Cod Almighty | Diary

We're on different buses, pollution

19 November 2018

Well, that was very satisfying. Just for once we ended on the right side of one of those battles where you know a single goal is going to win it. We weren't at our best but we played with a certain determination and ultimately that won out over the brawn of Crawley.

They really weren't pretty and relied on hustling and not allowing space – but so far this season it seems to have worked fairly well for them and they started the match in the top half. They also had that harbinger of doom, the former player guaranteed to get one against you, in Ollie Palmer.

Currently on nine in the league this season, Palmer was probably fancying his chances. I'd like to see extended highlights rather than those on Quest, because from where I was sitting he looked like he threw himself on the floor in an attempt to get a free kick but nobody had touched him. I might be wrong because he was half hidden by a fire exit sign – but there were still some poor refereeing decisions, like the booking of Harry Clifton, which it would be interesting to see again.

So that was it. There are times we've played a lot better and lost or only scraped a draw, and we need the points. There were lots of stats flying around. Apparently it's our first win over Crawley at home and it's 20 years since we played four consecutive league games without conceding a goal. Nice.

But what gave me greatest pleasure was Akheem Rose's first ever goal for Town. He hasn't had the smoothest start to his professional career and he can't be match-sharp, but that was a real goal poacher's finish. A little touch to steady the ball and then smash it into the back of the net. That's really what we've been missing: someone who doesn't over-think and panic when they get close to the opposition goal. Let's hope he goes from strength to strength.

Fans on Radio Humberside were cheerful for a change and it was good to hear them be positive about what we had seen. No, it wasn't a classic but we did what we needed to do. It's great when fans are not getting on the backs of the manager or players.

I can see us improving as the season goes on but I'm still keeping an eye on those below us. It's only November but it's really not looking good for Macclesfield without a drastic improvement. Notts County are really struggling, which is surprising given that they made the play-offs last year. Kevin Nolan was sacked in August which must have been one of the earliest of the season's managers to lose his job. That's given them time to sack manager number two this season with Harry Kewell going last week. There's speculation that Nolan could come back or Paul Hurst might head to Nottingham.

Until that's sorted they will be in limbo and they didn't see any improvement with a bounce back at the weekend. Fans can't see it getting any better. I think the local football reporter has just about given up with his player ratings which were quite entertaining this week. He obviously doesn't rate substitute Cedric Evina. I wouldn't like to see Notts go down though. They're the most convenient match for me and they are a proper club. I'd far rather see the likes of Cheltenham, Village Green or Franchise Scum take the drop.

So let's kick on to Northampton and put as much space between us and Macclesfield as we can. UTM.