v Bath (A)

[Reading Rebel]

Never an easy place to go on a Tuesday night and unfortunately for us it's come at a time when we've picked up a number of injuries. 

With a depleted squad it's difficult to see us getting a result.

Optimistically I'll go for a 1-1 draw.

 

[Irishadrian]

37 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

Never an easy place to go on a Tuesday night and unfortunately for us it's come at a time when we've picked up a number of injuries. 

With a depleted squad it's difficult to see us getting a result.

Optimistically I'll go for a 1-1 draw.

 

Bath are a sh*tshow at the moment last 10 league games  won 1 drew 4 lost 5 so maybe your pessimism a little unwarranted!

[Reading Rebel]

22 minutes ago, Irishadrian said:

Bath are a sh*tshow at the moment last 10 league games  won 1 drew 4 lost 5 so maybe your pessimism a little unwarranted!

According to your stats Worthing and Totton were a bit of a sh*t show when we played them and looked what happened.

Both clubs are at the bottom end of the table for a reason and if Bath are to capitalize on their games in hand they will be scrapping for their lives to win these games against fellow bottom half clubs.

Add on our small squad and current injury crisis I'd say I was being quite optimistic.

 

 

 

Edited March 2 by Reading Rebel

[Irishadrian]

16 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

According to your stats Worthing and Totton were a bit of a sh*t show when we played them and looked what happened.

Both clubs are at the bottom end of the table for a reason and if Bath are to capitalize on their games in hand they will be scrapping for their lives to win these games against fellow bottom half clubs.

Add on our small squad and current injury crisis I'd say I was being quite optimistic.

 

RR  the stats i gave re Worthing and Totton were correct as are the ones re Bath It was our performances led to the results

 

 

[Reading Rebel]

1 hour ago, Irishadrian said:

 

Adrian no doubt your stats were correct but you cannot go by previous form/results in this division.

Most weeks results are turned on their head.

[Rebellier]

So, who goes in goal tonight???

[Markskelton]

4 minutes ago, Rebellier said:

So, who goes in goal tonight???

Jack turner?

[GlenSTFC]

59 minutes ago, Rebellier said:

So, who goes in goal tonight???

I would hope the new loan goalie or it’ll be Dennison or even Trent!

[Irishadrian]

Bath 1   Slough 1

Im a little disappointed at KO no team in our league had won fewer games than Bath still an away point on a cold March evening  has to be OK

[Curtis]

You might want to check that!

[Curtis]

[John Ellis]

Where has he got 1–1 from??!

closer to the play offs than relegation…

[Irishadrian]

25 minutes ago, Curtis said:

You might want to check that!

Thanks Curtis feel a lot better now  

1 minute ago, John Ellis said:

Where has he got 1–1 from??!

closer to the play offs than relegation…

Footballwebpages for a short while  need to start double checking

[Curtis]

3 minutes ago, John Ellis said:

Where has he got 1–1 from??!

closer to the play offs than relegation…

It was showing 1-1 on Flashscore & Footballwebpages.

[Irishadrian]

11 minutes ago, Curtis said:

It was showing 1-1 on Flashscore & Footballwebpages.

Other good news tonight 5 of the teams below us played tonight 3 draws and 2 losses as we pull away from the relegation group

[Reading Rebel]

Excellent 3 points despite our injury situation and a new keeper  👍.

[West Country Rebel]

1 hour ago, Irishadrian said:

Bath 1   Slough 1

Im a little disappointed at KO no team in our league had won fewer games than Bath still an away point on a cold March evening  has to be OK

Can only think the goal line scramble at the end for Bath gave a twitchy finger to the person updating the score for those websites? We were down the other end and saw the score update online to 1-1 as the final whistle blew, but judging from the reaction on and off the pitch from Bath, we couldn’t believe that it was right either, but it did delay our celebrations for a minute! All a bit strange and tense at the end from where we were.

Bath were pretty awful. We played well at times. Glad to see Clarke and Drakes-Thomas come on in midfield in the second half but I wasn’t convinced the long ball then to Wiktor was going to work, but very glad to be proven wrong! What a great goal! We had a good strong defence too and the game suited Reiss well, who I thought had another excellent game, along with our new keeper!

Huge credit to Scott and the backroom staff too for what looks like two really good new signings.

An invaluable 3 points with a depleted squad (oh, and it wasn’t a cold evening either..!).

