BladeInThatcham
Member
Being in league 1 finally kicked in yesterday when approaching the ground - a tiny stadium with an open standing terrace for us fans. Tho as we all know, standing in a terrace is the way football should be watched. What was funny was when the Yeovil fans started chanting "sit down shut up".....
The first half began with the blades bossing possession. It was calm and we were making it look easy as we strung pass after pass together. It looked good. It looked pretty. But, more importantly it lacked penetration. The passing was done predominantly in our half and the middle third of the pitch but when it came to making that pass in the final third, we were found wanting. Yeovil lived on the odd venture forward creating a couple of half chances through counter attacks but our defence never looked in trouble and Simmo was pretty much a spectator throughout the entire half. There was an incident reletively early on when a cross came in and Mcguire clearly handled the ball in the area so we were lucky to get away with that. As for the blades, we kept patient and passed it around with one decisive pass falling to Porter in the area but his first touch resembled that of a baby elephant and the chance went. The ball found its way into the net when Lowton converted from a Quinn free kick but joy was short lived as the ref gave a foul - not sure what for as it was at the opposite end to us. Shortly after, the Blades got their reward when Cresswells persistence paid off as Porter bundled the ball in.....I think. There was a moment of uncertainty before the ref gave it and the fans celebrated. There was no way anyone at our end could see whether or not the ball had crossed the line but the ref gave it and that's all that counts. Half time blades 1 up, and looking at the stats showed us having 61% possession.
Then came the muppets serving burgers at half time! There was ONE burger fan for the entire away support, no ale, no pies. And the two guys serving were the slowest pair of dumb asses I've ever encountered. I got there just before half time, was 3rd in the queue and was standing there for 10 minutes. Anyone else who stood in that queue will empathise.
Anyway, back to the game:
The 2nd half was shocking. It was like a different team showed up, albeit Yeovil stepped up a gear and began to press whilst the smooth passing was gone and we were struggling to put 3 passes together. Monty went off injured and we feared the worse as was clearly in some pain - I think Wilson said it's probably just a sprain but it now means we have 3 central midfielders on the treatment table. McCallister came on and offered little as we began losing the midfield battle - losing Monty was key to this. Our forwards had to live on scraps and there was no creativity whatsoever. Quinn tried and looked energetic, having a one on one with their keeper but, and this happened later in the game when he had a chance, he would not shoot on his right foot. There were a couple of decent moves that brought applause from the away fans - one inparticular involving Lescinel bursinig forward but was caught offside when it mattered. Yeovil continued to press and Simmo made a couple of very good saves to keep our lead in tact. You felt an equaliser was coming but United kept throwing bodies in the way and defended well - Collins, Mcguire and Simmo looking solid. They had a man sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence as the blades held on for a scrappy win. But a win's a win.
It was difficult to pick out a man of the match as there were no majorly outstanding performances. That said, I thought Collins was very solid so would probably give it to him. Mcguire also looked good and Simmo made a couple of crucial saves when called upon. Quinn was energetic and was our most attack minded midfielder always trying to get forward. The goal apart, Porter was ineffective and offered nothing. Flynn was terrible - I'm not sure what he offers the team - he certainly didn't want to know when the going got tough. Mendez Liang replaced him with 10 minutes remaining and I know it's only 10 minutes but he looked lost and confused, even running away from the ball one time when it was launched down the right! Jury is still out on Doyle, Cressy puts in a shift, Lescinel looked to be the weak link at the back misplacing passes every now and again, getting caught in possession and lacks pace, Lowton didn't do too much and was given a torrid time by their left winger in the 2nd half. Monty won battles in the first half and I don't think it was any coincidence that Yeovil starting bossing the midfield after he went off. McCallister offered little. Slew had a few long balls to chance but didn't really get the service.
It's 3 points and a clean sheet away from home so that is pleasing, and the fact that despite being under the cosh in the 2nd half, when Simmo had the ball he still insisted on rolling it out and playing football form the back. I like this philosophy and I think we will only get better at it - bearing in mind Adams' hoofball was only 3 months ago. What we are lacking though is some creativity in the final third, maybe McDonald and Willo could be the difference. Quinn seemed to be the only player trying to force the issue in the final third.
