VNL#32 - Daggers 0 Aldershot Town 2
Following the disappointing and immediately concerning news of Myles Weston's absence from the side, a notable drop off in intensity was expected. Naturally, it meant our creative output would be severely impacted, although this represented an opportunity for others to shoulder the burden. We were always going to be worse without our primary assist creator. However, nobody would have foreseen us being this bad. The performances of our team, both individually and as a collective, were alarmingly disgraceful. Though this cannot entirely be attributed to the absence of our winger, it doesn't feel like a coincidence. It certainly doesn't excuse it, however. It conveys the simple fact that, under McMahon, a day like this is never too far away. His entire reign has been typified the analogy of going one step forward then two steps back. We remain 17th in the division, which paints a solemn picture of how the season has gone. Results and performances like this have characterised it. Unfortunately, the poor games have vastly outweighed the good ones. It was a pathetic showing all over the pitch, exemplified by the disgraceful defending that allowed Aldershot to double their advantage within fifteen seconds of the restart. That essentially put the contest beyond all reasonable doubt, after a contentious penalty had edged them infront. Ultimately, two goals either side of the break did the damage, but in truth the contrasts between the sides were present far more frequently than just that period of the game. We were second best all afternoon. All of which has to raise severe questions about manager Daryl McMahon. As impressive as the Daggers had been recently, this was an unceremonious reversion to a standard of performance we are unfortunately all accustomed to. Though hopes were faint at best, this result also signifies the end of any realistic play-off aspirations, which in turn signifies a colossal failure of a season, for which there has to be some inquest. Defensively, it was a mess. Clark was scruffy, Jones erratic and Wright unconvincing. There was plenty of endeavour in the middle, where Robinson and Rance did their best to no avail, but the root of our problems originated from attacking positions. We've been toothless in the final third all year, and the fact we've still not triumphed by more than a solitary goal epitomises that. Very rarely do we resemble a dangerous side. Countless players from today's starting eleven are out of contract. This was not a particularly convincing sales pitch from any of them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
WRITERArchives
May 2024
|