Every player played their part
Jan 18, 2016 10:32:47 GMT
Antonio Fargas, Parrot, and 4 more like this
Post by stevek192 on Jan 18, 2016 10:32:47 GMT
I have to be honest and say that before this game I thought 4 points would be a great return from the next 2 matches as I didn't see us taking anything from Oxford and even more so when we went one down so early in the second half but this is a team of fighters who never give up and I can give nothing but praise for the battling qualities shown by every player in this team. I am sure that Swansea must wish that their team contained as many battling players for their fight ahead as ours showed yesterday because there was no difference between how Oxford played yesterday and how they played last week. They looked an excellent team but we battled with them in all the key areas and probably created the clearer chances overall despite the amount of pressure that Oxford put on us.
Mildenhall 8 Close to MOM for me because he did nothing wrong and two saves kept us in the game. The tip over from where I was looked a run of the mill save that you expect him to make but when you see it from behind the shot it was an amazing save and the very sort that was flying past Nicholls in a couple of games. The second save with his feet was important and was good because he kept himself big and gave the player no angle to shoot. I feel he has come back to prove a point and even if we sign a keeper now I would keep Mildenhall as number 1 at the present time as he deserves his place and that was three points he gained us today.
J. Clarke 7 One mistake that could have cost us heavily but overall it was a no nonsence performance both steady and effective. Put his body on the line as did most of our players today and if we can win at Oxford we can win anywhere.
Clarke has had a good first season at this level and I have no doubt that he could make the step up to the next level too. Another great signing by DC.
Lockyer 7.5 Felt he got caught out on a couple of occasions but generally did a superb job of marking Roofe and controlled things at the back. He is not exceedingly fast like Steve Yates used to be but reads the game very well and is strong in the tackle and reads the game so well for a youngster.
Has really nailed his position this season ,yes he makes mistakes but who doesn't. He has a great future in the game and I hope that is can be with us as we move up.
Parkes 8.5 MOM That tackle in the second half was absolutely brilliant and I thought he was outstanding again. Worked well with Brown and with his two centre halves and really put his body on the line and gave everything. Was good in possession and strong and decisive both in the air and on the ground. He is thankfully back to his best form and long may it continue.
Leadbitter 8 Another who I considered for MOM with his pace when defending being a tremendous asset and he got forward far better than Brown and the way he both beat his player and then put in a fantastic cross for Matty Taylor's goal was top drawer. Let's hope he can put more crosses like that in . Think he may have given Roofe too much room on the goal as he was the player who was marking him at the time.
Brown 7 Brown was the one defender who worried me a bit today as Oxford were very good down that side and I felt when he was attacking in the first half he was getting caught too far up and they were giving us problems down that side. Got more defensive in the second half and kept it reasonably tight but to be fair he was outnumbered a few times and had a reasonable game as we defended excellently for long periods.
Sinclair 7 I didn't think he was as influential as usual but he still covered every piece of grass and hassled the opposition. It was very important to match the opposition work rate because that really was Swansea's downfall but for me he lost out on many aerial challenges which despite his size is not like him but it is testament to the Man that even when not playing his best he gives more than just an average performance.
Mansell 7.5 Like Sinclair was here there and everywhere but for me was more effective. Manse is a leader and every game to him is a battle for supremacy and I can only think that when he was substituted it was because he was either injured or worn out. We are very lucky to have two workers in our midfield which Swansea did not have who will compete for every ball. They didn't always win the ball but you know with manse if he does not win the first ball he will make sure he wins the next challenge and then try to break forward and set up the next attack.
Lines 7 Showed glimpses of what he can do for the team with some lovely passes and always looked composed but was let down at times by his rustiness which is to be expected as he has not played much. He is a bit of a luxury but when he has two workers with him then that can be accommodated although I have the feeling that had Lawrence been fit he would have started ahead of Lines. Certainly yesterday he looked more like the player we signed and was very unlucky with key passes on a couple of occasions where he was close to picking out an ace pass.
Taylor 6.5 Very much a mixed day for Matty but the fact he scored with a beautiful header from a pin point cross from Leadbitter means he did what he is paid to do, I just feel that he needs more composure to take good chances when he has time to think. He is a natural goalscorer when he does it instinctively but if he has time he does not make the most of it and seems to rush his finish. He could easily have come off with the match ball yesterday and it was a great shame that a brilliant break and unselfish lay off from Gaffney ended up in the car park. 15 goals this season at this stage is a great return and surely he will end up with at least twenty goals by the end of the season which is probably more than could be expected in his first season at this level.
