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Hard fought win, more than needed or necessary but I take it. Should've been 2:0 as Demirovic scored in stoppage time but that goal was taken back because of a "foul" that wasn't there grrr
Going into the international break at 4th place now@650lb Sumo
+ Everton also won this afternoon
@Arqueto
VfB in back-to-back Champions League seasons zum allerersten Mal?
Mach Platz für uns!
Match Report
I went to Whitby Town vs Hebburn Town on Saturday afternoon. It was a match in the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy. Hebburn play in the same league as the Seasiders. The attendance was 281 - the lowest for a long time, as far as I can remember. I suppose people aren't as up for FA Trophy matches, at least not in the early stages. Hebburn did have a big, glossy 'Hebburn is a place on earth' banner though.
Whitby performed broadly similarly to last time out. The goalie and defence (Gary Liddle played again) were well-coordinated and quite effective, but offensively we were poor. The movement up the pitch was not up to scratch. Few good, offensive passing or shooting options materialised. We held possession ok but I expect the xG was very low. It was better than last time though. Anyway no matter how good your back line and goalie are, if your midfield isn't taking enough of the weight of the other side's offence they will eventually be swamped, which is what happened. The marking, interception, obstruction of passing channels and pressure off the ball were inadequate, and Hebburn went on the attack immediately.
They scored after 26' and hit the post once and had several other shots on target. The first half ended 0 - 1.
However obviously the tactics were adjusted at half time and we posed more of a threat up front in the second half. Unexpectedly we got the ball delivered to the feet of our winger Jarrett Rivers in the Danger Zone, and he equalised at 51'. Unfortunately he then almost immediately was subbed off for a minor injury. Although as the second half wore on we did continue to apply more intelligent pressure on Hebburn, the quality of finish was never as good as for the goal, so we had a few decent shots on target but no more goals. Hebburn scored again at 75'.
So we were beaten at home by a team eight places above us and are out of the Trophy after one match, neither of which is good.
Still there was clear improvement from last time, and we were unlucky with an injury, so I'm not despairing. At this level there aren't transfer windows but a deadline in early March after which transfers can not be made. The money situation I think is not great but maybe we could bring in a couple of new players. If we could get a star assister to play KDB to our Haaland (Donald Chimalilo) for instance. The midfield has to improve a lot, and to a slightly lesser extent so do the strikers, for us to be more competitive.
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!!
man needs the sweatshirt. They even got Rooney out for it
