Efficency Over Beauty

I can't begin to tell you how uplifted I was at Kettering by our performance, or indeed how deflated I was for a spell in the second half last Saturday when I suspected it was all a dream!

Had I imagined the flowing footballl we had produced against one of the division's best sides, who were topping the form table going into the match?

It started to feel that way for a bit in the second half. I could understand why we found it hard to break Lowestoft down in the first forty-five minutes. They set themselves up to spoil, and we were faced with breaking down a stubborn side which left one man up while the rest were strewn as a series of speedbumps in our path. That's hard to play against, and I felt we'd create enough chances to get a breakthrough if we persevered.

The second half made me worry though. Lowestoft surprisingly came out to play-Ady Gallagher, their co-manager, said afterwards that he'd not wanted them to be so cautious at the outset and had sent them out to make amends after the break.

They were certainly eager, and deserve plaudits for the effort they put in. However, they really ought to have been put to the sword in those circumstances. Pushing on, they naturally left more gaps at the back, more space to run into behind them. I felt we should have been able to rip into them, but we didn't.

So I admit that, while commentating, I started feeling a little concerned. Thankfully we got the breakthrough and avoided the five hour trek to the furthest eastern outpost of the British Isles. But we needed an 89^th minute fluke to do it. Still, talking to Neil Taylor after the game put things into perspective. He rightly pointed out that we needed to be patient, and in the end that approach had borne dividends.

And at least we’re getting a stroke of luck these days-how many years has it been that we’ve been on the receiving end of such misfortunes? A string of unconvincing wins will do me just fine.