Great Yarmouth Town 1 - 1 CRC

Another day, another point, another story. After the highs and lows of Tuesday, we were again better in the first half, again took the lead, again conceded from a free kick and again had to settle for a point. In truth though, at no point did we hit the highs of our performance at Wisbech and ridiculously we were even forced into changing our formation to 4-5-1 in the second half to secure a point. No disrespect to our hosts but we should not be forced into doing that against a team humbled 4-0 by Dereham in their previous game.

On a big pitch, albeit an average surface, we should have dominated this match from start to finish and proved that our first half display at Wisbech was the benchmark from where we can improve rather than a brief aberration that we will be referring back to all season. For those who have never visited Wellesley Road, the pitch is in the middle of an athletics track and the grass is cut (or not!) by the council. We knew that we would have to create our own tempo and with a dead and dry surface, that we must move the ball quickly.Against Wisbech, the opposition, pitch and crowd created the conditions that allowed/motivated/enabled us to show our best.On Saturday, with none of the above, we failed to motivate ourselves to perform at the right level. If the players cannot motivate themselves to work hard in order to perform, it begs a fairly fundamental question… In the first half our display was acceptable but we missed chances, in the second half we were way below Nolan and my levels of expectation in every regard.

Even though we dominated the first half territorially, we our really created chances from set plays. Alex Bevan should have scored with a close range header from a James Brighton free kick, Blaine Hudson headed over a Jack Eades corner and Liam Hughes did the same from a variation on our normal set up which worked perfectly except for the finish. Our only clear cut opportunity from open play was also met with a Hughes header, but again he was off target.

Our goal came courtesy of a rush of blood and misjudgement by their keeper which resulted in a foul on Liam Hughes just inside the box. The referee corrected adjudged that he was going away from goal, so the punishment was a caution and a spot kick. Luke Berry sent him the wrong way from 12 yards.

The second half saw the home side get into our faces and show us less respect. They played on the front foot and we struggled with their extra man in midfield to such an extent that we had to match their formation. It is not something we ever want to do or should need to do.Their equaliser, half way through, was an awful goal to concede. We initially turned our backs at a free kick on the half way, dropped too deep, then didn't press the ball quickly enough when it was taken short and allowed an unopposed cross to be delivered into our box.We then allowed a free header, although to be fair to their player, it was a great finish and a much more difficult chance than the ones we missed in the opening 45 minutes.

It was only in the closing stages, with the home side for the first time looking to hold onto their point, that we looked threatening.Our inability to execute the final cross/pass/shot prevented this late dominance from being converted into a win. The fact that our opponents celebrated their draw at the final whistle speaks volumes for our reputation but doesn't reflect on our performance. They fully deserved their point.The high esteem that we currently enjoy in this league will soon dissipate if we are not more consistent and demand more from ourselves.

The reaction of the players in the changing room afterwards was also interesting. As should always be the case, I will keep the details of any post mortem involving individuals confidential, but as always only Blaine Hudson and Jack Eades are willing to voice an opinion. We have too many "camouflage" players. They are desperate to blend into the background, hoping not to be asked, not willing to take responsibility. It happens on and off the pitch. Some of our scholars need to stand up and be counted. Not enough of them are in our starting XI. The ones who are don't want to become leaders. They are either too happy in their own world (which is usually stressed) or too happy trying to do just enough (in other words, lazy). Taff, Blaine, Berry etc won't be around in the FA Youth Cup and if our scholars think they can meander through the year without addressing their fundamental weaknesses (mostly their mentality), they cannot hope to be individually or collectively successful.

I hope that we react correctly on Wednesday and take out our frustration on Mildenhall by creating the standards that enable all of our young players the platform to showcase their undoubted talent. The alternative was seen on Saturday and the players cannot need many more reminders of the outcome when our standards dip.

Team: Davies, Thorpe, Coakley, Bevan, Hudson, Allen, Eades (Bennett 70), Berry, Ingrey (Hannant 70), Hughes, Brighton.

CRC are next at home to Mildenhall Town on Wednesday 8 September and Saturday 11 September to FC Clacton. Admission is £5 for adults, £2 for concessions and CUFC season ticket holders.
 

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