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Ipswich Town v Queens Park Rangers



Saturday 26th December 2015 – 15:00


Portman Road





Opening Thought – Jamma

By the time many of you read this, Christmas Day will have come around again. While I wish you all a joyous festive season, I can’t help thinking that it could have been an even happier Christmas, at least in footballing terms. Saturday was the latest in a long line of matches in 2015/16 where it was a case of ‘so near yet so far’. Like the clash against Middlesbrough two weeks previous, the Blues were able to compete with one of the leading lights of the division, but ultimately came up just short in the quality department. I’m actually beginning to wonder whether I would prefer it if we were comfortably outclassed in these games, as we were by Hull back in October, as opposed to losing out to the odd lapse in concentration, or an unlucky break as was the case against Derby. Mick McCarthy’s post-match comments to this effect may betray his frustration, but the more games we lose in this manner – where there was ‘nothing in it’ – the more the temptation is to say that one of them will eventually go in our favour. My concern is that this has now become a recurrent theme, even going back to last season, when Derby again profited from one pivotal moment in an otherwise even encounter. There is surely only so long we can continue to curse our luck before we do something to force the issue. McCarthy again couldn’t resist alluding to the gulf in spending power with respect to our opponents on Saturday, mentioning Derby’s ability to invest in January. Could the transfer window provide us with the perfect opportunity to close the gap on the league’s big spenders?

Talking of big spenders, no second tier club has spent more money over the last few years than Queens Park Rangers. QPR in many ways epitomise the competitive and unpredictable nature of the Championship. Their financial issues and managerial instability have been well documented, but the Premier League quality in their squad means that they should be aiming for play-off success for the second time in three seasons at the very least. As it is, they have been thankful for Charlie Austin’s goals, without which they would be a lot lower than the 12th place they currently find themselves in. Like any team, they are aspiring for a level of consistency in order to achieve their targets. In a near mirror image of Ipswich’s form, Rangers have enjoyed a good run on home soil, going undefeated in eight matches at Loftus Road, including recent draws against Burnley and Brighton. On the road, though, it has been a different story, as they have won just once in eight – five of them defeats, including a 4-0 mauling at Fulham. By contrast, Town have won five of our last eight away trips, while tasting the sole victory in our last eight Portman Road outings. You get the impression that this could be a pivotal game in both clubs’ seasons. Looking at the table, our record away from home stands up to anyone in the division, and we are the top scorers on our travels. But, somewhat surprisingly, we are in danger of our home form holding us back: we have now picked up the joint fewest points – and scored the fewest goals – on our own patch of any side in the top half. Saturday presents us with a chance to not only reverse that trend but also record a win over a top-half side for the first time since August. If we are to push on in the second half of the campaign, it’s a chance that we have to take.


The Opposition – Queens Park Rangers







The club was formed in 1886, when a team known as St Jude's (formed in 1884) merged with Christchurch Rangers (formed in 1882). The resulting team was called Queens Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queen's Park area of North-West London. QPR became a professional team in 1889 and played their home games in nearly 20 different stadia (a league record), before permanently settling at Loftus Road in 1917.

QPR were promoted as champions of Division 3 South in the 1947–48 season and enjoyed four seasons in the Second Division, before being relegated in 1951–52.

In 1966–67, QPR won the Division Three championship and became the first Third Division club to win the League Cup, on Saturday 4 March 1967. After winning promotion in 1968 to the top flight for the first time in their history, Rangers were relegated after just one season and spent the next four years in Division 2.

In 1974, Dave Sexton joined as manager and, in 1975–76, led QPR to the runners-up spot in the First Division, missing out on the Championship by a single point with a squad containing seven England internationals as well as internationals from the home nations.

The late 1970s also saw some cup success, with Rangers reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup and, in their first entry into European football, reaching the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to AEK Athens on penalties. Following Sexton's departure in 1977, the club eventually slipped into the Second Division in 1979.

In 1980, Terry Venables took over as manager and the club installed a 'plastic pitch'. In 1982, QPR, still playing in the Second Division, reached the FA Cup final for the only time in the club's history, but lost to Tottenham 1-0 in the replay.

The following season, 1982–83, QPR went on to win the Second Division championship and returned to English football's top division. In their first season back, they recorded a respectable fifth place finish, gaining UEFA Cup qualification. Over the next seven years, various managers came and went from Loftus Road and the club spent many seasons finishing in mid-table but avoided relegation. The most successful season during this period was the 1987–88 season, in which QPR finished fifth, missing out on a UEFA Cup campaign due to the ban on English clubs in European competition as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster.

