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And the standard of play. Very scrappy game with little quality.
Worried about our young keeper, good stop stopper but think we’ll get undone with set pieces and long throws, never going to command his box against big guys like Marlon Jackson etc..
Looks like Will King is centre man in midfield.
Early days but fear it’s not going to get much better…hope I’m wrong.
And who’s idea was the bar queuing system at half time!!

Last edited by Wellard (12/8/2026 6:12 AM)

Agree with almost all of the above Wellard and Joiner.  Yate were simply more direct and physical than us for the final 35 minutes of the first half.  They ran through our midfield who are capable but essentially small players who were out-fought and out-muscled on too many occasions. Apart from Jackson's physicality Yate had a very good No 16 who caused us all sorts of problems and showed up where and what we are  lacking in midfield. I thought our front 3 were good, although decision making in and around the box in the first half probably cost us a goal. The big men work hard and cause all sorts of problems.  The back 4 got exposed lots of times in the first half due to direct running , some good crossing and because we lost so many midfield battles..  As Joiner says, our own crossing was really poor generally... far too many wasted, overhit balls. 
We got our act together in the 2nd half, and ran the show for large parts of it. One bright spot I thought was that more and more went through Leon Moore, who despite one or two errors looks as though he might  grow into the role of  being an effective distributor and mopper upper in front of the backline. He'd probably be my MotM for his 2nd half performance alone ( although he seemed to miss what seemed a sitter near the end) i don't think it was Will King's best game by any means, I'm afraid. 
Totally echo point 6.  The pitch was in far better condition than i would have expected. 
It was really important to  get that point last night. I'm sure the 2nd half performance and attitude is the way ahead. I'd want to get in a more physical midfielder if there is any money left for recruitment.  We have a glut of big forwards. (I notice Ollie Bray was there warming up) and a good selection of CBs.  The midfield is our weak spot.
 

Quite an enjoyable game to watch, despite being scrappy and poorly refereed, with chances at both ends, on another day there could have been more goals. Plenty of Yate supporters helped to ensure a good atmosphere. I agree with much of the above, particularly the comments about the defence looking vulnerable to crosses. It seemed inevitable to me that Yate would score from a corner. Hopefully that can be worked on. I thought a draw was a fair result in the end, although that would have been ruined had Zebroski taken his chance in the very last minute. I think Plymouth Parkway may well prove to be tougher opponents Saturday.