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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Skacel was judged to be unfit to start against Colchester but he was apparently healthy enough to appear on the bench, and indeed play the entire second half. I suspect that, like Wright-Phillips (who also under-performed in midweek), he was simply dropped.
For the first 3 minutes, though, it didn't seem to matter which Saints player tried to get hold of the ball - a Colchester man always beat him to it. Eventually the home side took the lead and we were at least able to have a kick from the restart. It was a far post header from McLeod that had broken that 3 minute deadlock, but this was a desperate beginning to the game in a season of false starts. If we are to apportion blame, Wright continues to look like a midfielder filling in at full back while Davis may have got down better.
However, I have to rely on Sunday morning telly for the evidence, having still been trying to find a suitable vantage point in a woefully inadequate ground. What followed wasn't much worth watching either. Colchester were positive in everything they did, and our players were discomforted by them. Things did not improve after the break, despite a change of personnel and tactics, but then three incidents towards the end might have brought a point, or more. Firstly Wright-Phillips finished inadequately - a decent chance, but not the worst ever miss.
Then Jones went down under Baldwin's challenge for what looked to everyone except the referee to be a certain penalty - of course we'd still have needed to find someone to convert it. Finally Skacel contrived to execute the very worst miss of our season (so far!) when unmarked, 10 yards out and only a defender on the line to beat, he unerringly found that defender. Deep into injury time Cureton showed how it should be done with a well executed breakaway goal. Watch and learn, Saints.
Man of the Match: Kelvin Davis, despite doubts about that first goal. Well, it was Davis or no-one for MotM, frankly.
