Apr 1, 2013 (afternoon)
Blyth (6-11-24, 23rd) vs Tamworth (14-8-18, 17th)
5 to go counting this one. We lost to them 1-0 earlier this year. They're 4:5 faves, we're 3:1 dogs. Have to try to stop their star Jean-Paul Marna (21 goals), their next highest has 5. We go back to the 4-4-2 to see if it's more effective after a few matches away from it. Youngster Holden makes his first team debut, let's hope his luck is better than young Mr. Henderson's.
GK: Dovey
D: Holden, Jones, Sawyer, Rowbotham
MF: Phillips, Wallace, Whitaker, Abraham
ST: Armstrong, White
Bench: (Sinclair, Richards, Lobjoit, Bembo-Leta, McDonald)
Halftime:
Tamworth 1- Blyth 0
Bradshaw scores following a corner, given away by an awful backpass by Phillips at 39'
An ugly first half all around. Too many fouls, outshot 3-2 in spite of being in Attacking mode throughout the half. Only connecting on 68% of passes.
Fulltime:
Tamworth 2 - Blyth 1
Blown defensive coverage in the middle allows Buxton free and we're down 2 at 56'
Phillips crosses into the box for Lobjoit & he buries it (after a missed interception try by the DC) at 69:30
Armstrong takes a hard knock at 78'
3 mins of added time
Outshot them 5-1 in the second half, nearly evened up poss. Greatly improved our passing. Just couldn't overcome the mistakes we made earlier, and the beat(ing) goes on
Dovey 6.4
Holden 5.9, Jones 6.8, Sawyer 6.8, Rowbotham 6.0
Phillips 6.9 & 1 assist, Wallace 5.7, Whitaker 6.7, Abraham 6.1
Armstrong 6.6, White 6.1
Subs: Lobjoit (67' for Wallace) 7.3 & 1 goal, Sinclair (67' for Rowbotham) 6.9, Bembo-Leta (79' for Armstrong) N/A
Apr 1, 2013 (postmatch)
And it's now official, we've been relegated. And with that my office is suddenly a very popular place.
Jamie Mole - wants a new challenge & just wants out
Danny Whitaker - ditto, except I really do see him (signed through next season) as a big part of my future plans. He doesn't care.
Will Antwi - same situation, he threatens to be unhappy & disruptive, I tell him to be a pro & get on with his job ... says he'll concentrate on his soccer
Paul Matondo - same, doesn't care about being in my future plans ... umm, dude, your contract expires in June & we probably couldn't afford to resign you anyway. I say I'll let him go at the end of the season.
John Cofie - disappointingly he wants out (signed through next year, probably our #2 striker), I ask to leave things to a later date