A hard fought and some might say lucky 3 points saw Argyle climb back up to second. Contrary to press reports Barnet certainly didn't start off as if they had just come to 'park the bus'; unfortunately Argyle started like a team who were beginning to believe the hype and their first half was littered with misplaced passes and poor challenges. Barnet carried most of the threat, but also were well practiced in the dark arts and wasted time at every opportunity. A blatant dive early on led to a yellow card instead of a penalty as did a deliberate attempt to stop Luke clearing the ball. This, coupled with a poor set of officials, spoilt much of the first half and although Argyle carved out a few decent positions it was no great surprise when Barnet took the lead. Cue the half time boos and a fairly unhappy home park. Second half was much brighter and it wasn't long before Carey was set up by Reid (his only effective contribution) . Carey's shot was unstoppable and suddenly the 6100 inside HP were much happier. Gary Sawyer was flattened in his own area by their bulky No9 (who was probably the best player on the pitch), fortunately the ref either didn't see it or chose to ignore the need for Sawyer to be attended to, the ball broke to Wylde down the left wing who crossed for a smart finish at the far post by Jervis 2-1 Argyle. Kitchen sink time from Barnet, they hit the woodwork twice and Argyle looked very shaky but clung on for the welcome victory. Good performances from Wylde and Nelson, many of the rest were under par. Without doubt we would have lost this match last season so winning when not playing well can only bode well for the future.
Good job the Teddy Bears were having their Pic-Nic and not listening to the Argyle game..I should have joined them..
It was bleddy dire at times it's true and to be honest this was one of those points gained rather than points dropped as it usually is. I'm not quite sure how it ended with us winning. To get it out of the way early, the Ref was terrible and I have to ask what he thought he saw one way but didn't see the other. Why do we never ever ever get a homer? Reid had a poor game to be honest but he got no service of any note and absolutely nothing from the Ref except decisions against. I think the first half was the worst half of football I've seen this season so far. We deserved nothing and got nothing and Barnet were one up and deservedly so. Lyndhurst is right about the gamesmanship though. It was so blatantly obvious what they were doing but the Ref just let them except for the worst dive in history I've seen He had no choice but to book him for that. I think the same player did almost as bad a dive in the second half and the Ref ignored it. You'd think he would have learned by then wouldn't you. Anyway, our passing was awful and even Carey was poor. Nothing stuck to Reid and it was like he continued from the last home match. Second half and it was a bit better although Barnet still had enough of the play. For once the move of the match came off and Carey put it away with his usual flourish. Great move and lovely finish. Ithought we were a bit lucky to be on terms given the balance of play and a little after very flattered to be winning. Another decent goal which as Lyndhurst said was a touch lucky that the Ref didn't stop the game. The Lino on the Lyndhurst side came up trumps twice by flagging for offside disallowing goals. Not bad him being in the right place twice in a match as he wasn't for much else. He was right with his flag both times. 3 points gained this time for me which makes the last two games dropping points when we shouldn't have a little easier to take. Once again we have come from behind to win so it does show it wasn't a fluke first time around.
You lose some unluckily and you win some luckily so this probably evens out the winning "penalty" for Portsmouth and the two draws we've just had that could easily have yielded 4 if not 6 points. Full marks again to Adams who, according to Chris Errington, moved Carey out wide in the second half to find more space. Jervis goal from a Wylde cross yet again.... Downside and potentialy a big one is Carey going off injured. Let's hope that isn't long term. Jervis and Carey both appear in the League 2 top-scorers table on the BBC League 2 home page. Wonder when we last had not one but two players in the top 5? Carey is first of four players on 5 goals only on alphabetic ordering but who cares?
The news on Carey apparently is he hurt his knee but should be fine for Saturday. He is the last player I would want to be out for any reason. Went for a drink after last nights match and we were talking about various players on show in the match. Both lyndhurst and notdistant mention Wylde and he was a talking point with us. I have to say straight away that I was a lone voice as everyone else, and it seems also the above 2, thought Wylde had a good game and indeed have thought he was MOM on several occasions. I just can't take to he man for some reason. He doesn't ever tackle and is useless in defence for me. He has all the pace in the world yet crosses to nobody a lot of the time. Now I'm told he scared his opposite marker rigid and was the reason the bloke was subbed after 30 minutes. He was getting roasted by Wylde almost everytime Wylde got the ball. True enough but Wylde did little with it after roasting him in my book. I just can't see what others seem to see. Maybe I'm simply prejudiced because I like a bit of putting the foot in and effort off the ball in chasing down and that just isn't Wylde's game. Just to go back onto Reid who I mentioned above having a poor game. I'm beginning to think he should be dropped because he doesn't look the player who was sticking it in the net previously. He does try in my opinion and he does get special attention from opposition defences. That includes the Referee mostly as well because he gets fouled time and time again without punishment being dished out in his favour. I just can't see him being our top scorer this term or anywhere near it. I don't think he plays well as a lone striker. I hear people around me giving him stick often a bit unfairly because he isn't lazy or overweight. I think his confidence has gone but can we afford to indulge him until he gets some back.
Lets hope that Carey will be fit for the Crawley game.....teams will now know how important he is to us....as a mid-fielder and goal scorer......how will he cope with the dire northern grounds in mid-winter. Wylde I saw score our first league goal at Wimbledon......I was directly level with him when he volleyed the ball into the roof of the net....I just didn't expect him to do that....I thought he would try to control the ball first.....but he just hit it in his stride....it looked a doddle but it was certainly not that....I was impressed with his control.....I have been surprised at him being on the bench at times.......maybe Adams wants at such times an all rounder to be able to defend as well in the early part of a match......with his speed and shooting ability,he isn't the type a tiring defence want to see coming on as a sub in front of them. Reid has found this season that Argyle can score from mid-field and by pass him as a lone striker.....last year we depended on him and Alessandro as are main goal getters ( I haven't heard much about Alessandro this season ?).....he probably felt good about how much he was depended on and it boosted his confidence.....now he isn't so important and that effects his confidence.....his roll has changed.....nice little lay off for Carey's blasted goal.....maybe the heavier pitches will be to his benefit when his strength will be more useful. Argyle need to dominate more at home....their last two home games have certainly been a struggle for them to do that.....and having seen the Barnet video I feel we probably robbed them of at least one point if not all three. Our strength in my view comes from are ability to break fast......which is easier to do away from home when home teams try to take the initiative and dominate infront of their own fans......we broke well at Wimbledon after soaking up a lot of pressure.....you need a little luck at times to survive those situations......i hope we haven't used up too much of our luck in the Barnet game.
The thing about a player like Wylde, who has electric pace and a bit of skill, is that he will genuinely scare the opposition. I doubt he would be very effective at a higher level but in L2 his sheer pace means that the opponents will be worried and either foul him or will attempt to double mark him, leading to space elsewhere. I take the point that he is poor defensively but at the moment he is a luxury player that we can afford. Incidentally Jarvis is the opposite case; seems like he is in rich goal scoring form but he also does a lot of effective defensive work- if the goals dry up I reckon (confirmed by No 2 son) that he could do a good job at right back.
I am prepared to give Wylde a chance even if he is not my type of player. You are right in that we are getting results therefore can afford the luxury. Jervis does tackle and puts himself about so in contrast is vastly different to Wylde. If Jervis had Wylde's obvious pace he would not be here. I think plym is also right in that Wylde is the sort of player to bring on in the second half and scare the full back to death when he sees him sail past and he's already half knackered.
