in the final half an hour, and in the end I was pleased with the point. I was disappointed at the same time, but it was a great game of football and it was better to come away with a point then with nothing at all.
I would like to make a special mention about the midfield. Peter Vincenti was excellent yesterday. First class. Him and Martin worked so hard together. If one of them wasn’t making a tackle the other was. Vincenti’s passes were excellent too. He made quite a few through balls and most of them were successful in getting through. Cole had so much desire. He was back to his old self, running all over the shop. Wilson was trying really hard too, he was getting himself in some great positions, and was linking play up really well with the front two and back four.
There was also a bit of drama with the York fans yesterday. There was a big bang in the ground and it sounded like a gun shot or something. There was a bit of a kafuffle and eventually I could see someone carrying a seat. Don’t think breaking a seat would make that much noise, so have no idea what it was that made that noise! I have to say though, those fans were quite entertaining, even if they did break a seat. They must have been cold with their tops off but they kept on singing.
I also want to make a small mention to the guy down the front on the ‘right side’ who was teasing Sodje all game. The constant calling of “Sodjeeeeeeeeeeeeee” made me laugh all the time, even though I knew it was coming!
We did it! Somehow Boro managed to beat Grays 2-1 last night to move up to eleventh in the league.
I have to say, it wasn’t the most entertaining game to watch, and Boro looked like they were struggling in my opinion, but if you can play ugly and win, we must be doing something right.
Things didn’t start to well for Boro, Grays came out of the blocks well, and we just seemed a bit stunned from it all. Things were made worse when Boylan was caught in a tackle, and he eventually had to go off the field to be replaced by Mills, to push Mitch up front.
Boro managed to take the lead soon after the second half begun. Grays made a defensive error, which allowed Mitch and Moro to break. Mitch sprinted and it was the first time he had injected this kind of pace on goal. He composed himself and shot at goal. It was well placed in the net, and somehow we were 1 nil up.
I thought that this would compose us. We needed a goal to settle our nerves, but typically, Grays went up the other end and scored. Day had made a great save, and after a lot of scrambling in front of goal, the ball went in.
I couldn’t believe it, I know we didn’t really deserve to be in front, but I didn’t for one minute think we would concede within minutes of going ahead.
Luckily for us, as 3 of Grays’ players were taken off due to injury, their back 4 wasn’t up to standard, and they made another defensive blunder. This time Lawrie slipped round one of their players and stole the ball, and passed it to Mitch, who once again managed inject his pace into the game, run around the keeper and put the ball in the back of the net.
How we were winning I don’t know. They had quite a few chances late on, and we did really well to keep them out. It is important to continue winning, even if it isn’t pretty.
I don’t think I saw Mills the whole game. I don’t know what he was doing, but I could hear Westley shouting at him to get into the game and on the ball, so I guess it wasn’t just me who thought he was lost.
It was quite good to hear Westley shouting, I never realised how much he did. He was always shouting “concentration” and “seconds”. What did make me laugh was when he said “concentration, domination”.
Another thing that made me chuckle was when they had a talk with Day after the game. Rebecca said to him we were unbeaten now away. Not sure what they meant there. I turned to my other half and said what about Kettering, and then we both reeled off the games away we had lost. I guess Rebecca meant last 4 or 5 games or something.
I guess now we just have to look to Sunday. We did our job last night, and now hopefully we will play a lot better on Sunday and win, to push us even further up the table.
I still can’t get over that we won, but what a good win it was!
Next up we have Grays away. The kick off is 7.45pm tonight, and the game is being screened on Setanta from 7.30pm.
Tonight is a massive game for us. Everyone else has already played their mid-week fixtures, and as a result we have a great chance to move further up the table.
Again, I would think that the same side would be played again, although I am not sure whether Graham may rest one or two because we are playing on Sunday as well. I would have thought if he was going to rest anyone, it would probably be for our home game against York rather than an away game.
So for me, the team would look like this:
Day, Laird, Henry, Oliver, Albrighton, Cole, Martin, Bostwick, Wilson, Morison and Boylan.
I really hope we can win tonight. We need to beat teams away from home if we are going to sustain any sort of title or play-off challenge. I am sure the boys will be well up for it, considering our recent form.
