© 1997- 2010
|
Scarborough 1-1 Woking: 18 February 2006 It's a long way to Scarborough, to a ground where we have never won. I was there last season when we lost 0-2 in the blazing heat. This time, the weather was kinder, but the pitch less so. The perimeter of the pitch was soft in the extreme - my 3-legged stool swiftly sank into the turf, leaving me taking photos almost from a worm's eye view ! With Ian Selley watching from the dugout and Neil Smith named among the subs, Gary Mac led the Cards out on his first start in the Conference since his injury. He took up Stuart Nethercott's berth at centre back rather than his accustomed left back slot, alongside the now established Tom Hutchinson. Karim El Salahi was at right back and Paul Watson at left in a new-look defence. The rest of the team had a more familiar look about it. The Woking support 'massed ' at one end, in a small seated stand. I went down the other, optimistically hoping to see plenty of action in the Scarboro goal area. I was to be largely frustrated. Boro opened brightly, belying their current status and pre-match suggestions, via internet messageboards, that we could more or less choose how many we'd like to win by. Glen C said after that we'd not played well in the first half. Far be it from me to disagree with him. The defence were under constant pressure; clearances became the order of the day rather than attempts to play out of defence and I don't think I've seen many games where the ball was subjected to so much head tennis as this first half. Karim took some fearful 'volleys ' from team mates as he found it a 'challenge' to contain his opposite number, while at the other end, Justin was taking much stick from the home support, who were not slow to suggest that he might stay on his feet with a little more effort. I will charitably suggest that the pitch was responsible for the lack of quality on free kicks and corners, which sometimes rose little more than a metre off the turf. The pressure didn't take long to tell. Hutchinson, unusually, slipped to let a Boro player in (turns out it was Coulson but I was down the other end) to 'slot home' (obligatory cliché for Moorsie ;-) without much difficulty from the left hand side of the box. Nothing else of great note happened in the first half! The second was better (from a Cards POV). Whether the proverbial hairdryer was brought out of the overnight bag I have no idea, but a more composed and better organised team set about earning some reward from the match. Even then, there were still elements of discontent. Craig M joined Karim in the doghouse, once screaming back at Karl M "I'm trying" after a suggestion that he might like to improve his play. Other noteworthy moments in the second half included; Justin being booked for what I can only assume was 'simulation' - he clearly didn't commit a foul himself; and Boro's no. 6 sustaining a nasty head wound after a (completely innocent) collision of heads with Tom H, leading to the Woking faithful asking the ref to move as they couldn't see what the physio was doing, and the ref obliging ! Generous, sympathetic applause then followed from the Cards on tour once they realised the extent of the injury. The goal came on 90 minutes. Sharpy crossed from our right for Fergy to run onto the ball and more or less tap home from inside the 6 yard box. My photos reveal that the nearest Woking player to Fergy, inside the Boro box, was Tom H, which says quite a lot about his willingness to join up with the attack. After the first half, I almost surprised myself by reckoning that, over the 90 minutes, we were worth a point, but I'll stick with that. The Boro fans must have been dischuffed, but they seemed grateful for one point after recent results. My MOTM - despite his slip for their goal, Tom H, yet again. He's impressed me hugely since joining and, at times, was like a cross between a firefighter extraordinaire and the boy with his finger in the dyke, taking responsibility and clearing up for others, especially in the first half. Woking (4-4-2): Jalal; El-Salahi(Smith 85), Hutchinson, MacDonald, Watson; Sharpling, Evans, Murray, Ferguson; McAllister(Oyedele 61), Richards. Subs not used: Jackson, L Cockerill, Davies Man of the match: Tom Hutchinson Attendance: 1,278 |
