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Frustratingly I have been unable to get online on my pc today, so these brief notes are being submitted via my phone so naturally it won't be as comprehensive as I would have liked.
For long periods of the game (particularly in the first half) Doncaster enjoyed the lions share of possession. For all their neat, impressive football there was no real cutting edge... With the exception of a stunning freekick and subsequent clearance off the line they never really tested Kenny - although admittedly there were some close calls.
At half time, inexplicably some "fans" decided to boo our players off?! Make no mistake, it wasn't the kind of QPR performance that left you drooling, counting down the minutes to the the beginning of the second half, but that's credit to Doncaster. Personally I have always felt that they are an excellent side, probably the best "footballing" team the division.*
But regardless of how good they are, we were playing a side that were sat 7th in the table and in very good form.. Quite how drawing 0-0 against them warranted booing I don't know. I'll stress it was a minority (likely attending their first game this season as we have been doing so well!) but it left me feeling both embarrassed and shocked.. Talk about fickle.
Moving onto the second half and our performance really picked up. In the end it was a comfortable 3 points, but the scoreline didn't do justice to how tough a game it was. I agree with Warnock, I think they will likely be in the playoffs come the end of the season.
Just a few points on some of the performances I wanted to make though:
Kyle Walker - What an excellent prospect. Offers so much width and creativity on the right hand side, with pace to burn he really does give us something different. Appreciate Orr was in great form before picking up his injury, but I really hope we get this loan extended. Cracking performance from him again.*
Gorkss - I may be in the minority on this one, but I thought on his first half performance alone he was actually quite poor. He is Mr.Consistent, but I felt he was sloppy when playing the ball out from the back. As ever he was excellent defensively, but did literally gift-wrap possession back to Doncaster on a number of occasions though. Finished both goals excellently though and played a big part in earning us the 3 points in the end.
Derry - Immense! Made a mistake in the first half when he was robbed in the middle of the pitch, but apart from that I thought his performance was flawless. He seems to have stepped his performance up another level in Faurlin's absence. Looks less and less like great business and more and more like daylight robbery by the game. He's a big big player for us, let's hope we can keep him fit.
Buzsaky - I hope this doesn't read as a criticism of him as a player, but that role in the centre of midfield just doesn't suit him. I suppose that we don't really have any other options at the moment, but we will get punished sooner or later as he just can't track back and defend. I appreciate Warnocks problem, but we do really miss Faurlin!
Taarabt - He is a little off form at the moment. Watching him yesterday I felt like he was a bit of a luxury at times with his tricks and flicks not really coming off and proving fairly ineffective... He ALWAYS has the ability to turn the game on it's head though... and did just that by picking out Helguson with a stunning through-ball and securing the 3 points with a well taken penalty. Great delivery for the 3rd goal as well. Slightly confused why the chanting of his name has stopped?! Needs to pick himself up a bit though, hopefully the penalty will help him improve.
Helguson - I've commented on pretty much every game this season at how impressed I have been with him and yesterday was no different. I thought he was absolutely excellent. Frightening to think a large majority of fans would have been delighted to have seen him offloaded last season. I'm starting to appreciate why Premiership clubs took a punt on him now... Top top performance.
Leigertwood - I was hoping that he would start ahead of Buzsaky yesterday, but he looked about 20 yards off pace! I know a lot of fans don't rate him, personally I think he's a very good player.. But he looked very poor yesterday.
On reflection on the full 90 minutes as a whole, I think we were possibly a little fortunate to escape with 3 points. Winning is a habit though and the confidence is clearly at a premium. Just saw a few little signs of complacency yesterday though, which I'm sure Warnock will be swift to address.*
Millwall on Tuesday is a MASSIVE game, let's hope the players (and supporters) play their part.
Well done Warnock, you got it spot on!
For long periods of the game (particularly in the first half) Doncaster enjoyed the lions share of possession. For all their neat, impressive football there was no real cutting edge... With the exception of a stunning freekick and subsequent clearance off the line they never really tested Kenny - although admittedly there were some close calls.
At half time, inexplicably some "fans" decided to boo our players off?! Make no mistake, it wasn't the kind of QPR performance that left you drooling, counting down the minutes to the the beginning of the second half, but that's credit to Doncaster. Personally I have always felt that they are an excellent side, probably the best "footballing" team the division.*
But regardless of how good they are, we were playing a side that were sat 7th in the table and in very good form.. Quite how drawing 0-0 against them warranted booing I don't know. I'll stress it was a minority (likely attending their first game this season as we have been doing so well!) but it left me feeling both embarrassed and shocked.. Talk about fickle.
Moving onto the second half and our performance really picked up. In the end it was a comfortable 3 points, but the scoreline didn't do justice to how tough a game it was. I agree with Warnock, I think they will likely be in the playoffs come the end of the season.
Just a few points on some of the performances I wanted to make though:
Kyle Walker - What an excellent prospect. Offers so much width and creativity on the right hand side, with pace to burn he really does give us something different. Appreciate Orr was in great form before picking up his injury, but I really hope we get this loan extended. Cracking performance from him again.*
Gorkss - I may be in the minority on this one, but I thought on his first half performance alone he was actually quite poor. He is Mr.Consistent, but I felt he was sloppy when playing the ball out from the back. As ever he was excellent defensively, but did literally gift-wrap possession back to Doncaster on a number of occasions though. Finished both goals excellently though and played a big part in earning us the 3 points in the end.
Derry - Immense! Made a mistake in the first half when he was robbed in the middle of the pitch, but apart from that I thought his performance was flawless. He seems to have stepped his performance up another level in Faurlin's absence. Looks less and less like great business and more and more like daylight robbery by the game. He's a big big player for us, let's hope we can keep him fit.
Buzsaky - I hope this doesn't read as a criticism of him as a player, but that role in the centre of midfield just doesn't suit him. I suppose that we don't really have any other options at the moment, but we will get punished sooner or later as he just can't track back and defend. I appreciate Warnocks problem, but we do really miss Faurlin!
Taarabt - He is a little off form at the moment. Watching him yesterday I felt like he was a bit of a luxury at times with his tricks and flicks not really coming off and proving fairly ineffective... He ALWAYS has the ability to turn the game on it's head though... and did just that by picking out Helguson with a stunning through-ball and securing the 3 points with a well taken penalty. Great delivery for the 3rd goal as well. Slightly confused why the chanting of his name has stopped?! Needs to pick himself up a bit though, hopefully the penalty will help him improve.
Helguson - I've commented on pretty much every game this season at how impressed I have been with him and yesterday was no different. I thought he was absolutely excellent. Frightening to think a large majority of fans would have been delighted to have seen him offloaded last season. I'm starting to appreciate why Premiership clubs took a punt on him now... Top top performance.
Leigertwood - I was hoping that he would start ahead of Buzsaky yesterday, but he looked about 20 yards off pace! I know a lot of fans don't rate him, personally I think he's a very good player.. But he looked very poor yesterday.
On reflection on the full 90 minutes as a whole, I think we were possibly a little fortunate to escape with 3 points. Winning is a habit though and the confidence is clearly at a premium. Just saw a few little signs of complacency yesterday though, which I'm sure Warnock will be swift to address.*
Millwall on Tuesday is a MASSIVE game, let's hope the players (and supporters) play their part.
Well done Warnock, you got it spot on!
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