WACCOE:
Well, should be a few more than usual as it was online.
Schmeichel: 6 Nothing really to do. Not particularly commanding at set pieces it must be said. Kicking was better but Max isn't the best target to go for is he?
Connolly: 6 Got caught too far forward at times. Delivery varied, shocking to just alright, put a few good challenges in when the game stretched in the second half.
Collins: 6 Solid in the air, lost his man too often, can't control anything not rolled to him with the force of a baby's breathing.
O'Brien: 7 Solid defensively.
Hughes: 4 Utterly dreadful. Just not good enough from him today. Nearly everything he did, simple or hard, went badly and bizarrely wrong.
Snodgrass: 6.5 Some lovely touches and link up play, drew a few bookings but final ball let him down.
Howson: 6.5 Worked hard getting up and down, but too deep and was well marked. Did well in the final ten minutes when the space opened up for him, and linked better than McCormack.
Johnson 4 Truly awful in the first half. Poor touches, awful passing, too slow with his movement and decision making. Improved slightly at left back.
Gradel: 5 Just never got going, couldn't beat his man and crossing was pants.
McCormack: 5 Tried, but performance summed up by his miss late on. Howson links better than him imo.
Becchio: 6 Having a poor game until he scored. Right place at the right time and a decent finish.
Subs
Kilkenny: 6.5 Did pretty well, got us moving faster than with Johnson in the middle, allowed players like Howson and the wingers to get forward knowing they might actually get the ball played to them.
Sam: 5.5 Didn't do much beyond the cut in from the left and shot just after he came on.
Watt: 7 Caused them a real problem with some decent crossing.
Grayson: 6.5 Subs changed the game, but the decision to pick Hughes, who had a nightmare, wasn't correct with hindsight, and I thought Johnson was weak in the middle for too long before it was changed. As it was we had the better of the game and possibly deserved a couple more points for the way we played towards the end.
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Kasper - 6 - Had nothing much to do however he has to take some fault for the total lack of communication in the defence.
Connolly - 7 - Steady, typical PC performance.
Collins - 6 - Doesn't strike me with much confidence but played a big part in the goal.
A'OB - 6 - Think he needs a better partner than Sam but needs to be a better leader as he has the obvious pedigree.
Hughes - 5 - A lot of effort but just generally poor.
Snoddy - 7 - Got battered a bit but looked like doing something, linked up well with Howson/Ross
Johnson - 5 - Has he got a new contract? Was poor today, a lot of effort but he just has no footballing brain at all.
Howson - 6 - Quiet, has some neat touches but isn't in the game, misses Killa/his position behind Becchio.
Max - 6 - Poor final ball, maybe time for a rest?
Ross - 6 - Should have scored, seems to be trying to hard but when he scores his first goal it should all click for him.
Becchio - 7 - Scored the equaliser but didn't seem to win many headers today, maybe tired?
Subs:
Sam - 6 - A decent run but not all that involved
Killa - 8 - Changed our play, quite a few good runs with the ball, the brain in our midfield.
Watt - 7 - Not much time but put in some neat crosses and generally did well.
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Schmeichel 6 - barely had anything to do, but urged the players forward and kicking game was decent
Connolly 6 - steady display, could have been a little more effective going forward
O'Brien 6 - reasonably assured display
Collins 7 - looked comfortable on the ball, made some good headers/tackles MOTM
Hughes 5 - very poor. wasteful
Johnson 5 - absolutely woeful until the last 20 mins
Howson 6 - did well, but could have been a little more involved
Snodgrass 6 - always a threat, but final ball was poor
McCormack 5 - didn't look match fit, often selfish and missed several opportunities
Gradel 5 - just not at the races today
Becchio 5 - scored the goal, but wheather had him in his pocket.
Sam 6 - nice energy, but guilty of losing possesion in advanced positions
Kilkenny 6 - ok, without adding little value
Watt - n/a
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Kasper - 6 - Iffy distribution.
Connolly - 6 - Nothing partiucularly stands out, good or bad.
O'Brien - 7 - Won plenty of headers, looked composed mostly.
Collins - 7 - Like O'Brien was pretty solid. Not much came through the middle.
Hughes - 4 - Out of his depth. Terrible.
Johnson - 5 - Back to the old Johnson. Slow thought process.
Howson - 6 - Not involved. Better towards the end when pushed forward.
