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Match view - Swindon v PNE

GloucesterPete

GloucesterPete

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Dec 31, 2012
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Hardwicke, Gloucestershire
Just got back from the game. A deserved point for North End. We made them look very average in the first half. An excellent save from a bullet header from Rudd kept it at 0-0. Really good finish from Will to put us one up. Then an absolute defensive howler put them back in it. I didn't realise they had a crowd until they scored. We were on the back foot then but kept our shape with some die hard defending. Beavon got a really nasty shoulder injury towards the end which I hope isn't as bad as it looked. The away support was brilliant. About 1000+ who sang their hearts out. To sum it up we thoroughly deserved our point. A solid display but we lacked a cutting edge up front. My only criticism if I have one was Beardsley coming on as a sub. Should have been Jeffrey to keep their back four active. To sum up we'd have lost that game a fortnight ago under GW. Swindon well organised particularly in midfield and their centre backs were immense. Well chuffed with the point; but oh what it could have been!
 
GloucesterPete said:
Just got back from the game. A deserved point for North End. We made them look very average in the first half. An excellent save from a bullet header from Rudd kept it at 0-0. Really good finish from Will to put us one up. Then an absolute defensive howler put them back in it. I didn't realise they had a crowd until they scored. We were on the back foot then but kept our shape with some die hard defending. Beavon got a really nasty shoulder injury towards the end which I hope isn't as bad as it looked. The away support was brilliant. About 1000+ who sang their hearts out. To sum it up we thoroughly deserved our point. A solid display but we lacked a cutting edge up front. My only criticism if I have one was Beardsley coming on as a sub. Should have been Jeffrey to keep their back four active. To sum up we'd have lost that game a fortnight ago under GW. Swindon well organised particularly in midfield and their centre backs were immense. Well chuffed with the point; but oh what it could have been!
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Pretty much spot on. The whole team put a decent shift in but I thought Keane was superb, my MOM. Strong in the tackle and used the ball intelligently. Honorable mentions for Beavon, Wright, Welsh and Rudd.(2 superb saves). Buchanan had a good game but spoilt it with the howler for their goal. Hayhurst was very poor in the 1st half but the goal seemed to lift his confidence immeasurably and after it was constant threat. Holmes was fairly ineffective, Wroe had some good moments but was generally off the pace. Huntingdon I hardly noticed so must have done his job OK. As the OP stated Swindon were well organised and seemed well up for it and a draw was probably a fair result.
Probably the best PNE crowd I've been amongst for a long time. Fingers crossed it continues. Loved the Grayson is a white song.
 
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Rudd (motm) Keane and Buchanan done really really well as for the goal I would want my CB wright to head that clear all day long,
 
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Their fans reckon Rudd looked very dodgy. Most of them also said we were shit. The funniest comment is from someone saying Grayson has us playing 'dirty ugly football.' haha unbelievable.
 
justinr73 said:
Rudd made 2 fine saves. MOTM?
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2 great saves but looked a bit flappy at crosses and IMO looks like an accident waiting to happen. Hopefully he'll prove me wrong whilst he is still with us and have a great loan spell.

King looked a bit non-league at times today too.

Keane however, was superb and never shut up organising the defence.
 
likeableclown said:
Their fans reckon Rudd looked very dodgy. Most of them also said we were shit. The funniest comment is from someone saying Grayson has us playing 'dirty ugly football.' haha unbelievable.
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Looks like you canvassed the views of some idiots then.

Rudd looks promising to me on first impressions.

How giving him some first team experience benefits us I'm not sure.
 
I thought Huntington was superb - got his head/foot/body in the way of everything thrown his way and I can't recall him putting a foot wrong. Keane was decent, but there was more than once he sold himself by going in for the ball when there was no need to.
 
Have to say that the crowd started well but the usual issues came back as they equalised and so many were too keen to abuse Procter.

I hope that was just near where I was but I really felt that Grayson handled the subs really well.

Hope Beavon is OK.
 
6pence said:
I really felt that Grayson handled the subs really well.
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I thought his substitutions were poor as we fell deeper and deeper when Procter and Beardsley came on, with Beardsley the ball just keeps comming right back at us as he cannot do the job job of holding it up, and when Robertson came on it was a bit manic towards the end.
 
Wasn't Beardsley supposed to have a broken foot less than 2 weeks ago? I am surprised that he is available for selection unless someone was over-egging the pudding.
 
billymac said:
I thought his substitutions were poor as we fell deeper and deeper when Procter and Beardsley came on, with Beardsley the ball just keeps comming right back at us as he cannot do the job job of holding it up, and when Robertson came on it was a bit manic towards the end.
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Which is why we need a proper centre forward who can hold the ball up. With a player like that we could, if circumstances require it, have just one player upfront with a solid five-man midfield behind him and Wroe, not King, getting forward in support when the opportunity occurs. Without such a player it is difficult to make the ball 'stick' at the other end of the field and you will just get forced back deeper and deeper. As I keep saying a big centre forward and an aggressive right-sided midfielder, not another lightweight winger, those are the two types of player we simply do not possess and the lack of whom constantly forces us into compromise formations.
 
billymac said:
I thought his substitutions were poor as we fell deeper and deeper when Procter and Beardsley came on, with Beardsley the ball just keeps comming right back at us as he cannot do the job job of holding it up, and when Robertson came on it was a bit manic towards the end.
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I suppose I go for a more defensive approach, but it is a game of opinions. I never felt we invited them on to us to any scary extent and there always looked to be something on the counter.
 
6pence said:
I suppose I go for a more defensive approach, but it is a game of opinions. I never felt we invited them on to us to any scary extent and there always looked to be something on the counter.
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By throwing Robertson on, and with Procter and Beardsley playing we were hardly set up for a counter, we were under the cosh for most of the final part of the game.

I also thought Rudd did not deal well with the crosses slung into our box and it was the blocking by the other players that kept them out near the end.

Great point though but we do need someone other than Beavon to keep other teams defenders working hard, King is a great worker but we do need more than him as a foil for a quick striker.
 
Beardsley was unlucky when he came on because every time he got the ball the ref gave a free kick, like when he brilliantly muscled the ball off their defender towards the corner but got blown for a foul for a bizarre reason. But I think we should have had Monakana and Garner on instead of Procter and Beardsley, but I guess the thinking was settle for a point late on instead of going for three, which I was angry about at the time, but looking back, I can see why Grayson did, for all we know we might have pushed forward and gotten caught out and lost the game 2-1
 
To be fair to SG and GS that was their first game in charge - a hard away trip to the league leaders - and though we could dream of someone like Monokana coming on and producing some outstanding skill to win us the game I'm sure most of us would be happy to see strong players defensively come on to help retain the point we had. Great result. And who knows, if Monokana weakened us defensively at that point and cost us the game we'd all have been a bit upset.

Hard work from the managers and players and steady improvements are the things I'm hoping for. And absolutely no complaints so far.
 
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