Early season optimism has moved onto something more serious. One thing's for sure Concord Rangers won't be in a relegation fight this season. Two home games in a week, tested Concord for entirely different reasons. First up was Dartford, a team who finished last season in 2nd place. Dartford are always a strong and physical side, Dartford will never blow teams away with their playing style, but after every game with them you know you've been in a battle. The match wasn't pretty. Every single challenge was highly contested, player's had to dig in and just clear their lines. Dartford had the majority of possession and whilst they put plenty of crosses in the box, they never created a "oh he should have finished that chance". Concord's first goal against Dartford was one of those I was there strikes. Imagine Marco Van Basten's goal in the European Championships in 1988. It was from that kind of angle, but it was not a full volley. It was a half volley. We were right behind Alex Wall's strike and as soon as he hit it, you knew it was in.
Concord's performance on Tuesday night against Dartford was an all-round team display. In fact, if you were marking the player's performance out of 10 for each match this season, I don't think any player would have got below a seven so far. That is testament to the coaching, the player's own pride in their performance and also the team spirit which has been established in a short period of time.
Going to the ground now, there is an expectation. There is a buzz in the air. From fans who have been going longer than I, to the youth player's and their parents who are coming along for the first time. Concord have always prided themselves on being a family club, and doing things the right way. If it's possible, Concord have gone up another level this season.
Talking about that buzz, and that sense of something happening. I've seen a lot of football in my time, and showing my age a little bit, the last time I felt something like this was back in 1993, when Barry Fry built an entirely new Southend side in the Summer and his un-fancied side were in the promotion places in the 1st Division (what is now the Championship). You couldn't wait till the next game, life was just a ticking clock till the next match. You would turn up to matches against the bigger teams in the division and give them a real game, invariably winning. Then when you played the sides you should beat at home, they were swatted aside with the minimum of fuss, which leads me to the second home game of the week against Hungerford.
Concord have very rarely been in the position of "well we should win this today comfortably" in fact in my five seasons of attending, I've never before turned up thinking that. Well Saturday I did. Thinking you're going to win comfortably, and actually doing it are two entirely different things, and to give credit to Hungerford they made things tough for twenty minutes. However from the opening goal to the half-time whistle Concord were sensational. The movement off the ball, the third man running, the passing, the organisation, the quality of the finishing. It was all superb. The second half was a non-event, Concord were four nil up. It would have been nice to notch a couple more goals in the 2nd half, but the game was in the bag. A special mention should be given to Sam Beasant in goal, as he generally had a very quiet afternoon, but still pulled out a magnificent save when Hungerford fired in a bolt from the blue from 25 yards. That's three clean sheets on the trot for Beasant who is looking an astute summer signing. In fact, all the signings look astute. In the crowd, and you ask "who has been the best player so far this season?" You just won't get one player, you'll get a loads of different names. In fact the answer to that question is "all of them."
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