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A Win Is A Win
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Take them how we can get them
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By:
Eric Hitchmo
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14/09/2011
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More On Plymouth Argyle
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"It could be time to roll out some serious footballing cliches after Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle. Winless in the league since the opening day of the season, we would take a win however we could get it and although Tuesday wasn't pretty, a win is a win at the end of the day.
It was a poor game of football. The last home game against Accrington was also very poor, for differing reasons, as their style of football was not conducive to any kind of entertainment. It was one of the most dreadful games I'd ever seen, hence I couldn't bring myself to write about it. Plymouth though was a bit different, at least there were goalscoring opportunities to take note of, it was just the seemingly appalling standard of play that contributed to this evening's non-entertainment. Headers skimmed off foreheads in odd directions, passes were played into night sky with no apparent intended target, I'm not even sure the passers knew who they were kicking it to, it was very much a case of ""well let's hope this goes to one of my lot"". Any opportunity to play the ball on the floor seemed ignored as they tactic appeared to be to hoof it over the top and catch Plymouth for pace. That didn't happen much.
It was a good job that our opposition was so feeble, as I don't think we'll be able to get away with such a showing many times this season. We are all very aware of Plymouth's current plight and it really is a shame to see a club going through the mill like this. Their supporters must be wondering how they have toppled some spectacularly from the Championship to the foot of League Two in double quick time. I was sceptical in the summer as to how they were able to sign players when paying the ones they had was seemingly a secondary thought, however you've got to praise those players for the effort they put in at the very least. No, they weren't very good and there is a reason why they're bottom with one solitary point, but they didn't give in and it least kept trying for the full 90 minutes. It was a brave showing when you consider the problems they face, I mean, would you give so much effort in your job if you hadn't been paid for several months?
Effort is not always a substitute for quality however and it showed. Argyle were feeble opponents and it didn't take long for us take a lead. Some comical defending from the visitors, a common theme throughout the night, led to the ball looping high up at the back post and who else was there but Izale McLeod to nod home his 7th league goal of the season. It was his 5th in his last five league appearances, a feat last achieved by Giuliano Grazioli in 2003. Plymouth still struggled to deal with the most simple of defensive situations but we did not take a strangehold on the game with our high ball tactic. At the other end, we looked shaky and disorganised but we did limit them to largely weak pot-shots from long range. Nothing clear cut was to test Dean Brill and at the other end we could have made it two after a promising Mark Byrne burst ended in a shot which was comfortably smothered low down by visiting 'keeper Romain Larrieu who has seemingly already replaced former Barnet man Jake Cole between the sticks at Home Park.
The second was a slight improvement I felt, as we appeared to want to play the ball on the ground a bit more. When we did, it appeared to work as we cut through a few times and we strung together some nice passing sequences. McLeod had a chance to double his tally with a one-on-one after a lovely through ball but could only poke at the 'keeper, but at least we were looking like scoring again. A second goal was to come, though in rather fortunate circumstances. After a ball was pumped into the box, some lovely work from Clovis Kamdjo who swivelled and turned neatly in the box before laying the ball to Daniel Leach who side-footed into the net via a decisive deflection from the outstretched limb of a visiting defender. Plymouth's misery compounded, we don't really deserve this.
We continued to look bright and may have had more, however we did have to survive some hairy moments at the other end. Plymouth may have felt a bit agrieved when Kamdjo hauled down the striker in the penalty area. The appeal was waved away by an inconsistent official. They had a golden opportunity to get back into the game too, when some pinball in the six yard box fell at the feet of the striker (I don't know names!) who could only turn his shot from point-blank range over the crossbar. The look of dejection from the Plymouth players said it all. Quite simply, nothing is going right for them.
However, just as their players wouldn't give up the ghost, neither did their brave supporters who sung defiantly in the face of adversity. They turned up in oustanding numbers considering the distance and situation and towards the end of the game, they just kept on singing and singing in support of their team and club. Hats off to them as they must really be suffering right now. Noone wants to see a club die, and they really are in peril, so here's hoping that whatever needs to be sorted out in the far South West is sorted as soon as possible.
For Barnet though, it was ugly, but it did the job. Now with the first win at home under our belts, we take on another test in the form of Oxford United. The table is still awfully tight in the middle and a consecutive win would see us leap right into the comfortable arms of mid-table, something which has been just a dream in the last few years..."
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