Well, for me, that was our best team performance for at least two years.
THE GAME
We lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with Carroll and Faurlin beginning in the centre of midfield, Barton and Kranjcar in the wide areas, and O'Neill just in front of the two in the middle.
We made a superb start to the game, putting pressure on from the off, and getting the early goal which for me is crucial when we are at home. Kranjcar began the move for the goal and a few nice passes later led to a shot by Austin I think which was saved and it fell to Barton who smashed it home. 1-0 rangers after 4 mins. The referee was having a nightmare game in the first half though, booking two of our players within 10 mins for nothing fouls, but letting Middlesbrough off with worse challenges. From then on we were in control largely, creating several chances with Kranjcar at the centre of everything. Every touch he had oozed class, his quick and intelligent play certainly gave us more attacking impetus.
Then we had what looked like a penalty claim rejected by the referee whose performance was getting worse. Faurlin was sliced down when about to shoot. However, a few minutes later we did get that penalty after a soft handball decision against their centre back after a O'Neill shot. Perhaps the ref was making up for the earlier decision? Either way Austin put it away for 2-0! Yes, TWO GOALS! Middlesbrough were not being totally dominated though, and did have a few chances of their own, but largely shots that Green saved with ease.
Second half was a different story however, they barely got a look in. We were in total control, and some of the football on show was just that - total football - aka Barcelona! I think I read one passing move lasted 36 passes! Cue a standing ovation from the Loftus Road crowd - and we didnt even create a shot from it. That shows just how much everyone was loving the football on show - so much better than anything we have seen for a long while.
From then on we closed the game out but did have chances to score more. However, the signs look very positive.
THE RATINGS
GREEN - 7 - not a huge amount to do, but saved well from a deflected shot and claimed several crosses. however two very poor kicks went unpunished by boro.
ASSOU-EKOTTO - 8 - had a tough job to do as kranjcar was often so far forwards he was often left with 2 players but he dealt with it superbly imo. made several supporting runs forward, and showed some intelligent passes.
HILL - 8.5 - dealt with everything offered by their strikers, including a big guy who came on in the second half. hope he didnt go off injured.
DUNNE - 8.5 - yet again the rock at the centre of defence always in the right place to clear the ball, and even made a few skilful runs forward.
SIMPSON - 8.5 - another good performance - making several runs forward and getting some decent crosses into the box, linked well with those who were on the wing (changed throughout the game).
FAURLIN - 7.5 - i think he started slowly but gradually grew into the game so could deserve a higher score. made several great passes and linked the defence to the creative players well.
CARROLL - 7.5 - imo he was the 'weak' link (if we had one) in the first half with several poor passes and was not on the same wavelength as the others. however, at times in the second half he literally ran the show with simple but effective passing. was central to our pressure and 36 pass move.
BARTON - 8 - the usual barton performance now - some great passing, alongside the grit and determination. helped us to keep control in midfield - something which we lacked last week.
KRANJCAR - 9 - MOM - so many choices for MOTM, but for me he was class all day long. his passing was superb - and i mean that - awesome at times. he made several clever one touches, and touches to bring the ball down. crucial to our attacking improvement - something which we have lacked badly. his intelligent play was too much for boro at times. lacked fitness towards the end, but is play reminded me of taarabt at times, but without the tantrums!!!
O'NEILL - 8 - worked so hard for the team and ran his socks off all day for the cause. closed down quickly and was a good link with Kranjcar.
AUSTIN - 8.5 - another hard working performance and capped it off with a good penalty, which was crucial to give us a bit of breathing space. seemed to enjoy working with kranjcar and in our new found attacking play.
SUBS:
EHMER - n/a - came on for hill and dealt very well with their striker and at one point withstood a strong challenge.
HENRY - n/a - made one excellent tackle late on and enabled us to shut up shop at the right time.
HOILETT - n/a - good to see him back - made a few runs at the defence but had little time to do much.
FINAL WORD
I think the scoring for each player in this game was very tough as it was more of a team performance than individual and the fact that everyone played to a high level. Such a difference from last weeks performance! Everyone played their part. So I fully expect everyone to have slightly different views for the scores for the players in this game.
Some of the football was outstanding to watch, and I loved watching some of the things Kranjcar did - he is a class act and too good for this division imo! Really pleased to see our attacking play finally click as its taken a while! Could easily have scored more, but for once it was nice to enjoy the closing stages rather than being too nervous as our lead was only one goal.
The referee I thought had a shocking game in the first half - gave two stupid yellow cards to us, and denied what looked like a penalty to me. I seriously thought we would get a pen against us or get a man sent off at one point.
But lets not dwell on that - a superb performance from the team yesterday! A pleasure to watch!
THE GAME
We lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with Carroll and Faurlin beginning in the centre of midfield, Barton and Kranjcar in the wide areas, and O'Neill just in front of the two in the middle.
