What I felt we had to do was come out and keep having a go at them. There’s been a tendency, for whatever reason, to sit on those one goal leads, but this Crawley side are not a patch on Kewell’s of last season. They’re not organised, the threat up front is minimal and I fail to understand on yesterday’s showing how they’re the only side to beat us at home so far this season. They’re not the worst I’ve seen, but they’re in the bottom four or five.
Still, you have to beat what is in front of you and to a certain degree I think they dragged us to their level in the first half. I’m not saying we are Brazil, far from it, but it all felt a bit disjointed and scrappy without us actually playing badly. It wasn’t Exeter bad, it wasn’t second half against Oldham good. At least not until the second half.
I might be over enthusing, the red wine is perhaps still in me from last night, but I thought we were utterly dominant in the second period of the game. Shooting towards an unbelievable following of over 1000 fans, the lads seemed much livelier.
By the 50 minute mark we could have been 3-0 up. Danny Rowe’s whipped free kick from the right was closer than it looked, then Bruno was fouled in the area but the shouts ignored. I thought referee Craig Hicks had a good game on the whole, but I was right behind the challenge and Bruno was fouled. It’s that simple. Sadly, when he goes down easily as he did against Mansfield, he sets a precedent. We can’t complain though, we get a decent amount of penalties and when we do, John usually scores them.
Plus, I’m not calling Bruno at all as he was having a typically electric game. He’d already bagged the goal and minutes after the penalty shout he was driving forward again, a deflected effort ending up not being turned in by Harry on the right, who was also excellent all afternoon. Bruno then just curled a free kick over as he looks to move into double figures for the season.
It has to be said, Bruno has probably been one of the biggest signings of the summer. John’s been strong all season and the other boys have all added value, but there’s a special vibe about Bruno. He has that little bit of something else, that unpredictability that can’t be measured or trained into a player. When something magical needs to happen he’s one who can provide.
The same can be said for Danny Rowe, but he’s not usually providing with his head. He put in a hell of a shift and was the unlikely recipient of a headed chance from a Harry cross. He nodded over, but the goal was coming.
Crawley hadn’t had a chance in the second half, but they had a little spell. I still like their forward Camara and he did have a couple of half chances as they looked to get back into the game, but after Danny Rowe came off for McCartan we went back on the offensive. Rowe had played well, but McCartan brought a different element and he brought a goal.
The official site said it was ‘ridiculous’, but it’s actually a goal born of perseverance and bad defending as much as anything. He picks up the ball and beats two men in a twenty yard run. How has nobody else challenged him in that time? He gets a bit of luck with a bobble, but there was no doubting the quality of the finish. Second knock down for the home side. Game almost over.
One of the biggest cheers (from my internal monologue) came as Ollie Palmer went off. I had been a little concerned he might score but he never looked like it, not really. That’s the Ollie I remember from last season, the one who started against Crewe away and looked utterly lost. I was still laughing (in my own head) when Cian Bolger gave me a reminder of another away trip.
Anyone else at Port Vale? We won 6-2 and scored four or five from corners defended as badly as an under 11s team would against the Imps. It was that all over again, a corner gets whipped in and Bolger just wanders across unmarked and stoops to head home. Call the police, that defending was criminal.
Three knockdowns. Crawley were out.
Not long before the end of the game Michael Bostwick, a big contender for Man of the Match (as always) showed them how defending should be done with a vital clearance off the line.
That was that. It took 7000 man hours, give or take, to provide the support, but it took just 90 minutes of controlled, committed football to move us closer to the Holy Grail of League One football. Grimsby did us a favour, our county cousins (little bit of sick in the mouth) holding Bury 0-0 to extend our lead over them. Game in hand or not, eight points is a big gap to close. They still can, I’m not as confident of the title as I am promotion.
Promotion is, in my opinion, now simply there to be coloured in and completed. Mansfield are seemingly bottling it once more, their defeat by Crewe not entirely surprising. If we were in this division next season, I suspect Crewe would be one of the teams to watch. MK Dons’ win wasn’t a huge concern, not if we just want top three. I’m more worried about Tranmere now, but if they’re winning games against the likes of Bury, it still leaves us in a great position.
There wasn’t a truly bad player on the pitch yesterday, not in the grey of City. Tom Pett grew in stature as the game went on and in the second half his industry was certainly vital. The wingers were brilliant once more, their full backs worked hard too. Toff didn’t always get the rub of the green, but he never stops trying. He was the first over to the fans at the end and I see something really honest in him. All our players have it, but he’s come from a top academy and dropped into League Two, yet he carries himself as if he’s stepped off the terraces to play for his home town club. I respect that.
I thought Bolger had his best game in a City shirt, the centre back pairing of him and Bozzie only gets stronger. That’s our first choice paring next season, without a doubt.
I felt a tinge of sadness in the second half as I watched James Wilson warming up on his own in the corner, the forgotten man of a whirlwind season. He’s a nice lad, or he was when I spoke to him, and I feel desperately for him, but right now I can’t see his future as being with us. I might be wrong.
Worth mentioning Matt Gilks too, he’s kept four clean sheets in seven matches. He commands his area excellently and although his distribution is sometimes a little off, he’s had a huge impact. Before he came into the side against Morecambe we’d kept four clean sheets in 26 matches. Make of that what you will.
When betting companies stop taking bets on you being promoted, you know you’re close. When you win 3-0 away at a team you’ve never beaten, you know you’re close. When you’re eight points clear of second place, 13 clear of fourth, you know you’re close.
We’re close. Close enough to smell the burgers at Portman Road. Close enough to touch our tickets against the automatic readers at the Keepmoat Stadium. Close enough to wish we didn’t have to drive to effing Plymouth on a Tuesday night in February for a fixture that is bound to be rearranged for some reason.
The permutations confuse me. The different possibilities are concerning, not knowing whether we’ll need to haul ass up to Carlisle if we want to see them lads promoted, or perhaps it could be wrapped up against Cheltenham.
I believe in fate, patterns and the like. You must know that by now and if you don’t, you’ll find out when you buy my new book later this year. In 2016 we watched Cheltenham get their title trophy, in 2017 we lifted the title. In 2018, we watched Accrington get their title trophy….
There’s still twists, turns and surprises to endure, but with only 630 minutes of football left to play (more for Bury and Tranmere), time is running out for everyone else.
You never know, I might even enjoy another drink or two before the season is over.
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