Runcorn Linnets came to Surrey having only lost once in their last 12 league games. They looked well organised and played the channels well, turning our full backs at every opportunity. Although very frustrated with the result, myself and Paul are happy with the way our defence coped under pressure. It has been swapped and changed due to recent injuries but the current back 5 are beginning to gel and communicate well. Lee McGregor’s return from injury has most definitely had a positive impact , although Lee suffered a slight hamstring strain and with the amount of games to play in such a short time we will now have to assess his fitness prior to our next games. Nick Allen continues to do a job stepping in at left back but we feel a change is needed in getting Nick into his right position in midfield as it was there (the engine room) where we needed to dictate the game from.
As a team we still have to do the basics right and make it easier for ourselves to re-organise and maintain shape. They only scored through being awarded not one but two very dubious penalties. One given for a push but when asked not knowing who pushed who and the other for a theatrical fall inside the area when most definitely it was outside the box. Not here to blame officials though, that’s too easy.
We could not find our rhythm in midfield with some woeful passing. Too often we could not find a blue shirt and gave the ball way very cheaply indeed. We want the lads to play whenever possible and encourage them to do so starting at the back if the opportunity arises. Although limited, we had our chances to score but didn’t take them. If converted then we’d have had a chance to take something from the game. Thank you very much to all that attended and those who shovelled the snow to get the game on.
Thursday, Bootle. Lee McGregor rested due to tight hamstrings, Rick Winstanley work commitments, Ash Smallwood holiday, Mark Battersby injured, Danny Browne family emergency were all missing.
We want to give credit where it is due as, again, many enforced changes had to be made to our starting eleven due to the above however there were many positives to take from the game.
Bootle are very organised and strong, from the outset we put in place a strong midfield with Oaksey, Mike Jones and Nick Allen and we matched them whilst also creating good opportunities to score. The lads at the back also did a great job and were again well marshalled by Kelvin..
We are missing strikers. Battersby is still injured and we await a further assessment to see how much longer he will be out for. We have been keeping a good eye on our reserves and will utilise other forwards within the club to hopefully bridge the gap up top.
We just could not get the ball to stick up in the final third but matched Bootle all over the park in the first 45 minutes going in level at half time.
In the second half Bootle put three up top to stop us playing from the back but on occasions we still managed to break their lines. Jake Williams did a good job on the overlap and Jay put some quality crosses into the box but no one was in the right areas to connect. More movement was also needed at times to give our full backs options to feet as we stopped doing that in the second half giving our defenders little other option other than to clear their lines.
Bootle did create their first goal from good passing and movement around our box.
Our lads continued to work hard in going for the equaliser but then a sucker punch with Ben dropping the ball at the feet of their striker made it 2-0.
We played right up to the final whistle and never gave up carving out further chance to get a goal as Sam Marshall struck a difficult ball to control high over the bar. Hammy was given 30 minutes as his experience was needed and minutes under his belt will do him no harm in helping his recovery.
Key players not being available is making what has already been a horrendous season with injuries even more difficult. We just have to get on with it and we are.
Take nothing away from the players who played against Bootle on Thursday night, most having played 3 games in 6 days already. We gave a good account of ourselves and with players returning on Saturday we will remain confident that we can get something from the game.
As always we thank you for your support.
