Excited as we all were after pre-season performances against some quality opposition, the start of the new league season has been a bit like reading the holiday brochures and then arriving to find the hotel is still only half built.
After a relatively lacklustre first home game against Thurrock in which the Dragons failed to consolidate a 1-0 advantage and dropped 2 points with an injury time own goal, the midweek trip to Newport County became a serious reality check for the team and its fans. 32 fans travelled on the supporters club coach (and our thanks go to James and Rob for organising it), and the vibe on the way to Newport was terrific.
The relatively small contingent of Dragons fans amongst the 928 attendance, proudly wearing the new Dragons colours and with 2 large flags, did a grand job of giving the team the support they needed. In the end though, it wasn't frankly support they deserved. If that sounds harsh and you weren't there, you didn't have to take the taunts of "rubbish" and "you're going down" from the vocal and somewhat brash home support. I certainly don't take it well.
Unfortunately it was largely justified. This squad we have is not a poor one but they played like a poor side and a team destined for relegation, and while I'm not for one moment suggesting we need to hit any panic buttons, things do need to be turned around pretty quickly.
From the moment we conceded a sloppy goal after just 6 minutes, it became a comfortable win for Newport. And yet, at 3-0 down and with Mark Peters brought on to replace Neville Roach shortly after the third goal early in the second half, the mercurial Dragons forward not only could but should have bagged a hat-trick, missing two one-on-ones and a penalty - on any other day they were chances Mark, of all people, would surely have taken with ease. They were just the kind of chances you'd bet on him to bury. Except that last night we couldn't seem to do a thing right.
But Mark's injection of pace and skill was the high point and he shouldn't be overly criticized for the misses. He looked almost back to his best of last season, those misses aside. Defensively we looked very vulnerable and this has to be the area for most concern. From the outset we seemed to lack pace. Matt Ottley didn't appear "on the pace" and Jason Bristow had perhaps the worse game I've seen him play, period. Even as I write it I can't believe what I'm saying, but Jason - always our rock in central defence - looked hesitant, failed to follow runs by strikers around him and got his positioning wrong at times. It may well have just been a one-off because this wasn't the case against Thurrock, but I was left wondering about the partnership with Joe Dolan in the middle. Jason's role of leading the defence seemed undermined last night and it was almost as if he no longer knew whether to stick or go. Usually he plays to the tune of "this is my ball, out of the way". Last night at times it was almost as if the defenders were drawing straws.
But this isn't a criticism of Jason, merely an observation of the defensive setup last night. We all know what a good player he is and you don't become a poor player overnight. The problem may be the system. We have two quite similar players in central defence - strong tough guys, good in the air but not blessed with lighting pace or a quick turning circle. Newport's big number 9 occupied them all evening while the quick strikers around him picked up the pieces and took us apart.
Had it not been for some heroic last ditch defending by Jason and Joe themselves, the scoreline would have been even less flattering. They are individually good defenders playing with 100% commitment - this I certainly do not question.
Our midfield were second to a lot of the loose balls, and they were giving the ball away too cheaply, but their inability to get into the game in the first half was partly due to the longball tactics being played by our defenders, with Joe Dolan the biggest culprit. If this was as instructed by Francis then fair enough, but otherwise it was a throwback to seasons before, where we have seemingly lost confidence and quickly resorted to the long ball. I don't want to see us play this way, I don't know another fan who wants to see us play this way, I know at least one club director that doesn't like to see us play that way, and Francis has gone public on not wanting to play that way. So why did we play that way? Why have we ever played that way? I think it's a lack of a team play practice and a lack of confidence. Both can come in time, but we need to put the plan into action and stick with it even when things aren't going our way.
If we had tried to play football, a passing game, keeping control, trying to build from the back, and we'd lost 5-0, I would have minded less because at least we could see what Francis and the team was trying to build.
With the introduction of Peters in the second half, coinciding perhaps with Newport taking their foot off the gas, things improved and the ball spent more time on the floor. It seemed clear Francis had made the point at half-time because Joe Dolan, for one, seemed to look to play shorter passes. Though in one case, when he played a one-two with Peters and should have launched the ball down the left flank for the striker to run on to, he tried to play a short ball back - perhaps not his natural reaction in that position - made poor contact and played Newport in for a good chance which they failed to take, partly thanks to some good covering defence.
This was the style of the whole game. Missed passes, losing posession cheaply, being second to the ball, and giving the opposition too much time on the ball - for Newport's third the forward almost had time to get out his calculator and work out the angles for his cross, which was subsequently whipped in terrifically and planted passed Jones with a glancing header, only the merest of touch being required such was the pace on the cross. But why was he allowed so much time to make that cross? We were 10 minutes into the second half. It killed off the game. I know how I felt but can only imagine how Francis and Ricco were feeling. |
