I’ve got to confess, I’ve had to watch the highlights to remember what happened in the second half. There was a half-chance for them with a ball to the back post, a half-chance for us when Ben House fired well over, maybe a penalty shout for them, possibly a deflected effort wide for us, but nothing that would ever make the highlights of a normal match. Even the actual highlights have included extra seconds of build-up to pad up to two minutes; I wouldn’t dare to look at the extended highlights. Some things are just not worth watching again.
It feels like I’m slating the team, but it’s not entirely the case. There are positives, quite a few to go at. Last season, we lose that game 1-0 to a cheap goal deep in the second half. It felt a lot like Accrington at home, us up against a poor team and getting nothing. It felt like Hartlepool, Gillingham, and even Doncaster – City in no real danger, but also not looking like cutting the opposition apart. The difference here is we didn’t concede, and we set up to create that type of approach. Last season we were trying to play attacking football on the front foot, but that wasn’t the case yesterday. Yesterday, we had a game plan that we executed to get a point, solid and committed by completely uninspiring. Think of it like this; in some home games last season, we set up to be attacking but ended up losing dull matches. Yesterday, we set up not to lose a dull match, and we didn’t lose a dull match.
I really don’t know what to write about the game, which confirms what a lot of people suggested might be the case! It was one of those matches that will never feature in one of our ‘Looking Back’ pieces in 20 years (if the site is still going, then). In fact, in six months, it’ll be the game you just can’t remember at all without a bit of prompting. The comfort should be that we looked like what we are – a smaller club at this level doing what’s needed to get a point. Charlton looked the opposite of what they should; they’re a team who have been well-funded and seeking to make an impact, but they were just poor. I think we were the better of the two sides yesterday, which is like getting two papercuts and trying to pick one as the best. Still, we’re unbeaten at home, we kept another clean sheet, and we weren’t really ever troubled by a striker who has previously terrorised us wherever he’s been.
I was disappointed to hear Conor McGrandles booed onto the field by our fans. I wasn’t going to applaud, but because there were boos, I did, just to try and add balance. It seems bizarre that he got that reception after coming for free and leaving for free. Conor never said he was going back to Scotland, it was an accepted ‘fact’ from hearsay (which I shared, hands up to that), but it never actually came from him. We all assumed he was leaving us to go back up north, but it wasn’t his words. I noted Jack Payne got a slightly better reception; he was a player I felt could have been so much better for us. It was a bit nervy when he took the corner late on – I could just see Payne assist, McGrandles’ goal, especially after the reception the latter got, but it didn’t happen. Nothing much did.
It’s actually a shame the game was so underwhelming, as it was a lovely day. We started the day with one in the Treaty, and the fan zone was lively, and thanks to the addition of The Tipsy Imp bar, there was a great selection of beers and ales for people to try. I liked the Pink Camden IPA, whilst Ben had a mango cider that tasted like juice. People will certainly be attracted to the fanzine if there’s decent beer, and thanks to Dan and the team, there is now. Also, there was a tribute to Dave Smith before the game, a minute’s applause that ran out loud around the ground. I never saw him play, but how we could have done with some of his creativity up front yesterday? Afterwards, it was onto Gwynnes, then a gig at the Uni, before going to Sugarcubes (my first and last visit there). It was a good solid football day, enjoyable, with plenty of debate and banter, lots of laughs and beer. It’s just a shame that somewhere in the middle of a 12-hour session, there were two hours spent watching a really dull game of football.
Still, I’d rather watch a dull 0-0 draw against Charlton Athletic, and do the same next season, than watch us lose 4-3 and then have to go away to Crawley next season. Functional over gung-ho all day long for me. I just hope that the warm October sunshine this morning has dulled some of the negativity I heard leaving the ground because the truth is where we are now is likely where we’ll be all season, and if it is, that’s got to be seen as a success.
We just have to accept that the journey there might not be all goals, chances and fist pumps.
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