Tweet
Apologies for this late report, I must confess that I did ponder whether to bother writing up my take on yesterdays game.
To concede right at the death (yet again) at Home Park was just such a gut wrencher. Such was my disbelief at the final whistle; I think I have almost developed a Harry Redknapp like twitch today… I am left just speechless!
For anyone that is interested, here was my view on the game.
I got up at 5:45 in the morning yesterday, and left home shortly after 6 o’clock. I did actually leave in quite an optimistic mood. Last week at Blackpool I thought we were exceptional, and to follow up on that performance with a comprehensive victory against Exeter in the cup left me feeling pretty good about yesterday’s game.
One talking point on the way up was the arrival of our new goalkeeper, who Cait kindly confirmed had been made official. As for the rest of the journey… well it was a little boring to be honest. Long traffic jams, and the fact that we moved little over 70 miles in coming upto 3 hours was just mentally draining.
We eventually arrived at the ground at 2 o’clock, and after parking just outside the ground we made our way round to the away end. As we looked round, there was hardly anyone there at all. Clearly they had been struggling with the traffic like we did, but fortunately the numbers picked up just before kick off and we were ready to start.
In the line-up, there were a couple of surprises. Most notably that Adel Taarabt, and Heider Helguson were starting the game. I was expecting to see one/both of them on the bench at very best, considering that they had only played for their National teams on the Thursday night (but I’ll come back to this point).
As ever it was Cerny who started in goal. The defence was made up of Borrowdale, Hall, Gorkss and Ramage. There was a place in the side for Leigertwood, who partnered Mahon in the centre of midfield. With hat trick boy Routledge, and former Pilgrim Akos Buzsaky on either wing. As mentioned above we had Taarabt and Helguson up front.
The match started in typical fashion, with both sides trying to hold possession and get into the game. The first real chance fell our way. After winning a corner on the right hand side, Buzsaky flighted in a cross which I think Ramage managed to get his head to, but he saw the effort loop over the bar.
Next up, it was another moment of trickery from Taarabt that brought the first test for Larrieu in the Plymouth goal. After picking the ball up on the half way line, he spun his marker and advanced through on goal. As he dinked the ball past the standing defender, he was heaved down to the ground for a free kick about 25 yards out.
As Buzsaky stood over the ball, his chant was being echoed from the stand where us away fans were sat. As he stepped up, he struck the ball perfectly, and it looked like the pace and awesome amount of swerve he had generated might just beat the keeper. We watched as Larrieu pulled off a cracking stop, as he flew from the right hand side of his goal and just managed to push the ball round the post.
Unfortunately the resulting corner was of no trouble to Plymouth, and was easily cleared of danger.
As the game went on, the one stand out player in my eyes was Wayne Routledge. He was really winning the battle against the left back he was faced with, and it was indeed him who had the next effort on goal. After Mahon provided him with the ball on the right hand side, he skipped inside central around 30 yards out. After looking up and assessing his options, he let fly with a thunderous drive which looked like it might head for the back of the net. Larrieu stood still as the ball hammered wide of the post. I have to say it’s not the kind of effort that I would associate with Routledge, but he was clearly brimming with confidence from the Exeter game and fair play to him – it was a cracking effort and he will count himself unlucky not to have scored on this occasion.
Next up was probably the move of the match in my opinion. I think it was actually Borrowdale who had won possession for us, and he played a neat ball to the feet of Taarabt. After avoiding two nasty lunges from Plymouth defenders, he was left with just one player to beat. Buzsaky was stood just on the edge of the box, and they were clearly on the same wavelength as they played a delightful one two around the defender. As Taarabt raced for the ball along the 6 yard line, he attempted to dink the ball over the lunging Larrieu, but again he pulled of a cracking save and we were awarded with another corner.
An older gentleman sat behind me said “That’s liquid football” at this stage, to who I assume was his grandson. It made me laugh the language he had used, but on reflection I think he probably summed it up pretty well. It was free flowing, great to watch, but Taarabt just didn’t have the composure he needed to beat the keeper on this occasion.
The noise from the dreary QPR fans was growing, and you could sense that a goal was close, and it was a matter of minutes later that we found ourselves in the lead.
