Boro Blog

A very very very positive post

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:42:00 GMT

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!

A positive 'Next Up' post (Next Up:Burton)

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:58:00 GMT

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

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:17:00 GMT

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: Kettering

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:45:00 GMT

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 transfer deadline deals

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:01:00 GMT

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.

Boro win at Barrow woop woop!!

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:41:00 GMT

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

---------------------------------

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!

Next Up: Barrow away

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:16:00 GMT

This is not going to be a pretty game. First of all, it is miles away, secondly, they will work extremely hard, and thirdly, we are desperate.

Barrow are doing really well in the conference at the moment. They have a great momentum, and from what I have gathered from their game against Oxford on Setanta Sports, they will give everything that they have got.

We however, are lacking in confidence, not really working as a team, and our second from bottom.

We shouldn't be where we are, especially with the team that we have. But we are, and we will have to deal with it. The boys are the only ones that can get us out of this mess, and I do believe they can do it.

It is not going to be a pretty game tomorrow, but as long as we get a result, none of that matters. It could be an awful goal, scrappy clearences, only just scraped a win etc etc, but the main thing is it will boost the lads if we can get the win.

We need to have some form. A win could change so much for us. It is a little less pressure, and it can show them they can win games.

Ok, so injuries aren't really working out that well at the moment, but we still have a big enough squad to do well in this game.

I am a bit nervous about tomorrow though. I was looking at the table, and some teams have 12 points and you just think, why are we only on 2?

At the start of the season everyone was really optimistic, and slowly but surely everyone has come off their floaty cloud. I want to climb back up to my cloud. So come on Boro pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaseeee win tomorrow!

Boro round-up

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:17:00 GMT

Ok, so I go away on holiday, I hope that things change, I get back and nothing has changed. I went to the Weymouth game with an open mind. I knew it was early days, and yet I still found myself so frustrated. We drew, great it was a point. But we were still sitting at the bottom of the table. We needed to win our home games, if we can't do that, how are we ever to get any points?

I monitored the Ebbsfleet game whilst I was away. I wish I hadn't. 4-0? What is all that about? The match stats show that we didn't even have a shot on target. Where has Boro gone? Did they come to Spain with me, because they were clearly not at that match.

I thought on Monday things would be different. I was back and ready to watch Boro hopefully win. We got the first goal which was great for us. We working hard and the changes that Westley had made seemed to have worked. Chris Day made quite a few decent saves, which I am not sure that Bayes would have made. Vincenti worked hard but he still looks a bit lost.

Laird was on top form again, and Mills was constantly making great tackles and winning the ball back for us.

It was such a shame to see Crawley score against us. They had had numerous chances so I suppose it was deserved. We were completely on top after going a goal down. There was an urgency that I hadn't seen this season. But we just couldn't score.

The ref in my eyes was rubbish. Numerous decisions were laughable. I particularly liked Calum's effort. He was runnning through on goal, where two players completely sandwiched him and brought him down. Ref blows, excellent, free kick. Wait no, book's Cal and gives them the free kick. Excellent refereeing.

Although I have to say, when Crawley were lining up to take a free kick that they had been awarded, it was nice of him to tell us that our wall was too far back and that we could come forward. Don't think I have ever seen that before.

I suppose the result wasn't too bad, but we need to be winning these games. Hopefully some of the lads will be back from injury soon, and I hope that Mitch comes back soon after picking up what seemed to be a groin injury.

I think I need some more time to refuel my batteries. Boro just drain me so much! There are only so many times that you can say... onwards and upwards....

Next Up: Weymouth at home

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:46:00 GMT

Next up we have Weymouth at home. This really is make it or break it time for Boro. Everyone is going to go absolutely mental if we don't win tomorrow. Everyone is so angry as it is, let alone if we have another defeat.

I can't imagine that morale is exactly brilliant but the players will have to understand they did not and were far from playing their best on Tuesday. Even Westley said in our interview with him yesterday that players will be dropped. They need to get their heads in the game and prove they are worthy to get in the team and play for Boro.

