PLAYER WATCH v Reading

[tonyoz]

PLAYER WATCH v Reading

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale:

+5 GOAL

+4 Excellent play

+3 Very good play

+2 Nice/good play

+1 Decent play

  0 Routine stuff

 -1 Sloppy play

 -2 Disappointing/poor play

 -3 Very poor play

 -4 Terrible play

 -5 Own goal

The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match.

 

Ratings

Key incidents per player = coloured stars              Overall contribution = number

Kaminski             ***  **     2                                 

Nyambe (59)      *************  *****     18

Lenihan                 *******************   *****     26 

Ayala (37)            ****  *     3     

Edun                       **********  ****     12

Travis                     *****************  ***     24 

Rothwell (87)      ***********  *******     13   

Buckley                 *****************  *****     23 

Dolan                      **************  ***     29

 Diaz                        *********  ***     8

Gallagher               *******************  *****     31 

 

van Hecke (37)     ****************  *****     22

Poveda (59)            ***  ******     -4

Johnson (87)          **  *     1

 

Highlights and Lowlights

(A justification for the main incidents above.)

05  Edun physically ushers out the Reading attacker and wins a throw.

Blimey, opposition throw and we can’t get a touch as Reading attackers pass it about with impunity on the edge of our box! A shot goes narrowly over the bar!

06  Hmm! I think that’s the 3rd Gallagher flick on header from long balls already!

Now Dolan is off down the wing, he avoids the defender and makes it to the byline, gets a cross in but it’s headed away by the defender on the near post.

07  Lovely long ball from Lenihan down the wing to Nyambe who controls brilliantly on his chest. He manages to get a cross in but it’s straight at the goalie.

16  Rahman turns Nyambe inside out in the box before firing off a shot but it’s over the bar.

17  Travis loses the ball in midfield and and Laurent hares down the wing. Nyambe makes up a lot of ground to challenge in the box and Laurent goes down. Cheat!

19  Rothwell is off on one of his runs but his attempted cross into the box fails to beat the first man.

21  Nice ball from Buckley to Gallagher in the box; Sam shields the ball well and lays off to Rothwell but his ball into the box is poor and the keeper collects.

22  Nyambe tries to clear a long ball but it falls at Laurent's feet and he tries a shot from 30m. Fortunately it’s well off-target.

23  Reading carry the ball all the way downfield, Nyambe can’t stop the cross coming in and Edun is beaten in the air but Yiadom’s header, from the penalty spot, is straight at the, well-positioned, Kaminski.

24  Buckley sends a lovely ball down the inside-left channel to Gallagher who chases it to the byline but his cross is delivered straight into the keeper’s hands. 

Rothwell steals the ball and puts in a short ball to Diaz on the edge of the box….but it’s a poor pass and Reading collect.

28  Turgid stuff. Reading dominating possession and when we do get the ball we are passing it from one defender to another in our own half!

30  At least it’s good to see Travis getting back to his normal self. Another good interception.

31  Rothwell picks up the ball in our half and he’s off again! From the centre-spot he releases a beautiful, defence splitting ball for Gallagher to run on to 35m out. He carries it into the box, cuts inside a defender and bends the ball round the diving keeper but it hits the joint of crossbar and right-hand post. So close to a fantastic finish by Sam.

33  Nyambe collects high up the pitch on the wing. He teases the full-back then drops his shoulder and sprints to the byline, gets a cross in but it’s headed away at the near post.

37  Needless foul by Buckley earns him a yellow card and it’s a dangerous position.

Oh! Ayala walks off injured! The free-kick crashes into the wall and the danger passes.

39  Nice pass by Nyambe to Dolan straight down the wing. Dolan beats his man with ease and passes to Buckley. He crosses into the box where Gallagher challenges but the goalie was always favourite.

42  Nice ball from Nyambe to Gallagher 25m out, Sam turns his defender expertly and unleashes a shot from the right edge of the box but it’s 2m wide at least. Disappointing ending.

47  Reading pass their way through the middle of our defence too easily but it’s Lenihan to clear up again.

A very poor half of football to be honest!

