05-01-2015, 12:48
Relief & Pride
Relief that we didn't get humiliated again & pride at the way we battled and that we took Man City, the reigning PL Champions all the way to such a degree that they never led within the 90 minutes.
We started brightly and City looked lethargic. We kept it tight and took our first chance when it came. May made an excellent run down the right and cut it back perfectly for Nuhui, who struck the ball sweetly into the corner.
Now the real battle was on because poking a lion in the eye isn't always a good idea. The backlash just didn't happen. We kept our shape well and closed down space effectively so that by half time, Kirkland hadn't had a save to make.
City tried to up the pace in the second half but we continued to match them up, forcing them to bring on Silva & Nasri. The additional quality finally worked when Milner was sent clear on the left side of the box and cleverly slotted the ball between Kirkland's legs.
At this point, we could have buckled but we didn't. We continued to fight although limbs were starting to get heavy. Nuhui & May were replaced by Lavery & Maguire. Palmer had a half chance from a narrow angle but it was mainly City pressure. For all their pressure, Kirkland only had to make two saves of note before Milner stole the victory in injury time by forcing the ball home from close range.
Kirkland - 6 - did what he had to do competently
Palmer - 7 - worked himself into the ground
Lees - 7 - solid & dependable
Loovens - 8 - a real captains performance, outstanding
Dielna - 7 - touch of class, got forward well in circumstances
Maghoma - 7 - worked hard, good on break
Semedo - 7 - tower of strength against Toure
Lee - 7 - signs of last season's form
Helan - 7 - worked hard for the team
May - 7 - kept making runs & chased back well
Nuhui - 7 - cool finish
...........................................................
Lavery - 6 - created chance for Palmer
Maguire 5 - off the pace
There are several positives here. Firstly, we didn't take another beating that could have killed our season completely. Secondly, we exorcised the ghosts of the LC tie by being within a moment of winning the tie until injury time. Thirdly, we scored a goal against the PL champions, which should do wonders for our confidence. Fourthly, we didn't buckle when they equalised which was our problem last time; once City scored, we fell apart. I think having Loovens this time made a difference. We had a leader on the pitch, who held everyone together. Fifthly, we had a plan this time. In the LC, SG compromised by playing half a first team with a few fringe players. This time, he played his strongest eleven. Finally, the fans were immense again. If we could just get this level of support at home, we would be very close to the Playoffs.
I think this sets us up nicely for the forthcoming games. Fixtures against Forest, Bolton, Birmingham & Reading are perfect because they are all winnable and should allow us to build on the confidence gained yesterday.
Just a few final thoughts.
I was surprised at some of the ill informed criticism of Kirkland by one fan, who suggested he should have kept his legs together. Keepers are taught to spread their legs because it gives them better balance, a greater spring potential and gives the striker a smaller target to aim at. Sometimes the ball goes between the keeper's legs but this is more than counterbalance by the number of blocks they make by adopting this technique.
What was the aim for us yesterday?
Was it to win, to avoid defeat, get some credibility back or to run City mighty close?
I would suggest that the real aim was to get some credibility back with the secondary aim of running City close. In which case, yesterday was a wholehearted success.
If you think the aim was to win or to avoid defeat then we failed, just.
I would argue that it was the former and yesterday was a success. In fact there were clues with SG's substitutions. The removal of May & Nuhui suggested that SG thought the job had been done and there were more important tasks ahead for these two. Fresh legs are always useful when there is a lot of defending to be done but May & Nuhui were acquitting themselves well and Lavery & Maguire are inferior players at the moment.
When he reflects, I don't think SG will be too disappointed at losing in these circumstances. We have a clear fixture list with the minimum of midweek matches to play. The Birmingham match will be moved as they reached Round Four but we can use this performance as a springboard.
Relief that we didn't get humiliated again & pride at the way we battled and that we took Man City, the reigning PL Champions all the way to such a degree that they never led within the 90 minutes.
We started brightly and City looked lethargic. We kept it tight and took our first chance when it came. May made an excellent run down the right and cut it back perfectly for Nuhui, who struck the ball sweetly into the corner.
Now the real battle was on because poking a lion in the eye isn't always a good idea. The backlash just didn't happen. We kept our shape well and closed down space effectively so that by half time, Kirkland hadn't had a save to make.
City tried to up the pace in the second half but we continued to match them up, forcing them to bring on Silva & Nasri. The additional quality finally worked when Milner was sent clear on the left side of the box and cleverly slotted the ball between Kirkland's legs.
At this point, we could have buckled but we didn't. We continued to fight although limbs were starting to get heavy. Nuhui & May were replaced by Lavery & Maguire. Palmer had a half chance from a narrow angle but it was mainly City pressure. For all their pressure, Kirkland only had to make two saves of note before Milner stole the victory in injury time by forcing the ball home from close range.
Kirkland - 6 - did what he had to do competently
Palmer - 7 - worked himself into the ground
Lees - 7 - solid & dependable
Loovens - 8 - a real captains performance, outstanding
Dielna - 7 - touch of class, got forward well in circumstances
Maghoma - 7 - worked hard, good on break
Semedo - 7 - tower of strength against Toure
Lee - 7 - signs of last season's form
Helan - 7 - worked hard for the team
May - 7 - kept making runs & chased back well
Nuhui - 7 - cool finish
...........................................................
Lavery - 6 - created chance for Palmer
Maguire 5 - off the pace
There are several positives here. Firstly, we didn't take another beating that could have killed our season completely. Secondly, we exorcised the ghosts of the LC tie by being within a moment of winning the tie until injury time. Thirdly, we scored a goal against the PL champions, which should do wonders for our confidence. Fourthly, we didn't buckle when they equalised which was our problem last time; once City scored, we fell apart. I think having Loovens this time made a difference. We had a leader on the pitch, who held everyone together. Fifthly, we had a plan this time. In the LC, SG compromised by playing half a first team with a few fringe players. This time, he played his strongest eleven. Finally, the fans were immense again. If we could just get this level of support at home, we would be very close to the Playoffs.
I think this sets us up nicely for the forthcoming games. Fixtures against Forest, Bolton, Birmingham & Reading are perfect because they are all winnable and should allow us to build on the confidence gained yesterday.
Just a few final thoughts.
I was surprised at some of the ill informed criticism of Kirkland by one fan, who suggested he should have kept his legs together. Keepers are taught to spread their legs because it gives them better balance, a greater spring potential and gives the striker a smaller target to aim at. Sometimes the ball goes between the keeper's legs but this is more than counterbalance by the number of blocks they make by adopting this technique.
What was the aim for us yesterday?
Was it to win, to avoid defeat, get some credibility back or to run City mighty close?
I would suggest that the real aim was to get some credibility back with the secondary aim of running City close. In which case, yesterday was a wholehearted success.
If you think the aim was to win or to avoid defeat then we failed, just.
I would argue that it was the former and yesterday was a success. In fact there were clues with SG's substitutions. The removal of May & Nuhui suggested that SG thought the job had been done and there were more important tasks ahead for these two. Fresh legs are always useful when there is a lot of defending to be done but May & Nuhui were acquitting themselves well and Lavery & Maguire are inferior players at the moment.
When he reflects, I don't think SG will be too disappointed at losing in these circumstances. We have a clear fixture list with the minimum of midweek matches to play. The Birmingham match will be moved as they reached Round Four but we can use this performance as a springboard.
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.