I have no idea what is going to happen on Saturday. We could completely flop as we are lacking a bit of confidence. Or we could have fire in our bellies and really go for it. Either way I am sure we are in for an eventful game.

I'm going on holiday on Sunday so I hope to leave a winning side and come back to a winning side. I doubt it will happen, but here's hoping.

Boro lose AGAIN - sorry but I am going to rant

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:30:00 GMT

I have calmed down a bit since last night. We lost 3-1 to Eastbourne. An absolute shocker. We were awful. I said to my other half and the end of the game, "what am I to write in my blog? We were rubbish. End of?"

We were awful, point blankly awful. I was looking at the clouds more than I was interested in the game. I must have counted 2 passages of play where I thought, that was really good. But it was always the end product, there just wasn't one.

None of the players looked like they could be bothered, bar a few. Even the lads who were working hard - Eddie for example - managed to trip over his own feet.

It was a joke. I will be back on Saturday because I don't want to waste my season ticket, but I will be extremmmmmmmmmelllly surprised if there is a big crowd against Weymouth.

I thought the whole point of our football was to be 'entertaining'. There definitely was NOTHING entertaining about yesterday's performance. The only two things that entertained me in that game. The first someone shouting behind me "Christie looks like he is in an all-in-one swim suit" and the second, someone at the end waving their season ticket shouting "Weymouth tickets, get your Weymouth tickets".

I can't believe we actually lost. No offence to Eastbourne - I mean they did their job. They defended like a team, worked hard like a team, and attacked like a team. You may be noticing a pattern here, as we did none of those. We should be beating a team that has just got promoted. They came here to defend and on the break hopefully put the ball in the back of the net. They did that. They had 3 breaks, they scored all 3.

We however, faffed around at the back, didn't supply balls to the forwards, picked Christie - who was shocking, and the midfield gave no cover to the defence. The whole game was just useless.

We have the potential there to be a good team. But they need to learn to play like a team. I admit it isn't easy with a whole new squad every year, but even if you can't completely read eachother, you should still play better than that.

I just can't believe how bad we were. We need some sort of miracle to get better than that.

Whereas for now, we are sitting nicely at the bottom of the league with a -7 goal difference and a lack lustre side. Great.

Next Up: Eastbourne

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:57:00 GMT

Tonight we have Eastbourne Borough at home.

As it has turned out, it is now a massive game for us. We need to get some points down on paper, and we need to show to the fans the the weekend's game was just a small blip in a positive campaign.

If we can win tonight and then take that confidence into Saturday's game against Weymouth then I think we will be set.

In my eyes it is a must-win. I know it is early on in the season to be saying this, but it is important. If we have another loss, that's a major confidence blow. And I am not being mean to Eastbourne, but if we lose to a newly promoted team, it won't really show us in a great light, especially as we are supposed to be a promotion pushing side.

I guess we have to see how it goes tonight. But at least we are at home, and the crowd can boost the squad.

It will be interesting to see how many fans turns up to the game, what with it being on a Tuesday.

All we can do now is look forward to the game, and hope that Boro can get their scoring boots back on, and regain some of that goal-difference that we lost on Saturday.

Fingers crossed and all that.

Boro thrashed 5-0

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:26:00 GMT

Boro were thrashed 5-0 at Wrexham in the season opener at the weekend.

What a disappointment.

We build up to the first game of for months and months, and Boro go and lose 5-0. To be fair, Wrexham was one of our more difficult games, but 5-0 is not exactly a brilliant scoreline.

I thought at 1-0 down we may have had a chance to come back in it, especially as we had seemed to be the better of the two teams in the early stages of the match.

But sadly, that wasn't the case, when Moro got himself sent off for a not so red card offence.

They too had a sending off late on into the game, but they still managed to put 3 past us even then.

The defence was obviously not the defence we have seen in recent weeks. They fell apart and nothing seemed to work.

We should have taken our chances when we were on top of the game.

Even though it is only one gam, it puts a downer on the weekend. We wanted to get off to a flyer, but now we are sitting at the bottom of the table, with five goals conceded, and no goals scored. Not exactly the start we would of wanted.

