Day 264

I made just one change to the starting lineup for today’s match against Hayes & Yeading. Toumani Diagouraga came in for the injured Chris Birchall. Injury returnee Mark Halstead was deemed fit enough for a place on the bench, while out-of-favour forward Francis Laurent also came into the 16.

We traded blows in the first few minutes, with both teams testing their opposing goalkeeper’s reflexes. It didn’t take long for one side to find the back of the net. After just five minutes, Hayes & Yeading centre-back Pelé headed a corner against the crossbar. His teammate Cristian Baz climbed high to meet the rebound, sending a looping header over the goalkeeper, under the bar, and beyond the goal-line. Pelé’s aerial prowess was almost our undoing last time the two sides met. He’s becoming a bit of a nemesis.

Michael Woods squared up the scoreline on 27 minutes with a ferocious right-footed drive from just inside the box. We started to take control of the match.

Koroma was twice denied during a period of domination over the following five minutes—once by quick hands from the goalkeeper and once by a timely challenge from Pelé.

The remainder of the first half was an even battle, but Hayes & Yeading reclaimed the advantage deep into stoppage time thanks to that man Pelé. The defender rose once again to meet a corner ball, and this time his header found the top corner rather than the woodwork. We were devastated to go a goal down with the last kick of the half.

I warned the players that their performance was unacceptable and sent them out to turn the game around. They did no such thing. And to compound the misery, Chris Shuker went off injured with ten minutes to go.

The problem was Pelé. Every time we looked like scoring, he was there to clear the danger. Unstoppable in the air, he towered over everybody. Meanwhile, his positioning was inch-perfect. Hayes & Yeading were ordinary; Pelé was extraordinary. That made all the difference. We lost 2-1, shell-shocked at the way the game transpired.

Thankfully Mansfield and Wrexham also faltered. Mansfield were beaten 2-1 by relegation-candidates Barrow, while Wrexham were held to a nil-all draw by York. Gateshead climbed to third, with 76 points from 39 games. Wrexham slipped to fourth, with 75 points from 37 matches. We remain eight points clear at the top, with 89 points over Mansfield’s 81.

Chris Shuker probably won’t play again this season. He’s sidelined for four to five weeks with a thigh strain.