| Play-Off Preview\r\n\r\nOn Saturday against Hartlepool I was a nervous wreck. However Swindon made it and in my opinion we’ve got the best draw. Brighton will be tough, but Bristol City would have been very difficult and Hartlepool would have been tricky at their place and hold the best away record in the league.\r\n\r\nBrighton contain, probably the best forward in the league, Leon Knight who’s pace will cause Reeves or Heywood many headaches. He’s the leagues top scorer and I’m confident that if he’s dealt with, or is having a bad day, we’ll stand a good chance of going through. The captain, Danny Cullip, is a quality defender who’ll give as good as he gets against any of Parkin, Mooney or Fallon and is one to watch from set pieces. If the team, notably key players, are on their game then we`ll win. But if 3 or 4 players slip below standards then we could be in for some big problems.\r\n\r\nThe tie between Hartlepool and City will be very close. Although City are without doubt the best team out of the four they will be under huge pressure to succeed after successive promotion failures and Hartlepool have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Also, how often does the team in 3rd win the play offs? Very rarely, just look at Hereford. I do predict, though, that they`ll probably be just a bit too strong for Hartlepool over two legs.\r\n\r\nWhether or not Swindon will make it to Millennium remains to be seen, but if we don`t it would still have been a great season and I`m sure a packed County Ground against Brighton in the play off semis will live long in the memory.\r\n |
Play-Off Preview
Posted - 10 May 2004 : 21:05:44
