Probably the best game of the season but........

[noughtyforties]

is it enough?

 

[Adam]

I suppose it's progress made: we're now five points off instead of six, and overturning a point a game would see us in a play off place by the end of the season, but it's hard not to feel like it's a missed opportunity when other results went our way.

Five points to make up in eight games is quite plausible, especially given we have home fixtures against Worcester and Gainsborough, as well as aways against Droylsden and Gloucester - they're the sort of mid table teams who we've consistently done well against away from YS this season. If we'd won today I'd be getting very optimistic. As it is, we haven't learnt a lot more, and need to go to Droylsden next week and win.

[Bostonshire]

Looking on the bright side that point could be vital when the season ends due to the goal difference.

[yam man]

A hard earned point against a good side. Not hard to see why they're the league's top scorers. Both keeper's made great saves and I think a draw was about fair.

[oxo]

Agree it was a cracking game and a point each was about right. Still think it is a big ask but not impossible, and this could be a very important point.

[Carl Newell]

Very good performance today however I think Cannovile needs to be playing insted of Stainsfield or Marshall. Ward should have got MOM today and it was great to see Semps back in action.

[woad_pilgrim]

Agreed very good game and very open. Both sides looked good going forward but nervous and shaky at the back. Think the point will suit them better than us but we're still not out of it, as Adam says we are a point closer but a missed opportunity given the rest of the results.

The offside for what would of been their winner wasn't offside but conversely we should have had a pen for handball. Draw a fair result. We need to beat Worcester and get 4 points from the 2 aways to stand any chance, personally think it will be low scoring total for the last play-off place so we may be able to get away with dropping more points than I expected a few weeks ago.

[Lord Cutler Knobhead]

Very good performance today however I think Cannovile needs to be playing insted of Stainsfield or Marshall. Ward should have got MOM today and it was great to see Semps back in action.

Cannoville struggled earlier in the season, and cost us a few games with inability to last the game.

[Wembley 85]

A point was about right. We didn't quite do enough to win it, and were lucky not to lose it at the end, that didn't look offside to me, but pleased that it was chalked off.

3 points would have made a real difference yesterday, if we had all 3 then maybe we might just have stood a chance of scraping 5th. Not saying we can't do it, but I think that we are likely to fall short.

[woad_pilgrim]

I always have a quick look on the forum of whichever team we just played to see opposing fans thoughts. Most fans forums are a bit rose tinted as ours can be but the Altrincham fans take it to another level. Some quotes off their forum and the conf north forum.

All to play for now from 3rd place down to 9th personally Id write Boston off now, very moderate and lucky to escape with a point and have a horrendous run in

It's not an unreasonable statement, we were all over you for large parts of the game, and dictated the play.A very watchable game of football, only bad point being the dreadful officials

Worst set of officials I have seen for a long time though.

How was it not a booking when our leftback goes to take a throw and, because the linesman pointed one and the ref the other, the Boston player gives him a two handed push in the chest and knocks him over?

Then we see Jason Lee elbow the same player, get him a bizarre headlock, spin him round three times and dump him on the floor.  Not even a freekick...and the our player has to go off with blood pouring from his head?

Then we get the ball going a foot out right in front of the liner and he;s not seen it.

And to ice the cake we get the winner disallowed for offside in the last minute when it wasn't.

Your forum seems to say a draw was a fair result...beg to differ on that. We won the corner count 10-3, hit the post, had five good chances to your two or three. You had a good fifteen mins when said chances came but overall I think 2-1 would have been fair.

We couldn't have done anymore.  Three points were needed but we battered them

We played very well today, the better side for the majority and created some good chances.

Officials below par though and missed Lee the Boston sub elbowing Nicky Clee and Bastock taking out Richman with a blatant shoulder charge which should have been a penalty.

Very poor ref

Nicky clee taken out when trying to take a throw in

Persistent foul of McGivern and Reeves was scandalous

The fact it took about 5 minutes to get the ball oout for a throw on 2 occasions for head injuries


Should have won.

