Hereford (H) League Monday 9/4/07

[Geordiesaddler]

Its just about all over, superb effort by all concerned to go 8 unbeaten after that horrendous February. Just hope we do it Saturday in front of what will be 3,000 travelling Saddlers. Only thing is Notts Co are now genuine play off contenders, so should be a massive game and a huge crowd.

[Exile]

Looking good but leaving it late. Happy with that. Oh - and Well done Franchise!

[Registered Saddler]

I hope the roof was lifted off Bescot when Keatesy netted that. I wish I'd gone now, sadly work calls for some of us on Bank Holiday Monday. Brilliant result and we are very near promotion now. There should be a massive barmy army at Meadow Lane to cheer us on to promotion. Happy days.

[nottssaddler]

Only have to match the franchises score on sat.

Anyone have a personal radio I can borrow? :lol:

[coxy_saddler]

I hope the roof was lifted off Bescot when Keatesy netted that. I wish I'd gone now, sadly work calls for some of us on Bank Holiday Monday. Brilliant result and we are very near promotion now. There should be a massive barmy army at Meadow Lane to cheer us on to promotion. Happy days.

You can say that again! Absolutley mental when keates smashed it in !

Well deserved battling win, Can't fault hereford they played some nice stuff. But that win puts us with in a touching distance of it now..Let's all laugh at the mk dongs :lol: :lol: :lol:

[sj]

Fantastic result today. Hereford's two midfield lads numbers 21 and 25 had temendous games they bossed the park most of the second half. Well until their lad got sent off. Harsh decision I thought. But a decision nevertheless :D :D

[Puddletown Tom]

Only have to match the franchises score on sat.

Anyone have a personal radio I can borrow? :lol:

I shall have mine with me. Stand close!

[Neuromantic]

A battling well fought win. A tale of two halves I thought.

First half they totally bossed us, there midfield and left winger were very good I felt, however in the 2nd half we had the impotus and pushed for a great win.

Ince - Didnt too much wrong.

Westwood - we looked far more comfortable and solid with him there.
Gerrard - best game for bloody ages, why he cant play like this every week I do no know, seemed to take control today.
Smith - What a debut, won nearly everything, looked composed as well.
Fox - solid but his lack of forward runs annoys me.

Wright - Absolutely anonymous and wont play again.
Dobson - Not as good as recent weeks, but did his fair share.
Keates - Wasnt involved much first half, but took charge and drove us forward in the 2nd.
Harper - our only real attacking threat before he was taken off. Did well.

Benjamin - I thought he did well today, WYSIWYG.
Butler - I thought he was very poor today, does not look sharp at all.

Subs:

Wrack - Didnt do too much but made us look a bit more solid and controlled.
KT - Brought on to sure htigns up and did just that.
Sam - brought on as a 5th midfielder and did well, not much time to do anything tho!

[sid swifty]

To sum it up....good result but the performances haven't improved much have they?

[We-ARE-Walsall]

To sum it up....good result but the performances haven't improved much have they?

I think They have Sid, honestly i do, i don't think this is the same drivel we where watching for a while, Boston and Rochdale at home, we never looked like winning those games.

May not be the greatest football in the world, it is division 4 remember, but you can't argue we gave everything we had today to get that win

[coxy_saddler]

A battling well fought win. A tale of two halves I thought.

First half they totally bossed us, there midfield and left winger were very good I felt, however in the 2nd half we had the impotus and pushed for a great win.

Ince - Didnt too much wrong.

Westwood - we looked far more comfortable and solid with him there.
Gerrard - best game for bloody ages, why he cant play like this every week I do no know, seemed to take control today.
Smith - What a debut, won nearly everything, looked composed as well.
Fox - solid but his lack of forward runs annoys me.

Wright - Absolutely anonymous and wont play again.
Dobson - Not as good as recent weeks, but did his fair share.
Keates - Wasnt involved much first half, but took charge and drove us forward in the 2nd.
Harper - our only real attacking threat before he was taken off. Did well.

Benjamin - I thought he did well today, WYSIWYG.
Butler - I thought he was very poor today, does not look sharp at all.

Subs:

Wrack - Didnt do too much but made us look a bit more solid and controlled.
KT - Brought on to sure htigns up and did just that.
Sam - brought on as a 5th midfielder and did well, not much time to do anything tho!

How about his late late 3 hours late tackle..ROFL :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Neil Ravenscroft]

Match Report

http://upthesaddlers.com/wp/archives/20 ... ed-report/

[sid swifty]

To sum it up....good result but the performances haven't improved much have they?

