08-02-2015, 14:21
Hello, Goodbye
A strange afternoon at S6. A few words from MM & a warm send off from a small crowd - shame on the Wednesday fans that didn't bother. An inept first half & a stirring second half.
As we have for many games this season, we started sluggishly as SG stuck stubbornly to his rigid 442, bringing in none of his new midfield or striking options into the starting eleven.
Maguire had an early shot which the keeper palmed away but it was going wide anyway. Maguire was mainly at fault for Cardiff's early goal. He dribbled into trouble when Vermijl had overlapped into a good position, leaving us short at RB. Lees had to move across to cover at RB, Dielna moved across to cover Lees, leaving Mattock alone against the towering Kenwyne Jones. Once Lees & Lee had failed to stop the cross, the goal was inevitable. Maybe a sly foul here would have done the job.
Maguire gave the ball away again stupidly & picked up a yellow card for stopping a promising Cardiff attack.
We created next to nothing in the first half as Cardiff controlled the midfield. I felt sorry for Keane & May who were forced to feed on scraps. Half time substitution(s) were inevitable and any of the midfield could have been hooked.
As it was, Maguire was replaced by Semedo. This seemed to have an immediate effect. Semedo won two quick challenges as we built up some momentum. Helan, who had had a quiet first half came to life down the left as we switched to a 4132 formation. For ten minutes we had Cardiff on the rack. May burst clear of the Cardiff defence & hit the post with a 20 yard shot. Keane had a shot blocked when he looked like he should score.
Strangely it was Semedo who lost us the momentum as well by committing a stupid off the ball foul at a time when Cardiff were pinned in around their box.
Hutchinson shot over from six yards when it looked easier to score as we started to build up pressure again. Bus replaced Mattock as we went more 433 with Helan moving to LB. Crucially we played all three strikers mainly central and used the full backs to give us width, which meant we had more bodies in the box than usual.
Bus was clipped from behind & we got a penalty. Keane smashed it home with real confidence.
The match was really open as Wednesday pushed for a winner. McGugan replaced Lee and impressed immediately. McGugan had a fierce 30 yard shot saved as we forced a succession of corners. McGugan had another shot blocked, a Lees effort was cleared off the line & Keane had a shot saved on the near post.
Westwood - 6 - didn't make a save, couldn't get near the goal
Vermijl - 6 - bright, nice touches
Lees - 6 - struggled against Doyle but no critical errors
Dielna - 6 - comfortable generally but his man scored Cardiff's goal
Mattock - 5 - didn't add much & we improved after he went off
Maguire - 5 - gave ball away for goal
Lee - 6 - struggled first half
Hutchinson - 6 - struggled first half but better in 433
Helan - 6 - poor first half, good second half
May - 6 - hit post, created two chances, just needs a break
Keane - 8 - great first touch, linked play well & had the balls to take the penalty
..................................................................
Semedo - 7 - solid battling performance
Bus - 6 - showed promise, won penalty
McGugan - 8 - stood out like a beacon of quality
SG surely has now learned that we do better when he drops the rigid 442 as this was a real game of two halves. Also, can he get the team firing from the start and not just in the second half. Is there something wrong with our pre match warm up or motivation?
I thought the substitutions were excellent, each one improving the team. I was going to give SG great credit for this until he spoiled it by saying that he only took Maguire off because he feared him getting a red card. The change to 4132 at half time meant we got a grip on midfield. Semedo was immense in the role in front of the CBs and it gave the full backs licence to bomb down the flanks. This worked better when Helan was moved to LB as we had several players in the box as targets.
One other subtle difference I noticed in this match was that we seemed to hit our crosses into the box lower. Not sure if this was because we thought defenders might make mistakes with the bad pitch but it certainly created a lot more goal mouth action.
Vermijl looked bright & got forward well. He did better in the second half when he didn't have Maguire stealing his space. Bus looked lively, controlled the ball well, turned quickly & had an eye for goal. If things go well, the new Hirsty. If things go badly, the new De Bilde. McGugan exuded class. When he is fully fit, he will add a new dimension to our attacking play.
At half time, I was despondent after another dire 45 minutes of mind numbing football. The second half was completely different. In fact, I think I will go as far as saying that the second half was the most enjoyable 45 minutes I have had at S6 this season. We had more possession, more shots, more territorial advantage and had Cardiff pinned in their penalty area for long periods.
