No Monkey Business

Anything yellow and blue
Post Reply
Dr Bob
Middle-Aged Spread
Posts: 1064
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:16 pm
Location: Nottingham

No Monkey Business

Post by Dr Bob »

Well, apart from a few poor tackles in the first half not being clamped down on by the ref. Nothing unusual there, though. That first half was an odd affair. We gift them a goal, but whilst 'Pool competed in midfield, they created very little indeed of any danger. Then again, playing with a distinct lack of tempo in the first half, neither did we. A couple of decent efforts from range was about all we could really muster.

Pool were more offensively minded than I expected them to be, at least in the first half - to their credit. Even so I reckoned this game would require patience. It was likely to take one or both of switching play or driving straight at them that would result in goals.

With the first goal, welcome back the old Robbie Hall. The first half of the first half he was quiet, but once he got going he was really effective. Great energy from several players as we drove forwards repeatedly in the second half. Lopez's assist might have been lucky, but he got into great positions and deserved that break.

But, of course, this was Shandon's game. His passing was, at times, exceptional and his ability on the ball to drive forwards, dribble through challenges, and have the strength to hold off defenders was incredible. The goal got lots of plaudits on MoTD, but I was disappointed they did not show the run he made just before that, and the pass to Sykes who could not find the finish to round off what might have been judged an even better goal.

As for the next round, I do not care who it is, home or away (expect another 3rd division team - that is always underwhelming). Bring it on!
Hog
Grumpy old git
Posts: 4540
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2006 3:30 pm

Re: No Monkey Business

Post by Hog »

Brilliant reaction by Sykes to Shandon's wonder goal ...

https://twitter.com/OUFCOfficial/status ... m.co.uk%2F
slappy
Grumpy old git
Posts: 2884
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:52 pm

Re: No Monkey Business

Post by slappy »

I was impressed by their away support. 779 fans on a long journey just afer New Year.
What I hadn't realised was that for I think the first ten of the last fifteen seasons they were playing at a higher level than us, mostly in League 1 whilst we were toiling away in the Conference, before three shared seasons in League 2, at which point our paths diverged so we went up to League 1 and they were relegated to the National League (possibly the next season).

It also looks like they spent the whole of the 1970s and 1980s in old div 4, so perhaps I shouldn't be expecting a Stevenage like non-league support.
Post Reply