Hyde-Home

[voiceofreason]

Heard we were 1 down at half time.

Any change?

[voiceofreason]

0-2 in the end.

No news on when goals were scored/how they came about/who was at fault?



Mediocrity beckons?

[villager]

Enjoyed the first 15 minutes ... we had a couple of chances (Danks & Webby).

Danny failed to hold a low shot and they took the lead. Extended it to 2-0 (header from a corner after 50).

Hyde reduced to 10-men mid-way through the second half and Wliding (on as sub) had our first shot on target.

They looked more likely to add to the lead, as City struggled to make any progress.

My opinion is that Hyde looked like they had played 8-9 pre-season games and City need another 2-3 games before they get going. I sincerely hope so.

The bottom line is that City didn't play well ... no shape and no fire. Very little up front and even less in midfield. Need a big improvement on Monday to get anything at Hinckley.

[Tim Munslow]

Can't agree more; there was no desire or will to win, except for Danks early on and Craig Wilding when he came on. On the basis of this one result it's difficult to see where a goal, let alone goals, are going to come from.

This was not the way to encourage the 842 faithful to attend the next home game; there was very little for them to enthuse about.

The red card: happened right in front of me. Dale Johnson not only gave Chris Smith a mighty shove out of play, he then had the temerity to kick him - and right in front of the lino too. An inevitable second yellow.

Our midfield? Where was it? Graham Ward, playing in midfield, looks a pale shadow of the player who played so well in the No 2 shirt.

When Hyde have Matthew Tipton and Gareth Seddon playing they are going to be a force to be reckoned with that's for sure. When they had eleven players they completely outplayed and outfought us at times.

[creaner]

timmunslow said:

When Hyde have Matthew Tipton and Gareth Seddon playing they are going to be a force to be reckoned with that's for sure. When they had eleven players they completely outplayed and outfought us at times.

It was no different when they went down to ten. In fact they looked the more likely to score! Very poor indeed Vic.

[Tim Munslow]

I'd agree there Creaner; their No 14 had two or three one on ones and the ball didn't run for him once.

[alwaysnextyear]

Couldn't agree more. Although it's the first game and we could indeed win the remaining 41 and romp the league, based on the garbage served up today it's much more likely a relegation fight ! How AP still thinks after last seasons failures that playing 5-3-2 at home will win football matches is beyond me. Danks ploughed a very lone furrow up front and sadly Webster looks almost finished, a very pale shadow of former glories and only when Wilding came on did we look remotely like scoring.There is a general lack of any pace throughout the side which this awful formation just exposes even further. Even with 10 they looked the better side. As for our midfield one paced, lacking in craft and invention, and outnumbered ( not their fault ) just about somes it up.Hodnett who is a solid honest trier at centre half was played badly out of position at right back, which was even more bemusing when Ward who played well most of last season at right back was being played equally out of position in midfield ! The centre of defence played as though they had been introduced to each other during the warm up, and Burley as per usual demonstated his unique individual flair to get involved in every situation which had nothing to do with him, and somehow avoided getting in the ref's notebook for dissent. I would have thought after 13 yellows last year, that the penny might have dropped considering that he is " the best left back in the League" ! The manager too still cannot avoid abusing officials even when the decision has gone our way, and where the ref is also completely on top of the situation. This lack of discipline is embarassing to watch and sets an awful example. Maybe just a bad day at the office, but if this is the result of a pre season that " went well " then it looks a long winter.

[DazaB]

awful performance and absolutely disgusting scenes at the end from a certain member of the crowd

[wakefield]

admin said:

awful performance and absolutely disgusting scenes at the end from a certain member of the crowd

Why didn't the Stewards interject?

The Club must know who it is - Season ban or more?

[DazaB]

they did

[darrellbutler]

They did, as far as I know the little s*** has been banned - and rightly so.

[Tony is not to despondent now.]

But they only got one of them. I was absolutely disgusted to be Worcester City Supporter when I saw young men throwing coins at Hyde's goalkeeper, with no regard for his safety.

When remonstrated with, before the stewards took took their belated action, the reply was 'so what!'

Once again the stewards did not listen to what was said to them.