We were literally right on the brink of half time. The ball looked to have dribbled out for a throw in, but Taarabt somehow managed to keep it in play, and after the defender attempted to heave him to the ground he stormed forward towards goal leaving the player flat out on the floor. He tried to cut in right and shoot, but the defender managed to get a foot on it… fortunately that deflection took it right into the path of Helguson who made no mistake in heading the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
We had to laugh at this stage, a teenage curly haired ginger boy had been trying to provoke a number of QPR fans throughout the first half. He had got a reaction from quite a few, and they vented a flurry of celebrations right in his face. As what felt like the whole stand turn and celebrate mockingly at him, he threw his bottle of Coke on the floor and stamped his feet in frustration. As the referee blew time on the first half, all of the travelling fans applauded as the players walked off the pitch… and for once you did get the impression that maybe, just maybe we might get a win at this ground that had almost been a curse to us in recent years.
I’m trying to think back to a save that Cerny had to make in the first half, but I genuinely can’t think of even one. He had to deal with a few crosses into the box which he held well, but aside from that he wasn’t tested at all. The only negative was that we hadn’t capitalized on our numerous chances created. We really should have been at least 3 goals to the good, but we found ourselves up against another goalkeeper who was playing out of his skin.
Right at the start of the second half Sturrock decided to make a change. They had brought on a striker, and his tactics were clear for all to see. From the very first minute they hit Fallon with the long ball, and that proved to be a pattern for the remainder of the game.
Despite having to deal with the added aerial presence, we again looked to have scored early on in the half. Again it was Routledge who was the creator. After Taarabt hit a stunning ball from the left hand side, Routledge controlled the ball dead on the spot… the defender who so far had been eaten alive by him stood off and stood off. As Routledge trotted forward on the ball, Taarabt made a superb run right onto the edge of the box unmarked… Routledge simply fed the ball right at his feet, and Taarabt couldn’t have made a sweeter connection. The ball looked to have curled into the top right hand corner, so much so that I was celebrating us going into a 2 goal lead. It was only when I saw the goal kick that I realized that the ball had in fact just gone wide.
Our little ginger friend was sitting nervously in his seat at this stage, but it was us who where then counting our luck. I couldn’t see which Plymouth player it actually was, but one of them struck a great shot at goal from a cute angle that whistled wide of the post – while Cerny looked to have been beaten.
The aerial threat caused by Plymouth was causing us no end of problems though. Watching the second half made for quite edgey viewing, and needless to say my twitch was certainly getting no better. As they launched long ball after long ball into the box, you just felt it was only a matter of time before it fell to a Plymouth player… as it always seems to at Home Park.
Magilton decided to shake things up, and Agyemang replaced Helguson in attack. It wasn’t long after he had been introduced that we made another change. This time it was Ephraim being introduced at the expense of Buzsaky. Again a matter of minutes later Magilton made his final change, and this time it was Vine on for Taarabt.
Vine hadn’t been on the pitch long, but almost made an instant impact. After we managed to clear the danger from a Plymouth corner, Vine raced the defender to win the lose ball. As his heavy touch took the ball way past the half way line, his pace saw him roast the defender and advance through on goal… I suppose it was reminiscent of his goal up at Burnley a couple of seasons ago. As the whole away end rose to their feet, he tried to slide the ball under Larrieu… but he pulled off yet another fantastic save and palmed the ball away. As Agyemang also ran in for any rebound the ball just evaded him and went out of play. Just unbelievable, it was what must have been the 5th stunning save from the Plymouth keeper.
Vine again was making an impression shortly after. While trying to make amends for his missed chance, he managed to work his way past the right back and he dinked a superb ball into the box for Routledge. He met the ball on the volley, but agonisingly he could only manage to slice it out of play for a goal kick.
You could almost see the fans begging for us to not have to pay for these missed chances, and the 4th official signalled that there would be another 5 minutes for us to all endure, which was met with a large groan from the QPR fans.
I thought we had conceded in what must have been about the 93rd minute. I could hardly bear to watch, and as I looked up I saw what looked like 7 QPR players all fighting for the ball in a goalmouth scramble. As a Plymouth player just managed to connect with the ball it was somehow cleared off the line by one of our players. I don’t have a clue who it was, but it was a vital clearance and somehow kept us ahead.