Snoddy - 6 - Looked knackered even before they started booting him up in the air. Took plenty of challenges today.
Gradel - 6 - Mowbray had him well scouted. Marked out the game. That said, we didn't get the ball enough to him.
McCormack - 6 - Plenty of effort and some neat touches. Would have a 7 but that miss was awful.
Becchio - 6 - Dominated in the air for once. Boro's centre halves were very good until they stopped playing on about 88 minutes.
Subs
Kilkenny - 7 - Brought players into the game who had been missing before he came on. Howson actually got the ball in decent positions as a result of some pretty simple passing. Should have started.
Sam - 6 - Could the Sam from in the season please come back. Too easily knocked off the ball and kept running into trouble.
Watt - 7 - Some good runs and seemed to have the pace to get away from them. Should have been on earlier with Snoddy struggling to really make an impact.
Thought their fans were decent.
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Schmeichel - 6 : Not much to do
Connolly - 6 : Steady, not as much attacking play with Snoddy but that was due to Snodgrass
Collins - 6.5 : Not bad, did well in the air
O'Brien - 5.5 : Shaky, not his usual self. Almost seemed like he wasn't up for it like he has been
Hughes - 6 : Will struggle against decent wingers
Snodgrass - 6 : Completely marked out of the game, fair play to Boro for realising our danger man
Johnson - 6 : Prefers 4-5-1
Howson - 6 : Went missing in parts, but when involved looked good
Gradel - 6 : Same as Snodgrass, ineffective
Becchio - 5 : Pretty gash overall to be honest, very good defending from Wheater and Bates throughout. Good finish though
Subs
Sam - 7 : Should be given a start, more consistent than Gradel
Kilkenny - 7: We'll miss him this month. Today proved that.
Watt - 6 : No real impact. Good to see him back
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Schmeichel 6 -nothing much to do
Connolly 6 - steady, if not one of his best games
O'Brien 6 - "OK", made a bit of a horlicks over one or two clearances
Collins 5 - again "OK" when anything came to him about shoulder high
Hughes 4 - tries hard but completely out of his depth...WTF can't Grayson see this?
Johnson 5 - piss poor, improved slightly at LB
Howson 6 - Wasted by not playing in his best position.
Snodgrass 6 - Had one or two good runs, roughed up by their dirty fouls
McCormack 4 - 6 for his general play but minus 2 for finishing worse than a blind, one legged, centre half...AGAIN! He's SUPPOSED to be a goal scorer
Gradel 5 - poor
Becchio 5 - Disappointing but took his goal well
Kilkenny 6 - steadied the midfield in the second half
Watt 6 - one lively run and good cross for "that miss"
Sam 6 - again looked lively when he first came on
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Kasper - 6 - Nothing to do besides picking it out of the net
Connolly - 5 - Average, didn't get forward as often as he can and his crossing was way off the mark
Collins - 6 - 'Ok' Caused them problems towards the end
O'Brien - 6 - Again, just 'ok'
Hughes - 4 - Not good enough. Parker in
Snodgrass - 6 - Doubled up on him everytime. Was been kicked all over the place in the 2nd half, tried his best
Howson - 6 - Really doesn't shine as much when played further back in midfield
Johnson - 5 - Poor first half, average second. Towards the end did well though
Gradel - 5 - Off day for him. None of his crosses came off and didnt look like much of a threat tbh
McCormack - 6 - Shows flashes of class but not alot is coming off for him. Always wanted the ball though but really should've put that away at the end
Becchio - 5 - Did absolutely nothing besides score
Watt - 5 - Didn't look confident for me on the right wing. Which was the position he was brought on to play. Drifted too central leaving us with nothing out wide
Sam - 7 - Lively, caused them problems on the left. Bit like Snoddy, they didnt know if he was cutting inside or going to the byline
Kilkenny - 7 - We're gonna miss him when he goes, should've started today whilst we still have him. Does the simple things well and gets us going
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We were f**king dire today. Lucky to get a point. Only showed anything in the last 10 minutes.
Schmeichel-6-Poor distribution, gone from those bullet kicks to just lofting it miles up.
Connolly-6- Not at his best, poor crossing. Did alright defensively.
Collins-7- Won pretty much every header, in both boxes.
O'Brien-6- Average, too shaky with clearances.
Hughes-4- Tortured by Emnes. Awful.
Snodgrass-7- Did well until that dirty twat hit him.
