A good game to watch from a neutral perspective.
Last night's game was a typical Crows performance this season, a half that was not too bad and then a half that was very good, however, not being able to keep a consistent high level of performance for the whole 90 minutes has been our Achilles heel in practically every match we've played so far.
Another odd thing about our performances is that you never know which half will be our better one, sometimes it's the first half, other times it can be the second half, why this happens is the answer we need to find and then, with the players we have, we'll be rising up the league and playing more consistently.
Having said that, we didn't play that badly in the first half even though we went into the half time break 3-1 down, we played some good football in the half, kicking down hill, however, we were up against a good side, they're not top at the moment for nothing, but let our concentration levels slip at key times and contributed to our own problems.
Their first goal, albeit well taken, could have been cleared before it got to Rabiu, the second should have been cleared as well, however, an individual error led to Garrick having a simple tap in and the third came from a quickly taken free kick whilst we were trying to organise the wall and the defence in general.
Our players appeared to be unhappy that the referee allowed the free kick to be taken quickly whilst appearing to tell every player that they must wait for his whistle to blow before it could be taken, however, Youngs took it anyway and curled it passed Hampson and into the net.
There is a saying that "what goes around, comes around" and perhaps we should have been a bit more switched on to this situation, after all, we scored a goal against Rochester United on Saturday when Treleaven took a quick free kick to Ridley who then scored.
In between their second and third goals, Biddlecombe scored a good goal from a Matthews pass and had we kept it to 2-1 at the break, then things may have been different, however, it wasn't to be.
Whilst there was plenty of good football played by both teams during the first period, the home side did have the better chances and better finishing could have seen us further behind. There were plenty of tackles by both teams, none personally that I thought were overtly physical and the game was played in a competitive spirit throughout, although the home bench did seem to get over-heated and had to be spoken to by the referee, Sikiru Idris, after the assistant referee, Graham Scott, drew his attention to some unsavoury comments.
The second half was a different affair, although we could have been 4-1 down early on, Youngs went clear, one-on-one with Hampson but his shot went well wide to the relief of all Crow players and spectators. Gradually, the Crows got the upper hand and took control of the game, the home side having to rely more and more on breakaways whilst their defence came under constant pressure.
Eventually, the pressure told and a penalty was awarded to the Crows for handball against an Erith defender, some felt it harsh, mainly those supporting the home side, others, notably on the away side, saw it differently, no surprise there then, and Biddlecombe duly converted to make it 3-2.
With 32 minutes to go, the home side started to get a bit worried and the Crows saw some light at the end of the tunnel and kept the pressure on, Hagan being the busier of the two goalkeepers, although he dealt with everything in a calm manner, it seemed, when he needed to.
Matthews, Rawlins and Ransome all tested his resolve not to let in an equaliser and with the Crows having a far larger percentage of possession, Muggeridge made some substitutions, Biddlecombe had to go off injured, replaced by Ransome, Butler went off to be replaced by Taylor and Matthews also going off injured to be replaced by Carrington, himself not feeling that well.
It didn't change the flow of play towards the Erith goal and in stoppage time Ransome thought he had scored when his neat back-heel flick beat Hagan but was just cleared off the line and Boddy, in the 96th minute, should have scored from a corner but his header flew over the bar, just before the final whistle blew.
It sounds very obvious, and it is, cut out the errors and take your chances, you'll win more than you lose. All the players gave everything they could and there were some outstanding performances on the night, young Josh Rawlins put in a great stint for his full debut, Callum Ridley was outstanding in midfield, Everest and Boddy at the heart of the defence were solid throughout, however, by general consensus, Ryan Waterman was voted the Crows MOTM on the night for his work rate, tackling, passing and general play, a much deserved award.
If you want to read an unbiased report, then go to http://sportingoutpost.wordpres.com and if you want to read what their manager thought of the game, go to www.pitchero.com/erithtown.co.uk.