[Reading Rebel]

Some save

https://www.facebook.com/reel/700971246412871

[Holyport Rebel]

My wife had her female hairdresser at our house yesterday for her regular appointment as I was getting ready to leave for the game.
I'm sure many players have a pre-match ritual that they go through before each match.
So does this supporter.
Just before I leave the house I like to inform my wife of what may be in store for the Rebels in the game coming up, and what my expectations are from it.
Whether she wants to know or cares about what I have to say doesn't really come in to it.
Almost certainly yesterday not just one but two females were not in the slightest bit interested to hear that Ruben was a doubt because of his damaged rib, that Jacob was probably out for the rest of the season and that Tyrese was a doubt after Saturday too.
And that these injuries from Saturday, along with several other injuries we had ,would mean that I was less hopeful of a victory than I would have been with a fully fit squad, and that I would be very happy to come back home tonight with a draw.
With that pre-match ritual completed I said my goodbyes to them both, turned  around and headed out of the door, and no doubt the two girls then looked at each other, slowly shook their heads and rolled their eyes to the sky in boredom, and continued to talk about whatever things women talk about when they are on their own.
(Probably about what utter tripe their respective husbands come out with at times.)
I arrived at Arbour Park, parked the car, and we soon set off for Bath.
Bath is one of my favourite away trips.
Even better under the floodlights.
Bath are in danger of being relegated, and if this was to happen I would be very disappointed.
It is a run down ground, like something straight out of the 1950's, but it's probably because of that that I like it so much.
A very old school type of ground that you don't come across very often these days, with so much character.  
Our journey to Bath was uneventful, at least up until we got about half way there.
Then "Bonjour", a few rows further up turned in his seat and said to me
"Adam's gone".
Only two words, but their effect was massive.
This was a bolt out of the blue.
Despite all our injury problems throughout the team, I at least had felt comforted that the goalie position was not a concern.
All that had now changed.
"Where's he gone ?" I replied.
I thought "Bonjour" then said "Gateshead", but I surely must have got that wrong.
The word went round that it was after a seven day approach. 
To be honest I thought it was likely that Adam would move on in the summer, but now ?
Bad timing for us.
Who would be in goal tonight, and for the rest of the season ?
The news went around again.
Some guy called Alfie Marriott from Watford.
I wondered how  he would get on tonight.
When we arrived at Bath I went through their turnstiles , and then yet again realised that  once in the ground you can't get into their clubhouse.
After many visits here I still haven't once stepped foot in their clubhouse.
It was a mild, calm, clear night , so waiting outdoors and chatting inside  the ground with my fellow group of Rebels fans was  not a problem.
I paid a visit to Bath's gentlemen's toilet facilities.
Errrrrrrrrrr................... not the best.
Green slime on the walls was not very enticing, but at least the sink tap worked, as did the rusted hand air drier.
Our pre-match conversation took to wondering which club had the worst toilet facilities for fans.
My initial thoughts were that Bromley's would take some beating, but it turned out that some old toilet block at Maidenhead was highly rated in this category, but the winner appeared to be from a trip in the past  to Welling F.C.
Congrats Welling.
Our next topic of conversation was why some people in our group did not  partake of grub from the food  vendors inside of football grounds.
"Bonjour" had had a particularly nasty bout of food poisoning after buying food inside a ground back in 1972, and that had been enough to put them off buying again ever since.
Another of us had had a more recent similar incident happen to them only relatively recently in 1987,   with a similar refusal to risk it again.
Me, on longer away trips  I always like to make my own sandwiches and eat them on the coach journey back.
No, I am not tight.
Prudent, thank you.
My wife must surely sometimes wonder what makes a football fan travel miles and miles to follow their team week in, week out, sometimes arriving back home, like yesterday, past midnight, all just for 90 minutes of watching 22 blokes kicking a ball around.  
It is for quality conversations such as those above that make our footballing trips so worthwhile.
Most women will never ever understand that.
Kick off time arrived, and the players came out of the tunnel onto the pitch.
If it makes sense I thought at least our goalie looks like a goalie, tall, and athletic looking.
He was not just the only debutant for us.
New signing Erion Zabeli was playing at right back.
Tarik was at left back, and it was a gladdening sight to see Kiki and Reiss together in the centre of our defence. 
We started brightly.
