*** Match Thread*** Tuesday 21st Vs Bowser Castle 8pm COLM

helimachoptor

I've sent teamers, everyone should get it but theres a few that havent registered on the site, please do so you dont miss any comms.

Big test this week, these guys beat the full irish. We had a great performance last week, need to put in a similar shift again


Cathal - In
Ciaran - In
Damo - In
Darren - In
Derek -
Derek McL - in
Ed - Away
Jules -In
Keith - In
SteK - In
SteMcd -In
Dave -
Calvin - In
Kieran - in
Al - In
Dave O'toole - In
Kenny
Clay -in

Keaner

In

homerjay2005

im away with work, best of luck.

be prepared lads, this lot are very very good, a former grass team that won multiple LSL leagues.

SteMcD1

in.

"these guys beat the full irish"

not according to results so far:

Dell FC 1 3 Bowser Castle
Bowser Castle 3 0 Dargle Celtic

only thing we know about them is ed thinks they're the ****.

mrDerek

In

sReq | uTeK

In.

If this is the team that beat Dell, they look alright but I actually thought DELL were the far far better team and lost due to terrible terrible ref decisions.

Anyway, see you all up there, Should be a good indication on where we are at compared to the rest of the league .

helimachoptor

decent squad out again, will be used to keep things fresh i'd imagine

homerjay2005

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

In.

If this is the team that beat Dell, they look alright but I actually thought DELL were the far far better team and lost due to terrible terrible ref decisions.

Anyway, see you all up there, Should be a good indication on where we are at compared to the rest of the league .

this aint the game we saw last week and Dell actually won that game! they beat Dell 2 weeks ago, 3-1 i think.

Mousewar

Right, Ed seems to think this crowd are the second coming of Total Football so we've been warned. Chances are then that it'll be a tough game. As a result, we'll probably come under pressure and we may fall behind at some point in the match. If that happens, we need to keep the head. We stand a better chance of getting back into the game if we keep our cool than if we start blowing up at each other.

homerjay2005

Mousewar wrote: »

Right, Ed seems to think this crowd are the second coming of Total Football so we've been warned. Chances are then that it'll be a tough game. As a result, we'll probably come under pressure and we may fall behind at some point in the match. If that happens, we need to keep the head. We stand a better chance of getting back into the game if we keep our cool than if we start blowing up at each other.

lol.....wouldnt put it like that and of course the message should always go out to concentrate on our own strengths first, they are strong with 3 or 4 really top class players (if available of course). at least we know to expect a tough game and be focused from the start, rather than expecting a handy one and its too late before we get going.

ive sent keith on a few points about them, where they are strong and where we can get at them but its one of those games where it will be a battle and important to pressure them when we dont have the ball.

sReq | uTeK

Mousewar wrote: »

Right, Ed seems to think this crowd are the second coming of Total Football so we've been warned. Chances are then that it'll be a tough game. As a result, we'll probably come under pressure and we may fall behind at some point in the match. If that happens, we need to keep the head. We stand a better chance of getting back into the game if we keep our cool than if we start blowing up at each other.

If you play ****, you're getting RICK ROLLED

Mousewar

3-3

I think it was a good point even though it kinda hurts after being 3-1 up.
We did something well tonight that we struggled with a bit last season - we were clinical. We didn't get many chances but we took them so well done to Derek and Cathal for the goals.

Ed was right - they were a very good team. It was exhausting at the back tracking them constantly. I didn't touch the ball for about 10 mins at the start of the game but I was still wrecked tracking them all the time as they kept the ball and kept it moving well.

That kind of tracking tires the team as a whole as well so it was great to have so many numbers up that we could make changes and keep up with them.

homerjay2005

Mousewar wrote: »

3-3

I think it was a good point even though it kinda hurts after being 3-1 up.
We did something well tonight that we struggled with a bit last season - we were clinical. We didn't get many chances but we took them so well done to Derek and Cathal for the goals.

Ed was right - they were a very good team. It was exhausting at the back tracking them constantly. I didn't touch the ball for about 10 mins at the start of the game but I was still wrecked tracking them all the time as they kept the ball and kept it moving well.

