Nothing to play for and it showed.
Apr 22, 2018 7:51:28 GMT
Russgas, markczgas, and 2 more like this
Post by stevek192 on Apr 22, 2018 7:51:28 GMT
This was another case of deja vu for our away from home experiences this season. OK we had nothing to play for but that cannot be held as an excuse because in all honesty it was no different to our performances in most away games. Lethargic on the ball and came out second best on most physical challenges especially in the middle of the park and up front with as usual a referee who seemed to favour the home side with his decisions. I would describe Rotherham as physical bordering on cheating but a team who pressurise in the right areas and don't give you time to play but who also take their chances when they come their way which yesterday was not very often. in truth it was another game that we could have won had we taken our chances. We had our fair share of the ball but as has been the case most of this season we did not look physically strong enough in all departments to actually win the game. We did play some nice football at times but the standard of crossing bordered on the ridiculous, our corners were their usual predictability- too long and floated and we gifted the opposition the important first goal with a far too regular individual error. For me the biggest problem all season is that when out of possession we just do not play as a team and allow the opponents far too much time and space to play and come at us with individuals having to spend a lot of energy with the thankless task of chasing shadows with not enough back up to win the ball. When we do get the ball our football and attacking just looks a bit punchless and you just know that the opponents when they get a chance are quite likely going to take it. Yesterday was no exception as both goals were quality- the first after James Clarke was dispossessed left an opponent with a lot to do but was expertly despatched as he ran through and hit the shot early into the far top corner and the second near the end cleverly flicked home from close in.
Slocombe 6 An OK game with little to do other than pick the ball out of the net twice.
J. Clarke 5 Caught in possession on the first goal and had a difficult game as he visibly took the mistake badly and it affected his performance.I am not convinced that he is good enough to take us forward as a club.
Lockyer 7.5 MOM Read the game well , won the majority of his battles and looked in control. Possibly should have done better on the second goal but this was more like the Tom Lockyer who has International honours.He was always quicker to the ball than the opposition and generally made good use of the ball when in possession.
Craig 7 One mistake when he was caught waiting fore the ball to bounce but like Lockyer was generally in control of his opponent and always uses his experience in dealing with situations.
Bola 6 Involved in the game a lot and attacked well with a mixture of good crosses and poor ones. Seems to lack fitness at times which is difficult to tell if it is lack of effort to get back or exhaustion from his efforts. In truth not a lot actually got past him and he is only a relatively young player.Is he worth persevering with if we do have the chance to sign him in the summer I would say because of his age he is worth taking the chance on.
Moore 5.5 Not as good as his other recent performances and seemed to lose a bit of interest after a couple of dubious challenges early on that the referee failed to acknowledge. In truth Rotherham were a physical side that bordered on nastiness and plain cheating. His one moment of real class saw him create a great chance for himself with good dribbling skills but unfortunately after doing the difficult work his weak shot was saved by the keeper which was a shame because unlike most of his play it was a class bit of skill.
Lines 6 An Ok game when in possession but like the rest of the midfield were second best and lacked the passion against opponents who still have something to play for.
O. Clarke 6 A frustrating player who goes missing far too much and tends to find opponents with straight forward passes after doing good work. Yesterday he worked hard and showed skill but was too often just plain careless in his use of the ball. For me we need better if we are to progress, maybe good enough to be a back up but not a starter next season.
Bennett 6 Gave possession away far too often and struggled against a very physical side but that said he was still our brightest player when on the ball and is always trying to make things happen. He had probably our best chance and should have put the chance away in the second half when one on one with the keeper.
Nichols 4 How many more chances can he be given? Just doesn't seem to take up intelligent positions and doesn't look like scoring in a million years. I would give Telford the last three games as he deserves the chance whereas for me DC has shown more than enough faith in his expensive signing to the point of I would say desperation in standing by him.
Harrison 6 Didn't get any protection from the referee and I am sure he was taken off because it looked possible that he would get sent off after his late booking for a challenge that he had received all afternoon without any punishment..
Subs:
Mensah 4 Tried hard but in all honesty was no improvement whatsoever on Byron Moore. He does not really look up to League 1 standard but I would not write him off without a full preseason's training
Telford 6 In the short time he was on the pitch he did more than Nicholls had done all game and at least got on the end of a Bola cross but couldn't direct his header on target.
Gaffney 5 Has the look of a player who has become disillusioned with the lack of regular selection and although he deserves to stay more than Nicholls, as he is out of contract I feel this will be his last season with us and in all probability he will drop down to league 2.
Crowd 7 A good turn out of over 600 for a game that we had nothing really to play for other than pride but there was a good atmosphere and the home supporters could see that the referee was easily persuaded and provided quite a hostile reception for our players. It amazes me the numbers that turn up despite the fact that we probably have one of the worst away records in the Country.
Ref 3 Another poor referee who allowed the home crowd to dictate his decisions and was inconsistent throughout allowing the physical home side to get away with pretty well everything from start to finish.
Rotherham 6.5 Were allowed to get away with a very robust physical approach however what I would say is that if we want to improve then we need to get more quality into our side and become more aggressive because yet again we came out second best from a lot of the physical challenges. I would describe Rotherham as a hard working side with no real stars and I will be surprised if they manage to go up through the Play Offs.
