Morgan; thought he was excellent for last 10 minutes of first half and in second half. Thought it was him who took the game by the scruff of the neck and got us going
Djiksteel; awful. Drifted out of position for their goal, almost gifted them a second 2 mins later. Totally off the pace. Slight improvement in second half but still a big weakness. Call for Toby at LB and Solly back to his natural position
Nice to see Williams and pleased he got a good reception. Not sure why it was Morgan rather Pratley who came off though.
Can somebody sit Fosu down and tell him to watch McGeady's play today and how to link up with your left back to create space and get crosses in.
So many times in the Walsall game that Stevenson was overlapping but Fosu chose to come inside every time and eventually lost the ball.
Ok sometimes that works but it would be good to mix it up and keep the defence guessing.
Agree with this. I do think that Sunderland realised what he could do on the ball given half a chance and closed him down quicker and kicked lumps out of him all game.
Can somebody sit Fosu down and tell him to watch McGeady's play today and how to link up with your left back to create space and get crosses in.
So many times in the Walsall game that Stevenson was overlapping but Fosu chose to come inside every time and eventually lost the ball.
Ok sometimes that works but it would be good to mix it up and keep the defence guessing.
Agree with this. I do think that Sunderland realised what he could do on the ball given half a chance and closed him down quicker and kicked lumps out of him all game.
Fosu needs to improve his final pass - he has the skill but doesn't always make the best choice.
Morgan; thought he was excellent for last 10 minutes of first half and in second half. Thought it was him who took the game by the scruff of the neck and got us going
Djiksteel; awful. Drifted out of position for their goal, almost gifted them a second 2 mins later. Totally off the pace. Slight improvement in second half but still a big weakness. Call for Toby at LB and Solly back to his natural position
Nice to see Williams and pleased he got a good reception. Not sure why it was Morgan rather Pratley who came off though.
Dijksteel was brilliant in the second half
Can’t agree with that, sorry. I’ll give you he was “far less poor”....
I suppose you can get a bit carried away with the second half and forget the first. I thought we edged the game overall, but you can't begrudge Sunderland their point and they could have sewn it up before we got going had they taken their chances. Likewise we had some great chances to win it, but you can't moan about a draw. I don't recall seeing many League One games of that quality.
The poor standard in this league depresses me sometimes. Even teams that do well are not that good ability wise. I like to watch skilful football and I think we saw the two most talented teams in the division yesterday. That is why the game was so good. Of course, talent doesn't always get you what you want. Look at Portsmouth, take Lowe out of their team and ability wise they are pretty ordinary, but as a unit they are very effective. I thought the same about Sheff Utd when they got promoted and they showed that you can add the quality. Whereas Wigan were fantastiuc last year but have struggled a bit this in a better league.
What I am trying to say is, we saw the best two teams in the division yesterday. I am glad we don't have to play them again - until possibly the play -offs, but if we don't get an automatic place, I'd like them to get it. They are probably equally pleased to get us out of the way. Our challenge now is to dispatch the weaker teams and go on a run we should be capable off, especially with squad additions and key players returning from injury.
Morgan; thought he was excellent for last 10 minutes of first half and in second half. Thought it was him who took the game by the scruff of the neck and got us going
Djiksteel; awful. Drifted out of position for their goal, almost gifted them a second 2 mins later. Totally off the pace. Slight improvement in second half but still a big weakness. Call for Toby at LB and Solly back to his natural position
Nice to see Williams and pleased he got a good reception. Not sure why it was Morgan rather Pratley who came off though.
Dijksteel was brilliant in the second half
Can’t agree with that, sorry. I’ll give you he was “far less poor”....
He's not the greatest defender but he doesn't hide and he's a skilful player who I think is more naturally suited to be a DM. He's had to fill in and has frequently been left exposed by a lack of cover - he needs to be cut some slack.
Can somebody sit Fosu down and tell him to watch McGeady's play today and how to link up with your left back to create space and get crosses in.
So many times in the Walsall game that Stevenson was overlapping but Fosu chose to come inside every time and eventually lost the ball.
Ok sometimes that works but it would be good to mix it up and keep the defence guessing.
Agree with this. I do think that Sunderland realised what he could do on the ball given half a chance and closed him down quicker and kicked lumps out of him all game.
