Match Day Thread V L. Orient 1-1 (or how to ruin a football match)

A thoroughly unsatisfactory game of football saw Argyle maintain a 2 point lead at the top of the table with a 1-1 draw. Despite the welcome return of McHugh, for long periods it looked like being the 4th home loss on the trot but at the final whistle the overriding feeling was that we had been ripped off by a wholly inept referee and should probably be celebrating 3 points.

The match was a scrappy affair from the start and Argyle paid the price of forgetting that Orient had a goal machine in their ranks. Simpson was left unchallenged and on 4 mins he his shot from just outside the area found its way into the top corner giving Walton no chance. 0-1. Argyle tried to play but the Orient dark arts started straight away, plenty of time wasting and every time Argyle got within 30 yards of the opposition goal Orient disrupted the play with obvious fouls. More injury woes as Threkland hobbled off and straight down the tunnel and was replaced by Simpson (who had given way to McHugh). Equally, Orient's Simpson was subbed off with a knock. Jarvis went close from a very acute angle and Simpson missed a good chance. Otherwise the first half was littered with stoppages, odd refereeing decisions (both sides) and some very poor football. Nor sure what they do all week but it would appear that controlling the football isn't in the drills.

Second half same as the first but the standard got worse. Argyle were second to every ball, no one was moving into space resulting in too many back passes to the keeper. It took until the 80th minute for the match to spring to life when Nelson scored a rare goal (lets face it the midfield and attackers were never going to score) after the ball broke free following a save. Suddenly Argyle started to press and play and looked like they would take the 3 points. The referee (aka golum) denied Argyle the most nailed on penalty you could ever see. Jarvis was clearly prevented from getting a shot away by the defender who had two full handfulls of his shirt- the ref did nothing except incense the already irritated crowd.

Walton pulled off a couple of saves to keep the opposition to 1 goal - he gets my MOTM but must improve his kicking if he is ever to make it at a decent level. Orient joins my list of clubs to despise, wasting time for the last 20 mins is probably acceptable but simply setting out to spoil the game from as early as the 5th minute is just pathetic and does a disservice to their fans as well as the oppositions.

The ref was a disgrace.

Having said all that, we are STILL top of the league. Hopefully less pressure at the away match next Saturday and then a couple of weeks off (we don't do cup matches) which will hopefully give time to get one or two players fit again and give the chance for DA to get things back on track.

 

I swore a lot....

You are spot on with the summary Lyndhurst. The football, if that's what you call it from Argyle was dire. That's probably a compliment really. We never ever looked like winning this one and Orient are a disgrace of a side if that's what they do. I agree with you shut up shop and waste time from the second half if you have to but not from the start. They fell over, stayed down and generally wasted time at every opportunity. How they only gave 4 minutes extra in the first half I will never know. There was a bad injury to Walton which took a while, 2 subs and a goal. There were also minutes and minutes of wasted time by Orient. Now if a sub is worth 30 secs along with a goal thats a minute and a half right there. The injury to Walton which could have been very bad the way he fell must have been at least 2 minutes for thats 3 and a half. He gave 30 seconds for the 8/9 minutes they wasted. Very poor.

Second half was much like the first. Argyle huffed and puffed and did very little. The officials though got worse and worse. What do Argyle have to do to get a penalty at home? You are right Lyndhurst and I sit in line with the box so the view for this non decision was clear. It was an absolute nailed on penalty and the Orient player almost had the Argyle shirt in his pocket. The Lino must have had a clear view of it but he gave nothing all day long. He even got half the throw in decisions wrong. They were shocking amongst a load of shocking officials we have had, Now, don't get me wrong here, we didn't deserve anything from this game because we played like a relegation side not a promotion side. But we should have had all of the points despite this. Whilst it feels like a point gained it should have felt like a smash and grab and all of the points. We need to improve if we are going to go up and we cannot rely on other teams falling over to stay on top. We were awful again. I have opened a bottle tonight when I've gotten home which is unusual for me on a weekday. I needc to be numbed. It truely was that poor. I have now added Orient to my Crawley and Stevenage list of horrible clubs.

 

IArgyle need to get away from Home Park for awhile......a week ago the Dag & Red game looked a doddle for three points......but they kept Oxford out until the last kick literally on Saturday......and got a great three points at Wimbledon last night (the wombles haven't done too well at home this season) so are they running into some form at the wrong time for Argyle ?

Following online on the BBC website was frustrating......nearly every Orient goal attempt was on target......and every Argyle attempt missed the target until we scored......ending up with only two on target shots.......was that correct ?.....how could they be pinging shots goalward and be so off target.....with injuries disrupting the regular starting line-up....confidence as well as disappeared.......Adams must get a grip of this problem......just one more game to get through at the weekend before a week off for the cup.....which as Lindy says "we don't do cup matches" this will give us time to work through what's going wrong......and just as important a fortnight to get missing regulars fit again.

In hindsight, if this is our bad blip moment... we haven't come out of it too badly .....somehow still two points in front..... and Oxford dropping unexpected points is a bonus.......but it looks like the form team coming up on the outside is Northampton....who are financially in dire straights.....doesn't seem to be affecting their players......have they somehow not had to sell on their better players......that was the first thing PAFC started doing....did we do it wrong or with the management we had at the time was that all that they could see to do......why are they so skint ...But still the form team in the league......football is a funny game aint it.

