Dribble
Well-Known Member
Architects of Our Near Downfall!
What the fuck were we doing trying to slow down & manage the game after 25 minutes!! ¯\_(⊙_ʖ⊙)_/¯
We started off very well & were in complete control of the game, when our near corner routine produced a deceptive near-post corner from KDB, which was turned in by an advanced Stones.
We had the game by the scruff of the neck, but instead of carrying on playing the way that'd led to our dominance, we stopped playing, & became very sloppy & lackadaisical, which emboldened the Bin Dippers to get back into the game.
From being in total control, we ended the half a goal to the good, but under severe pressure from the Scousers.
HOWEVER, seconds after the restart, the normally dependable Aké played an under-hit suicide ball to Ederson who went for the clearance, which Nunez beat him to, bringing him down for the penalty, & injuring himself in the process.
Mac Allister belted the lenalty past a flailing Ederson, & from then on we completely lost our composure as the Klanfield crowd roared the Dippers on, which resulted in the crowd raising the cauldron-like temperature, as their team raised the tempo in response, to which we couldn’t match their combined efforts.
By now we were second best in every aspect, & were holding on as we lost complete control of the midfield & the game. To make matters worse, Ederson succumbed to his injury & was subbed, which jacked up the Scousers even more.
We needed changes & Baldy surprised us all by withdrawing KDB, who was part of an overrun & barely functioning midfield. KDB was pissed, but to be fair Kovacic brought an element of control & composure back to our midfield, & Doku provided the attacking jeopardy we lacked with an under-par Alvarez.
We badly needed another goal, but as 70 minutes became 80, I was happy to survive to the final whistle & leave with a point.
We huffed & puffed, & even though we came back into the game in the latter stages, the Dippers looked most likely to score, until Doku nearly stunned Klanfield with a late effort which agonisingly came back off the inside of their far post.
The Dippers pressed us with a series of late corners & desperate efforts on goal, including two calls for a penalty. Salad was taking the piss with his claim, as Aké never touched him, but luckily for Doku, he touched his attempted high clearance before brushing Mac Allister with his boot, who then sagged to the grass, rolling about as if he'd been hit by the 53 bus!
I breathed a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle, which left me reflecting if it was the team who inexplicably tried to manage the game on 25 minutes, or if it was an instruction from the bench.
All in all, a point away at our Klanfield graveyard can't be sniffed at, & I suppose it was a fitting way to end the legendary gladiatorial Premier League clashes between Teeth & our Slaphead.
We brought about a difficult 75 minutes on ourselves. The Viking barely got a kick, & the odd touch he had, VVD was all over him like a sweaty rapist.
I'm glad to see the back of this encounter, because I'm seriously disappointed by our immature, under-par performance.
This performance shows we're in a real dogfight in this three-way battle royale for the title. It's a game & performance I want to forget ASAP.
Roll on Newcastle & Arsenal...