[Gary B]

Vale win through after Goodlad concedes a bizarre goal after one minute.

Goodlad was in goal with a back four of McGregor, Pilkington, Walsh and Talbot (in place of the allegedly-suspended James). Cummins, Dinning and Togwell were the midfield three with what has become the normal set-up of Birchall on the right, Smith on the left and Constantine as the lone striker. Disturbingly, frequent scorers against the Vale Alllison and Hall were in the 16 for the visitors. Perhaps even more worryingly, there was a late change of referee, from the normally home-friendly Andy Penn to the erratic Lee Probert, of unhappy memory.

I had barely started my stopwatch when Goodlad made his worst error of the season, allowing Chesterfield to take the lead with an appallingly soft goal after just over one minute. Hall's cross from the right seemed as though it might drift behind. In the event I am not 100% clear as to whether or not it touched the top of the bar before Goodlad allowed it to drop to the feet of O'Hara standing alone in the six-yard box. He had the simplest of tasks pushing the ball over the line. Goodlad queried it with the linesman but his shake of the head indicated that the goal was legal. Any club scouts watching Goodlad with a view to signing him in the summer would have exited the place at that stage.

Only a minute later further sloppiness from the Vale allowed the highly-rated loanee O'Hara the chance to lift the ball over the Vale defence and over the bar. The fans were already beginning to voice their dissatisfaction with what they were seeing.

On 5 minutes Birchall won a corner for Vale on the right. It was taken by Smith and fell to Pilkington with the keeper merely spectating. Pilkington rammed the ball into the net.

On 11 minutes Smith caught the head of Hazell with his boot and Hazell had to be replaced by NIcholson.

By the 15th minute the game had been turned on its' head. Birchall again won a corner on the right. Smith took it and this time Constantine's header hit the far post, rebounding back into the danger zone. Pilkington latched onto it before putting the ball away for his second goal. Spireites boss Roy McFarland, an ex-England central defender, must have felt he could still have done better than his own defenders.

On 21 minutes Birchall became the second player to get a head injury, requiring six stiches apparently, and was replaced by Cardle.

Cardle was involved in a fine move by Vale on 28 minutes, passing cleverly to Constantine, whose own pass was just too long for the well-placed Smith.

On 31 minutes Cardle was brought down by Nicolson close to the corner flag and was promptly and properly booked.

Soon afterwards Cardle went on one of his trademark mazy runs via Biddulph and Macclesfield before lifting the ball over the bar in preference to passing to the much better placed Smith.

On 43 minutes Talbot became the third player to leave the game after receiving a head injury, this time requiring seven stitches. He had played well enough but may have to wait before finding out if he is to be offered a contract. I think he has only completed one game for us, very successfully at Brentford. Last time he played against a team wearing similar kit to that worn by Chesterfield he was sent off, against Scnuthorpe. In that one he was sent off for a reckless over-the-top challenge and did a milder version yesterday but got away with it as there was no reaction from the Chesterfield players and it was not seen by the ref. I am not aware that he arrived with a reputation of this sort. Fortune replaced him yesterday and went to the centre of defence, with Pilkington moving further left.

Bad news for Vale was the arrival of Allison onto the pitch instead of Niven.

For quite a while in the second half Chesterfield had the better of things. On 52 minutes Allison headed just wide when looking likely to score.

On 60 minutes O'Hara's free-kick grazed the woodwork and on 65 minutes Allison hit the woodwork from close range when a goal looked certain.

A Chesterfield equaliser had looked inevitable but Vale began to get their game together.. On 70 minutes a good move down the right ended with Togwell shooting over from close range.

On 81 minutes Cardle passed to Cummins, whose shot found the far corner of the Chesterfield net.

On 85 minutes Goodlad saved well from Downes but by then the game was looking won.

Vale had 50% of the possession, 4 on-target efforts to their 6, 9 off-target to their 6 and 4 corners to their 7. The attendance was 4478 with only a small following from Chesterfield. My pre-match fears about ref Probert were not justified on this occasion. He correctly booked Nicholson for Chesterfield and McGregor for Vale and was generally unobtrusive.

On the 90 minutes Vale deserved to win one, recovering well after such a dodgy start. Chesterfield came on more strongly in the second half but Vale took their chances well. McFarland had obviously identified Jeff Smith as danger in the first half and for about 25 minutes in the second half Smith was marked out of the game before finding space again.There were no obvious weak links, though I did not notice our midfield during the best spell for the visitors. Cummins did well as did Pilkington, getting two goals for the first time. Cardle has obvious ability but must learn to make his contributions more relevant to the game rather than a mere sideshow. He must be a nightmare to play with and against. Fortune played impressively when he came on. I noticed that he threw his Vale shirt to fans at the Bycars End at the end of the game. We can only speculate on the significance of that gesture.

