Johnny_Leith
25-07-2011, 01:09 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/14269786.stm
I wanted to watch the highlights before coming on here and discussing the game. At the game I thought we competed well the first half and defending was much improved throughout the whole game, even when O'Hanlon went off injured. The goals were a couple of mistakes, the 2nd Stack was unsighted and a pass blocked to an offside player fell kindly for Ki to score a decent strike. The 0 shots/1 corner stats are terrible, but don't tell the true story imo and the video does show this, Ivan had a 1v1 which I thought at the time number 6 played the ball but it shows on the video that he concentrated on Ivan rather than the ball? O'Connor had a chance but fresh-air shot. For marks I'd give the players:
Stack 6 - Sold first goal, unsighted for 2nd, great pen save and celebration. Had nothing else to do!
Palsson 6 - Restricted for how much he could get forward v Izaguirre and Ivan is never going to let anybody overlap him, defended well.
O'Hanlon 7 - Good in the air, a couple of slack forward passes but marshalled the defence very well.
Hanlon 7 - Cool and calm on the ball, good reading of the game and was impressed with his pysicallity yesterday, winning more headers and showing strength.
Booth 7 - up and down all day, good on the ball and good use of the ball bar a couple of crosses, had potential to be very good.
Stevenson 6 - a 10 minute spell marred which was a good performance, used ball intelligently and battled hard.
Murray 6 - Closed and pressed very well in the first half, tired in the 2nd.
Thornhill 6.5 - Good first half, quieter 2nd. Looked good passing forward but lacks any pace when presented space to run, would like to see him try and test the keeper from range.
Sproule 6 - Had one or two good runs but was up against a very good fullback who was helped out by Ledley, did cause some problems. Charged in for the penalty, needs to keep temperment in check.
Wotherspoon 3 - Really struggled, one good cross in the game, the rest of the time he was poor. When other players make an angle for him to pass to, he's fine, otherwise his use of the ball is lacking and seems to have become lethargic and lost all confidence.
O'Connor 5 - A hard shift, looked decent with ball at his feet but fresh air show when he should really have tested the keeper, he'll need a month or so to get proper fitness back, ala Stokes when he joined. Still delighted with him returning tho!
Ref was a shanner for both teams.
Not much CC would play other than 4-5-1 with only O'Connor fit on the books. Hopefully get a couple of players in before the window closes. Showed enough in this game to suggest we'll stay clear of relegation this season and I think there is some potential in the team. Keeping it together: the players, the manager and the fans all pulling in the same direction is the key to any long term success IMO.
I wanted to watch the highlights before coming on here and discussing the game. At the game I thought we competed well the first half and defending was much improved throughout the whole game, even when O'Hanlon went off injured. The goals were a couple of mistakes, the 2nd Stack was unsighted and a pass blocked to an offside player fell kindly for Ki to score a decent strike. The 0 shots/1 corner stats are terrible, but don't tell the true story imo and the video does show this, Ivan had a 1v1 which I thought at the time number 6 played the ball but it shows on the video that he concentrated on Ivan rather than the ball? O'Connor had a chance but fresh-air shot. For marks I'd give the players:
Stack 6 - Sold first goal, unsighted for 2nd, great pen save and celebration. Had nothing else to do!
Palsson 6 - Restricted for how much he could get forward v Izaguirre and Ivan is never going to let anybody overlap him, defended well.
O'Hanlon 7 - Good in the air, a couple of slack forward passes but marshalled the defence very well.
Hanlon 7 - Cool and calm on the ball, good reading of the game and was impressed with his pysicallity yesterday, winning more headers and showing strength.
Booth 7 - up and down all day, good on the ball and good use of the ball bar a couple of crosses, had potential to be very good.
Stevenson 6 - a 10 minute spell marred which was a good performance, used ball intelligently and battled hard.
Murray 6 - Closed and pressed very well in the first half, tired in the 2nd.
Thornhill 6.5 - Good first half, quieter 2nd. Looked good passing forward but lacks any pace when presented space to run, would like to see him try and test the keeper from range.
Sproule 6 - Had one or two good runs but was up against a very good fullback who was helped out by Ledley, did cause some problems. Charged in for the penalty, needs to keep temperment in check.
Wotherspoon 3 - Really struggled, one good cross in the game, the rest of the time he was poor. When other players make an angle for him to pass to, he's fine, otherwise his use of the ball is lacking and seems to have become lethargic and lost all confidence.
O'Connor 5 - A hard shift, looked decent with ball at his feet but fresh air show when he should really have tested the keeper, he'll need a month or so to get proper fitness back, ala Stokes when he joined. Still delighted with him returning tho!
Ref was a shanner for both teams.
Not much CC would play other than 4-5-1 with only O'Connor fit on the books. Hopefully get a couple of players in before the window closes. Showed enough in this game to suggest we'll stay clear of relegation this season and I think there is some potential in the team. Keeping it together: the players, the manager and the fans all pulling in the same direction is the key to any long term success IMO.