The relief of not conceding was enormous, and we celebrated like a goal had gone in. “Come on you R’s” was bellowing out from the away end, as we had the game won… or so we thought. Looking over at our curly friend, he was going wild at supporters, but with fists raised and bouncing everywhere it was almost a party atmosphere.
We looked on in disbelief as a long throw by Plymouth was somehow bundled into the back of the net. I have since heard it was Gorkss who was responsible for an own goal, but it didn’t look like that from where we were sat.
The Plymouth fans roared as if they had won the match, and the all too familiar sight of seeing Plymouth players celebrate another last minute goal had returned. Needless to say, I couldn’t bear to look over at curly… but the thought of him celebrating in our faces haunted me the full journey back to the island!
As the referee blew time on the game, it just left me feeling so deflated. It really did feel like we had lost the game, and after playing well – particularly in the first half, I just felt we deserved so much more from it.
I don’t mean for this to sound all doom and gloom, there were a lot of positives to take from the game… Most notably that we had clearly gone there to attack, and we did at times play some very good football. But to concede so late yet again, just leaves me absolutely gutted, and it is difficult to put into words my feelings at full time.
There were a couple of fundamental things that I did think Magilton got wrong though.
Firstly, why were Taarabt and Helguson starting?
In my eyes, it made much more sense to stick with the team that blitzed Exeter during the week. Ephraim scored a stunning goal in that game, I would have seen more use with someone like him playing and trying to stake a claim for a place in the starting eleven. If scoring a goal like he did wasn’t enough to get him a start in a league game, then I don’t know what is. But I felt gutted for him. I think he earned a place in the starting lineup, and was robbed of it. I wouldn’t be surprised at all for him to start against Bristol, but I just feel that the weekend could have been used as rest time for Taarabt/Helguson… It just didn’t make sense to me.
Also on the point of team selection, why is Connolly not starting?
Borrowdale does concern me, and although I do like Ramage (for the amount of passion he shows if nothing else), Connolly is in a different league to those two altogether. I would hope that Magilton just doesn’t want to risk him as he might be fully fit, but I hope that he would start sooner or later. I just hope Magilton knows what a truly class defender he is keeping on the bench.
Lastly, I think Magilton was wrong to bring Agyemang on. For the remaining 20 minutes or so, we did result to the long ball. The guiltiest person of this in my eyes was Cerny. In the first half, and most of the second half he was rolling the ball short to the full backs and building from the back. But for the remaining few minutes he launched the ball at Agyemang time and time again… and it just isn’t his strength. It made Agyemang look poor, but that isn’t the case at all, it was just the wrong service. I think that kind of tactic would have been far more suited to Pellicori, as we just surrendered possession time and time again… and in the end it cost us.
I do think Magilton would have learned a lot from yesterdays game, I just hope he is given the time to correct it.
Player Ratings –
Cerny – Didn’t have an awful lot to do. I didn’t see enough of their goal to know if he was responsible, but I don’t think he was. As mentioned above, why oh why he continued to blast the ball up to Agyemang is beyond me… it was clearly not working and I can’t believe he didn’t see it.
Ramage – Full of effort and running… you just can’t fault his effort. He looked pretty steady at the back, and didn’t do an awful lot wrong. Apologised to the fans at the end, and genuinely looked devastated.
Hall – Really impressed me yesterday, and was arguably our best player. I didn’t mention it above, but on one occasion a Plymouth player was through one on one with Cerny. Hall flew in from behind, and wrapped his legs around the ball and hooked it back… as another Plymouth player ran through he did the exact same thing again. Honestly it was just exquisite defending! He was guilty of a couple of aimless long balls, but by and large he had a cracker. Stewart will struggle to replace him on this performance.
Gorkss – He really did look out of sorts yesterday. Not his usual dominant self in the air, and seemed to just be a yard off the pace. I still don’t feel he was responsible of an own goal, and if he did I will put it down to misfortune. He will want to improve on this game… I’m sure he will.
Borrowdale – At times he looks pretty good, other times he really does look like he has been found out. He did a couple of things that left me fuming, and did back off the opposing players on more than one occasion. I don’t have anything against him, but we desperately need a left back.
