Lincoln 1-1 Saints - Match Thread

[bangkoksaint]

8 hours ago, Obstacle1 said:

Hes not an issue though. What mistakes has he made? He was excellent last season as well

I agree and I did say if. Arguably he’s not been as assured as he was last season. It can’t be right though to have such an important position with basically no competition for his place? AR is the only player with the ability to challenge him but TE has basically said Long is his #2. That’s not healthy 

[EssEffCee]

For all the talk of switching to the back 5 I don't really think that was the difference in the end. The tide had turned way before then and the biggest issue was that we chose to bypass the midfield and go long to a striker who can't hold it up.

We have the better players, why didn't we have midfielders put a foot on the ball and pass them to death to take the sting out of the crowd? Totally played into their hands and nobody on the pitch wanted to take ownership of the situation.

Quite funny seeing JWP getting credit for his 'assist' 😂

Thought he did okay yesterday for what it's worth (went missing late on though) but still don't think he's what we needed in that position. Desperately need Jander back.

[Toadhall Saint]

3 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

For all the talk of switching to the back 5 I don't really think that was the difference in the end. The tide had turned way before then and the biggest issue was that we chose to bypass the midfield and go long to a striker who can't hold it up.

We have the better players, why didn't we have midfielders put a foot on the ball and pass them to death to take the sting out of the crowd? Totally played into their hands and nobody on the pitch wanted to take ownership of the situation.

Quite funny seeing JWP getting credit for his 'assist' 😂

Thought he did okay yesterday for what it's worth (went missing late on though) but still don't think he's what we needed in that position. Desperately need Jander back.

This in spades. We conceded space and then decided to go long. Once that happened we were going to concede. 

[Whitey Grandad]

13 hours ago, Hawkswood said:

Not sure if you saw on skysports midway through the game they had a graphic of JWPs passes in that first half and all the passes were going sideways and even the commentator noticed and mentioned  he has to sometimes attack with his passes.

The forward passes have to be available though. When all of our attackers are tightly man marked there are not a lot of options and trying to bypass them on the wings may be the only option. 

[Charlie Wayman]

12 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

Lots of new players bedding in, we will get better. 

Whatever happened to "hit the ground running"? 

Lots of new players doesn't seem to be affecting Swansea, Wrexham or a half dozen other teams near the top of the league

[sfc4prem]

5 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The forward passes have to be available though. When all of our attackers are tightly man marked there are not a lot of options and trying to bypass them on the wings may be the only option. 

Absolutely. 

[Hawkswood]

4 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The forward passes have to be available though. When all of our attackers are tightly man marked there are not a lot of options and trying to bypass them on the wings may be the only option. 

Sure, thats absolutely fair enough, its just that.......for me, that was JWP to a tee as a footballer. Anyway, lets wait and see and hopefully I can be proved wrong and he can start attacking with his passes.

[Midfield_General]

40 minutes ago, bangkoksaint said:

I agree and I did say if. Arguably he’s not been as assured as he was last season. It can’t be right though to have such an important position with basically no competition for his place? AR is the only player with the ability to challenge him but TE has basically said Long is his #2. That’s not healthy 

He didn’t have any competition last year either

[Hawkswood]

2 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Whatever happened to "hit the ground running"? 

Lots of new players doesn't seem to be affecting Swansea, Wrexham or a half dozen other teams near the top of the league

No guarantee theyll continue that and no reason that we wont hit a patch of form. Again, its a very long season, oh and btw, if you dont agree with something I say, please explain why rather than just leaving a laughing emoji please. Its a little rude. You might be short on daily replies but just wait until you have one available.  Thanks.

[Midfield_General]

What people seem to be missing with that JWP pass chart is that every single arrow but one on it was green, because 99% of his passes actually went to one of our players. Unlike, say, Welington who must have given the ball away five times in the first ten minutes or Edozie who just ran into trouble again and again and again. We couldn’t keep the ball for shit yesterday and if everyone had been able to look after and move the ball as effectively as JWP did that would have been one less problem. 

And why are people calling Peretz into question? If it hadn’t been for him we’d have lost about 4-1. 

