Safe to say, after getting back at 3:45am, then up for Judo at 8am this morning I am more than a little tired! THE GAME Well firstly, I have to say it was a pleasure to be part of the 3,500 or so R's fans at the DW Stadium. The noise at times was superb, and we didn't stop for the 90 minutes. The crowd was filled with balloons, massive blow up footballs, beach balls, scarves and flags. Wigan started the better of the two teams, and largely controlled possession and territory in the first half. However, that is not to say we were completely dominated - they didn't create a huge amount and we did look dangerous at times. Our work off the ball was superb, but perhaps our play with the ball wasn't quite good enough, and that was a pattern that we often saw during the game. Green did make one very good save from Gomez, which almost crept through. We maintained a solid defence with Barton at times playing almost between Dunne and Onuoha. Our wingers were also very very deep at times, to counter the fact that they had two men on our full back. However, the start of the second half was a different story. We came out flying, and a little more attack minded. Full backs overlapped many times and we controlled the next 15 minutes or so. Traore had a good shot, which in truth was our best opportunity! Then the game became more even, with few chances being created. It got to the stage where we were clearly (and rightly so) happy with the draw, so we just closed the game out. THE RATINGS: GREEN - 7 - did exactly what was asked - and made a good save. Claimed crosses and distributed the ball to our full backs with speed when required. HILL - 7 - solid as ever, and also overlapped many times, which drew defenders out and created space for the likes of Hoilett. Fully committed, but it does sound like he was lucky on a few occasions, haven't seen them again though. DUNNE - 6.5 - bit of a liability at times. made a few stupid passing attempts and tackles. But overall was solid enough. ONUOHA - 8 - MOM - showed strength, desire and good ability when on the ball, and also off the ball. Wouldn't get pushed around easily which others could have been. Offered Simpson a lot of help when he had two men running at him. SIMPSON - 7 - often against two men but dealt with them well. The Gomez chance came from a poor mistake by him though, which luckily wasn't punished. Always kept calm. BARTON - 8 - could also have been mom with a disciplined and committed display. constantly moving and organising people to keep the solid formation. Calm on the ball, and often played nice passes into space which he kept simple. O'NEIL - 8 - also a contender for mom with his constant energy and drive. showed good vision when on the ball and never stopped chasing when off it. played further forward than Barton but did a crucial job of forcing Wigan wide into our double full back and winger situation. HOILETT - 6.5 - perhaps should have been better with his shots and also did give the ball away a little easy at times, but worked his socks off and tried to be the creator, often with little ahead of him in support due to our deep formation. TRAORE - 6.5 - much the same as Hoilett but struggled as he was on the right hand side. As with Hoilett, he worked hard, helping his full back and tried to get forwards quickly. MORRISON - 6 - not his game tbh. Worked bloody hard, but couldn't get going on the ball, and was often closed down quickly. Seemed to tire as the game went on, and was rightly subbed. AUSTIN - 6.5 - quiet, but that was always going to be the case with how we set up. Did a huge amount of running as the first line of defence, and often came right back to help out. SUBS: DOYLE - 6.5 - made a good impact when he came on for Traore. Worked hard, and showed some intelligence to create space. Little to aim at though when he tried to cross. KRANJCAR - 6.5 - same as Doyle. Injected a bit more energy into the side with fresh legs, and showed good strength when on the ball. SUK-YOUNG - n/a FINAL WORD All in all, I cannot fault anyone out there. They responded to the quite frankly awesome support in style with a gritty and disciplined performance. We didn't need to do anything silly, or commit too many forwards - that was their job. Despite their overall possession dominance, they didn't create much with it. Harry got things spot on - tactically, and when he made the subs. I said before the game I wanted a draw as the minimum and we got it. It was a poor game to watch, but that didn't stop the fans enjoying the game. A terrible journey there, and back didn't dampen our spirits though. Back to Loftus Road on Monday, and if the crowd are anything like we were last night, it promises to be right up there with the Oldham and Chelsea games in years gone by.
Totally agree with the overview as we set up for 0-0 and achieved this with a minimum of fuss. Would have marked Dunne down, and thought Rosler missed a massive trick in not targeting Dunne in the 2nd half. Onouha was absolutely awesome, and his reading of the game particularly impressed.
Glad to see the mark given to Barton as I thought he had a very good second half in particular. I always look forward to your reports as I like to compare your player ratings with how I saw it. Can't disagree with any of the above.
Thanks Judo. By 'awful', I presume you mean not pretty to watch since the rest of your post congratulates Harry and the team for getting everything pretty much spot on. I thought the post match comments were noteworthy. Harry was pretty relaxed with a job well done attitude (but taking NOTHING) for granted. Rosler was anything but relaxed since he knew that the advantage, albeit smallish, had moved in our favour.
I think this a good summary. It must have been great to be part of that away support. Let's hope LR will be even better => both the atmosphere and the result.
Match highlights video. Really not worth their own thread except to marvel as to how Adam Hulme got 60 seconds worth of highlights from that match. [video=youtube;kX7EM-YJOVI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX7EM-YJOVI[/video]
He'd have got more than 60 seconds of over the top tackles, tackles from behind and flying elbows!...
Strange thread title Judo, as you then go on to praise almost everything! Dunne was never more than a 5 imo.
I thought Harold sent a team out to not concede, despite what he may have said afterwards. Personally, I enjoyed the game, not much goalmouth action, but a good tactical encounter. It is intriguing though how Dunne's performance is viewed so differently by many on here. I thought he was awful first half, a complete liability in fact, and cost have cost us the game. He did improve second half to be fair.