Gerry Francis was appointed manager in the summer of 1991. In the 1991–92 First Division campaign, they finished mid-table in the league and were founder members of the new Premier League, finishing 5th, as the top London club, in the 1992–93 inaugural season. Midway through the 1994–95 season, Francis resigned and Ray Wilkins was installed as player-manager. Wilkins led QPR to an eighth place finish in the Premiership

QPR struggled throughout the following season and were relegated at the end of the 1995–96 season. QPR then competed in Division 1 until 2001 under a succession of managers. Gerry Francis returned in 1998. However, the 2000–2001 season proved to be a disaster, and Francis resigned in early 2001.

Charismatic former player Ian Holloway became manager but was unable to stop Rangers from being relegated to England's third tier for the first time in more than thirty years.

Following the 2003–2004 season, QPR returned to Division 1 and struggled for consistent form over the next two campaigns before Holloway was suspended amidst rumours of his departure for Leicester City

During this same period, QPR became embroiled in financial and boardroom controversy. Although the club had floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 1991, in 2001 it entered administration (receivership). A period of financial hardship followed and the club left administration after receiving a £10m high-interest emergency loan, which continued to burden the club. Scandals involving the directors, shareholders and others emerged in the 2005–06 season and included allegations of blackmail and threats of violence against the club's chairman Gianni Paladini.

Following this low point in the club's history as Rangers also faced mounting financial pressure, in the same month it was announced that the club had been bought by wealthy Formula One businessmen Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone. During the 2007–08 season, Rangers competed in the Football League Championship. Further investment followed in early 2008 as the club looked to push for promotion to the Premier League within four years, on the back of greater financial stability. On 14 May 2008, Iain Dowie was announced as the manager to begin the campaign to return Rangers to the top flight. However, on 24 October 2008, Iain Dowie was sacked after just fifteen games in charge of the club.

On 19 November 2008, QPR named former Portugal midfielder Paulo Sousa as their new first team coach. However, on 9 April 2009, his contract was terminated. In June 2009, Jim Magilton was named as the new manager of QPR. Despite leading them to a good start to the 2009–10 season, a loss of form meant he left the club by mutual consent on 16 December 2009. He was replaced by Paul Hart on the next day. Less than a month and only 5 games after becoming manager at QPR, Paul Hart parted with the club on 14 January 2010.

On 30 April 2011, QPR secured promotion to the Premier League by winning the Championship. A subsequent FA investigation involving QPR's acquisition of Alejandro Faurlín threatened to deduct points from the side and put their promotion in jeopardy. The investigation concluded on 7 May 2011, with QPR found to be at fault in two of the seven charges, and receiving a £875,000 fine. However, there were no points deducted by the FA, and QPR's promotion to the Premier League was secured.

In January 2012, club chairman Tony Fernandes appointed Mark Hughes as team manager 36 hours after the previous incumbent Neil Warnock was sacked. QPR escaped relegation on the last day of the season.

On 23 November 2012, Mark Hughes was sacked on the back of a poor start to the 2012–13 season, with the club languishing at the bottom of the Premier League despite significant financial investment in new players. A day later, Harry Redknapp was confirmed as the new manager. On 28 April 2013, with 3 games of the season to play, QPR were relegated from the Premier League down to the Championship after two seasons in the top flight.

During the 2013–14 season, QPR finished 4th in the Championship, and qualified for the play-offs, defeating Wigan Athletic in the semi-finals. In the final against favourites Derby County on 24 May 2014, QPR won 1–0 with a goal in the 90th minute to return to the Premier League.

The return to the top flight was a brief one, however, with QPR being relegated from the Premier League in last place at the conclusion of the 2014/15 season.


One To Watch – Junior Hoilett



The R’s were rightly considered amongst the pre-season favourites for promotion, given the quality and strength of their squad. They have Premier League class throughout the side, from Charlie Austin up front to their goalkeeper, Robert Gre… Well, maybe not right throughout the side! One player who has always impressed me in particular is Junior Hoilett.