The game management was appalling yesterday. We got dragged into playing exactly the way they wanted it which was the only way they could compete. We played straight into their hands tactically and that’s concerning. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Nolan]

Judging from posts oh here and X, we're at a point where people who competed in sports days are outnumbered by those who had non-Competitive sports days?

We've lost 3 league games this calendar year. 

It's not an issue we haven't got an away win after three games.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Nolan

[Hawkswood]

2 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

What people seem to be missing with that JWP pass chart is that every single arrow but one on it was green, because 99% of his passes actually went to one of our players. Unlike, say, Welington who must have given the ball away five times in the first ten minutes or Edozie who just ran into trouble again and again and again. We couldn’t keep the ball for shit yesterday and if everyone had been able to look after and move the ball as effectively as JWP did that would have been less problem. 

And why are people calling Peretz into question? If it hadn’t been for him we’d have lost about 4-1. 

The game management was appalling yesterday. We got dragged into playing exactly the way they wanted it which was the only way they could compete. We played straight into their hands tactically and that’s concerning. 

Can I just say, having played football for a number of years to a very decent level and having played in all those positions you mentioned, its much harder to find a pass when you play on either flank whereas if yiure in the middle of the pitch you have a multitude of decent options.

[Badger]

46 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

For all the talk of switching to the back 5 I don't really think that was the difference in the end. The tide had turned way before then and the biggest issue was that we chose to bypass the midfield and go long to a striker who can't hold it up.

We have the better players, why didn't we have midfielders put a foot on the ball and pass them to death to take the sting out of the crowd? Totally played into their hands and nobody on the pitch wanted to take ownership of the situation.

Quite funny seeing JWP getting credit for his 'assist' 😂

Thought he did okay yesterday for what it's worth (went missing late on though) but still don't think he's what we needed in that position. Desperately need Jander back.

 

41 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

This in spades. We conceded space and then decided to go long. Once that happened we were going to concede. 

Agree to some extent but bringing Wood on as the extra CB meant we lost one extra outlet further up the pitch and invited them to lump it into the box. We looked to play the last part of the match in our own half 

[IFHP]

Think we were lucky to get a draw , Lincoln missed quite a few good chances and it was no surprise they scored . It was coming .

Our subs made us weaker.

We’ve 2 points from 3 away games Watford, Birmingham and Lincoln. However we are still maintaining play off form, especially as we only have to finish 8 th. So our play off push is just about on track. 

 

 

[Badger]

Good day out yesterday and trip to Lincoln but partly undone by the inevitability of the result.

They had some good chances and we rode our luck at times. Unlucky with Scienza’s shot but otherwise probably a fair result (perhaps even fortunate) 

Substitutions we’re largely crap and weakened us every time. I understand bringing  Scienza off, but Edozie lived up to form with one of his ‘all fart, no shit ‘ performances. One good run that came to nothing, another where the stupid bastard ran himself into trouble with three Lincoln players bearing down on him.

It reinforces the view of how inadequate the recruitment was. Mubama looked crap (certainly not a player with Man City pedigree ), and the £9m spent on Dobbin - who nearly scored in fairness - could have been better spent elsewhere.

Taking Azaz who was our most creative player off looked a mistake signalling our lack of intent. Then Wood was just inviting the inevitable. 

Edited 7 hours ago by Badger

[Baird of the land]

9 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

What people seem to be missing with that JWP pass chart is that every single arrow but one on it was green, because 99% of his passes actually went to one of our players. Unlike, say, Welington who must have given the ball away five times in the first ten minutes or Edozie who just ran into trouble again and again and again. We couldn’t keep the ball for shit yesterday and if everyone had been able to look after and move the ball as effectively as JWP did that would have been less problem. 

And why are people calling Peretz into question? If it hadn’t been for him we’d have lost about 4-1. 

The game management was appalling yesterday. We got dragged into playing exactly the way they wanted it which was the only way they could compete. We played straight into their hands tactically and that’s concerning. 

Jwp was just going for safe passes, which is why there was so much green. Having one safe crab is ok but the problem was that we also had downes doing exactly the same thing. Midfield was horribly limited, further up the pitch players are getting the ball in poorer positions, when the they are trying to make things happen.

