Darlington (A) League - Saturday 03/03/2007

[loop]

yeah not a bad result for us today, i would haqve taken the draw before the game !

[Registered Saddler]

Six points from the last eight games now, which has allowed Hartlepool to open up a bit of a lead and made things very tight behind us. Thankfully, other teams are dropping points along the way too as nerves start to set in.

We really need the extra confidence boost of a win at home to Chester next week before we embark on back to back away games at Wycombe and MK Dons. Hold on to your hats folks, its going to be rough ride from here on in.

[Barbecue Hula Hoops]

3 points a must from Chester game now - EVERYONE get behind the lads as soon as they step on the hallowed turf

[Neil Ravenscroft]

Fat Controller's verdict:

http://upthesaddlers.com/wp/archives/20 ... s-walsall/

[Registered Saddler]

Fat Controller's verdict:

http://upthesaddlers.com/wp/archives/20 ... s-walsall/

Interesting that the report mentions how well the back four played. If so, then I hope Gerrard gets his due credit. He is another player who our fickle fans have loved to hate this season and yet I think he has made a valuable contribution this year.

For the 24 games he has been in the team (discounting short sub appearances) we have conceded 14 goals. Compare that to Scott Dann, for whom it is 25 games and 21 goals. Now I'm not saying that Gerrard is better than Dann, just that we have been miserly when Gerrard is in the team, which a lot of our fans fail to recognise.

[Mike T.]

Six points from the last eight games now, which has allowed Hartlepool to open up a bit of a lead and made things very tight behind us. Thankfully, other teams are dropping points along the way too as nerves start to set in.

We really need the extra confidence boost of a win at home to Chester next week before we embark on back to back away games at Wycombe and MK Dons. Hold on to your hats folks, its going to be rough ride from here on in.

I dont know about rough but certainly tense. Obviously haven't been but pleased with the point especially with the absence of Ropes and Westwood. 5 wins should do it for me and they can still come even if we were to lose at both Wycombe and Dongs - not that I think we will :!:

[BathSaddler]

Kearns just said..250 walsall fans :lol:

He said 100 at hartlepool when there was 377 so id say about 450 saddlers there today..Who knows !

461 apparently.

[Exile]

Darlo 0-5 Walsall

I feel it in my water.....

Half-right :wink: . Happy with a point from that, and well done the lads for getting one. Hope all those who went enjoyed the game, especially the airborne contingent!

[YGA Saddler]

Good point, shame that Hartlepool have gone 5 points clear but they have got a few tricky games soon so we can more than make up the ground.

[Cheesebag]

Just got back, after a wretched journey both ways. My thoughts are with the family who lost their lives on the A1 today.

Smashing ground, pity about the 25,000 empty seats. Around 500 travelling Saddlers.

To be fair, we didnt play too badly. Nice passing and movement, and thought Wracky did especially well in the centre of midfield.

Both sides had chances, but lacked the killer instinct. We could have wrapped it up in the last five minutes, with 2 or 3 close efforts. They also hit the woodwork in the second half.

Still puzzled as to why Hector Sam was taken off after an hour again, making way for LazyQuest, Sam looked by far our most dangerous outlet whilst he was on the pitch.

I think it is a MUST that we win our remaining home games and try to pick up as many as we can on our travels. I think 86 points should be enough.

[Whitti Steve]

Just got back, after a wretched journey both ways. My thoughts are with the family who lost their lives on the A1 today.

Smashing ground, pity about the 25,000 empty seats. Around 500 travelling Saddlers.

To be fair, we didnt play too badly. Nice passing and movement, and thought Wracky did especially well in the centre of midfield.

Both sides had chances, but lacked the killer instinct. We could have wrapped it up in the last five minutes, with 2 or 3 close efforts. They also hit the woodwork in the second half.

Still puzzled as to why Hector Sam was taken off after an hour again, making way for LazyQuest, Sam looked by far our most dangerous outlet whilst he was on the pitch.

I think it is a MUST that we win our remaining home games and try to pick up as many as we can on our travels. I think 86 points should be enough.

A good summing up of the day. Though with the knowledge that people lost their lives in the crash - a little extra time on the journeys is a small price to pay.

First half I thought we did well - Darlington though were the better team in the second half.

MOM - Dann IMHO and I thought Keates and Wrack did well in midfield. Harper was quieter today and Butler very quiet.

[Pedro]

Pleased with point

Could have been worse , could have better

Still there is the next game

[Morty]

As this was only the 2nd match I've been to this season (and the only away game I've ever been to) I'm not sure how qualified I am to give an opnion on the match..but my thoughts ayway :wink: are:-

Not a bad performance, but not a good performance. Never really caused them huge problems. Don't know if they were missing Dobbo or not, but compared to the reports from the Barnet match our two wide loanees didn't really use the width to get at the full-backs as much as I expected.

Dann played well - even my partner whose knowledge of football is limited recognised that he played well!