Some people are now extremely pessimistic. "That's it, seasons over".

It's not. It is one game. If anything the lads may of needed that to open their eyes. They are going to have to work hard to get out of this league.

Players who didn't play well may get dropped, and so what if they do. They need to realise that they need to play spot on every game. We have a big squad now, and we can afford to drop players that aren't pulling their weight. We need 100%, each and every game.

I hope this loss can really shape up Boro. We have two home games now. One tomorrow (Eastbourne), and the other on Saturday.

If we can win both of those we are definitely are on the right path.

Next Up: Wrexham

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:11:00 GMT

So, the season is in full swing tomorrow, when Boro are set to play Wrexham in the first game of the season.

I am excited and scared at the same time.

It would be a great start if we can get off the mark and win the first game. It would give us something to build on. It would give us the positivity that we can do it. It would show to other teams that we mean business. I just hope the nerves don’t get the better of us.

Wrexham are new to this league, and you can bet that they want to go back to their old league. So they will definitely be up for the game, especially as they are at home.

I’m not going to be at the match tomorrow, so I will be frantically following it online. My friends fiancé is from Wrexham and they are both going to the match. I have been warned that the Wrexham fans are quite in your face, as it were, so I imagine there will be quite a bit of banter between the two sides.

I hope Boro really showcase how they can play. We all know they can do it, but whether they do is a different question.

I really do feel positive about this season, which is quite a surprise to me. I am the first to admit that I was really sceptical when I heard that Graham was returning to the club. I didn’t think I would renew my season ticket, because I was worried that we would go back to the hoof and hope regime. But he has continued to prove me wrong.

I have renewed my season ticket for a start, and I am enjoying watching the lads play. He has brought in great players and the team now look like and play like a team. I am now backing him to do the business for us, and I don’t think I am the only one. Hopefully he can be the man that gets us to the place that we all want, the league.

New season, new beginnings, new players, new manager, and new belief.

Come on Boro!

Boro put 7 past Slough

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:51:00 GMT

Boro put 7 past Slough last night in our last pre-season friendly, despite going a goal down.

Boro were the better team in the first half, and somehow Slough seemed to go in front first. We conceded around the thirty minute mark. However, they didn't hold the lead for long as Boylan had other ideas.

He scored five goals last night, and had got a hat-trick within minutes of scoring Boro's opening goal.

Willock and Drury also got goals, soon after one another.

With Boylan scoring five goals yesterday, it certainly makes things difficult for Westley. Morison will obviously start on Saturday against Wrexham. but who will partner him? A lot of people have said that Moro's partnership with Thomas looked promising, but Boylan has always worked hard for the ball, and he has been scoring of late.

Then there is the matter of, do we put Cole up front with Moro?

Personally, I would start with Moro and Thomas up front, with Cole, Mills, McMahon (if fit), and Martin (now that Bridges has a stress fracture) in midfield, and then, Henry, Albrighton, Laird, and Anaclet in defense.

God that is a strong team, and there are so many other players that could easily play!

This has to be a good sign, doesn't it?

1-1 Boro v Orient

catherine.gill@archant.co.uk — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:34:00 GMT

I went to watch Boro play at the weekend, and I have to say I was impressed. There was a lot of movement on and off the ball, and the players really seemed like they had desire.

Some passages of play were excellent, and in the end it was a little disappointing to see us draw the game.

I was very pleased with Eddie again, he worked really hard and got in some great positions.

Morison was again on top form, as he put one past their keeper.

I didn't think Westcarr did particularly well, but I think I will need to see him play again to get my head round him as a player.

I thought Mills played really well. He helped out the defensive and held the ball up well.

The defense was once again tip top. The wall for Orient's goal was the one disappointment for me, as they were superb the rest of the game. Although it did make me laugh when Ashley slammed the ball down in disgust with them. Hopefully the lads in the wall won't do that again!

Overall it was a good game. It was a good competitive match, with a lot of positives to take from the game.

Tomorrow we have Slough and then we are off to Wrexham at the weekend for the start of the season.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but things are looking good.