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City battle for a point

- 22/08/2009

City 1 Fleet Leisure 1

Despite having half a dozen First team squad members unavailable, City contained last season's Premier Division runners-up in the first home game at Hersden in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 135.

Manager Dave Fairclough said: "In the circumstances I though we did well. I couldn't argue with the result but I thought that overall we were the better team. We had to make a lot of changes from the previous week but this proves the benefit of having a large squad. Fleet were a physical side but we were not second best anywhere".

It certainly was an unusual side that Dave sent out for this special occasion; not only the team's debut at Hersden but the entrance of the club's latest signing, Dunstan the Dragon mascot, who played a blinder.

Among those absent were Wayne Fittall and Lee Austin, so Dave decided to play a 4-5-l formation, with Adam Woollcott the lone striker. Woollcott is a fine young player, but perhaps not a natural central attacker. Nevertheless, he adapted well and gave a very quick and powerful Fleet defence some problems on a day when a sun-baked pitch and gusty wind made for unpredictable conditions.

City's numerical advantage in midfield meant that they had the opportunity to keep possession and build on it. For the first few minutes that was exactly what they did. Craig Southern, Ben Smith and Mark Rook were solid, while Ian Brooke and Scott Lawford pressed forward. But Fleet adapted to dangerous situations well and when going forward themselves retained the ball confidently at first before lapsing into a high ball game with plenty of physical intimidation. They were attempting to disguise the fact that they were a club in turmoil. The team had been left confused by the departure only a few days before of their manager. If City were concerned about absent players, Fleet were probably in a more worrying situation.

The game developed into something far more competitive than a lot of the one-sided affairs that City have enjoyed over the last two seasons. Fleet ought to have done better with their own early attacks and were always a threat from corners or long throws. Yet so, too, were City.

With a superb extended run by Sam Baker and another diagonal one from Woollcott and centre that nobody could quite reach, City remained the more positive side. Southern headed close but half-time came with the sides goalless. Five minutes into the second and a Scott Lawford corner saw Ian Hossick move up from defence to brilliantly head City into the lead. Danny Wrench had to preserve the advantage, grasping a shot from Alex McKay, but in the 56th minute he was unable to clear a corner and in the scramble that followed Mat Balson knocked in the equaliser.

For ten minutes after conceding the goal City tried to play good possession football, which in the long term should be all the easier on the flat surface of Hersden. Fleet were always the more aggressive but either side could have snatched the winner. Dave Fairclough put Royston Gough and Karl Williams on in the attack but their speed was matched by the Fleet defenders. Even so, Gough should have been given the opportunity to continue his run when a Fleet defender tried to intercept. It was a fifty-fifty situation, with both players holding and pushing equally, but the referee awarded a free kick against Gough.

City were almost embarrassed when a huge high clearance very nearly bounced into goal over the reach of the retreating Wrench. That would have been a cruel outcome to a match in which a much changed City well deserved to share the points with one of the most powerful sides they are likely to meet this season.

CITY:Wrench; Baker, Hossick, Jackson, Segar, Brooke (Tuite), Smith, Southern, Rook, Lawford (Gough), Woollcott (Williams)