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Play off match - Wed 1st May

OldTowner

By OldTowner
in Not the ETFC Forum

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lovely stuff Enthusiast

lovely stuff

Posted
Posted (edited)

Normally pitches are bone hard and dusty by the end of the season making playing decent football very difficult (maybe part of the reason we have always struggled in the play-off's against more direct teams). The forecast for tomorrow is for some showers in the afternoon and then dry and sunny late evening. Ie. Perfect conditions to play quality football.

Edited by lovely stuff
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Benjrider10 Enthusiast

Benjrider10

Posted
Posted

Who would be a Manager?!

It must have been a very difficult decision to drop Joe Payne (who I presume was fully fit) and start with a back 3 (McKenzie, Tanner and Parcell) instead of a back 4 and play both Scott Thomas and Manny Harvest in midfield. On paper it strengthened our midfield but in practice, even with a midfield of Youngs, Thomas and Harvest (with Ollie Knight and Dylan as wing-backs), it didn't work. Harvest & Youngs are similar in style and there seemed to be a little confusion over who was responsible for what (and where).

W&F must have had 80% of the possession in the first half - though to be fair, they didn't create many clear cut chances. The saves that Rhys made in goal were routine. I feel very bad for Jake Cass (it looks like he pulled a hamstring) but in retrospect, the reshuffle that his injury forced, changed the game. We came out in the second half playing what looked like 4-5-1 and were far more threatening. McKenzie's header from a routine Joe Payne long throw will live long in the memory but it was one of those that go in 1 in maybe 20 times. The W&F CB pairing of Frempah and Frimpong hardly missed a header all night, but the one they did cost them.

Marcus Wyllie had a decent chance at 1-0 to settle it by scoring a second but the keeper made a good save low to his left. We defended well after taking the lead and deserved to keep the clean sheet, although the 7 minutes injury time seemed to go on and on. We missed the guile of Taaffe - I hope he is fit and available for Monday.

Must end with the attendance - 2,225!!! Wow!! The facilities (the bars in particular) were straining to cope but the club had brought in extra security (smart move) and both sets of supporters were well-behaved, though it must be said some of our younger supporters behind the goal had smuggled in some flares. Over-exuberance for sure but if they do get them in, they must not throw them on the pitch.

So off to Chatham on Bank Holiday Monday. Judging by both play-off semi-final attendances, we'll need to buy our tickets on-line early.

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Benjrider10 Enthusiast

Benjrider10

Posted
Posted

Here is feedback (on Facebook) from a Horsham fan who went to their semi-final playoff match at Chatham:

START

Congratulations on getting to the play off final

I see you are at Chatham on Monday

Can I give you some advice as 1 was one of 500 Horsham supporters there last night.

1) they segregated the fans and we were herded into the uncovered away end (fortunately it did not rain)

2) there were 3 portable toilets for 500 fans 
They were unlit and ran out of hand sanitiser 
It was an evening game - have you ever tried weeing or pooing in one of those in the dark ??
3) they had 1 bar and ran out of beer before kick off
4) food was awful
5) the entrance is through a park , the park is is unlit and the park gate is locked after the game , so despite claiming they segregate fans the only exit is through the main ground gate

I hear they have given you a limit of 400 tickets for safety reasons (in other words - they can’t cope)

Even their own supporters were admitting it was a shambles 

Good luck !!!

Despite being the better team and losing in the way we did. there was no trouble.
Chatham were celebrating like Monday is a formality for them.
If you win , i am sure they might not be in such a good mood if you have to exit the way we did.

END

Chatham building themselves quite the reputation 🤦‍♂️

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lovely stuff Enthusiast

lovely stuff

Posted
Posted (edited)

On a separate note our club needs to make the officials for the game aware of the whistle-blowing Chatham fan and what the law states they should do during the game if that happens.

This is starting to feel like a stitch up. Am worried about a lack of protection and care for our fans and the odds heavily stacked against us. Will the officials be locally based?

Without the whistle incident from Chatham we would not be having any of this hassle and would have been at home.😖

Edited by lovely stuff
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Up the chins Collaborator

Up the chins

Posted
Posted

It all stems from their owner/manager, they will do everything/anything in their power to ensure they keep going up the divisions. There’s a level of entitlement at that club. Load of Bullies, every time you go there, away fans are treated like rubbish. They do nothing about it because all they care about is success but I think people are starting to wake up and realise it. Added to all of this, the area is an absolute dump. 

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