 

49  Rovers corner. Rothwell slides a flat ball across the ground to Gallagher unmarked to the right of the penalty spot but he puts it well over the bar. Training ground move but Sam should have been on target.

52  Lots of Rovers inter-passing in our attacking third, then Buckley neatly side-steps round his marker on the wing and passes inside to Nyambe who does a clever 1-2 with Dolan and Nyambe collects deep in the box at the byline. His cross is deflected luckily by a defender’s chest into the keeper’s arms. Good move.

54  Fantastic long ball by van Hecke finds Gallagher just onside in the inside left channel. He heads for goal but his flicked shot is at a narrow angle and straight at the keeper.

56  Buckley’s playing well at the moment, getting his foot in and showing good control in tight situations.

57  The second poor pass, in quick succession, from Rothwell as his ball to Dolan goes straight into touch.

Now Reading attack and our defenders are back-pedalling.  Diaz is chasing and manages to get his body into the box to block out the dangerous final pass. Foul given to Rovers.

59  Nyambe off injured. Poveda on. Buckley drops to right back!

60  van Hecke wins the ball on halfway and Poveda slips it to Rothwell midway in the Reading half and he’s off towards the box. Dann almost gets a tackle in but Joe just keeps control and his shot nutmegs another defender, hits the post and runs across the face of goal. Gallagher has a tap-in.

62  Reading almost level immediately. They cut through the centre of our half again. Poveda, Lenihan, Buckley and van Hecke all struggling to get near the ball. Puscas, sliding in, somehow manages to miss the final touch. What a let off!

64  Rovers work it nicely upfield and Dolan picks up midway in Reading’s half on the left wing. He heads straight for goal, cuts inside a defender and fires a fantastic shot from just outside the box. It bends round the keeper and into the right corner of the net. Super goal.

66  Dolan robs the fullback and steams into the box. He slips the ball towards the penalty spot but it’s between Poveda and Rothwell and the chance is gone.

Van Hecke can’t keep pace with Puscas and we’re in trouble but Lenihan again comes across to intercept. He wins the foul.

68  Reading free-kick. Lenihan seems to miss his header, the ball bounces and it’s chaos but Travis hooks away for a corner.

We’re missing that commanding Ayala presence as no one attacks the high ball from the corner, it’s bouncing around again and, this time Lenihan clears.

69  Danger again as Puscas crosses from the wing but Buckley gets up well to clear.

71  van Hecke is struggling and brings down the Reading man just to the left of the box. Yellow card. The free-kick comes in low and flat to the edge of the box and Buckley does well to rush out and block the shot. Eventually Gallagher wins the ball and clears.

76  We're inviting Reading to attack! There’s no out-ball. I’ve seen this before!

78  Poveda is dispossessed in our own half. He has to foul the Reading man. Poor play and a yellow card.

80  Dolan, on the wing, brings the ball out of defence and beats Drinkwater. He’s by the corner flag and this time nutmegs Drinkwater and slides the ball to Poveda in the box. Poveda tries to beat 3 defenders with the inevitable conclusion. Reading hoof clear.

84  Travis makes an important challenge in the box and van Hecke picks up the loose ball and lofts a nice long ball for Poveda to chase. Van Hecke keeps running. Poveda crosses to Diaz who heads the ball back across goal to the charging van Hecke. It bounces on the 6 yard line but van Hecke can’t direct it on goal and it’s just wide. What a fantastic goal that would have been!

86 Rothwell off, Johnson on.

88  Gallagher and Johnson combine to win the ball on halfway. Dolan picks up and gallops down the wing. He cuts inside and shoots trying to repeat his earlier success but this time the keeper brings out an excellent save. Diaz wanted the pass!

Buckley takes a short corner to Travis who immediately loses the ball! Reading stream forward but Johnson takes one for the team. Yellow card.

Edited October 26, 2021 by tonyoz

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

13 hours ago, tonyoz said:

PLAYER WATCH v Reading

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale:

+5 GOAL

+4 Excellent play

+3 Very good play

+2 Nice/good play

+1 Decent play

  0 Routine stuff

 -1 Sloppy play

 -2 Disappointing/poor play

 -3 Very poor play

 -4 Terrible play

 -5 Own goal

The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match.

