Bergen Blade
Well-Known Member
0-1 Twine, direct free kick.
The game's hardly started but our move breaks down and we're rushing back to stop their break. We seem to win it back, but then loses it again. Hamer had been making an impressive tracking run, but he shows poor defensive judgement when he rashly brings their player down.
From a defensive perspective this isn't unexpected from Hamer. The past few years he's been used to having a free role, where he's been allowed to use his flair and spend more energy and focus on creating chances, rather than defending with discipline.
Scott Twine is a free kick expert and our players should have been warned and determined not to give away free kicks just outside our box. The range is perfect. Our wall is on the short side. Cooper's view is blocked and Twine fires it into the net.
1-2 McCrorie, following a counter attack
We'd been on top for a while, playing some great football. Before this goal, again Hamer dropped deep to playmake, swapping positions with Peck. Hamer played a beautiful cross field ball to Brooks, but Brooks' ball to O'Hare was intercepted which set up their break.
Our team just fail to realise the danger. Bindon can't stop Riis Jacobsen and RND can only hold up Twine. Nobody gets back to track McCrorie's outside run and he can shoot without a challenge.
It is on Burrows' side. He was far up the pitch when we lost the ball, but can be seen jogging as they break. Hamer gets back, but is also seen jogging and can only cover for RND inside.
So that's two first half goals happening after Peck, our holding midfielder, swapped positions with Hamer. The aim is to let Hamer's playmaking brilliance help us get moves going. Peck is then asked to get into attacking positions, making off the ball runs that maybe Hamer don't have the stamina for - for 90 minutes at least. But it leaves us with Hamer the deepest of midfielders and he does have an attacking mind.
For the first goal he does try to back track. But having done that, he may think he's 'done enough' and rushes into the next challenge, got sidestepped and then brings their player down. A more conservative, orthodox holding midfielder with a shielding, defensive mindset may have tracked the run and kept his discipline for the second challenge.
For the second goal, if Hamer, our deepest positioned midfielder, had realised the danger he may have sprinted further back and contributed more to stopping that goal.
We were punished on those occasions, and Selles will have to rethink if we're going to continue playing like this, letting Hamer drop deep to playmake, and if so, also letting Peck bomb forward.
1-3 Mehmeti, following BC winning the ball high up the pitch
We try to build from the back, and RND tries a longish pass upfield, but BC intercepts. Riis Jacobsen gets the ball on the right and with a burst of pace gets past three United players and finds Mehmeti in the box.
Following his poor pass RND want to make up for his mistake and he goes after the ball. As does Peck. It is all happening in Burrows' zone though, but he doesn't realise he's got to do something more than watching his teammates fail to stop Riis Jacobsen. ERJ crosses for his partner who gets away from Bindon and scores.
1-4 Twine, following BC winning the ball high up the pitch
A BC attack sees RND pick up a poor pass and tries to start an attack. His poor pass is intercepted by their RWB and he finds Twine in the box. His shot gets a lucky deflection off Bindon and goes in.
Again we're a bit slow to realise the catastrophe. A frustrated Peck can be seen waving his arms as RND's pass is intercepted. A fully determined defensive midfielder should have sprinted to rescued the situation. Kante, maybe even Souza, would have got back to pick up Twine.
Peck has been a RCM, an 8, all his youth career. I thought he'd be the one to replace Berge (or Lundstram) in Wilder's team. Last season he did exceptionally well in a holding duo. Now he's being asked to be the lone holding player in a midfield three when the opposition attacks, but switch to a number 8 when Hamer decides he's going to dictate things. This forces him to switch between two roles, two mindsets, in a position that is pretty new to him. I think both O'Hare and Hamer are mediocre defensively.
I think it is asking a lot. I can see the attacking benefits of the rotation and fluidity, but I think Selles may have been a bit too ambitious, asking too many players to adapt too much, too soon. He will have to decide if we're going to stick with it, as it's the best way to learn fast; or if we have to simplify things a bit, and take things more gradually.
