PLAYER WATCH v Hull City (A)

[tonyoz]

PLAYER WATCH v Hull City (A)

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

+5 GOAL 

+4 Excellent play 

+3 Very good play 

+2 Pleasing/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 = numbers

Kaminski                      ******  *     11                                

R-Costello (68)         ***********  *************   -4     

Lenihan                         **********************   ****************     14

Wharton                       ********************  **********     16

van Hecke                    *********************  ********      23

Edun                              *********************  *********     20  

Buckley                         ************  *****    13        

Rothwell                        *************  ********     9     

Khadra (68)                 **** **********  -8

Gallagher (68)            ******* *********     3 

Diaz                                *******  *******     0 

  

Markanday (68)         ***     4 

Ayala (68)                    *** **    2    

Johnson (68)            *** **     1

                                                                        

Highlights and Lowlights 

(A justification for the main ratings given above)

 

It’s a big test tonight, we haven’t played well since the Wigan defeat. Travis is ill but he hasn’t been replaced like for like (Davenport?). JRC replaces Nyambe. We are changing our previously successful formation to  squeeze Gallagher in it seems. The midfield was bad last time out and now there is no bite at all!!

 

04 Nice long crossfield ball from Lenihan to an unmarked Khadra in the box but he can’t control it first time and we pass it back to halfway. Lots of Rovers passes but we’re getting nowhere until Lenihan’s long hit and hope ball gives possession away.

06 A Hull man launches a long punt upfield and it bounces in our box. There’s a fatal hesitation from Kaminski and Eaves is the first man to the ball, near the byline. Lenihan can’t handle him and he lays it back to Longman who breezes past an out of position JRC, and crosses low into the box. It’s perfectly to the feet of Honeyman but no one was covering his run. Van Hecke and Wharton are too passive and the Hull man slips it under Kaminski. Edun makes a brave attempt to stop it on the line but it’s just over.

09 A good challenge and then a great long ball out of defence by Lenihan sets Khadra on the charge from just over halfway. He doesn’t look convincing though as he reaches the box, he tries to beat too many men and he loses possession. There were Rovers men in the box.

12 Edun gives the ball away on halfway and Eaves is causing some trouble. He goes past Buckley and van Hecke towards the box before letting go a shot. Fortunately it was scuffed and goes wide. A big gap in midfield there; Eaves looks like the big physical nuisance that Gallagher should be!

13 A nice long ball down the wing from van Hecke and Diaz is on his way. He has a defender with him but moves into the box and unleashes a fierce shot which the keeper parries away. It was all for naught……….Diaz was offside! Ridiculous time lapse there before he put the flag up! Last time I heard the stats mentioned Diaz had 10 more offsides than anyone else in the division!

15 By the way, Gallagher has done absolutely nothing so far!

17 Eaves outjumps Lenihan and van Hecke, Wharton clears up.

19 A beautiful, length of the field pass from Buckley to Khadra on the left wing. He can’t beat his man and is dispossessed. 

Hull are outplaying us at the moment. When we get the ball, we are quick to give it away.

23 Buckley intercepts a poor pass 12 yards in our half and sends the perfect ball to Diaz midway in the Hull half. Ben turns and leaves the first defender and storms into the box, there’s only the goalie to beat…..until Bernard barges into him and flattens him. The ref waves play-on…….he reckons it was a fair shoulder charge but the replay shows it was a premeditated foul, more on Ben’s back than his shoulder! Bernard was the last defender too so he should be off! Big moment! Immediately Hull attack down their left wing and Potter goes past Rothwell and JRC with ease and wins a corner. It’s a good punch by Kaminski.

25 What happened there? The camera panned away and then returned to show Eaves charging on to the penalty spot trying to get to a long ball. He misses the ball, thankfully!

He has the cheek to appeal for a penalty!!!

