Deadbat
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Sorry for delay. Was very tired after a long day at work and went straight to bed with man flu. Brief recap of last night below. At Crewe Saturday so normal service resumed with report online Sunday morning (will be in Manchester Saturday night)!
Brief report – ….and I mean brief. We won 2-0! McNulty rebounded a poor keeping mistake after a Reed shot and we had a few other decent chances first half (McNulty and Scougall). They did nothing. Both teams gave the ball away all night (maybe wind did not help) and the touch and passing was not much better than Sunday League at times. Second half nothing happened really. We got a decent second and had a few other half chances but poor crossing and final balls meant we did not create too much more. They had one chance all night; a flashing header just wide near the end. Full time. Told you it was brief.
United – We won! That’s it. No seriously we kept a clean sheet, scored two goals (one excellent ball and then finish) and controlled things most of the game. We never looked in any problems. Maybe we were better than I imagined but I thought it was mostly down to an awful Yeovil side. To put that comment into perspective; we gave the ball away an awful lot, miscontrolled, over crossed or hit first man and generally looked bang average at best. Yet we were still far better than Yeovil and easily deserved to win. With better balls/more positive tactics and formation we easily could have won 4 or 5-0. I felt it was that sort of game where if we had upped certain aspects; they were the team we could have really tonked. Still I suppose we did not need to.
We will play much better and not win (Orient for example). Still it was three points and with another changed line up. No point criticising the side too much as it was just one of those rotten games where it seemed like hardly any player could do much right on either side with glimpses from Murphy, Reed the main exceptions. Still we made sure we were better from the start, actually got in front early on and saw out the game with a minimum of fuss. We can play better but more bothered about keeping mini run going at the moment.
My marks below may seem low but to put it in perspective most of the Yeovil players would be 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s!
Yeovil – Atrocious. Terrible team and terrible kit (yellow shirts, shorts and green socks). Worst side I have seen for some time come to the Lane. We were poor. They were worse. Two big lumps at centre back that looked accidents waiting to happen and a dodgy keeper. They had nothing up front; looked weak in midfield and never stretched us all game. They could not pass, control or shoot. They looked a relegation side and completely bereft of confidence. Lost a lot of players and the relegation has really rocked them. Think Gary Johnson might move on as he has probably done all he can there now.
Howard 7/10 – Nothing to do. He was involved in the incident when McGahey nearly gave it away and he stayed on his
line (to be honest defender should have just whacked clear as he was the one who got there and dealt with it) and watched a header flash wide. Cannot recall a save he made all night.
Alcock 5.5/10 – Thought he was not quite at it. Winger got away a few times and he committed himself to challenges and missed quite a bit. Did improve as game went on but felt it was only the sub par level of opposition that meant he got away with certain things.
Harris 5.5/10 – He was really good Saturday. He never found a shirt first half. He was wayward and was slicing balls,
playing blind passes and looked all over the place. He did get better second half slightly and at least linked with Murphy a few times. Another one that has been up and down this season.
McGahey 5.5/10 – I may get criticism for this but thought under little pressure he was very dodgy. Two or three times he dithered on the ball (when he waited for Howard to clear) and his touch and control is awkward to say the least. The kicking clear/heading away he was fine but scares me when he has the ball for more than a few seconds.
Basham 7/10 – Thought he carried on his decent game at Bradford with another steady showing tonight. First time I
have seen him at centre back but he was alright. Attacked ball well. Defended sensibly and was our best defender on the night. Looked most assured and comfortable of all four.
Doyle 7/10 – Steady again. He won tackles and broke things up. Some loose balls and some decent passes. He did his
job with minimum of fuss. At times he showed his lack of pace when chasing back but fortunately the Yeovil players were so bad it did not matter.
Reed 7.5/10 – Very good. Quiet-ish first half, spraying it around but mostly left and right rather than forward. He did
play some intelligent balls though and kept the ball. Had the shot that led to the first goal. Second half he played more forward balls and his long ball for the Murphy one was excellent and led to the clincher. Suited him playing equally small and I would say less than physical opponents. A good prospect who will play a fair few games this year.
Murphy 7.5/10 – Thought he was our most dangerous player all night from an attacking point of view. He went at the full back and committed him. Made space and tried to get the ball in. Mixed bag of crosses. One good pull back just missed and then a few overplayed. Had a curled effort wide and then broke well and took his goal really coolly after being played in. Always seemed one they were most afraid of.
Scougall 6/10 – Watched him carefully tonight after I got criticised for panning him Saturday. He was busy and put a lot of effort in but again simply did not get on the ball anywhere enough. He is not having impact as last season and not having those slalom runs or breaks past the striker we saw. He nearly scored when he intercepted a backpass but he wrongly chose to go round the keeper and missed a golden chance. Just very average and needs to do much more for me.