Born David Wayne Hoilett, but known as Junior, the Canadian international joined Blackburn’s academy as an eight-year-old, having come over to England from Ontario. However, problems in obtaining a work permit meant that his first experience of professional football came via loan stints at German sides Paderborn and St. Pauli. After finally getting clearance to play in the U.K., Hoilett eventually made his Rovers debut in the summer of 2009, at the age of 19. He soon became a regular in the side and impressed as a tricky winger with a dangerous delivery. He added goals to his game in 2010/11 and, by his third season, had become one of Blackburn’s most important players. His ability was by now drawing attention from further afield, and Hoilett was named as one of FIFA’s ’13 players to watch in 2012’. Unfortunately, his personal success was not emulated by his team, as Rovers suffered relegation at the end of that campaign. QPR snapped him up but, following a season of injuries and inconsistency, Hoilett was to experience a second successive relegation. 2013/14 was more fruitful, and the winger set up Bobby Zamora for the winning goal in the play-off final. Hoilett’s career has been nothing if not eventful, and he made it one promotion and three relegations in his last four seasons as Rangers dropped back into the Championship for 2015/16.


The Gaffer – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink





Hasselbaink was born on 27 March 1972 in Paramaribo, Suriname (then part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). His mother took him and three siblings to live in Zaandam, Netherlands

The following year, Hasselbaink began playing youth football for Gestaagt Volharding Overwint (GVO), initially as a goalkeeper. He later played for Zaansche Football club (ZFC) and Zaanlandia as a right winger. He joined a street gang as a teenager and spent three months in a youth detention facility for stealing. After his release, he joined the youth team at DWS, but was dismissed from the club for stealing the watch of a First Team player. He began his senior career with Telstar, while still a gang member, and had disciplinary issues at the club due to his persistent lateness. He made his Eerste Divisie debut on 27 October 1990. Head coach Niels Overweg sacked him after he turned up late to a match.

He began training with AZ, where his brother Carlos was playing, and impressed enough to win a professional contract. However, head coach Henk Wullems opted not to renew his contract in 1993, despite Hasselbaink having made 46 appearances for the club.

He signed for newly promoted Portuguese Primeira Divisão side Campomaiorense in August 1995 after impressing trainer Manuel Fernandes on a trial.

Hasselbaink was signed by Boavista for a €300,000 fee in the summer of 1996. Hasselbaink had a good season individually, finishing as the league's second highest scorer behind Porto's Mário Jardel.

Leeds United manager George Graham signed Hasselbaink in the summer of 1997 for a fee of £2 million. He initially struggled to adapt to the pace of the English game. He scored only five league goals before Christmas, but ended the campaign with 26 goals in all competitions following a strong second half of the season.

The following season, Hasselbaink's 18 goals in 36 appearances made him joint winner of the Premier League Golden Boot. However, he and his agent were dissatisfied with the contract offered by the club, and though he still had two years to run on his existing deal he was sold on.

Hasselbaink was bought by Spanish club Atlético Madrid for £10 million in the summer of 1999. Hasselbaink shared the league's Silver Boot award with Catanha (Málaga CF), scoring only three goals fewer than top scorer Salva Ballesta (Racing de Santander). However, this failed to prevent the club from being relegated into the Segunda División. A relegation clause in his four-year contract allowed Hasselbaink to leave the club in the summer.

Hasselbaink returned to the Premier League in May 2000, when he was signed by Chelsea, for a club record fee of £15 million, which matched the then transfer record for an English club; he signed a four-year contract. Hasselbaink scored 23 goals in 35 league appearances in the 2000–01 season, and he finished the season as the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot.

In July 2004, Hasselbaink turned down approaches from Fulham, Celtic and Rangers and instead joined Middlesbrough on a two-year contract after a free transfer, before being released in July 2006.

After a potential move to Celtic of the Scottish Premier League broke down, Hasselbaink joined his fourth Premier League team, Charlton Athletic, on a free transfer in July 2006. He was released by Charlton at the end of the 2006–07 season having scored only four goals in 29 games, with half of his goal tally coming against League One side Chesterfield in the League Cup.

Hasselbaink was on the verge of joining Championship side Leicester City in August 2007, but the club later withdrew their offer. Instead, Cardiff City chairman Peter Ridsdale, who had worked with Hasselbaink at Leeds United, brought him to Cardiff on a one-year deal. As the season finished, he entered talks to extend his stay at Cardiff. However, he left the club in July 2008 following a dispute over pay.

