11-09-2016, 18:16
Battling Win After Early Setback
We went into back to back home matches that we needed to win with CC causing few surprises with his team selection, only the return of Wallace raising an eye brow. Reach started his Wednesday career on the bench.
Fessi went close in the opening minute when a last ditch tackle stopped him in the act of shooting. Wigan scored after three minutes when Lees gave the ball away carelessly, giving Griggs a tap in chance. Lees followed this up with two other errors in quick succession as he played well below his usual standard.
After that, we stepped it up. Palmer & Pudil found space down the flanks, Abdi controlled the midfield, Bannan protected our defence, Hutchinson was majestic, Fessi was lively while Fletcher was a constant threat. Despite that we rarely tested their keeper until Fletcher latched on to Bannan's through ball, held off his defender well & fired home from an angle.
It should have been 2-1 a few minutes later when Wallace burst through, only to poke the ball inches wide.
The second half started with Wednesday well on top, dominating possession and gradually creating more & more chances. Hooper replaced Abdi as Wednesday looked to be more clinical in front of goal. It worked within minutes as Fessi put Wednesday in front after reacting quickly after his first shot was blocked to put the ball home from an acute angle. The celebrations were something to behold with Fessi in tears on the pitch in front of the North Stand for several minutes.
The link up play between Hooper, Fletcher & Fessi had the Wigan defence all over the place. It should have been 3-1 when Hooper's overhead kick was somehow saved by the keeper's trailing leg.
Reach & Buckley each got a short spell and both impressed, giving confidence that they could do a good job from the start when required. A 2-1 home win against Wigan may not sound that impressive but it was a much needed win and the quality of football was back to the standard of our best from last season.
Westwood - 6
Palmer - 8
Lees - 4
Hutchinson - 8
Pudil - 7
Wallace - 6
Lee - 7
Abdi - 7
Bannan - 7
Fessi - 8
Fletcher - 8
...................................
Hooper - 8
Reach - 7
Buckley - 7
Stat Attack:
Goals: 1 - Fletcher, Fessi
Assists: 1 - Bannan
Touches: 96 - Bannan, 92 - Lees, 79 - Lee, 77 - Hutchinson, 69 - Palmer, 68 - Wallace, 64 - Fessi, 62 - Pudil, 48 - Abdi, 44 - Fletcher, 30 - Westwood, 22 - Hooper, 11 - Reach, 7 - Buckley
Tackles: 5 - Lee, 3 - Fessi, 2 - Palmer, Hutchinson, 1 - Pudil, Wallace, Bannan
Interceptions: 3 - Hutchinson, Lees, 2 - Pudil, 1 - Bannan, Abdi
Clearances: 4 - Lees, Fletcher, 2 - Reach, 1 - Lee, Hooper
Attempts: 6 - Fletcher, 5 - Wallace, 4 - Fessi, 1 - Lees, Lee, Hooper
Attempts On Target: 1 - Fessi, Fletcher, Hooper
Key Passes: 4 - Wallace, Bannan, 2 - Lee, Buckley, 1 - Pudil, Fessi, Hooper
Dribbles: 4 - Fessi, 1 - Wallace, Bannan, Hooper, Buckley
Dispossessed: 5 - Lee, 2 - Fessi, 1 - Palmer, Bannan, Abdi, Hooper
Bad Control: 2 - Palmer, Wallace, Fessi, Abdi, Hooper, 1 - Lee, Bannan
Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 12 - Wallace (4), 5 - Pudil (2), 4 - Palmer (0), 1 - Lee (0), Bannan (0), Fessi (1), Abdi (0)
Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):
100% - Abdi (41), Reach (5), 93% - Hooper (15), 89% - Hutchinson (66), Pudil (47), 88% - Bannan (81), 82% - Lee (56), Palmer (49), 79% - Fessi (38), 78% - Lees (82), Wallace (45), 70% - Fletcher (30), 69% - Westwood (26), 60% - Buckley (5)
Another score that keeps us under the radar but just about everyone present knows that we are close to our best. There will be tougher tasks ahead starting with Bristol City on Tuesday but forget the score line, this was on a par with our better performances of last season & if we had won by three or four goals, no-one could have complained.