Fosu needs to improve his final pass - he has the skill but doesn't always make the best choice.
I know haha mentioned i agreed...just felt Sunderland knew a potential threat and jumped on him quick usually resulting in a chop down or being dragged down ( ref not always seeing it )
He will be a better player for playing right back, but you can see it isn't his position.
He does seem to let attacking players get past him - not sure if this is down to pace or positioning? He showed some lovely touches on the ball second half and I'd like to see him given a chance in midfield.
Should have been game over by HT and was happy to be only a goal down. By the final whistle it was case of how we did not win it. Pratley and Grant should have scored.
However the fight shown in the second half was excellent. Shame about the first half where the full backs especially Dijksteel were exposed by our diamond formation.
Credit to young Morgan who was excellent for a 18 year old. Like to see more starts from him now.
Disappointed not to win but relieved we didn’t lose. Terrific game of football by two teams who turned up to play (we turned up a bit late but we got there in the end). I thought after 15 minutes that we were about to collect a proper pasting but there was enough in the last ten minutes of the first half to show that we could get back into it.
Wyke was presumably Sunderland’s second choice signing after Lyle turned them down and he spent a lot of the afternoon showing just how good Lyle really is. With Lyle in their team, Sunderland would have ripped us a new one make no mistake. I was surprised and disappointed to see the starting line up. I Thought Solly and Stevenson would have been fullbacks and I’m afraid the more I see of Pratley the less I like. That said, Solly has a tendency to back off his man and I think anyone playing right back would have had a problem against McGeady yesterday.
Williams looked like a breath of fresh air. As someone else a aid, he’s a more talented and direct version of Reeves. Hope we can keep him fit. His first contribution made him look like a clown but in reality he was about five steps ahead of his teammates and passed it to where he could reasonably have assumed Solly would be had he been on the same wavelength. Looking forward to seeing more of him.
Good to see the Valley rocking again even if the traffic getting home was murder. All in all I was entertained yestwrday and my team to a man tried their backsides off. Can’t ask for much more than that.
1) if only he'd got a bit more purchase on that back header - if only. 2) His ability to simply come away with the ball when chasing down the channels with a forward after him.He just chases it down, controls the ball, turns around and comes away with the ball as if noone is opposing him, whereas most other defenders would have looked for Row Z. Becoming real cult status.
I thought rather than it being a game of 2 halves, the first 39 minutes we were terrible. The difference was Morgan who started to have some belief and go forward and had what I thought was our first shot on target on 39 minutes (a stat worthy of the Nigels )
We did actually have a bit more of a go at the end of the first half. I thought Morgan should have stayed on, as his energy and ability going past players was making the difference.
In the end I wasn't disappointed with a draw - it did feel either of us could nick it but in the second half we were more likely to.
Just arrived back in Norfolk (did I beat you back Briston). My thoughts on the game. The crowd fantastic, even when we were one down. Maybe the prospect of seeing the back of Roland has given us all a lift. The team. Dillon was o.k. not sure he fills me with a lot confidence, but having a run of games he will improve. Dijksteel improved after a shaky start and Solly was, well Solly. Bauer looked strong while his C.B. mate Sarr was outstanding. His tackle to rob the Sunderland forward as he was breaking through was immense, he came out with the ball and joined the attack. He can certainly hit a good cross field pass. Enjoyed Morgan in midfield. He justified his place in the starting eleven. Fosu excites and frustrates as does Bielik. Bielik has tons of ability and reads the game well for a 22 year old but some times dwells on the ball and gets caught in possession. Pratley was busy without being spectacular. On another day Karlan would have scored but where has his fellow striking partner Taylor been hiding for recent years. Sunderland found him unplayable at times. As another poster said - probably our best striker since Kermorgant. Nice little cameo from Williams, he will prove to be a useful asset to the squad Overall the second half performance (forget the first half when we could have been a couple of goals down) was as good as any I've seen for a long time.
Were you on a dj coach by any chance?
The DJ coach?
Valley Away supporters coach(es) goes all round South East London and Kent border for a couple of hours picking up before leaving Charlton .
Errr no.
