PLAYER WATCH v Luton Town (A)

[tonyoz]

PLAYER WATCH v Middlesbrough (H)

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                       ****  *     4                               

Nyambe                        ************  ***     12     

Lenihan                         *******************   ********     19

Wharton                       ****************  *******     14

van Hecke                     *****************************  *******      34

Edun (21)                     **     -5 

Travis                             ****************  **     19     

Buckley (75)                 ***********  *********    1        

Johnson                         ****************  **     18     

Zeefuik                           *********** ******     7

Gallagher (50)             ********* *******     5 

  

 

R-Costello (21)             ****** ****    5    

Butterworth (50)         ***** ****   0

Ayala (75)                      ******* **     8

                                                                        

Highlights and Lowlights 

(A justification for the main ratings given above)

 

02 It’s a Luton throw near the right corner flag and some neat interplay allows Campbell to run away too easily from Johnson He’s deep into the box and jinks past Edun who has a nibble at him from behind and Campbell goes down. It looked like a good penalty shout but van Hecke deflects the ball into the air, a Town man heads it across goal and Zanfuik gets up there first. Phew! 

05 A long ball is punted downfield by Luton and Jerome outjumps van Hecke. Lenihan is trying to shepherd it away from another Town man and Kaminski is confused about whether to come for it….it’s a stuff up and we concede a corner. The cross comes in and a Luton man is up before Lenihan and gets his header on target. Kaminski blocks and then gathers at the second attempt.

08 A sloppy pass straight into touch and then a nothing foul by Lenihan midway in our half. Naismith gets a header on target but it’s straight to Kaminski.

10 Edun mis-times his tackle and the Town man squirts the ball past him and into the box. Fortunately van Hecke is there to dispossess the attacker.

11 Campbell gets to the byline again and his cross is threatening but Lenihan hooks it clear. Luton are well on top at the moment.

12 Travis steals the ball on halfway and Buckley sends Gallagher forward. He runs it a bit far to the left and his attempted shot from 15 yards is more like a back-pass to the goalie.

21 Edun comes off injured after an earlier Lansbury “tackle”, Rankin-Costello on.

22 Another Buckley pass goes straight into touch.

24 Travis commits a foul on Luton’s right wing deep in our half.

26 Nyambe wins our first corner of the game. Buckley arcs the ball straight into touch!!

27 Free-kick taken for the team, near the centre-circle, by van Hecke as Luton threatened and it’s a yellow card. It’s taken short, then lofted high to the right and into the box where an unmarked Jerome squares across goal. Naismith puts it wide from 10 yards when it was easier to score. Luton should be leading! (Wharton was telling JRC to mark Jerome but he let him go!)

28 Down the other end of the park, Gallagher is quick to jump in and dispossess the defender but he’s brought down heavily for his efforts!

Buckley crosses to the far side of the box where Lenihan heads it back across goal. Johnson heads a yard wide from near the penalty spot. A bit disappointing but the nearest we’ve come to a goal so far.

30 A very high ball is blown right back into the Luton half. I forgot to say it’s very windy today!

32 A nice cross into the goalmouth from JRC but an un-rushing Nyambe can’t get there as he collides with Bell and concedes the foul.

39 Onyedinma is a bit of a handful, he goes past Wharton and van Hecke on the right side of the box and squares it perfectly to Jerome on the penalty spot. He sweeps the ball past Kaminski but it hits the left post and bounces straight back into the prone Kaminski’s arms! Big escape!

41 A decent throw in by JRC from near the corner flag reaches Gallagher just outside the 6 yard box and he heads it on. Nyambe isn’t quick enough to reach it, 8 yards out, and Bell clears for a corner. Buckley’s cross is punched away by the keeper.

43 It’s a really scrappy game as Gallagher and then, even Buckley mis-control. The windy conditions are helping to make a poor spectacle even worse! We’re lucky to be level at half-time.

 

46 Gallagher goes down off the ball. Replays show that Lockyer appears to elbow him in the chest. Yellow card. The free kick is 25 yards out just to the left. Buckley goes for goal but it’s a bit too near the goalie and he palms it over the bar. It’s a decent corner by Buckley leading to a bit of ping pong in the box but Luton eventually draw the foul.

51 Gallagher hasn’t recovered so he’s off and Butterworth is on.

54 Van Hecke brings the ball to the halfway line and finds Butterworth with a long crossfield ball. He controls well and slips the ball for Buckley to chase into the box but the pass is a bit too hard and the keeper collects. Rovers are coming into the game a bit more this half.

56 A poor, wasteful free-kick delivery from Buckley.

57 Van Hecke misplaces his header from a long Luton clearance and it runs to Jerome near the corner flag. He beats Zeefuik and crosses low into the box but van Hecke is there to clear up. From the throw, a Luton man gets a decent cross into the box despite the attentions of Butterworth and Zeefuik and, this time Travis is in the box to intercept.

59 Travis gives away a cheap foul midway in the Rovers half. A Luton man heads the delivery well over.

60 Now Buckley gives away a soft free kick.

65 Travis squares the ball nicely to Johnson 25 yards out. He has plenty of time to line up his shot but it’s deflected a couple of yards wide by an on-rushing defender. The corner’s taken short to Zeefuik on the left corner of the box and he steers the ball dangerously towards goal. A Luton defender deflects it behind for another corner but Luton clear.

A bit of decent Rovers pressure at last.

69 Two loose passes in less than a minute from Buckley.

75 Wharton concedes a free kick 25 yards out. Buckley off, Ayala on! Johnson heads the free kick clear. Ayala is gonna play up top!

78 Zeefuik cleverly shepherds the ball over the byline for a goal kick.

82 Ayala has thrown himself into everything since he came on. But now he gives away a foul and the little snot, Lansbury tells the ref to book him! The free kick out goes straight out of play.

86 Zeefuik gives away a corner. Kaminski, in a crowded goalmouth, punches the cross away but Wharton fouls near the corner flag. The pressure’s building. Ayala heads away but Luton get another corner! It’s taken short but it comes to nothing thanks to Wharton…..except another corner! It goes out for a goal-kick.

94 Another Luton corner goes straight out of play but Kaminski is absolutely incensed about something that happened in the goalmouth!! Blimey! Travis and Lenihan have to hold him back!! Cornick and Kaminski get yellow cards….the Luton man thinks it’s all very funny!

It’s difficult to see what happened on the replay.

97 Travis takes a free kick towards the box, van Hecke heads it down to Butterworth in the D but he can’t get the ball under proper control as it bobbles into the box and Luton clear. 

98 The whistle goes. That’s one of the very worst games I’ve commented on - very hard to allocate marks accurately; a lack of real quality everywhere on the pitch. No one looked like scoring in the second half - a poor football match.

Edited January 30, 2022 by tonyoz

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Thanks Tony, watching that was like having teeth pulled. Instantly forgettable.

[rebelmswar]

On 30/01/2022 at 04:15, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Thanks Tony, watching that was like having teeth pulled. Instantly forgettable.

I wish I had your dentist.