ShockingBadBuy
Often disappointed, never discouraged
Positives, from an afternoon when there were too many negatives to count:
Kieran Freeman had (almost) the kind of game he became renowned for in L1 promotion year. His touch, decision-making, movement, passing and crossing were all much closer to the standard we know he has within him. When Bash came on, their interplay on the right hand edge of their box was a genuinely pleasing facet of a generally miserable performance. Great to see a proper Freeman performance again. Baldock has been superb in the last few weeks, but we do need Freeman firing and ready to go.
Bash, when he came on (see above).
Dowell looks like he could be the real deal. Bright, sharp, agile, inventive, links play well, eager to get forward. Some of his balls forward were a bit too "9 iron," he drifted out of the game a little in the second half, and like several of our players he cramped up toward the end--benefit of the doubt to Dowell on this, given his recent lack of competitive games, not so sure about some of the others. Interesting that when Duff and Billy came on, alongside Leon, Dowell dropped deeper into midfield. Might Wilder see a role for him there, rather than as a Duff replacement? First impressions suggest he could be exactly what we need.
Can I include Barnet in the positives? Especially their front two, numbers 10 and 27? They looked like doing us on the break repeatedly, and gave our back three a torrid time throughout. With a bit more luck their way, it could easily have been 0-2 or 0-3, and in all honesty we couldn't have argued the toss. Their supporters were great, too. Fabulous scenes at the final whistle. It took me back to see a side that really understands what the FA Cup is all about, and that committed themselves fully to the game and the occasion. It's a shame, and slightly embarrassing, that our team selection, and the performance of most of our players, suggests we are currently incapable of doing the same.
Err, that's it.
Kieran Freeman had (almost) the kind of game he became renowned for in L1 promotion year. His touch, decision-making, movement, passing and crossing were all much closer to the standard we know he has within him. When Bash came on, their interplay on the right hand edge of their box was a genuinely pleasing facet of a generally miserable performance. Great to see a proper Freeman performance again. Baldock has been superb in the last few weeks, but we do need Freeman firing and ready to go.
Bash, when he came on (see above).
Dowell looks like he could be the real deal. Bright, sharp, agile, inventive, links play well, eager to get forward. Some of his balls forward were a bit too "9 iron," he drifted out of the game a little in the second half, and like several of our players he cramped up toward the end--benefit of the doubt to Dowell on this, given his recent lack of competitive games, not so sure about some of the others. Interesting that when Duff and Billy came on, alongside Leon, Dowell dropped deeper into midfield. Might Wilder see a role for him there, rather than as a Duff replacement? First impressions suggest he could be exactly what we need.
Can I include Barnet in the positives? Especially their front two, numbers 10 and 27? They looked like doing us on the break repeatedly, and gave our back three a torrid time throughout. With a bit more luck their way, it could easily have been 0-2 or 0-3, and in all honesty we couldn't have argued the toss. Their supporters were great, too. Fabulous scenes at the final whistle. It took me back to see a side that really understands what the FA Cup is all about, and that committed themselves fully to the game and the occasion. It's a shame, and slightly embarrassing, that our team selection, and the performance of most of our players, suggests we are currently incapable of doing the same.
Err, that's it.
