58 replies to this topic

[greengrass]

I am gutted we got beat today, thought our defence was the worse I have seen all season. Going forward we was very good and cause lots of problems but not in defence. I also thought Tom Armstrong defence was very poor on more than one occasion, Very frustrated lions fan tonight after that. If I was Steve I would have them road running at 7 am in the morning as punishment.

[duffymoon]

Our defence was shocking particularly in the first half! How many times did we fail to tackle around the legs instead attempting to halt the momentum upstairs.To be fair Yorknalso looked a bit brittle defensively.Ultimately the failed conversion attempts probably cost us at least a share of the spoils,perhaps time to bring back Morty.York probably just about deserved the win!

[Spanish Knight]

Thought the ref was poor for both teams gave each team tries which he should never have, after about 10 mins I said to my mate this could end up 38 - 30, both teams looked O.K. going forward but defences were shocking, good luck for the rest of the season.

[PhillH]

One trophy is definitely in the bag come the end of the season - the Championship's "Nearly Men"! Soooo often this season the side has found a way to lose a close game that was there for the taking. Just one more example today, made all the more frustrating because the team played nowhere near its best.

A very lacklustre and flat performance overall. The intensity so evident against Halifax was totally missing - today there was a general lack of steel about the defense, a casual air about everything and a slow pace with the ball in hand. In the most part York dominated the physical side of things up the middle and made too many easy yards that way - not through great rugby, just strong direct running.

It will be hard to make it into the play offs now.

If I were in Sam Reay's shoes I would be rather upset not to get a chance in front of Tom Armstong after another very suspect performance from the latter defensively today. Not quite the total nightmare proportions of the second half at Keighley, but still not great. My fear is that opposition coaches have picked him out as a player to target.

A costly couple of errors in the goal kicking department which could have made all the difference. And can we please ditch this "modern trend" of opting for the tap rather than going for goal when having the good fortune to get the referee's call 20 yards out and straight in front of the posts! That's 2 games now where that error of judgement has cost league points!

[marshy1]

I have to agree with you there Phil, my first call when we got that penalty was go for the two points.We would have been four points up and got the ball back in hand from the kick off for another set of six. In fairness however had the ref not pulled Watto's pass as forward( which it never was as he was actually twisting as he played the ball) we would have gone over for a try under the sticks and a probable six pointer.
Our tackling today was woeful i was always taught a player can't run without his legs therefore one go to the other round the legs, had we done that a number of the runs to which you refer would have been stopped.

Incidentally have you got or do you need a ticket for watto testimonial dinner on Friday the 15th June, if you do let me know.

[Blue Monkey]

We NEED Morty's top notch kicking as he usually hits the target 9 times out of 10.

[marshy094]

people are saying we should have gone for the 2 points from the penalty...WHY?! Doddy had been kicking badly all game, and if he had missed it, there would have been "we should have took the tap" cries. Also from the respective penalty, we scored a perfectly good try, only for it to be ruled out for a forward pass....which was not even forward!

[hilly]

One trophy is definitely in the bag come the end of the season - the Championship's "Nearly Men"! Soooo often this season the side has found a way to lose a close game that was there for the taking. Just one more example today, made all the more frustrating because the team played nowhere near its best.

A very lacklustre and flat performance overall. The intensity so evident against Halifax was totally missing - today there was a general lack of steel about the defense, a casual air about everything and a slow pace with the ball in hand. In the most part York dominated the physical side of things up the middle and made too many easy yards that way - not through great rugby, just strong direct running.

It will be hard to make it into the play offs now.

If I were in Sam Reay's shoes I would be rather upset not to get a chance in front of Tom Armstong after another very suspect performance from the latter defensively today. Not quite the total nightmare proportions of the second half at Keighley, but still not great. My fear is that opposition coaches have picked him out as a player to target.

A costly couple of errors in the goal kicking department which could have made all the difference. And can we please ditch this "modern trend" of opting for the tap rather than going for goal when having the good fortune to get the referee's call 20 yards out and straight in front of the posts! That's 2 games now where that error of judgement has cost league points!

[hilly]

i agree sam reay must be given a chance armstrong as lost all his form and teams will now single him out

[duffymoon]

hindsight is a wonderful thing! I can't think of many instances when a team with a two point lead would opt to go for goal when on their opponents line!

[marshy1]

people are saying we should have gone for the 2 points from the penalty...WHY?! Doddy had been kicking badly all game, and if he had missed it, there would have been "we should have took the tap" cries. Also from the respective penalty, we scored a perfectly good try, only for it to be ruled out for a forward pass....which was not even forward!

Yes but we would have got the ball back and a set of six from halfway.!!

[PhillH]

Yes, two points ahead so why not make it four points ahead and get the ball back? At least that way if York were to get a try they would need the conversion to lead..... Always take your opportunities to put easy points on the board in a close game, especially as failing to do that had previously cost one draw this season. Didn't learn from the mistake though, sadly!

When you take the tap you put added pressure on yourselves to get a try and its not as though composure has been a strong point anyway this season.

