So on a warm spring evening at the Park, 3071 shocked fans see City struggle unsuccessfully to overcome a determined Droylsden side as honours are shared 1-1. City lined up: Marriott; Edwards, Seaborne, Matt Taylor, Sercombe; Moxey, Gill, Harley, Carlisle; Logan, Stansfield.
For this rearranged game against the division's bottom club, there was no place in the starting line up for Tully - back from his one match suspension - nor captain Andy Taylor as manager Tisdale stuck with the same side that beat Halifax at the weekend.
It took ten minutes though for City make their first move of any note when Stansfield got the ball on the edge of the area and laid it into the path of Carlisle who found space across the front of the box before driving a strong left foot shot towards the far post that the keeper pushed round the post at full stretch.
Midway though the second half, after struggling to make all their possession count, City had their second chance when a quick Edwards free kick was driven across the pitch to the surging Sercombe arriving from deep. Controlling superbly, Sercs took a quick look up before unleashing a 35 yard rocket that was well held by an alert keeper at the far post.
On the half hour the ball was worked across to Stansfield on the right where he dinked a cute first time ball to Logan eight yards out, but his header was, not for the first time tonight, straight at the keeper in the middle of the goal. Five minutes later City were reminded just how fragile the stalemate was, and how possession counts for nothing if you don't do anything meaningful with it. A neat through ball was played through to a Droylsden forward who rather hurriedly snatched at his shot when he had more time than he imagined, and a sprawling Marriott was pleased to see drift narrowly wide of the post.
With five minutes to go in a largely frustrating half, a superb through ball saw Stans beat the offside trap with ease and found himself barrelling down on goal with only the keeper to beat. Striding purposefully he dropped his shoulder to round the keeper, but just as he was about to let fly the ball took a horrible knee high bobble and the chance was gone as thankful defenders converged and cleared.
The action, thankfully, was coming a bit quicker in the final five than it had in the previous 40, and a minute later it was Matt Taylor's turn to try his luck, but unfortunately he caught Deano's floated free kick a little too thickly and it ballooned harmlessly into the keeper's grateful grasp. The final action came in the final minute with a bit of a melee in the Droylsden box. Three or for City players had a pop, but eventually it fell to the fully stretched Stans who could stretch no further and thus not manage to put sufficient weight on his shot to beat a floundering keeper from about two feet out.
I guess the plan had been to keep the ball and play it around during the first half, making the opposition do all the work and therefore tire themselves out as City moved in for the kill in the second. Well they got it half right, but everything went up in the air a mere four minutes in to the second half. Confusion reigned in the City box as not a single defender had the wherewithal to try and prevent portly Droylsden striker Talbot wriggling his way through and round Marriott to guide the ball home at Marriott's near post from a ridiculously tight angle to unthinkably put the visitors 1-0 up.
It gave City the kick up the backside that they needed, and a couple of minutes later they were off in search of a quick equaliser. Wayno hoisted a great ball across the box to Deano at the far post, and he in turn nodded back to Logan stationed centrally six yards out. Unfortunately Logan could do little better than nod wastefully over under heavy defensive pressure.
Two minutes later Matt Gill found himself striding forward with authority before unleashing a ferocious drive from distance. The clearance from a defender cannoned back to his feet, whereby he upped and walloped an equally ferocious follow up that drew a fine save from the keeper.
On the quarter hour Wayno burst through the middle, and one delicious shimmy past two defenders later, let fly from 25 yards to see his swerving shot crash narrowly wide of the near post. His next action in the game was to trot off the pitch to be replaced by Ben Watson as City reverted to a 4-3-3 formation with Deano dropping back to left back and Edwards moving up to a central midfield role with Harley and Gill alongside him, and Logan playing slightly deeper than Stans and Watson up front.
It almost paid dividends five minutes later when the ball was worked through to Stans who in turn invited Watson to scamper through into the box. His turn and shot deserved better than the side netting though, and three minutes after that the hard working Stansfield was withdrawn for Steve Basham to enter the fray.
Almost immediately City again nearly got an equaliser, this time Watson sending a looping header agonisingly close to the angle of post and bar with the keeper nowhere from a deep Edwards free kick. Then, with fifteen minutes to go, City's almost relentless pressure on the Droylsden defence finally paid off. Bash's shot from distance was deflected into the path of Watson scurrying into the box, as he shaped to shoot a yard inside the area, a Droylsden arm grabbed his shoulder and hauled him back giving the ref little option but to point to the spot. Up stepped Logan to send the keeper right whilst guiding the ball low to the left to level up the scores at one each.
He almost got a second a minute later when letting fly with a thumping 25 yard daisycutter across the goal that inched the wrong side of the post as City vainly sought out a winner. Droylsden remained resolute though, and it wasn't until stoppage time that City fashioned any further chances of note: the first being a Logan header straight at the keeper from close range after a sumptuous Edwards diagonal ball to Harley was lifted in first time; the second being when Harley fed Watson who worked himself space on the edge of the box before firing harmlessly into the keeper's midriff. Soon after the ref had had enough, and after five minutes of stoppage time bought an end to proceedings.
But what a wasted opportunity to put ourselves right back into the thick of it. For all our first half possession, it don't amount to a hill of beans if you don't make it count at the business end of the pitch. Too often our shots went either high or wide, or straight at the keeper, and at times the desire to shoot at every opportunity bordered on the crazy when the path to goal was obviously blocked by determined Droylsden defenders. We could, and probably should, have won this game at a canter, but as it is, in true City fashion, we've just made it that little bit harder and made the long suffering supporters wait a little longer before turning the season into a successful one.
As to the players - well at the back on Sercombe can be truly happy with his contribution at the back, and Edwards looked a whole lot more assured stepping up into midfield. Harley continued to look comfortable with the ball no matter what the situation, and up front both strikers worked tirelessly - if fruitlessly - for much of the game. Fortunes picked up with the introduction of the clever Basham and livewire Watson, but in the end we still had enough clear chances to win half a dozen games, so perhaps if the boys had kept their heads a little, not panicked and not shot from every distance or angle imaginable, perhaps we could have seen a different result.
But we didn't and life goes on. We now move on the fellow promotion hopefuls Stevenage at the weekend, before making our first visit to Salisbury on Tuesday. Six points would be most welcome by the time Northwich roll into town next weekend, and hopefully two decent results on the road will keep the crowd interested next Saturday too. If you can't make either of the two aways, then do your best to get up to the Park for the Vics game - the players need you to help them through to the end of the season, and at times the atmosphere tonight was something to behold.
We have our part to play too, so let's get behind the team, but tonight's result behind us, and drag our lads into the play-offs. It's still very much in our own hands you know, and can you really afford to not be there to witness history possibly being made? Course you can't, so we'll see you all in a week and a bit at home to Northwich.
Bring it on.
