|
Post by Boomer on May 12, 2023 16:00:17 GMT
|
|
|
Post by middxsaint on May 12, 2023 16:34:11 GMT
|
|
hsc
Saints Trialist
Posts: 17
|
Post by hsc on May 13, 2023 9:10:19 GMT
Some more tickets have been released in the home section
|
|
|
Post by saintsdad on May 13, 2023 12:33:27 GMT
Some more tickets have been released in the home section GIMME A C
|
|
|
Post by middxsaint on May 13, 2023 16:20:28 GMT
|
|
hotsaint
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 291
|
Post by hotsaint on May 14, 2023 11:49:50 GMT
2-0 Oxford 14 mins
|
|
|
Post by citycentresaint on May 14, 2023 11:54:01 GMT
With our best player on the bench.
|
|
|
Post by middxsaint on May 14, 2023 12:01:07 GMT
|
|
hotsaint
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 291
|
Post by hotsaint on May 14, 2023 12:26:13 GMT
4-0 HT
|
|
|
Post by notsorecentconvert on May 14, 2023 12:26:34 GMT
Game over at half time, sadly. We’ve not been in it at all.
Jeffers Leaving Jeffers on the bench looks like the result of a manager who’s trying to be too clever. No point worrying about it being a 120-minute match if you’re out of it after 15. Must be a huge boost to the opposition to see the league’s top scorer on the bench.
We play better without him, apparently. Well, we may get the chance to test that theory over 46 games next season. While I get the data driven analysis the fact is he takes shots and scores goals and he worries defenders. Says it all when he’s brought on after 37 minutes at 0-3 down.
Pitch The Oxford City pitch is notorious but this is the first time I’ve seen it up close. Their players know how it rolls and bounces and it’s a terrific advantage. It’s a dreadful surface - even worse than Hemel’s.
Playing out from the back Calamitous. Had an early scare, which should have been warning enough. Second goal came directly from failing to get out properly. Players don’t look comfortable with it and fans know when they smell blood. Oxford fans behind the goal absolutely relishing Berry passing it five yards from goal kicks.
Beach ball Berry tried to pop it. Didn’t pop. Should have just rolled it off the pitch out of reach of the Oxford fans. Now the Oxford fans are singing the circus music every time our keeper and defenders have the ball.
|
|
|
Post by citycentresaint on May 14, 2023 12:39:56 GMT
Hopefully Jeffers doesn't leave, but if he does you can't blame him.
|
|
|
Post by bob666 on May 14, 2023 12:44:35 GMT
It's important to keep a sense of context. Overall its still been a good season (1.63 points a game as opposed to 1.3 points last season) but losing in the manner that we are does put a damper on things. I not sure about playing out from the back. The large majority of successful teams at every level seem to do it now and despite the issues it can cause I think you got to stick with the broad approach, otherwise you just let opposition dominate possession. I do think you need to apply the approach pragmatically, so the long ball should remain as a fall back option
I just don't get the Jeffers thing. One rule is do what the opposition least want. You not telling me the Oxford defenders were not delighted when they read our team sheet.
|
|
|
Post by saintsfan8 on May 14, 2023 12:54:44 GMT
Great season overall. Good experience for hopefully a good run next season too. Agreed with the Jeffers thing, he was brilliant at chelmsford and appeared to justify having his place back, he is a big time player and would have loved the TV coverage today.
I think the result today was coming. Dylan kept out a few at Dartford which could have gone a similar way on another day.
Hopefully the buzz and hype remains into the start of next season and the loss today is just part of the process
|
|
|
Post by middxsaint on May 14, 2023 13:02:38 GMT
|
|
|
Post by citycentresaint on May 14, 2023 13:14:29 GMT
The team should be built around Jeffers, he can get us promoted next season.
If DN is going to base the team around players who can't score in a bordello, Jeffers has every right to leave.
|
|
|
Post by middxsaint on May 14, 2023 13:31:22 GMT
Attendance 3,100
|
|
hotsaint
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 291
|
Post by hotsaint on May 14, 2023 13:59:51 GMT
Can you imagine the teams in the championship not playing with Akpom, Gyokeres, Morris Diallo. The pitch makes a massive difference mind
Disappointing given how hard we worked to get to the final
|
|
|
Post by sideshowbob on May 14, 2023 14:09:33 GMT
Oxford had the greater physicality, our players seemed to bounce off theirs. They were strong in defence and good in attack, while we were the opposite of both. Still we should be proud of reaching the final. Oxford well can they survive the national league? Only time will tell.
