What a fantastically frustrating game football can be eh?
Then again is this not one of the reasons we enjoy it and, for me anyway, this is what makes the nopower league such a good one as you almost literally never really know what you are going to get – well, you know more often than not you will be entertained and that then gives you value for money!
I am one of those that ‘always thinks we will win’, of course this is not possible but why accept defeat before a game? This is why I went into the QPR game with the belief that we could get something, especially at ‘Fortress Fratton’ where we CAN, and should, be a match for anyone.
I enjoyed the game and it ‘probably’ could have gone either way, but all in all maybe a draw was a fair result – although Steve Cotterill felt we deserved the win and was more than a little put out by the penalty decision: ‘it should have been three points. We absolutely deserved to win that. We should have been the first team to defeat them.
‘It was never a penalty. The ball hit Liam on the chest. He’s got the imprint of the ball on him. The only thing you couldn`t see was the word ‘Mitre’ written on him. Even Tommy Smith turned around and said he couldn’t believe the penalty had been given.’
As for Liam Lawrence, whilst I can understand his frustration – and my immediate reaction was that it hit his chest – but having been booked for decent already I was a bit annoyed with him that he continued his protests as it was clear what would happen.
From the minute the penalty was given I turned to Tony next to me and said ‘he has got to be careful or he will go’, and as I said it I knew that he would!
This is Cotterill’s take on it: ‘Liam was bound to be upset. He had just run his socks off and then got done late on by a penalty.
‘We can forgive Liam his frustration. We were two minutes away from beating the best team in the league and we got done by a penalty that wasn`t a penalty.’
Like I say I too share that frustration but I am not ‘quite’ as forgiving as Cotterill!
It was a needless sending off and one, given our limited numbers as it is, that was and should have been avoided and ‘might’ now cost us as he will miss Doncaster at the weekend – and he WILL be a miss…
Whilst I am sure he is happy with the point it ‘seems’ as though he feels QPR would be happier, and I guess he is right. There was also praise for the attacking players, who did to be fair play well: ‘we played very well tonight and QPR will be very pleased to have got out of Fratton Park with their unbeaten run intact.
‘Someone told me QPR had eight players missing, but they could still field a team like that. It’s not bad, is it?
‘I think we were excellent, and John Utaka was outstanding. Kanu was excellent, and Dave Kitson worked very hard.’
It was a game full of controversial incidents that sees us talking, once again, too much about a referee although we cannot forget that he did us a favour in allowing Lawrence to retake his penalty, having seen the original one saved. From where I sit I saw no sign on encroachment but was led to believe that is what it was retaken for, although I think it now turns out that it was due to Paddy Kenny being too far off his line, which is what I thought was the case.
Before the game I, and lets face it ALL of us, would have taken a draw – whilst it is frustrating to concede so late, and it almost feels like a defeat as a result, I think that we have again proven that we are a force to be reckoned with in this league and the survival in this league – which is a must – is very much on.
Doncaster will be a tough nut to crack, but with all due respect to them, they are a side we ‘should’ be taking 3pts from at The Fortress, so if we do that to come out of the QPR and Doncaster games with 4pts would be a fine return – bring on the Donny…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
