Birmingham 2 - 0 Bristol City FT Brighton 1 - 0 Peterborough FT Burnley 1 - 0 Leeds United FT Charlton 5 - 4 Cardiff FT Derby 2 - 0 Barnsley FT Huddersfield 2 - 2 Blackburn FT Hull 2 - 1 Wolves FT Nottm Forest 0 - 0 Middlesbrough FT Sheff Wed 0 - 2 Blackpool FT Watford 0 - 0 Millwall FT Bolton 0 - 0 Leicester L Crystal Palace 4 - 0 Ipswich L
I must admit that I was quite worried before the game with Millwall having a big physical side. As things went on I felt that we can cope quite well with a team like this. A little bit of quality was missing with the final pass for us, but it still seems that someone will be on the wrong end of a hiding from us before too long.
Sadly we were poor . Chelobah gave the ball away, Deeny did nothing, Doyley was just Doyley. Anya was OK when he came on, Ekstrand/Hoban did well I thought. Fair result all in all...
Certainly the sort of game we saw last season or under Mackay against a defensive minded side. Lacked the quality or pace apart from FF to break them down. Quite a few players were off their game but we certainly didn't look under pressure in defence. Looked like a typical stalemate between 2 mid-table sides not at their best.
He seems to be at that cocky teenager phase. He needs the break to squash his ego a little It was a hamstring prob. I asked him after the game. Not bad att for a tues. Hoban wad outstanding again, nearly had a brace too! Deeney was making runs, but no one looked for him.
Very poor game but forgivable. They just seemed very jaded almost from the off but still should have nicked it with the move of the match. FF really should have scored. Chalobah should be rested for the next game. Easy to forget he's just 17 but has struggled in the last two games. Some blame must also go to our lack of movement as a team and as a result our passing went back to pedestrian again but credit must also go to Millwall. Reminds me of us last season. Not always pretty but damn effective in stopping the opposition. Work hard and close down. The team also seemed to struggle to control the ball which was unusual based on the season so far. Never felt we were going to lose (although we've had a couple of similar 1-0's this season) but also didn't really deserve to win. A 0-0 in every shape imaginable!
Good to see BBC reporting on it's game again. Mentions a couple of chances then our chances "dried up until Abdi hit the bar" completely ignoring the best move of the match which should have resulted in a Forestieri goal.
I thought we defended well against a physical side with an areal threat. We obviously have good strength in depth in defence and did not miss Hall, which is a good omen for a long season. But the pace and guile was missing in attack, where we looked tired. It must be hard to play a high tempo passing game twice in 4 days, and this showed.The passing game without pace is ineffective. Deeney was snuffed out by their big defenders , Chalobah gave the ball away a lot, Pudil did not get forward so often. Abdi was our best player in the first half and Vydra should have come on sooner. Even so we made at least three or four decent chances, and a win would not have been flattering.
Our forward threat was wiped out with two key offensive players having to go off with hamstring injuries - but both sides created creditable chances - so on reflection, as I said on another thread, I'm quite happy with the draw...keeps our unbeaten run going!
Oh - and by the way - I do enjoy going to watford, always policed very lightly and supporters are treated like responsible adults....unlike when you go to Palace, where the police seem to think they are defending an attack from foreign nationals!
This was a very poor game with little to recommend it. It certainly won't have the crowds flocking in. I think the way both sides were set out from the start meant penetration was always going to be difficult. That said, we didn't help ourselves with too many off-colour performances and delivery, especially from the wide positions, pretty abysmal. If the defensive work looked tidy, there was not much pressure applied and central midfield lacked incisiveness. Chelaboah needs a rest, Hogg won the ball but used it poorly, Abdi had too many quiet spells. Deeney seemed to lose heart quickly and Vydra looked much more of a threat when he came on. If he overdoes it sometimes, Forestieri still looks our most threatening forward by some way but he needs more movement around him than he got last night. It's a measure of the sort of game it was perhaps that Anya's running style provided the best entertainment...a cross between Road Runner and a clockwork toy soldier