I know it is silly but it just worries me that we are on Setanta. We never seem to play well when we are on TV. Although that may have just been down to last seasons escapades. I hope my preconceptions are wrong. I hope we come out of the blocks well.
That early goal seems to be crucial for us, so hopefully we can do it again, and settle all our nerves.
Come on Boro, you can do it!
Last night there was a whole host of fixtures going on in the BSP. Boro are playing tomorrow, but I thought I would let you know all the results and how they affected us.
Altrincham v Mansfield (1-0)
Northwich v Barrow (2-1)
Kettering v Burton (0-1)
Oxford v Cambridge (3-1)
Weymouth v Crawley (2-2)
Ebbsfleet v Eastbourne (1-1)
Forest Green v Torquay (1-2)
Histon v Lewes (1-1)
Kidderminster v York (2-0)
Wrexham v Rushden (0-3)
Woking v Salisbury (1-0)
With the results yesterday we have now moved down to fifteenth.
However, we are now only 5 points off fifth place, without even playing.
If we win tomorrow we will go eleventh assuming we don’t concede. If we win and we do concede then it maybe to eleventh or twelfth, as Torquay are on 0 GD and we are currently on -1, so it will depend how many we score.
If we want to make tenth position tomorrow, then we need to win 9-0 as Ebbsfleet are on +8. We don’t ask for much, but it is do-able, well sort of.
If we draw, we could move up to thirteenth. If we lose, we won’t move.
Things are definitely tight in the BSP at the moment. It seems silly that in a few games time we could be fifth or sixth in the league. But I love the fact we have this chance to get ourselves back to where we belong, considering our awful start to the season.
I don’t know how this league will pan out, but one thing is for sure is that it will be extremely close throughout the season and could go right down to the wire.
Boro had another emphatic win on Saturday. This time it was a 3-0 win over Forest Green away from home.
I can’t quite believe our turnaround. I was rushing to get to my other halves house before the kick off, but I was running slightly late. I then got the call. We were two nil up already. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I thought it was going to be a really tight game. I thought it was going to be a late goal that sealed the deal for us, yet it was completely different.
The team was as I had expected. Day, Albrighton, Henry, Oliver, Laird, Bostwick, Martin, Cole, Wilson, Boylan and Morison.
That early goal for us, was once again instrumental in our win. Lee managed to get a goal within the first two minutes of the game. Bostwick passed the ball through to Boylan who slotted the ball into the goal.
Our next goal didn’t take too long either. Morison scored his 6th goal of the campaign after Wilson put him through around the 20th minute mark.
Typically I got to listen to the radio about five minutes after the goal and then had to wait ages before our third. Our third goal came in the 90th minute. Willock managed to get on the score sheet after he replaced Cole late on in the game. Anaclet had also come on late in the game for Boylan, and he managed to set Willock up, so I would imagine that Graham was particularly pleased with those substitutions.
We have two clean sheets now, so we have done really well to reduce the negative on the goal difference. We are now on -1, and have moved up to 14th in the league. We are level on points with Barrow, Wrexham, Torquay and Forest Green, but now our goal difference is for once playing in our favour.
We are only 1 point behind York, Burton and Rushden, and only 2 behind Ebbsfleet and 3 behind Kiddeminster who are in 7th place. If we continue winning, they we will soon be right up there. It is ridiculous how close it all is, but we are playing so well at the moment, it is all possible.
We have Grays away on Thursday so hopefully we can win that and push ourselves even higher up the league table.
Come on the Boro!
I am thinking of starting an “in other news” section to my blog. Rather than it all being just about Boro (don’t panic Boro news will still be included), it will be about conference news that might be of an interest to you or some weird and wonderful stories that would interest any football fan.
So for example, it could be that Gillingham have lost again or someone has got sacked, or that a player is rumoured to come to BHW. A bit like gossip I guess. Although a bit more factual unless there are some great rumours that everyone is talking about.
If you have any good news then please email me at catherine.gill@archant.co.uk with the words “in other news” or “blog” in the subject header. Please no spam etc, as I get enough of that already!
