21/10 Blackburn 2nd Half

By: Tony Butcher
Date: 22/10/2000

No changes were made by either team at half time, although the scoreboard finally got around to correcting Butterfield's shirt number, just so the home supporters could identify our least effective player.

Blackburn Rovers 2 Grimsby Town 0
21 Oct 2000, Nationwide League Division 1

2nd Half

After 55 or so minutes, Blackburn finally scored. They played some one touch passes on the Town right about 30 yards out and won a free kick. They took it quickly, so some of the Town players were out of position. The ball was chipped to the bottom right hand corner of the penalty area. Ostenstad had lost Groves, which enabled him to control the ball, drag it back to his right foot and place a deep cross 8 or 9 yards beyond the far post. FLITCROFT ran in and stretched forward to side foot a volley across Coyne into the right hand side of the goal. That familiar sinking feeling returned to the Town supporters. It had been coming.

Town just did not look like scoring but no blame should be attached to the front two - the service was atrocious. Town required a midfielder who could pass accurately and see openings - someone like…mmmm Burnett? Obviously, when the substitution was finally made after about 70 minutes, Allen came on for D Smith. As some Town supporters said "I can't believe it's not Butterfield". The substitution resulted in Town switching to a 4-3-3 formation with Butterfield still at the very centre of midfield. The poor lad didn't get any better and I can't recall Town threatening from open play after this. In fact, the only two "chances" Town had in the second half were very close to the end when Groves, at the far post, 10 yards out, rose above a defender and glanced a header a very long way wide and Livvo also sent a header a long way wide from a cross from the Town right.

Town got near their goal on only a couple of other occasions. One was when a ball was lobbed to Livvo at the far post, he controlled it with his hand and promptly fell over. His plea for a penalty was more than a little cheeky. The other was when D Smith had a shot from the edge of the area which deflected wide for a corner, this came after a good move down the right when Nielsen sent Donovan free inside the area. Donovan rolled the ball back to a huge space in the middle, 20 yards out, D Smith ran across Coldicott to shoot when he should really have left it to the lethal bullet-headed destroyer. That is all from Town. Obviously, this happened before D Smith was substituted.

Blackburn had three or four more good chances, the first of which came from a cross to the near post from Town's, left about 20 yards out. Ostenstad again ran in front of Groves and glanced a header towards the far post. Coyne sprung to his left and punched the ball away spectacularly. Brilliant save No. 3. Some considered Coyne to be showing off by now. Livvo hooked a cross away from the line at the near post after Gallimore had allowed the right winger to run into the penalty area. Typically, Gallimore backed off for 15 to 20 yards, refusing to stand his ground. The winger got to the bye-line and crossed to a big bunch of players at the near post. Fortunately for us, Livvo was the biggest of the bunch, though perhaps not the pick.

It wasn't until Jansen replaced McAteer that Blackburn threatened again (I don't count a Bjornebye free kick from 30 yards which sliced away as it never looked like going in and it quote Alan Green "It was woeful"). Jansen's first threat came a few minutes after he trotted onto the pitch. He was allowed several aeons of time and hectares of space about 25 yards out to the right of goal. He zapped a very, very hard shot just past the angle of Coyne's left hand post. Coyne at that moment started to look very small in comparison to the goal. With about 10 to 15 minutes to go, Burnett replaced Donovan in a straight swap with Butterfield still remaining in the centre of midfield. He touched the ball two or three times only, mainly through tackles. Town were just not playing through midfield. As Town pressed by lumping the ball forward and sending more and more players further up the pitch, Blackburn threatened on the counterattack. Coldicott was dispossessed near the half way line on the Town left and the ball was eventually played to Ostenstad about 10 yards inside the Town half. He turned and ran at the heart of defence, drawing McDermott over. As he reached the centre, he played the ball into the space which McDermott had just vacated. Jansen ran on and took the ball into the area, two Town defenders threw themselves towards him as he tried a shot from 10 yards, the ball hit Coyne on the chest as he spread himself at the near post and the ball was hacked clear. There were a couple more dangerous moments on the break but, fortunately, the passes were poor and, on one occasion, their forward stood on the ball and fell over.

With about 5 minutes left, Raven (stop shaking your head) replaced McDermott and Town appeared to go to a 3-4-3 formation. Immediately he came on the pitch, Raven was turned and beaten for pace on the Town right with the ball being intercepted at the near post. Raven was not seen near the Town goal again as he spent the last 5 minute encamped in the Blackburn goalmouth as Town lumped high balls forward. Town won a lot of free kicks and corners but none of the resulting headers. As the minutes went by, Town seemed to have less and less players in defence, such that by the end, they seemed to be playing in a 2-2-6 formation, making them ripe for a sucker punch on the break. At the start of the 2 minutes of added time, Carsley (their Coldicott look-a-like who'd only been on the pitch a couple of minutes) robbed the genuine article just inside the Blackburn half on the Town left. He ran forward a few yards, spotted that Jansen was totally unmarked on the Town right and stroked a pass over to him. Butterfield, the last Town player between Carsley and goal, was clearly panic-stricken and froze with fear. He neither ran towards Carsley nor made his way over to cover Jansen. So Jansen had 30 yards to run into with no-one near. He took the ball into the area and, as Coyne came out, JANSEN smashed a drive over Coyne into the top corner. Of course, that really did seal the game.

Town didn't deserve anything from this game - apart from Coyne and Handyside, Town were inferior in every department. The strikers had not service whatsoever, just aimless punts, which is one way of describing the midfield. Butterfield was, quite simply, out of his depth in central midfield and the manager should have dealt with that very early on. The failure to act did Town, and Butterfield, no favours. The last five minutes were weird, what with Town ending with six strikers and playing route one football (but without style). This game is best forgotten about. The thing that really hurt was the hope, the false hope, raised by holding them to 0-0 at half time and only being 1-0 down up to the 90th minute. Holding out hope for a lucky goal that we knew, really, wouldn't come. But it might...but it never does, does it?

Still, Coyne was brilliant.

NickO's man of the match - obviously it is Butter... Coyne.

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