Starting 11 - button, odoi, kalas, madl, sessegnon, cairney, parker, tunnicliffe, ayite, aluko, woodrow Subs - betts, joronen, stearman, ream, malone, edun, adeniran, de la torre, LVC, williams, smith, humphrys.
Looks like 4-3-2-1 then. Subs: Bettinelli, Joronen, Stearman, Ream, Malone, Edun, Adeniran, de la Torre, Christensen, Williams, Smith, Humphrys Come On Wee Georgie
I didn't know gus poyet was the real betis manager. Was a quick glimpse of the dugout and was sure it looked like him. Looked it up to confirm. Quiet start from us in the game, betis seeing most of the ball in the first 10 mins.
Half time 1-1. We looked well organised and pretty solid defensively; playing a high line. Pretty scrappy in midfield though for the first 20 minutes; it took us that long to string some passes together going forwards. Came into the game after their goal - which was an awful bloomer from Button. The guy scored from something like 40 yards way out on their right side. Sticking with Button, his distribution was awful. That said what he (and our midfield to a lesser extent) needed was a target man up front. A latter day Zamora (Robson-Kanu or Murphy?). But .. what a well taken goal by Cauley Woodrow; held his man off at the edge of the box and thumped a corker into the top right hand corner. Overall, thought we did good and were on top towards the end of the half.
Not a lot in it in the first 15 mins of the second half. On the hour we swapped: Malone, Ream, Adeniran and Edun for Sessegnon, Kalas, Tunnicliffe, and Parker. If anything our midfield looked better placed; spreading across the pitch (as opposed to the previous tight little - at times congested - triangles). Then another batch of subs 10 minutes later: Stearman, Christensen, de la Torre and Smith for Odoi, Aluko, Ayité and Woodrow Things were a bit ragged for there on in and my only thought was that Malone (at left back) looked a bit slow and rusty. Unfortunately that was fateful 'cos he gave away a silly penalty 2 mins from the end. So, it ended in a 2-1 defeat when the draw would have been about right. General observations were that it was a dreadful pitch but a really good work for all our lads, who competed well. Indeed at times a bit too much of the feisty stuff. There again maybe that's exactly what's needed in the Championship.
Cottager having not watched the game what was your assessment of those that played , is there potential. Who do we need to get in and was todays formation better than last seasons or just same old,,same old.
Definite potential. We were very much more organised than at any time I recall from last season rosc. And, despite what Fulhaman says, Betis are an extremely good side. It's difficult to give a proper view because the two wodges of subs in the second half mussed things up somewhat. And the pitch was a tad difficult. However just on players, I've already mentioned the two negatives (Button's kicking and Malone's pace/positioning). Individuals who caught my eye: Kalas and Madl worked well together and were really solid Ayite has a vicious/dipping corner kick Aluko covers a lot of ground/makes space Cairney much improved in the second half when he moved inside (was mainly stuck on the wing in the first) Edun and Adeniran were really composed when they came on. Wouldn't want get carried away though. We won't get away with tippy tappy stuff in midfield - needs somebody to take a lead (hopefully MacDonald). Woodrow took his goal well and (as we know) is energetic but he's not a front man who can hold the ball up and bring others into play. Guess what I'm trying to say is that we were all hustle and bustle but lacked any controlled play to dominate and keep the opposition under pressure (make mistakes and so on). But, but ... I enjoyed the game so surely that has to be a huge positive over the last two years.
I watched part of the game yesterday, part before and part after half time, thanks for the link Cottager. I am assuming Sessegnon had the No. 30 on his shirt and he played very well and certainly didn't look to a 16 year old. Composed, quick footed, good positioning and availability, also good at getting up and down the pitch. For the period I saw, we were the better side, defending well, lots of good control in the center of the field, perhaps lacking a Malcolm MacDonald to spearhead the attack.
I know you can't tell to much from a friendly game but 3 years ago when we played them at the Cottage I remember thinking to myself "we're going to struggle this season" This game was a good test and hopefully there are encouraging signs that we will do better this season. Saw the interview with George Williams on the Fulham site. Looks like he's staying, now that's perked me up.