 

Ratings

Key incidents per player = coloured stars              Overall contribution = number

Kaminski               ***  **     2                                 

Nyambe (59)        *************  *****     18

Lenihan                 *******************   *****     26 

Ayala (31)             ****  *     3     

Edun                      **********  ****     12

Travis                     *****************  ***     24 

Rothwell (87)        ***********  *******     13   

Buckley                  *****************  *****     23 

Dolan                     **************  ***     29

 Diaz                       *********  ***     8

Gallagher               *******************  *****     31 

 

van Hecke (31)      ****************  *****     22

Poveda (59)             ***  ******     -4

Johnson (87)           **  *     1

 

Highlights and Lowlights

(A justification for the main incidents above.)

05  Edun physically ushers out the Reading attacker and wins a throw.

Blimey, opposition throw and we can’t get a touch as Reading attackers pass it about with impunity on the edge of our box! A shot goes narrowly over the bar!

06  Hmm! I think that’s the 3rd Gallagher flick on header from long balls already!

Now Dolan is off down the wing, he avoids the defender and makes it to the byline, gets a cross in but it’s headed away by the defender on the near post.

07  Lovely long ball from Lenihan down the wing to Nyambe who controls brilliantly on his chest. He manages to get a cross in but it’s straight at the goalie.

16  Rahman turns Nyambe inside out in the box before firing off a shot but it’s over the bar.

17  Travis loses the ball in midfield and and Laurent hares down the wing. Nyambe makes up a lot of ground to challenge in the box and Laurent goes down. Cheat!

19  Rothwell is off on one of his runs but his attempted cross into the box fails to beat the first man.

21  Nice ball from Buckley to Gallagher in the box; Sam shields the ball well and lays off to Rothwell but his ball into the box is poor and the keeper collects.

22  Nyambe tries to clear a long ball but it falls at Laurent's feet and he tries a shot from 30m. Fortunately it’s well off-target.

23  Reading carry the ball all the way downfield, Nyambe can’t stop the cross coming in and Edun is beaten in the air but Yiadom’s header, from the penalty spot, is straight at the, well-positioned, Kaminski.

24  Buckley sends a lovely ball down the inside-left channel to Gallagher who chases it to the byline but his cross is delivered straight into the keeper’s hands. 

Rothwell steals the ball and puts in a short ball to Diaz on the edge of the box….but it’s a poor pass and Reading collect.

28  Turgid stuff. Reading dominating possession and when we do get the ball we are passing it from one defender to another in our own half!

30  At least it’s good to see Travis getting back to his normal self. Another good interception.

31  Rothwell picks up the ball in our half and he’s off again! From the centre-spot he releases a beautiful, defence splitting ball for Gallagher to run on to 35m out. He carries it into the box, cuts inside a defender and bends the ball round the diving keeper but it hits the joint of crossbar and right-hand post. So close to a fantastic finish by Sam.

33  Nyambe collects high up the pitch on the wing. He teases the full-back then drops his shoulder and sprints to the byline, gets a cross in but it’s headed away at the near post.

37  Needless foul by Buckley earns him a yellow card and it’s a dangerous position.

Oh! Ayala walks off injured! The free-kick crashes into the wall and the danger passes.

39  Nice pass by Nyambe to Dolan straight down the wing. Dolan beats his man with ease and passes to Buckley. He crosses into the box where Gallagher challenges but the goalie was always favourite.

42  Nice ball from Nyambe to Gallagher 25m out, Sam turns his defender expertly and unleashes a shot from the right edge of the box but it’s 2m wide at least. Disappointing ending.

47  Reading pass their way through the middle of our defence too easily but it’s Lenihan to clear up again.

A very poor half of football to be honest!

 

49  Rovers corner. Rothwell slides a flat ball across the ground to Gallagher unmarked to the right of the penalty spot but he puts it well over the bar. Training ground move but Sam should have been on target.

