[choirboy]

A superb win for the Stanley boys today!
After giving Vale a gift on 3 minutes and a dodgy refereeing awarding Vale a free kick for their second goal we were 2 - 0 down and it seemed like the points were going South with Vale! We actually played really well for most of the first half and should have been rewarded with a goal. The FAITHFUL Stanley fans in the Clayton End kept singing though and the team was showing the necessary BELIEF needed to get back into the match!
The second half continued with Stanley on the attack constantly but with Vale always looking like they could score 'on the break'.
We were rewarded with a very important early goal which lifted the players and supporters even more! Then the second goal came and their was only going to be one winning team after that. The third goal duly came and we held on to gain a valuable three points! Most of the Stanley boys played well. Clarke Sean Mac and Kayden were always looking dangerous. Brown and Nolan were superb in midfield and the defence did well apart from being asleep in the third minute for Vale's gift of a goal. For though me I thought that Billy was MOM as he was just tremendous, setting up two goals and scoring the other. I thought that he scored his goal guiding it into the net off his stomach.....(We will see when we see the video coverage later.)
Agree with you Lord D about the atmosphere at the end with PLAYERS and SUPPORTERS united in mutual appreciation! What a Finnish to the match it was!

Originally Posted by Lord Didsbury

Great win. Thought we played pretty well throughout.

Despite the usual partisan abuse, the Ref has a decent game I thought, apart from the free kick for their second goal and not giving Jackson a free kick (before he was booked). I assume he was unsighted for Billy’s goal though. Looked like clear handball.

[B]Lord D .....IMHO, I thought that the referee was pretty useless!
Lord D......for just the reasons that you observed above he was poor! :enough
Throughout the match his decisions on free kick awards were quite baffling and he was inconsistent 'spotting' the place from where the kicks should be taken from. He did make players move back to where the 'foul' occurred on some occasions but not on others. One example in the second half where he awarded a free kick to Vale two yards in their own half was carried five yards forwards by the Vale defender. The ref rightly made him take it back but then as the ref ran to his position the Vale defender simply rolled it forward again over the same five yards and then was allowed to take the kick!
He also allowed the Vale right back, No 21, to take several 'foul Throw Ins' as he lifted his trailing leg off the ground thus allowing him to project the ball much further down the field of play. IMHO he was inconsistent and quite poor and then in the second half he seemed to realise that he actually had a yellow card and started waving it about somewhat liberally!

Anyhow......We can all agree that it was a tremendous 'Come back' by the Stanley boys and a great result in the end and a very important three points as all but one of the top six were victorious today!
ON STANLEY ON
COME ON YOU REDS[/B]