Both Piggott and Bishop had good matches, and the youngster Dane Scarlett caused them a few problems when he came on, with his skill and pace. Robertson, Hume, Morrell and Reid were all out injured. We do appear to have a far stronger squad this season.
I managed to watch the game on ifollow. An exciting game and a good result. However, we should not forget the poor first half. I could not recall one good ball into the box. There was only one shot on goal that went wide from well outside of the penalty area. The two midfielders appeared to be playing well but the four players in front of them were not getting any clean possession. Was this because of poor service or were they not taking up good positions? Some credit has to go to the opposition's defense. In the 2nd half Swanson appeared to be taking up good positions but perhaps this was because the game had opened up more at that stage. Our two strikers arguably did well. One got two assists and the other two goals! We certainly took a high percentage of our chances. However, the front four have to take more pressure off the defense if we are to progrss from here. Josh Griffith did O.K. but I did not see anything to suggest he is a better prospect than Bass but it is early days yet. His distribution was not great although comparisons with Bazunu are bound to be unfair. Last season we chose Bazulu over Bass. He was a wonderful keeper and, had we been promoted, it would have been an inspired move. But we did not get promoted and made no long term investment in either keeper. Had Bass been the regular keeper last year we may well have finished a couple of places lower but Bass would be a better experienced keeper for this season. Now we are rolling a similar dice with Griffith and the time for the Bass option has passed and another of our academy players has moved on. I hope it works this time Mr Crowley. I wish Alex Bass very well and thank him for his loyalty.
I tried to watch it - wouldn't let me. Only audio commentary. What did you do - go via Wednesday Iplayer?