We made a superb start to the game, putting pressure on from the off, and getting the early goal which for me is crucial when we are at home. Kranjcar began the move for the goal and a few nice passes later led to a shot by Austin I think which was saved and it fell to Barton who smashed it home. 1-0 rangers after 4 mins. The referee was having a nightmare game in the first half though, booking two of our players within 10 mins for nothing fouls, but letting Middlesbrough off with worse challenges. From then on we were in control largely, creating several chances with Kranjcar at the centre of everything. Every touch he had oozed class, his quick and intelligent play certainly gave us more attacking impetus.
Then we had what looked like a penalty claim rejected by the referee whose performance was getting worse. Faurlin was sliced down when about to shoot. However, a few minutes later we did get that penalty after a soft handball decision against their centre back after a O'Neill shot. Perhaps the ref was making up for the earlier decision? Either way Austin put it away for 2-0! Yes, TWO GOALS! Middlesbrough were not being totally dominated though, and did have a few chances of their own, but largely shots that Green saved with ease.
Second half was a different story however, they barely got a look in. We were in total control, and some of the football on show was just that - total football - aka Barcelona! I think I read one passing move lasted 36 passes! Cue a standing ovation from the Loftus Road crowd - and we didnt even create a shot from it. That shows just how much everyone was loving the football on show - so much better than anything we have seen for a long while.
From then on we closed the game out but did have chances to score more. However, the signs look very positive.
THE RATINGS
GREEN - 7 - not a huge amount to do, but saved well from a deflected shot and claimed several crosses. however two very poor kicks went unpunished by boro.
ASSOU-EKOTTO - 8 - had a tough job to do as kranjcar was often so far forwards he was often left with 2 players but he dealt with it superbly imo. made several supporting runs forward, and showed some intelligent passes.
HILL - 8.5 - dealt with everything offered by their strikers, including a big guy who came on in the second half. hope he didnt go off injured.
DUNNE - 8.5 - yet again the rock at the centre of defence always in the right place to clear the ball, and even made a few skilful runs forward.
SIMPSON - 8.5 - another good performance - making several runs forward and getting some decent crosses into the box, linked well with those who were on the wing (changed throughout the game).
FAURLIN - 7.5 - i think he started slowly but gradually grew into the game so could deserve a higher score. made several great passes and linked the defence to the creative players well.
CARROLL - 7.5 - imo he was the 'weak' link (if we had one) in the first half with several poor passes and was not on the same wavelength as the others. however, at times in the second half he literally ran the show with simple but effective passing. was central to our pressure and 36 pass move.
BARTON - 8 - the usual barton performance now - some great passing, alongside the grit and determination. helped us to keep control in midfield - something which we lacked last week.
KRANJCAR - 9 - MOM - so many choices for MOTM, but for me he was class all day long. his passing was superb - and i mean that - awesome at times. he made several clever one touches, and touches to bring the ball down. crucial to our attacking improvement - something which we have lacked badly. his intelligent play was too much for boro at times. lacked fitness towards the end, but is play reminded me of taarabt at times, but without the tantrums!!!
O'NEILL - 8 - worked so hard for the team and ran his socks off all day for the cause. closed down quickly and was a good link with Kranjcar.
AUSTIN - 8.5 - another hard working performance and capped it off with a good penalty, which was crucial to give us a bit of breathing space. seemed to enjoy working with kranjcar and in our new found attacking play.
SUBS:
EHMER - n/a - came on for hill and dealt very well with their striker and at one point withstood a strong challenge.
HENRY - n/a - made one excellent tackle late on and enabled us to shut up shop at the right time.
HOILETT - n/a - good to see him back - made a few runs at the defence but had little time to do much.
FINAL WORD
I think the scoring for each player in this game was very tough as it was more of a team performance than individual and the fact that everyone played to a high level. Such a difference from last weeks performance! Everyone played their part. So I fully expect everyone to have slightly different views for the scores for the players in this game.
Some of the football was outstanding to watch, and I loved watching some of the things Kranjcar did - he is a class act and too good for this division imo! Really pleased to see our attacking play finally click as its taken a while! Could easily have scored more, but for once it was nice to enjoy the closing stages rather than being too nervous as our lead was only one goal.
The referee I thought had a shocking game in the first half - gave two stupid yellow cards to us, and denied what looked like a penalty to me. I seriously thought we would get a pen against us or get a man sent off at one point.
But lets not dwell on that - a superb performance from the team yesterday! A pleasure to watch!
Kranjcar sounds more like a team player than Adel, and as you say he won't necessarily score the goals himself but instead set up his teammates. He has something to live up to though, Adel had almost 40 goals and assists combined. I have a feeling though that we are a stronger unit now with a rock solid defence and a better goalkeeper leaving us less reliable on the amount of goals Adel provided.