Ok so here goes, my first “in other news”…
Ø Crawley manager, Steve Evans, is trying to find a prankster who cut off the arms and legs of his tracksuit.
Ø Exeter City manager, Paul Tisdale is rumoured to have offered a contract to Fred Murray.
Ø George Boyd scored another cracker for Peterborough at the weekend. A 20 yarder apparently.
Ø Apparently Tommy Smith maybe going on loan again soon – whether he is Boro bound we just don’t know.
Ø Mark Beesley for Cambridge is out for a month after a knee injury.
Ø Mike Woodward has resigned from Grays, although apparently the fans can decide on his future on whether he stays or goes.
Ø Mansfield are apparently under investigation after fielding an eligible player.
Ø Salisbury have managed to get Gillingham’s Sean Clohessy on a one-month loan.
So tomorrow Boro are set to play our first away game since the bout of winning at Broadhall Way.
Forest Green, will not be an easy game to say the least. For starters they were fighting with us last season for a play-off place, so we know they are fully capable.
This season they are currently sitting in 12th place, just three points ahead of us on 14 points with a + 1 goal difference. If we somehow manage to beat them 6-0 we will jump ahead of them and push them into 13th. I don’t think that will quite happen but you never know!
With McMahon injured, I guess he won’t be playing tomorrow but in my opinion I think the team should be as follows:
Day in goal, Luke, Ronnie, Laird and Albrighton at the back, Wilson, Mitch, Bostwick, and Martin in midfield and Boylan and Moro up front. This team seems to be working well, obviously there is the odd change during the game where Mitch and Eddie have featured, but the core of the team seems to be there.
No one else seems to just quite cut at the moment. Which is a good thing, I like the fact players have to get fire in their bellies and fight for a place in the side. It makes them work harder. Thomas and Christie for example know this, and are now really having to step up the mark. The fact that we have players like Willock, not even making the bench shows the strength of our squad and what they can achieve.
This win away is crucial. We know they can win at home, but away tends to be a different story, apart from the Barrow game. We tend to play well, but we can’t grind out the results. Like the other week against Kettering for example, we played well but came away with no points in the bag. I am hoping that the win at Barrow and our wins at home are really going to be a great stepping stone for the players to realise that we can beat teams, and we are a good side.
Teams at the top are constantly swapping with one another, so the league is still relatively tight. If we can keep winning then before we know it we will be in that top half of the table and pushing for a play-off place.
So come on Boro win tomorrow! Fingers crossed…
Boro are really showing us what they are made of now. They won 3-0 at home to Altrincham at the weekend, in what was another great performance from the side.
It was great to see that the side could continue where they left off from the weekend before, where they beat Burton 4-1. The side was unchanged, which is a pretty rare occasion at BHW lately.
It is not often that you can say I am really looking forward to the game. And quite a few people were saying that. I wanted to see if we could do it twice, and we could. Excellent. The attendance also slightly improved, whether that was because of away support I don't know. It was 1,700 ish against Burton, and against Alty it was into the 1800's. I know it's not much, but hopefully now with two great wins under our belt, the next home game should have an even better attendance, especially if we do well against Forest Green Rovers and Grays.
Boro came out of the blocks well, and there was a lot of movement and activity around the goal. It wasn't long before Boro converted a chance. Around the 15 minute mark, McMahon had a nice little run down the left wing, which resulted in him lobbing the ball over an Alty player, to Laird, who crossed the ball, straight to Moro, who couldn't miss.
It was a great goal. The key with us at the moment seems to be the early go, so it was great to do the same again this week.
You could see that Boylan desperately wanted to score as well. He was putting himself about the pitch, and he managed to get a shot off on goal, but dragged it wide.
McMahon was then taken off injured after an ankle injury. I thought he was going to be ok after the tackle, but he just was left in a heap. He tried to stand up but couldn't. He was replaced by Cole, but was clapped as he walked around the pitch to go down the tunnel, as his performance had been very positive.
It didn't take long for Cole to have some impact in the game. Boylan found himself in front of goal, and just couldn't get it out of his feet. Bostwick managed to retrieve it and passed it to Cole on the left hand side of goal. Cole set himself up and fired into the bottom right hand corner. 2-0.