I think They have Sid, honestly i do, i don't think this is the same drivel we where watching for a while, Boston and Rochdale at home, we never looked like winning those games.

May not be the greatest football in the world, it is division 4 remember, but you can't argue we gave everything we had today to get that win

If...or should i say when we go up...we will need to get rid of a lot of the squad...i.e...wright...butler...fox...wrack....dobson etc...and also DD has got to be a bit more adventurous....or we will suffer badly in league 1 next year....i can imagine teams coming to Bescot (Hereford included) saying "how the hell are walsall top of the league"?....we all know the answer...its the fact that we set out every game home and away to to defend at all costs and if we happen to get a scoring chance then so be it....but if DD does the same in div 1 and we are not near the top of the league there will be a lot of people calling for his head.

[We-ARE-Walsall]

I take your points Sid, and i agree with a lot of what you have said over the season,

However, for tonight, i am going to enjoy the fact Walsall are going to be promoted, and nothing in the world is going to make me unhappy tonight

[sid swifty]

I take your points Sid, and i agree with a lot of what you have said over the season,

However, for tonight, i am going to enjoy the fact Walsall are going to be promoted, and nothing in the world is going to make me unhappy tonight

:D good on ya :D

[Whitti Steve]

slow 1st half - great second half IMHO.

Ince - CONGRATULATIONS - despite his detractors he now has our record clean sheets in a season. Well done Clayton - he has made the odd blooper during a lot of games - not many have resulted in goals and he has saved more than enough to make up for them. Good game today too - even though the ref didn't credit him with the great save in the first half :lol: .

Westwood - Pretty good today
Gerrard - Good game
Smith - great debut - nice touch giving him MOTM too.
Fox - Good in the tackle, poor in the distribution as always.

Keates - 100%, good follow up for the goal, did well esp in second half
Dobson - Good battling performace, some good forward passes too!
Wright - surprised he came back for the second half - annonymous - good decision to replace him
(Wrack) - did Ok - unlucky not to score - good save from keeper for Keates to follow up
Harper - look tired in second half, some good work but let down by not passing sooner.

Butler - 100% - but looks off the pace at the moment IMHO
Benjamin - My MOTM, won everything in the air, held the ball up well, gave their defence something to worry about - thought he was lucky not to get a foul against him when their player ended up being sent off :lol:

Overall - I was happy with the performance - ecstatic about the result.

UTS

[Fray Bentos is God!]

slow 1st half - great second half IMHO.

Ince - CONGRATULATIONS - despite his detractors he now has our record clean sheets in a season. Well done Clayton - he has made the odd blooper during a lot of games - not many have resulted in goals and he has saved more than enough to make up for them. Good game today too - even though the ref didn't credit him with the great save in the first half :lol: .

Westwood - Pretty good today
Gerrard - Good game
Smith - great debut - nice touch giving him MOTM too.
Fox - Good in the tackle, poor in the distribution as always.

Keates - 100%, good follow up for the goal, did well esp in second half
Dobson - Good battling performace, some good forward passes too!
Wright - surprised he came back for the second half - annonymous - good decision to replace him
(Wrack) - did Ok - unlucky not to score - good save from keeper for Keates to follow up
Harper - look tired in second half, some good work but let down by not passing sooner.

Butler - 100% - but looks off the pace at the moment IMHO
Benjamin - My MOTM, won everything in the air, held the ball up well, gave their defence something to worry about - thought he was lucky not to get a foul against him when their player ended up being sent off :lol:

Overall - I was happy with the performance - ecstatic about the result.

UTS

Id agree with that, and our mate was looking fantastic today xx

[Whitti Steve]

I realised thats what you were trying to tell me eventually. :lol:

[Fray Bentos is God!]

I realised thats what you were trying to tell me eventually. :lol:

Youre just lucky you get to sit next to her, id have loved to have held her in celebration of our goal - her husband wouldnt though

[Stephen]

slow 1st half - great second half IMHO.

Ince - CONGRATULATIONS - despite his detractors he now has our record clean sheets in a season. Well done Clayton - he has made the odd blooper during a lot of games - not many have resulted in goals and he has saved more than enough to make up for them. Good game today too - even though the ref didn't credit him with the great save in the first half :lol: .

Westwood - Pretty good today
Gerrard - Good game
Smith - great debut - nice touch giving him MOTM too.
Fox - Good in the tackle, poor in the distribution as always.

Keates - 100%, good follow up for the goal, did well esp in second half
Dobson - Good battling performace, some good forward passes too!
Wright - surprised he came back for the second half - annonymous - good decision to replace him
(Wrack) - did Ok - unlucky not to score - good save from keeper for Keates to follow up
Harper - look tired in second half, some good work but let down by not passing sooner.