Routledge – Probably just shades the man of the match for me. He was a constant threat on the right hand side, and really looked like he was playing for us. He chased men down, went for loose balls and just looked really up for it. I hope we can keep him in this form, because he is a match for ANY defender when in this kind of form.
Mahon – Poor game from him in my eyes. Lost possession a number of times, and just didn’t release it quickly enough. Ironically this is just the kind of game that I love his name on the team sheet, but he just never really got into it.
Leigertwood – Delighted to see him back. I know opinion on him is mixed, but personally I still view him as one of our best players. Very gritty performance for him, and he looked very strong and up for the fight.
Buzsaky – Frustrates me seeing him on the left wing, its just not his best position. He still had a couple of magical moments, and ever so nearly put us ahead with a blinding free kick. Still not hitting top form, but still more than capable of making a difference - even when not at his best. One positive was that he linked up well with Taarabt/Routledge, and when those 3 click… goals will come!
Taarabt – Mixed game from him. Clearly a class above, but I just don’t think he is a striker. When he has the ball on the left hand side, you always favour him to beat his man… but when he is in the centre you just don’t have that same feeling that something will happen. I hope he will develop into the role… but I remain unconvinced he will get the goals to take us up.
Helguson – I thought he had a poor game. I was happy to see him score, as his confidence must have been shot to bits after last year. I would love to see him score this kind of goal more often; I just hope that he can now start to deliver. Don’t read too much into his goal though, he didn’t play well, but in fairness did finish it well.
Subs –
Vine – Looked excellent when he came on. Would have loved to see him tuck his chance away, but looked a threat coming forward.
Agyemang – People will be saying he was rubbish etc, but the truth is that we were asking him to do a job he is just not capable of. He made very little impact yesterday, but it wasn’t for the want of trying. Just give him the ball to feet.
Ephraim – Nothing of note.
I suppose the nice thing is that we DID pick up a point away from home. Any other day we would have run out comfortable victors, but it just wasn’t to be. If we keep playing like this it is only a matter of time before someone gets an absolute hammering…we just aren’t quite getting the run of the ball.
It will come though, keep the faith.
Hopefully I’ll have a report up on Wednesday from the Bristol game – if I make it out alive!
*twitch*
To concede right at the death (yet again) at Home Park was just such a gut wrencher. Such was my disbelief at the final whistle; I think I have almost developed a Harry Redknapp like twitch today… I am left just speechless!
For anyone that is interested, here was my view on the game.
I got up at 5:45 in the morning yesterday, and left home shortly after 6 o’clock. I did actually leave in quite an optimistic mood. Last week at Blackpool I thought we were exceptional, and to follow up on that performance with a comprehensive victory against Exeter in the cup left me feeling pretty good about yesterday’s game.
One talking point on the way up was the arrival of our new goalkeeper, who Cait kindly confirmed had been made official. As for the rest of the journey… well it was a little boring to be honest. Long traffic jams, and the fact that we moved little over 70 miles in coming upto 3 hours was just mentally draining.
We eventually arrived at the ground at 2 o’clock, and after parking just outside the ground we made our way round to the away end. As we looked round, there was hardly anyone there at all. Clearly they had been struggling with the traffic like we did, but fortunately the numbers picked up just before kick off and we were ready to start.
In the line-up, there were a couple of surprises. Most notably that Adel Taarabt, and Heider Helguson were starting the game. I was expecting to see one/both of them on the bench at very best, considering that they had only played for their National teams on the Thursday night (but I’ll come back to this point).
As ever it was Cerny who started in goal. The defence was made up of Borrowdale, Hall, Gorkss and Ramage. There was a place in the side for Leigertwood, who partnered Mahon in the centre of midfield. With hat trick boy Routledge, and former Pilgrim Akos Buzsaky on either wing. As mentioned above we had Taarabt and Helguson up front.
The match started in typical fashion, with both sides trying to hold possession and get into the game. The first real chance fell our way. After winning a corner on the right hand side, Buzsaky flighted in a cross which I think Ramage managed to get his head to, but he saw the effort loop over the bar.
Next up, it was another moment of trickery from Taarabt that brought the first test for Larrieu in the Plymouth goal. After picking the ball up on the half way line, he spun his marker and advanced through on goal. As he dinked the ball past the standing defender, he was heaved down to the ground for a free kick about 25 yards out.