DC My only criticism would be in his continued backing of the ineffective Nicholls. To be honest we looked like a team that had nothing to play for but it is very frustrating to travel so far and see us yet again lacking a real finisher as Rotherham scored with their only two shots on target. For me Darrell has a real tough assignment on his hands in the summer to find the quality at the right price to make us Top six contenders.
So we move on to another tough assignment on Tuesday against the best side in the division and I will be very surprised if we can avoid defeat in fact I will go as far as to say that I don't really hold out much hope of another victory this season although our best hope is next Saturday against Gillingham. It has been a tough season but we have done well to reach safety with so many games to spare especially when you look at the number of injuries sustained and the number of long term absence. Summer can't come quick enough as far as I am concerned !! UTG
Slocombe 6 An OK game with little to do other than pick the ball out of the net twice.
J. Clarke 5 Caught in possession on the first goal and had a difficult game as he visibly took the mistake badly and it affected his performance.I am not convinced that he is good enough to take us forward as a club.
Lockyer 7.5 MOM Read the game well , won the majority of his battles and looked in control. Possibly should have done better on the second goal but this was more like the Tom Lockyer who has International honours.He was always quicker to the ball than the opposition and generally made good use of the ball when in possession.
Craig 7 One mistake when he was caught waiting fore the ball to bounce but like Lockyer was generally in control of his opponent and always uses his experience in dealing with situations.
Bola 6 Involved in the game a lot and attacked well with a mixture of good crosses and poor ones. Seems to lack fitness at times which is difficult to tell if it is lack of effort to get back or exhaustion from his efforts. In truth not a lot actually got past him and he is only a relatively young player.Is he worth persevering with if we do have the chance to sign him in the summer I would say because of his age he is worth taking the chance on.
Moore 5.5 Not as good as his other recent performances and seemed to lose a bit of interest after a couple of dubious challenges early on that the referee failed to acknowledge. In truth Rotherham were a physical side that bordered on nastiness and plain cheating. His one moment of real class saw him create a great chance for himself with good dribbling skills but unfortunately after doing the difficult work his weak shot was saved by the keeper which was a shame because unlike most of his play it was a class bit of skill.
Lines 6 An Ok game when in possession but like the rest of the midfield were second best and lacked the passion against opponents who still have something to play for.
O. Clarke 6 A frustrating player who goes missing far too much and tends to find opponents with straight forward passes after doing good work. Yesterday he worked hard and showed skill but was too often just plain careless in his use of the ball. For me we need better if we are to progress, maybe good enough to be a back up but not a starter next season.
Bennett 6 Gave possession away far too often and struggled against a very physical side but that said he was still our brightest player when on the ball and is always trying to make things happen. He had probably our best chance and should have put the chance away in the second half when one on one with the keeper.
Nichols 4 How many more chances can he be given? Just doesn't seem to take up intelligent positions and doesn't look like scoring in a million years. I would give Telford the last three games as he deserves the chance whereas for me DC has shown more than enough faith in his expensive signing to the point of I would say desperation in standing by him.
Harrison 6 Didn't get any protection from the referee and I am sure he was taken off because it looked possible that he would get sent off after his late booking for a challenge that he had received all afternoon without any punishment..
Subs:
Mensah 4 Tried hard but in all honesty was no improvement whatsoever on Byron Moore. He does not really look up to League 1 standard but I would not write him off without a full preseason's training
Telford 6 In the short time he was on the pitch he did more than Nicholls had done all game and at least got on the end of a Bola cross but couldn't direct his header on target.
Gaffney 5 Has the look of a player who has become disillusioned with the lack of regular selection and although he deserves to stay more than Nicholls, as he is out of contract I feel this will be his last season with us and in all probability he will drop down to league 2.
Crowd 7 A good turn out of over 600 for a game that we had nothing really to play for other than pride but there was a good atmosphere and the home supporters could see that the referee was easily persuaded and provided quite a hostile reception for our players. It amazes me the numbers that turn up despite the fact that we probably have one of the worst away records in the Country.
Ref 3 Another poor referee who allowed the home crowd to dictate his decisions and was inconsistent throughout allowing the physical home side to get away with pretty well everything from start to finish.
Rotherham 6.5 Were allowed to get away with a very robust physical approach however what I would say is that if we want to improve then we need to get more quality into our side and become more aggressive because yet again we came out second best from a lot of the physical challenges. I would describe Rotherham as a hard working side with no real stars and I will be surprised if they manage to go up through the Play Offs.
DC My only criticism would be in his continued backing of the ineffective Nicholls. To be honest we looked like a team that had nothing to play for but it is very frustrating to travel so far and see us yet again lacking a real finisher as Rotherham scored with their only two shots on target. For me Darrell has a real tough assignment on his hands in the summer to find the quality at the right price to make us Top six contenders.
So we move on to another tough assignment on Tuesday against the best side in the division and I will be very surprised if we can avoid defeat in fact I will go as far as to say that I don't really hold out much hope of another victory this season although our best hope is next Saturday against Gillingham. It has been a tough season but we have done well to reach safety with so many games to spare especially when you look at the number of injuries sustained and the number of long term absence. Summer can't come quick enough as far as I am concerned !! UTG
