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Accrington Again
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I don't like playing them.
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By:
Eric Hitchmo
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16/03/2010
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More On Accrington Stanley
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"It's hard to pinpoint what exactly was the most frustrating part of Saturday's defeat, as there were so many factors that led to and emerged from it. Was it that we threw away a one goal lead against ten men? Was it the 'performance' of the officials? Was it that with a level of passion and commitment mirroring that of our opponents we could have quite easily won this game? Is it the overall sense of nothingness that is set to underline this season?
Last time we played at home to Accrington, a robbery occurred. Eleven men vaguely diguised as footballers emerged onto a large, open, well-lit area and slowly stole cash from the pockets of the desperate punters. There were around 1,300 witnesses to this crime on a cold winter's night in December, though these men were not to be found accountable out of the loyalty shown from those aforementioned witnesses. Some were heard to say ""it's alright, just don't do it again"", or words to that effect. Unfortunately, similar hallmarks were again in evidence this Saturday past, though of course not to the same scale.
Is it too much to ask that we at least show a bit of commitment and fight for the cause? I watched my team fought out of three points on Saturday. I can accept if we are beaten fair and square by a better team. Bury were a better team than us but we fought and held on for a draw where we may easily have lost. Accrington were fighters and battlers, as always, and that's why they do so well on a tight budget. That's what you need in this league. I admire the way we try to play football, but there is too much pussy-footing about. Not enough players are willing to put their bodies on the line for the cause. Too many tackles are shirked away from for risk of injury. This is why we lost.
You can say what you like about the standard of officiating. Yes, they were very poor but we looked like losing long before Kamdjo was sent off and indeed the second goal which was quite clearly offside. At the time you vent your frustration at these people because it seems like instinct to do so, but when you look a bit deeper it's down to our team to bounce back and put the performance in. In Saturday's second half, they did not.
Clovis' sending off was a mystery to me too. My understanding of a clear goalscoring opportunity, which is surely what he was sent off for is that the striker is most likely in possession of the ball and has a clear chance at goal. Now I'm not the best footballer in the world, but is it just me that would not be able to score when the ball is twenty feet above me in the air? Am I missing something here? Is this why I never made it in the game? A foul perhaps, but a red card, never. Still, justice was done when Jake Cole saved brilliantly low to his right. He once again pulled it out of the bag and showed his worth to us. Player of the season? I think there is very little doubt.
I've never had much time for Accrington. I don't like their ground, the town, anything really, they're just one of those clubs. I don't buy into all this Ultras lark one bit, however their fans were excellent. I almost remember enjoying football as much as that. It has similar qualities to when we are away - a small following, an apparent influence of beverages, and a bloody good effort supporting their team regardless of the score. They sang and danced around to a decent repertoire of chants and put many many bigger clubs to shame with their vocal backing. Fair play to them really. I said similar last week about our vocal backing at Crewe, along with how it never seems to be the same at home anymore. True to form, I did not hear a peep from a Barnet mouth.
Accrington won it with a late sucker punch which was very well taken, albeit from an offside position. This came from the same linesman who mysteriously ruled out a Micah Hyde header in the first half. As it was such a bad decision, half of the crowd didn't even realise it had been ruled out until a free kick was taken from inside the six yard box. This particular official was given a piece of various minds as the furore from the awarded winner continued.
This should have mattered more. Is should have bothered me further. But such is the state of this season now that I was able to forget such a defeat within minutes and think about something else. A few months ago I may have cared more. But as it is, I just didn't really care that much and the sad thing is that it seems to be shared by many others. Let's just get this season done with now."
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