That there's only been two games in three days of the brand new Vanarama National League season, yet we've already seen two performances of vastly-contrasting proportions, indicates that we could be in for another nine months of fluctuating unpredictability, where it's as possible that we can turn up and be brilliant as it is we'll be awful.
Having bounced from one extreme to the other in the last few days, we can neither be too disappointed with Saturday nor too delighted after last night because, as we've seen under Peter Taylor in particular, things can change so rapidly. To get the first three points on the board is massive though and doing it while playing really well against a decent side certainly bodes well for the future. Saturday was dreadful in every aspect, we were weak in defence and toothless going forward. Fast forward a mere 72 hours and we were a transformed side who looked full of confidence and sprayed the ball around the pitch with almost a self-assured arrogance about us. So what changed? Well, James Dobson and Joan Luque were absolutely tremendous and, as glorious as last night's victory was, it's almost tinged with the frustration as to why we didn't do the same thing ahead of Saturday. Credit to Peter Taylor though, he made the necessary changes and it paid dividends. For once we focused on ourselves and let our offensive strengths counteract everything Dover had to offer, and I hope we adopt a similar mentality ahead of our trip to early pace-setters Halifax in a few days' time. There are still problems in the team but, unlike against Woking, we had enough creativity and potency to render those insignificant. Balanta up front was easily the best player on the pitch and his movement was brilliant all night. He started and finished the move which put us ahead, won the winning penalty and overall proved a menace all night. Him, Luque and Dobson caused havoc, especially for an ageing Scott Doe at the heart of the hosts' defence, and for their full-backs Taylor and Passley who were constantly exposed. We seemed to target their weaknesses and exploit them at every opportunity. How we didn't win by a greater margin though was quite incredible as we missed an open goal, hit the post twice and failed to convert when Worgan had slipped and left 80% of his goal gaping. Our opener was absolute class, an intricate counter-attacking move from one end to the other in a matter of seconds, and came at a time where we were dominating the game. However, from the moment Alfie Pavey emphatically headed Dover level, their tails were up and we struggled. As soon as you concede after missing the chances that we did, you just feel like you're going to be punished and, as Dover ended both halves by throwing everything at us while camping inside our half, we looked fragile. Away to a very good side though, who won't lose too many times at Crabble this season, that's perhaps to be expected and it takes nothing away from our performance. In truth, it was a well-contested game between two similarly-matched teams who both performed well. It could and maybe should have been a draw but in the end what tipped it in our favour was the very thing that has worked against us for so long - our superior finishing, the cutting-edge we possessed. That's what happens when we play our most threatening and creative players, plus we still had Reece Grant on the bench. I'd like to see Grant start soon as Quigley was pretty much a passenger yet again; he may win less flick-ons (supposedly) but he'll do significantly more damage with the ball at his feet. Dover were decent and that's why winning away from home to them was so impressive. Inih Effiong, the battering-ram powerhouse up front, bullied us all evening while his strike-partner Alfie Pavey looked really dangerous, especially with his head. In their midfield, it was nice to see Jack Munns do well (though not too well of course) and get the reception he deserved from our supporters. Fittingly, our winner came from the penalty spot, something that seemed quite fitting. Brundle's spot-kick was clinical and cool, with the feelings of delight just about eclipsing the feelings of surprise at seeing the ball nestle into the net! Finer details like having a good penalty-taker could honestly be the difference between finishing mid-table and on the cusp or in the play-offs - by scoring 75% of our penalties we could earn as many as ten points more, which is huge. It's only one win, but what a win it was. Brundle, Clark, Luque, Dobson and Balanta were all absolutely brilliant and, though we were shaky defensively, the determination to preserve our lead was excellent. It couldn't have been more different to Saturday and to be off the mark feels good. Already we've got more points this season than the entirety of August last campaign, not that that's the benchmark. Onwards and upwards, Halifax Saturday should be a great day and let's hope we can get three points against the only side with a 100% winning record. Up the Dags
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January 2024
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