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Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:31 am
by OtmoorYellow
Massively improved performance last night from our "2nd string", against a more or less full strength Covvy.

New keeper Jonathon Mitchell looks decent and balls out his defensive line. Made a few decent saves, getting down to low shots quickly, and catching shoulder height shots rather than just parrying them. His distribution was good too. I would have liked to see him come for crosses a little more, but 1st game in and you could almost physically see his confidence growing as the match went on. Good acquisition on this evidence.

Cameron Norman is much better than Tony McMahon in every sense. Quicker, more attacking, better positionally, and a decent throw in.

Garbutt looked much better with Gavin Whyte ahead of him and Whyte played pretty well linking the defense to the forward line.

Shandon Baptiste has done his chance of a start on Saturday no harm whatsoever. He is in much better form than Ruffels. He is strong, quick and covers a vast amount of the pitch. His passing is good and he is prepared to do the hard yards closing the ball down.

Mousinho had one of his best games for us. No sign of his customary major error per match.

Dickie looks better on the right of central defence.

Brannagan had an improved performance as well.

Marcus Browne was my MoM. Worked hard all game until subbed. Created chances for himself and others and was very dangerous running at the Covvy defence with the ball. Once again we were let down by soft refereeing as time and again the Covvy defence felled him when they couldn't take the ball fairly.

Henry played well albeit slightly within himself, and worryingly had a fair pack of ice on his knee after he was subbed.

Obika had an improved match as well, but still didn't really look like he would ever score. He had a couple of tame shots on target, and one decent shot into the side netting. His finishing was showed up by Gavin Whyte's goal, which was virtually identical to one that Obika shot directly at the keeper. But in fairness to Obika, his work rate was very good.

Of the subs, Sam Smith was probably the most effective. Lopes looked slightly between positions and occassionally wasn't sure whether to come forward, stay back, move inside. Jamie Mackies till looks unfit.

Robinson was yellow carded for having a go at the lino, who was somewhat inept at spotting offisdes.

It will be interesting to see us play Covvy again in the League in a few weeks for comparison. Barnsley are a very good side who have made virtually no changes since last season. Continuity and understanding are such a big part of football. Fleetwood are a bunch of cheats and conmen, who on another day with a tougher ref might not have been so fortunate. Covvy looked much weaker opposition, but maybe this is all part of the settling in process and reflective of our improvements.

As Ty has said, a manager needs time to gel a side together and we have quite a few talented players in our squad.

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 1:14 pm
by SWA
Excellent write up which I would fully agree with. But "Covvy"!? Surely, if you abbreviate, it should be Cov. "Covvy" just sounds daft to me! :lol:

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:56 pm
by Old Abingdonian
Would agree whole-heartedly with OY's post. Garbutt too looked better - good positioning and reasonable pace were great assets at times.

KR said on the radio he knew what his best team was - but I'm not so sure. I think Norman and Mousinho in particular did their chances of a start on Saturday no harm at all, and I would think that Browne must start - he was excellent.

I am aware we have no league points, but last night's starters with Holmes (for Whyte), Smith (for Obika) and Hanson (for Baptiste) looks pretty promising.

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:18 pm
by Radley Rambler
Hmm - Newport (a) - I can think of more interesting draws - only real consolation is it's winnable which could lead to a moneyspinner.

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:22 pm
by OtmoorYellow
Radley Rambler wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:18 pm Hmm - Newport (a) - I can think of more interesting draws - only real consolation is it's winnable which could lead to a moneyspinner.
I’m struggling to imagine a less appetising tie.

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:25 pm
by Kairdiff Exile
Well I'm very happy with it! A short bus ride from my home, a couple of exceptional pubs walking distance from the ground, and a chance to progress. Can't wait! :-)

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:28 pm
by Radley Rambler
Kairdiff Exile wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:25 pm Well I'm very happy with it! A short bus ride from my home, a couple of exceptional pubs walking distance from the ground, and a chance to progress. Can't wait! :-)
You may be in a small minority due to geography! a la Kernow Yellow when Plymouth or Exeter (a) is on the horizon.

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 5:43 pm
by Geoff
Less than an hour to Newport for me!

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:04 pm
by Shoobedoo
...and for me! 8)

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 9:10 am
by Kairdiff Exile
Well, no complaints about that one. For once, it was Oxford who took our chances and had a slice of good fortune, against opponents who might feel the scoreline was a tad harsh on them. Isn't it nice for it to be that way round for a change?

The game was dead as a contest in five minutes after Demetriou put a very good Garbutt cross through his own net, and then there was THAT bit of magic by Shandon Baptiste. There followed a relatively unremarkable game until Whyte's third - he might've had one shortly before after a blistering run wasn't capped by a good finish.

A few notes on the players:

Mitchell: I was amongst those who questioned bringing in a sub goalie when we've allegedly got good youngsters on our books, but he's been ever so good. Very solid last night, and showed good game management as well.
Norman: Very good game, and looks like he's adapting quickly to league football. Definitely deserves to be picked ahead of McMahon on this form.
Garbutt: Good assist for the goal, but still looks a bit slow to react at times for me. A definite weak spot in the team.
Hanson: The disappointment of the night - apart from get sent off (never a red card), I barely noticed him. I'd like to see Mousinho given a chance in his role whilst Hanson finds some form.
Baptiste: Superb goal, clearly full of confidence, but also put in a stonking 90 minute shift. Very encouraging to see such a young player being able to cope with a physical game. Really hope his appearances aren't limited to cup games and coming off the bench - he deserves to get his chance in the starting XI on a semi-regular basis.
Smith and Obika: Both were fine, but in a game where they could - should - have been filling their boots, neither really presented much of a goal threat. Why oh why haven't we signed a proper striker? We were crying out for one all summer, and on this showing we are going to be relying very heavily on midfielders / wingers to get our goals this season.

A good team performance against a decent Newport side - they will be mid-table or even top half in Div 4 - and a very welcome clean sheet. Lots to welcome there, particularly Baptiste's efforts, but also a few amber warning lights.

I come back to what I said at the start - Oxford benefited from some good fortune (the early OG) and a slice of individual brilliance - the sorts of things that have undone us in recent games. But what we (and KR) should take from that isn't that we've been unlucky or referees are against us - it's that good teams create their own luck. Attack sides and ping in good crosses, and they'll struggle to defend. Pick players who are fit and on form, and they might surprise you by what they can do. There are good lessons to be learnt if people are open to learning them.

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 7:25 pm
by Radley Rambler
Well that'll do in the third round. Reckon a full house and TV money must be worth £250k -time to snag a striker on loan before tomorrow night then.

Re: Land of the Caraboa, home of the beaver

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 7:50 pm
by Radley Rambler
Radley Rambler wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:18 pm Hmm - Newport (a) - I can think of more interesting draws - only real consolation is it's winnable which could lead to a moneyspinner.
This week's lottery numbers will be.......now that would be telling.