During the first half their was a steward stationed behind the Hyde supporters. But what I might suggest is that stewards be in position adjacent to the Worcester (you can't call them supporters) people who stand behind the goal, to enable them to see what is going on amongst the rabble, and to be able to stamp out this sort of unwelcome behaviour.

It only by chance that the goalkeeper wasn't hit in the eye and blinded!!!!!

[Deleted]

The first 30mins we produced some neat passing football - just couldn't finish it off. However, when we went a goal down we collapsed. We lost all shape, fluidity and purpose. We have a lot of players who are comfortable on the ball which is excellent, but there was no steel or muscle in the side. Most sides in this league are big and physical, if we can get brushed aside so easily we are in deep trouble.

[Deleted]

"absolutely disgusting scenes at the end from a certain member of the crowd"

What happened? I left from the Brookside.

[suv]

outplayed in every department, looked even worse against 10 men.
I have a concern that with no goalkeeping cover, Danny Mac could make a "Howler" like the first goal every week and still keep his place. It appears that his position is guaranteed all season. I appreciate that he made some good saves, but only after the damage had been done. A bit of healthy competition for the goalkeeping jersey may be needed.

[ab]

Whilst I am disappointed by the result (and by the loss of our unbeaten home run that had stretched back to last December), I cant say I'm entirely surprised. We've not beaten Hyde in five games now and again they are likely to be there or thereabouts, one feels. It was a tough fixture. They are an attacking side that seems to have a philosophy that mistakes are going to be made at this level of football and by playing such an attacking line-up they are going to capitalise on that more than others.

While I am happy that new players were brought in by June/July. I'm not sure that I agree that pre-season has gone well - we've had a third of the squad out with injury, which has led to a cut and paste job at the back with the cuts coming from the midfield, and so it is little surprise that none of our strikers have scored in any of the last six games. unfortunately, the attacking side of things looks as if it is going to have to be bedded in during the first few games - unfortuately, they are a tough few games.

That said, that seemed to all count for nothing for the first quarter of the game, as first Danks (after a beautiful feed by Webster), Clegg and Webster (?) with two headers all came close. If anyone on here was behind the goal, can they please give me a bit more detail on how either of those two headers failed to go in?

Then we conceded from what looked like a rare spill from Danny, and it was like the world had fallen in, confidence ebbed away and there was no way back.

I think once the second had gone in, the fact that half the team on the pitch were returning from injury - Smith, Clegg, Colley, Wilding, Troy - would not have helped stepping up the effort when it was needed, but some playing time was put on the mileage clock ahead of Monday in a game that was gone (my view only!). Craig gave us some composure when he came on by holding the ball up, and my philiosophy would not be very different from Steve Waywell's. Three of our best players in a small squad play upfront, so play them all from the start.

[wh]

ab you make some good points there.

I think as bad as we feel about the result and some of the performance from yesterday, it may turn out to be a blessing in the long run.

How many seasons now have we started the season in an average manner? we scrape the odd win whilst playing quite poorly but end up drawing more than winning.

Well this season has broke the mould already!
Preece was absolutely livid with them at half time, he was doing his nut in the changing room.

The team knows they MUST do better in the next few games.

In a sad way its the best time in the season to get a good kick up the @rse.

win the next 2 and 6 points from the first 3 games looks like a good result.

[ab]

A couple of other points - Tim - I think it was their new striker Tipton who was sent off for two yellows, not Dale Johnson. Although I thought it was the No.8 who was involved in the second challenge.

Tony - I think the kid was ejected for spitting, not for throwing coins. Equally obnoxious.

Third, I was surprised Nathan Wharton played for Hyde yesterday, having been sent off in a pre-season friendly. When Des got sent off last year, he missed the first three games - but I dont know if that was a suspension handed down by the central FA or by the Worcestershire Branch. Apparently, in the case of Wharton, the FA said it was for their County FA to deal with, but with the administrative guy being away on holiday (or perhaps because Seddon is already suspended ;-) ) the decision has been deferred, so the suspension wont apply until later in the season.

[Deleted]

Good points above, and I'm also trying to see some positives. However, I don't see why City should have to have a kick up the a@se at all. Hyde didn't.