A couple of decent Johnny Goddard corners could have led to more than two headers way off target.
A couple of chances  from open play also on another day could have led to more.
But the longer the first half went on,  the more Bath seemed to get on top.
Our new goalie Alfie started with some comfortable long range stops, then produced a cracking save diving away to his right to push a shot round the post that I thought was going in.  
A tremendous save.
Bath had many corners and free kicks which they bombed into our penalty area on a regular basis.
Alfie stood up to them all extremely well.
Erion, playing at right-back, also had an impressive debut.
He seemed very calm on the ball, and spent it seemed as much time in forward positions attacking Bath's goal as he did defending our one.
A very promising debut.
The second half was fairly similar to the first, both sides at times threatening each others goal, but without the finesse to actually put the ball in the back of their opponents net. 
Then, from what I can remember, a long, high clearance from the Slough half put Wiktor in a race with a Bath defender heading towards the Bath goal.
Wiktor was winning the race, and the Bath goalie came out of his area  to try to intercept the ball.
Just in time Wiktor got his boot to the ball and looped it high up into the night sky, just over the advancing goalkeeper.
I thought that the ball was going over the bar, but joyfully the ball dipped underneath the crossbar and nestled in the back of the net.
Cue utter delight on the Slough part of the terraces, pitch and touchline.
"Goal scored in the 83rd minute"  the Bath PA announcer glumly told his fellow  Bath fans. 
Only 7 minutes for us to hold on for a glorious win.
Bath really had a go at us now.
Multiple corners and free kicks seemed to cascade into our goal area, but we stood firm.
Occasionally we got the ball in the Bath half of the pitch and we  sensibly headed straight for the corner flag.
This 'wasted;' some precious seconds.
Harvey was substituted, leaving just one up front for us, and the Bath pressure grew even more as they became desperate to equalise.
A long range shot from Bath smacked against our crossbar and rebounded away from goal.
In the last minute of the added minutes at the end of the  match Bath won a corner.
Everyone it seemed was in the Slough penalty area, including the Bath goalkeeper.
Across the ball came, and the next 30 seconds to me were a blur.
I couldn't make out clearly at all what was going on as it was so difficult to see from behind the goal at the other end of the pitch.
All I knew was that the ball refused to leave our six yard box, and any moment I was expecting to see our net bulge and hear the roar from celebrating Bath fans. 
Neither happened.
Somehow the ball didn't enter our net.
The danger somehow had passed, and then straight away the ref blew his whistle for full-time.   
What an incredible win and with it 3 more precious points.
An unexpected away win under the lights always seems extra special to me.  
I know it has been said many times in the past, but you really do have to give Scott massive credit for getting his side to battle against all the adversity thrown at us, and come away from a game with such a tremendous result. 
I know all teams go through spells when some of their players are out injured, but I have zero sympathy when I hear managers such as Marc White, or the Maidstone manager, or the latest incumbent at Torquay, bemoaning their missing players.
Try managing a team and getting results in the so competitive National League South when your team has injuries and you're  having to work with a budget comparable to Scott's. 
Then you  might have something to complain about.
It can't be easy getting the players to bond and create the fighting spirit and 'never say die' attitude that we see so often from Scott's team.
It's so gratifying when it gets its reward with a win like last night's.
I'd love to end by saying we had a quiet and uneventful journey home, but...............
The M4 was closed between junctions 10 &11.
As we were about to rejoin the motorway at junction 10, we were on the slip road that leads you onto the main carriageway.
Suddenly our driver had to brake very hard, and almost came to a full stop.
Sitting at the back I could not see what had happened to cause this incident.
People sitting in front of me though turned to each other and said
"There was a deer in the road".
If this is indeed what happened, I'm starting to get a bit paranoid now.
The same thing happened to me, (as I told you all ) only last week going home from the Totton game when I was approaching the Windsor Relief Road close to midnight.
Not good.
Finally, to definitely end this too long post with a plea to Scott.
Please Scott, could you arrange for Saturday's game away to Hornchurch to be a dull, boring, incident free 0-0 borefest, with absolutely nothing of interest to discuss or talk about afterwards.
I would appreciate a relaxing, report writing free Sunday this weekend.
I hope it doesn't sound too disloyal, but I'm dreading a big incident packed Slough win. 
  

Edited March 4 by Holyport Rebel

[Scott Davies]

I said I’d look forward to the report! Brilliant yet again 👏🏼