26 We get a free kick in Hull’s half. We take one of those pointless short kicks which dissolves into a frustrating backpass to van Hecke. Dearie me, we are very short of ideas as the ball is passed back and forth along the halfway line. Eventually Edun wins a corner.

It’s taken short and Khadra sends in a wicked ball to the far post but the defender gets an important touch to deny Lenihan. Another corner and Wharton, running in from deep, heads well over the bar. Disappointing.

28 Potter does JRC easily but Lenihan is in position to cut out his cross. Buckley picks up and fires a length of the pitch ball to Khadra on the left wing. The keeper runs out of the box and Khadra flicks the ball over his head and from the edge of the box tries to stroke it into the net. It’s on target but Bernard has run back towards goal and manages to deflect the ball wide. A quality save from the guy who should have seen red but Khadra could have taken another touch! Now Khadra fouls a defender.

33 Khadra again tries to beat one man too many then Edun commits a soft foul near halfway.

34 Wharton picks up the ball near halfway and advances to 25 yards out before whipping in (I think) a cross which ends up a decent shot and the goalie beats it away for a corner.

Rothwell’s cross isn’t great but Lenihan meets it low, on the half-volley, at the near post but it’s over the bar. 

35 Eaves beats Wharton in the air. Lenihan collects eventually and sends a great pass downfield to Khadra who controls it well, into the box but then slips over! Rothwell picks up the clearance and hares into the box but his attempted pass is blocked. Hull fire the ball downfield and Eaves is too good for van Hecke and Wharton. Eventually van Hecke puts the ball out. We can’t get near the ball. Potter gives JRC and Lenihan lots of trouble before running the ball out near the corner flag.

38 Khadra tries a very ambitious shot, from 20 yards and wide, but it’s row Z. Wasteful!

39 Eaves beats Lenihan in the air.

41 More back and forth along the halfway-line from Rovers. We’re out of ideas! Finally Lenihan tries a hopeful ball down the line but there’s no quality and it’s straight to a Hull defender. It bounces off him to Gallagher who can’t control it. By the way, I have not given Gallagher a single positive mark so far! 

43 This time it’s Edun out of ideas and he,too, tries a hopeful but fruitless long punt.

44 Now even Buckley’s doing it!

45 So Rothwell thinks he’ll have a go too.

 

46 Gallagher blocks a clearance near halfway and it bounces forward with the defenders all behind him. The bounce is a bit unkind and the defence gets back. Sam tries to flick it sideways to Diaz but it’s a pathetic attempt and Hull clear up.

48 We’re definitely looking brighter at the start of this half. Some neat passing sees Diaz pick up the ball on the left. He shifts the ball sideways to make some room then fires in his shot but it’s blocked. The fans roar! We’ve still got the ball and finally Edun gets it just outside the box but his cross is blocked by the arms of that man Bernard again. They were folded across his chest so he got away with it.

50 Buckley lobs a ball into the box but there’s little Gallgher can do with it but touch it on. Edun picks it up, still in the box, turns nicely and fizzes in a dangerous cross which the defender does well to put out for a corner.

Lots of Rovers pressure, now Lenihan finds himself high up the pitch, on the wing, he beats his man and enters the box. He shoots but it’s deflected and the keeper saves at the near post.

55 JRC is done by the winger who cuts inside and puts the cross in but Lenihan is right there to hoof away. Meanwhile Eaves has another shot on goal but it’s way off target.

58 Having just given away a dumb throw, Lenihan now allows himself to be pick-pocketed on the edge of our box. Buckley allows the Hull man to do as he pleases, JRC follows him into the box but may as well not have bothered as he fails to put in any kind of a challenge. The shot comes in from about 10m and Kaminski saves well. The follow-up shot is on target but slams against van Hecke. JRC wins the ball and hacks clear. I think our bright spot has faded.

59 Wharton concedes a corner. In it comes, low, Diaz and van Hecke miss it and the ball  hits the outside of the near post. It rebounds to Longman, 6 yards out, and unbelievably he puts the chance wide. What a miss!

