Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Wednesday 25 January 2012
25 January 2012
For one very brief moment last night, Town were a tantalising two points off the play-offs. But old habits die hard and a failure to defend a lead going into the last few minutes of the game against ten men cost the Mariners two points. And with Kidderminster equalising in their home game against York late on, the long arm of the play-offs continues to hold the palm of its hand on the forehead of the Mariners as they rhythmically swipe in an effort to make an impact.
After Gateshead lost unexpectedly at Kettering, and Southport went down to the limp Imps, the biggest winners of the night were surely Cambridge - who now have a game in hand on most of their rivals without having lost much ground. But let's not get too downhearted about the result last night. It was, after all, a draw; two points dropped, perhaps, but a point gained in the grand scheme of things. It's a feeling that is shared by Shorty, who told Radio Humberside in his post-match interview that he is philosophical about things - happy with a point, unhappy with letting the lead slip. The winning run comes to an end, but not in the flimsy, lethargic fashion I imagined it might.
As your West Yorkshire Diary (and most other Town fans) observed ahead of the game last night, Barrow are pretty useful on their home turf. Earlier in the season they thrashed Fleetwood 4-0 at Holker Street and soon after recorded a 3-1 win over Wrexham too. They're no mugs. They're having a good season and probably didn't deserve to be spanked 5-2 at Blundell Park earlier in the season when at 2-2 they hit the woodwork twice. Back then, before we embarked on this brilliant run, Barrow joint boss Dave Bayliss dared to describe us as "not a very good side". He was probably right, but the improvement since then has been stark.
So it's one defeat in 19, a dozen games unbeaten in the league, and crowds on the rise. This period of football is quickly becoming one we're destined to refer back to in the future. Town don't do unbeaten runs; I can count on one hand the number of times we've gone longer than five games unbeaten in the 16 years I've been watching them.
Our opponents this Saturday, AFC Telford United, also drew 2-2 last night - only they indulged in the practice of throwing away a 2-0 lead, which is so last year. I had a quick godge at their match report and they have a few interesting names in their ranks. Ben 'Future' Futcher currently plies his trade as a Shropshire Buck, and it's also the place where Dwayne Samuels has continued his profession as an 89th-minute substitute. Kyle Perry didn't hang around long after his release from Lincoln and has found his way into the Telford team, so he can have another go at scoring against us this Saturday after already failing twice over the festive season. Not that I want to tempt fate or anything.
GTFC's surge into the world of social media continues to gather pace and I've particularly enjoyed seeing photos of our cult heroes like Dave Gilbert, Peter Handyside and, more recently, Georges Santos. There's a great photo on the official Facebook page of Santos powering a header past Kevin Pressman in front of a packed Blundell Park when we beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 back in 2002. I remember the goal well - it was quite possibly the highest any Town player has ever jumped to head a ball. This digital voyage has been very productive - not just for the club, but for the fans and the community as a whole. It's even re-posted Too Good To Go Down's excellent blogpost about our goalscoring prowess at home, which has caused countless others to write their own versions (despite varying inaccuracies and a failure to credit the original author), helping to promote the club's online reputation beyond the simple world of nesbit-infested messageboards. Well done!