Butler - 100% - but looks off the pace at the moment IMHO
Benjamin - My MOTM, won everything in the air, held the ball up well, gave their defence something to worry about - thought he was lucky not to get a foul against him when their player ended up being sent off :lol:

Overall - I was happy with the performance - ecstatic about the result.

UTS

You missed out Hector :lol:

Good result, follow it up with promotion lads!!!

[Whitti Steve]

slow 1st half - great second half IMHO.

Ince - CONGRATULATIONS - despite his detractors he now has our record clean sheets in a season. Well done Clayton - he has made the odd blooper during a lot of games - not many have resulted in goals and he has saved more than enough to make up for them. Good game today too - even though the ref didn't credit him with the great save in the first half :lol: .

Westwood - Pretty good today
Gerrard - Good game
Smith - great debut - nice touch giving him MOTM too.
Fox - Good in the tackle, poor in the distribution as always.

Keates - 100%, good follow up for the goal, did well esp in second half
Dobson - Good battling performace, some good forward passes too!
Wright - surprised he came back for the second half - annonymous - good decision to replace him
(Wrack) - did Ok - unlucky not to score - good save from keeper for Keates to follow up
Harper - look tired in second half, some good work but let down by not passing sooner.

Butler - 100% - but looks off the pace at the moment IMHO
Benjamin - My MOTM, won everything in the air, held the ball up well, gave their defence something to worry about - thought he was lucky not to get a foul against him when their player ended up being sent off :lol:

Overall - I was happy with the performance - ecstatic about the result.

UTS

You missed out Hector :lol:

Good result, follow it up with promotion lads!!!

Sam - did OK for the short time he was on

[Whitti Steve]

I realised thats what you were trying to tell me eventually. :lol:

Youre just lucky you get to sit next to her, id have loved to have held her in celebration of our goal - her husband wouldnt though

I dont' my wife and daughter separate me from Tarka. I will even have wifey to keep an eye on me at Notts County - mind you - I wont be in any position to "stay" for a few weeks anyway - please be gentle with me on Saturday if you see me :oops:

[shrewsbury saddler]

I realised thats what you were trying to tell me eventually. :lol:

Youre just lucky you get to sit next to her, id have loved to have held her in celebration of our goal - her husband wouldnt though

Her husband wouldn't hold you?Miserable sod.

[SaigonSaddler]

:D WALSALL ARE GOING UP :D

[King Crimson]

Ince - Didnt too much wrong.

Westwood - we looked far more comfortable and solid with him there.
Gerrard - best game for bloody ages, why he cant play like this every week I do no know, seemed to take control today.
Smith - What a debut, won nearly everything, looked composed as well.
Fox - solid but his lack of forward runs annoys me.

Wright - Absolutely anonymous and wont play again.
Dobson - Not as good as recent weeks, but did his fair share.
Keates - Wasnt involved much first half, but took charge and drove us forward in the 2nd.
Harper - our only real attacking threat before he was taken off. Did well.

Benjamin - I thought he did well today, WYSIWYG.
Butler - I thought he was very poor today, does not look sharp at all.

Subs:

Wrack - Didnt do too much but made us look a bit more solid and controlled.
KT - Brought on to sure htigns up and did just that.
Sam - brought on as a 5th midfielder and did well, not much time to do anything tho!

I'd go with that. In my view, Westwood deserves a little more credit, given the quality of their number 3, who looked really useful.

Great result.

Looking forward to the last few games, and watching from afar as MK Dons get dumped on in the play-offs. :twisted:

[BathSaddler]

:D WALSALL ARE GOING UP :D

Oh yes, indeed we are :wink:

UTS

[Bristol Fan]

Woo-hoo!

A big mention for Keates today - what a performance. His best of the season? Also Dobson terrific, and Gerrard also (his best of the season?) and Smith had a decent debut too.

A bit worried about Butler who was awful, but never mind, can't dwell on that. Can't wait for next Saturday.

[Cheesebag]

A battling well fought win. A tale of two halves I thought.

First half they totally bossed us, there midfield and left winger were very good I felt, however in the 2nd half we had the impotus and pushed for a great win.

Ince - Didnt too much wrong.

Westwood - we looked far more comfortable and solid with him there.
Gerrard - best game for bloody ages, why he cant play like this every week I do no know, seemed to take control today.
Smith - What a debut, won nearly everything, looked composed as well.
Fox - solid but his lack of forward runs annoys me.