Campbell Ryce 5.5/10 – Thought he showed his usual bag of tricks but after early stages where he beat his man once or twice he never really got to the byline and his overall final ball and crossing was really poor. Tonight was first time I actually felt he maybe better as an impact sub and looked like the Campbell Ryce I had seen playing against us many times.
McNulty 7/10 – Poached another goal through being quick off the mark and nearly got another when he breasted down but delayed and tried to go round the keeper. Felt he was busy all game until he was harshly taken off I felt. Showed tenacity, decent touch and link up albeit with little service.
Subs
Higdon – Thought he looked like he had lead boots. Cannot leave the floor and yes he maybe could have had a few fouls I expect him to be stronger and better as an outlet. He was offside 3 times and generally looked out of shape and lacking mobility.
Flynn – Got involved down the right and had a few runs forward but again can’t recall, like JCR, him getting many decent final crosses/balls in.
Baxter – Came on, jogged around and tossed away possession twice and then shot a scuffer wide.
Manager rating – Clough 6.5/10 – We won and he had to shuffle the side again. Mostly the level of play was poor and I believe if we had gone 2 up top and left McNulty on with Higdon or another striker we may have got more goals. He will say the result was all important and it was but the side were very average and too many times wasted crosses/final balls. The chopping and changing is not helping (some forced) and he needs to get a settled side sooner rather than later. Overall it was a game you are just happy to get the win and move on.
Officials - A nothing game to referee. Cannot recall too many bad tackles. They got a few bookings and righty so and maybe could have had one of those booked again (Grant?) but the only other moment of controversy arose when we had a cross that seemed to be clearly handled in the second half. Other than letting players take throw ins from wherever they wanted; I cannot really say it was a difficult game to officiate.
Crowd – Another tremendous crowd although I was surprised it was announced as 19,000+ as it did not look like anywhere near that many were in. I would have said 16 at best. Whether they count season ticket holders who don’t attend is still a moot point but regardless if it was right; then it is a superb support for a very, cold Tuesday night. Yeovil brought 200 fans tops. It might have been nearer 150 to be honest. Fair play coming all that way to see such a dire game and awful performance from their side.
Brief report – ….and I mean brief. We won 2-0! McNulty rebounded a poor keeping mistake after a Reed shot and we had a few other decent chances first half (McNulty and Scougall). They did nothing. Both teams gave the ball away all night (maybe wind did not help) and the touch and passing was not much better than Sunday League at times. Second half nothing happened really. We got a decent second and had a few other half chances but poor crossing and final balls meant we did not create too much more. They had one chance all night; a flashing header just wide near the end. Full time. Told you it was brief.
United – We won! That’s it. No seriously we kept a clean sheet, scored two goals (one excellent ball and then finish) and controlled things most of the game. We never looked in any problems. Maybe we were better than I imagined but I thought it was mostly down to an awful Yeovil side. To put that comment into perspective; we gave the ball away an awful lot, miscontrolled, over crossed or hit first man and generally looked bang average at best. Yet we were still far better than Yeovil and easily deserved to win. With better balls/more positive tactics and formation we easily could have won 4 or 5-0. I felt it was that sort of game where if we had upped certain aspects; they were the team we could have really tonked. Still I suppose we did not need to.
We will play much better and not win (Orient for example). Still it was three points and with another changed line up. No point criticising the side too much as it was just one of those rotten games where it seemed like hardly any player could do much right on either side with glimpses from Murphy, Reed the main exceptions. Still we made sure we were better from the start, actually got in front early on and saw out the game with a minimum of fuss. We can play better but more bothered about keeping mini run going at the moment.
My marks below may seem low but to put it in perspective most of the Yeovil players would be 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s!
Yeovil – Atrocious. Terrible team and terrible kit (yellow shirts, shorts and green socks). Worst side I have seen for some time come to the Lane. We were poor. They were worse. Two big lumps at centre back that looked accidents waiting to happen and a dodgy keeper. They had nothing up front; looked weak in midfield and never stretched us all game. They could not pass, control or shoot. They looked a relegation side and completely bereft of confidence. Lost a lot of players and the relegation has really rocked them. Think Gary Johnson might move on as he has probably done all he can there now.
Howard 7/10 – Nothing to do. He was involved in the incident when McGahey nearly gave it away and he stayed on his
line (to be honest defender should have just whacked clear as he was the one who got there and dealt with it) and watched a header flash wide. Cannot recall a save he made all night.