Hasselbaink made his international debut on 27 May 1998. In his international career, he played 23 matches and scored 9 goals.

In October 2009, Hasselbaink trained with Conference South side Woking to help keep himself fit and do some coaching. He then worked with Chelsea's Under 16 squad and coached at the Nike Academy while taking his UEFA 'B' and 'A' licences. From July 2011 to January 2013, he was a member of the coaching staff at Nottingham Forest, leaving the club when manager Sean O'Driscoll was sacked.

In May 2013, Hasselbaink was announced as the new manager of newly relegated Belgian Second Division club Royal Antwerp. He led the club to a seventh place finish in the 2013–14 season, before turning down a new deal at the club in May 2014.

On 13 November 2014, Hasselbaink was appointed manager at League Two side Burton Albion. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, and stated that he had been attracted to Burton by the club's stability. On 18 April, Burton won 2–1 away at Morecambe to earn promotion to League One for the first time in their history. At the time of his departure, Burton were top of League One.

On 4 December 2015, Hasselbaink was appointed as manager of Queens Park Rangers, when he signed on a rolling contract.[/color]


Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev

A blast from the past, when QPR came to town in 1975:





Trev's Trivia






Media Watch - K L Blue


Not exactly Ronaldo joining the club is it?

Luke Varney: Ipswich Town sign forward on deal for rest of 2015-16


Luke Varney has signed a deal with Ipswich Town until the end of the season, while fellow forward David McGoldrick faces lengthy spell out.

Varney, 33, has been undergoing rehabilitation with Ipswich since injuring his Achilles in last season's play-off semi-final against Norwich while on loan from Blackburn.

He played 12 games for Ipswich before being released by Rovers in the summer.

Meanwhile, McGoldrick is out for the "long-term" with a hamstring tear.

The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international has scored three goals in 19 appearances for Mick McCarthy's side this season.

Varney, who has scored 67 goals in 345 career league appearances for eight Football League clubs, including Derby and Leeds, comes in as cover for McGoldrick.

Stat Time


Head to Head


Ipswich Wins..................26.....(39.39%)
Q.P.R. Wins...................23.....(34.85%)
Draws..........................17.....(25.76%)


Ipswich Goals................87 (ave. 1.32 per match)
Q.P.R. Goals.................81 (ave. 1.23 per match)



Head to Head at Ipswich


Ipswich Wins..................16.....(48.48%)
Q.P.R. Wins....................8.....(24.24%)
Draws...........................9.....(27.27%)


Ipswich Goals..................49 (ave. 1.48 per match)
Q.P.R. Goals...................37 (ave. 1.12 per match)






The Predicted Teams


Ipswich Town

It was noticeable against Derby that one or two players seemed to be jaded by the three games in the space of a week. Mick may be tempted to freshen things up, with another match on the horizon and Ryan Fraser in particular pushing for a start. Luke Hyam could make a return surprise to the squad after being recalled from his loan at Rotherham.

1 Dean Gerken
4 Luke Chambers
5 Tommy Smith
6 Christophe Berra
3 Jonas Knudsen
8 Cole Skuse
22 Jonathan Douglas
14 Ryan Fraser
20 Freddie Sears
9 Daryl Murphy
11 Brett Pitman


Queens Park Rangers

Rangers also have options if they decide to change things around following their stalemate against Bristol City at the weekend. Former Town players Massimo Luongo and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas will be keen to force their way into the starting XI after both were on the bench at Ashton Gate. Leroy Fer and Robert Green (boo, hiss!) will take the tally of ex-Canaries to ‘grace’ Portman Road up to six in eight days.

1 Robert Green
26 Gabriele Angella
4 Grant Hall
5 Nedum Onuoha
15 Paul Konchesky
18 Alejandro Faurlin
10 Leroy Fer
23 Junior Hoilett
20 Karl Henry
7 Matt Phillips
9 Charlie Austin


Marko’s Caption Competition

Nice entries there for Dons & Derby. Giving out more double point rounds over the Xmas and new year period. Certainly helped James out. Short and sweet and to the point Scharmann...., had me chuckling away. Well done.

