Even though it's easy to feel deflated after an opening day defeat, what's important to remember is that we have a young bunch of lads who have immense faith bestowed upon them by Peter Taylor this season. Against Boreham Wood, our inexperience and naïvety showed at times but ultimately it will take time for the team to bed in and for a first competitive fixture, I'm fairly happy with what I saw from the team, who definitely displayed some positive indications for the next 45 games.
Unfortunately today we just fell a little bit short in the end yet on another day could've snatched a point. By the time our next game arrives I'd expect us to look a lot sharper, with hopefully a replacement for Cheek in the side, and Reynolds starting. Losing Michael Cheek to Ebbsfleet that close to the season must've dealt Peter Taylor's preparations a vital blow so with the benefit of a few days to assess tactics and playing styles, we'll be more prepared for the next match. The general consensus amongst supporters was that we desperately needed a centre forward, which is terribly ironic. Romain and Kandi, to their credit, battled hard and got into some good areas but never really posed a significant goal threat, and had a tendency to drift out wide. So many times throughout the clash, a midfielder like Robinson would do brilliantly well to collect the ball only to confront an army of defenders, which is why so many passes were misplaced. We were crying out for a finisher with a bit of movement to drift into the open space. To be honest, it was a slightly low-key curtain-raiser which lacked fluidity and rhythm. Both teams, you could see, were so much weaker than last season and very few chances were created, compared to last season when Ferrier, Andrade, Whitely, Cheek and Okenabirhie were all on the pitch. Boreham Wood earned their victory mainly through a ten-minute spell in which they got to the byline and swung in several crosses. Such was their intensity during that period, it was inevitable they'd score, yet there was the hope that it would wake us up a bit. Once we introduced Reynolds and Blanchfield, the game completely changed. Lamar Reynolds is going to be an absolutely huge player for us and that's obvious even at this early stage. All of a sudden we were expansive, playing balls in behind and stretching the defence. Frustratingly, it seemed too little, too late. Just as we seemed to be edging close to a leveller, we were caught on the counter leading to Goodliffe being sent off, and that was that. It seemed like a definite red, reckless and unnecessary, Had the boot been on the other foot, we'd have been screaming for it. It was disappointing for Goodliffe because like all of the younger lads, he'd acquitted himself really well and shown a great level of maturity. Unfortunately, on this occasion, his inexperience really did tell but that's something he'll learn from. Overall, though it wasn't the result we wanted, now isn't the time to panic. Nobody was saying we'd win the league after last year's opening day win over Barrow so, conversely, this result shouldn't be read into too much. We have a youthful side, some looked slightly rusty which will wear off while many others haven't played much competitive football. Considering what has gone on this year, I'm okay with a narrow loss to the beaten playoff finalists. In the next few weeks, we will pick up points. Though we lost today it's easy to see we have the makings of a quite decent outfit, we just need more experience, strength and gamesmanship in our ranks. When our new captain Nunn returns and Reynolds starts, we will be a different team, like we were in the last twenty minutes today. The games come thick and fast so let's not get on the team's backs and offer more outstanding support against Maidstone on Tuesday night.
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January 2024
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