Gaffney 8 What a difference this man makes to the side and yesterdays performance just showed what we missed at Barnet last week. He really worked the two centre halves in a way that the 2 huge Barnet centre halves were not. He holds the ball up so well that it gives others time to get up the field and he battles for most of the headers but if you add to that the fact that he just doesn't stop running then maybe at last we have the leader of the attack that we were lacking in most of the first half of the season. He deserved a goal for his efforts and was unlucky on a couple of occasions not to get his final shot in. My only problem at the moment is that we have nobody else like him now with Harrison and Lucas on loan but there again we have to think ourselves lucky to have such a good player.
Subs:
O Clarke 6 Much better than last week as when he came on it was very much a backs to the wall job and he did a good job in battling for loose balls and tightening up the midfield area with a fresh pair of legs
Easter 6.5 Won us the penalty and made some good runs.
Harrison 6.5 Ice cool under the pressure of taking the late penalty and dispatched it with ruthless ease. Surely his departure on loan means that another striker is coming in however to balance the squad it should be a player similar to Gaffney but the rumours seem to be that it is Matt Tubbs which if true will be amazing to have both Tubbs and Easter but are they too similar?
Crowd 9 Fantastic atmosphere as always at Oxford although in truth for much of the game were the Oxford fans really there?.
Ref 6
Oxford fans thought he was biased towards us but I thought the opposite and he allowed Oxford to get away with a lot of niggling and obvious fouls. IMO he got the decision both right and wrong on their "penalty" appeal- the decision was right but the failure to book Odowda for an obvious dive was wrong. Overall I would say one of the better referees but with a lot of them that doesn't take a lot.
Oxford 8.5 Make no mistake we beat a very good side yesterday and IMO the best side in this League. Play good composed football and have a lot of pace in the side which is something we would have struggled to deal with in seasons past but this team now mans up to the task and cover each other when opponents break.
DC Got it right again with how he set the team up and the substitutions. I may not always like the way we play or the players selected but that is just personal taste because IMO we have here the best Manager since Gerry Francis and I really hope that he will stay with us and take us forward. Will it be a double promotion? I don't know but I am sure most supporters would bite the hand off to be where we are now and in the words of the song "Nobody does it better" than DC. It could be an interesting period between now and the closing of the transfer deadline to see what else he has up his sleeve.
So we move on to another massive match when we welcome Plymouth to the Mem next week. I would have settled for 4 points from yesterday and next week before the Oxford match so a draw would be a satisfactory return but I'm feeling greedy and to beat the League leaders on top of yesterdays result would really send a message to the other sides in this league. UTG
Mildenhall 8 Close to MOM for me because he did nothing wrong and two saves kept us in the game. The tip over from where I was looked a run of the mill save that you expect him to make but when you see it from behind the shot it was an amazing save and the very sort that was flying past Nicholls in a couple of games. The second save with his feet was important and was good because he kept himself big and gave the player no angle to shoot. I feel he has come back to prove a point and even if we sign a keeper now I would keep Mildenhall as number 1 at the present time as he deserves his place and that was three points he gained us today.
J. Clarke 7 One mistake that could have cost us heavily but overall it was a no nonsence performance both steady and effective. Put his body on the line as did most of our players today and if we can win at Oxford we can win anywhere.
Clarke has had a good first season at this level and I have no doubt that he could make the step up to the next level too. Another great signing by DC.
Lockyer 7.5 Felt he got caught out on a couple of occasions but generally did a superb job of marking Roofe and controlled things at the back. He is not exceedingly fast like Steve Yates used to be but reads the game very well and is strong in the tackle and reads the game so well for a youngster.
Has really nailed his position this season ,yes he makes mistakes but who doesn't. He has a great future in the game and I hope that is can be with us as we move up.
Parkes 8.5 MOM That tackle in the second half was absolutely brilliant and I thought he was outstanding again. Worked well with Brown and with his two centre halves and really put his body on the line and gave everything. Was good in possession and strong and decisive both in the air and on the ground. He is thankfully back to his best form and long may it continue.
Leadbitter 8 Another who I considered for MOM with his pace when defending being a tremendous asset and he got forward far better than Brown and the way he both beat his player and then put in a fantastic cross for Matty Taylor's goal was top drawer. Let's hope he can put more crosses like that in . Think he may have given Roofe too much room on the goal as he was the player who was marking him at the time.