Dons
James 5pts
Shed 4pts
Watership 3pts
Ando 2pts

Derby
James 10pts
Nicsreamer 8pts
ITNO1 6pts
Frosty 4pts
(Everyone else 2pts)


LEAGUE TABLE

Frosty 39
DerickIpsw 38
Barmy Billy 34
Nicsreamer 34
James Scharmann 31
Blueblood 29
Number 9 26
Ando 24
Quasar 22
Shed on Tour 21
IpswichtownNO1 18
Ashfordblue 17
Floors 16
Bluemike 12
Watership Down 12
Hallamblue 10
Charnwood 10
Herforder 9
Longjohn 9
Kerry Blue 8
Foxy Lady 8
Kerry Blue 5
Ohiotractorboy 3
Karlywoo 1
LoudNProud 1

Have a shot at this:




Match Referee – Darren Drysdale





Final Thought - Frosty


A very Merry Christmas to all on the forum.

Thank you for your continued support of the site and also a very special thanks to James, Colin, Trev and Marko, who give up their time each week to bring you these Previews.

For those of you waddling down to PR after over-indulging the day before, I suspect that this may be an interesting match, particularly if Charlie Austin makes a return to the opposition’s starting line-up.

QPR have underperformed this season, which is the reason Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was appointed a few weeks ago to try and reverse their fortunes for the season. His opening three matches in charge have seen 3 draws. The single points gained against Brighton and Burnley are not bad results but they will have been disappointed not to put away Bristol City last week. Despite this, QPR are only 5 points behind us on the table in 12th place, yet another example of just how close this division is.

In other fixtures of note this week, Wednesday host the Brum, Cardiff pay a visit to the Dons and Brighton will be looking to bounce back from the mauling by Boro when they travel to London to meet Brentford.

Once again, have a fantastic Christmas with your friends and family and, if you are attending, hopefully you come away from the ground seeing Hasselbaink’s first loss as manager of QPR which would be a great present.

COYB!


IPSWICH TOWN 1 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 0

2-1 to Town I hope

CAPTION COMPETITION

Hey Baby! Lets do a remake of that dirty film we watched last night, oh that feels so good!!!

Voted on a drawn game as don't feel positive enough to award ourselves a victory. The opposition sit in mid-table obscurity but we need a win to hold on to sixth position. Just believe the recent home disappointment will continue a while longer but imagine we'll take something from the fixture.

Ipswich 1 Queens Park Rangers 1

Caption:

"Where's the off switch?"

The tough home games continue to roll by and this one will be no exception, with players like Austin, Hoillett, Fer, Phillips & Konchesky in the side it is clear rangers have some top quality within their ranks that should be doing much better. Our home form has to improve soon while a piece of good fortune against one of the so called "bigger boys" has to go our way soon.

I would not be surprised if the preview is correct with Ryan Fraser making a return to the starting Eleven, he looked really sharp when he came on against the Rams and certainly gave them one or two problems, aside form that I suspect we will be as you were last week. My aim over the next Three games is to see us come through them and still be in the top Six, that would be a very satisfying festive period but for that to happen I feel Three points here is a must as trips to Brighton & Burnley are certainly not easy. I have gone for the Town win in what is bound to be a really tough scrap but I feel we may just nick this one.

Town 2-1 QPR

Hassellbaink and Leeds came to Easter Road for a pre-season friendly......, 2-2 draw. I remember thinking JFH looked the real deal. Great player.

Fearing a loss in this one. Last week, Charlie Austin looked like he was ready for "getting back into it"......, and against the slippery on/off ITFC defence, this might be ideal for him. A win would be brilliant. A draw, for me, would be acceptable. I see a 0-2 or 1-3 loss.

Ref:

Player: FOUL REF.
Ref: Yes, yes I know, there you go.
Player: You took yer time!
Ref: It takes me around 10.3 seconds to get the whistle near my mouth. Look at the length of the arm ffs! It's f**king long man.

Town 1 QPR 1


Caption: Ref, I've often been booked for tackling from behind but this is the first time I've been given a yellow for being behind the tackle.

Ryan Fraser to start, please! Believe we can get a win, but expecting another hard game of fine margins. 1-0 to us.

Caption comp: Fido loved having his tackle tickled!

Caption Comp : This cream works wonders for piles and Hemorrhoids I use it on my wife's .

Caption - free prostate exams are now part of every matches half time routine

CAPTION....."Yep, I've definitely ripped you a new arsehole today mate"

caption: Anton is that Rio or your arsehole?

Nothing better than a home win on Boxing Day come on you blues!

Caption: yep, you are a bigger arsehole than John terry! And you can certainly park two bikes in there.


