Unfortunately the snow last week refused to leave thus more matches were postponed this weekend and for the second week in a row I was unable to write my League 1 ‘Game of the Week' preview.  Whilst four games went ahead on the previous weekend only three survived the bitter weather this time around.

Last week the four games that did go ahead were quite entertaining with Carlisle winning a thriller with Chesterfield, as did Wycombe against Tranmere.  The encounters between Sheffield Wednesday and Yeovil as well as Huddersfield and MK Dons gave us much to ponder and plenty to discuss.  However the six teams in action this weekend did not entertain us in that fashion and with all three games goalless at halftime I feared that I would have nothing to write about except this introduction.

On the other hand, to say that this weekend’s League One action was not worth writing about would be so unfair on lowly Exeter City.  The courage and commitment of the players had to be admired and appreciated as they came out victorious at home against Sheffield Wednesday.  After going behind early in the second half many, including myself, would have expected the hosts to roll over and for the Sheffield club to dominate from then on, yet the loyal fans of the West Country club were to witness what was perhaps, their teams best performance of the season so far.

Johnson’s fine opener was quickly cancelled out and Exeter fans were preparing to celebrate an excellent point earned against a heavyweight of League One, before they then scored a winner five minutes from the end.  In their recent performances Exeter have been disappointing, especially in front of goal. In fact Exeter are the joint lowest scorers in League 1 with just 26 goals whilst their opponents have scored more than twice that amount. 

Ice and Snow around the country once again obliterated the League One weekend schedule

Of course football matches are not played on paper and they did not fear their superior opponents, they took full advantage of Gary Megson’s side’s complacency, and will now hope to push forward from here and secure their safety to avoid a late season relegation scrap.  As for Sheffield Wednesday, their fans will be livid at losing to a relegation-threatened team, especially after taking the lead.  Wednesday fans will now expect manager Gary Megson to take action after such an embarrassment.  To add to the distress of the supporters, their bitter rivals Sheffield United closed to within one point of the Hillsborough club with two games in hand.

After being unconvincing against Yeovil a week earlier, many Wednesday fans will be concerned about the morale of the team.  Even when they were winning games with ease, week after week, the Wednesday faithful still did not have full confidence in Gary, knowing what he did at Bolton Wanderers earlier in his career.  You may remember his time at Bolton when they did have good players, but they played dismal football and Megson’s tactics continuously backfired.  The Owls will hope that Megson had learnt from his errors and that they can recover from this dip in the standard of performances.

Their bitter rivals closed in on them by brushing aside a stubborn Wycombe Wanderers team.  Wycombe fought bravely in the opening 45 minutes, putting in the effort that the fans had expected all season.  After the break the gap between these teams in the table began to show on the pitch however as the defensive issues that have plagued Wycombe all season returned as the Sheffield club began to regain their sharpness and three second half goals were more than enough to see off the visitors.

Unlike their Sheffield rivals, United did what was expected of them by earning a convincing victory.  The fans will now be in good spirits as they rise up the League.  Also another clean sheet will give everyone at Bramall Lane confidence going into the rest of February, with many teams struggling to tighten their defences.  As for Wanderers, they were not expecting anything from this game but nonetheless with important games coming up, Gary Waddock would want to take both the positives and the negatives from this game as they put in fabulous effort , especially early on, but poor defending cost them yet again.  With none of the sides below them playing, Wycombe remained in 20^th still just one point above the relegation zone but the sides below them have games in hand.

The final game that survived the cold was not exactly a thrilling encounter.  Despite their form, Bournemouth fans have learnt over time not to expect too much from their team, but they did have high hopes against mid-table Hartlepool.  It finished goalless, fair result, both teams had chances and I do not think any of the fans will be too disappointed with a draw.  Both managers will be delighted that their team kept a clean sheet in the unpleasant conditions.  Bournemouth move to within one point of the playoff positions, Hartlepool are struggling to maintain a push for the top six and the two points dropped here mean they are still seven points away.

So after another weekend plagued by ice, there is a full schedule planned on Tuesday, including leaders Charlton hosting fellow promotion-chasing MK Dons.  Whether there will be more postponements remains to be seen as temperatures are still very low. As for the action this weekend it was Exeter City that shined this as they overcame Sheffield Wednesday.  Bournemouth and Hartlepool failed to really announce themselves as promotion contenders, and Sheffield United showed their promotion credentials as they showed the cutting edge they had been missing last season.

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League One Weekend Review - 11th February

Posted by: Total Tranmere (IP Logged)

Date: 12/02/2012 19:18

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Re: League One Weekend Review - 11th February

Posted by: Deadly Submarine (IP Logged)

Date: 12/02/2012 19:26

Not a bad length review Henry considering there were only three games haha!

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Deadly Submarine

"Will you stop saying you threw a monkey into the sea!"

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