Saturday 5th September 2020
Pre-Season Friendly
at the mienergi Stadium, Linden Club, Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes Town (5) 5
Michael Jacklin 10,
Ross Hannah 12, 35,
Scott Vernon 17, 44
Gainsborough Trinity (0) 0
Attendance: 252
Point and hope photo gallery: Click HERE
On today's evidence, with their new season just a week away, Dave Smith's attack-minded Owls are on course to hit the ground running at full-tilt and possibly even hitting something like ramming speed, just in time for when AFC Mansfield arrive at the myenergi Stadium, for next weekend's FA Cup Preliminary Round tie.
The first seventeen minutes of the game were an absolute horror-show from a Trinity perspective. As a convincing demonstration of one-way traffic from one team and and a spectacular abject capitulation by the other go, it was fairly epic stuff.
Having been reduced to ten men while the stadium clock was still displaying a zero... when Ben Tomlinson was shown a straight red card for alleged violent conduct amidst the thick of a crowded goalmouth scrum, where players were jostling for position and tangling while waiting for the ball to be delivered into the Cleethorpes area... the visitors were then taken to the cleaners, rinsed, subjected to a high temperature boil wash high-velocity spin-cycle and then hung out to dry, as the hosts pulled them apart all over the place with a high-tempo pressing and passing game, using the whole width on both flanks to good effect and effectively putting the final outcome of the game beyond any doubt with a three goal salvo in the space of seven action-packed minutes.
Obviously the early dismissal was a blow for Gainsborough, who found themselves on the back foot and trying to reorganise their shape from the outset, as their peeved supporters let the referee know exactly what they thought about his performance.
But much as the official and his apparent inconsistencies were providing the travelling fans with a scapegoat to hang their grievances on and aim their angry vitriol towards, looking for a culprit to blame everything on, was doing a great disservice to the main reason that 'the Holy Blues' were being put under the cosh, inasmuch a Cleethorpes were rampant... and from a position of complete neutrality, they were actually quite irresistible to watch for lengthy spells and impressed me no end.
Was Tomlinson guilty? Did somebody stand on in in the ensuing six-yard box argy-bargy, thus provoking the Trinity striker? I can only ever report on what I see with my own eyes... and I was stood next to the goal at the other end of the pitch and thus my view was impaired and I couldn't possibly be 100% certain what had actually happened.
That said, does anybody really think that any player should ever be sent off inside the first minute of what is only a pre-season friendly?
That is a rhetorical question of course. There are other ways of dealing with such situations... but at the end of the day, it's the referee's interpretation of the laws of the game that count, not mine, and he must act in accordance with whatever the protocols dictate... so moving swiftly on.
I have a lot of friends at the Northolme (AKA Martin & Co. Arena) based club... well, at least I used to have before I posted this overview of the days events... but much as my impartiality was willing the visitors on to make a game of it, the truth is; during the first-half they were largely unable to get a foothold to use as a foundation for anything even slightly resembling a comeback, because, for the most part, they were being overrun by an Owls side who were unrelenting in their determined quest to get forward, time and time again... and weren't giving Curtis Woodhouse's side any sort of opportunity to settle or to get any kind of rhythm going.
Caine Winfarrah looked strong, out in the left back/left half role for Cleethorpes and the way he was combining with Jon Oglesby, who was diligently covering the stretch ahead of the Owls number three, was causing major headaches for Trinity as the home side repeatedly (apologies in advance for the use of overly technical phraseology at this junction) tore their NPL Premier Division guests a new ring-piece and continuously smashed their back doors in, right in front of where the majority of the travelling hardcore visiting supporters were standing.
It was Oglesby, a bit of an unsung hero in an Owls shirt over the years, but a strong contender for the man of the match today, who created the opening goal, when Michael Jacklin got the deftest of glances to his in-swinging left-wing corner towards the near post. I had initially thought that the flag-kick had gone straight in, or that it had perhaps merely skimmed against Jacklin's fringe, but the official home club photographer: Simon O'Neill had captured the moment for posterity and was happy to share his irrefutable evidence with me.
Roughly seventy eight seconds later, Cleethorpes had doubled their lead, when Scott Vernon, who had already seen an effort crash off of the top of the crossbar, when he'd met Winfarrah's long throw-in with a looping header, won a delivery from out on the right-flank and cushioned the ball down into the path of Ross Hannah, who caught the ball sweetly on the half-volley and bulged the net.
Some of the Trinity fans were sporting enough to hold a temporary cease-fire from their verbal assault on the referee for just long enough to applaud the quality of Hannah's strike... before launching into a further barrage of 'appreciative' invective.
Having just set up a goal for Hannah, Vernon bagged on for himself, when Curtis Bateson saw off a challenge to the right hand side of the area and squared the ball to the Owls captain, whose shot flew past Tom Jackson via a slight deflection.