After half time, Boro were pushed back a bit. Alty were trying to get back into the game, but we were not going to make it easy. Most of their efforts went wide or were skied over the bar.
Boro kept trying to get the third, and at one point Wilson was through on goal in the area and was brought down. Somehow it wasn't a penalty. In my opinion he should of carried on going, as he may still have scored rather than falling to the ground, but I guess that's history now.
Not too long after the non-penalty, we did get a penalty. Cole was fouled in the box, and Moro stepped up. Goal. We had now killed off Alty and were looking for our fourth. A few other chances went begging, but the game finished on a high note, following a fine performance and a clean sheet.
One thing I will say, was I wasn't very pleased with the attitude of Thomas after the game.The final whistle blew, and he just took his straps off his legs, and strolled over to the dugout. He didn't clap any fans or shake his teammates hands. Anaclet soon joined him. And it was a bit like, they didn't really care how well we had done. I know he wants to play in the starting eleven but he should still be behind the team and fans. It may have been a one off, but I just didn't like the way they just strolled off without a care in the world. Almost as if they were sulking. Just a little disappointing to see really.
Other than that small point, it was a great place to be in on Saturday, and I hope we have more games like this. We didn't move up many places in the league, but teams at the top lost, so now we don't need that many more points to catch up with those play-off places. Another 3 points could take us to 12 place, so we are definitely heading in the right direction.
Now all we need to do is win our next two away games!
So tomorrow we are set to play Alty at home. Obviously we all want the win, and for the boys to play well, but I am not quite sure how it will all pan out. Alty are in the lower part of the table, and they want the points as much as we do. Although we do have the home factor which always helps. We also have a higher confidence at the moment. They drew in their last game 0-0 to Salisbury whereas we scored 4 goals and beat Burton. Mind you Salisbury are fourth in the league, so I suppose that was a good result for them.
If things go according to plan on Saturday we could go 16th.
All we need is for:
> Us to beat Alty
> Woking to either beat or draw with Grays
> Cambridge to beat Torquay
> Oxford to lose to Kidderminster - A draw between these two, could be better in the long run, as if we win we would be on 11, and if Kiddi and Oxford draw, Kiddi would be on 12 and Oxford 10.
If we score a miracoulous amount of goals tomorrow that could also get us up there. At the moment we are sitting on a -7 goal difference. Torquay aren't too far away with -4 and Oxford and Weymouth are on -2.
The main thing that we have to do tomorrow is win. That will sit us in the driving seat, and then where we are depends on what everyone else does. But as long as we keep winning we will be ok. We have two away games after this so it is important we get the points in the bag now.
As I said in my last post I think John Martin should start. I would imagine the team would be the same as the Burton game:
Day, Henry, Oliver, Albrighton, Laird, McMahon, Bostwick, Martin, Wilson, Boylan and Morison. Anaclet, Cole and possibly Thomas may also feature late on.
Hopefully come Monday morning I will have another happy and positive post to write.
So have a good weekend everyone, and enjoy the game! (Hopefully)
I am a bit nervous about this weekend's game already. I know it is only Wednesday but I have been thinking about it a lot as I have been updating our Boro homepage. And England are playing tonight so I am well into football mode at the moment.
I know Saturday was a great result and performance, but we have been so inconsistant of late, that it worries me of how Saturday will go. I hope that we can put on a show like we did against Burton, but I just don't know whether we will turn up. One thing for sure, is that I am glad we are at home. The crowd will be a great positive energy for the lads, and if we are to get a good run of wins, then this is definitely the time to do it.
I hope John Martin starts again on Saturday, he was really good last weekend. Although I am not sure how Andy Drury is doing for fitness, so he might well be back. I saw Drury in the gym last week, and I have never seen anyone run so much for such a long period of time. I entered the gym and he already had a big sweat on him, so he must have been going some time before I got there and by the time I had moved round all my different spots over the course of an hour , he was still running like a trojan. I suppose it is good to see that he was pushing himself, and trying to get his fitness back to get back in the team. That's what I like to see, a bit of determination and dedication.
