The Non-League Thread

[Pyfish+]

1 minute ago, Stan said:

2 games in a few days as well! 

Saturday then Monday a full schedule. 

Ours is Tuesday luckily so an extra days rest but still expecting 6 points!

[Pyfish+]

I’d have liked a slightly more convincing win from us against Weymouth but I’ll happily take a 1-0 and the 3 points. We looked like a team who wanted to win the game which has been lacking in previous seasons. There was a clear desire to get on the ball and to move it around effectively. It was encouraging but I’ll not get overly excited about the season until I see it week in week out.

[Ploughendplonker]

Very encouraging 3-1 win from us over Hemel Hempstead yesterday. Quite a few changes from our opening game, actually went slightly more defensive as well but clearly did the job. 

[Danny]

@Smiley Culture you'll probably know the answer to this, are Clapton locally supported or are they a hipster/gentrified club in the same way Dulwich have become? 

[Smiley Culture]

On 29/08/2021 at 13:35, Danny said:

@Smiley Culture you'll probably know the answer to this, are Clapton locally supported or are they a hipster/gentrified club in the same way Dulwich have become? 

Very much a hipster club, by all accounts. 

[Guest]

@Ploughendplonkermight go watch chippenham play? National league south is the one below the national league isnt it? What's it like is it a decent watch? 

[Pyfish+]

0-0 for us last night in what was a hard fought out point against one of the favourites in the league. We looked like we were set up not to lose which is the kind of mentality I've always liked from Paul Hurst. 4 points out of 6 from our first two games is not to be sniffed at. More of the same please!

[Ploughendplonker]

7 hours ago, Gunnersauraus said:

@Ploughendplonkermight go watch chippenham play? National league south is the one below the national league isnt it? What's it like is it a decent watch? 

Yes, it's the one below the National League. It's hard to judge the standard as I'm partisan towards the Fleet, although I can't think of many of our games that could be put down in the 'Great advert for non-league football' category. Still worth popping down to watch a game though. 

[Stan]

Great comeback for @Pyfish!

92nd minute winners after being 3-1 down against Barnet after 62 minutes. 

One of 3 games with 7 goals in it, and 3 other games had 5 goals in it. 

[Pyfish+]

Fantastic game. We took the lead really early on and then stupidly conceded the 3 goals. It's a mark of how far we've come as a team over the summer though that we can come back like this. Best start to a league season in like 20 years or something. 

[Lucas]

13 hours ago, Pyfish said:

Fantastic game. We took the lead really early on and then stupidly conceded the 3 goals. It's a mark of how far we've come as a team over the summer though that we can come back like this. Best start to a league season in like 20 years or something. 

How's the crowds been since you went down? About the same, less than in League Two, or gone up due to everyone missing live football?

[Pyfish+]

5 hours ago, Lucas said:

How's the crowds been since you went down? About the same, less than in League Two, or gone up due to everyone missing live football?

Slightly above what we would usually expect in League Two. Partly down to missing live football but also because of our new owners and the sense of new optimism around the club at the moment.

[Guest]

Watching kingslyn v dagenham and redbridge. It's funny what ever level football it is if a team doesnt score against a better team when they are playing better the better team will normally win with one chance 

@Pyfish @Ploughendplonker you two probably get what I mean as you watch this level alot ?

[Pyfish+]

20 hours ago, Gunnersauraus said:

Watching kingslyn v dagenham and redbridge. It's funny what ever level football it is if a team doesnt score against a better team when they are playing better the better team will normally win with one chance 

@Pyfish @Ploughendplonker you two probably get what I mean as you watch this level alot ?

I absolutely get what you mean. Used to happen to Grimsby a lot where we would be the better team across like 80 minutes of a game against a supposed 'better' team and then concede a goal against the run of play.

[Ploughendplonker]

On 11/09/2021 at 18:36, Gunnersauraus said:

Watching kingslyn v dagenham and redbridge. It's funny what ever level football it is if a team doesnt score against a better team when they are playing better the better team will normally win with one chance 

@Pyfish @Ploughendplonker you two probably get what I mean as you watch this level alot ?

Yes, that has certainly happened to us more than once. Looking back on it (we were National League Premier before being relegated in 2020 on PPG) taking your chances does seem to be a key difference between National League Premier and the National League South. Considering that most in the former are full-time and most in the latter are part-time, the gulf in quality isn't that great but many times in the 19/20 season we were let down by our inability to take chances (including missing two penalties in one match). 

[Pyfish+]

Really happy with how the first 4 games have gone. One of 6 teams that are still unbeaten in the National League. Got a big test against Wrexham this evening but if we carry our approach to the previous games into this one, we should get a good result.

[Pyfish+]

Happy with another win last night for us. Wrexham are one of the teams who will be up there come the end of the season so it was great to beat them 3-1.

[Ploughendplonker]

We got beaten 3-0 at Hampton & Richmond Borough on Saturday. Covid permitting, we are set to play Carshalton (who are in the division below) away on Saturday in the FA Cup 2nd qualifying round (3 rounds away from the 1st round proper). 

A few select ties from this round people may be interested in;

Sutton Common Rovers v Jersey Bulls 

Blyth Spartans v FC United of Manchester 

Darlington v Chester 

Marine v Warrington

 

[Pyfish+]

2-0 up against Eastleigh at the moment. This team are impressing me so far this season. Unbeaten still and showing something completely different to what we've seen from some of our teams over recent seasons.

[Ploughendplonker]

We're through to the 3rd qualifying round of the FA Cup after 2-1 win away at Carshalton (who play in the division below). In truth a somewhat fortunate victory, as I thought Carshalton shaded the game. 

Some other noteworthy results from Saturday:

Dulwich Hamlet 0-1 Bedfont Sports 

Sutton Common Rovers 2-2 Jersey Bulls

Blyth 1-1 FC United

City of Liverpool 3-0 Farsley Celtic

Great Wakering Rovers 3-5 Peterborough Sports

Slough 1-3 Whitehawk 

Welling 0-2 Harrow 

The draw for the 3rd qualifying round should be released around 1pm this afternoon. 

[Stan]

Barnet sack Harry Kewell

 

 

[Pyfish+]

Only managed 7 games in charge of them so not really too long to bed the team into his style etc. They were very unlucky against us and from what I saw, they looked like a team who could be challenging at the top.

[Smiley Culture]

Ten permanent managers since 2017 at Barnet. Lucky to not get relegated last season and it looks to have been a continuation of the same thing this season despite the change of manager. 

The National League is incredibly tough, though. I know that’s the general feeling of the league most years but this year especially it looks the toughest it has done for some time. You’re probably only two or three bad appointments away from the bottom of that league, which really shows the standard of those in the league. 

[Pyfish+]

Disappointed to only get a point but can't complain too much as the team is still unbeaten. Our game in hand is on Tuesday and a win would take us top of the league.

[Ploughendplonker]

5-2 win at Chippenham for us last night. Didn't go but very happy with that win, particular as Chippenham had a pretty decent defensive record.