As Buzsaky stood over the ball, his chant was being echoed from the stand where us away fans were sat. As he stepped up, he struck the ball perfectly, and it looked like the pace and awesome amount of swerve he had generated might just beat the keeper. We watched as Larrieu pulled off a cracking stop, as he flew from the right hand side of his goal and just managed to push the ball round the post.
Unfortunately the resulting corner was of no trouble to Plymouth, and was easily cleared of danger.
As the game went on, the one stand out player in my eyes was Wayne Routledge. He was really winning the battle against the left back he was faced with, and it was indeed him who had the next effort on goal. After Mahon provided him with the ball on the right hand side, he skipped inside central around 30 yards out. After looking up and assessing his options, he let fly with a thunderous drive which looked like it might head for the back of the net. Larrieu stood still as the ball hammered wide of the post. I have to say it’s not the kind of effort that I would associate with Routledge, but he was clearly brimming with confidence from the Exeter game and fair play to him – it was a cracking effort and he will count himself unlucky not to have scored on this occasion.
Next up was probably the move of the match in my opinion. I think it was actually Borrowdale who had won possession for us, and he played a neat ball to the feet of Taarabt. After avoiding two nasty lunges from Plymouth defenders, he was left with just one player to beat. Buzsaky was stood just on the edge of the box, and they were clearly on the same wavelength as they played a delightful one two around the defender. As Taarabt raced for the ball along the 6 yard line, he attempted to dink the ball over the lunging Larrieu, but again he pulled of a cracking save and we were awarded with another corner.
An older gentleman sat behind me said “That’s liquid football” at this stage, to who I assume was his grandson. It made me laugh the language he had used, but on reflection I think he probably summed it up pretty well. It was free flowing, great to watch, but Taarabt just didn’t have the composure he needed to beat the keeper on this occasion.
The noise from the dreary QPR fans was growing, and you could sense that a goal was close, and it was a matter of minutes later that we found ourselves in the lead.
We were literally right on the brink of half time. The ball looked to have dribbled out for a throw in, but Taarabt somehow managed to keep it in play, and after the defender attempted to heave him to the ground he stormed forward towards goal leaving the player flat out on the floor. He tried to cut in right and shoot, but the defender managed to get a foot on it… fortunately that deflection took it right into the path of Helguson who made no mistake in heading the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
We had to laugh at this stage, a teenage curly haired ginger boy had been trying to provoke a number of QPR fans throughout the first half. He had got a reaction from quite a few, and they vented a flurry of celebrations right in his face. As what felt like the whole stand turn and celebrate mockingly at him, he threw his bottle of Coke on the floor and stamped his feet in frustration. As the referee blew time on the first half, all of the travelling fans applauded as the players walked off the pitch… and for once you did get the impression that maybe, just maybe we might get a win at this ground that had almost been a curse to us in recent years.
I’m trying to think back to a save that Cerny had to make in the first half, but I genuinely can’t think of even one. He had to deal with a few crosses into the box which he held well, but aside from that he wasn’t tested at all. The only negative was that we hadn’t capitalized on our numerous chances created. We really should have been at least 3 goals to the good, but we found ourselves up against another goalkeeper who was playing out of his skin.
Right at the start of the second half Sturrock decided to make a change. They had brought on a striker, and his tactics were clear for all to see. From the very first minute they hit Fallon with the long ball, and that proved to be a pattern for the remainder of the game.
Despite having to deal with the added aerial presence, we again looked to have scored early on in the half. Again it was Routledge who was the creator. After Taarabt hit a stunning ball from the left hand side, Routledge controlled the ball dead on the spot… the defender who so far had been eaten alive by him stood off and stood off. As Routledge trotted forward on the ball, Taarabt made a superb run right onto the edge of the box unmarked… Routledge simply fed the ball right at his feet, and Taarabt couldn’t have made a sweeter connection. The ball looked to have curled into the top right hand corner, so much so that I was celebrating us going into a 2 goal lead. It was only when I saw the goal kick that I realized that the ball had in fact just gone wide.
Our little ginger friend was sitting nervously in his seat at this stage, but it was us who where then counting our luck. I couldn’t see which Plymouth player it actually was, but one of them struck a great shot at goal from a cute angle that whistled wide of the post – while Cerny looked to have been beaten.