However, when I had seen Christie in the gym, he didn't look bothered at all. I don't think I saw him go on a machine. He just used to walk around and talk to the other players. I suppose that is why he has been sent to Kettering to get his fitness up, and to get some motivation installed in him.
I am sure he is probably a really good player, he just needs to be a bit sharper and fitter.
I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens at the weekend. I wish it was here already. I am quite looking forward to the game.
Yay we won, we actually did it!
Boro played an excellent game of football on Saturday to beat Burton 4-1.
I thought it was going to start badly. For a start we had to swap ends, and there were these giant dark clouds above us. The heavens opened on numerous occasions, but the boys dug deep and dealt with the weather and the change of sides.
It was great to see Boro play how we know they can play. They really were trying hard and it showed. The early goal was a real help, and it was great to see Boylan get on the score sheet. You could tell that the goal meant so much to the players because they all went mental and congratulated him.
It wasn't long before Moro decided enough is enough, and he got his first goal of the campaign. I must say I don't think I have seen a goal like it before. The ball was here, there and everywhere in the box and somehow the ball came out and Moro looked like he was about to turn round and start running, when the ball clipped him off his heel and it rolled into the net. Brilliant stuff.
I think he would have preferred a bit more of a spectacular goal, but who's picky? We were 2-0 up!!
I said to my boyfriend and his dad that Moro said he was desperate to score, and I am sure that once he did, he wouldn't be able to stop. And boy was I right.
Moro went on to score two more goals in about 2 minutes of eachother. The first he volleyed into the back of the net and the second he ran straight through on goal and slotted home. Our Moro and Boro were back.
Boylan has also hit the side netting in this time and there were other chances that could have been put away by both strikers.
Burton were still trying to play, but we we not letting them. They did have a few chances later on after they got their goal around the 70th minute mark. I was sligthly worried, but Boro looked comfortable. It was a shame to see Burton score, because in my eyes they just didn't deserve it.
Even after their goal we still looked dominate and Moro could have scored a fourth, but the defender just had time to steal the ball away before he could pull the trigger.
It was a great game with a great result.
It was great to see players like John Martin come back into the squad. He worked so hard, and was absolutely outstanding. He still did a few dodgyish tackles, but that is John. He wants that ball and will do anything to get it.
Wilson was really good too. He was composed and made space for himself. Chris Day also made some cracking saves - one of which I thought was destined for the bottom right hand corner, and somehow he managed to push it wide. Luke was always there when the ball came in, Ronnie was shouting and controlling the back four, we couldn't get much better than this. They all worked so hard. They really deserved that win.
Obviously there were still some faults with the players, and things they could each work on. For example, Scotty, don't try your fancy skills on the half way line, because you will get done, which is exactly what happened. Do it if you know you can.
But overall I thought it was a cracker of a game, and I am actually now looking forward to our game against Alty on Saturday. Bring. It. On!
Ok, so we have to be positive before Boro's game tomorrow. So I am not going to say what has happened, I am just going to say what I would like to happen, and how the outcome could affect us.
Here we go...
Boro are set to play Burton at home tomorrow, in what is going to be a clash of two great teams. Last season, the Broadhall Way fixture resulted in a 3-3 drawing, in what was a thrilling game at BHW.
This year, I suspect some sort of similar affair. Boro perform better at BHW, and 3 points at home is crucial for us. Burton will want a good away win, so I am sure they will continue to press us throughout the game.
We are suffering with a few injuries, and it looks like Mills has had to get plastic surgery on his nose following our game last week.
Gathering from Moro's interview with us this week, I think he desperately trying to get the ball in the back of the net. So I am sure he will be raring to go.
I expect Chris Day will start in goal for us, followed by Laird, Henry, Oliver and Bostwick in defence. Midfield is a little bit more tricky to pick - McMahon, Thomas, Bostwick and Cole if he's back could be the line up. Obviously Moro will be up front, and I could see Boylan starting with him this week.
It would be great if we could get the 3 points in the bag tomorrow for the variety of reasons which you all know of, which I can't go into, which I have mentioned above. You know what I mean.
We can do it, I know we can, I hope. I will be positive. Well I will try. But it is really hard not to shout and yell at them because sometimes I really just want to get on the pitch and play myself. I hope they can prove me wrong tomorrow. I want those people who have already written us off to actually be silent, and maybe give them a little clap. Is that too much to ask?
