mabe some one who went will comment on the game. I just heard one comment twoday.
it was just like the Cambridge game,we had no idea our to get out of jail.
There weren't that many Boston fans there to be fair. I'd anticipated a few more people going (ground we haven't visited previously, etc)., but I guess the combination of distance and it being a midweek night made an impact. I've been at work today, so this is the first chance I've had to post my own comments.
I wasn't entirely happy with the manner we conceded the first two goals. The first one came after Ben Milnes turned into trouble in the centre of midfield and lost possession. The Biggleswade player still had a lot to do, but somehow ran unchallenged straight through the heart of our defence to shoot past Timms. For the second goal as well, the Biggleswade attacker was allowed to travel too far with the ball and again without anyone putting in a meaningful tackle. On the evidence of all the pre-season games I think Piergianni and Garner are particularly strong in the air; on the evidence of the Biggleswade game we're not as comfortable at the back when sides build attacks against us on the floor.
Ashley Timms fell out with just about everybody in front of him last night! He had a point, as it was the worst defensive performance we've seen this pre-season, but I wasn't particularly happy with Timms when he started answering back to instructions given by Dennis Greene. Basically Biggleswade had earned a free kick in a wide position and Timms had lined up a two man wall. After the free kick had been taken Greene shouted that there should have only been one man in the wall and that the other defender would have been better positioned "in the hole" behind. Timms evidently didn't agree with this, and there was then an exchange of words between penalty area and dugout. I'd have preferred it if he'd just got on with the game and left these sorts of issues for the dressing room or the training ground. We've undoubtedly signed a talented goalkeeper - probably the best one we've had since James McKeown - but I am still concerned that he might have too big an ego and be a difficult character to manage.
Biggleswade are a decent side who are still full of confidence following last season's promotion, and plenty of sides will lose to them this season. They were the best side and they deserved the win on the night. In mitigation for us we were without Gary Mills and Stefan Galinski through injury, and lost Ben Milnes fairly early on with a head injury. Indy Aujla arrived at the game after kick-off, and could only be named amongst the substitutes. Plus we had Marc Newsham in the centre of midfield which, whilst accommodating Weir-Daley and Miller, isn't his best position. Weir-Daley was probably our best player on the night, taking his goal well and also hitting the bar, so he will have given Dennis Greene some food for thought.
There was a moment towards the end of the game which was comical but also a bit concerning. We earned a corner, but by that stage both Ian Ross and Ben Milnes had been substituted. A lot of our players took up attacking positions, but it took Ross's shout from the dugout of "who's taking it" before anyone actually ran across to take the corner! It was funny watching that in a friendly, but I hope we'll be better organised when the games get competitive.
Biggleswade's number five was an obnoxious player, who will pick up plenty of boos from opposing fans this season. He's built like a typical centre half but at one point Trundled himself to the floor and started rolling around as if he'd been hit by a lorry. The reality was he'd been tackled by Spencer Weir-Daley, a man barely half his size. The same player was also constantly trying to rile our players and get a reaction out of them, and I heard him several times telling Charley Sanders that he had the worst haircut in football. Had this game not been a friendly, there would have been a real danger of the number five's antics turning this into a nasty game. I was pleased in that the referee didn't buy the con tricks and that our players - particularly Sanders - didn't react.
Biggleswade have a great playing surface - you could play bowls on it - but they really do need to do something about their floodlights. I didn't like Timms' luminous pink shirt on Saturday, but I was glad of it by the closing stages of last night's match!
Oh, and Biggleswade also need someone with better copy-typing skills. The occasional typing error is fine, but last night's team sheet listed Samsaria, Pirani, Breame and Saunders!