That kind of tracking tires the team as a whole as well so it was great to have so many numbers up that we could make changes and keep up with them.

as the season progresses, this will come as a point gained. like for instance, i think if we are to be challenging for the league, it will be them in the shake up along with O Dwyerski...both of those are excellent teams. we match their results and maybe beat them the second time around, then we are in good shape.

thats one tough game out of the way and by the sounds of it, we more than held our own so it bodes well for the season.

mrDerek

Pros: Good pressing in the first half
Goals
Not much moaning

Cons:Midfield went missing in the second half
Struggling big time with winning headers
Not enough penetration down the flanks

homerjay2005

mrDerek wrote: »

Struggling big time with winning headers
Not enough penetration down the flanks

this was two of the things they would be strong at, so i wouldnt worry about it. not sure if he was playing, but their left full is one of the best players playing astro in Dublin, so its no wonder we didnt get much joy there.

they are really strong in the air, two big lads, one in CM and one up front and they thrive off it.

mrDerek

chap they had at the back was like 6,6 and built like a monster was pretty frustrating having clay fruitlessly boot it up everytime no way would i be winning those and if i did who'd i be flickin em onto steo was off the pitch all game for some reason. Hopefully in the weeks to come we can vary it up attacking wise a little as i was running around like a headless chicken half the night chasing down hopeless balls!

helimachoptor

Manager decision Derek, no one wants to sit on the bench but with I think in the end 16 lads a lot of people are going to see bench time.

Anyway yeah pretty much agree with everything, we played well in the first and bounced back from their goal and Murtaghs sending off.

But for the 2nd time in 2 games we conceded a goal right from the KO, needs to stop.

We played our best football to feet, but I think in the 2nd half due to the pressure we were under it result in a fair amount of hoodball and apart from being a big lad their centre half is decent aswell.

I don't think we won one header from our own kick out, their number 10 is a great player but we need to challenge even if we don't win them

Definitely one of the best teams in the league so we should hooefully get back to a bit more fluid footballing next week

SteMcD1

helimachoptor wrote: »

Manager decision Derek, no one wants to sit on the bench but with I think in the end 16 lads a lot of people are going to see bench time.

i understand this. it's a far better situation for the team to have plenty of options. but today i was on for 5 mins at the start, then less than 3 mins at the very end. the least playing time of anyone in the squad today by far. if i'm the worst player in the squad someone please tell me so i can go ahead and take up table tennis or golf or something.

SteMcD1

can't edit that pst ^ for some reason.

wanted to add that i've pm'ed des to whinge about my exclusion.

homerjay2005

i guess the most pleasing thing from the first 2 games is that we have played two high standard teams and more than held our own.

we still have 8 games to play against "social" teams which realistically, are 8 games we simply have to win if we are to have any chance of being in the shake up.

if we do that, how we get on then in the remaining games against the other higher teams, will determine whether we can win this league, but its so far so good, with Dell up next week.

TFI have had a total disaster start, 3 defeats and -12 goal difference, which is very surprising as they are a really decent team with some really good players.

Mousewar

Cork will be a big challenge this year I reckon. They were in serious form at the end of last season.

FrankGrimes

2 weeks ago there was talk about not being able to hold our own in this higher standard league, now there's hypothetical talk of being in contention for the league. I'm always an optimist myself, but it's times like that make the widespread nature of cliches like 'take every game at a time' understandable.

Think Derek's summary highlights the key points of how it went. Daryl's comments on the sideline were also spot on: we pressed up and played the game in their half in the 1st half, started sitting deeper in the 2nd half - some of that was the wind, some of it was them pressing to chase the game. Some of it we could have changed by better passing movements out of defence, some of it you just have to accept is how it goes when you're under the kosh at times against quality opposition. But we defo let the gap between our defence and midfield & attackers get too big in the 2nd half.

Agree that Derek was living off scraps for much of the time with the CH being favourite for high balls, but have to say I thought he did excellently with limited service. I think more understanding for what it can be like up there and isolated when playing as lone striker is needed. Sure, at times midfielders get frustrated when he tries to beat his man and it doesn't come off when they were free for a layoff, but you have to give a goal-scoring striker a bit more license to try adventurous things as when they come off they turn the game. From what I see, he lays it off sometimes, takes on the man other times (and this pays off a high enough % of the time for it to be more than worthwhile), that's fine so I think a little more patience is needed - just a quiet word to remind him he had the option is all that's needed.