Still don't know why Sam was substituted for Ciderquest. I know I've only seen him play for 25 minutes but he just didn't seem to fit into the team - whether its skill levels, team tactics, speed of the game i don't know - but I was generally unimpressed by him.

Overall, I would have settled for a draw before the match and I'll settle for the point we got.

on slightly less football-related matters - my partner liked the Walsall warm-up - especially the hokey-cokey!!! :shock:

She'd also like to thank the fan who picked up her programme after she'd thrown it on the floor during half-time! Also I'd like to thank the person who held my chair down for me after half-time when i found my self holding two sausage rolls and a cup of tea!! :shock: :lol:

and lastly, which two of you were wearing Durham University tops - jorge14 perhaps??? :)

P.s. like all the singing lads - your enthusiasm is infectious! :D

[cal wfc fan]

As this was only the 2nd match I've been to this season (and the only away game I've ever been to) I'm not sure how qualified I am to give an opnion on the match..but my thoughts ayway :wink: are:-
Not a bad performance, but not a good performance. Never really caused them huge problems. Don't know if they were missing Dobbo or not, but compared to the reports from the Barnet match our two wide loanees didn't really use the width to get at the full-backs as much as I expected.

Dann played well - even my partner whose knowledge of football is limited recognised that he played well!

Still don't know why Sam was substituted for Ciderquest. I know I've only seen him play for 25 minutes but he just didn't seem to fit into the team - whether its skill levels, team tactics, speed of the game i don't know - but I was generally unimpressed by him.

Overall, I would have settled for a draw before the match and I'll settle for the point we got.

on slightly less football-related matters - my partner liked the Walsall warm-up - especially the hokey-cokey!!! :shock:

She'd also like to thank the fan who picked up her programme after she'd thrown it on the floor during half-time! Also I'd like to thank the person who held my chair down for me after half-time when i found my self holding two sausage rolls and a cup of tea!! :shock: :lol:

and lastly, which two of you were wearing Durham University tops - jorge14 perhaps??? :)

P.s. like all the singing lads - your enthusiasm is infectious! :D

You Don't have to be qualified :D
Say what you think :wink:

[Pedro]

and lastly, which two of you were wearing Durham University tops - jorge14 perhaps??? :)

Yea Jorge was one of um , and some other chap as well

[geoffwhiting]

Great result, especially without Roper, Westwood and Dobson, AWAY, against a team who are on a roll and unbeaten in 10 or 11 games. Sod the performance, sod what 'Pools are doing, at this stage it's all about US getting enough points to stay ahead of 4th place.

Remember we were away, Lincoln lost an opportunity to close on us by losing at home, MK Dons struggled to get the win, as did Hartlepool, both of them with comparatively "easy" games at home. So there ARE signs of other challengers starting to crack under the pressure. Even Hartlepool, despite continuing their unbeaten run, are only scraping their results lately, and that won't/can't last forever before they get caught out.

Our position is still strong, there are plenty of games still to be played between our promotion rivals so they can't all win.

Hopefully Dobbo and Westie back next week and maybe another loan signing as well. Onwards and upwards !

[Duke]

Good result , as geoff said ,with 3 key players out injured and Darlington in good form we can't complain . Swindon amd Lincoln keep doing us favours :D . Bring on Chester .

[pco_walsall]

very good result considerin results elsewhere and darlos gd form

[Dynamo Zuffle]

It was a point gained in the end I thought all or problems steamed from midfield or a lack of it to be honest. I felt Keates and Wrack didn’t work together and that Fox had a very poor game but in his defence he had no cover during the second half with Cooper and Harper both working on the right had side. I think yesterday showed how much we missed Dobbson when he wasn’t on the pitch. We had our chances to win the game but managed to ride our luck when we needed to.

As for getting home it was a nightmare but after the crash that has wiped out that family its irrelevant my thoughts are with the family members that have lost their loved ones on the A1 yesterday morning.

[Mike T.]

Forgot to mention about missing Dobson as well in my message yesterday - plus this is an excuse to clock up message number 200 :) Not as many as most I know but it is quality not quantity that counts :lol:

[Duke]

It was a point gained in the end I thought all or problems steamed from midfield or a lack of it to be honest. I felt Keates and Wrack didn’t work together and that Fox had a very poor game but in his defence he had no cover during the second half with Cooper and Harper both working on the right had side. I think yesterday showed how much we missed Dobbson when he wasn’t on the pitch. We had our chances to win the game but managed to ride our luck when we needed to.

As for getting home it was a nightmare but after the crash that has wiped out that family its irrelevant my thoughts are with the family members that have lost their loved ones on the A1 yesterday morning.

Shocking news about the accident , kind of puts things into prospective .

About Dobson , very often you don't miss something till its not there ,
He dos'nt get the credit he deserves on here.

[Geordiesaddler]

Good result on reflection, but I have to say I thought the entire 90 minutes was just 90 reasons why we must get out of this god-awful league ASAP. I don't think I could take another season of this to be honest. Pease let's just get another 6 wins and go home to division 3. The players try their best,and the young back 4 deserve all the credit for a steadfast performance, but that's about all you can say really.

