Boston United vs Barrow AFC

[McMark]

Still 1-1, Panayiotou on for White. Triallist for Hall and Gomis replaces Hughes.

[McMark]

Sounds like Moussa is letting the Boston United players know he is in da house.

[Mark Johnson]

Audel carried off injured.

[Mark Johnson]

1-1 FT

[McMark]

Sounded like a committed whole hearted performance from both sides.
Anyone know if the center back who replaced Thierry Audel late on was the same lad that played in the second half against Motherwell??

[SKIPPER]

Audel carried off injured.

Cramp according to PC on RC.He hasn't trained yet so did well to last as long as he did.Also says Harrison not as bad as they thought. Looking good.

[McMark]

Cox on the radio saying it was a tempestuous high tempo game. And a good test that he felt we got a lot out of.
Still need some quality with the right personalities being brought into the squad.
Quite far down the line with talks with Richie Bennett and remains hopeful.

Thierry Audel suffered from cramp, hasn't had much game time so should be fine.
Ok with the structuring, ok with the fitness just need to add to the squad in the right areas.

[Mark Johnson]

Audel carried off injured.

Cramp according to PC on RC.He hasn't trained yet so did well to last as long as he did.Also says Harrison not as bad as they thought. Looking good.

Thank goodness. When they went over to Andy Wood on BBCRC, it sounded like it wasn't good.

[mikemarshhewasgood]

I'll be very disappointed if Hughes is in the best team we can put out.

Yeah, probably wouldn't mind if he was in the middle of the park as I remember he started last season well.. But as a wide man, not sure.

Tbf hughes deserves the chance of first team, he's a big strong lad who's fitness has been good, he can win a ball in the air and not get bullied. If he can get 20% better on his passing ability then he'll do us a good job no doubt

[Mark Johnson]

Yeah, probably wouldn't mind if he was in the middle of the park as I remember he started last season well.. But as a wide man, not sure.

Tbf hughes deserves the chance of first team, he's a big strong lad who's fitness has been good, he can win a ball in the air and not get bullied. If he can get 20% better on his passing ability then he'll do us a good job no doubt

Well, it will either be him or Fitzpatrick at this stage unless we sign another wide man which is unlikely. I just think wingers should always have pace and be able to beat the full back one on one which he doesn't do.

I would like to see us sign another wide player for competition for Bauress and Fitzpatrick and have Hughes competing for a CM position.. But Cox knows these players better than us, we'll have to trust his judgement.

[JammyBluebird]

Sounded like a committed whole hearted performance from both sides.
Anyone know if the center back who replaced Thierry Audel late on was the same lad that played in the second half against Motherwell??

If you're referring to the lad with bleached blonde hair then yes it was. Wasn't on for long though.

[BahamasBluebird]

It was a tough game, Boston were a good side and had the better of the first half. We came into it much more second half and had the better chances. That said, they could have snatched it with a few chances of their own late on.

Thierry Audel looked good considering it was his first game and he hasn't had much of a pre season. Richie Bennett took his goal well and there were solid performances all round.

Good news from Coxy too that Byrons injury isn't as bad as first feared and could be back sooner

A few interviews after the game:

Thierry Audel:

http://barrowafc.com/boston-united-post ... rry-audel/

Paul Cox:

http://www.barrowafc.com/5373-2/

[Suffolk Blue]

At the Q&A after the Motherwell game, Cox specifically said that he wanted a more physical encounter at Boston and that what we had this afternoon. None of this ticka-tacka stuff. It actually turned out to be a really competitive match that stayed (just) the right side of nasty though one or two on both sides were occasionally reminded that this was pre-season by the referee who fortunately refused to produce a card all afternoon.

One of the things I like about Cox is that he never just turns up for a kick about. It was clear that he'd specifically targeted this game in that:

1. He put out a team that was virtually all contracted players (I'm not sure the keeper was Moore)
2. He left them all on until the last fifteen minutes despite Boston have rotated about 4-5 before we subbed anybody.
3. He definitely sanctioned more of a direct encounter. This did not look very much like a friendly - more the usual full-blooded encounter you get with Boston.

For their part Boston definitely wanted the win and (as Cox had forecast) at various times put us under some serious pressure. For a third pre-season outing this was actually pretty good.

In terms of the performance both teams could have won, the Boston keeper made 3-4 excellent saves but Boston played the last ten like an FA Cup tie. Overall Barrow looked the better team though it could be argued that Boston actually looked a little fitter and quicker on the ball. But as already said Cox refused to replace players until they were pretty spent.

Individual performances :

- I hope that keeper wasn't Moore because he was guilty of flapping at crosses and didn't inspire much confidence.
- Thierry Audel was very bright and didn't do much wrong at all. He did suffer with cramp late on but I can confirm he trotted off without the aid of a stretcher.
- Jones' throw for anyone that hasn't seen it is phenomenal - there will be goals from this source without a doubt.
- Asa Hall I thought played very competently and looks a good acquisition
- Moussa was the star of show, all over everything and the subject of most of the post match comments I picked out amongst Boston fans
- Bradley Bauress looked just like Moussa did this time last season, talented but still pretty raw and he occasionally struggled with the pace of the game
- Ritchie Bennett has somehow managed to improve during the summer break. He is beginning to look a seriously good player
- We miss Byron Harrison a lot. Bennett and White are quite similar players, Byron gives us a different attacking edge

Thought the back four coped pretty well and kept their shape as they were repeatedly tested. Personally I don't think this is the starting 11 for D&R. Both Fitzpatrick and Gomis looked accomplished when they came on and I think will be in the mix ahead of one or two others. Boston exposed a couple of areas of relative weakness, firstly exploiting the space between the back four and midfield. A hangover from last seasaon. Secondly disrupting quite a lot of our play going forward. We still have some midfield issues. There was little time for either side on the ball - unusual at such an early stage of the season - so there weren't that many flowing moves.

This is probably the first time that a BAFC eleven that could conceivably start a NL game have played together, stripped as it was of trialists. So the performance was not as cohesive as it will be in a few weeks. But it wasn't bad against a very focused Boston outfit. They all looked pretty shattered at the end so don't expect this bunch to feature again on Tuesday against Crewe.

[BahamasBluebird]

Match report now online:

http://barrowafc.com/match-report-bosto ... -1-barrow/

[Billbob]

Hughes is a cart horse!