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[jhcorbett]

just got back from Woking and it was a very poor game.

We started with the kind of formation that a lot of people have disagreed with (Aspinall at LB, Lawton RM, O'Neill up front etc.) and then changed with about 30 mins to go with a midfield of Potts, Sedge, Lawton, Peyton and then Clancy at LM, with Senior coming on up front for Joe (something more like what a lot on here have suggested). To be fair to GH it made very little difference - we were still poor and that's down to the players, not the manager. Some have said we have a better team 'on paper' than last season. I don't see it. There's still little creativity. Can;t think of an Alty player who actually played quite well today, possibly Shotton, who looked quite solid in defence.

Aspinall did OK at LB until the 90th min blunder (not all his fault as Tinson seemed involved too), but the writing was on the wall by then. Clancy came on & sliced his first pass in to the crowd and then fell over, probably a bit nervous cos, to be fair, after that he looked OK - couple of nice crosses and got forward more. Still think Peyton might be our best bet at LB.

Without a solid defensive midfielder (Val) we always look shakey and different line-ups seem to make little difference. One thing that would be better would be Senior instead of Joe for a few games. Senior is busy and rattled their keeper a little today, Joe does not really worry opposition defences.

Still, i don't think we're as sh*t as Northwich.

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

The verdict from the Woking angle:

Woking 2 Altrincham 0:
15th September 2007
by Mick

Scorers
Darren Tinson (og) 40
Danny Bunce 90

Finally, at the fifth attempt the Cards came away with all three points at Kingfield. However, this was far from a comprehensive victory as visitors Altrincham were woeful and judging by their performance it is clear to see why they are current in the bottom three. A better team may well have scored a lot more than two.

To be fair, Frank Gray was hampered with injuries losing all his central midfielders (Pattison, Gray and Quamina) and he changed the team around, strangely dropping Sole and leaving out Maledon in favour of loan signings Kevin James and Joe Gatting as well as giving Izzy Harusha a chance in midfield. Going back to 3-5-2 Hutch returned to marshal Gasson and Lorraine with Gindre in goal and Lambu (right) and Green (left) on the wings. Harusha, James and Bunce made up the midfield with Gatting and Morgan up front.

The game got off to a slow start and both teams found it difficult to get going and there were no real opportunities early on. Harusha had two long shots go miles over the bar when the Cards were on the attack and Gatting got up to head a corner at goal only for Ryan Shotton to dive in and divert it away. Altrincham had some half chances too when Colin Little ballooned an ambitious volley over the bar from an awkward angle and Carlos Logan tested Gindre with a shot from outside the area.

On the 28th minute, Morgan managed to break away from the defence and prodded the ball around keeper' Stuart Coburn. The keeper seemed to catch him as he went past and Marvin went down only for the referee to bizarrely award a corner (I'm not convinced it was a penalty but it was definitely not a corner!). Chances became even harder to make as the game continued and although Woking were edging the game they couldn't seem to create anything of note.

On the 38th minute, Joe O'Neill hammered a wayward effort well over from 25 yards and then the Cards broke the deadlock on 40 minutes. Lambu won a free kick having been upended and Bunce stepped up to loft in a long crossfield ball. Keeper' Coburn came and got nowhere near it leaving Hutchinson to rise above the masses and nod it towards goal, it took a deflection off Tinson and ended up in the back of the net.

After half time the Cards went looking for a second and nearly found one on 50 minutes. A corner was met by Gasson at the back post which forced Coburn to parry away and Morgan attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick that only just went over. Moments later and it was Marvin again causing problems lashing a long shot just wide following a deflection from Tinson. The resulting corner was swung in by Bunce and had Coburn scrambling to tip it over and this was followed by Harusha heading tamely at the keeper' from the next corner.

On 53 minutes, Green got the space to swing in a good cross and Harusha met it but he had his effort well blocked by Shotton. Moments later and Lorraine had a good opportunity from a corner but he fired his effort well wide. Frank Gray made changes in the 67th and 72nd minutes as he brought on Hakim for Gatting and then Sole for Harusha. In between them Lorraine was on hand to save an uncharacteristically error prone Gindre who missed his kick only for his defender to save him by blocking superbly. Then on the 73rd minute he handled outside the area and Jake Sedgemore swung the resulting free kick in dangerously and it whistled just past the far post with Robbie Lawton running in. If he had got any sort of contact it would have gone in but the Cards were thankfully let off the hook.

The last fifteen minutes were a little more comfortable and Woking restricted the visitors to very little chances. In fact they looked like adding a second and nearly did with four minutes left when Morgan headed wide from Green's corner. In the last minute they did, Hakim flicking it into Sole's path who unselfishly rolled it into Bunce who belted the opportunity of the inside of the post and into the back of the net to make it 2-0. The performance was far from amazing but it was a desperately needed win and a job well done with some players out.

Dropping Sole was a strange one and picking the rather unimpressive Harusha ahead of Maledon was an interesting choice too but there can't be too many complaints with the result. The returning Hutchinson got the sponsors man of the match and he was superb once again as were Lorraine and especially Gasson alongside him at the back. Bunce looked a little lost in midfield and I would have much rather seen him playing left wingback for the uninspiring Green. I would have given man of the match to midfield terrier Kevin James who picked out passes well and looked to win the ball back when he could. Goma did satisfactory at right wingback and Marv was always a danger up front alongside the less impressive Gatting who looked unfit and slow.

Some tough away games coming up and hopefully some of the midfield will be back soon but the squad is looking a bit more bolstered now and hopefully this winning, ahem, run can continue!

Woking (3-5-2): Gindre; Lorraine, Hutch, Gasson; Lambu, James, Harusha (Sole 73), Bunce, Green; Gatting (Hakim 68), Morgan (Maledon 87).
Subs Not Used: Shin, Gibbs.
Booked: Lorraine, Morgan.

Man of the Match: Kevin James - a solid midfield display.

Moment of the Match: Marv's scintillating second half run which took him from the egde of his own area to winning a corner!

Attendance: 1,391

[Ballers]

just got back from Woking and it was a very poor game.

We started with the kind of formation that a lot of people have disagreed with (Aspinall at LB, Lawton RM, O'Neill up front etc.) and then changed with about 30 mins to go with a midfield of Potts, Sedge, Lawton, Peyton and then Clancy at LM, with Senior coming on up front for Joe (something more like what a lot on here have suggested). To be fair to GH it made very little difference - we were still poor and that's down to the players, not the manager.

I've just got back too. Apart from the Woking report here being very accurate JHC says the changes made little differenceand is right but....

THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU WAIT TOO LONG. WOKING WERE NERVOUS AND POOR AND WERE THERE FOR THE TAKING. BY THE TIME THEY WERE ONE NIL UP AFTER AN HOUR THEY HAD GROWN IN CONFIDENCE AND HAD THE BIT BETWEEN THEIR TEETH. THEY WERE HASSLING AND HARRYING AND COMMANDING IN A WAY THEY WEREN'T IN THE FIRST HALF.

Not rocket science is it, still try the same thing again on monday, might be 10th time lucky for f**ks sake.