Next week is the final game of the season, at Hartlepool, against whom our recent record is abysmal. We have lost all of the last five games against them. The game really matters to Hartlepool so I fear the worst. Vale will be seeking to achieve a top half finish. I have mega problems over doing my usual piece for this game, all to do with a ridiculously-unimportant wedding a few miles from Hartlepool at 1pm! I am still hoping to be rescued from this non-event courtesy of someone with influence in high places. I am very hopeful of writing a piece but it may still be a couple of days later than usual. I shall clarify all of this next week.

Eddie

[kirsty]

B)-->

ridiculously-unimportant wedding a few miles from Hartlepool at 1pm![/quote]

How convienient!!!

This is typical. Absolutely typical... of the kind of... ARSE I have to put up with from you people. You ponce in here expecting to be waited on hand and foot, while I'm trying to run a hotel here. Have you any idea of how much there is to do? Do you ever think of that? Of course not, you're all too busy sticking your noses into every corner, poking around for things to complain about, aren't you? Well let me tell you something - this is exactly how Nazi Germany started. A lot of layabouts with nothing better to do than to cause trouble. Well I've had fifteen years of pandering to the likes of you, and I've had enough. I've had it. Come on, pack your bags and get out.

[Jacko]

kirsty, on Apr 30 2006, 08:53 PM, said:

How convienient!!!

The "few" is over 50, Kirst!!

[kirsty]

Not to fear - you drive fast enough to get him there in time.

[TheSage]

An excellent summary.
I wonder if Goodlad thought that the ball had drifted out of play before curving back in. Whatever he was thinking it was a shocking mistake. I don't recall seeing a Vale keeper make such a simple error, but no doubt trainspotters out there will correct me.
Mr Probert, I thought, had a very good game. I couldn't fault him. Was it his twin brother? He kept talking to the players throughout, rightly booked two offenders and missed very little, Talbot's unwise lunge apart.
Talbot has now committed the same offence twice in successive home games and really must learn from these errors. He could easily have been sent off again from where I was sitting. On the other hand, I was very impressed with his defending. He is a better defender than James and that judgment is based only on seeing him fleetingly in two home games! He reads the game well and is a tenacious player. I wondered if he lacked height but to date he hasn't been found wanting.
I am delighted that we won our final home game but I wasn't overly impressed. A draw would have been a fairer result probably. I was saying to a friend before kick off that I hoped it wouldn't be a dour 0-0 as Chesterfield often stifle the match and defend in depth. I mentioned maybe an open match and a 3-3 scoreline would be preferable - and I wasn't far wrong! The visitors could easily have scored 2-3 goals in the second half and hit the woodwork twice at least. McFarland has done a really good job there.
Their number 23, O'Hara, was a class player. He is on loan from Spurs I think. I wonder if we could get him on a season's loan.
I agree with you that the most disappointing aspect of the team's performance was the midfield. Cummins took his goal very well, but the three of them collectively were poor, often giving the ball away and playing team-mates into trouble with short passes. Togwell's first touch was woeful on occasions.
Walsh is still a great defender and I am warming to McGregor, despite his professional foul. He gets involved in the play, is always available and cool on the ball for a defender.
Up front, Constantine still frustrates me. He wins very few balls in the air and seldom holds up the ball. I still think he would do better playing off a big man himself. Smith continues to flatter to deceive. I know he can cross a decent ball into the box and that his first touch and control is excellent, but that's where it ends for me. He does not have real pace (despite some on here saying the contrary), is easily knocked off the ball and can't score goals for love nor money. As an offensive winger or front three player we are carrying him! No wonder we are still among the lowest scorers in the League. Someone in his role should be scoring at least 5-6 goals a season (Littlejohn, Armstrong?) Cardle, inexperienced as he is, showed more appetite for threatening the goal in 70 minutes than Smith has done in 70 games. Maybe I exaggerate a little but you know what I'm saying.
The end of season is yet again upon us. I hope that Foyle has a bigger budget and that he can learn from the past 2 seasons. I do not think we'll climb the Table unless we improve our scoring record immeasurably. In defence we look ok, but only Cummins and Constantine have managed double figures - just - so the front six players need to address this worrying problem as we need to find 20-30 more goals.
It has been a struggle and I have often expressed my disappointment over games but I am happy that we have avoided the drop and reached 59 points. We did need 53+ points as I predicted months ago. It is a poor League in my opinion and 2-3 better players next year could make a big difference. Can we afford to go for it or do we make do and mend? That is the $64,000 question.

