“The pitch is such a leveller”. True. The recent wet weather hadn’t helped Skegness as the heavy mud moulded to our boots and the squelch of water propelled itself out either side of each footprint. Where, in the previous defeat, we had strung beautiful passing sequences together and glided across the 3G surface, this week none of that was able to happen and we needed to learn, quickly. The white shirts of Skegness soon turned brown as every attempted tackle resulted in a player skidding to his backside. Driven passes were difficult as several players lost their standing foot to the earth only to witness the opponent slip as they lunged to win the loose ball. It was the same for both sides. For us, our game didn’t get going because our usually crisp movements were laboured and almost clumsy looking. We faced unfamiliar challenges and longed for our 3G home.
“It’s a game of two halves”. Certainly, before kick-off, nobody expected it to be 0-0 at half time. Previous results had set a precedent for this fixture. A few half-hearted efforts from both sides were about all that could be mustered in the first 45 but that wasn’t to be the case following the interval. In a mad 15 minutes, we took the lead 0-1 only for Skegness to twice reply. By 80 minutes, they found themselves 3-1 ahead. As the manager jumped for joy with screams of “get-in” and a short pitch invasion, I found myself turning to the group and saying “I don’t see where we get three goals from in these conditions”. The substitutions took place like a hotel lobby’s revolving door and both sides looked significantly different. Perhaps this is the reason the second half became so much more interesting? A substitute showed class with a precise, defence-splitting pass; opening an opportunity that resulted in a penalty for 3-2. The timewasting of the opponent came back to haunt them as on 90 minutes we hit an equalizer. Then, at 94, the winner and three wins from three against them. It was great character from our lads to never give up and to find a way. I apologised for my earlier doubt.
So, what is it that made me doubt and why do we seem to be involved in so many high scoring games? We analysed it. We don’t know what the mathematical equation could be but there is certainly a correlation between settled defensive units conceding fewer goals than those with a higher inter-change rate. The probability of conceding goals increases with every change made to the defence or goalkeeper over a period of multiple matches. Likewise, in attack, the central forward needs to know the cue for an incoming cross. If they don’t play together regularly, they won’t have the same non-verbal understanding. Sure enough, we haven’t scored many goals as a direct result of a cross this season. Then there are the thoughts and opinions of the management. We make our decisions and trust our group based upon what we know about them but how many games/situations do we need to see them in before we can correctly guess the likelihood of their impact? This is the beauty of development football. Our squad will always be influenced by the needs of our first team and we are always delighted to see members of our group go with them. We should never be a settled team as those doing well should progress and lads needing more game time should come into our group. As I’ve said previously, those are the ‘wins’ we crave. However, for those left behind there will always be an element of unpredictability. This creates a volatile randomness which is thoroughly entertaining to the neutral but abusive to the heart for the regulars. It also makes for one of the most entertaining positions I’ve had in football, so, onto the next one and we really can’t wait…
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