Johnson-4-Awful first half. Decent at LB.
Howson-6- Missing most of the game. Not at his best.
Gradel-5- Awful crossing, awful decision making in general.
McCormack-7- Tried hard, some good touches, so close late on, should have finished it.
Becchio-5- Good finish, but Wheater had him in his back pocket nearly all game.
Sam-6- Good running, not much came off.
Kilkenny-7- Some good passing but f**king hell he takes his time.
Watt-7- Added spark, played really well for me.
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KS - 7 - distribution looked better than last 2 games, not real work to do!
PC - 7 - Solid as ever
AOB - 7 - Decent enough, headers seemed to be up in the air though, rather than clear
NC - 7 - Same as above
AH - 4 - A legend, but simply not good enough for this division
MG - 6 - marked out of the game, closed down by 2 every time!
BJ - 6.5 - looked decent playing in the whole between midfield and defence.
JH - 6.5 - looked to get hold of the ball at times, and gave 100% as ever
RM - 6.5 - tried hard, should have scored at the end, but was one of a couple that actually wanted to be there
RS - 6 - looks tired and like Max, was marked out of the game
LB - 7 - was winning the header, no one on the end of them. Great finish! LUCCCIANNNOOOOOOO!
LS - 7 - some good runs forward and some decent balls in the box, looked promising
NK - 7.5 - we looked a lot better when he came on, slowed the ball down and got the ball on the deck. We're going to miss him!
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Schmeichel: 6 - Couldn't do much with goal. Kicking to our wingers from deadballs etc isn't clever though.
Connolly: 4 - Still looked pissed from last night, his worst performance for us so far.
Collins: 7 - No protection offered from midfield, both cb's did well to stop them in open play.
O'Brien: 7 - Same as above.
Hughes: 6 - Did well at times, but also showed he isn't good enough for this league.
Snodgrass: 6 - Struggled to beat the full back, just like Gradel. Full back showed him outside everytime, obviously knew he would be worker off his weaker foot that way. Should of swapped sides with Gradel so he didn't try cutting back on his left to put ball in, very frustrating.
Howson: 6 - Comes in and out of the game too much when playing deeper, shame too seen as he had been doing so well. Bit of a dilema really as I want to see McCormack playing too.
Johnson: 5 - Touch and passing was back to his usual low standard, did better at left back than in the centre.
Gradel: 6 - Same as Snodgrass.
McCormack: 7 - Always looking to get on the ball, impressed me. Should of had 2 though, volley at edge of 6 yard area was poor. Header he missed doesn't need explaining.
Becchio: 6 - Quiet until he scored, frustrating game for him as he is good in the air but didn't get any service from the wingers.
Subs
Kilkenny: 6.5 - Keeps the ball for us better than anyone, even if we don't always go forward with it. Just needs to put himself about in their.
Sam: 5.5 - Got by the defender once when he cut inside and shot. Every other time full back expected it, once again should of put him on his stronger side Today.
Watt: 7 - Great ball for McCormack at the end. Caused them problems while he was on. Shame he couldn't get more power into his tame shot when 1 down.
Grayson: 6.5 Subs changed the game, but the decision to pick Hughes, who had a nightmare, wasn't correct with hindsight, and I thought Johnson was weak in the middle for too long before it was changed. As it was we had the better of the game and possibly deserved a couple more points for the way we played towards the end.
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KEEPER(1-player): Not much to do other than distribute the ball which was dreadful.
Scmeichel-5 not much to do other than 1 awkward save, a couple of catches and kicking. He didn’t make the save(even though he had a man on the post), the catches were clean enough but the kicking was dreadful.
DEFENCE(4): Didn’t do too bad to be honest. We were rarely troubled and our keeper only had 1 save to make to be honest.
LB-Hughes-6 Not 100 per cent sure what he did wrong. Defended ok, a couple of bad passes but otherwise not good not bad, certainly not as bad as some make out.
LCB-Collins-8 Must have read what some of you lot put on here. As I said midweek, Collins used to get the ball down and play it out of defence. Grayson told him not to and he got slated by some of you lot for kicking it into touch. Today he got it down and played it. Won just about everything in the air today. His tackling was superb and he made several timely interceptions with passes that went to Leeds players. (Are you guys aware that the first 2 goals against Portsmouth came from Collins intercepting a Portsmouth attack, getting the ball to a Leeds player and then us scoring in the ensuing move). He was also a threat in the opposition box at our set pieces.
