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Rambler wrote:
Small correction, Argus. McClure was substituted at half-time.. so in dug-out for 2nd half.
Rambler - I have to correct your correction . You will find that McClure came off midway through the 2nd half for the young kid Lewis (63rd minute is the exact time as recorded on X otherwise known as twitter). Owen-Evans and Nicholls were subbed at half time. To be fair McClure and Owen- Evans do have similar hairstyles
Last edited by Argus (18/11/2023 11:26 PM)
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Very poor first half performance. We were the home team, playing a team from a lower league, in a competition we should be able to do well in, playing down the slope, and I don't think we had any shots? Basingstoke clearly wanted it more than we did and they played to their strengths. At least the second half was better, clearly improved with the changes of personnel. I was confident when it went to penalties, particularly with Will Henry in goal.
At least we got through, arguably the main thing in a cup game. Looking forward to Tuesday, I'm sure it will be a completely different type of game.
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Humble apologies, Argus. Yet another "senior moment"...... ( according to Mrs Rambler).
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A much improved second half performance after a dire first half, especially once Fas and Spokes came on. Basingstoke’s time wasting caught up with them and their fitness levels seemed much inferior to ours I thought. Always confident with Will Henry in goal for penalties.
Alex Bray seemed to pull a hamstring so that could be a lengthy spell on the sidelines sadly - hope it’s not as bad as it looked.
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I just can’t get my head around why start with with a weaken eleven and have better players on the bench, surely it’s better to start stronger,get ahead then make changes, I know virtually every club does it.Thought we might have learnt after losing to Hungerford.In the end I suppose it made a exciting finish to the game.Basingstoke got what they deserved with all the time wasting, writing was on the wall when their goalie needed attention in the first-half for no apparent reason.According to one of their supporters it was nowhere near a full strength Basingstoke team, with a couple of loaners brought in, but then you can only beat what is in front of you.Let’s hope we get a favourable draw in the next round, and a few more coffers in the pot for the club.
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Looking forward to the draw later. They dug deep when against it down to 10 men and if anything actually produced some of the better attacking of the game at this point. Imagine this was a combination of pushing forward more knowing they needed a goal and a strong team spirit that they were not going to lose that game.
When it went to penalties, Will Henry once again showed why he is one of the best if not the best keepers in the National League South. Our boys kept their heads when they needed to. Hopefully we will be rewarded with a nice home tie or a local away game in round 3.
Also worth noting that the group behind the goal showed some maturity by not going back there for the penalties and staying by the corner.
oldman wrote:
I just can’t get my head around why start with with a weaken eleven and have better players on the bench, surely it’s better to start stronger, get ahead then make changes,
To be devils advocate, what if we started with our 'strongest team' (which of course is based on everyones individual opinion) and still went 1-0 down? Then what? Don't make any subs? I see your point but Football isnt as simple as that.
We have come a long way as a club to start someone as good as Tom Owen-Evans and call it a weaker team! I dont think Gary know's what his absolute nailed on best starting eleven is but I also would imagine with 4 games in 10 days he has to make some changes to the squad to keep players interested or rested. We won, deserved to score in the second half and were the better team by a long way in that half, even with 10 men.