So on a chilly afternoon at the Park City fight back superbly to take a well earned point in a 2-2 draw with Rushden and Diamonds in front of a pleasing 3106 expectant supporters. City lined up: Marriott; Friend, Matt Taylor, Edwards, Richardson; Moxey, Cozic, Gill, Carlisle; Mackie, Logan.
The game began at a regimented tempo as both sides sought to feel their way into the match. Neither side really committed to going forward hence neither keeper was unduly troubled early on. One brief highlight was a Ronaldinho-esque flick from Logan that surely deserves a spot on Soccer AM's 'Showboat' section through to Mackie down the middle of the pitch. Mackie showed equally adept wizardry in spotting Wayno flying down the right touchline, however his pass was half an inch over hit and the opportunity for a quick break was lost.
But in the 12th minute that was immaterial as City took the lead. Logan invited Mackie to chase a deft through ball into the box which he duly obliged, and taking it to the right looked up to see Deano lurking at the far post. He tried to cut the ball across but only succeeded in smashing it into serial whinger and niggler Wayne Hatswell, who could do nothing except stand there as the ball ricocheted off him and into the back of the net via the post to make it 1-0 to City.
Not much else happened for the following quarter of an hour as the game got a bit bogged down in midfield, but Deano brightened things a little as the half hour approached. Gill had a free kick about 25 yards out to the left of the box, and instead of just launching it in did the now familiar move of sliding it along the floor wide of the area. Deano ran round the back and collected the ball 15 yards out but his powerful drive was straight at the keeper who made a comfortable save.
Rushden weren't without their chances too, and despite looking threatening without actually being threatening, had a great opportunity to equalise on thirty minutes. A 30 yard free kick appeared to take Marriott completely unawares and he was grateful to see the daisy cutter cannon off his left hand post and away to safety.
With the half drawing to a close and City getting stronger by the minute, they almost snatched a second. A one-two at a free kick between Edwards and Gill saw Gill float the ball into the box where Friend rose highest to nod over from about eight yards out.
But what a different start to the second half than the first. Rushden were off in a flash and City could hardly get the ball out of their own half. It was entirely just rewards for their efforts that Rushden equalised in the eighth minute when Simeon Jackson looped a header over Marriott's outstretched glove and just under the bar after the defence failed to clear, and they almost took the lead two minutes later when a thumping shot from the corner of the box had Marriott spectacularly tipping the ball at full stretch onto the post and out. But take the lead they did for real in the 11th minute during a horrible passage of play for the City defence. Instead of clearing, Friend could only glance a header towards his own goal and although Marriott did well to save Jackson's point blank rocket, he couldn't do much about the rebound and could only watch in despair as Jackson lifted the ball over him and into the roof of the net to make it 2-1 to Rushden, and deservedly so.
But City's heads didn't drop and gradually they clawed their way back into the game. On 20 minutes Logan put Mackie through into the box in a one on one with the keeper. Mackie drove powerfully towards the bottom corner, but the keeper just got a finger tip on it and managed to steer it onto the post. Wayno chased the rebound and slid a low cross to Logan who airshot from a central position on the edge of the six yard box, but Mackie was still there behind him and gleefully crashed the ball righteously through the keeper and high into the net for a rip roaring equaliser.
City's tails were up now, and five minutes later Matt Gill was unlucky to see his 25 yard effort after a diagonal run from deep fly just wide of the far post. Manager Tisdale bravely signalled City's attacking intent by sacrificing defender George Friend for striker Adam Stansfied as City changed to a 3-4-3 formation in search of a winner. It almost came with just five minutes left when Wayno played a delicious ball inside the defender for Stansfield to chase round the outside, and he looked on in agony as his flashing drive flew across the face of goal and away.
Immediately after that Basham was introduced for Logan and he almost snatched the winner with time fast running out. From far out on the right Stansfield fired in an arrow straight waist high cross the Bash for all the world looked to have flicked into the net from six yards out, but miraculously the keeper appeared from nowhere to scoop the ball off the line and preserve his side's hard earned point.
And yes it's yet another home draw and yet another bunch of points that have been dropped, but there were a lot of positives to be had from this performance, none more so than City's determination not to be beaten and manager Tisdale's bravery in going for the win when we'd just clawed our way back into the game. Often he's been criticised (wrongly in my opinion) for failing to go for the win and sitting back and protecting what we've got, but today he showed his mettle in putting three up front and taking a defender off in the process.
As for the team maybe Marriott could have done a little more for their second goal, but by and large he looked comfortable and assured, including one spectacular full length dive across his box to turn a certain goal onto the post. His performances this season must also give reassurance to the players in front of him, and today, except for an awful ten minute start to the second half, the defence looked okay too.
In midfield I though Gill and Cozic, the latter especially, struggled a bit today, and neither were able to stamp any authority on the middle of the park. Out wide Deano couldn't quite match the dizzy heights he achieved at the Salisbury game - will anyone ever manage to turn in a performance like that for a while - whilst on the other flank it was a most welcome sight to see Carlisle given a full ninety minutes. He didn't see enough of the ball for me, but when he did he put it in the right places and his crossing with both feet deserved better end results. As probable City fan and Red Hot Chili Pepper's front man Anthony Kiedis opined on their 1991 hit single 'Give it Away' when he sang 'Give it to Wayne, give it to Wayne, give it to Wayne-O', if Carlisle has the ball, good things generally happen.
Up front it wasn't really Logan's day. He worked hard winning and challenging for an awful lot of balls, but he didn't really have many opportunities in front of goal, except for an embarrassing airshot that fortunately had Mackie following up to score and save his blushes. And speaking of Mackie, what a good game he had. Plenty of passing and looking for team mates, a good goal and a huge hand in another with his deflected cross going in off a defender. He also did a good amount of work throughout too, chasing loose balls and giving the Rushden defence something to think about for the duration of the game.
It was good to see Bash on the pitch too, and although given precious little time, he almost conjured up a winner but for a quite wonderful save right at the death. Same for Stansfield too, very close to scoring late on from a difficult angle, surely his pace must be as real worry for tired legs at the end of a game.
And so we have a mini break from action here at the Park as next week there's a tricky FA Cup tie at Ebbsfleet to negotiate before the trip to Stafford the following weekend. Should we progress in the Cup we may well be away again for the first round proper, so it could be that we're not due back at the Park until 17th November when we entertain Burton in our only scheduled home fixture for that month. Despite drawing today there were enough positives, including the finishes to both halves and the way we went for the three points instead of trying to hold onto the one, to make you want to come back again, it's just a shame that's so long to wait before seeing the lads in action again.
