Sending off changed the game (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Sending off changed the game

9:53am Monday 1st March 2010

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IT WAS a strange game. We had one player sent off, two had to come off with injuries, we ended up with a centre forward playing left back and our third came in stoppage time scored by someone who could not run because he had a dead leg.

Lyndon Tompkins buried the first goal after it was bobbling around in their area following a long throw, while Carl Brown caught their defence square for the second.

We thoroughly deserved to be 2-0 up at half-time and then it all went haywire.

Early in the second half,, the game turned when Tom Etheridge got his marching orders. He is already due another ban for ten bookings which starts at the Bridgwater game, so I don’t know what will happen now.

I had had a long heart-to-heart with Tom about his disciplinary record after the Paulton game and he was brilliant against Bishops Cleeve.

The second yellow was harsh but we can have no complaints about the first card which was, unfortunately, a typical ‘Egg’ tackle. I could see it coming from yards away.

So I took a forward (Scott Griffin) off and put Mark Pritchett on and we set up 4-4-1.

Down to ten men the game was going nowhere but then Chris Thompson had to come off with a thigh muscle problem and then Carl felt a tight hamstring.

Then Hungerford scored with about 15 minutes to go. They had all the ball and we were up against it, but Bathy only had to make a couple of saves.

The game had 2-2 written all over, though. But we survived until stoppage time and then Sean Wood, who is going to be a very positive acquisition for us, made a great run forward.

Reidy was by now playing up front on his own because he had a dead leg and we could not afford to take him off. The ball has looped up in the area, hit him on the head and gone in.

Six points from two away games in four days is obviously a very good return, but the injuries made it a disappointing weekend.

We now have three home games in the space of six days which is going to be a test for the players and our pitch.

I’m hoping Browner and Reidy will be okay, although Chris Thompson looks more of a problem.

Hopefully, Scott Mason will be available after we gave him some time off to rest his injured toe and there are some of the Development Squad who will be involved.

I think we will just get the boys in on Tuesday night and do something completely different.

We will ask Tony Dunne to come back and help Tim Grigg with some massages and I think we will just have some darts and pool competitions instead of a full training session.

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