Think everyone recognises we have no problem with talent - we've definitely got the best strength in depth throughout the squad I can recall in the 8 or 9 years since we started. Clearly, this is going to raise selection headaches for the manager, and already has. That's one of those good problems.

No issue with how things have been handled here, but it's just timely for a reminder that all feedback on your own selection or suggestions on broader team selection, should be made directly to the manager in private rather than stating them explicitly or implicitly on the public forum. Boards.ie private messages actually give us a very handy option for that.

Tough for the manager to juggle trying to keep 16 quality players happy in a very tight game, he can't be expected to get every thing 100% perfect every single time, and don't think he'd claim to but he does tend to be open to giving feedback raised in the right way fair consideration before making his decisions.

dfx-

Being honest, it was the most dogged disciplined boards performance I've seen, incredible pressure in the first half in their half. They couldn't handle it, could've been more than 3-1 at HT. But that was always going to tell towards the end of the second half where they got a few chances and their keeper had no save to make as players tired.

I think the game turned on the goal after halftime. Their third goal and first goal were well-taken, but the second gave them the belief they could chase the deficit so early on. I thought they grew wise to the pressure at the back and started to play the ball longer quicker to the centreforward who as Ed said, was winning most things in the air so they could get around the pressure, causing the midfielders to drop back in and created the gap to the strikers. They are a good side, that's no fault of boards - you have to drop back in cases like that or get overrun.

Despite that, they didn't create a whole lot considering and it was a very evenly matched game, a credit to the team. Where's the return game, their left back and right winger could cause damage on a wide pitch in Benildus.

murtagh

Generally fair and accurate points raised above... hard to disagree with.
Think my yellow forced a reshuffle of personnel, as well as obviously leaving us a man down. Sorry about that, it was just a poor tackle (rather than a losing-the-head moment), its been quite a while since I played against a guy with feet as quick as that winger.
Its true that the gap in front of our back 4 was bigger in the 2nd half, and Kenny pointed this out directly a few times, but their strikers were quality and they showed what damage they could do latching on to balls over the top so we were hesitant to push up and give them an even bigger target to land balls into.

As Jules said, its prob best to directly address concerns you have to the manager rather than
a) bringing it up on the public thread, or
b) not saying anything at all

sReq | uTeK

Good performance, sorry about being late, **** me getting parking in there is a joke.

I should probably have called a name on kick off, then a ball over the top and we were caught cold. In the 1st half we pressed high but you can't continue to do that for an hour straight, so it's obvious we tapered off a bit towards the end.

I don't agree with the midfield going missing, whilst we didn't win many headers ( I never will btw - it's not my game) they controlled the middle because our defense had pushed back to our 18 yard line leaving a gap of 30 yards for their midfielders to run into, contrast that to their defense who played EXTREMELY high up the pitch. Creating ZERO space for us to run into. And in certain games that's fine, we had to drop back, we were tiring a bit and they were coming in waves. Being honest there defenders were not worried about being caught behind so they could push up. We were.

If we're playing them again I believe we need to play a high line and rely on our keeper to act as a sweeper, our keeper can play on the penalty box so long as they don't have the ball within shooting distance, this way we can play the high line and there will be ZERO space for their midfielders to run into.

Again not sure if anyone noticed, but they were playing 3 in the middle, 13, 6 and 10, with 6 holding. In a game like this when you're not getting a foot on the ball and just tracking, tracking, tracking 3v2 in there makes it easy for them to play triangles around us, when this happens our number 10 (behind the striker) needs to pressure their 6 (deep lying play maker) this didn't happen at all in the 2nd half.

Here is how most of their attacks started in the 2nd half.

6 picks it up, Kenny or I went to press, as our defense is so far back he can give it to 13 or 10 who are in 20 + yards of space, then they normally gave it to their overlapping left back or their nippy right winger (BTW guys need to stop diving in, just jockey a player ) and they normally played a ball into box or into their forwards feet.

