Coalville Town (A)

[Del]

Match scheduled for: Saturday 24 September - kick-off time: 15:00
Venue: Mander Cruickshank Solicitors Stadium, Owen St, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 3DA
Link to opponents official website: https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/coalvilletown

League table: https://southern-football-league.co.uk/ ... 22/2023/P/

[Perton Pitman]

We dont appear to have signed any players ahead of this fixture.

[PitmanKeith]

Excellent Official Match Preview here:

https://www.hednesfordtownfc.com/2022/0 ... sford-town

[Lee K]

[jackiemaund]

Arrived at Coalville after a forty five minute drive and having wandered round the ground to meet and greet any fellow Hednesford supporters I decided with dark clouds looming to sit in the main stand consisting of two rows of benches.
Right from the start we were up for it and after a period of pressure Lita scored with a low shot to the far corner.
Not long after we went two up when a cross from the left was met again by Lita.
They were in the game but we never seemed likely to concede and at half time it all looked very comfortable and we were all looking forward to the second half and getting a third just to cement the win.
Boy oh boy were we in for shock .
They came out for the second half and had changed their shape taking off their new signing Pendley and bringing a midfielder on playing a three five two formation and right from the off they were at us,they’d probably had a right rollicking at half time into the bargain.
At first we held them quite well but they started to cut thru our midfield like a knife thru butter and after numerous chances they scored with a close range effort.
We were in trouble and truth is we looked desperate and it was only a matter of time before they scored again and after that a winner.
So three two it was and they deserved it.
To coin an expression”they were all over us”
We barely got out of our half and only rarely threatened them.
Our midfield three were being overwhelmed and we were desperate for some changes to be made to the formation but it never happened.
I’m not blaming any player I thought they gave their all today with some such has Riley,Ebbut and Clements losing their legs towards the end has they have had very little game time.
We defended gallantly,the midfield battled on despite being outnumbered however the front three rarely saw the ball in the second half.
We were all distraught at the end but looking back there are plenty of positives to take out of the game particularly our first half performance where new signings Livingstone provided plenty of good crosses and Clements showed he still has plenty to offer.
There’s little doubt Coalville will be there or there abouts come the end of the season.
I’m still confident we can get out of this mess but it’ll probably go right to the wire.
Man of the match - wow difficult with two distinct halves but I’ll go for Bailey who marshalled his troops well and battled to the end.
Management - Five out of ten sadly I thought game management was poor we needed to respond to their change in shape but we didn’t
Officials - eight out of ten hardly noticed them
Supporters - Nine out ten perhaps twenty or so hardy suffering souls who at least had the opportunity to see us take a two goal lead.
Entertainment value - Nine out of ten based on a neutral who would have more than enjoyed it.
Next match Tuesday night home to Bromsgrove I’m confident this will be our first win of the season
Finally Sullivan picked up a nasty injury and may be out for a while and Portman didn’t look to good at the end.

[PitmanKeith]

https://southern-football-league.co.uk/ ... 22/2023/P/

First time I've seen this in a good many years.
But as Yazz said The Only Way Is Up.

[Lee K]

It was a lot better to begin with. Played 4-4-2, which the fans have wanted for 12 months, attacked from the off and looked good and went 2-0 up deservedly.
But Steve was reminded by the end that it won’t be easy and more players coming in may need to be considered because they battered us second half. The midfield and the strikers didn’t work hard enough and we didn’t defend from the front. They lost the ball too easily and the keeper and the defence were under considerable pressure all half. I still don’t think they should have had the free kick from which they scored the second goal but the video will answer that. We might have got at least one or all three points had we played a team in mid table or at the bottom but this was a hard game and Coalville are a good side when they get going.
It was good to see the ineffective Bennett dropped but after O’Sullivan went off injured after a bright start back in his proper position, Ebbutt came on and was equally as ineffective. Changes need to be made if possible as those two players are just not good enough.
The midfield were overrun in the second half and at 1-2 we needed to bring Wilding on as a defensive midfielder for extra help. At that point with the way things were going there was no need for four attacking players to still be on the pitch. Livingstone should have been withdrawn for Wilding but it didn’t happen

[TMVP]

Highlights

[TMVP]

Steve Burr post-match interview

[Lee K]

Disgraceful decision by the referee to give them that free kick for the second goal. It should have been a free kick to us. Their player made no attempt to go for the ball unlike Martin Riley who did go for it and won it.

[Lee K]

[sheriff]

first goal was shocking defending so was their third, two good goals from us but there is still some deadwood on the pitch

[Del]

https://southern-football-league.co.uk/ ... 22/2023/P/

First time I've seen this in a good many years.
But as Yazz said The Only Way Is Up.

Good point - at least for the next few months we can't drop down any lower in the table!