No More Nearly Games

MATCH PREVIEW

I have never fully understood bogey teams. Why should one team be harder to beat than any other. Our record in recent seasons against Barnes suggests that they are a challenge for us, I am not saying they are a bogey team though! Barnes are a good team that are physical and play for the full eighty minutes. That last point is what I credit our last two losses to, as in our last two encounters we have failed in the last few minutes and on the final play.

For sixty minutes away at Barnes we controlled the game and went in at half-time ahead and deservedly so. We scored early in the second half to take a 12-24 lead and then traded scores to maintain the lead. An unfortunate yellow card for Harry Sloan for a high tackle proved to be a defining ten minutes as we conceded twice closing the gap. A penalty extended our lead to five points going into the final ten minutes and this final period in the game saw some good defence and character from the team. There was also some poor execution. When we had the opportunity to relieve pressure, we gave the ball back to Barnes and gave a good team too many chances. Two points was the difference at the final whistle.

When I stack this next to our three-point losses to Old Albanian’s and Esher, and the fact that we were within a score at Oundle going into the last five minutes, our four losses nearly went the other way. Nearly. The danger with nearly is that you think that last step will happen all by itself, it looks small in distance but the effort needed to make it is not.

Regardless of where Westcombe Park are in the league currently we know that our derbies with them are always a battle. They have been bolstered by some loan players in the last few weeks and I expect Saturday afternoon to be no different from our games over the last few seasons.

This season we don’t want to nearly be a good team; we don’t want to nearly be at the top end of the league; we don’t want to nearly win any more games. This week it is about showing what we are capable of.

MATT CORKER, HEAD COACH