02-10-2016, 22:35
Too Little, Too Late
CC went back to the formation & players that has served him so well at home as Hunt, Loovens, Pudil, Wallace & Fessi returned, replacing Palmer, Hutchinson, Buckley, Jones & Hooper. Personally, I would have stuck with Palmer & Hooper but not too unhappy.
The game started slowly with Wallace involved in most of our better moves but generally we gave the ball away too much, particularly, Lees, Hunt & Reach who played too many long balls.
Brighton scored when Westwood got caught in no mans land when he should have swept up Dunk's through ball but could only help Baldock's chip into the net. Westwood showed signs of injury although CC said later that he was substituted due to suffering from a virus.
The second half followed a similar pattern until Hooper replaced Pudil. Suddenly the ball was sticking and we had more attacking options as he dovetailed nicely with Fletcher. Wallace found more nice positions on the right and Hunt hit the post with a cross that deceived the keeper. Just when it seemed an equaliser was coming, Brighton got a second against the run of play when Knockaert fired in from ten yards.
Brighton were defending well but we continued to create quite a few decent chances. Just as time was running out, the quality of chances improved. Reach missed an absolute sitter from five yards. Lee did likewise from the same position, missing the ball completely before Hooper showed them how to finish but it was too little, too late.
Westwood - 5 - never looked right, at fault for opener
Hunt - 5 - not good enough defensively, gave ball away too much
Lees - 5 - still not up to last season's form
Loovens - 6 - best of average defence
Pudil - 6 - shaky
Wallace - 7 - most threatening of midfield
Bannan - 5 - only half the player he was last season
Lee - 6 - always puts in a decent shift
Reach - 4 - poor performance even before that miss
Fessi - 5 - worked hard but lacked any magic
Fletcher - 5 - little stuck until Hooper came on
....................................................................
Dawson - 5 - nervous
Hooper - 7 - need him playing 90 minutes
Stat Attack:
Goals: 1 - Hooper
Assists: 0
Touches: 87 - Lees, 75 - Hunt, 74 - Bannan, 68 - Loovens, 65 - Reach, 64 - Lee, 57 - Wallace, 39 - Pudil, 36 - Fessi, 28 - Fletcher, 21 - Hooper, 20 - Westwood, 19 - Dawson
Tackles: 3 - Hunt, 2 - Lee, Reach, Fletcher, 1 - Loovens, Lees, Pudil, Bannan
Interceptions: 3 - Pudil, 2 - Hunt, Loovens, Lee, 1 - Lees, Reach
Clearances: 11 - Lees, 6 - Loovens, 3 - Hunt, 1 - Westwood, Pudil, Lee, Dawson
Attempts: 5 - Fessi, 3 - Lees, Bannan, Reach, Hooper, 2 - Hunt, Loovens, Wallace, Fletcher,
Attempts On Target: 1 - Lees, Wallace, Reach, Fessi, Hooper
Key Passes: 4 - Wallace, 3 - Hooper, 2 - Hunt, Bannan, Reach, 1 - Fessi, Fletcher
Dribbles: 2 - Lee, Reach, 1 - Wallace
Dispossessed: 3 Fessi, 2 - Reach
Bad Control: 1 - Lee, Bannan, Fessi, Fletcher
Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 12 - Wallace (5), 6 - Hunt (1), 5 - Reach (2), 2 - Lee (0), 1 - Pudil (0), Bannan (0), Fessi (0)
Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):
96% - Lee (48) , 95% - Loovens (55), 90% - Wallace (39), 87% - Bannan (68), 79% - Fessi (19), 78% - Hooper (18), 76% - Lees (66), 74% - Pudil (27), 71% - Reach (38), Hunt (41), 55% - Fletcher (20), 39% - Dawson (13), 28% - Westwood (15).
We need to be more clinical against the better sides if we want promotion. We are still playing generally well enough but just lack that conviction that might get us half a dozen consecutive victories. CC appears to have settled on different tactics for home & away matches and that is probably correct although more traditional fans will not like it. Expect Jones to be back at Huddersfield, probably at Fessi's expense.