RCB-O’Brien-7 Decent though some wayward passes and he missed several headers. Generally did well though and far better than his first 2 games back since his injury.
RB-Connolly-6 Not a bad game, defended reasonably well though their LB(27) caused us no end of problems. Connolly was far less of a threat for us going forward as Boro removed the link up play and effectiveness of Snodgrass.
DEEP MIDFIELD(2): Woeful. For 60 minutes they either never showed for the ball from deep or were useless when they did receive it. This meant the team went long too often. Lacked any form of discipline or any form of control, until Kilkenny came on. As a whole the 2 starters were off the pace when attacking and even further off the pace when defending. With the wide players snuffed out of the game we needed the central midfielders to dominate the centre drawing in Boro’s wide markers thus giving our wide players more freedom-they failed.
LDCM-Johnson-4 (2 until moved to LB, 6 for last 15 minutes only) Absolute dreadful. Showed no aptitude on the ball. Caught in possession, inactive, poor marking, passing was dreadful (only Schmeichels was worse).
RDCM-Howson-4 As I assume the creative midfielder he almost never showed for the ball when in defence. He was making terribly runs and most of his passing until the last 10 minutes was forward far too optimistically. His marking was lethargic and he was bossed by Boro’s midfielders.
LDCM-Kilkenny-8 Substitute central midfielder that changed the game. Gave us more assured possession with greater control. Made several tackles and tracked well. Was our deepest player on several occasions in the last 10 minutes as we through everything forward at times(worryingly).
ADVANCED MIDFIELD (3): Ineffective. Unable to string together any passes, worked less as a unit and was snuffed out of the game until the last 15 minutes. Wide players snuffed out of the game. The wide men needed the centre to be more effective so that Boro had to be more compact allowing the wide players more room.
LW-Gradel-6 Underused, made a few openings but struggled to be as effective when double marked. Stopped their RTB from making threatening runs and supported Hughes reasonably well. Worked hard.
ACM-McCormack-6 Mixed game. Didn’t link well with the players around him until the last 10 minutes when Leeds (Kilkenny) started to play and we through everything but the kitchen sink at Boro. Huffed and puffed but was disposed or misplaced a number of passes. Looked lively.
RW-Snodgrass-5 Was used more by the team than Gradel but he lost the ball too often and their LB (27 -Bennett) not only had Snodgrass in his pocket, but was also a constant threat down our right hand side(especially when he made the run where he made Snodgrass, Howson, Johnson and then O’Brien look like mugs). Boro showed how to take Snodgrass out of the game.
LW-Sam-6 Substitute LW, on for Gradel. Showed a couple of good touches, but only an outlet for 10 minutes before he went missing . Came back into the game for last 5 minutes but only as an extra body to stretch Boro’s defenders as we lumped it through the middle.
RW-Watt-6 Substitute RW, on for Snodgrass. His pace caused their LB some issues, but only as he was use3d to controlling the slower Snodgrass and Leeds started to pump the ball behind their LB after he came on. Otherwise showed less of his ability than he has.
ATTACK(1): Isolated and only used for long balls for 65 minutes of the game. Dominated by Boro’s aerial presence during a predictable long barrage.
CF-Becchio-6 (+1 for goal, 5 otherwise) Was beaten aerially more often than he got a flick on. The support he received around him was pathetic. McCormack has poor understanding with Becchio. Becchio seemed lost without his wide players as an outlet.
MANAGER:
Grayson-4 Poor game. Stuck to the game plan which was not working for 56 minutes. We lacked any control in the centre of the park. Kilkenny was the obvious omission that would change the game giving us what we were crying for. Correct in bringing Kilkenny on but it came late. Snodgrass was less effective than Gradel IMO. Snodgrass was an obvious worry after his injury. Why Grayson took Gradel off at that time when Snodgrass was a worry I do not know. Eventually Grayson was forced to remove Snodgrass and throw on a player like for like. The goal came from Leeds throwing all but 3 players (including GK) forward. That was not a tactical change it was a move of desperation, to which Leeds gained an advantage.
OVERALL:
a poor game were we failed to control the centre of the park. Boro were not good and we rarely suffered defensively. Defence looked comfortable in the main, even though our midfield was overrun. Worryingly We created almost nothing until we pushed 8 players in front of the ball.