Felt that Bury away was spooky with about 9000 empty seats, yesterday was bordering on sureal.

[Whitti Steve]

Good result on reflection, but I have to say I thought the entire 90 minutes was just 90 reasons why we must get out of this god-awful league ASAP. I don't think I could take another season of this to be honest. Pease let's just get another 6 wins and go home to division 3. The players try their best,and the young back 4 deserve all the credit for a steadfast performance, but that's about all you can say really.

Felt that Bury away was spooky with about 9000 empty seats, yesterday was bordering on sureal.

Just what I said - nice ground - a bit odd, but very empty and in the middle of nowhere!

[coxy_saddler]

Good result on reflection, but I have to say I thought the entire 90 minutes was just 90 reasons why we must get out of this god-awful league ASAP. I don't think I could take another season of this to be honest. Pease let's just get another 6 wins and go home to division 3. The players try their best,and the young back 4 deserve all the credit for a steadfast performance, but that's about all you can say really.

Felt that Bury away was spooky with about 9000 empty seats, yesterday was bordering on sureal.

Here here !

[geoffwhiting]

Good result on reflection, but I have to say I thought the entire 90 minutes was just 90 reasons why we must get out of this god-awful league ASAP. I don't think I could take another season of this to be honest. Pease let's just get another 6 wins and go home to division 3. The players try their best,and the young back 4 deserve all the credit for a steadfast performance, but that's about all you can say really.

Felt that Bury away was spooky with about 9000 empty seats, yesterday was bordering on sureal.

Just what I said - nice ground - a bit odd, but very empty and in the middle of nowhere!

It was always going to be like this. It's one thing to be ambitious, but the size of this stadium is just plain stupid and way beyond any realistic expectations for the club. Even if they made the Championship, they would never come near to filling the place. It certainly can't help the home team when any atmosphere is so lacking.

[Jolly Johnny]

Good result on reflection, but I have to say I thought the entire 90 minutes was just 90 reasons why we must get out of this god-awful league ASAP. I don't think I could take another season of this to be honest. Pease let's just get another 6 wins and go home to division 3. The players try their best,and the young back 4 deserve all the credit for a steadfast performance, but that's about all you can say really.

Felt that Bury away was spooky with about 9000 empty seats, yesterday was bordering on sureal.

Here here !

I remember going to see us play Bolton in the carling cup a few years ago and there were about 5000 fans in the ground, which I think holds somewhere between 28-30,000. It was a weird atmosphere! :shock:

Glad with a point from yesterday and glad to hear that Keates and Wrack did well in the middle of the park. If we can get 5, maybe 6 points from the next 3 games that would be great and keep us going forward I feel!

UTS! :)

[Cheesebag]

Like I say, I think home wins especially against the likes of Wrexham, Accy and Chester are a must for the prize that is division 3, that, coupled with gaining points at Torquay etc should be enough.

[Fray Bentos is God!]

Like I say, I think home wins especially against the likes of Wrexham, Accy and Chester are a must for the prize that is division 3, that, coupled with gaining points at Torquay etc should be enough.

I agree chaysey poo, Thought it was a point gained considering their form. A win against chester? and its 7 from 9 and back on like donkey kong

[SheffieldSaddler]

It was a point gained in the end I thought all or problems steamed from midfield or a lack of it to be honest. I felt Keates and Wrack didn’t work together and that Fox had a very poor game but in his defence he had no cover during the second half with Cooper and Harper both working on the right had side. I think yesterday showed how much we missed Dobbson when he wasn’t on the pitch. We had our chances to win the game but managed to ride our luck when we needed to.

As for getting home it was a nightmare but after the crash that has wiped out that family its irrelevant my thoughts are with the family members that have lost their loved ones on the A1 yesterday morning.

A point gained? :lol:
I consider anything less than 3 points against a totally useless, lifeless and utter garbage of a team like Darlington as abysmal.
I have never been so bored at a football match in my life.

[pco_walsall]

Good result on reflection, but I have to say I thought the entire 90 minutes was just 90 reasons why we must get out of this god-awful league ASAP. I don't think I could take another season of this to be honest. Pease let's just get another 6 wins and go home to division 3. The players try their best,and the young back 4 deserve all the credit for a steadfast performance, but that's about all you can say really.

Felt that Bury away was spooky with about 9000 empty seats, yesterday was bordering on sureal.

Just what I said - nice ground - a bit odd, but very empty and in the middle of nowhere!

It was always going to be like this. It's one thing to be ambitious, but the size of this stadium is just plain stupid and way beyond any realistic expectations for the club. Even if they made the Championship, they would never come near to filling the place. It certainly can't help the home team when any atmosphere is so lacking.

Thats like the dongs building a 30,000 all seater ground when they barley fill a 7,000 hockey stadium