Bognor v Potters Bar Town

[cityboy]

I see that Potters Bar have secured the services of goalkeeper Ted Collins from Colchester United prior to this game.
Let's hope he has first match nerves 😊😊

[liam]

Frustrating afternoon at Nyewood Lane. I think they used every tactic under the sun to run the clock down and time waste, even in the first half. If they like to win like that then I am glad I am not a Scholars fan. We made the substitutions on 55 minutes and that allowed us to get back into the game. Our first loss of the season but onto Horsham we go on Monday.

UP THE ROCKS

[cityboy]

After the Lord Mayors show !!!
Bitterly disappointed as we didn't get going till it was to late. Unfortunately you can't gift the opposition goals like we did today.
Saying that, I thought although the opposition were well organised they were without doubt the biggest cheats I have seen at the lane for many years. Wasting time from the 34th minute when they scored.
Never seen a team fall over claiming injury so many times, at one time I looked up into the trees to see if there was a sniper picking off their players.
My other gripe was with the officials, who were incredibly weak. The opposition did this because they were allowed to get away with it!!! Hopefully these gentlemen won't be back for a long time.
Still onto Monday away to Horsham who hopefully will be interested in playing foitball.

[kof]

Agreed.
Two golden chances early on and if Isaac had scored, it might have been a different story.
The real score was 1-1. One of their goals was blatantly offside by about 5 yards. I was in line with the play unlike the Lino who was abut 15 yards behind the play and, judging by his subsequent demeanour, I think he knew it.
If the way Potters Bar play is the way to succeed in this league, then I do not want to see it.

[stevebone]

Some match pics from Trevor - www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/football/pipped-by-potters-bar-19-pictures-from-bognor-regis-towns-first-loss-of-season-3822056

[fyfe1]

While we might not like how some teams play (or tactics employed) we have to learn to how to beat them. On the subject of time wasting, I noticed on a number of occasions that their players received treatment for an alleged injury but did not leave the pitch. Being sat next to the FA assessor, I politely queried this only to be told that pursuant to a rule change (he cited rule 12) a player only need leave the pitch if an opponent is cautioned for the tackle.
I then questioned whether or not a Bognor player was cautioned for causing a wrist injury to one of the opposing team. The assessor confirmed that one of our players was so booked.... I didn't see any of our players getting booked for this to be honest, but didn't want to set off WW3.
Can anyone out there confirm to me what the current rules say in this regard?

[kof]

Haven't read the laws recently but my understanding is that an injured player who receives treatment does not need to leave the pitch if the injury was caused by an opposing player. But, of course, this could be trumped by the law that says words to the effect that the ref is the ultimate arbiter of the game and what he say goes. In which case, I suppose, why have a FA assessor at all - just for show IMO.

[simonc]

Simon,

I also queried this with the referee after the match and it seems that the FA Onserveris absolutely correct. Nathan was cautioned for the foul that led to the injury and treatment of the opposition player in question which meant that the player did not have to eave the pitch. Had Nathan not been cautioned then the injured player would have had to leave the pitch.

I fully agree with you that we must become more adept at managing games and beating teams who come to spoil.

Simon

[Pete Helsby]

Simon has beaten me to it.

All l wouksd say from my part is that if l had to watch what the away served up for most of the game l woukd just pack it all in. I was toatally frustrated come the end of the game.

[moregeriatricfan]

Agree with Kof about the second goal. The player who collected the first through ball was well offside. Unfortunately we do get officials who are not really up to it, and that happened yesterday, The referee was very poor and failed to deal with their blatant gamesmanship. Watching their number 9 who was all physicality against our defenders, going down so easily and laying on the floor seemingly waiting for an ambulance was pathetic. Unfortunately the same player was the focus for just about everything they did. I thought teams who played in such a direct fashion had disappeared, Effective for them but awful to watch. I would hate to watch that lot every week. However they are top of the league so can argue that the ends justify the means. The means just happen to be awful!

[Goldy]

Great to see some forum posts as being away I couldn’t make the game.
Was hoping this season we’d have found ways of beating teams like yesterday,but still early days for us to grow and learn from this.
Just a shame it always seems to be at the Lane.

Onto Monday,and safe travels to all those going. Up The Rocks.

[mistral]

I agree with all that's been said which makes it all the more frustrating to think that had we scored from the two excellent opportunities in the first half the result I'm sure would have gone our way. Of course the standard is set by the teams in the top flight which is why recent research showed that in the average Premiership game the ball is in play for just 56 minutes & to think the poor things sometimes have to play twice a week!

[boredprose]

Aug 27, 2022 20:27:46 GMT 1 kof said:

Agreed.
Two golden chances early on and if Isaac had scored, it might have been a different story.
The real score was 1-1. One of their goals was blatantly offside by about 5 yards. I was in line with the play unlike the Lino who was abut 15 yards behind the play and, judging by his subsequent demeanour, I think he knew it.
If the way Potters Bar play is the way to succeed in this league, then I do not want to see it.

Have to agree with Kof about the ‘Lino’. The poor guy simply couldn’t keep up with the last defender. I watched him closely yesterday - especially following PB’s second. He was consistently behind the play throughout. In the second half; he missed at least two clear offsides by us because he just couldn’t keep up. (Sadly, we didn’t quite manage to finish those attacks off.)

Trouble is, this is the norm at Step 3 which - so far as referee appointments are concerned - is essentially run as a training scheme. Refs are often relatively weak & inexperienced youngsters being trained & fast-tracked for the National League & beyond, while their assistants are frequently better referees but have been ‘relegated’ in the pecking-order because they’re too old to make it much further. So, you end-up with a situation like yesterday’s where the ref would probably have had the turn of speed required to run the line properly whilst either of his assistants would have had the stamina, experience and authority to ref the game better. (Actually, if anyone deserved the name ‘Lino’ it was the ref - Mr Gullible from Credulous-on-Thames - who allowed our opponents to walk all over him.)

Anyway, yesterday’s set of match officials were, sadly, pretty typical of today’s Step 3. And - that being the case - offside decisions will continue to be a lottery, which I’m afraid means that defences simply cannot just stop and raise their arms when an opponent is ‘off’ (as we did yesterday) but must learn to play to the whistle.

That said, I thought we played pretty well yesterday and were really unlucky not to get at least a point against impressive (albeit extraordinarily unsporting) opponents. If Potters Bar can keep their squad together they should be ‘there or thereabouts’ at the end of the season. (Though I hear the RSC had scouts at yesterdays game and the National Theatre have made enquiries about taking the No. 10 on loan. Seems their extended goal celebrations have inspired a radical new interpretation of ‘Waiting for Godot‘.)

Oh well, onwards and upwards! Looking forward to Horsham tomorrow. Should be a good ‘in! COYR!!