16-09-2015, 17:36
Getting There But Still Only a Draw
More mixed messages from Wednesday. To those who watched the match, it was entertaining, vibrant, exciting in parts and some of the best football we have played since the early 90s. To the doubters, it was another two points thrown away and more proof that we need a quality striker.
The truth is that both views are probably correct.
First half particularly, we were outstanding and if we had been three up by half time then no-one could have complained. Matias squandered two early chances, courtesy of Hunt's whipped in cross & Bannan's exquisite through ball. The first one, he contrived to hit a defender on the line when he had half the goal gaping and the second he tried to round the keeper when a shot would have been better and a pass to his right meant a certain goal.
Lee created and missed the best of the rest. Beautifully worked, a one two with Bannan followed by a sumptuous flick over the defenders head (a la Matias at Leeds), the finish was lacking as he hit it too close to the keeper. Hunt, Bannan & Forestieri all passed off decent opportunities before half time.
Bolton, by contrast, offered little except for winger, Alves Da Silva, repeatedly making Hunt look like a statue. Bolton clearly targeted Hunt and found easy pickings as he couldn't track his man and was easily beaten time after time. Wildsmith baled him out with a good save but generally the winger lacked the quality of delivery to trouble us.
The second half started as the first ended with Wednesday on top. Forestieri should have scored after a defensive error gave him a free shot from eight yards but instead of blasting it, he tried to lift it over the keeper, which took it over the bar.
I felt this was the time to introduce Joao & Sougou, while we still had the momentum. The game changed after two silly moments from Nuhiu. Firstly, he gave the ball away needlessly when Forestieri was well placed then he tried a stupid back heel when a simple pass would have given Bannan a good shooting chance. This seemed to inspire Bolton and a few Wednesday shoulders began to slump.
By the time CC made the changes (67 & 73 mins), our attacking impetus had been lost so while I think he made the right changes, if he had done them both on the hour, the outcome might have been better.
It took Joao & Sougou some time to get into the match & by the time they did, there was little time left. Joao caught the eye with two nice turns at the death, one which resulted in a neat shot on target.
At no time in the match did I fear that Bolton would score so it was pretty much a question of could we score? We failed to score for the first time this season but collected our first clean sheet since the opening day.
The referee showed great inconsistency. He allowed an X Rated foul on Matias go in the first half with just a warning but in the second half, he went yellow card mad with every foul just about being a yellow card unless it was a player already booked.
Wildsmith - 7 - did as well as Westwood would have & that is praise
Hunt - 3 - one great cross but cannot excuse inept defending that wouldn't be accepted in junior football
Lees - 7 - outstanding, back to his best
Turner - 6 - generally sound but lucky not to concede stupid penalty for pulling Madine's shirt when ball in the air
Pudil - 6 - a couple of wayward passes but untroubled defensively
Hutchinson - 7 - looks quality now with Lee & Bannan alongside him
Lee - 7 - good link play
Bannan - 8 - outstanding, involved in all our best moves
Matias - 5 - involved more but missed two great chances
Forestieri - 5 - great quality, but missed his chances
Nuhiu - 4 - never influenced the game positively, gave the ball away too often & gave away several silly free kicks
..................................................................
Sougou - 5 - never really got into gear
Joao - 6 - potential but needs more game time to develop
Lopez - 6 - not involved much
We will get there if everyone holds their nerve but it isn't going to happen overnight unless we win the next three then confidence & adrenaline might take us there quicker than we imagined. The first half last night was a delight to watch. The lack of goals was disappointing but I was proud of what we are trying to do. We made Bolton look very poor and their fans are saying we are the only team to outplay them this season. Time will tell how valuable this point is but on the balance of play, it should have been three.
Stat Attack!!!
Most Attempts:
Forestieri 3
Lee 2
Most Attempts On Target:
Matias 1
Lee 1
Joao 1
Most Tackles:
Lee 5
Hunt 4
Hutchinson 3
Bannan 2
Most Interceptions:
Hutchinson 6
Pudil 2
Most Dribbles:
Joao 2
Lee 2
Key Passes:
Bannan 5
Lee 2
Passing Accuracy:
Lopez 92%
Matias 88%
Bannan 87%
Lee 84%
Forestieri 83%
Hunt 75%
Hutchinson 74%
Lees 71%
Turner 69%
Sougou 63%
Joao 60%
Wildsmith 58%
Nuhiu 57%
Pudil 52%
Total Touches:
Bannan 66
Hutchinson 63
Lee 51
Forestieri 50
Wildsmith 45
Lees 41
Hunt 37
Turner 36
Nuhiu 36
Pudil 31
Matias 27
Joao 16
Lopez 14
Sougou 8
As on Saturday, Bannan & Hutchinson (closely followed by Lee) were our most influential players. Let's hope we can build on Saturday without the suspended Hutchinson.