[Badger]

11 minutes ago, IFHP said:

We’ve 2 points from 3 away games Watford, Birmingham and Lincoln. However we are still maintaining play off form, especially as we only have to finish 8 th. So our play off push is just about on track. 

 

 

Trying to put a positive spin on it, we’ve got one extra point from Lincoln than we managed fromOxford away. (If as many predict Lincoln are the most likely to go down). 
 

But no denying that was an opportunity of an extra two points dropped 

[Saint Lefty]

Let’s not forget that we didn’t hit that long run of form until February until then the team had been quite poor. Plenty of time for Tonda to get this corrected -  again. Getting Jander back is crucial.

 

[West Dean FC Legend]

1 hour ago, Midfield_General said:

What people seem to be missing with that JWP pass chart is that every single arrow but one on it was green, because 99% of his passes actually went to one of our players. Unlike, say, Welington who must have given the ball away five times in the first ten minutes or Edozie who just ran into trouble again and again and again. We couldn’t keep the ball for shit yesterday and if everyone had been able to look after and move the ball as effectively as JWP did that would have been one less problem. 

And why are people calling Peretz into question? If it hadn’t been for him we’d have lost about 4-1. 

The game management was appalling yesterday. We got dragged into playing exactly the way they wanted it which was the only way they could compete. We played straight into their hands tactically and that’s concerning. 

Odd isn't it? That's what teams did with us so many times last season - Leicester City away being the big one, if they'd have managed the game correctly, Saints would have lost that match.

Football is a confusing sport at times.

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, Hawkswood said:

Can I just say, having played football for a number of years to a very decent level and having played in all those positions you mentioned, its much harder to find a pass when you play on either flank whereas if yiure in the middle of the pitch you have a multitude of decent options.

No I get that. My point is that we were 1-0 up away to an ugly, limited side who just wanted to get the ball off us however they could so they could pump it towards the lumbering farmhands they had in our box and try and cause havoc. If ever there is a situation where you need to just try and keep the ball, not give it away, slow things down and strangle the game, that’s it.

Whatever our game plan was, it hadn’t really worked but we still found ourselves a goal up with a few minutes to go. Sometimes you just take your medicine and get a result however you can. If we’d kept the ball better all over the pitch we might have done that.

Instead we just kept giving them another go at hoofing it into our area. We had a load of lucky escapes but they were going to get one eventually. If we’d kept the ball better as a team, by passing sideways or otherwise, those chances would have been reduced. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Midfield_General

[musesaint]

What a refreshingly honest and frank interview from Flynn Downes after the game. While Tonda waffled Flynn told everyone the realities and summed up how poor the performance was. 

Shame he’s not the team captain more often. 

[LegalEagle]

2 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Whatever happened to "hit the ground running"? 

Lots of new players doesn't seem to be affecting Swansea, Wrexham or a half dozen other teams near the top of the league

Charlie - silly comment really. Not defending us in terms of yesterday as we were crap but our record this season so far is better than that of Wrexham (2,2,1 v 1,3,1) and save the 4 point deduction we’d only be 3 points off the top.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

I was at the game yesterday and the most disheartening aspect was the inevitability of Lincoln's equaliser. I know SD strove to sign a third "out and out forward" but this was one occasion when they should have thrown a bit more cash at the problem. A never likely to be fully fit Larin and a rookie as our only options upfront is akin to shooting yourself in both feet.

Edited 5 hours ago by Fitzhugh Fella

[The Wyvern]

Nothing to really add on the game except to say I thought Lincoln was a cracking city for a day out, loads of good pubs, definitely one of the better away days of the season. 

[Badger]

21 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

I was at the game yesterday and the most disheartening aspect was the inevitability of Lincoln's equaliser. I know SD strove to sign a third "out and out forward" but this was one occasion when they should have thrown a bit more cash at the problem. A never likely to be fully fit Larin and a rookie as our only options upfront is akin to shooting yourself in both feet.

Blindingly obvious to you and I, and most supporters. How could those in charge - Spors especially- not see it, and more to the point act on it ?

Have to wonder what discussions and efforts were made. How interested were we in for example Lankshear, and did we make a serious enquiry? Linked with Ratkov, did we spend the summer chasing him and hoping he’d ‘see sense’ and change his mind. Missing out on others in the meantime. 