The game's hardly started but our move breaks down and we're rushing back to stop their break. We seem to win it back, but then loses it again. Hamer had been making an impressive tracking run, but he shows poor defensive judgement when he rashly brings their player down.
From a defensive perspective this isn't unexpected from Hamer. The past few years he's been used to having a free role, where he's been allowed to use his flair and spend more energy and focus on creating chances, rather than defending with discipline.
Scott Twine is a free kick expert and our players should have been warned and determined not to give away free kicks just outside our box. The range is perfect. Our wall is on the short side. Cooper's view is blocked and Twine fires it into the net.
1-2 McCrorie, following a counter attack
We'd been on top for a while, playing some great football. Before this goal, again Hamer dropped deep to playmake, swapping positions with Peck. Hamer played a beautiful cross field ball to Brooks, but Brooks' ball to O'Hare was intercepted which set up their break.
Our team just fail to realise the danger. Bindon can't stop Riis Jacobsen and RND can only hold up Twine. Nobody gets back to track McCrorie's outside run and he can shoot without a challenge.
It is on Burrows' side. He was far up the pitch when we lost the ball, but can be seen jogging as they break. Hamer gets back, but is also seen jogging and can only cover for RND inside.
So that's two first half goals happening after Peck, our holding midfielder, swapped positions with Hamer. The aim is to let Hamer's playmaking brilliance help us get moves going. Peck is then asked to get into attacking positions, making off the ball runs that maybe Hamer don't have the stamina for - for 90 minutes at least. But it leaves us with Hamer the deepest of midfielders and he does have an attacking mind.
For the first goal he does try to back track. But having done that, he may think he's 'done enough' and rushes into the next challenge, got sidestepped and then brings their player down. A more conservative, orthodox holding midfielder with a shielding, defensive mindset may have tracked the run and kept his discipline for the second challenge.
For the second goal, if Hamer, our deepest positioned midfielder, had realised the danger he may have sprinted further back and contributed more to stopping that goal.
We were punished on those occasions, and Selles will have to rethink if we're going to continue playing like this, letting Hamer drop deep to playmake, and if so, also letting Peck bomb forward.
1-3 Mehmeti, following BC winning the ball high up the pitch
We try to build from the back, and RND tries a longish pass upfield, but BC intercepts. Riis Jacobsen gets the ball on the right and with a burst of pace gets past three United players and finds Mehmeti in the box.
Following his poor pass RND want to make up for his mistake and he goes after the ball. As does Peck. It is all happening in Burrows' zone though, but he doesn't realise he's got to do something more than watching his teammates fail to stop Riis Jacobsen. ERJ crosses for his partner who gets away from Bindon and scores.
1-4 Twine, following BC winning the ball high up the pitch
A BC attack sees RND pick up a poor pass and tries to start an attack. His poor pass is intercepted by their RWB and he finds Twine in the box. His shot gets a lucky deflection off Bindon and goes in.
Again we're a bit slow to realise the catastrophe. A frustrated Peck can be seen waving his arms as RND's pass is intercepted. A fully determined defensive midfielder should have sprinted to rescued the situation. Kante, maybe even Souza, would have got back to pick up Twine.
Peck has been a RCM, an 8, all his youth career. I thought he'd be the one to replace Berge (or Lundstram) in Wilder's team. Last season he did exceptionally well in a holding duo. Now he's being asked to be the lone holding player in a midfield three when the opposition attacks, but switch to a number 8 when Hamer decides he's going to dictate things. This forces him to switch between two roles, two mindsets, in a position that is pretty new to him. I think both O'Hare and Hamer are mediocre defensively.
I think it is asking a lot. I can see the attacking benefits of the rotation and fluidity, but I think Selles may have been a bit too ambitious, asking too many players to adapt too much, too soon. He will have to decide if we're going to stick with it, as it's the best way to learn fast; or if we have to simplify things a bit, and take things more gradually.
will tell