[kirsty]

TheSage, on May 1 2006, 10:32 AM, said:

An excellent summary.
I wonder if Goodlad thought that the ball had drifted out of play before curving back in. Whatever he was thinking it was a shocking mistake.

I think that's what happened - he was making those indications afterwards anyway. But it's best play-on and to the official's decisions, rather than end up making a mistake of this kind.

[MarkyBoy]

We should get someone like Smallthorne Dog to stand in! :lmao2:

[santiago]

TheSage, on May 1 2006, 10:32 AM, said:

I don't recall seeing a Vale keeper make such a simple error, but no doubt trainspotters out there will correct me.

Ooh, let's think...

Pilkington v West Brom
Pilkington v Stockport
Pilkington v Bolton
Brain v Blackpool
Musselwhite v Everton
Cherry v Enfield
Boswell (generally)

the list is endless

[TheSage]

Point taken!
I recall Cherry's howler and Brain's last year - and, of course, Boswell was in a class of his own.
But Goodlad wasn't really under any pressure. There was no-one within 5 yards of him. The attacker wasn't pressurizing him at all. He was as suprised as we all were when the ball dropped at his feet. I think everyone expected the ref to blow for something.

[MarkyBoy]

To be fair I think the ball hit the bar as he tried to catch it and that confused me.

Otherwise a faultless performance.

[TheSage]

You ruined it by your last sentence!
I rather like Goodlad but it was not a faultless performance.
Yes, he did make 2-3 solid saves in the second half when we were under the cosh a bit, but he also flapped alarmingly at a high bouncing ball on the edge of his area (Lorne Street) in the first half when challenged by a forward and had the odd unsafe moment after the break as well.
I don't think it was a faultless display, nor even one of his best. I'd give him about 6.5/10 on Saturday.

[MarkyBoy]

TheSage, on May 1 2006, 11:19 PM, said:

You ruined it by your last sentence!
I rather like Goodlad but it was not a faultless performance.
Yes, he did make 2-3 solid saves in the second half when we were under the cosh a bit, but he also flapped alarmingly at a high bouncing ball on the edge of his area (Lorne Street) in the first half when challenged by a forward and had the odd unsafe moment after the break as well.
I don't think it was a faultless display, nor even one of his best. I'd give him about 6.5/10 on Saturday.

Oh yeah I forgot about that incident with Larkin, I do apologise. He did make a right hash of that and never looked like getting the ball. We were lucky that didn't cost us.

My memory's failing me in my old age.

[Redditch Valiant]

MarkyBoy, on May 1 2006, 09:26 PM, said:

To be fair I think the ball hit the bar as he tried to catch it and that confused me.

I've looked at it a few times, and agree it looks like that's what happened.

[Dr_Emmett_Brown]

looked to me he was caught between tipping it over the bar and catching it... in the end, he balls'd it up :D

hope it didn't scare off the 'scouts' :D (... or the cubs... or the beavers)

[santiago]

I just thought he was going to catch the ball but didn't realise the crossbar was in it's way.

[ChrisR]

I thought it just showed he's not as good as many people believe.

A pretty good shot stopper, his command of his area is poor, mainly because of his lack of height, and his kicking is dreadful. I honestly think he would be out of his depth in The Championship.

[MarkyBoy]

ChrisR, on May 3 2006, 12:54 AM, said:

I thought it just showed he's not as good as many people believe.

A pretty good shot stopper, his command of his area is poor, mainly because of his lack of height, and his kicking is dreadful. I honestly think he would be out of his depth in The Championship.

Again, you talking about Jonny Brain? I think Goodlad commands his area really well and really does well on crosses, with just one or two slips a month at most.

[Dr_Emmett_Brown]

what's the deal with his kicking anyways? seems to hate kicking it out of his hands, but whenever he's been 'forced' into it, it's seemed no different than to when its off the floor.... odd

[ChrisR]

MarkyBoy, on May 3 2006, 10:02 AM, said:

ChrisR, on May 3 2006, 12:54 AM, said:

I thought it just showed he's not as good as many people believe.

A pretty good shot stopper, his command of his area is poor, mainly because of his lack of height, and his kicking is dreadful. I honestly think he would be out of his depth in The Championship.

Again, you talking about Jonny Brain? I think Goodlad commands his area really well and really does well on crosses, with just one or two slips a month at most.

Commands his area? He needs a map to move off his goal line!