A good performance and we showed that we can grind out a result, last year I think we would have put our heads down at 3-3 and lost that, but we didn't this time and there was no moaning.

2 well taken goals by Derek and a great goal from Murtagh had them rocking, if we didn't concede in the 1st 10 seconds of the 2nd half and had held them off for a while longer.....who knows.

I think it's important we focus on the next game now as it's only around the corner , great showing by the new guys.

One thing, if you don't start so be it. It should be seen as a good thing that you're replaceable not a negative thing, squads win leagues not individuals. Look at the great teams and they all have strength and Depth. We have this and we need to utilize it.

sReq | uTeK

mrDerek wrote: »

chap they had at the back was like 6,6 and built like a monster was pretty frustrating having clay fruitlessly boot it up everytime no way would i be winning those and if i did who'd i be flickin em onto steo was off the pitch all game for some reason. Hopefully in the weeks to come we can vary it up attacking wise a little as i was running around like a headless chicken half the night chasing down hopeless balls!

Sometimes being a striker is fruitless chasing down players and trying to make stuff happen on your own is part and parcel of playing up top especially in a game that's going to be hard fought and 50/50. It was also fruitless for midfielders constantly chasing 3 players playing triangles around us and covering left and right back positions as they have overlapping players but thats our job when we don't have the ball. Every game is not going to be a 5-0 win with us having 70% of the ball and individuals scoring 3+ goals every game. I think as soon as we realize this we will be in a better position.

As for people being off the pitch there was plenty of us off the pitch. We can't play every minute especially with a squad of 16, there are going to be people unhappy every week but just put your head down and work harder when you get on and make the managers decision harder that's all you can do.

mrDerek

No my point was that there was no variety in attacking play and that if there is a giant centre half in addition to a secondary ch nearby and that constant route ones upto me were not likely to pay off

mrDerek

Also if running out of steam is a problem we should prob look to playing against the wind first half from now on when we have the energy to cope

FrankGrimes

Some good points there Darren. Particularly agree that 3 CMs vs 2 CMs can easily play basic triangles around our 2 CMs. To offset that, #10 role dropping deeper to press the deepest of their CMs is key. What also helps is our wingers playing narrower and deeper when we don't have the ball, and fullbacks pushing up and in when we don't have the ball. All that can make the circle of space our 2 CMs have to marshall against their 3 CMs a lot smaller and more manageable and then the workload is more evenly spread. We did that well in the 1st half this week, less so in the 2nd. 2 CMs can only be expected to cover so much ground, so we can all chip in with pressing that vital space in the middle.

Agree also that variety is the key with attacking in different ways to avoid becoming predictable to the opposition defenders: too many high balls, or our strong tendency to shunt it laterally to the right, are things we can offset by mixing it up a bit more. Little bit of everything, done at the right times, and we're all good, we're not far off establishing that right balance.

Good point on playing into the wind 1st half, can certainly keep that in mind for the next coin-toss, and let's take to the goal to the left next week when we go onto the pitch.

sReq | uTeK

mrDerek wrote: »

No my point was that there was no variety in attacking play and that if there is a giant centre half in addition to a secondary ch nearby and that constant route ones upto me were not likely to pay off

Derek most of the game you received ball to feet, it was rare with the exception of kick outs it was every lumped up to you. Kick outs were not taken short because in this particular game they had very high pressing wingers and also a centre forward so it could only go one way and that was long. in effect they had a 4-3-3 most of the game with their full backs acting as wingers, in the 2nd half at times they may as well have been playing 2-5-3 we were under that much pressure.

Also your comment about being knackered has nothing to do with with the elements at hand, its from playing a very high pressing game for 30 minutes then chasing and covering non stop for the next 30.

mrDerek

disagree with you on parts there ye the ball was played to feet on occasion but a lot of the time it went long.

Also are you trying not to see my point on purpose? my point was about the wind is that in future games if we are knackered by the half way point having played a solid pressing game.. having the wind against us in the second would go against us hence why i suggested we play into the wind first half so at least if we are wrecked we dont have to contend with unfavorable conditions as well. it wasnt an observation on the game itself but now that you mentioned it dont be daft formation and opposition quality aside of course the wind played its part against us that night.
youd have to be barking mad to think it didnt.