[JonInMiddleGA]

Sat Oct 18, 2014 (evening)
Blyth (9-2-0, 2nd BSBN) vs Gainsborough (9-2-1, 1st BSBN)
We're 6:4 favorites at home in this early season showdown. No surprises, 4-4-1-1 Counter for this.

GK: McDonald
D: Deen-Conteh, Kerr, Seidu, Groves
M: Shelton, Baker, Smyth, Moke
F: Paratore, Cofie
Subs: (Sawyer, Ahmed, Desgages, Smith, Dovey)

1' - Moke cross is cut out but he takes the ball away almost immediately and fires ... wide left
2' - Shulton shoots from a tight angle, punched out for a corner
4' - Potts shoots, McDonald can't stop it (0-1)
14' - Deen-Conteh sends a pass ahead to Moke who shoots ... tipped aside
with a great save
15' - Kerr's header off the corner sails over
21' - Shulton free kick is all wrong
26' - Deen-Conteh feeds Cofie who goes in alone ... and shoots into the side netting
28' - Corner for G'borough ... Mehdi Karrouche misses by a whisker
40' - Switch to Attacking, try to get one before the half

Halftime: I let AssMan Worthington tell 'em that wasn't enough, we need more heart here. Most seem motivated. Nothing too terrible in that half, we just can't put the ball in the net. Minor tweaks and hope for the best. Switch back to Counter

53' - Shulton feeds Cofie who gets rudely shoved from behind as he shoots ... weak shot is saved easily, no penalty despite the protests (which continued all the way down the pitch)
55' - Neita free kick from the arc ... just wide left
59' - Shulton suddenly crosses long to Moke ... a diving save denies him ... switch to Attacking
60' - Sub Smith (for Paratore) ...switch to 4-4-2 Attacking
64' - Baker's shot is held safely
65' - G'borough misses a great free kick chance
66' - Neita puts away an easy goal when McDonald was indecisive and failed to come out to take the ball away (0-2)
68' - Shulton feeds Smyth at the point ... he fires ... GOAL ! (1-2)
75' - Sub Ahmed (for Kerr, knocked) ... shift Smyth to DC
83' - Ahmed with a wicked blast ... into the side netting ... switch to Overload
89' - 3 minutes added
90+3 - Neita on a breakaway ... feeds Kerrouche with a high cross but his header hits the crossbar

Full time: Gainsborough 2 - Blyth 1
We just weren't good enough today. Reality is, perhaps, we never were. Smyth (7.2) and Deen-Conteh (7.1) were good. Groves (6.2) was bad, Kerr (5.9) was much worse.

Oct 18, 2014 (postmatch)
We slip to 3rd place, albeit with a match in hand. Thus ends our 16 match unbeaten streak, twas a helluva run though.