Climbing the Ladder: August 2017
- Adam Beard
- Nov 14, 2017
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 8, 2020
So here we are, competitive football, the start of our journey through the leagues to the top of the game.
TRURO CITY VS WELLING – VANARAMA NATIONAL SOUTH
We went into our first game of the season without striker Stewart Yetton through injury, having identified him as a key player for the coming season it was a blow for him to be missing. This meant key attacking midfielder Tyler Harvey shifting up front into a deep-lying role. Andrew Neal put any doubts to the back of my mind after 4 minutes with a strike to put us ahead. Tyler Harvey, who honestly looks like our best route to any success in this division, then put us 2-0 up after 28 minutes from the penalty spot. He had the chance to double his tally from the spot after half time but blew it, although Noah Keats was on hand with the rebound to make it 3-0 to the White Tigers. We gave away two sloppy goals which led to a less convincing scoreline than we maybe deserved, but a 3-2 victory was the perfect way to start the season.
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GLOUCESTER CITY VS TRURO CITY – VANARAMA NATIONAL SOUTH
We made just one change after our opening win, with versatile midfielder Jordan Copp filling in at the left back to replace Connor Riley-Lowe. The first half had very little action, although Gloucester missed the chance to go ahead after just 17 minutes with Joe Hanks missing a penalty. The rest of the first half was very scrappy but very even, with the teams cancelling each other out. The second half saw us take the lead just after the hour through Andrew Neal, who has started the season on fire. Carel Kayembe replied for the hosts just 7 minutes later though, and the clubs were again trading blows with no joy until the 91st minute, where a winning goal was scored… by that man Andrew Neal! 2-1 to Truro City the final score, and I couldn’t be happier with our start to the season!
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After the Gloucester game a deal was agreed to secure free agent Ben Steer, who I mentioned in the previous post but he comes in to provide back up in a number of roles. He has no real stand out stats that make him an excellent technical option, but he’s determined, and has no glaring weaknesses.
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CONCORD RANGERS VS TRURO CITY – VANARAMA NATIONAL SOUTH
Connor Riley-Lowe came back in for this away game, replacing Jordan Copp, but other than that no other changes as we looked to continue our fine start to the season. We didn’t. Concord absolutely gave us the run around, going ahead after 18 minutes through right midfielder Lewis Taaffe who slotted in from a corner. Noah Keats grabbed his second goal of the season five minutes later to tie it up, but that lead only lasted a short time before Concord took the lead again. Danny Parish. From a corner. Note to self – Need to have a look at set pieces! Luke Shaw (No, not THAT Luke Shaw) put Rangers 3-1 in the move straight from kick off at the start of the second half, and that’s where the contest ended. I think it dented the team’s confidence, as we barely had a sniff for the rest of the game. Worrying signs.
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TRURO CITY VS BATH CITY – VANARAMA NATIONAL SOUTH
Nothing to say. At all. The most boring of all the bore draws, we were appalling. Our only shot on target was a speculative effort in the 90th minute that had no chance. I pushed River Allen forward for this game, from DM to CM, in the hope of him offering slightly more to attacks, and although it didn’t sacrifice our defensive quality in this game, we looked completely devoid of ideas, so I’m not sure it’s a viable plan going forward.
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After 4 games, I was worried about our options going forward. Andrew Neal had grabbed 3 goals in the first 2 games, but not scored since. Noah Keats had 2, but he’s a non-contract midfielder who’s only in the team because of Harvey being up front, no matter how well he’s playing. Speaking of Harvey, he’s maybe the biggest disappointment so far, a penalty in the first game, but has offered nothing since. Very poor.
I delved through my limited scout reports and offered trials to two players who I felt could make a difference, Lewis Guy and Jake Watkins. Both strikers, they came into the club so I could have a look at them and decide if they were going to be of use. I also scoured the loan list and made an offer to loan Plymouth Arygle’s Callum Rose, a center back who I wanted just to offer some depth, and some real competition to Gerring and Richards at the back.
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TRURO CITY VS EASTBOURNE BOROUGH – VANARAMA NATIONAL SOUTH
Rage inducing, that’s how I would sum up the last-minute of each half. For the rest of the game, read the first line of the Bath game report above. River Allen, the silly boy, went in two-footed just as the ref was putting the whistle to his lips to blow for half time. You can’t do that River, it’s naughty. So down to 10 men, the boys looking defeated sat in the dressing room. But we’re the home side, we can still win this. Jordan Copp came on to plug the gap in midfield, and we went with just one up top. We kept the ball well but couldn’t convert our chances, only 3 on target from 13 shots which is a concern. Then the suckerpunch – Matt Drage, up from the back to meet a free kick from out wide. I’ll be honest, a header back across the keeper, making him stop and try to turn back on himself, it was a beautiful finish. But it still hurt, it hurt like hell. We didn’t deserve to lose, we didn’t even really deserve a draw. We should have won but we didn’t.
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Callum Rose, Jake Watkins and Lewis Guy all join the club in an effort to freshen up the squad. I’m happy with all three signings, with Lewis Guy being the highest profile after a decent career in the Football League, with clubs such as Doncaster, MK Dons and Carlisle. Callum Rose is only young but offers depth at CB but also another option to play at RB which is a role we’re still short of, albeit he isn’t any more impressive there than Palfrey. I think I’m happiest with the signing of Watkins though. Ignoring the fact he’s happy to play for us for a measly £60 a week, he looks good enough to be here for a while. He’s suited to a poacher role, but I actually think he’ll make a decent target man, I like a supporting target man.
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CHELMSFORD CITY VS TRURO CITY – VANARAMA NATIONAL SOUTH
10 minutes. It took 10 minutes for Jake Watkins to do what some of my strikers haven’t yet all season. He got us off the mark here after I threw him in at the deep end. This boy was released by Cardiff without ever playing, this was his first ever recognised match. Let’s hope he carries on like this. We looked like a good side in the first half here, but cruelly we went in level after Youcef Mziou scored on the brink of half time. Another set piece, maybe our changes after the Concord game weren’t enough.
HALF TIME: Off – Andrew Neal; On – Lewis Guy
He wasn’t going to be outdone. It took Jake Watkins 10 minutes, it took Lewis Guy 2. 47 minutes on the clock and Lewis Guy gets clean through to make it 2-1, and we’re back in front and looking good again. It didn’t last though, as Tariq Issa levelled the game after 57 minutes, and a late goal cost us again, as Lee Barnard, former Southampton striker, scored in the 79th minute to give Chelmsford a 3-2 lead which they saw out to win the game.
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TRURO CITY VS WESTON-SUPER-MARE – VANARAMA NATIONAL SOUTH
We changed to a 4-4-2 for this game, as I felt our full backs were being given far too much to do on their own. We looked really good, creating lots of chances, but we actually fell behind on 23 minutes from a Gethyn Hill strike. Stewart Yetton got us back on terms with a goal right at the end of the first half, and although we pushed forward in the second half we couldn’t get a goal to win us the game. Oh, and we nearly bottled it, so there’s that. Jake Reid had the chance to be the hero for Weston with a 92nd minute penalty, but Tom McHale turned out to be the hero as he turned it away to save us our point.
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NOTE TO SELF FOR FUTURE BLOG POSTS – TAKE SCREENSHOTS AS YOU GO!
Unfortunately I don’t have a league table to show you as I forgot to screenshot it, I do however have this lovely email to leave you all with.
Next time we’ll cover September’s action as we look to get back on track and win some games. Thanks for reading.
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