In years gone by, even with 11 v 11, this would have been a banana skin too far for us. How many times have we slipped up at this stage against lower league opposition. That we have done this after a reckless, irresponsible challenge from Catts, meant we had to play 60 mins with 10 men is tremendous. Into the hat for round 4. Well done to the lads tonight and especially to the 3000 travelling fans that braved some appalling weather conditions to make it down there. Good stuff.
Judging by the radio commentary, the 10 on the pitch have all put a shift in with some good performances from the likes of Saha, Meyler and Vaughan which is just what you want to see from your fringe players. Overall I would say the positives outweigh the negative.
been partaking of some liquid refreshment so only going by what I heard from Fowler on SSN just before the end. He was saying we were defending really well with ten men.
No club outside the rich 4 can afford to treat this competition ightly. A place in Europe at stake no matter the league position.
It was shades of West Ham I'm afraid. Poor in possession, when we did manage to keep the ball. Poor distribution - Westwood's kicking is worse than Mignolet's and why, oh why go for the long ball when you're down to ten men? Same performances from Sess and McClean as Saturday. Very frustrating. HOWEVER, we showed some of what we can look forward to with a fully fit squad. Rose is looking like a good signing - impressive in last two games. Colback looked better after Catts had gone, he managed to get forward a bit more in the second half. Saha looked ok, but seemed to be a bit slow reading the game.Gardner was impressive and should be in the midfield once Bardo's back. Vaughan still finding his feet, but did a lot of chasing and harrying. AJ looked lively when he came on and did his swapping wings thing. Sess's fitness improving, but he was barged off the ball most of the time by a physical MK Dons team. Jimmy Mc looked like he'd be subbed, but then came up with a superb solo effort for a very well crafted goal (he barely missed from a curling free kick previously). Hopefully this will give his confidence a shot in the arm. So overall, I'm still glass half full. A note about Catts. We couldn't really see his supposed foul. He was running away from us with the ball at his feet (actually looked like he could go all the way), next thing Atwell (who was awful, awful, awful) blows the whistle. We though it was a foul on Catts and were amazed at it being against him, let alone a straight red. Will have to see some footage because I'm truly non-plussed.
Not seen the game, but from Nomad says we still had problems with keeping possession, and creating chances..this must improve. Having said that an away fixture in a cup to a lower league team is always tricky, a right banana skin, well done lads for getting through. Now against Wigan let's play more football, pass easy balls and give Ourselves more chances
It was a frustrating evening really at times played some really good football and at other times gave the ball away cheaply.. As for the catts straight red, like nomad said, we couldn't really see from our end but once the ball got away from his feet, with the speed he was running at, I had a feeling it wasn't gonna end well.. Saha looked a little lacking in confidence but won 7 defensive headers from corners and free kicks and it must have been frustrating for him up top, the ball was punted long a lot and when Louis was winning the first ball there was little or no support for the second ball.. On another note It was the first game my 14 year old step son has ever been too and I'm desperately trying to show him the error of his gooner loving ways and convert him to a proper football club with a family atmosphere and I think the 3000 fans we had there last night helped that cause.
Did you manage to get parked Dean? I got there late after work and the traffic was a nightmare. Missed kick off, but only just.
Yea buddy.. Across the dual carriageway in the industrial units straight in about 20mins before kick off.. Was getting a bit worried I was gonna miss ko traffic was a nightmare..
I was at the game last night - first chance to see them for quite a while - and sitting half way up in the West Stand behind the sunderland bench. Got to be honest, just before Catts was red-carded I was looking up at the awesome away support and thinking "dear god, they travel all over the country to watch this crap! We couldnt keep the ball, passing was awful, MON visibly ageing by the minute. The Dons were going to be up for it but even so.... Then Catts was off on a great run, but let the ball get away from and lunged recklessly in. Ridiculous!!! Left the ref (was he a geordie by any chance?) with no option! MON must have gone ape-sh!t with them at half time because 10 different lads appeared. After the first few frenetic minutes of the Dons with the ball, the whole game changed. We looked calmer, seemed to have more time on the ball, passes hit their target, more running off the ball, even Jimmy Mac took his man on and got past him! A real Jekyll and Hyde performance! Summary What to say about Catts? How long is he going to play in this style and get away with it? The problem with that is I want to keep him at the club! Jimmy Mac? Glad he got his goal, seems to have a confidence problem, maybe that'll go some way to help. Colback, found a forward gear in the second half Saha - most frustrated man on the pitch, did what he could but some of the balls to him were unplayable. Gardner & Vaughn and the rest of the team, very solid in the second half. Sess: quality, must be a pain in the ass to play against, which is why he gets the sh!t kicked out of every 2 minutes with no protection from the ref (really poor!) Good to see Meyler back - thought he was a rock! Biggest impact for me of the night though - how much I miss getting up north to the SoL. Sandymackem - Needs to try harder!
I was about ready to abandon the car when the traffic started to move. Shot down the side of the queue and parked in one of the estates too. If we ever play there in the future, I'll be arriving 2 hours early!