[Tony is not to despondent now.]

Ab, he might have been ejected for spitting, but others were throwing coins.

[Mark]

suv said:

I have a concern that with no goalkeeping cover, Danny Mac could make a "Howler" like the first goal every week and still keep his place. It appears that his position is guaranteed all season. I appreciate that he made some good saves, but only after the damage had been done. A bit of healthy competition for the goalkeeping jersey may be needed.

Paul Wyatt will be signing for City in due course.

[DazaB]

i never saw the coin throwing incident and I was directly behind the goal in my usual position for the whole of the second half and for a few minutes after

[wakefield]

All the above comments cover what I would have posted.

This is a big season for us.

It's got off to a disappointing start.

But let me remind you that Hyde are considered to be a very, very good football side up in this neck of the woods.

And no matter how much AP shouts at the team - on Saturday I think we saw a City that, compared to their opponents, were simply not fit and really not acting as a unit.

[colinlayland]

If you look at the first two photos on the second page you will see four youths. Two of them are wearing teeshirts with numbers on. The one who threw something at the Hyde goalkeeper had number 23 on the front. They then went and stood right behind the goal shouting loads of abuse at the keeper until the stewards moved them.

[cg]

Think there are some early season lessons to be learned from Saturday:

Hyde are a vastly experienced side who are obviously going to be challenging for the BSN title. They've signed Conference and Football League players in the summer not Alfreton's finest. It was always going to be a tough fixture so I'm not overly surprised or disappointed by the result...and wasn't it great seeing the SGL pitch looking in a fine state?

I thought, as others have said, for 30 minutes we matched them and played some damn fine football and could / should have gone ahead with Danks' shot and Webster's header etc. Then Danny spills one that ordinarily he would have palmed to safety - and we get punished.

Big problem is once we go behind - then what? As Suv said City were clueless v 10 men behind the ball

We have limited options - and 5.3.2 (home or away) isn't necessarily a negative formation - but we don't have the attacking midfielders or overlapping full/wing backs to make it work - and the options are further limited by injuries.

But at home in particular we simply have to go 4.4.2.

That could be tough for Rapinder - who looks a promising signing who can genuninely bring the ball out from the back - but is maybe not robust enough in a flat back four.

Early signs are that Emeka is just a holding midfielder and he looked lost in the front of five defenders v Hyde.

That said, none of them picked up the scorer for the second goal.

Ryan Clarke looks very similar to Wardy, who isn't a naturally forward going player, which limits link play to the front two.

Fine if we have Colley down the right and Clegg on the left - but we don't look to have anyone who can push on down the middle and the club budget dictates City just can't bring players in.

An option might be to play Webby and Wilding up front with Danks playing in 'the hole', but then you're moving your best forward (who can spin defenders etc) to compensate.

Maybe, when he's back, Shabs can go left back, Burley left midfield and Clegg behind the front two....but if we can't break sides down its going to be the same old, same old again this season.

[darrellbutler]

webbtony said:

Once again the stewards did not listen to what was said to them.

One WOrcester City supporter pointed out to a steward who was spitting at the 'keeper and the steward immediatly took him outside the ground.

I didn't see the coin throwing at all so cannot comment.

[Tim Munslow]

Andy, I have to accept that I got the name wrong; if their no 9 was indeed Matt Tipton (I thought he was no 10) then it was indubitably him that was sent off. The second foul was right in front of me on the touchline and the player fouled was Chris Smith (not Ryan Clarke as Steve Carley reported in Sunday's NLP). My grandson had the best view and he said no 9 not only shoved Smith into the hoardings but kicked him as well - not the most sensible thing to do right in front of the lino. It was arguably a straight red. Incidentally, if that's Tipton, then he has a mouth to match his ego, and I can see him spending a good part of the season on the sidelines.

[Tony is not to despondent now.]

Mazey, if as you say you were standing directly behind the goal you possibly would not have seen the perpertrators. They were standing just to the right of the goal on our left on the first barrier.

[DazaB]

like i said i was at a 45 degree angle to the lad who spat and never saw coins being tossed