Happens all the time. We dominated against Preston and only got a point. Got outplayed today but did what we had to do in the key moments to win. You can play whatever style and tactics you like but if your striker blasts one in like that with your first chance of the game it blows everything else wide open.
It was great to get a reaction after Bristol but with better finishing, they could've put 4 past us tonight and that's got to be a concern.
Why? They have a top 4 squad and wage budget. Both sides play to full potential they should be beating us on individual quality. Resilience and a bit of luck and composure got us a win on the night that you couldn't say was undeserved. First 25 was scary though. Luckily Rosenior changed it with a bit of ****housery from Slater staying down to reorganise and were 1 up 5 mins later.
I'd say they were the better team, had more of the ball and created the better chances. So I don't think it can be considered a deserved win. I've said it before but people's views on performances are often heavily affected by the result.
First 30 we did yeah, but with the amount they spend I’d be worried if they didn’t create that many chances against pretty much everyone in this division.
When you defend like that though, only really gave them chances in well protected angles. Aside from the early Dike chance in the 2nd half which should’ve been buried not particularly high quality chances. We were much more efficient in the final third IMO anyway.
I didn't say deserved. I said not undeserved. There's a difference. And over a season rub of the green evens out. I can point to as many undeserved draws or defeats. But we worked hard and made our own luck tonight. First goal turned it. But the more they missed the less likely they were to score out of frustration and flashing at it. Darlow was a massive part of that rearguard. When Corboran is praising our quality in both boxes and citing our tactical change on 25 as a significant point in the game then we've done bloody well tonight. You just look like a prick trying to up yourself by picking holes in it.
Just watched the game on tv as couldn't make tonight. Great result. We look so much better when we go after it
Under Shota that would have been worrying, but despite WB’s chances tonight, I think we stopped them quite well, most after the change were half chances IMO.
Wasn't it good to see a coach having the ability to change things when they were not working. As it has been said the switch of formation on 25 minutes changed the completion of the game, and we looked a much better balanced side. I just hope we can keep Tetteh fit, he is a really difficult player to play against and his touch seems better than Oscar's. Benji and Connolly could be a really difficult pair to have up front. A great finish for his goal, and after what was said by Liam post-match, obviously it meant a lot to him. Darlow looks a class above Ingram, Ingram's good, but Darlow is a better all-round keeper, and commands his area very well, I can't see Matty getting his place back anytime soon. I thought the back 4 were very good, both Coyle and Elder started a bit shakily but grew into the game. Both McLoughlin and Jones once again were immense. Slater once he move inside had a very good game, as did Docherty and Simon's all worked their socks off. Special mention for Tufan, he is starting to look much more at home in the side, and had a very good game. It's fair to say after the first 25 minutes I would have been happy to come away with a draw but to get a win and another clean sheet is a real shot in the arm, and cheers the weekend up no end..
To be fair, we should have had 5, and our chances were better than theirs. Tetteh really should have had a hat-trick. He scored the hard one of his 3 shots on goal.
I think Jones and McLoughlin also deserve a lot of credit as the quality they have out wide meant we had to defend a lot of crosses into the box. We seemed to be on the end of every cross and can’t remember many if any chances created from wide areas.
I don’t think Darlow made any top drawer saves but his positioning was excellent. I think more impressive was how he played the ball out with his feet. He went long when he needed to and never gave you the feeling he was out of control.
