DTLW's Match Ratings

Hi guys,

Just arrived home from the game and after getting into the warm, I decided to pop up and offer my opinion on today's match.

So here I go:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelvin Davis - 8 - Looked comfortable with his saves, a few good one on one stops, and refused to retaliate to the aggressive nature of Colchester.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny Butterfield - 8 - Up and back all afternoon, getting forward, clearing the ball, covering Fonte and playing some great through balls, and whipping good crosses in from deep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jose Fonte - 7 - I have seen better from our Portuguese centre-half, who was dominated by Kayode Odejayi all first half and was caught out of position a couple of times. Did make some crucial tackles later in the game to redeem himself though, even starting to dominate Odejayi, who was later substituted as he was becoming ineffective.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radhi Jaidi - 5 - Radhi had a mare, misplacing passes and almost put us 1 down with a dreadful early pass. Couldn't keep his footing and although his heading was good it was right to replace him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Harding - 8 - Assured with the ball, no slip ups, and some great build-up work with Adam Lallana throughout, ended up covering for Jaidi's errors quite often. Even some acrobatic clearances today.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex Chamberlain - 9 - Tormented the left-back all afternoon, delivering into the box on both feet, superb corners and a great work-ethic, the boy will certainly go far with performances like this.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean Hammond - 8 - Captain fantastic today, getting stuck in, winning and picking out passes. Some crucial interceptions and defending from the Saints' skipper.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richard Chaplow - 8 - Back to the old Chaplow after some recent poor performances, like a terrier, winning the ball and spraying long and short range passes to the wings, unlucky that his volley went over.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam Lallana - 8 - Lallana had a good game, floating some great crosses and baffling the right-back, they didn't know how to cope with the over-lapping of Harding either.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rickie Lambert - 10 - DTLW's MAN OF THE MATCH - Rickie was absolutely superb, clearing the ball from the danger area using both feet and his head, running the length of the pitch to set up a chance, some incisive passing and a superb work ethic with Rickie popping up all over the pitch, all that was missing was a goal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lee Barnard - 8 - Good ol' Barnard working his socks off as usual, was unfortunate as he made some great runs that were not picked out by his team-mates. Went close twice but put in a good all-round performance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Subs:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron Martin - 7 - Came on and calmed things down, much more adept when it comes to bringing the ball out from the back, if this is what Nigel wants, which it appears to be, Martin needs to play more.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dany N'Guessan - 4 - Really not clicking with the team, lost every 50-50, most notable contributions were winning a corner and then having a shouting match with Adkins by the touchline in the 2nd half.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frazer Richardson - 6 - Not really on the pitch long enough to give a high mark, so I give Frazer a 6 despite a great tackle and some good support play for Rickie.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nigel Adkins - 8 - Made the right decisions at the right time, something I and quite a few other Saints fans had questioned if he was able to.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Referee - 3 - The referee was absolutely abysmal, the worst referee I have EVER seen, he had players scrapping and at times fighting and physically kicking and grabbing each-other and did nothing. Rickie was in a headlock one time and another time his shirt was up round his neck, being pulled by a defender. Colchester lucky to not finish with as little as 8 men on the pitch, a very dirty side.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fans - 9 - A good atmosphere as always from the Saints' contingent (who have taken the most supporters to the Community Stadium than any other club), out-singing Colchester from the first whistle, inspiring Saints to their first victory over Colchester since the 1950's.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Style of Play - 8 - We managed to combat their aggressive and direct play, and got the ball down on the floor and hit them down the wings where it really hurt them, not the most beautiful game of football you will ever see but Saints showed the grit that some (including myself) were questioning whether they had.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And if our team play with as much grit and determination as they did today, we can be sure to be popping a few corks by the end of the season.

Cheers,

DTLW

 

That is a very good report DTLW thanks. Great to see that the team played with more grit and I do believe that this above all else is what will get us into the place we want to be. I was also pleased to see the comment about Martin.

 

I really hope Martin is able to get a run out Tuesday, he deserves it and IMO he's better than Seaborne

 

Very good report there. Really glad to see Rickie back to his best. How many fans did we have there today?

 

1,736 is the answer.

 

Good one DTLW not a bad report...... keep it up Buddy!

 

Thats excellent support again. Sounded pretty loud aswell

 

Only 3 teams have won at Col U all season, and we are one of them!
( other two being Huddersfield and Brentford )

 

Martin needs to play more.

Jaidi isn't getting any younger... Maybe the Yeovil game?

 

DTLW - Great report

Great to see a good following and a noisy one at that! Well Done Saints Fans

 

Is Seaborne fit to play thought he was injured & not back fit yet ? Think it would be too big a risk to start Martin as this is a 3 points we defo need. Jaidi was tired today but has looked good of late. Will be interesting to see who gets the shirt.

 

Great detail on the report DTLW! Was the sending off justified? I've heard little about it

 

DTLW good all round positive report. Good to read your report. However Thought quite generous for a couple of players Fonte for one was quite rattled in the first 30 mins especially with the onslaught of Odejayi and was saved by Davis. Great 3 points

 

Not sure about 10 for Rickie, would have given MLTM to Chamberlin but have to agree with everything else. The ref was shocking and I thought it was def a red card. You cannot raise your hands and push oppenants.

 

This is sensational DTLW.

I love you for it.

 

Hey no love in's on here please