Wright - Absolutely anonymous and wont play again.
Dobson - Not as good as recent weeks, but did his fair share.
Keates - Wasnt involved much first half, but took charge and drove us forward in the 2nd.
Harper - our only real attacking threat before he was taken off. Did well.

Benjamin - I thought he did well today, WYSIWYG.
Butler - I thought he was very poor today, does not look sharp at all.

Subs:

Wrack - Didnt do too much but made us look a bit more solid and controlled.
KT - Brought on to sure htigns up and did just that.
Sam - brought on as a 5th midfielder and did well, not much time to do anything tho!

Daz....Did I read your Gerrard review right?????

[jack-the-lad]

Thank feck we got that win! Now the pressure is off and the team can go to Notts next week relaxed but hungry to clinch promotion and with a massive saddlers following.

As Metfan said, it was a tale of two halves. Thought Hereford were quite a good team at their place and today they turned up and played some nice stuff in the first half and were the better of the two sides. They had a good midfield, particularly liked the look of their left midfielder, very pacey. I think the reason they're not higher is their rubbish strikers, who had a lot of energy but absolutely nothing more. In the second half we flew out of the blocks, created three or four chances, very good challenges from their defence prevented us from opening the scoring. After that it became very nervy but then Keates sent us all mental with his goal, which he deserved more than anyone. He was fantastic in the second half, gave all he had, as he always does, and today I feel was his day, deserved MOTM in my opinion.

Ince - Very good today, commanding but made me almost soil myself when he dropped the ball off a Hereford cross. Congratulations to him for getting the clean sheets record.

Westwood - So much more solid with him there.

Mannie Smith - Very impressive debut. Looked cool and calm, very bright future.

Gerrard - Excellent performace. He took control of the defense and looked confident.

Fox - He was okay. Prefer Taylor there though.

Harper - Not his best performance but some good runs on the ball as usual, always looks like creating.

Dobson - He has been superb over the last 6-8 games, much improved. Although today was only okay.

Keates - Continues to give everything he can possibly give and you can tell it really means so much to him. Drove us forward in the second half and led by example. MOTM.

Wright - Cackish.

Benjamin - Thought he was quality today, second half in particular. Worked as hard as he could.

Butler - In the past couple of weeks has looked tired, can't knock him for that - he has played over 40 games. He is the same as Keates, gives everything that he has in him and more but he needs a rest.

SUBS: Taylor - Would rather him at left back than Fox. Came on to make us more solid, and did that.
Wrack - Kept us solid but didn't contribute much in terms of attacking. I think has to go in summer.
Sam - Didn't have enough time to make an impact.

All in all a good performance against a decent side. Some good attacking play at the start of both halves, and I feel we did enough to deserve the win. Great result that tops off a great weekend.

WE ARE GOING UP :D

[WFC_Rob]

Decent performance. Started pretty well before letting them come back into the game. Danny Thomas on their left looked very useful (surprisingly a Shrewsbury reject) and as KC says, Westwood probably deserves more credit than he will get for handling him pretty well. Had Pead been playing, we might have seen a different scoreline.

The front 2 looked far too one-dimensional. There was a moment in the second half where Benjamin showed why he's played in the Premiership with an excellent first tough, before showing why he's playing in league two, with a final ball resembling a Mark Wright shot. Benjamin did win his fair share of flick-ons in fairness, but Butler looked like he's played his part in a long season.

I think Keates often wins Man of the Match awards because of who he is rather than what he does on the pitch. Today was different however. I thought he was excellent in the middle of the park, and really pushed us on in the second half. Dobson was quiet but very effective. He really looks to have reached a level of consistency now. We even saw Fox making strides into the final third in the second half. That suggests to me that he is usually told to sit back, but was told in the second half to bomb on a bit more, as we looked to claim the three points.

In the first half, I was thinking back to a certain posters' comments on negative team selection at Torquay. Looking at the starting 11 today, you would have thought two wingers (well, one winger and a scarecrow) would give us a more attacking approach. That wasn't the case, and it was clear things had to be changed if we were going to score. I think Wright may well have played his last game now. It was an odd decision to bring him back into the team in the first place, but the fact that when given the chance to stake a claim for a regular spot, he bottled it, means that he does not have the ability nor the character to conribute anything to this football club.

It's s shame Harper isn't fully fit, because he's probably the best midfielder I've seen this season when he's in full flow. It will be interesting to see if he regains his fitness, because he's a must-sign for next season if he can.

Special mention for Manny Smith. The fact that he never looked out of place in a very important fixture is to his credit. I think THAT tackle he made in the second half won him the award, and he deserved it as much as anyone.