My notes on last night, plus a picture of the queues

Edit: can't get the photo to show the right way up. Sorry!

I suppose I have to start with the image above. I got there too late, I will admit that, but when has it been a problem getting in ten minutes before kick off for a first round league cup game? I was caught out, along with a couple of thousand others, and we all had to suffer because there weren't enough turnstiles to cope. It looked ominous when I was going up the car park and there was a huge line outside the ticket office. Were all these people collecting tickets for last night's game? But on rounding the corner to the back of the East Stand I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like a throw back to the big cup matches of years ago when people would queue around the ground trying to get in.

I know some have said there were only two cash turnstiles but there were more than that. At least four, maybe six? It wasn't enough though and we had the ludicrous situation of hardly anyone going through the ticket entrances and nearly everybody standing in line to hand over cash, me included. Even more stupid was the fact that there were plenty of people in my line who were holding tickets but didn't know until they got close to the front of the queue that they were in the wrong line! Very bad start to the night's proceedings and I was already questioning my decision to travel for this one. It proved to be a bad decision all round!

I suppose, like most of us, I was pleased to see Bradshaw and Moncur in the starting lineup. They were two of the stars from last season so I was glad that we had managed to secure them. Unfortunately there are doubts already about how we are going to use them. A pairing of Tom and SSW up front asks too many questions for me - two similar players. It might work but we will have to wait a while to see if it does. George will probably turn into a cultured performer at this new level, but it will take him some time and you have to wonder if he will do it for us. At the moment it looks like a case of shoe-horning a player into a formation rather than building the team around him.

I mourn the loss of last season's loan stars as much as anyone else but I really thought we could cope, with the addition of a couple more permanent signings of course. That need has suddenly become more urgent after two disappointing defeats already. I have to say that last night we weren't good enough to beat a hard working team just up from the fourth tier. That doesn't bode well for the rest of the season but, on the other hand, lots of big teams lose to lower league opposition in this competition's early rounds. It happens every year; it's happened to us often over the years. I should have known better, and stayed at home.

There were some good things - the kind of moves or neat touches that make you applaud the players - but not enough of them. As others have said, Hammill had probably his most frustrating game for us last night. It was summed up towards the end when he slammed the ball into the advertising boards, and he was lucky he didn't get booked for his petulance. He tried hard but, too often, he ran into brick walls, refusing (or unable) to pick out an early pass. His cross for Scowen's goal was sublime but I don't recall him doing it again all night. On the other side we had a fourteen year old kid running around on a football ground for the first time in his life. Ok, he isn't and it wasn't, but he looked like that. Lots of speed, energy and good dribbling skills but nothing on the end of it. Also frightened to take a shot when he had golden chances.

He wasn't the only one. I have never seen us try to walk the ball into the net so often in one match. The stats on the BBC are about right - we had dozens of shots of varying accuracy but only one or two gave their keeper something to do. Mostly he was able to smother it and then do what they all do when their team is winning - fall dramatically forwards, maybe a couple of rolls as well, before eventually getting up and thinking about moving the ball forwards. He had the time wasting trick off to a fine art and that clown of a referee (Carl Boyeson) let him get away with it every time. He also let them take at least two minutes to celebrate their winning goal, while adding on only two minutes at the end.

Both of theirs were avoidable. I haven't seen video of Davies's calamity moment yet but I bet it looks horrific. It's early days yet but I am getting a bit worried about his ability to keep the goals against tally down. He didn't cover himself with much glory at Ipswich and last night's performance gave us plenty of scares. Fair play to him though - that nutmeg on Revell was pure comedy gold. It could have gone wrong though. Maybe it is the lack of serious competition that he has but I hope he picks up last season's form quickly otherwise we could be in for a few hammerings in the next few weeks. The defence in front of him need to protect him more as well. Too many gaps in it last night, and non-existent marking for their winning goal. That was a sickener but I predicted it some time before. I just knew we weren't going to get one but really believed that they would.

So, what next? I dread to think what Derby might do to us on Saturday. On the other hand these last few days might be the kick up the rear that the players need and they might be back in Wembley-mode by the weekend. I hate the thought of 5,000 Derby fans bouncing up and down as the goals fly in at our end. It was embarrassing last night hearing the Cobblers fans singing "Championship, you're having a laugh!". They were right though.