5 games in, 13 out of 15 points taken, unbeaten and a clear passing philosophy taking shape. It's not going to be perfect all the time straight away but we're getting there lads! Wizards.
The first half began with the blades bossing possession. It was calm and we were making it look easy as we strung pass after pass together. It looked good. It looked pretty. But, more importantly it lacked penetration. The passing was done predominantly in our half and the middle third of the pitch but when it came to making that pass in the final third, we were found wanting. Yeovil lived on the odd venture forward creating a couple of half chances through counter attacks but our defence never looked in trouble and Simmo was pretty much a spectator throughout the entire half. There was an incident reletively early on when a cross came in and Mcguire clearly handled the ball in the area so we were lucky to get away with that. As for the blades, we kept patient and passed it around with one decisive pass falling to Porter in the area but his first touch resembled that of a baby elephant and the chance went. The ball found its way into the net when Lowton converted from a Quinn free kick but joy was short lived as the ref gave a foul - not sure what for as it was at the opposite end to us. Shortly after, the Blades got their reward when Cresswells persistence paid off as Porter bundled the ball in.....I think. There was a moment of uncertainty before the ref gave it and the fans celebrated. There was no way anyone at our end could see whether or not the ball had crossed the line but the ref gave it and that's all that counts. Half time blades 1 up, and looking at the stats showed us having 61% possession.
Then came the muppets serving burgers at half time! There was ONE burger fan for the entire away support, no ale, no pies. And the two guys serving were the slowest pair of dumb asses I've ever encountered. I got there just before half time, was 3rd in the queue and was standing there for 10 minutes. Anyone else who stood in that queue will empathise.
Anyway, back to the game:
The 2nd half was shocking. It was like a different team showed up, albeit Yeovil stepped up a gear and began to press whilst the smooth passing was gone and we were struggling to put 3 passes together. Monty went off injured and we feared the worse as was clearly in some pain - I think Wilson said it's probably just a sprain but it now means we have 3 central midfielders on the treatment table. McCallister came on and offered little as we began losing the midfield battle - losing Monty was key to this. Our forwards had to live on scraps and there was no creativity whatsoever. Quinn tried and looked energetic, having a one on one with their keeper but, and this happened later in the game when he had a chance, he would not shoot on his right foot. There were a couple of decent moves that brought applause from the away fans - one inparticular involving Lescinel bursinig forward but was caught offside when it mattered. Yeovil continued to press and Simmo made a couple of very good saves to keep our lead in tact. You felt an equaliser was coming but United kept throwing bodies in the way and defended well - Collins, Mcguire and Simmo looking solid. They had a man sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence as the blades held on for a scrappy win. But a win's a win.
It was difficult to pick out a man of the match as there were no majorly outstanding performances. That said, I thought Collins was very solid so would probably give it to him. Mcguire also looked good and Simmo made a couple of crucial saves when called upon. Quinn was energetic and was our most attack minded midfielder always trying to get forward. The goal apart, Porter was ineffective and offered nothing. Flynn was terrible - I'm not sure what he offers the team - he certainly didn't want to know when the going got tough. Mendez Liang replaced him with 10 minutes remaining and I know it's only 10 minutes but he looked lost and confused, even running away from the ball one time when it was launched down the right! Jury is still out on Doyle, Cressy puts in a shift, Lescinel looked to be the weak link at the back misplacing passes every now and again, getting caught in possession and lacks pace, Lowton didn't do too much and was given a torrid time by their left winger in the 2nd half. Monty won battles in the first half and I don't think it was any coincidence that Yeovil starting bossing the midfield after he went off. McCallister offered little. Slew had a few long balls to chance but didn't really get the service.
It's 3 points and a clean sheet away from home so that is pleasing, and the fact that despite being under the cosh in the 2nd half, when Simmo had the ball he still insisted on rolling it out and playing football form the back. I like this philosophy and I think we will only get better at it - bearing in mind Adams' hoofball was only 3 months ago. What we are lacking though is some creativity in the final third, maybe McDonald and Willo could be the difference. Quinn seemed to be the only player trying to force the issue in the final third.
5 games in, 13 out of 15 points taken, unbeaten and a clear passing philosophy taking shape. It's not going to be perfect all the time straight away but we're getting there lads! Wizards.
