A much much better performance than V Bristol. Looked comfortable in the first half, but the usual gremlins kicked in, but it did make for an entertaining evening, as Morcambe, did try and get the win. Fair play, they nearly had us. Positives. Bradshaw looked alot better than on Saturday, took both goals well. Ugbo. Looks lively, and has the beating of defenders on the turn. His pace for our second was good. Hedges. Really good finish Hammill - decent contribution. Put in some great crosses. On the other side, defence lacking leadership. Still look shaky. Potts - miles better than on Saturday, and he has decent spells, but just doesn't seem interested in defensive duties, and left the right back exposed again and again. Would sooner have Hedges there for now. Yet to be convinced by Moncur, but he is improving.
I'm somewhere inbetween "it would have been nice to have not conceded 3 goals" and "we always struggle at this stage, so I'm quite happy to have seen 7 goals and be the winning side"
It was starting to get bloody cold by half nine.....we were just praying for a winner at either end. Couldn't face another 30 mins and pennos. All turned out right.
On the other side, defence lacking leadership. Still look shaky. Potts - miles better than on Saturday, and he has decent spells, but just doesn't seem interested in defensive duties, and left the right back exposed again and again. Would sooner have Hedges there for now. Yet to be convinced by Moncur, but he is improving.[/QUOTE] Actually I think Moncur is the stand out player. Really impressed. Great passing and demands the ball - not unlike Conor. Some good skill down the left between him. Hammill, Yids and Ugbo. Combined well.
Being my first view of the new players I thought Williams got well involved and looked a good prospect even though he played incredibly deeply ( tactics?) in the second half. Pearson and Pinnock looked ok but the defence as a whole had about fifteen minutes of total disarray in the second half. Ugbo has got a good touch,is clever and has pace - can we make best use of this? Potts had a bit of a schizophrenic match , very good and very bad and he was knackered after an hour. As for the rest? Will Bradshaw benefit from the confidence of scoring? Is Hammill back in with Hecky? Does Moncur think he is Henry Lansbury? Will Yiadom stay?(fingers crossed). Will Macdonald calm down on his own or does he need an older partner? Will Payne get another game if we sign a striker? Will Davies keep us up? Will I find a cure for constant questioning? Hedges and Mowatt only got a couple of minutes but could there be a better substitution?
Told GG made a mistake in signing Potts. After they had their dinner last week the cups and plates were in the sink and Hecky said " before you leave tonight Gauthier can you get pots done."? He misunderstood what Hecky meant and phoned Blackpool and bought Brad Potts ( it is alleged).
I thought Moncur had a really good game too. Links up play really well and had loads of energy. Would like to see him go direct a bit more and chance his arm with more shots.
Taking into account the quality of the opposition, I thought we looked bright and imaginative going forward. For me, the defence looked what they are, an untried and untested unit. For a group of such physically big blokes, we surprisingly looked very vulnerable in the air.
The relief at not having to watch extra time was tangible when Hedges scored. You could hear it in the crowds celebrations.
Until Lindsay gets back, at least we can say that Pinnock is better than Jackson. I don't know why he dropped McCarthy for Pearson though. And once again until Isgrove gets back, surely we've got wing cover with both Hammill and Hedges, depending on whether they are better on the other wing. Id be tempted to stick Hedges up front though alongside Bradshaw, his goals have given Hecky something to think about at least.