I as yet, haven't looked at GoS and read all the reports I can find......thanks for your views Lindy & sensible....hard following it online....but harder going and having to watch it.


PS.........having checked the GoS pictures and disappointed with whoever did the Radio Devon commentary.....poor comments with no passion whatsoever....I know no more than before.

 

I see that both McHugh and Sawyer picked up yellow cards last night.......they're both on six bookings now......have they both already served bans.....I can't remember off the top of my head ?.....it would be the last thing we would want at the moment...........just need to get to the break with a win on Saturday and then we can re-group and hopefully get our important players fit;

Someone somewhere suggested that McHugh looked as if he was still carrying his injury......they all need time to recuperate......isn't Nelson still carrying a knock.....didn't he have a nasty moment Saturday on the touchline that he seemed to get away with injury wise......plus Walton getting clobbered badly before their goal ?.....also Carey needs to avoid a booking on Saturday to go into December without a ban to serve.

 

There's a totting up procedure I think: a 1 match ban for the 1st 5 yellow cards in a season but then 3 (?) matches for 10 or something similar. Both of them will be on 10 in no time the way they are going but it's largely a function of the roles they are playing I suppose.

We are struggling for sure but if we can hang on in the top 3 or very close to it through the Christmas/New Year period and get everyone fit again, I'd still fancy our chances.

It makes you wonder whether the refs don't so much operate on a conventional home/away bias mechanism as the reverse of that: they are scared stiff of being seen to be influenced by a home crowd, especially if it's bigger than the average for the division. This doesn't explain why we get very little going for us away though....

I've come to the conclusion that:

• Linesmen are not permitted to signal for free kicks. Certain parts of the ground afford exactly the view the lino gets and for example, how we didn't get a penalty in the 2nd half of the Exeter game I'll never know. The ball went past Brunt so that it was between him and the goal and naturally he went for it at his best speed. Even though that's not exceptionally fast, he had a good chance of getting to the ball. His shirt was nearly pulled of his back by the centre-back to stop him. I saw it, those around me saw it and the lino was directly in front of us so how could he miss it?

• Pushing and holding in the penalty box are no longer offences. It's said that there would be 10 penalties in every game if freekicks were awarded but it would only be in the first game: thereafter the defenders would have to stop doing it to everyone's benefit.

 

The last time I saw Argyle beaten was at Gillingham (3-0) during Reids struggle during administration....the dregs of a team.....Reid didn't know what to do....very sad to watch.

Since then we've not been beaten when I've been present.....I missed the 2-0 defeat at Dag & Red last year (Tues Eve).....not a good journey to do in the evening......so my fault they lost....sorry everyone.

So I'll be their Saturday....hoping to see Joe (he's got my ticket) and bring them the luck they need at the moment.

This will be the first time that I have been in the away end since watching Argyle draw 2-2 with Chelsea in level Two (old Div2) years back.....and were kept in the ground for an hour so the Police could clear the streets first......then marched to the station.....although my car was parked the otherside of the river......couldn't persuade them to let me go the other way.....didn't get back to NW Kent until 8pm....surely little Dag & Red wont keep us in the ground.

ps......Never lost at Chelsea when I've been there.....ok I've only been their one other time and that I think was a League Cup replay long time back....we won 2-1 I think.

 

Plym, yes i have your ticket and we will be there to meet you.. don't panic ..see you in the Pub i tHink Sensible has put some beer in for us

 

Enjoy you two and make sure you bring the points home Joe. I might even use my 'spare' joker on this match.

 

No No Joe......sensible only supplies a straw each for a half pint.......or one straw cut in half more likely.

 

I agree Plym. the Radio Devon Commentary was poor...without Gordon Sparks it suffers..
maybe I should have a chat with Radio Devon..

 

I see Adams is now asking the same question we are, why doesn't Argyle get penalty decisions. To not have had one with all of the very good shouts I've seen this season is crazy. If you look at Portsmouth's games then the theory of bigger crowds doesn't stand up notdistant. They have had a shed load of penalties for and red cards for the opposition this season. They have the biggest crowds in this league by a mile. The chant towards the Ref from the Devonport end last night was for once spot on and deserved. He should have his whistle confiscated and never be allowed to officiate again he was that poor.

 

Maybe as fans we all are too ready to shout at the officials for the odd bad decision rather than saving it up for a real consistent dud like this guy. I'm just about the worst in the world for that.

I saw the Jervis incident on TV last night. A definite pull back and a penalty but did he go down a bit theatrically? Does that put refs off for fear of being made to look foolish by the slo-mo replays? [None existent at Home Park or course!]. Players are part of the problem here too.

 

I didn't think he was being theatrical on the night notdistant. All I saw was a nailed on penalty as did Adams. I have seen loads this season not given to us and agree totally with Adams on this one. I know Officials get a bit of abuse but some of the Refs we have had this season have deserved everything they got. The standard gets worse and worse each season. It doesn't matter whether a team deserves a result on balance of play, that has never been the defining factor. Many games have had a team outplayed for 89 minutes only for them to sneak one in and pinch the points. If it's a penalty then it's a penalty and some have been quite simple decisions.