Hard to find any positives from today's archetypal fall from grace. Some will no doubt remind me that we are still top of the league and I am fully aware of that, but it is a false position based on the football we have been playing in recent weeks and it caught us out today. Reflect, if you will, on Huddersfield's 4-0 win at Exeter this afternoon.
Our starting line-up was adjusted today to accommodate Morrison at right-back as Solly moved to the bench. I assumed that Solly was injured or ill but learnt after the match that he was a sub. That will take some explaining, although Morrison didn't do much wrong. That meant Leon Cort came into the middle with Taylor. Green got the nod on the right wing and Kermorgant held onto the twin striking role with Wright-Phillips. I suppose Chris Powell will tell us we needed more height today in defence but that will sound a trifle hollow after the performances Solly has been putting in this season irrespective of his lack of inches.
Stevenage came at us for most of the first half. A familiar enough scenario in recent weeks and it surely reflects a managerial game plan to keep things tight and establish ourselves in matches before pushing on in the second-half. It didn't work again this week because Stevenage scored after ten minutes. A ridiculous deflection (from a Stacy Long shot - had to be him) left Hamer sprawling to his left as the ball flew in to his right. The massed ranks of optimists behind the goal had a perfect view. Stevenage didn't really come close again but they had all the meaningful possession and took the game to us up to the break.
In the second period we looked more interested although the pace hadn't risen noticeably. BWP was stretching his legs but we looked like we were playing one up front. I can't remember Yann Kermorgant touching the ball. The other player to have broken into the side in the last couple of weeks also went missing today. Danny Green had an absolute stinker and what threat we had came from Johnnie Jackson or long balls.
Dale Stephens and Danny Hollands were out-fought and out-thought in the middle. Both are decent footballers but neither can step in and we have developed a habit of trying just to compete in the centre of the pitch when we need to be dictating play. It was tough to see Charlton reject, Stacy Long, calling the shots against us in a League One fixture.
Bradley Wright-Phillips did come close to the leveller after half-time when he broke onto a long ball and bore down on goal but his clipped shot, which beat the keeper, also went agonisingly wide. Other than that, it took a superb save from Day to keep out a Leon Cort header from a corner that was expertly knocked down and was going in until the diving Day extended a hand at full stretch and turned it around the post. That, I am afraid, was the sum total of 90 minutes football against a side we all expected to beat. Not good enough for 1500+ travelling supporters.
I will also be critical of the use of substitutions today. Green failed to beat his man or get one decent cross in that I can remember and should have gone off immediately after a booking borne of frustration in his own performance around the hour mark but Powell kept him out there for another ten to fifteen minutes before bringing on Wagstaff. The second change on 80 was Evina for Stephens which necessitated a reshuffle with Jackson going into the middle, Evina to left-back and Rhoys Wiggins moving up. By the time they all settled in, we were playing added time.
Perhaps we have the right sort of opponents next week in Carlisle at the Valley but we need to shake things up and re-focus our players or we are going to slide out of the top spots and the vicious circle will again be on us.
Our starting line-up was adjusted today to accommodate Morrison at right-back as Solly moved to the bench. I assumed that Solly was injured or ill but learnt after the match that he was a sub. That will take some explaining, although Morrison didn't do much wrong. That meant Leon Cort came into the middle with Taylor. Green got the nod on the right wing and Kermorgant held onto the twin striking role with Wright-Phillips. I suppose Chris Powell will tell us we needed more height today in defence but that will sound a trifle hollow after the performances Solly has been putting in this season irrespective of his lack of inches.
Stevenage came at us for most of the first half. A familiar enough scenario in recent weeks and it surely reflects a managerial game plan to keep things tight and establish ourselves in matches before pushing on in the second-half. It didn't work again this week because Stevenage scored after ten minutes. A ridiculous deflection (from a Stacy Long shot - had to be him) left Hamer sprawling to his left as the ball flew in to his right. The massed ranks of optimists behind the goal had a perfect view. Stevenage didn't really come close again but they had all the meaningful possession and took the game to us up to the break.
In the second period we looked more interested although the pace hadn't risen noticeably. BWP was stretching his legs but we looked like we were playing one up front. I can't remember Yann Kermorgant touching the ball. The other player to have broken into the side in the last couple of weeks also went missing today. Danny Green had an absolute stinker and what threat we had came from Johnnie Jackson or long balls.
Dale Stephens and Danny Hollands were out-fought and out-thought in the middle. Both are decent footballers but neither can step in and we have developed a habit of trying just to compete in the centre of the pitch when we need to be dictating play. It was tough to see Charlton reject, Stacy Long, calling the shots against us in a League One fixture.
Bradley Wright-Phillips did come close to the leveller after half-time when he broke onto a long ball and bore down on goal but his clipped shot, which beat the keeper, also went agonisingly wide. Other than that, it took a superb save from Day to keep out a Leon Cort header from a corner that was expertly knocked down and was going in until the diving Day extended a hand at full stretch and turned it around the post. That, I am afraid, was the sum total of 90 minutes football against a side we all expected to beat. Not good enough for 1500+ travelling supporters.
I will also be critical of the use of substitutions today. Green failed to beat his man or get one decent cross in that I can remember and should have gone off immediately after a booking borne of frustration in his own performance around the hour mark but Powell kept him out there for another ten to fifteen minutes before bringing on Wagstaff. The second change on 80 was Evina for Stephens which necessitated a reshuffle with Jackson going into the middle, Evina to left-back and Rhoys Wiggins moving up. By the time they all settled in, we were playing added time.
Perhaps we have the right sort of opponents next week in Carlisle at the Valley but we need to shake things up and re-focus our players or we are going to slide out of the top spots and the vicious circle will again be on us.
Not pleasant reading Dave, but appreciate the frank report.
ReplyDeleteWe did have quite a few shots in the first half too Dave (Stephens, Wiggins, BWP), just that none seemed that close as they we at the "other" end. I agree that Wagstaff should have been on earlier, and the Evina switch did not work either.
ReplyDeletePedro45
Pedro - I did go for a burger and then a pee during the first half, so can't profess to have seen everything. It was a very thin performance nonetheless as I am sure you will agree.
ReplyDelete