i honestly thought we had blown it when we failed to score in those first 15-20 minutes, we seemed to do everything but score and would come to regret it. the gills had no intention of trying to match us or even make a game of it, in their position a draw would have been good for them so i dont really want to 'have a go' at them, remember, we have been there ourselves. some of our play reminded me of early season, there seemed a confidence amongst the lads today that i feel has been missing lately and i loved at the end when their player ran to put the ball down for patterson and he simply let the lad run past him and took the turning circle of a 3000 ton tanker to get back to his box...they really dont like it when the lads give them a bit back do they. in the main, our defence mopped everything up without any real sweat, basically as there was never a real attacking threat, midfield passed the ball around nice and smooth but if there is one criticism it would be our service to stewart was non existant, although i was pleased to see more shots being tried...nobody really let themselves down and the only one i thought could/should have been more involved was evans, not that he did anything wrong but at times i felt he could have shown more for the ball rather than pointing...great to see patterson come and claim a couple of the high balls, it is exactly what the crowd want to see and i honestly think he is one of those happier to come and collect than to stay on his line so i am wondering if AN has told him to be more commanding and to leave his line. we left it late but that could be the win of the season, certainly looks as if AN has started to do more work on the passing and moving now the defence is in a better place.
We'd of been unlucky to lose imo. I know what you mean being a late goal but I'm a believer in "you make your own luck". Dogged perseverance saw us through but hopefully we put away more chances and earlier in the run in.
Aye probably. Not sure I would hammer Johnson for overplaying Embleton mind. With injuries and absences Johnson didnt have the options we now have in those attacking positions. He also played 30 odd games last season, so wasnt like a Neil or a Doyle who were in their first season.
He had very little to do but he was solid when called upon. A couple of great takes first half from lofted balls into the box.
Imho nobody played badly or great... Great cross and header by Embleton and Broadhead (my oft repeated point about bringing in another striker ASAP when he was injured... well done DoF, should be sacked) so joint MoM.. Oxford next week, presumably they will not have 10 men behind the ball and do ****housery... different game... Evans... can anyone explain why?
I'll just throw this in, because no one else will .... ... Gooch made a difference, put in more effective crosses than Clarke and was involved in the goal. Pulled two defenders into the corner, made space for Embleton and will get no credit.
Thought evens had a good game today personally. Made some great blocks and played it nice and simple. I’m not a fan and he’s been getting loads of stick but today done Nowt wrong imo.
Not really happy with Clarke tbh he’s sooo predictable because will not use his left foot. Vary rarely gets an early cross in and slows the attack down every time. He’s young and got massive potential tho so I’m hoping the coaches will sort him out.
Good summary mate, you've got it spot on. He lacks the courage to go past a man, put in a hard cross or really take on a shot. He waits until he has a man a foot away before he tries a cross or shot and they're inevitably blocked. I like him though, could be a great player with more conviction.
never mentioned it in my post but at times, the turning inside from our wide players was frustrating, i think clarke does far more damage with his runs to the corner of the box although to be fair, it was nice to see players 'mixing it up' and trying different things but would have liked to see more crosses come in, especially with stewart in the middle.
He certainly did. I was saying to my Dad that for all the good dribbling that Clarke and Roberts did in the game we needed a few first time crosses putting in to out them on the back foot. Clarke and Roberts took too many touches and allowed them to get set up defensively imo. We needed to get it in the box a bit earlier.
I agree with you. I am not sure he is what we need and would be tempted to have him on the bench as an impact option. He might actually be better through the middle but he isnt good enough to oust any of our other options there.
Agreed. He's not perfect, as are none of the others. But he often makes a difference, and I for one am pleased he didn't move in January.
Love it when that happens. Waste time consistently over 94 minutes, go one down and complain about the opposition wasting time. Patterson was awesome when he took the ball across his box!!