Just having a poke at how long the coach service takes
Sunderland should have put us to the sword by half time. We looked frightened and allowed them too much respect. However, when you play the best teams you must score when you are on top and Sunderland allowed us to stay in the game.
Second half we managed to win the ball much higher up the pitch and we forced them into mistakes which Sunderland were doing to us in the first half. Sunderland were dirty but they knew momentum had swung by the second half.
Plenty of positives for Bowyer, the mentality to respond after a terrible first half, Morgan looked class for only his third start of the season (started against Posh in August) and showed Steve Avory has worked his magic again. Williams had some nice touches.
Overall, a very enjoyable match and showed that we shouldn’t fear any team in this division.
Not doing the "we're too good for this league" rubbish as we both deserve to be where we are, but when you look at the 2 clubs, their stadiums and the current/potential fanbase, it's 2 clubs who should never be at this level. Watching the Quest programme last night just highlighted it.
Not doing the "we're too good for this league" rubbish as we both deserve to be where we are, but when you look at the 2 clubs, their stadiums and the current/potential fanbase, it's 2 clubs who should never be at this level. Watching the Quest programme last night just highlighted it.
Totally agree with you you. Where we are is down to one person and one person only. Hopefully he won't be here much longer.
Sideways comment ...... We've had to play with a hugely weakened team against Sunderland, both games. Remember we only had 5 on the bench away at Sunderland and a bare bones side. And yesterday there were several players missing.
Might well have beaten them twice with nearer full strength teams.
It's certainly a measure of Bowyer's ability to keep us in the top 6, despite being ravaged by injuries all season.
I don’t think anyone would guess Morgan is 18 with the limited first team appearances he has accumulated so far.
Unbelievable performance. Really happy for him.
Even in our lacklustre first half, he was constantly moving, looking for the gap in Sunderland’s defence or eagerly tracking back to help out our defence.
For me the turning point was late in the first half, a long stoppage (Taylor down I think), Bow had a long chat with Pratley who had been largely ineffective, he moved him 10 yards forward, breaking up the midfield play, allowing Bielik to do the same and our midfield became dominant.
Good management, allowing Pratley to do what he’s still capable of, tackling and being a nuisance, on the ball he sadly looks ponderous and negative also it gave support to Morgan and Henry.
I think reversing the roles of Bielik and Pratley worthy of consideration, Bielik is a cultured passing footballer who don’t mind putting his foot in.
Give us a decent injury free period and automatics is only 5/6 points away, very achievable IMO.
Enjoyed singing to Rolland yesterday hoping it will be the last time, great atmosphere, biggest crowd in years and what a game of Football!
Good management, allowing Pratley to do what he’s still capable of, tackling and being a nuisance, on the ball he sadly looks ponderous and negative also it gave support to Morgan and Henry.
With the arrival of Williams and hopefully some of the other midfielders back from injury, I wouldn’t have Pratley anywhere near the starting 11. Thought he was a massive weak link yesterday, even when we were dominant in second half.
Just got home and not had a chance to read this thread. Ffs play Solly at right back. He ain't a left back. Our diamond formation for the first half hour was not working and we could have been3.0 down. On the positive side this side has plenty of character and as the game went on we become the better side. Williams when he came on showed that he will be class for us as long as he stays fit. Taylor is the man I just love him. Phillips never done anything wrong and playing the second half in front of 3 thousand Mackems showed that he has a great temperament. Morgan will play at a higher level one day,hopefully with us. Playoffs 100% gonna get there and if the likes of page Cullen and Clarke are fit we will win them. FUCK OFF ROLAND we are going up.
Still think we need an experienced keeper. Not sure why Dillon kept playing out from the back in 1st half as it didn't work but is footwork has always been poor which is why we had Jed.
Still think we need an experienced keeper. Not sure why Dillon kept playing out from the back in 1st half as it didn't work but is footwork has always been poor which is why we had Jed.
It’s a good way to keep possession when you’re losing. Long goal kicks can go straight to opposition for another attack.
Admittedly it’s not entertaining to watch as a fan, but have to dig deep sometimes, and it certainly helped us to go in only 1 down
Comments
Good atmospheric coverage of the match here https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=Jn9DO1cT_h8
I’ll give you he was “far less poor”....
