Yesterday was my first away day for many a season and I thoroughly enjoyed it although it was a long day with road diversions etc. The shock of walking into a non league ground, just looking around and seeing how far we have fallen under previous dodgy owners is quite sobering to say the least. The game is all about opinions and after a reasonable even first half when we didn’t look in any real bother the second half after an early wobble when Fitz made two quick good saves was overall a lot more comfortable for the Iron. We controlled the majority of the second half and Brackley became more ragged the longer the game went on. The amount of times Brackley attempted passes out to their left flank and over hit the ball out of play was quite noticeable and the last twenty minutes we had more room to play and keep the ball due to our superior fitness. It was a well deserved away win and a thoroughly professional performance when 3 goals up to manage the game out. Butler got his subs spot on, using them wisely at the right times during the game and this enabled us to control the latter stages comfortably. As I say all about opinions and in mine it was an excellent away performance for the first game of a long hard season. Andy was right in his post match interview, we have to be patient and not get carried away but we have a much fitter stronger squad than last season, that is not in any doubt and it’s just a matter of seeing how the squad size holds up when suspensions and injuries kick in. I believe we will see a lot more substitutions this season than last under JD because I believe Butler and Schofield know how to manage this smaller but fitter and stronger squad in a more professional way than in previous seasons by other managers we have had.