Its interesting that people are picking out the trait of tackling relatively high up. In my opinion this must be getting coached into the players as its something that's been happening for a while. Perhaps it was more noticeable in this game because the York forwards were so dominant and making yards up the middle was a tactic they relied on heavily, with much success. Lesson has to be it only works when the forwards have enough fire in their belly to dominate physically and in this game they were comprehensively out-muscled.

The areas of the pitch where the Lions made hay were wider out, but the ball didn't get there often enough. Too much slow ball being turned back inside, and such was the dominance of their pack that York soaked that tactic up with total ease all afternoon.

[greengrass]

I am also wondering if the uncertainty of whether the game would go ahead and the fact it was still unclear with 30 mins to go, but on the other hand this would have effected York to. We can say this changed the match that changed the match the bottom line is we had a bad day at the office from start to finish, we must re build for our next match.

This season in whole is a learning process for next season and the main point is we have to make sure we do learn from these mistakes, the main one is make mistakes in this league you will get punished not like championship 1.

[lions4eva]

Agree with most of the points raised so far in the post. Dodds goalkicking ultimately was the deciding factor, very poor indeed. I genuinely think he runs up to the ball not knowing what to do differnetly to previous attempts, as he had a couple from exactly the same position which were as bad as each other. As Blue Monkey said, we do need Morty back in the side. The question remains where would he fit in? Well for me Ashall has been poor this season off the bench, why not try and manouver things so that Ritchie and Morty can both be accomodated, one idea would be that Ritchie is a capable 9 and when Smithy needs a rest he can cover that position. Not saying that this is the solution, just one idea which may be worth a go against Hunslet.

I actually thought our best player was Chris Clarke at no.12, he had a strong game. Holland doesnt make enough of an impact when he comes on off the bench, but when D.Hawkyard is fit again i guess he will be the one to miss out.

Watto was busy as was Smithy throughout.

I think we're a bit of composure and luck away from a few good wins this season.

Edited by lions4eva, 11 June 2012 - 10:43 AM.

[PhillH]

I am also wondering if the uncertainty of whether the game would go ahead and the fact it was still unclear with 30 mins to go, but on the other hand this would have effected York to. We can say this changed the match that changed the match the bottom line is we had a bad day at the office from start to finish, we must re build for our next match.

This season in whole is a learning process for next season and the main point is we have to make sure we do learn from these mistakes, the main one is make mistakes in this league you will get punished not like championship 1.

Although its no excuse for failing to win, it has to be said the pitch was a disgrace. Not just loads of sand, but the bits that were green were full of weeds and not evenly cut. Looked pretty unkept and badly in need of a big dose of TLC.Word is that Bootham Crescent will be the "City Knights" home venue next season while the Huntingdon Stadium is bulldozed and re-built as a new home for them and York City FC. They will need to up their game a long way w.r.t. pitch maintenance when hosting both sides!

[bigtony]

Agree with most of the points raised so far in the post. Dodds goalkicking ultimately was the deciding factor, very poor indeed. I genuinely think he runs up to the ball not knowing what to do differnetly to previous attempts, as he had a couple from exactly the same position which were as bad as each other. As Blue Monkey said, we do need Morty back in the side. The question remains where would he fit in? Well for me Ashall has been poor this season off the bench, why not try and manouver things so that Ritchie and Morty can both be accomodated, one idea would be that Ritchie is a capable 9 and when Smithy needs a rest he can cover that position. Not saying that this is the solution, just one idea which may be worth a go against Hunslet.

I actually thought our best player was Chris Clarke at no.12, he had a strong game. Holland doesnt make enough of an impact when he comes on off the bench, but when D.Hawkyard is fit again i guess he will be the one to miss out.

Watto was busy as was Smithy throughout.

I think we're a bit of composure and luck away from a few good wins this season.

Think its a bit unfair on holland, hes missed so much game time threw no fault of his own.

[greengrass]

yeah I agree I like Neil Holland bit more game time and he will be fine, also I think bit unfair on Ashall I really like him coming of the bench. Start with Smithy grind them down meet them up front and then bring Ashall on to move it about against tired forwards. Only bad thing about Ashall is that sometimes he makes rash decisions but I like that because it means he is willing to try things.

We really do need to sort the goal kicking situtation out, this league is a hard league and every point matters, like yesterday Dodd's attempt when he hit the post that was at a slight angle but nothing major this should have been slotted over. Where do we bring Mort into it?, what about put Ritchie at 9 Mort at 1 and move Smithy to loose forward Smithy as got a top pair of hands and can link the line when he wants.

[bigtony]

You also have to feel for the likes of reay,foxen,meekin,mort all who have missed quite a few wks and could be asked to step up to play and be upto speed, its a big ask

[greengrass]

Yeah I agree but also think it is healthy for them playing for there position, can we dual reg our players out like super league clubs? Just thinking of maybe getting some of these players game time. Or long term maybe setting a second team up and getting the best local amatuers lads in to, I know money is the main word but maybe worth looking into.

[marshy1]

I agree entitely with your idea Snodgegrass. Long thought a reserve team was missing and to link it somehow to an amatuer set up is an excellent call.