U's:1 Fleet:1
We’re only five games into the season and we’ve already had two last minute goals. JQ must’ve been rubbing his lucky rabbit’s foot against a leprechaun or something. One hopes we haven’t used up all our good fortune for the season in one go.
In a performance reminiscant of the Woking game, United huffed, puffed, and nearly failed to blow down an Ebbsfleet defence well drilled by Liam Daish and Twinny Kimble. With Brown and Quinton added to the injury list, Quinn picked two natural defenders – Albrighton and Reed – alongside Rob Wolleaston in midfield. While this certainly added to the solidity of our already water tight defensive line, it left the front two very isolated, and too often we resorted to the big hoof up to LFW.
With Ebbsfleet effectively closing down Gleeson and Pitt, thus cutting off the supply from wide areas, chances were few and far between. Mark Peters had a goal disallowed for offside, and Lee Boylan had an angled shot saved by the keeper at the near post. The closest we came to a goal was when Gavin Hoyte strode forward from defence and, with no challenge forthcoming, unleashed a rocket of a shot which beat the keeper but smacked off the cross bar.
Having shown little in attack in the opening 20 minutes, Ebbsfleet came out of their shell and went on the offensive. Chukki Erribenne should’ve done better from close range, while Mark DeBolla’s quick free kick brought a fantastic leaping save from Danny Potter. Luke Moore was enjoying a running battle with Potter and the United fans after a spot of handbags between the young striker and United’s new keeper. So it was no surprise when he gave his team the lead just before half time, shrugging off a couple of challenges and firing in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area.
United improved a bit after the break, but the flow of the match was being continually disrupted by Ebbsfleet, who embarked on a blatant campaign of timewasting by throwing themselves to the floor at every opportunity. Referee Sarginson didn't help matters by blowing his whistle every 30 seconds, presumably to ensure we didn’t forget he was there.
It wasn’t until substitutes Smith, Hyem, and Rendell entered the fray that United really started to turn the screw. With the midfield looking more balanced and Rendell providing some dynamism up front, Ebbsfleet’s attempts to preserve their lead got more and more desperate. A cracking Pitt cross just eluded Boylan and Rendell in the middle, while Rendell was twice denied by great saves from Scott Tynan.
As the clock ticked into injury time, a pass from Gleeson found Hyem on the edge of the box. He arrowed a shot over Tynan, which hit the underside of the bar and bounced out. Whether it crossed the line or not is anyone’s guess, but Rendell followed up and nodded the ball into the net to make sure and preserve our unbeaten record.
I could probably just retype my summary of the Woking match here, as it would be equally applicable. We’re crying out for someone to give midfield a bit of creativity, but other than that there are plenty of promising signs. Hopefully we’ll have a couple of the injured players back (or maybe some new signings) and get back to winning ways on Friday night at Weymouth.
Man of the Match: Rob Wolleaston – An all action performance in which he at least tried to give some support to United’s isolated strikers.
In a performance reminiscant of the Woking game, United huffed, puffed, and nearly failed to blow down an Ebbsfleet defence well drilled by Liam Daish and Twinny Kimble. With Brown and Quinton added to the injury list, Quinn picked two natural defenders – Albrighton and Reed – alongside Rob Wolleaston in midfield. While this certainly added to the solidity of our already water tight defensive line, it left the front two very isolated, and too often we resorted to the big hoof up to LFW.
With Ebbsfleet effectively closing down Gleeson and Pitt, thus cutting off the supply from wide areas, chances were few and far between. Mark Peters had a goal disallowed for offside, and Lee Boylan had an angled shot saved by the keeper at the near post. The closest we came to a goal was when Gavin Hoyte strode forward from defence and, with no challenge forthcoming, unleashed a rocket of a shot which beat the keeper but smacked off the cross bar.
Having shown little in attack in the opening 20 minutes, Ebbsfleet came out of their shell and went on the offensive. Chukki Erribenne should’ve done better from close range, while Mark DeBolla’s quick free kick brought a fantastic leaping save from Danny Potter. Luke Moore was enjoying a running battle with Potter and the United fans after a spot of handbags between the young striker and United’s new keeper. So it was no surprise when he gave his team the lead just before half time, shrugging off a couple of challenges and firing in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area.
United improved a bit after the break, but the flow of the match was being continually disrupted by Ebbsfleet, who embarked on a blatant campaign of timewasting by throwing themselves to the floor at every opportunity. Referee Sarginson didn't help matters by blowing his whistle every 30 seconds, presumably to ensure we didn’t forget he was there.
It wasn’t until substitutes Smith, Hyem, and Rendell entered the fray that United really started to turn the screw. With the midfield looking more balanced and Rendell providing some dynamism up front, Ebbsfleet’s attempts to preserve their lead got more and more desperate. A cracking Pitt cross just eluded Boylan and Rendell in the middle, while Rendell was twice denied by great saves from Scott Tynan.
As the clock ticked into injury time, a pass from Gleeson found Hyem on the edge of the box. He arrowed a shot over Tynan, which hit the underside of the bar and bounced out. Whether it crossed the line or not is anyone’s guess, but Rendell followed up and nodded the ball into the net to make sure and preserve our unbeaten record.
I could probably just retype my summary of the Woking match here, as it would be equally applicable. We’re crying out for someone to give midfield a bit of creativity, but other than that there are plenty of promising signs. Hopefully we’ll have a couple of the injured players back (or maybe some new signings) and get back to winning ways on Friday night at Weymouth.
Man of the Match: Rob Wolleaston – An all action performance in which he at least tried to give some support to United’s isolated strikers.
Lookalike of the match: Referee Mr Sarginson looked like a thinner version of MOTD2 front man Adrian Chiles. I think the portly presenter would’ve probably done a better job.
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