Merry xmas everyone, enjoy the game for those that are going. Taking the wife with us today, hopefully she will bring us luck

Off to the pub for 12 with the usual gang of friends and then hopefully a Town win to set us up for that 6th place at the start of 2016. COYB'S !!!!!

Be leaving around 12.30pm. Couple of pints then be climbing mountain of steps to get top tier of Alf Ramsey stand.

Steve and Jo wrote:Be leaving around 12.30pm. Couple of pints then be climbing mountain of steps to get top tier of Alf Ramsey stand.

Captain.. "Shouldn't you be supporting the ARSEnal's? mate"

Where do you drink Steve ?

bluemike wrote:

Steve and Jo wrote:Be leaving around 12.30pm. Couple of pints then be climbing mountain of steps to get top tier of Alf Ramsey stand.

Captain.. "Shouldn't you be supporting the ARSEnal's? mate"

Where do you drink Steve ?

Used to be The Cricketers until Dave (Loud and Proud) grabbed hold of me, then used to drink with him.
Now just wander up to the legends mostly

Steve and Jo wrote:

bluemike wrote:

Steve and Jo wrote:Be leaving around 12.30pm. Couple of pints then be climbing mountain of steps to get top tier of Alf Ramsey stand.

Captain.. "Shouldn't you be supporting the ARSEnal's? mate"

Where do you drink Steve ?

Used to be The Cricketers until Dave (Loud and Proud) grabbed hold of me, then used to drink with him.
Now just wander up to the legends mostly

Oh ok, funnily enough a few of us are in the Cricketers today.

Over the years people just fade away. I mean for whatever reason whether can't afford the expense now or whatever just do other things.. It is lot more expensive now to watch a game.

Great preview as always .Im going for a close Town victory 1-0. As for the preview caption...."REFEREE"! "He's tackling from behind again!!"

Steve and Jo wrote:Over the years people just fade away. I mean for whatever reason whether can't afford the expense now or whatever just do other things.. It is lot more expensive now to watch a game.

Hi Jo....Still reckon you have the best looking butt on the terraces.....and your hubby agrees with me too!! Have a good crimbo and hope to catch up soon

Losing 0-1 QPR playing some rough football and as usual ref doing bugger all about it

I got the score as goalless ? Guess some websites require their efficiency level upgraded.

Says also we are (at this moment) out of the play-off zone due to scores elsewhere that are ongoing.

This should be a winnable game against beatable opposition today, I don't understand why we can't see off teams like this with home advantage. If we really see ourselves as something of promotion material then games like this should be being taken care of.

saint jude wrote:I got the score as goalless ? Guess some websites require their efficiency level upgraded.

Says also we are (at this moment) out of the play-off zone due to scores elsewhere that are ongoing.

This should be a winnable game against beatable opposition today, I don't understand why we can't see off teams like this with home advantage. If we really see ourselves as something of promotion material then games like this should be being taken care of.

Should be a winnable game? No chance with how we are playing at the minute.

What do we need to win at home this season.

COYB- The top 4 are getting away from us.

lucy wrote:

saint jude wrote:I got the score as goalless ? Guess some websites require their efficiency level upgraded.

Says also we are (at this moment) out of the play-off zone due to scores elsewhere that are ongoing.

This should be a winnable game against beatable opposition today, I don't understand why we can't see off teams like this with home advantage. If we really see ourselves as something of promotion material then games like this should be being taken care of.

Should be a winnable game? No chance with how we are playing at the minute.

Surprise, surprise!

Lo and behold it says the opposition have scored and we find ourselves behind

They took the lead just before the interval and now we require at least two goals in order for victory. What the hell is it with our team sometimes ? Playing (once again) no-thrills opposition in front of a home crowd, and so often, they make a mess of things and we lose out on valuable points.

We got Pitman, Murphy and Sears playing the forward line and not one has registered a strike as yet, am I alone in thinking this is a genuine concern. If it stays as it is for the entire duration, the question can only gain momentum.

Fraser had been introduced in place of Niles.

1-1 Douglas

1-1 Never thought this was going to be an easy game as they have destroyed us in the past few games.

Wasn't expecting that name to be on the scoresheet today but we'll take it. We got an equalizing goal, now go on and beat these and get three much needed points. Ten minutes remaining, so those at the game today, get behind the team and raise us to victory.