A guy near me had complained loudly on Saturday about Daniels’ £6k/week, relative to his performance; indeed Daniels by being powder-puff or out of position had contributed to 3 of the last 4 goals conceded. But the player was not even on the bench – a hairline fracture; not a fracture of the hairline, but in the foot. So Malone took his position, Fogden retaining his place, & McDermott staying “in the hole”.
Pre-match meal corner: goat curry. Both keepers were skippers – which some of us don’t like. Either Cooper or MacDonald should have had the armband in today’s line-up. Bees wore yellow & black striped shirts, yellow shorts & socks – more like wasps than bees. (Your correspondent was a beekeeper back in the 80s.) Cherries KO towards the south end on a dry evening, with a thin crowd. Thomas looked small against the away defenders. McDermott twisted & turned in the third quarter, a left-footer going just wide. He did a similar move but passed weakly towards Malone. Pugh took a free, but hit it at the keeper – at least on target. Thomas broke, but no support. Malone seemed more mobile than Daniels had been, and Cherries won 2 corners in a row. MacDonald displayed silky skills at speed, slaloming through his midfield oppos. Francis was alert in defence; Cherries seemed quick around the home goal area. McDermott went down again and had to be replaced on 15 – by Taylor, not Arter. Perhaps Bradbury realised, like us, that 2 up was needed.
A home corner saw Cook’s header headed off the line. Cooper seemed to be the most intelligent and imaginative player on the pitch, in defence and supporting the attack – best player in the first 40 minutes. Fogden fed Taylor but again no support. Fogden set up Thomas who spooned a shot. Taylor was bright and combative. Another Pugh free went at the keeper. MacDonald surged again, shooting to the keeper from 20 yards. Thomas tried a snapshot from inside-left (fed again by Foggie), but the only outcome possible was that it went wide with lots of slice. Pugh did well, allowing Malone to try a cross but skied it. Pugh made space but missed the target – not enough fade. Just occasionally, glimpses of tiki-taka, as sort-of Swansea-lite (Jacks being, of course, Barca-lite). In comparison, Bees came across as a bunch of mid-table scufflers.
Cook was calm in taking the ball and taking it out from the back. A Bees’ free went to Flahavan. The ref. looked in general to play advantage; credit to him. Just as well the away outfit lacked quality, and sorely missed their erstwhile scorer, MacDonald (who replaced Baldock at Franchise). Cook made a mistake but put in a great recovering tackle.
Then Thomas went outside as decoy for Fogden to go inside from the right and hit it from 25 yards with his left. It screamed into the keeper’s top-right corner – SCORCHIO!!! A goal to grace any game; a shot no keeper could’ve stopped. Cliché corner: Bees stung. Almost immediately, the half ended. H-T: 1-0
On came Stockley for an injured Thomas. Francis was yellowed for an accidental hand-ball; the ref. decided a deliberate hand-to-ball movement. The free was swung beyond the far post. Pugh demonstrated some superb wing play, putting it on a plate for Stockley, even with the laces the right way round. The kid’s header was wide of the far post. Homework! Cherries showed so much more confidence now, really looking to play. But a dash down the other end meant a saving tackle. The ball broke free and the forward lifted it over the open goal to much laughter from home fans. Another Cherries corner was headed over; Cherries found colleagues much better (and keeping the ball) than in recent games, and better than today’s opponents. But a Bees corner came off Stockley requiring Flahavan to clutch it on his line on the ground. Fogden was chasing hard again.
A scuffly passage had just the highlight of Cooper reading the game well. Taylor passed consistently to more experienced colleagues; understandable, even if a better option was available. Bees had a back-header onto the roof of the home net. Taylor was working hard up front, and even in front of his defence, even as the standard of play reduced substantially. MacDonald was talking to his colleagues – more chat needed from all his team-mates. Stockley won the ball but sent a weak shot at the keeper from 25 yards. Francis showed good anticipation to block; Bees looked ordinary. Malone anticipated well but Taylor didn’t concentrate on the ball-trap aspect. Addison was big all game, heading and clearing simply. Fogden did splendidly, tracking back into Francis’s area and forcing the wide man to put it behind. Much appreciation for him from the full-back and home fans.
9 minutes left… Too much aerial stuff by both sides, no foot on the ball. Zubar replaced Taylor on 84, making a 5-man back line. Wise? All over 6 ft! Stockley & Taylor must learn to hold the ball up better, and the team needs to put better service into the strikers.
5-4-1 with 3 mins+ to go… The sponsors made Addison MoM.
4 mins added… Stockley won a free on the corner of the away area – but no-one went in the box, & 4 stayed back! Protect a lead, yes, but this was ridiculous. Fogden won the ball on the right in wonderful fashion, sticking out a leg and trapping it while the defender kept going. He hared for the corner, shielded by Stockley as if gridiron. F-T: 1-0 and much relief.
A win’s a win; 48 points & up to 10th (though Bees could overtake if winning the game in hand) and effectively safe other than the maths. 1902, final Test, England v Australia, The Oval, Wilfred Rhodes joins George Hirst to make the final pair, 15 runs to win. Hirst: “we’ll get them in singles, Wilfred” – which they did (perhaps with a two also). This reporter would be happy for the next 4-5 to be drawn just to reach the non-relegation target.
This game, especially in the second half, defined the phrase “win ugly”; my village pub team (best in the local Sunday League) could play better than some of the “football” on offer. But perhaps it’s just statistics – eventually the side would win again somehow. Confidence certainly came back. Even so, the 2 youngsters up front need decent coaching to achieve more, although service to them was not that good – pointing up the major deficiency in the side’s set-up and strategy.
All deserve prizes for effort; Cooper was steady, reading the game well and giving MacDonald a platform, and Pugh was nearly as good as Saturday. Malone was more effective than Daniels. But for that goal, for the retrieve at the end, the defensive effort and general lung-bursting effort, it has to go (in agreement with text-messagers) to Fogden.
AFCB: Flahavan, Francis, Addision, Cook, Malone, Fogden, McDermott, MacDonald, Cooper, Pugh, Thomas
Subs: Arter, Gregory, Taylor (for McDermott, 15 mins), Stockley (for Thomas, HT), Zubar (for Taylor, 84 mins)
Peter Wicks, Bulford