62 It’s a nice ball from Buckley to Diaz on the left wing. He moves it inside and into the box.

Edun’s made a good run to his left and Diaz finds him. He moves into the 6 yard box but the defender gets in a block and the keeper goes down at the near post. Edun should probably have passed square but he won a corner. Rothwell’s deep cross is met by Wharton who heads it back across goal but there’s nobody there. It was probably meant for goal but it’s 2 yards wide.

65 JRC is done by the winger again and the cross comes in, Lenihan has to stretch to put it out for a corner. Kaminski punches it away. Docherty picks it up and glides past Buckley but his shot is blocked. Diaz misses his clearance kick and Hull pass it around. Longman, on the right over 30 yards out, lofts a ball to the far post. McLoughlin launches himself directly into Kaminski and Eaves outjumps Lenihan all ends up and puts the ball into the net. He’s a proper centre-forward that lad but it was a foul on Kaminski any day of the week. The ref goes over to tell off an apoplectic Tony Mowbray.

Johnson, Markanday and Ayala on; Gallagher, Buckley and JRC off.

69 Williams on the left wing goes past van Hecke easily and crosses from the byline. Wharton in the goalmouth chests it down, right to the feet of Honeyman who hits it on target from 3 yards. Incredibly Kaminski palms it on to the bar! It rebounds to Potter on the 6 yard line and he blasts it over the bar!!! That should have been three. Potter is so distraught he daren’t take his hands from his face.

73 Some nice work by Edun around the Hull box, attacking, clearing up then winning a corner. It comes eventually to Johnson over 25 yards out but his shot is blocked in a crowded goal area. Markanday blocks the clearance and it goes to Diaz 12 yards out to the right but his first-time shot is well off-target.

77 The ball comes out of the crowded Hull box and van Hecke volleys it back, on target, from 20 yards but it’s blocked. Van Hecke is trying to get back as Hull counter and he looks knackered!

79 This patient possession football doesn’t suit us. I thought we’d decided that? We can’t break them down! Now honeyman has it to the right of our box. Wharton looks a bit lethargic and doesn’t prevent the cross. Van Hecke puts in a great tackle to save the goal.

80 Rothwell lets Potter run half the length of the pitch before dropping him with a push in the back just outside the D. Yellow card. Potter’s free-kick from 25 yards flashes 6 inches past the post.

86 Johnson gives the ball away and Hull attack. Potter is teasing Ayala who is backing off, so Potter shoots and it’s just wide.

87 Eaves barges into Ayala so that the Spaniard fluffs his header and Smith is storming forward, Wharton can only clip the ball against him and, luckily, it runs through to Kaminski. Lenihan is feverishly tackling anything that moves but he concedes a foul. Another yellow card….that’s 8 now for Darragh.

90 Rothwell inside Hull’s half finds Lenihan in the box perfectly. He controls well but he’s over-crowded and dispossessed.

91 Edun brings the ball out of defence nicely but then slips a poor pass square right to a Hull man. Smith runs into the box and fires a shot from 13 yards and  Kaminski goes down to his left to save. Corner.

93 Edun does well to rob Eaves, who is shielding the ball by the corner flag (for the third time!) and drives a great crossfield ball to Mankanday. It comes to nothing but a little later Markanday picks up again on the right wing. He beats 2 players with fleet footwork and pace as he drives into the box but his attempted cross is blocked. Nice glimpse of what he can do though!

94 Diaz fouls and gains a yellow card.

96 Final whistle and it’s back to reality. The run of poor performances continues and there’s a big test of character ahead.

Edited January 20, 2022 by tonyoz

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Thanks Tony. We just carried on from Cardiff. As I said in another thread at least we won’t be going down.

[tonyoz]

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Thanks Tony. We just carried on from Cardiff. As I said in another thread at least we won’t be going down.

Oh, don’t!

[StubbsUK]

Still loving these Tony!