Sponsor our Squad - 12/13 edition

So, the Fleet survived (both on and off the field), and we can consider the 11-12 season a successful one. Liam has signed a new 2-year deal, and now he needs to assembly the 12-13 version of the Fleet. You can help sponsor our squad by clicking here: http://www.fleetsos.co.uk

Mixed Fortunes

A great win at Darlington yesterday wiped out the disappointment of Tuesday's home reverse against a rampant Wrexham.

To be honest, on Tuesday, most of us in the home crowd were hoping for no more than damage limitation as soon as we heard how the line-up had been altered by last minute injury & illness added to Ram Marwa's suspension. New loan signing Bellamy had to slot straight into central midfield, Craig Stone was at centre back in place of the unwell Ross Smith, who was due to replace the injured Yado Mambo, Johnny Herd went to left back, replacing the still injured Joe Howe & Tom Phipp had to play at right back, taking up the berth usually occupied by Stone. All of which made the loss of Calum Willock through an eye injury seem the least of our troubles.

Amazingly, for 20 minutes it was the Fleet who did the pressing, with Ugwu, Shakes, Pinney & Enver-Marum all looking lively. Twice long Johnny Herd throws released Shakes behind the defence resulting in dangerous crosses into the box which seemed destined to produce a goal that never came. Inevitably, though when Wrexham finally found themselves with a chance they took it - Pogba powering home a header unchallenged from a corner. The Fleet were still right in the game until Speight got past Tom Phipp by the corner flag & his low pass into the box was tucked home. An early 2nd half goal from the Fleet was not to come & we knew it was all over when Leslie added a 3rd after good work down the right by Pogba. By now, what we'd suspected at the start was confirmed; whilst we could match them in most departments, our makeshift defence just could not cope with the incisiveness of the Wrexham attack once it got into top gear. The 4th from Morrell & a penalty converted by Speight made the scoreline an unrealistic reflection of the balance of play - but such is life.

How different it was listening to the commentary on the web yesterday. The 1st half was an even affair, with both sides having decent chances to take the lead. Bowman was causing our defence a few problems & the pace of the Fleet going forward clearly unsettled Darlington. Loud north eastern voices could be heard urging the referee to keep up with play, but in the background was a steady rhythmic noise that sounded suspiciously like the sound that comes from the Plough End at home games.



Within 5 minutes of the re-start, the game was effectively won. On 49 minutes, the Fleet won a free kick & the Darlington defence lost focus as Craig Stones ball through the middle was helped on by Pinney to Enver Marum ghosting in at the far post to put us ahead. I was midway through texting the news when, in the very next minute, it was 2. This time Enver-Marum turned provider, hitting a free kick low into the box for Ugwu to stretch out a foot & divert into the net. After that, the north eastern voices were stilled &, as it grew in volume & became the only sound apart from the commentators, it became clear that the rhythmic noise was indeed the 30-40 Fleet travellers & their drum. That they could make so much noise when there were so few of them in such a large arena impressed the 2 commentators from the local BBC radio, as did the performance of Gozie Ugwu in particular, whom they felt was man of the match, "a big strong lad who held the ball up well & unsettled the defence." You had to feel sorry for them both. They were obviously Darlington fans who felt they could be looking at the demise of a team who need far more than the 1796 attendance to keep them afloat, according to their administator. This observation caused many Fleet fans to imagine what that attendance every game could do for us. Apart from a Bowman shot which rattled the bar, Darlington were a spent force & the Fleet saw out the game comfortably in control, a fact emphasised by their having 60% of the possession.

Pictures from the Darlington site

Special thanks must go to MYFC who paid for the overnight hotel stay which could well have made all the difference. Neil Barrett certainly appreciated it, tweeting on the luxury of 10 hours sleep following a dip in the pool. Pool? Sounds a bit better than the Sally Army hostel reflected in Craig Stone's photos of the Truro stop over earlier in the season.

Liam's interview with Radio Kent, scotching the rumour that Preston injured his ankle cracking the ice on the hotel pool. Spot the Beeb boob in the text referring to our last 3 away games.

So, Kettering at Stonebridge Road on Saturday. Time for a long overdue home win, I think.