Come on boys prove them wrong!
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Boro lost again last night to Kettering.
I don't understand how we can play really well at the weekend, and then lose a couple of days later.
There just doesn't seem to be any consistency. With the strikers, and the players that we have, we should be doing much better than we are.
We didn't have that much possession over the course of the game, and even though we had the same amount of shots on target, we still couldn't put the ball in the back of the net.
Mills went off injured with a suspected broken nose, so Thomas came on in his place. Thomas himself was taken off later in the game.
Kettering scored 15 minutes into the game when Westcarr passed the ball to Beardsley and he slotted home.
We did play better in the second half, but we just couldn't score. It is so frustrating because we could have probably come out with a point, but we just can't seem to score.
I guess now we just look to our next game against Burton.
I know it is all going to take time, so all we can do is focus on the next challenge ahead, but when you look at the stats, played 7, with only 5 points, it doesn't exactly look good.
All we can do is continue to get behind the players, which I will do, and have done. But I have to admit I am finding it more and more difficult each week to actually go and watch us. Of course I will go, but I used to get excited about the game, but now I just seem to worry.
Next up Boro are to play Kettering. We are due to kick off er now...
Hopefully we can get some more points on the table and it will start to give Boro some sort of points and scoring run.
I hope Moro scores tonight. I think he really deserves a goal. He always works so hard, and against Barrow he was excellent.
They have the York v Mansfield game on TV tonight so it will be interesting to see how the two teams shape up as they are both doing well at the moment.
Hopefully my post tomorrow will be about a Boro win.
Come on the Boro!
Boro have now signed Chris Day after his excellent performances for Boro of late.
We have also signed Edward Upson, an 18-year-old midfielder from Ipswich Town.
Iysden Christie has also gone out on loan to Kettering. I think is probably a wise decision. He needs to get more sharp, and playing games will only help this. He is out on loan until January.
Finally!! Boro got their first win of the season at Barrow on Saturday. To be honest, I didn't think it was going to happen. Not never, but at Barrow. They are a tough side to beat at their ground, and I didn't think they would make it easy for us.
Things didn't look great when Boro went 1-0 down, as Barrow were awarded a dubious penalty. I have seen the footage, and I am still not convinced it was a pen, although in the heat of the moment I suppose the ref could see it as a tackle that didn't completely get the ball. I felt bad for Laird though, because in recent weeks he has been the best player for Boro.
Boro however, had a never say die attitude, and kept on at Barrow. I did think it would be one of those games, where we would have all the chances and not get the points, but luckily I was wrong. Boro got a goal with ten minutes left until half time through Calum Willock. Excellent, we were going in level at half time.
But wait, no, Boro had other ideas! Along comes Scott Laird right on half time to go 2-1 up! Boro were showing the strength and togetherness that we had waited for. Going down 1-0 in the first ten minutes or so is never good, but to come back from it and go 2-1 into half time, would have certainly made GW's half time team talk a lot easier.
In the second half we continued to dominate, and we rounded off a great afternoon in the 75th minute, with Lawrie Wilson putting the ball into the back of the net after their keeper made a bit of an howler.
From the reports it seems that the lads played really well the WHOLE game. Moro worked really hard and Vincenti started to show more and more why he has been picked by Westley for the last couple of games. Sadly he got injured late on, and apparently the injury doesn't look that good, so I would imagine he will be out for some time, which is a shame for him.
I am so pleased that we finally got a win. I hope this improves Boro's confidence, and we can now look forward to our game against Kettering tomorrow.
And of course the biggest thing of all... We have moved out of the relegation zone... yay!! Oh and Woking lost which makes it all the sweeter as they go bottom, they lost, we won. Happy days all round.
Here is the bottom half of the table for you all to see :)
20 Stevenage - 5
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21 Grays Athletic - 4
22 Northwich - 2
23 Lewes - 2
24 Woking - 1
One thing I wasn't sure about was, any idea why we didn't wear our home kit at the game? Both of the kits look a bit similar. Did you struggle at the game? With my eyesight I probably would!