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I've Always Liked Football
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Finally!
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By:
Eric Hitchmo
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07/02/2010
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More On Aldershot Town
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It's amazing what a couple of goals and a win can do. All the doom and gloom seems so distant at the moment after this rotten run has finally been ended. And fair play to the team as well, they battled hard and played very well in the second half to overcome an average Aldershot team.
The first half was much of a muchness and has been similar to what we've been used to seeing of late. Aldershot shaded it but it was a very poor half. Their lack of firepower was their downfall with a number of half decent chances finding themselves dropping lamely away from Jake Cole's goal. He didn't have a save to make in the first half, somehow.
At the other end it was a case of frustration as we were finding it very hard to create any sort of meaningful openings. For all his shortcomings as a Barnet player, Anthony Charles was defending astutely as Aldershot captain, winning everything in the air that was put forward from our back four. We weren't winning the second ball, meaning that our efforts at this stage were in vain. It was a familiar feeling of annoyance and disappointment for me.
However something changed at half time. Barnet appeared in the second half and showed the form that we'd enjoyed so much at the beginning of the season, cutting through the opponents at will and banging the goals in. It took a decent Aldershot chance to spark this off though, as a shot was well saved by Jake Cole, only to be parried into the path of Anthony Charles who smashed it over the open goal. It doesn't tell the whole story, it came at him very quickly, but it seemed to wake us right up.
Soon after, we took the lead. It was like the good old times Albert Adomah picked the ball up in his own half and had the left back scared and cowering into submission. This is something we haven't seen for a while, but Adomah skipped round his man and delivered a lovely cross for Micah Hyde to nod in a real captain's goal from point-blank range. Somehow this felt different to the when we took the lead against Torquay the other week. There was a sense that we could not only hold on, but push on and get ourselves some more.
And that we did. We looked like a completely different XI. Suddenly they were playing with a confidence and even a swagger we hadn't witnessed for months. From the defence to the forwards, this second half performance was outstanding and we got what we deserved after a very hard period.
Soon enough it was 2-0. A mistake in the Aldershot defence allowed John O'Flynn to pounce and finish with aplomb low past the Shots keeper. O'Flynn has been visibly low on confidence of late, but that goal would do him the power of good and was the sort of finish we know he is capable of. Give him a chance, and he'll take it. Thank you very much.
Chances kept coming and Barnet were dominant. There looked no way that Aldershot could get themselves back into this, they looked pretty poor, it was now ours to lose. Albert Jarrett moved to the right wing and marauded his way into the box only to be felled crudely by an opposing defender. Everyone in the ground saw it except for the bumbling officials who inexplicably waved the claims away. I mean it was blatant, an absolute stonewaller, how Andy D'Urso has missed that one is a mystery. If that's not a foul, then it's a yellow card for diving, quite simply.
Still, it was a demonstration of how well Jarrett played in the second half. Regular readers (and listeners!) will know I have not been a fan of Jarrett this season with his frustrating level of consistency. However, in the second half yesterday his runs and delivery were second to none and showed exactly what he can do on his day. He played a very important role in this win.
The win was sealed late on when David Livermore delivered a fine cross for O'Flynn who hung in the air for what seemed an eternity and expertly looped a header over the keeper and in for the third goal and our first win in fourteen long long games. Icing on the cake this one, staggeringly reminiscent of a goal the Irishman scored against Darlo earlier this season. I don't buy all this rubbish being spouted towards him about his move to Shrewsbury, that he did it for his own gain and is sticking two fingers up at the club, effectively. The way I look at it is that he has decided to stay and help the cause and he certainly did that yesterday.
It's hard to say who was our best player on the day. The performance of the aforementioned Jarrett was a highlight and it was good to see O'Flynn taking his chances again. An Aldershot fan pointed out that Joe Devera was outstanding in defence and quite right too. Joe was part of a solid back four performance and was integral in keeping Aldershot at bay throughout the 90. I really rate Jake Hyde. For a player who doesn't look the strongest, he holds up the ball very well and makes very intelligent flicks and passes for the team. His efforts deserved a goal and he is certainly worthy of keeping his place in the starting XI. Livermore came on and set up a goal and put himself about from the off. He made four or five strong challenges in his fifteen minutes and that was particularly enjoyable.
I can't pick out one player, it was just an excellent performance in the second half at least. It's a massive relief to be able to say that again and doesn't the league table look just a tad more comfortable now? Not that we can rest on our laurels, but onwards and upwards starting on Tuesday, followed by what is a very important game against Cheltenham next week.
But for now, well done Barnet, well done Ian Hendon, well done everyone. Thank fuck for that!!!
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