Hi Guys, A little late, but thought i would give a little write up on my experience of the game on Saturday against Brighton. I started out the day a little optimistic thinking we could actually get something from Brighton as taking a draw back to South Yorkshire would be seen as a good result, but my hopes of seeing Barnsley come away with anything were quickly put to bed. Barnsley started off very slow as Brighton knocked the ball around with simple passing and moving which led to the Barnsley midfield pretty much chasing shadows. A long ball out to the Brighton winger led Golbourne to go in with a tasty challange resulting in a yellow card. Brighton whipped the free kick into the box which seemed like an easy catch for Gonzalez but a lack of communication ended in our keeper running into Foster and dropping the ball resulting in an easy tap in for Barnes to make it 1-0 with 4 minutes on the clock. Kick off after the goal and again Barnsley just werent in the game, we lost the ball quickly which understandably was frustrating the fans, My hope of a result were looking slimmer and slimmer with how the first 10 minutes had gone. But then, just to add insult to injury Etuhu and Wiseman couldnt decide who should attack the ball so they both decided to step off and let wayne bridge have a pop from 25 yards. The ball bobbled over the line leaving Gonzalez to wave his arms around and complain at his defenders. Maybe it the keeper had decided to move a foot or so to the left he could have controlled it with his feet... 14 minutes gone and we looked pretty much dead and buried with how our perfomance was shaping out. But after restarting the game again we looked like a brand new team compared to the earlier 15 minutes, the table had turned, we were the ones making Brighton chase shadows and after we had complete control over the game the pressure paid off, Mellis dribbled into the area and was tripped by the Brighton defender. Craig Davies stepped up and drilled the spot kick under the Brighton keeper to make it 2-1. I thought to my self if we carried on playing like this we would deffinatly get something, we just needed to keep the upper hand until half time, get the lads in make a change or 2 and go at them in the second half...But as a Barnsley supporter optimism only leads to dissapointment as 2 minutes later Mackail-Smith went straight down the other end and got onto the end of a drilled cross to leave our defenders and keeper yet again scratching their heads... The game restarts for the 2nd half and again things go from bad to worse as again Brighton notched another to make it 4-1 on 50 minutes. We looked dead and buried by this point and the 297 Barnsley fans that made the trip were now wishing they had stayed at home. It was a Deja-Vu from the second half of last season, we picked up from where we left off. On the 80th minute Brighton made it 5-1 as Lua Lua outmuscled and outpaced our full back resulting in a easy finish from Barnes as the ball was cut back. All in all a very very dissapointing performance and i will think twice before travelling the length of the country to watch Barnsley again! Player Ratings Gonazlez - 4 - I dont actually think he made an attempt to save any shots on Saturday, at fault for 3 of the goals. At one point he was even throwing the ball out and im sure aiming for the Brighton players! Stones - 5 - Looked out of his depth today which is a big shame, Wayne Bridge gave him a torrid time. Wiseman - 4 - The wiseman and foster pairing...results in no communication and silly goals been given away Foster - 4 - As above Golbourne - 6 - Made some nice runs and seemed to be one of the only few on the pitch that was still going when we were 4-1 down. Etuhu - 5 - Hes got the pace but he just didnt use it. I never really saw him in an attacking posistion on the pitch Mellis - 6 - Made a couple of nice passes and when we were on top he was pulling all the strings along with Cywca. he did a nice little run to get into the box and win the penalty but when we werent on top he wasnt involved in the game. Looked lost all the second half. Cywca - 7 - This guy will be our stand out player this season, no doubt about it. He had a coule of good shots in the first half and caused Brightons defenders all sorts of problems. He never stopped running and always wanted the ball. Dawson - 5 - Wasnt involved in the game, cant even recall him putting a tackle in the middle of the park. No where near as effective as Perkins. Harewood - 5 - Looked off it from the start, Didnt have the pace to beat anybody to the ball, when he did get through on goal he skyed it. Just seemed to spend most of the game complaining. Davies - 5 - Didnt look intrested in the game at all. Looked like he would rather be elsewhere which is a shame. Neither striker caused Brightons defence any problems, an easy day for them. Cheers
Thanks for that mate. Just one thing, and i noticed someone else also agreed with your point, was Davies that bad? I only ask because Barnsley Player gave him our MoM (admittedly not much competition). Said that he battled hard without any quality service and was the only player who looked likely to score or create anything. Not saying they were right!
No problem. He wasnt at his best. I really like Davies, on his day he could cause the best defenders problems but his inability to control a ball will always be his downfall..On saturday though i cant even recall him having a shot except the penalty. I personally think Cywca was our standout player but all in all was poor from every one of them. Not what you expect when you travel 240 miles to watch your team.
Cheers. I'm new to Barnsley Player and I'm trying to compare their commentary with the thoughts of those that went so I can decide how much faith I put in their view of the game. I'm surprised by dawson. I agree he's nowhere near as effective as Perkins but the back end of last year he was like a rabid dog in games, blood to water, kicking people. Seemed just like his kind of game on Saturday to get in to them.
Re: valtrex and bone marrow transplant Lobelville To be fair i thought the exact same about Dawson, i remember a game last season when he was sprinting up and down and flying into tackles in the 90th minute but the other day he was none existant. Cranie came on and to be fair to him he added a bit of quality at LB and maybe he should have started. Hopefully a good result tonight against Swansea though.
Re: valtrex and bone marrow transplant Lobelville Maybe just an off day for him, although I don't think he is capable of playing in a flat four man midfield. Him and Perkins hunting in packs would be good fun if they were both on it
Re: valtrex and bone marrow transplant Lobelville Keith should pin that to the dressing room wall tonight - if that doesn't motivate them, nothing will.
