Mon 5 Nov 19:30 3RRB -v- Eddie Rockets

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Sorry about the lateness of this.

I'll just add the people who told me they can't make it, or are injured, the rest I'll assume will be there.

We've a fair few missing, so I'm taking nothing for granted for this.

Carl (keeper) -

Martian -
Darran - injured
Ed - can't be there
Dan -
Michael -
Geoff -
Simon -

Shay - injured
Colm Larkin - injured
Gav -
Sav - can't be there
Larry - can't be there
Dave -
Darragh -
Kenny -
Lepo -
Niall -

Joe - injured
Jules –
Art -
Fran -

emc2

Carl (keeper) -

Martian -
Darran - injured
Ed - can't be there
Dan -
Michael - I'll be there.
Geoff -
Simon -

Shay - injured
Colm Larkin - injured
Gav -
Sav - can't be there
Larry - can't be there
Dave -
Darragh -
Kenny -
Lepo -
Niall -

Joe - injured
Jules –
Art -
Fran -

FrankGrimes

feck, hope we're alright on numbers. I'll be there and can give lifts from Sandyford at 7pm

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We'll be grand for numbers.

Jules, I'll see you at the Beacon at 7?

FrankGrimes

Yeh, grand Des.

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Nice one.

WeAreShels

Carl (keeper) -

Martian - 75% Fitness
Darran - injured
Ed - can't be there
Dan -
Michael - I'll be there.
Geoff -
Simon -

Shay - injured
Colm Larkin - injured
Gav - working
Sav - can't be there
Larry - can't be there
Dave - Will be there
Darragh -
Kenny -
Lepo -
Niall -

Joe - injured
Jules –
Art -
Fran -

Q_Ball

I'm gonna wish i'd brought my gear

I'll be there to cheer anyway

thelepo

I shall be there.

Gileadi

ill be there, thats an impressive injury list btw

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WeAreShels wrote: »

...

Swear to god Dave, that avatar makes you look like a girl.

LeixlipRed

I don't have avatars on so I can't see how girl like Dave is. And I'm 100% to play Des. ie start me or I won't talk to you and hence, make you look cool anymore

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LeixlipRed wrote: »

I don't have avatars on so I can't see how girl like Dave is. And I'm 100% to play Des. ie start me or I won't talk to you and hence, make you look cool anymore

Meh, the team was here before you, it'll still be here after you.

BlackWizard

I will be there.

Lots of red in the list. Doesn't suit the thread, so hopefully its a once off.

murtagh

ill be there

niallnow

I'll be there.

Jules any chance of a lift from the Luas?

WeAreShels

DesF wrote: »

Swear to god Dave, that avatar makes you look like a girl.

Ha, I have an avatar?

Q_Ball

BlackWizard wrote: »

Lots of red in the list. Doesn't suit the thread, so hopefully its a once off.

Should be back next week so that'll be one less

LeixlipRed

We won 5-1. Dave 2, Dan, Lepo and Jules iirc. We didn't play great but the opposition were muck and I think that brought our level of play down too

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OK Lads, just looking at the league table on Astro.ie, it looks like only Fred West Ham put more past that team than us, beating them 6-1, so yeah, that was a decent result last night, especially given the players we had missing.

Some nice composed movements when we got near their goal, and some well taken goals, Dave's second from outside the box and the move for Jules goal was excellent.

An assist and a goal for Lepo, that's a good performance, Dan did well in the midfield, and got a goal too.

At 3-1 we went to three at the back, and maybe I messed up a bit by going 3-4-3 instead of 3-5-2, we lost the middle a bit, but I felt the defence could handle anything they threw at us. Added to that, I wanted to try and take the scoreline up a bit, and felt that by going with three up top, we could worry them a bit more.

Heh, apologies to Dave, I didn't realise you were on for a hat-trick, I forgot who scored the third goal, and in fairness, before your second I had called you over to the line

Another very solid performance from the defence, and we have more than adequate there, which I'm happy about. We aren't really weakened if we have to make changes back there, all of the lads concentrate for the whole game, and in general keep the opposition out. They generally score well worked and well taken goals against us, we have totally snuffed out the sloppy goals conceded. If we can keep that up, and the attackers start to gel a bit more, we can make an impact.

We have eleven goals in six games, scored by seven different people, so we're spreading the goals around a good bit.

We were looking up and getting some early ball into the box, fine it might not all have come off, but if we keep it up, it will, just like the move for Jules' goal, that will happen sooner and more often in games for us, and we'll reap the rewards.

Anyway, that's enough from me for now, we play SS Rovers next week, they are playing FWH tonight, so if we assume that FWH win, we can go above SS if we beat them next week, and take our points tally into double figures.

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OK, a little perspective.

We're a third the way through the new season.