Home after the three hour slog from Lincolnshire. Excellent performance from the lads today. Boston scored from their first chance of the game after we'd been spraying the ball all over the park for half an hour. We played some really nice stuff and always looked a threat down the left with Nicky and Lawrie looking dangerous as ever. It was also pleasing to see how much more solid we looked at the back with Matt Flynn and Chris Lynch. The ref had a dreadful game for both sides, but he particularly lost it in those last 10 minutes when we started to look a bit tired and the impetus was on the home side to go for the winner. I think he missed 3 or 4 blatent pushes, a headlock which resulted in Nicky Clee going off and a hand ball from their centre back. The liner was no better, an outrageous decision not to give us an attacking throw in when the ball was basically in the dugout and although it was impossible to tell from where we were sat, I've heard the goal in the last minute was onside and there weren't many alty fans looking to the liner, it seemed like a perfectly good goal. Phelan, Richman and Matt Flynn were superb and Watmore was a sensation when he came on. He must feel great tonight after his incredible defense splitting ball 

The Boston fans were predictably basic, singing "we forgot that you were here" really loses it's meaning if you sing it every 10 minutes and suggests we were rather loud so cheers for that. I really enjoyed their promotion chants when they went 1-0 up. On the one hand, disappointed to only have a point from a match in which we were the better side, but on the other hand, the performance was great and it was a fantastic match to watch. Added to the fact it was just the sort of game we normally lose (ie: we're all over them, basic home fans and a sh*te referee)

So they battered us all game, we just fouled them all game and the officials missed it all and it was their fault (the officials) they didn't win a game in which they dominated. 

[Carl Newell]

For me both sides had several top chances with ours being the goal, Newshs chance when he had loads of time and really should have scored from inside the area, SWD's identical chance to Newshams second half, the remarkable save from their goalie from Sleaths shot around the 70 minute mark, the scramble off the line from Jellymans header which looked like it was bound for a certain goal and two very strong penalty shout. Alty chances being the goal, Bazza's fantastic save from their no9 first half, the header from close range which ended up being tame and straight at Bazza and the was it/wasn't it offside at the end - couldn't tell from the Townend. The game was basically played in three spells, a tight but open first half which we just shaded, the first 20 minutes of the second half which Alty were on top and the remainder of the game were Boston were on top and pushing for a winner resulting in a very good game but hardly a 90 minute battering from Altrincham was it!

[Pilgrim86]

It was a good game, with both teams playing well. Shows the progress we've made as a team since we played them at their place!

[green hats mate]

Many of the moaners now  appear to be seeing the potential of the new managers .
Suprised no one has mentioned that S & H had a few efforts at playing 4-3-3 . with -out much success ,   since the signing of SWD the managers have converted to 4-3-3 and made it work as results show .
 

[Oakham Pilgrim]

So, no mention on the Altrincham forum of their thorough grounding in the art of the nudge in the back when going up for most headers. I thought the ref did his best to keep the action moving. It was a good game.

[ceamboy]

As most posters have said it was an excellent game of football, spoiled by inefficient officials, I thought the real difference between the sides was the eagerness of Altys forwards to have shots at goal, where as Boston had only one shot at goal in the first half hour of play, Boston could and should have been more direct in front of goal, they would then have maybe have got the three points,The  one player who stood out and changed the game in the second half, that was there sub Watmore , what a player that lad was, his eagerness to run at defenders was suburb,I'm sure this lad will go much higher in his football career.

And yes GHM, I  admit the managers are now doing much better, they have at last woken up to the fact that you cannot proceed with persistent log balls hoofed up the field, as you say , since bringing SWD back into the side and playing the ball on the deck to feet, and not in the air to visiting defenders, they are having more success, It is such a pity it as taken the managers this long to gel the team into a decent sqad of players, when the managers started the season by signing old has  been players, the points we have lost when losing to lower league teams determine our season, I just hope the chairman and managers can get the best of our team signed up for next season.