More mixed messages from Wednesday. To those who watched the match, it was entertaining, vibrant, exciting in parts and some of the best football we have played since the early 90s. To the doubters, it was another two points thrown away and more proof that we need a quality striker.
The truth is that both views are probably correct.
First half particularly, we were outstanding and if we had been three up by half time then no-one could have complained. Matias squandered two early chances, courtesy of Hunt's whipped in cross & Bannan's exquisite through ball. The first one, he contrived to hit a defender on the line when he had half the goal gaping and the second he tried to round the keeper when a shot would have been better and a pass to his right meant a certain goal.
Lee created and missed the best of the rest. Beautifully worked, a one two with Bannan followed by a sumptuous flick over the defenders head (a la Matias at Leeds), the finish was lacking as he hit it too close to the keeper. Hunt, Bannan & Forestieri all passed off decent opportunities before half time.
Bolton, by contrast, offered little except for winger, Alves Da Silva, repeatedly making Hunt look like a statue. Bolton clearly targeted Hunt and found easy pickings as he couldn't track his man and was easily beaten time after time. Wildsmith baled him out with a good save but generally the winger lacked the quality of delivery to trouble us.
The second half started as the first ended with Wednesday on top. Forestieri should have scored after a defensive error gave him a free shot from eight yards but instead of blasting it, he tried to lift it over the keeper, which took it over the bar.
I felt this was the time to introduce Joao & Sougou, while we still had the momentum. The game changed after two silly moments from Nuhiu. Firstly, he gave the ball away needlessly when Forestieri was well placed then he tried a stupid back heel when a simple pass would have given Bannan a good shooting chance. This seemed to inspire Bolton and a few Wednesday shoulders began to slump.
By the time CC made the changes (67 & 73 mins), our attacking impetus had been lost so while I think he made the right changes, if he had done them both on the hour, the outcome might have been better.
It took Joao & Sougou some time to get into the match & by the time they did, there was little time left. Joao caught the eye with two nice turns at the death, one which resulted in a neat shot on target.
At no time in the match did I fear that Bolton would score so it was pretty much a question of could we score? We failed to score for the first time this season but collected our first clean sheet since the opening day.
The referee showed great inconsistency. He allowed an X Rated foul on Matias go in the first half with just a warning but in the second half, he went yellow card mad with every foul just about being a yellow card unless it was a player already booked.
Wildsmith - 7 - did as well as Westwood would have & that is praise
Hunt - 3 - one great cross but cannot excuse inept defending that wouldn't be accepted in junior football
Lees - 7 - outstanding, back to his best
Turner - 6 - generally sound but lucky not to concede stupid penalty for pulling Madine's shirt when ball in the air
Pudil - 6 - a couple of wayward passes but untroubled defensively
Hutchinson - 7 - looks quality now with Lee & Bannan alongside him
Lee - 7 - good link play
Bannan - 8 - outstanding, involved in all our best moves
Matias - 5 - involved more but missed two great chances
Forestieri - 5 - great quality, but missed his chances
Nuhiu - 4 - never influenced the game positively, gave the ball away too often & gave away several silly free kicks
..................................................................
Sougou - 5 - never really got into gear
Joao - 6 - potential but needs more game time to develop
Lopez - 6 - not involved much
We will get there if everyone holds their nerve but it isn't going to happen overnight unless we win the next three then confidence & adrenaline might take us there quicker than we imagined. The first half last night was a delight to watch. The lack of goals was disappointing but I was proud of what we are trying to do. We made Bolton look very poor and their fans are saying we are the only team to outplay them this season. Time will tell how valuable this point is but on the balance of play, it should have been three.
Stat Attack!!!
Most Attempts:
Forestieri 3
Lee 2
Most Attempts On Target:
Matias 1
Lee 1
Joao 1
Most Tackles:
Lee 5
Hunt 4
Hutchinson 3
Bannan 2
Most Interceptions:
Hutchinson 6
Pudil 2
Most Dribbles:
Joao 2
Lee 2
Key Passes:
Bannan 5
Lee 2
Passing Accuracy:
Lopez 92%
Matias 88%
Bannan 87%
Lee 84%
Forestieri 83%
Hunt 75%
Hutchinson 74%
Lees 71%
Turner 69%
Sougou 63%
Joao 60%
Wildsmith 58%
Nuhiu 57%
Pudil 52%
Total Touches:
Bannan 66
Hutchinson 63
Lee 51
Forestieri 50
Wildsmith 45
Lees 41
Hunt 37
Turner 36
Nuhiu 36
Pudil 31
Matias 27
Joao 16
Lopez 14
Sougou 8
As on Saturday, Bannan & Hutchinson (closely followed by Lee) were our most influential players. Let's hope we can build on Saturday without the suspended Hutchinson.
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.