This time last season, here are our results :

Tues April 10th 20:00 -v- Inter yerauldone (2-7)
Tues April 17th 19:45 -v- Fabulous Benedictine Monks (2-2)
Tues April 24th 20:00 -v- Inter Yeraulwan (0-7)
Tues May 1st 20:30 -v- PH Mc cARTHY (4-2)
Tues May 8th 20:45 -v- Pigsback (3-0)
Tues May 15th 18:45 -v- riverdeep (1-3)

Won two, lost four.

Goals For : 12
Goals Against : 21 :eek:
Goal Difference : -9
Points : 6

This Season

Mon 17 Sept 19:30 -v- Fred West Ham (1-2)
Mon 24 Sept 19:30 -v- IFG United (2-0)
Tue 9 Oct 21:00 -v- Ravenhill (2-0)
Tue 16 Oct 21:00 -v- IBM DSL FC (0-1)
Tue 30 Oct 21:00 -v- Dunbar Pensioners (1-3)
Mon 5 Nov 19:30 -v- Eddie Rockets (5-1)

Won three, lost three

Goals For : 11
Goals Against : 7
Goal Difference : +4
Points : 9

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So, what this shows.

Well, we've certainly come a long way in the Goalkeeper and Defensive parts of our game, conceding three times less the amount of goals, that is a very big positive.

Our goalscoring has remained largely static, but maybe last night shows just what is needed to get goals. A bit more passing in and around the box, cool heads, and get the ball into the box quickly from wide areas.

More than that though, I think we've come very far as a team, but maybe not far enough. The attacking players still, at times, look like they are strangers, not used to each others game, but with more and more games, I think that will change.

Nice one on the season so far, I'm happy with it. I think we were beaten by a better team last week, but the other two defeats were avoidable.

homerjay2005

good stuff lads, good result!

emc2

That's a pretty fair reflection on the season so far Des. The game last night was one we may have lost last year. One little thing last night is that we could have taken a few more shots, there goal keeper was useless and wasn't tested enough by us I think (Dan's goal for example).

We still need to knuckle down and work hard on our own games and for the team, we're not out of the running totally yet so we've got to keep playing like we want to win it (the league). A couple of draws in tonights games would help us.

LeixlipRed

I'm still confident (depending on other teams results) that we'll finish in the top 3 atleast come the end of the season. If we go out there believing we can win every one of the last 12 matches then we'll achieve that.

Also, Des, any word on our first cup game?

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emc2 wrote: »

The game last night was one we may have lost last year

If we'd have lost against that shower last season, I would have walked away.

LeixlipRed wrote: »

Also, Des, any word on our first cup game?

Well, I haven't heard anything from the league. But, I've heard two differing things. Geoff reckons there's no cup in the Winter, and a lad I know who plays in a team in Div2 says there is. They haven't been notified either though.

WeAreShels

DesF wrote: »

Heh, apologies to Dave, I didn't realise you were on for a hat-trick, I forgot who scored the third goal, and in fairness, before your second I had called you over to the line

Ha, why do you think I had a shot instead of passing

FrankGrimes

Decent performance lads, and great result. We weren't at our best, but neither were we at full strength, so that's a very decent return.

I felt we did play with a bit more composure around the box than before and had more willingness to take a touch and try make something happen. And with a solid defence behind us, that's what we've kept on saying is the only real change needed to make the breakthrough. Personally, I really enjoyed the game cos I just felt that I was consciously trying to hold onto the ball a bit more, try a backheel here and there, and generally keep the defence guessing where the attack will come from. That's a little different than always playing the percentages with one touch balls and layoffs and it pays dividends when done in the right area.

I guess the message is wingers & fullbacks out wide in final 3rd should be playing the percentage ball to get it into the danger area early and those in and around that danger area need to take more personal responsibility to make something happen by holding onto it to draw a tackle and beat a man or play the ball that will create a chance - creativity is required in this area, but not 40 yards out from goal.

Across the park lads seemed to be playing with less fear and more willingness to give something a go knowing it's no big deal if it doesn't come off, when attempted in the right area. That's great to see lads enjoying their football a bit more and it will help the team flow more naturally.

It's tough to be picky at after a result like that, but as Sav will no doubt agree, what you need to do after a result like that is enjoy the victory for a few days, and then make a candid assessment on what needs to be improved to keep the performance standard high.

We need to improve the standard of crosses from out wide into the box from level with the box or 15 yards outside it, and still need to keep in mind that in those position the priority is to get it into the danger area. A better team would've punished us for playing around too much at the back. I think we only got 2 quality crosses whipped into the box in the whole game, and we scored off one and had 3 queueing up for the 1st, but defender just managed to knock it out - we kept possession so it's a good percentage ball to play.

Still, felt nice to stick 5 past them diving women - for me that's as low as it gets in football so they deserve everything they get!