Then linked with a 19year old from Charlton in the last hours. In many ways I’m glad this didn’t come off. Signing two inexperienced players such as him and Abbott wouldn’t have impressed. Especially to go with Mubama, another work experience signing. 

[saintant]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

Good day out yesterday and trip to Lincoln but partly undone by the inevitability of the result.

They had some good chances and we rode our luck at times. Unlucky with Scienza’s shot but otherwise probably a fair result (perhaps even fortunate) 

Substitutions we’re largely crap and weakened us every time. I understand bringing  Scienza off, but Edozie lived up to form with one of his ‘all fart, no shit ‘ performances. One good run that came to nothing, another where the stupid bastard ran himself into trouble with three Lincoln players bearing down on him.

It reinforces the view of how inadequate the recruitment was. Mubama looked crap (certainly not a player with Man City pedigree ), and the £9m spent on Dobbin - who nearly scored in fairness - could have been better spent elsewhere.

Taking Azaz who was our most creative player off looked a mistake signalling our lack of intent. Then Wood was just inviting the inevitable. 

He didn't. His weak shot was actually going wide but their defender decided to block it anyway.

[Badger]

1 minute ago, saintant said:

He didn't. His weak shot was actually going wide but their defender decided to block it anyway.

Well worth £9m of anyones money then. 

[saintant]

Just now, Badger said:

Well worth £9m of anyones money then. 

The jury is out but I think they'll return with their verdict very soon.

[saintant]

Just watched back the highlights and that really was an absolute mess of a performance. The tone was set from their kick-off when they hoisted the, ball rugby style, up to the edge of our box and we reacted like rabbits caught in the headlights. Apart from a spell of perhaps 20 minutes we showed zero composure on the ball and contributed to our own downfall by allowing Lincoln to dictate what sort of a game it would be. Tonda then put an end to that 20  minute spell by taking off our best players and basically invited Lincoln to 'show us what you've got'. Inevitably they obliged by bringing on the 6'8 lump who, against 3 centre backs, was given a free header and we lost two valuable points and gifted one to them (although in fairness that was the least they deserved).

If we are unable to pass and move to shift a limited side like Lincoln we are in serious trouble. Not for the first time we played too much horizontally and not enough vertically. We had no ball carrying runners in midfield brave or ready enough to take the fight to them meaning they could comfortably continue their aerial bombardment. 

Two big home games coming up and, despite our good record at St Marys, I'm not confident we'll win either.

Edited 4 hours ago by saintant

[sadoldgit]

2 hours ago, Hawkswood said:

Can I just say, having played football for a number of years to a very decent level and having played in all those positions you mentioned, its much harder to find a pass when you play on either flank whereas if yiure in the middle of the pitch you have a multitude of decent options.

They played very narrow yesterday meaning there was little room to operate in the centre of the pitch.

[sadoldgit]

21 minutes ago, saintant said:

He didn't. His weak shot was actually going wide but their defender decided to block it anyway.

It looked like it was heading into the corner to me, but at least he had a shot at goal.

[sadoldgit]

25 minutes ago, Badger said:

Blindingly obvious to you and I, and most supporters. How could those in charge - Spors especially- not see it, and more to the point act on it ?

Have to wonder what discussions and efforts were made. How interested were we in for example Lankshear, and did we make a serious enquiry? Linked with Ratkov, did we spend the summer chasing him and hoping he’d ‘see sense’ and change his mind. Missing out on others in the meantime. 

Then linked with a 19year old from Charlton in the last hours. In many ways I’m glad this didn’t come off. Signing two inexperienced players such as him and Abbott wouldn’t have impressed. Especially to go with Mubama, another work experience signing. 

I’m not 100% sure but thought that I read somewhere that Lankshear’s preferred choice was Middlesbrough.

[saintant]

1 minute ago, sadoldgit said:

I’m not 100% sure but thought that I read somewhere that Lankshear’s preferred choice was Middlesbrough.

We'd already signed Larin - no way were we going to sign Lankshear and keep both happy.

[sadoldgit]

14 minutes ago, saintant said:

We'd already signed Larin - no way were we going to sign Lankshear and keep both happy.

They were clearly trying to bring in a third striker.