Light at the end of the tunnel?
A strange afternoon at S6. A few words from MM & a warm send off from a small crowd - shame on the Wednesday fans that didn't bother. An inept first half & a stirring second half.
As we have for many games this season, we started sluggishly as SG stuck stubbornly to his rigid 442, bringing in none of his new midfield or striking options into the starting eleven.
Maguire had an early shot which the keeper palmed away but it was going wide anyway. Maguire was mainly at fault for Cardiff's early goal. He dribbled into trouble when Vermijl had overlapped into a good position, leaving us short at RB. Lees had to move across to cover at RB, Dielna moved across to cover Lees, leaving Mattock alone against the towering Kenwyne Jones. Once Lees & Lee had failed to stop the cross, the goal was inevitable. Maybe a sly foul here would have done the job.
Maguire gave the ball away again stupidly & picked up a yellow card for stopping a promising Cardiff attack.
We created next to nothing in the first half as Cardiff controlled the midfield. I felt sorry for Keane & May who were forced to feed on scraps. Half time substitution(s) were inevitable and any of the midfield could have been hooked.
As it was, Maguire was replaced by Semedo. This seemed to have an immediate effect. Semedo won two quick challenges as we built up some momentum. Helan, who had had a quiet first half came to life down the left as we switched to a 4132 formation. For ten minutes we had Cardiff on the rack. May burst clear of the Cardiff defence & hit the post with a 20 yard shot. Keane had a shot blocked when he looked like he should score.
Strangely it was Semedo who lost us the momentum as well by committing a stupid off the ball foul at a time when Cardiff were pinned in around their box.
Hutchinson shot over from six yards when it looked easier to score as we started to build up pressure again. Bus replaced Mattock as we went more 433 with Helan moving to LB. Crucially we played all three strikers mainly central and used the full backs to give us width, which meant we had more bodies in the box than usual.
Bus was clipped from behind & we got a penalty. Keane smashed it home with real confidence.
The match was really open as Wednesday pushed for a winner. McGugan replaced Lee and impressed immediately. McGugan had a fierce 30 yard shot saved as we forced a succession of corners. McGugan had another shot blocked, a Lees effort was cleared off the line & Keane had a shot saved on the near post.
Westwood - 6 - didn't make a save, couldn't get near the goal
Vermijl - 6 - bright, nice touches
Lees - 6 - struggled against Doyle but no critical errors
Dielna - 6 - comfortable generally but his man scored Cardiff's goal
Mattock - 5 - didn't add much & we improved after he went off
Maguire - 5 - gave ball away for goal
Lee - 6 - struggled first half
Hutchinson - 6 - struggled first half but better in 433
Helan - 6 - poor first half, good second half
May - 6 - hit post, created two chances, just needs a break
Keane - 8 - great first touch, linked play well & had the balls to take the penalty
..................................................................
Semedo - 7 - solid battling performance
Bus - 6 - showed promise, won penalty
McGugan - 8 - stood out like a beacon of quality
SG surely has now learned that we do better when he drops the rigid 442 as this was a real game of two halves. Also, can he get the team firing from the start and not just in the second half. Is there something wrong with our pre match warm up or motivation?
I thought the substitutions were excellent, each one improving the team. I was going to give SG great credit for this until he spoiled it by saying that he only took Maguire off because he feared him getting a red card. The change to 4132 at half time meant we got a grip on midfield. Semedo was immense in the role in front of the CBs and it gave the full backs licence to bomb down the flanks. This worked better when Helan was moved to LB as we had several players in the box as targets.
One other subtle difference I noticed in this match was that we seemed to hit our crosses into the box lower. Not sure if this was because we thought defenders might make mistakes with the bad pitch but it certainly created a lot more goal mouth action.
Vermijl looked bright & got forward well. He did better in the second half when he didn't have Maguire stealing his space. Bus looked lively, controlled the ball well, turned quickly & had an eye for goal. If things go well, the new Hirsty. If things go badly, the new De Bilde. McGugan exuded class. When he is fully fit, he will add a new dimension to our attacking play.
At half time, I was despondent after another dire 45 minutes of mind numbing football. The second half was completely different. In fact, I think I will go as far as saying that the second half was the most enjoyable 45 minutes I have had at S6 this season. We had more possession, more shots, more territorial advantage and had Cardiff pinned in their penalty area for long periods.
Light at the end of the tunnel?
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.