The poor standard in this league depresses me sometimes. Even teams that do well are not that good ability wise. I like to watch skilful football and I think we saw the two most talented teams in the division yesterday. That is why the game was so good. Of course, talent doesn't always get you what you want. Look at Portsmouth, take Lowe out of their team and ability wise they are pretty ordinary, but as a unit they are very effective. I thought the same about Sheff Utd when they got promoted and they showed that you can add the quality. Whereas Wigan were fantastiuc last year but have struggled a bit this in a better league.
What I am trying to say is, we saw the best two teams in the division yesterday. I am glad we don't have to play them again - until possibly the play -offs, but if we don't get an automatic place, I'd like them to get it. They are probably equally pleased to get us out of the way. Our challenge now is to dispatch the weaker teams and go on a run we should be capable off, especially with squad additions and key players returning from injury.
However the fight shown in the second half was excellent. Shame about the first half where the full backs especially Dijksteel were exposed by our diamond formation.
Credit to young Morgan who was excellent for a 18 year old. Like to see more starts from him now.
Wyke was presumably Sunderland’s second choice signing after Lyle turned them down and he spent a lot of the afternoon showing just how good Lyle really is. With Lyle in their team, Sunderland would have ripped us a new one make no mistake. I was surprised and disappointed to see the starting line up. I Thought Solly and Stevenson would have been fullbacks and I’m afraid the more I see of Pratley the less I like. That said, Solly has a tendency to back off his man and I think anyone playing right back would have had a problem against McGeady yesterday.
Williams looked like a breath of fresh air. As someone else a aid, he’s a more talented and direct version of Reeves. Hope we can keep him fit. His first contribution made him look like a clown but in reality he was about five steps ahead of his teammates and passed it to where he could reasonably have assumed Solly would be had he been on the same wavelength. Looking forward to seeing more of him.
Good to see the Valley rocking again even if the traffic getting home was murder. All in all I was entertained yestwrday and my team to a man tried their backsides off. Can’t ask for much more than that.
a couple of other things about Naby...
1) if only he'd got a bit more purchase on that back header - if only.
2) His ability to simply come away with the ball when chasing down the channels with a forward after him.He just chases it down, controls the ball, turns around and comes away with the ball as if noone is opposing him, whereas most other defenders would have looked for Row Z.
Becoming real cult status.
We did actually have a bit more of a go at the end of the first half. I thought Morgan should have stayed on, as his energy and ability going past players was making the difference.
In the end I wasn't disappointed with a draw - it did feel either of us could nick it but in the second half we were more likely to.
Second half we managed to win the ball much higher up the pitch and we forced them into mistakes which Sunderland were doing to us in the first half. Sunderland were dirty but they knew momentum had swung by the second half.
Plenty of positives for Bowyer, the mentality to respond after a terrible first half, Morgan looked class for only his third start of the season (started against Posh in August) and showed Steve Avory has worked his magic again. Williams had some nice touches.
Overall, a very enjoyable match and showed that we shouldn’t fear any team in this division.
Where we are is down to one person and one person only.
Hopefully he won't be here much longer.
Sideways comment ...... We've had to play with a hugely weakened team against Sunderland, both games.
Remember we only had 5 on the bench away at Sunderland and a bare bones side. And yesterday there were several players missing.
Might well have beaten them twice with nearer full strength teams.
It's certainly a measure of Bowyer's ability to keep us in the top 6, despite being ravaged by injuries all season.
Unbelievable performance. Really happy for him.
Even in our lacklustre first half, he was constantly moving, looking for the gap in Sunderland’s defence or eagerly tracking back to help out our defence.
Good management, allowing Pratley to do what he’s still capable of, tackling and being a nuisance, on the ball he sadly looks ponderous and negative also it gave support to Morgan and Henry.
I think reversing the roles of Bielik and Pratley worthy of consideration, Bielik is a cultured passing footballer who don’t mind putting his foot in.
Give us a decent injury free period and automatics is only 5/6 points away, very achievable IMO.
Enjoyed singing to Rolland yesterday hoping it will be the last time, great atmosphere, biggest crowd in years and what a game of Football!
Admittedly it’s not entertaining to watch as a fan, but have to dig deep sometimes, and it certainly helped us to go in only 1 down