[Turkish]

17 minutes ago, saintant said:

We'd already signed Larin - no way were we going to sign Lankshear and keep both happy.

We were though as we also tried to get that Ratov bloke from Lazio who kept turning us down and we had a bid turned down for someone at Charlton on deadline day 

[AlexLaw76]

32 minutes ago, saintant said:

We'd already signed Larin - no way were we going to sign Lankshear and keep both happy.

Why? Larin cant last a full game, let alone play 3 games a week.

[Badger]

35 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

I’m not 100% sure but thought that I read somewhere that Lankshear’s preferred choice was Middlesbrough.

Presumably the interview he gave after signing there.

32 minutes ago, saintant said:

We'd already signed Larin - no way were we going to sign Lankshear and keep both happy.

Larin worked within that system to good effect last season and signed again. Convincing a younger player of a job sharing role might be more difficult, granted, but even then they sign on the understanding that they are in a squad with an alternative option for that position.
 

Or would they seek assurances on starting? Dangerous to agree this in advance I’d have thought. 

[Badger]

18 minutes ago, Turkish said:

We were though as we also tried to get that Ratov bloke from Lazio who kept turning us down and we had a bid turned down for someone at Charlton on deadline day 

Have to wonder if we spent too long and too much focus on this bloke. 

[Turkish]

3 minutes ago, Badger said:

Have to wonder if we spent too long and too much focus on this bloke. 

Seems like we did as he clearly never intended to join us, same with the defender we tried to sign who ended up at Fulham. Surely the agents tell the clubs that they’re not going to drop down to the championship 

[macca155]

41 minutes ago, saintant said:

Just watched back the highlights and that really was an absolute mess of a performance. The tone was set from their kick-off when they hoisted the, ball rugby style, up to the edge of our box and we reacted like rabbits caught in the headlights. Apart from a spell of perhaps 20 minutes we showed zero composure on the ball and contributed to our own downfall by allowing Lincoln to dictate what sort of a game it would be. Tonda then put an end to that 20  minute spell by taking off our best players and basically invited Lincoln to 'show us what you've got'. Inevitably they obliged by bringing on the 6'8 lump who, against 3 centre backs, was given a free header and we lost two valuable points and gifted one to them (although in fairness that was the least they deserved).

If we are unable to pass and move to shift a limited side like Lincoln we are in serious trouble. Not for the first time we played too much horizontally and not enough vertically. We had no ball carrying runners in midfield brave or ready enough to take the fight to them meaning they could comfortably continue their aerial bombardment. 

Two big home games coming up and, despite our good record at St Marys, I'm not confident we'll win either.

Spot on and we've seen it happen so often. The club has not recruited to be a high press, hard tackle, aerial battle team. So why try and go toe to toe, when they meet a team that has.

We have one unit, that's Wood and he's pretty good when he starts. He's just a wrecking ball when he comes on late. 

As you say once the midfield battle was lost, we were in trouble. So don't bloody lose it then. 

Bragg should have come on to join Downes in front of the defence. They've already formed a decent partnership there.

Push JWP forward to pass the hell out of Lincoln with Matsuki Dobbin and Azaz.

Frustrate the clogging bastards and see the game out.

Here's an idea if you are playing Mubama, then pass the ball into space for him. I suspect we'd see a very different player 

If Tonda really wanted to play long ball then put 6'4 Princewill on the bench. He's raw but all we have atm.

I'm a little bit more confident of Tuesday and Saturday. Saints do a lot better when teams play a similar game, and take them on. City and Swansea have aspirations of promotion, sitting back against Saints won't be an option.

[Badger]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Seems like we did as he clearly never intended to join us, same with the defender we tried to sign who ended up at Fulham. Surely the agents tell the clubs that they’re not going to drop down to the championship 

The agents probably don’t dismiss the offer, but encourage it and use it as a safety net. If the bigger offer doesn’t materialise they’ve still got an offer from the Championship club paying more than existing salary.

In case of Ratkov though we clearly should have moved on after he first declined the move. 

[EssEffCee]

2 hours ago, The Wyvern said:

Nothing to really add on the game except to say I thought Lincoln was a cracking city for a day out, loads of good pubs, definitely one of the better away days of the season. 