|
|
|
Post by citycentresaint on May 14, 2023 14:51:41 GMT
Oxford had the greater physicality, our players seemed to bounce off theirs. They were strong in defence and good in attack, while we were the opposite of both. Still we should be proud of reaching the final. Oxford well can they survive the national league? Only time will tell. Oxford will come straight back down. They don't have the finances or fan base to stay up.
|
|
|
Post by fatbear on May 14, 2023 14:54:41 GMT
|
|
|
Post by bob666 on May 14, 2023 15:06:08 GMT
Oxford had the greater physicality, our players seemed to bounce off theirs. They were strong in defence and good in attack, while we were the opposite of both. Still we should be proud of reaching the final. Oxford well can they survive the national league? Only time will tell. Oxford will come straight back down. They don't have the finances or fan base to stay up. They don't have the fan base for Conference South! I assume they have a owner funding massive losses. If he willing to sustain even bigger losses they could stay up if not they won't.
|
|
|
Post by fatbear on May 14, 2023 15:50:45 GMT
There's no wealthy backer at Oxford City. We're probably still paying off the debt caused by Thomas Guerrero in 2015.......
|
|
|
Post by lagerman on May 14, 2023 16:33:47 GMT
My take on it, is .... Oxford were more organised than us, they were Quick on the counter, they had options, their passing and movement was much slicker than ours, we made mistakes, they punished us, but as for not starting Jeffers and as for the artificial pitch ... well the 11 that started should've been good enough, we should have been better than conceding 4 goals by half time so easily, the artificial pitch may not be what we're used to, but we knew we'd be playing on it, so we knew what to expect with it, or at least we should have done ! The bottom line is, the better side won, I've no complaints, we just have to go again next season and learn the lessons from this season
|
|
|
Post by middxsaint on May 14, 2023 16:33:48 GMT
|
|
|
Post by notsorecentconvert on May 14, 2023 17:10:00 GMT
Now I'm home it's a bit easier to reflect on the season as a whole rather than the final, disappointing 90 minutes. It was an achievement to get to the play-offs and then reach the final, especially having been in contention and fallen away a couple of times before.
Extraordinary to think that Oxford City will host the likes of Oldham Athletic, Chesterfield, Southend and other clubs with big away followings next season – especially considering the lack of proper elevated vantage points. Barely any terracing and makeshift platforms meant for an awkward viewing experience.
And the pitch was terrible. The amount of black rubber crumb on it was ludicrous. Not only does it look dreadful every time the ball bounces or skids over the surface, it takes all the pace out of the ball and doesn't appear to play anything like some of the more modern 4G pitches, let alone a natural one.
The Oxford players clearly knew how to use the pitch to their advantage, knowing that forward passes would hold up and wouldn't carry through to the keeper or run off for a goal kick. It made it easier for them to push Saints back and keep them back. And it made the decision to try playing out from the six yard box at goal kicks even more mystifying.
Watching the highlights on TV just shows how bad the pitch is. You can say it's the same for both sides, but one of those sides has played on it 27 times this season, the other just once.
Obviously everyone knows the rules before the start of the play-offs but the issue with tickets (not just for us but for Kidderminster too) and the pitch does make the case for the final being held at a neutral venue.
|
|
|
Post by citycentresaint on May 14, 2023 17:13:51 GMT
I am surprised AstroTurf is allowed in the Conference National.
|
|
|
Post by sideshowbob on May 14, 2023 17:33:25 GMT
Saying oxford will come straight back down is a daft remark, the same would apply to us!
|
|
|
Post by saint68 on May 14, 2023 17:50:10 GMT
I did not see that coming!
I would have started Jeffers, but I don’t think it would have made any difference today. Our defence was poor to say the least - why does everyone play out from goal kicks all the time? At our level possession changes hand with monotonous regularity, so I’d rather see it happen in the opponents half not in our own penalty area!
I don’t object to artificial pitches as much as I used to, but Oxford’s is poor. It has to be a tremendous advantage to them.
This summer will be very important. We’ll lose our five loan players (unless any are released or loaned back to us) so there will have to be a large number of new signings to ensure we’ll be chasing promotion again next season.
Today was not a disaster, but it will be if we get transferred to National League North. I reckon it’s down to us or Hemel and possibly Braintree. I read that the provisional allocations will be announced tomorrow …
|
|
|
Post by notsorecentconvert on May 14, 2023 18:26:54 GMT
Surely it'll be Bishops Stortford going to the north won't it?
|
|
|
Post by saint68 on May 14, 2023 18:41:21 GMT
Surely it'll be Bishops Stortford going to the north won't it? I was assuming it wouldn’t be Stortford as they had to play in the North for a couple of seasons the last time they were at this level. But if not then they’re in the mix too.
|
|