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| Dennis - notched his first League goal |
By Chris Larkin
County came down to earth with a huge thud as they were given a wake-up call by Boston United who welcomed them to the Skrill North with a 4-1 thumping at Edgeley Park today.
Remember when you were a kid, the anticipation on Christmas Eve, the excitement and joy at getting the toy you REALLY wanted?
Well in the familiar surroundings of a rain soaked Edgeley Park, it was more akin to the feeling of being excited on Christmas Eve and then waking up to realise that your present is actually a kick in the bollocks - it wasn't a good feeling.
The opening day of the season always brings hope and excitement, that this year is the year, that this player is going to be a star, that it can't possibly get any worse.
Well for the opening few minutes you could be forgiven for thinking things may turn around, we were playing some decent stuff and looked like we could do something going forward, the fans were also playing their part with a fair amount of noise coming from the 3,317 people inside Edgeley Park.
That all ended in the eighth minute when young Ian Ormson failed to claim the ball in what should have been a straightforward bit of goalkeeping and Scott Garner capitalised on the mistake to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Chin on the floor.
County didn't let the set back affect them too much and were soon back on the attack. In fact only 10 minutes later, the referee judged that a cross from Kyle Jacobs was handled by a Boston player and awarded County a penalty, which Kristian Dennis diuly dispatched to score his first league goal for County.
Things were pretty even until half-time, Boston having a couple of good chances at the end of the half, one requiring an outstanding last ditch tackle from Fagbola to take away an excellent goal-scoring opportunity.
The expectant Cheadle End hoped they could help suck the ball into the back of the net once the second half kicked off but, it was Boston who did all the pressing. With just 10 minutes of the second half played, an excellent weighted through-ball found Marc Newsham who comfortable slotted under Ormson to put the Pilgrims 2-1 up.
Barely 2 minutes later and it was 3-1. Spencer Weir-Daley saw Ormson hesitate and backtrack, then took his opportunity and swiftly doubled his side's lead.
Edgeley Park has rarely been so hushed in disbelief.
Ormson may have been hanging his head in shame but the defence will also have a lot to answer for after a gift of a goal.
In a bid to get back into the game, Ian Bogie took off Kieran Charnock (already the recipient of a yellow card which may have swayed Bogie's decision) for the attacking flair of Rhys Turner and in search of a bit of creativity in a County team which had run out of ideas.
With 25 minutes left, the visitors put the game out of reach after yet another goalkeeping error from the calamitous Ormson, who failed to hold onto the initial shot and placed the ball nicely in the path of on-rushing United player, Ricky Miller.
Three goals in just nine minutes had wiped out any hopes County had of realistically getting anything from the game.
Bogie played the only card he had left and shortly after the goal brough on Adriano Moke for Ian Craney.
To County's credit they didn't give in and at least battled a little bit more. The change in tactics from the inexplicable 3-5-2 the team had begun the match with made a big difference too - most of the Cheadle End clearly thought the experiment of playing three centre backs and two wing backs had been attempted and written off as a dead-loss in the pre-season but, mysteriously, Ian Bogie had other ideas.
The cries of exasperation could be heard echoing around the entire ground. Let's hope Bogie realises that playing 3-5-2 with this squad is a three-point gift for any half decent opposition team playing a traditional 4-4-2.
County did go close once the changes had been made - Dennis saw a fantastic effort from a free-kick thump off the post and in the closing minutes Turner came close with a towering header only to be denied by a great piece of goalkeeping from Timms in the Boston goal - but it was all too little too late.
There was one final bit of excitement as Charley Sanders was sent off for elbowing James Tunnicliffe just seconds after coming on the pitch.
A bad day at the office for County and Ian Ormson in particular.
Despite the catastrophe on the pitch the attendance of 3,317 was a fabulous effort from the County faithful. And on a note of hope for those amazing Royal blue fans - Kidderminster Harriers didn't win any of their opening five games last season and ended up only missing out on the Conference title by goal difference. There is still 41 games to go - but performances will have to improve substantially if County hope to progress.
Ian Ormson, Kyle Jacobs, Stephen O'Halloran, James Tunnicliffe, Jordan Fagbola, Kieran Charnock (Rhys Turner 59), Jamie Hand, Ian Craney (Adriano Moke 69), Aman Verma, Phil Jevons (Iain Howard 78), Kris Dennis.
Unused Subs: Lewis King, Brandon Windsor
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