Seconded. Hope they stay up so can play there again next season.

[saintant]

52 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Seems like we did as he clearly never intended to join us, same with the defender we tried to sign who ended up at Fulham. Surely the agents tell the clubs that they’re not going to drop down to the championship 

Follows a pattern under SR. We seem to pursue players we have little or no realistic chance of signing. Not the first time its happened.

[Badger]

11 minutes ago, saintant said:

Follows a pattern under SR. We seem to pursue players we have little or no realistic chance of signing. Not the first time its happened.

O’Reilly, and Spertsyan over previous summers. Now Ratkov.

Before that you could probably add Gakpo and was it Ramos the same year (2022)?

Seems like Walter Mitty is part of our  recruitment team. 

 

[Saint86]

1 hour ago, macca155 said:

Spot on and we've seen it happen so often. The club has not recruited to be a high press, hard tackle, aerial battle team. So why try and go toe to toe, when they meet a team that has.

We have one unit, that's Wood and he's pretty good when he starts. He's just a wrecking ball when he comes on late. 

As you say once the midfield battle was lost, we were in trouble. So don't bloody lose it then. 

Bragg should have come on to join Downes in front of the defence. They've already formed a decent partnership there.

Push JWP forward to pass the hell out of Lincoln with Matsuki Dobbin and Azaz.

Frustrate the clogging bastards and see the game out.

Here's an idea if you are playing Mubama, then pass the ball into space for him. I suspect we'd see a very different player 

If Tonda really wanted to play long ball then put 6'4 Princewill on the bench. He's raw but all we have atm.

I'm a little bit more confident of Tuesday and Saturday. Saints do a lot better when teams play a similar game, and take them on. City and Swansea have aspirations of promotion, sitting back against Saints won't be an option.

Playing 5 at the back works against teams with no penetration who want to pass it around the box to move defenders and create opportunities (like city and arsenal last year) where we sat incredibly deep... But even then we rarely went back 5.

Back 5 will simply not work against sides that have a physical presence and just want to lump it in the mixer... You literally surrender the rest of the pitch to them, give up all width across midfield, and invite them into crossing range... It was Argentina Vs England all over again - we just ceded them the pitch and let them come at us - but with a keeper and at least 1 cb that struggle with crosses.

What he should have done, is strengthen further up the pitch, keep control of the middle, keep pace at the back, and push onto them... Then their more limited players have to pick exceptional passes, and their big forwards have to win a foot race...

Sadly it was also shades of Watford all over again - i.e., letting them lump aerial balls onto manning and Stephens and watch the carnage unfold - a repeat mistake from Eckert, and something he needs to address. We cannot play the football sides like that want to play, and then allow them to target what is undoubtedly the weakest part of our game. We just get bullied and at least half the back line can't handle it / aren't good against it.

Birmingham was also poor in the regard of allowing a physical side onto us thinking we could adequately defined it - we can't. Quarshie would have been ideal for these sorts of sides...

Agree as well about Swansea. They won't play like this and it will come down to technical skill and flowing football. Not 11 players in the 18yard box most of the game, hitting it long, and bombarding our box with a near 7ft striker the target.

Edited 1 hour ago by Saint86

[tdmickey3]

4 hours ago, saintant said:

Just watched back the highlights and that really was an absolute mess of a performance. The tone was set from their kick-off when they hoisted the, ball rugby style, up to the edge of our box and we reacted like rabbits caught in the headlights. Apart from a spell of perhaps 20 minutes we showed zero composure on the ball and contributed to our own downfall by allowing Lincoln to dictate what sort of a game it would be. Tonda then put an end to that 20  minute spell by taking off our best players and basically invited Lincoln to 'show us what you've got'. Inevitably they obliged by bringing on the 6'8 lump who, against 3 centre backs, was given a free header and we lost two valuable points and gifted one to them (although in fairness that was the least they deserved).

If we are unable to pass and move to shift a limited side like Lincoln we are in serious trouble. Not for the first time we played too much horizontally and not enough vertically. We had no ball carrying runners in midfield brave or ready enough to take the fight to them meaning they could comfortably continue their aerial bombardment. 

Two big home games coming up and, despite our good record at St Marys, I'm not confident we'll win either.

Spot on