Alcock 5.5/10 – Thought he was not quite at it. Winger got away a few times and he committed himself to challenges and missed quite a bit. Did improve as game went on but felt it was only the sub par level of opposition that meant he got away with certain things.
Harris 5.5/10 – He was really good Saturday. He never found a shirt first half. He was wayward and was slicing balls,
playing blind passes and looked all over the place. He did get better second half slightly and at least linked with Murphy a few times. Another one that has been up and down this season.
McGahey 5.5/10 – I may get criticism for this but thought under little pressure he was very dodgy. Two or three times he dithered on the ball (when he waited for Howard to clear) and his touch and control is awkward to say the least. The kicking clear/heading away he was fine but scares me when he has the ball for more than a few seconds.
Basham 7/10 – Thought he carried on his decent game at Bradford with another steady showing tonight. First time I
have seen him at centre back but he was alright. Attacked ball well. Defended sensibly and was our best defender on the night. Looked most assured and comfortable of all four.
Doyle 7/10 – Steady again. He won tackles and broke things up. Some loose balls and some decent passes. He did his
job with minimum of fuss. At times he showed his lack of pace when chasing back but fortunately the Yeovil players were so bad it did not matter.
Reed 7.5/10 – Very good. Quiet-ish first half, spraying it around but mostly left and right rather than forward. He did
play some intelligent balls though and kept the ball. Had the shot that led to the first goal. Second half he played more forward balls and his long ball for the Murphy one was excellent and led to the clincher. Suited him playing equally small and I would say less than physical opponents. A good prospect who will play a fair few games this year.
Murphy 7.5/10 – Thought he was our most dangerous player all night from an attacking point of view. He went at the full back and committed him. Made space and tried to get the ball in. Mixed bag of crosses. One good pull back just missed and then a few overplayed. Had a curled effort wide and then broke well and took his goal really coolly after being played in. Always seemed one they were most afraid of.
Scougall 6/10 – Watched him carefully tonight after I got criticised for panning him Saturday. He was busy and put a lot of effort in but again simply did not get on the ball anywhere enough. He is not having impact as last season and not having those slalom runs or breaks past the striker we saw. He nearly scored when he intercepted a backpass but he wrongly chose to go round the keeper and missed a golden chance. Just very average and needs to do much more for me.
Campbell Ryce 5.5/10 – Thought he showed his usual bag of tricks but after early stages where he beat his man once or twice he never really got to the byline and his overall final ball and crossing was really poor. Tonight was first time I actually felt he maybe better as an impact sub and looked like the Campbell Ryce I had seen playing against us many times.
McNulty 7/10 – Poached another goal through being quick off the mark and nearly got another when he breasted down but delayed and tried to go round the keeper. Felt he was busy all game until he was harshly taken off I felt. Showed tenacity, decent touch and link up albeit with little service.
Subs
Higdon – Thought he looked like he had lead boots. Cannot leave the floor and yes he maybe could have had a few fouls I expect him to be stronger and better as an outlet. He was offside 3 times and generally looked out of shape and lacking mobility.
Flynn – Got involved down the right and had a few runs forward but again can’t recall, like JCR, him getting many decent final crosses/balls in.
Baxter – Came on, jogged around and tossed away possession twice and then shot a scuffer wide.
Manager rating – Clough 6.5/10 – We won and he had to shuffle the side again. Mostly the level of play was poor and I believe if we had gone 2 up top and left McNulty on with Higdon or another striker we may have got more goals. He will say the result was all important and it was but the side were very average and too many times wasted crosses/final balls. The chopping and changing is not helping (some forced) and he needs to get a settled side sooner rather than later. Overall it was a game you are just happy to get the win and move on.
Officials - A nothing game to referee. Cannot recall too many bad tackles. They got a few bookings and righty so and maybe could have had one of those booked again (Grant?) but the only other moment of controversy arose when we had a cross that seemed to be clearly handled in the second half. Other than letting players take throw ins from wherever they wanted; I cannot really say it was a difficult game to officiate.
Crowd – Another tremendous crowd although I was surprised it was announced as 19,000+ as it did not look like anywhere near that many were in. I would have said 16 at best. Whether they count season ticket holders who don’t attend is still a moot point but regardless if it was right; then it is a superb support for a very, cold Tuesday night. Yeovil brought 200 fans tops. It might have been nearer 150 to be honest. Fair play coming all that way to see such a dire game and awful performance from their side.
I agree with above would probably give Clough ,Harris and Basham a half or mark up but pretty much as I saw it. Remember though being taken off in big football isn't always about being harsh. McNulty hasn't had a full 90 yet so it saved him from tiredness ,gave Higdon a run and lets be honest the game was over really.
