Haven't read back the thread for my own sanity so apologies if I repeat anything that has already been mentioned.
I thought we were good going forward tonight, we showed a good mix of possession play but also going long and direct when needed - but we absolutely threw the game away due to calamitous defending, which has been a staple this season when holding on to a lead - I just don't think we have the quality at the back to see out games consistently, and it will be our downfall. The starting 11 was spot on, and the left side really stifled Bowie and Leonard who are their danger men - Rodrigues and Bodin (bar his mistake) had a good half and dictated play nicely, the heavy focus on wing play didn't help Harris though who was very quiet all night. Murphy played some lovely passes and one hell of a cross but I thought the keeper should have done better for his goal. If I'm being picky for their first goal, then Cumming has to come out and claim the cross for me, he was stuck to his goal line and the header was really close range and you always look at the goalkeeper for those, not saying he should save it, but think a bigger presence claims it.
Second half was very stop start not helped by Cam's injury and the fourth official not knowing how to work his board but we played some nice stuff at times. Credit to Des for the subs which came at the right time, Dale was fantastic when he came on and Mceachran gave us so much more control and assurance in the middle, a great header by Goodwin which gets me very excited for when/if we have Murphy and Dale providing crosses for him for a full 90. Their 2nd goal was a shambles all round and started with Long hoofing the ball needlessly back into our half when we had it in a good position, that being said, Negru has to either lash it out or play it back to the keeper, it's criminal what he did and we got punished big time. Matete has to do a lot better at tracking the man too, I had serious doubts about his defensive ability before he signed and that hasn't changed - think he's good in a high press but we are definitely missing the old fashioned defensive midfielder we've needed for years.
Boos at the full time whistle were really disappointing and overall we didn't deserve them, it was a good performance against a very capable Northampton side. Rather than saying they're "ordinary" or "average" maybe lets give some credit to Des for setting us up in a way that completely shut off their threat - I've seen enough in the last 3 games to know he can read how a game is going very well and but for defensive errors he'd rightly be getting a lot of praise for the way we set up and the substitutions he made tonight.
It was evident around me tonight that the fan base are now in agreement that Long is a major weak link, but to me it's been obvious for a very long time. He has a fantastic attitude but he's a conference level defender, and Negru isn't much better currently. Our whole defensive system needs a huge overhaul in the summer, Leigh and Moore would be the only ones with a chance of staying in the side for me. Brown is solid and dependable but there is better out there for sure. Also not quite sure on Cumming although we have been very spoilt with Beadle this season.
Final point, the ref was really good I thought. Didn't want to be centre of attention, was consistent and let the game flow. Gives me hope that there are some good ones out there maybe