Player Ratings:
(Attended the game, sat on the front row of the SSU, near the halfway line)
Eastwood: 7 - Didn’t have much to do but made some good catches and bowled it out well a few times as well. Don’t think he could have done anything for the goal
Brown: 6 - Didn’t do anything massively wrong but I felt he wasn’t quite as good as he usually is, but certainly not a bad performance by any means. Didn’t offer a huge amount going forwards, as ever
Findlay: 7 - I thought that was one of his better performances for us and a time where he outpperformed his centre back partner. Still not great on the ball but solid and combative.
Moore: 6 - I’m not fully convinced by him, he’ll never be a Nelson/Dickie/Atkinson/McNally, but he’s solid enough in L1/L2
Long: 5 - I’m surprised at the praise for him as I thought he was only ok. He looked shaky on the ball for me and low in confidence. He still worked hard and tried things
Brannagan: 6 - Worked hard, busy. Not all of his long passes came off.
McGuane: 6 - He certainly saw a lot of the ball, but as so often it was usually in a deep area which couldn’t hurt the opposition. I’d love to see him play in the AMC role that Browne has.
Browne: 7 - I thought he was decent; ran at people, got them booked, should have had more protection from the referee if anything. Awful shooting though and needs to learn to pass better/quicker. I was impressed by his workrate and pressing though, he really seems to have bought in to the new regime, long may it continue
Joseph: 7 - Not everything he tried came off but his work rate was exceptional and he harried and closed down with aplomb
O’Donkor: 6 - It’s a hard one to score as he did so much right, held the ball up well, ran at them, won free kicks and got players booked, but missing those gilt-edged chances drops him down for me. Very promising still, but should have come off earlier when he was clearly shot. Subbed on the 83rd minute when the 70th would have been far more suitable.
Goodrham: 6 - Barely touched the ball in the first 15 mins or so but grew into the game and still seemed fresh and sharp when he came off. Likeable character and good with the ball at his feet
Subs:
Wildschut: 4 - I don’t understand why Manning keeps bringing him on as a left winger. He isn’t a winger. He has no pace, no agility and can’t dribble. I’d be happy to see him as a central striker as he is strong and can hold the ball up and play a pass, but he noticeably weakened the team when he came on and we looked less threatening down that side than before
Bodin: 5 - Had some nice touches and got into some good positions but his shooting was poor.
Anderson: 7 - Didn’t have much time but absolutely terrified their left back when he ran at them and put a couple of decent balls in.