The aerial threat caused by Plymouth was causing us no end of problems though. Watching the second half made for quite edgey viewing, and needless to say my twitch was certainly getting no better. As they launched long ball after long ball into the box, you just felt it was only a matter of time before it fell to a Plymouth player… as it always seems to at Home Park.
Magilton decided to shake things up, and Agyemang replaced Helguson in attack. It wasn’t long after he had been introduced that we made another change. This time it was Ephraim being introduced at the expense of Buzsaky. Again a matter of minutes later Magilton made his final change, and this time it was Vine on for Taarabt.
Vine hadn’t been on the pitch long, but almost made an instant impact. After we managed to clear the danger from a Plymouth corner, Vine raced the defender to win the lose ball. As his heavy touch took the ball way past the half way line, his pace saw him roast the defender and advance through on goal… I suppose it was reminiscent of his goal up at Burnley a couple of seasons ago. As the whole away end rose to their feet, he tried to slide the ball under Larrieu… but he pulled off yet another fantastic save and palmed the ball away. As Agyemang also ran in for any rebound the ball just evaded him and went out of play. Just unbelievable, it was what must have been the 5th stunning save from the Plymouth keeper.
Vine again was making an impression shortly after. While trying to make amends for his missed chance, he managed to work his way past the right back and he dinked a superb ball into the box for Routledge. He met the ball on the volley, but agonisingly he could only manage to slice it out of play for a goal kick.
You could almost see the fans begging for us to not have to pay for these missed chances, and the 4th official signalled that there would be another 5 minutes for us to all endure, which was met with a large groan from the QPR fans.
I thought we had conceded in what must have been about the 93rd minute. I could hardly bear to watch, and as I looked up I saw what looked like 7 QPR players all fighting for the ball in a goalmouth scramble. As a Plymouth player just managed to connect with the ball it was somehow cleared off the line by one of our players. I don’t have a clue who it was, but it was a vital clearance and somehow kept us ahead.
The relief of not conceding was enormous, and we celebrated like a goal had gone in. “Come on you R’s” was bellowing out from the away end, as we had the game won… or so we thought. Looking over at our curly friend, he was going wild at supporters, but with fists raised and bouncing everywhere it was almost a party atmosphere.
We looked on in disbelief as a long throw by Plymouth was somehow bundled into the back of the net. I have since heard it was Gorkss who was responsible for an own goal, but it didn’t look like that from where we were sat.
The Plymouth fans roared as if they had won the match, and the all too familiar sight of seeing Plymouth players celebrate another last minute goal had returned. Needless to say, I couldn’t bear to look over at curly… but the thought of him celebrating in our faces haunted me the full journey back to the island!
As the referee blew time on the game, it just left me feeling so deflated. It really did feel like we had lost the game, and after playing well – particularly in the first half, I just felt we deserved so much more from it.
I don’t mean for this to sound all doom and gloom, there were a lot of positives to take from the game… Most notably that we had clearly gone there to attack, and we did at times play some very good football. But to concede so late yet again, just leaves me absolutely gutted, and it is difficult to put into words my feelings at full time.
There were a couple of fundamental things that I did think Magilton got wrong though.
Firstly, why were Taarabt and Helguson starting?
In my eyes, it made much more sense to stick with the team that blitzed Exeter during the week. Ephraim scored a stunning goal in that game, I would have seen more use with someone like him playing and trying to stake a claim for a place in the starting eleven. If scoring a goal like he did wasn’t enough to get him a start in a league game, then I don’t know what is. But I felt gutted for him. I think he earned a place in the starting lineup, and was robbed of it. I wouldn’t be surprised at all for him to start against Bristol, but I just feel that the weekend could have been used as rest time for Taarabt/Helguson… It just didn’t make sense to me.
Also on the point of team selection, why is Connolly not starting?
Borrowdale does concern me, and although I do like Ramage (for the amount of passion he shows if nothing else), Connolly is in a different league to those two altogether. I would hope that Magilton just doesn’t want to risk him as he might be fully fit, but I hope that he would start sooner or later. I just hope Magilton knows what a truly class defender he is keeping on the bench.