We went into back to back home matches that we needed to win with CC causing few surprises with his team selection, only the return of Wallace raising an eye brow. Reach started his Wednesday career on the bench.
Fessi went close in the opening minute when a last ditch tackle stopped him in the act of shooting. Wigan scored after three minutes when Lees gave the ball away carelessly, giving Griggs a tap in chance. Lees followed this up with two other errors in quick succession as he played well below his usual standard.
After that, we stepped it up. Palmer & Pudil found space down the flanks, Abdi controlled the midfield, Bannan protected our defence, Hutchinson was majestic, Fessi was lively while Fletcher was a constant threat. Despite that we rarely tested their keeper until Fletcher latched on to Bannan's through ball, held off his defender well & fired home from an angle.
It should have been 2-1 a few minutes later when Wallace burst through, only to poke the ball inches wide.
The second half started with Wednesday well on top, dominating possession and gradually creating more & more chances. Hooper replaced Abdi as Wednesday looked to be more clinical in front of goal. It worked within minutes as Fessi put Wednesday in front after reacting quickly after his first shot was blocked to put the ball home from an acute angle. The celebrations were something to behold with Fessi in tears on the pitch in front of the North Stand for several minutes.
The link up play between Hooper, Fletcher & Fessi had the Wigan defence all over the place. It should have been 3-1 when Hooper's overhead kick was somehow saved by the keeper's trailing leg.
Reach & Buckley each got a short spell and both impressed, giving confidence that they could do a good job from the start when required. A 2-1 home win against Wigan may not sound that impressive but it was a much needed win and the quality of football was back to the standard of our best from last season.
Westwood - 6
Palmer - 8
Lees - 4
Hutchinson - 8
Pudil - 7
Wallace - 6
Lee - 7
Abdi - 7
Bannan - 7
Fessi - 8
Fletcher - 8
...................................
Hooper - 8
Reach - 7
Buckley - 7
Stat Attack:
Goals: 1 - Fletcher, Fessi
Assists: 1 - Bannan
Touches: 96 - Bannan, 92 - Lees, 79 - Lee, 77 - Hutchinson, 69 - Palmer, 68 - Wallace, 64 - Fessi, 62 - Pudil, 48 - Abdi, 44 - Fletcher, 30 - Westwood, 22 - Hooper, 11 - Reach, 7 - Buckley
Tackles: 5 - Lee, 3 - Fessi, 2 - Palmer, Hutchinson, 1 - Pudil, Wallace, Bannan
Interceptions: 3 - Hutchinson, Lees, 2 - Pudil, 1 - Bannan, Abdi
Clearances: 4 - Lees, Fletcher, 2 - Reach, 1 - Lee, Hooper
Attempts: 6 - Fletcher, 5 - Wallace, 4 - Fessi, 1 - Lees, Lee, Hooper
Attempts On Target: 1 - Fessi, Fletcher, Hooper
Key Passes: 4 - Wallace, Bannan, 2 - Lee, Buckley, 1 - Pudil, Fessi, Hooper
Dribbles: 4 - Fessi, 1 - Wallace, Bannan, Hooper, Buckley
Dispossessed: 5 - Lee, 2 - Fessi, 1 - Palmer, Bannan, Abdi, Hooper
Bad Control: 2 - Palmer, Wallace, Fessi, Abdi, Hooper, 1 - Lee, Bannan
Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 12 - Wallace (4), 5 - Pudil (2), 4 - Palmer (0), 1 - Lee (0), Bannan (0), Fessi (1), Abdi (0)
Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):
100% - Abdi (41), Reach (5), 93% - Hooper (15), 89% - Hutchinson (66), Pudil (47), 88% - Bannan (81), 82% - Lee (56), Palmer (49), 79% - Fessi (38), 78% - Lees (82), Wallace (45), 70% - Fletcher (30), 69% - Westwood (26), 60% - Buckley (5)
Another score that keeps us under the radar but just about everyone present knows that we are close to our best. There will be tougher tasks ahead starting with Bristol City on Tuesday but forget the score line, this was on a par with our better performances of last season & if we had won by three or four goals, no-one could have complained.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