52  Lots of Rovers inter-passing in our attacking third, then Buckley neatly side-steps round his marker on the wing and passes inside to Nyambe who does a clever 1-2 with Dolan and Nyambe collects deep in the box at the byline. His cross is deflected luckily by a defender’s chest into the keeper’s arms. Good move.

54  Fantastic long ball by van Hecke finds Gallagher just onside in the inside left channel. He heads for goal but his flicked shot is at a narrow angle and straight at the keeper.

56  Buckley’s playing well at the moment, getting his foot in and showing good control in tight situations.

57  The second poor pass, in quick succession, from Rothwell as his ball to Dolan goes straight into touch.

Now Reading attack and our defenders are back-pedalling.  Diaz is chasing and manages to get his body into the box to block out the dangerous final pass. Foul given to Rovers.

59  Nyambe off injured. Poveda on. Buckley drops to right back!

60  van Hecke wins the ball on halfway and Poveda slips it to Rothwell midway in the Reading half and he’s off towards the box. Dann almost gets a tackle in but Joe just keeps control and his shot nutmegs another defender, hits the post and runs across the face of goal. Gallagher has a tap-in.

62  Reading almost level immediately. They cut through the centre of our half again. Poveda, Lenihan, Buckley and van Hecke all struggling to get near the ball. Puscas, sliding in, somehow manages to miss the final touch. What a let off!

64  Rovers work it nicely upfield and Dolan picks up midway in Reading’s half on the left wing. He heads straight for goal, cuts inside a defender and fires a fantastic shot from just outside the box. It bends round the keeper and into the right corner of the net. Super goal.

66  Dolan robs the fullback and steams into the box. He slips the ball towards the penalty spot but it’s between Poveda and Rothwell and the chance is gone.

Van Hecke can’t keep pace with Puscas and we’re in trouble but Lenihan again comes across to intercept. He wins the foul.

68  Reading free-kick. Lenihan seems to miss his header, the ball bounces and it’s chaos but Travis hooks away for a corner.

We’re missing that commanding Ayala presence as no one attacks the high ball from the corner, it’s bouncing around again and, this time Lenihan clears.

69  Danger again as Puscas crosses from the wing but Buckley gets up well to clear.

71  van Hecke is struggling and brings down the Reading man just to the left of the box. Yellow card. The free-kick comes in low and flat to the edge of the box and Buckley does well to rush out and block the shot. Eventually Gallagher wins the ball and clears.

76  We're inviting Reading to attack! There’s no out-ball. I’ve seen this before!

78  Poveda is dispossessed in our own half. He has to foul the Reading man. Poor play and a yellow card.

80  Dolan, on the wing, brings the ball out of defence and beats Drinkwater. He’s by the corner flag and this time nutmegs Drinkwater and slides the ball to Poveda in the box. Poveda tries to beat 3 defenders with the inevitable conclusion. Reading hoof clear.

84  Travis makes an important challenge in the box and van Hecke picks up the loose ball and lofts a nice long ball for Poveda to chase. Van Hecke keeps running. Poveda crosses to Diaz who heads the ball back across goal to the charging van Hecke. It bounces on the 6 yard line but van Hecke can’t direct it on goal and it’s just wide. What a fantastic goal that would have been!

86 Rothwell off, Johnson on.

88  Gallagher and Johnson combine to win the ball on halfway. Dolan picks up and gallops down the wing. He cuts inside and shoots trying to repeat his earlier success but this time the keeper brings out an excellent save. Diaz wanted the pass!

Buckley takes a short corner to Travis who immediately loses the ball! Reading stream forward but Johnson takes one for the team. Yellow card.

That’s better reading Tony. That’s as good as being there and a good bit cheaper ! Thanks as always. 

[tonyoz]

23 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

That’s better reading Tony. That’s as good as being there and a good bit cheaper ! Thanks as always. 

Always good to hear from you. Yes, there were a few good performances second half. Gallagher was a revelation; I just can’t reconcile that performance with some of his recent diabolical efforts. Many popular posters were calling them some of the worst they’d ever seen from a Rovers’ centre forward. How does that happen?  Similarly Dolan’s last couple of games were ordinary but on Saturday he was good to watch.