Brown 7 Brown was the one defender who worried me a bit today as Oxford were very good down that side and I felt when he was attacking in the first half he was getting caught too far up and they were giving us problems down that side. Got more defensive in the second half and kept it reasonably tight but to be fair he was outnumbered a few times and had a reasonable game as we defended excellently for long periods.
Sinclair 7 I didn't think he was as influential as usual but he still covered every piece of grass and hassled the opposition. It was very important to match the opposition work rate because that really was Swansea's downfall but for me he lost out on many aerial challenges which despite his size is not like him but it is testament to the Man that even when not playing his best he gives more than just an average performance.
Mansell 7.5 Like Sinclair was here there and everywhere but for me was more effective. Manse is a leader and every game to him is a battle for supremacy and I can only think that when he was substituted it was because he was either injured or worn out. We are very lucky to have two workers in our midfield which Swansea did not have who will compete for every ball. They didn't always win the ball but you know with manse if he does not win the first ball he will make sure he wins the next challenge and then try to break forward and set up the next attack.
Lines 7 Showed glimpses of what he can do for the team with some lovely passes and always looked composed but was let down at times by his rustiness which is to be expected as he has not played much. He is a bit of a luxury but when he has two workers with him then that can be accommodated although I have the feeling that had Lawrence been fit he would have started ahead of Lines. Certainly yesterday he looked more like the player we signed and was very unlucky with key passes on a couple of occasions where he was close to picking out an ace pass.
Taylor 6.5 Very much a mixed day for Matty but the fact he scored with a beautiful header from a pin point cross from Leadbitter means he did what he is paid to do, I just feel that he needs more composure to take good chances when he has time to think. He is a natural goalscorer when he does it instinctively but if he has time he does not make the most of it and seems to rush his finish. He could easily have come off with the match ball yesterday and it was a great shame that a brilliant break and unselfish lay off from Gaffney ended up in the car park. 15 goals this season at this stage is a great return and surely he will end up with at least twenty goals by the end of the season which is probably more than could be expected in his first season at this level.
Gaffney 8 What a difference this man makes to the side and yesterdays performance just showed what we missed at Barnet last week. He really worked the two centre halves in a way that the 2 huge Barnet centre halves were not. He holds the ball up so well that it gives others time to get up the field and he battles for most of the headers but if you add to that the fact that he just doesn't stop running then maybe at last we have the leader of the attack that we were lacking in most of the first half of the season. He deserved a goal for his efforts and was unlucky on a couple of occasions not to get his final shot in. My only problem at the moment is that we have nobody else like him now with Harrison and Lucas on loan but there again we have to think ourselves lucky to have such a good player.
Subs:
O Clarke 6 Much better than last week as when he came on it was very much a backs to the wall job and he did a good job in battling for loose balls and tightening up the midfield area with a fresh pair of legs
Easter 6.5 Won us the penalty and made some good runs.
Harrison 6.5 Ice cool under the pressure of taking the late penalty and dispatched it with ruthless ease. Surely his departure on loan means that another striker is coming in however to balance the squad it should be a player similar to Gaffney but the rumours seem to be that it is Matt Tubbs which if true will be amazing to have both Tubbs and Easter but are they too similar?
Crowd 9 Fantastic atmosphere as always at Oxford although in truth for much of the game were the Oxford fans really there?.
Ref 6
Oxford fans thought he was biased towards us but I thought the opposite and he allowed Oxford to get away with a lot of niggling and obvious fouls. IMO he got the decision both right and wrong on their "penalty" appeal- the decision was right but the failure to book Odowda for an obvious dive was wrong. Overall I would say one of the better referees but with a lot of them that doesn't take a lot.
Oxford 8.5 Make no mistake we beat a very good side yesterday and IMO the best side in this League. Play good composed football and have a lot of pace in the side which is something we would have struggled to deal with in seasons past but this team now mans up to the task and cover each other when opponents break.
DC Got it right again with how he set the team up and the substitutions. I may not always like the way we play or the players selected but that is just personal taste because IMO we have here the best Manager since Gerry Francis and I really hope that he will stay with us and take us forward. Will it be a double promotion? I don't know but I am sure most supporters would bite the hand off to be where we are now and in the words of the song "Nobody does it better" than DC. It could be an interesting period between now and the closing of the transfer deadline to see what else he has up his sleeve.
So we move on to another massive match when we welcome Plymouth to the Mem next week. I would have settled for 4 points from yesterday and next week before the Oxford match so a draw would be a satisfactory return but I'm feeling greedy and to beat the League leaders on top of yesterdays result would really send a message to the other sides in this league. UTG