CC went back to the formation & players that has served him so well at home as Hunt, Loovens, Pudil, Wallace & Fessi returned, replacing Palmer, Hutchinson, Buckley, Jones & Hooper. Personally, I would have stuck with Palmer & Hooper but not too unhappy.
The game started slowly with Wallace involved in most of our better moves but generally we gave the ball away too much, particularly, Lees, Hunt & Reach who played too many long balls.
Brighton scored when Westwood got caught in no mans land when he should have swept up Dunk's through ball but could only help Baldock's chip into the net. Westwood showed signs of injury although CC said later that he was substituted due to suffering from a virus.
The second half followed a similar pattern until Hooper replaced Pudil. Suddenly the ball was sticking and we had more attacking options as he dovetailed nicely with Fletcher. Wallace found more nice positions on the right and Hunt hit the post with a cross that deceived the keeper. Just when it seemed an equaliser was coming, Brighton got a second against the run of play when Knockaert fired in from ten yards.
Brighton were defending well but we continued to create quite a few decent chances. Just as time was running out, the quality of chances improved. Reach missed an absolute sitter from five yards. Lee did likewise from the same position, missing the ball completely before Hooper showed them how to finish but it was too little, too late.
Westwood - 5 - never looked right, at fault for opener
Hunt - 5 - not good enough defensively, gave ball away too much
Lees - 5 - still not up to last season's form
Loovens - 6 - best of average defence
Pudil - 6 - shaky
Wallace - 7 - most threatening of midfield
Bannan - 5 - only half the player he was last season
Lee - 6 - always puts in a decent shift
Reach - 4 - poor performance even before that miss
Fessi - 5 - worked hard but lacked any magic
Fletcher - 5 - little stuck until Hooper came on
....................................................................
Dawson - 5 - nervous
Hooper - 7 - need him playing 90 minutes
Stat Attack:
Goals: 1 - Hooper
Assists: 0
Touches: 87 - Lees, 75 - Hunt, 74 - Bannan, 68 - Loovens, 65 - Reach, 64 - Lee, 57 - Wallace, 39 - Pudil, 36 - Fessi, 28 - Fletcher, 21 - Hooper, 20 - Westwood, 19 - Dawson
Tackles: 3 - Hunt, 2 - Lee, Reach, Fletcher, 1 - Loovens, Lees, Pudil, Bannan
Interceptions: 3 - Pudil, 2 - Hunt, Loovens, Lee, 1 - Lees, Reach
Clearances: 11 - Lees, 6 - Loovens, 3 - Hunt, 1 - Westwood, Pudil, Lee, Dawson
Attempts: 5 - Fessi, 3 - Lees, Bannan, Reach, Hooper, 2 - Hunt, Loovens, Wallace, Fletcher,
Attempts On Target: 1 - Lees, Wallace, Reach, Fessi, Hooper
Key Passes: 4 - Wallace, 3 - Hooper, 2 - Hunt, Bannan, Reach, 1 - Fessi, Fletcher
Dribbles: 2 - Lee, Reach, 1 - Wallace
Dispossessed: 3 Fessi, 2 - Reach
Bad Control: 1 - Lee, Bannan, Fessi, Fletcher
Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 12 - Wallace (5), 6 - Hunt (1), 5 - Reach (2), 2 - Lee (0), 1 - Pudil (0), Bannan (0), Fessi (0)
Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):
96% - Lee (48) , 95% - Loovens (55), 90% - Wallace (39), 87% - Bannan (68), 79% - Fessi (19), 78% - Hooper (18), 76% - Lees (66), 74% - Pudil (27), 71% - Reach (38), Hunt (41), 55% - Fletcher (20), 39% - Dawson (13), 28% - Westwood (15).
We need to be more clinical against the better sides if we want promotion. We are still playing generally well enough but just lack that conviction that might get us half a dozen consecutive victories. CC appears to have settled on different tactics for home & away matches and that is probably correct although more traditional fans will not like it. Expect Jones to be back at Huddersfield, probably at Fessi's expense.
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.