Lastly, I think Magilton was wrong to bring Agyemang on. For the remaining 20 minutes or so, we did result to the long ball. The guiltiest person of this in my eyes was Cerny. In the first half, and most of the second half he was rolling the ball short to the full backs and building from the back. But for the remaining few minutes he launched the ball at Agyemang time and time again… and it just isn’t his strength. It made Agyemang look poor, but that isn’t the case at all, it was just the wrong service. I think that kind of tactic would have been far more suited to Pellicori, as we just surrendered possession time and time again… and in the end it cost us.
I do think Magilton would have learned a lot from yesterdays game, I just hope he is given the time to correct it.
Player Ratings –
Cerny – Didn’t have an awful lot to do. I didn’t see enough of their goal to know if he was responsible, but I don’t think he was. As mentioned above, why oh why he continued to blast the ball up to Agyemang is beyond me… it was clearly not working and I can’t believe he didn’t see it.
Ramage – Full of effort and running… you just can’t fault his effort. He looked pretty steady at the back, and didn’t do an awful lot wrong. Apologised to the fans at the end, and genuinely looked devastated.
Hall – Really impressed me yesterday, and was arguably our best player. I didn’t mention it above, but on one occasion a Plymouth player was through one on one with Cerny. Hall flew in from behind, and wrapped his legs around the ball and hooked it back… as another Plymouth player ran through he did the exact same thing again. Honestly it was just exquisite defending! He was guilty of a couple of aimless long balls, but by and large he had a cracker. Stewart will struggle to replace him on this performance.
Gorkss – He really did look out of sorts yesterday. Not his usual dominant self in the air, and seemed to just be a yard off the pace. I still don’t feel he was responsible of an own goal, and if he did I will put it down to misfortune. He will want to improve on this game… I’m sure he will.
Borrowdale – At times he looks pretty good, other times he really does look like he has been found out. He did a couple of things that left me fuming, and did back off the opposing players on more than one occasion. I don’t have anything against him, but we desperately need a left back.
Routledge – Probably just shades the man of the match for me. He was a constant threat on the right hand side, and really looked like he was playing for us. He chased men down, went for loose balls and just looked really up for it. I hope we can keep him in this form, because he is a match for ANY defender when in this kind of form.
Mahon – Poor game from him in my eyes. Lost possession a number of times, and just didn’t release it quickly enough. Ironically this is just the kind of game that I love his name on the team sheet, but he just never really got into it.
Leigertwood – Delighted to see him back. I know opinion on him is mixed, but personally I still view him as one of our best players. Very gritty performance for him, and he looked very strong and up for the fight.
Buzsaky – Frustrates me seeing him on the left wing, its just not his best position. He still had a couple of magical moments, and ever so nearly put us ahead with a blinding free kick. Still not hitting top form, but still more than capable of making a difference - even when not at his best. One positive was that he linked up well with Taarabt/Routledge, and when those 3 click… goals will come!
Taarabt – Mixed game from him. Clearly a class above, but I just don’t think he is a striker. When he has the ball on the left hand side, you always favour him to beat his man… but when he is in the centre you just don’t have that same feeling that something will happen. I hope he will develop into the role… but I remain unconvinced he will get the goals to take us up.
Helguson – I thought he had a poor game. I was happy to see him score, as his confidence must have been shot to bits after last year. I would love to see him score this kind of goal more often; I just hope that he can now start to deliver. Don’t read too much into his goal though, he didn’t play well, but in fairness did finish it well.
Subs –
Vine – Looked excellent when he came on. Would have loved to see him tuck his chance away, but looked a threat coming forward.
Agyemang – People will be saying he was rubbish etc, but the truth is that we were asking him to do a job he is just not capable of. He made very little impact yesterday, but it wasn’t for the want of trying. Just give him the ball to feet.
Ephraim – Nothing of note.
I suppose the nice thing is that we DID pick up a point away from home. Any other day we would have run out comfortable victors, but it just wasn’t to be. If we keep playing like this it is only a matter of time before someone gets an absolute hammering…we just aren’t quite getting the run of the ball.
It will come though, keep the faith.
Hopefully I’ll have a report up on Wednesday from the Bristol game – if I make it out alive!
*twitch*
Comment