Pivotal points in the season

[bozzer]

What do we think?

Wisbech away, Holbeach away, Eynesbury away?

[SouthRushdenJFC]

You learn as much in defeat as you do victory. Oadby away.

[FOOTYMAN]

I think Wisbech away with 8 players was indeed the best result we could have wished for, and Eynesbury away was perhaps a great result, considering they were in good form and we played them in the middle of some tough fixtures.
Holbeach was always going to be scrappy and we would still have won the league, even if we lost there.

[therushden]

not losing to your closest rivals. and applying for promotion in time

[updiamonds]

I think the key turning point of the season, was the Holbeach game, before then Holbeach were right on are trails, and that late goal from Dunkley

Knocked Holbeach confidence (instead of are confidence) and Holbeach never recovered from that and we never looked back from that.

[Bobos]

I have to admit that the Wisbech away game was really important, but so was the late winner at home to them.
The players will know better than us, the togetherness of this squad is all there for us to see

[Brownie]

Wisbech away & Hullbridge were major moments for very different reasons, not sure Holbeach results against us were that important once it became apparent they were only realistically chasing the Vase dream, their league season was going to go boobies up when they were knocked out of it or because they were still in it. For me we won the league because we shared the points with those in the top 6, but most importantly with the exception of that away game in early January, so far with 2 games left every 2 games against teams from 7th to 21st has yielded us 6 points, all the other (top teams) have dropped daft points, as we did when not winning Div 1 in 2012/13. But if one match had a bigger influence than any other in defining our season for me it had to be that defeat in Leicestershire on 10th Jan, that hurt everyone (those in the dressing room as much as the supporters) and from that day I could see only one outcome.

[paulg]

Wisbech away because of the utterly bizarre circumstances and the self-belief/spirit it gave both the fans and players. I still can't believe the ref didn't abandon it at HT, never seen a pitch so wet.

Dunkley's injury-time lob at Carter's Park I believe was crucial. If he hadn't have buried that, I think Drury & Co might have stayed put and done all they could to beat us to the league and milk it in front of us. The club may well have been tempted to continue to run up their debts for the sake of a couple more months in order to win it. I know things imploded after they got knocked out of the Vase, but if their league position had been stronger at that point (having beating us), I think they might have stuck with it and kept their top players. Dunkley's goal ultimately crushed them.

[TheIncognitoKid]

Wisbech away because of the utterly bizarre circumstances and the self-belief/spirit it gave both the fans and players. I still can't believe the ref didn't abandon it at HT, never seen a pitch so wet.

Dunkley's injury-time lob at Carter's Park I believe was crucial. If he hadn't have buried that, I think Drury & Co might have stayed put and done all they could to beat us to the league and milk it in front of us. The club may well have been tempted to continue to run up their debts for the sake of a couple more months in order to win it. I know things imploded after they got knocked out of the Vase, but if their league position had been stronger at that point (having beating us), I think they might have stuck with it and kept their top players. Dunkley's goal ultimately crushed them.

Yea i think your right, Drury seems like the kinda bloke who would gloat and wallow in any victory over us. I've never heard of a team that builds a strong team in order to win a cup completion and not be bothered about the league, but that's what Holbeach's philosophy seemed to be!

[Formic]

I posted this on Hayden's blog on the same topic before Tuesday's game
"I agree that the Oadby defeat was perhaps the biggest turning point – as it had been two seasons earlier. The late goals against Holbeach and then Wisbech seem to dishearten those clubs far more than might have been expected, as in both cases they could have what we did after the Oadby game – treat all the remaining games as Cup Finals and really push hard.
Another key point for me was the FA Vase defeat at Hullbridge. Although disappointing it meant we didn’t get sidetracked with thoughts of Wembley, or a fixture backlog as a result of too many cup games. Only having one game a week for most of 2015 might have really helped us on the impressive post-Oadby run.
The final key turning point was Andy Peaks’ decision to focus on keeping a core squad happy rather than signing more and more players. I thought he was cutting things a bit fine during March, but was happy to be proved wrong as the squad seemed fully committed to the cause with little sign of infighting and players like Scott Joseph ready to step up to the plate when needed."

However, my thoughts on the togetherness were weakened at Tuesday's game, when it was clear our captain couldn't get certain players to follow his instructions, and a less than 100% turnout for the post-match celebration.

One other key point was the fact that Peaksy ensured he and the team stayed focussed on their own performances rather than worrying too much about other results. We've seen on here how easy it is to become obsessed with our rivals, with often more comments coming after their games than one of our own, but Peaksy ensured our focus was on whoever we would face next.