I feel compelled to absolve Jackson of any blame for the goals he conceded today, there wasn't very much that he could've done to prevent each and every one of them... in fact if Trinity had played both of their goalkeepers during the opening forty-five minutes, I reckon that Cleethorpes would still have gone in at the interval holding onto a convincing lead, given the way that they had dominated the first-half.
It would require a proper wordsmith, with a far more lush and eloquent vocabulary than the limited one that I possess (see any of my previous blog entries by way of confirming such a claim), to heap enough superlative praise on today's host, vis. their tethered attacking intentions and the high quota of skill involved in dismantling ten-man Trinity.
Suffice to say, there was still time for two more well-taken goals before the break, the first when Hannah put the finishing touch to a great run and cross by Sam Topliss out on the right before Vernon scored with a looping header in the final minute of the half.
Honours were more even after the restart, as Gainsborough regrouped, dusted themselves down and competed more throughout the second period, but the damage had already been done and in fairness it would have been both selfish and unreasonable of any of us who were watching this pulsating encounter, to expect the flow of the game to continue at such a breakneck speed, in a decidedly gung-ho fashion.
And besides, Cleethorpes have to keep a bit in reserve in readiness for the visit of AFC Mansfield for the all-ticket up tie at the mienergi Stadium in a week's time, when the Bulls are going to have to show just as much tenacity, fighting spirit, camaraderie and bloody-minded determination as they did to get past a very stubborn Sherwood Colliery side in the previous round, if not more.
It's going to be a big ask for Matt Chatfield's side on the evidence of what I saw today, but they'll know what is laying in waiting for them and will be planning ahead accordingly... and the Nottinghamshire side most probably won't have the burden of expectation weighing down on their shoulders either.
I haven't written very much about the second-half, mainly because the game was already won, lost and over and done with when the half-time whistle sounded.
But, I will accept the challenge that one of my Gainsborough supporting friends gave me towards the end of this Lincolnshire 'derby', when he said: "Pick the bones out of that one and find some positives to say about Gainsborough"... so here goes:
Cleethorpes were excellent today and take nothing away from them, they were well worth their margin of victory on the strength of their cavalier approach to the first-half and attention to detail while adopting a containment strategy in the second.
But, just maybe, today was exactly the right time for Trinity to be on the wrong end of a humiliating and arse-kicking thrashing (and let's make no bones about it here, because they were). Before you think that's a warped philosophy and that I was probably smoking too many crack rocks on my way across to the east-coast, with 'that weirdo music' blasting the crap out of my overworked car stereo system, please allow me to flesh out my thoughts on the matter.
It's all well and good tossing pre-season off and battering the likes of Newton Stickleback on the Wold United and Dog & Duck Rovers FC Reserves out of sight while running up cricket type scores, but what actual kind of beneficial input does that offer to anyone's preparations?
How are such low-tempo practice games ever going to get help you up to get up speed for when the real stuff kicks off in a couple of weeks time?
The whole process is pointless if you're not testing yourselves against a decent standard of competitive opposition, who're likely to give you a proper test... and to that end Trinity have definitely hand-picked and selected the teams they're coming up against, in what are effectively a series of public training games, that are akin to taking the mocks that stand you in readiness for the make or break reality of the genuine examination of your credentials that is waiting just over the horizon.
It's all well and good playing to your known strengths to overcome an inferior opponent, but over the course of these games you also need to ascertain exactly how to deal with any apparent flaws and weaknesses and plug any gaps that are going leave you exposed over the course of the forthcoming season. And to that end, you'll learn far more about the players at your disposal on a warts and all afternoon like this, than you'd ever be able to from a string of high-scoring wins against pub-team standard opposition.
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| That's a nice hair and kit colour combo you're packing their pal |
The Owls are evidently ready and raring to go, chomping at the bit and firing on all cylinders, while Trinity, who still have a week longer than their hosts to work on their shape before their season starts in earnest, will now have a much better idea of what areas they need to up the ante in if they are to build on the evident progress that was being made last term before the Covid outbreak brought everything to an untimely standstill.
Winning is a great habit to get into and you can't underestimate the psychology and confidence that riding on the crest of a wave of positive results brings, but football isn't all about celebrating the triumphs, a large part of the game is about how you deal with getting turned over and take responsibility for putting things right.
So did I manage to unearth any positives or not big lad!?
I'm looking forward to seeing how these two teams move on and progress from this point forward over the course of the forthcoming season and will be back to see both of them in action again soon.
It's something of an understatement to say that the best team on the day won this particular game but even in the spirit of keeping things in some kind of contextual perspective because of the nature and status of the occasion, I would still have to say that Cleethorpes Town were superb this afternoon, both on and off the pitch.
FT: Cleethorpes Town 5 v Gainsborough Trinity 0
