BFTG Rotherham (A)

[3points]

Didn't go - just wanted to be the one who started the thread (sorry).

3Points - did you go?

Yep, decided to go. Decent pint in the Cutlers Arms before hand.

Pretty much a 4-4-2 formation, though Piazon floated around but McCleary was quite wide on the right. We looked good at times, but final touch / ball let us down most of the game. As already stated Vydra looked very short of match practice, and didn't work much off the ball either. Settle for a point but really should have been three, but Rotherham were no mugs and their number 18 was useful.

Al-Habsi 7 - decent performance. Couple of good saves and no signs of any howlers. Think he will keep the shirt once Bond is fit.
Gunter 6 - had loads of space again today going forward but didn't really do anything positive when he had the ball. Seemed happier with McCleary in front of him again
Taylor 7 - good back up for Obita. Didn't do much wrong, crosses could be better
Hector - 7 best of the back four, mostly calm and composed
McShane 6 - worst game I've seen from him. Was often beaten in the air tonight, which is very unusual and got caught out of position a couple of time
McCleary 6 - nothing particularly bad, but nothing great. Looked lively for the first 20 but didn't really kick on
Piazon 6 - worked hard. Was better than Saturday but still not always on same wavelength. Think he's better in the hole than pushed out to the left
Norwood 7 - another good performance. Made numerous interceptions and a cracking ball for Blackman's goal. Didn't get a lot of support in midfield tonight
Williams 6 - not one of his better games, but not bad. A few loose passes or poor choices, but worked hard with little end product and caught out of position a few times, leaving Norwood isolated
Sa 5 - poor performance. Didn't really contribute a great deal. Perhaps he needs a rest?
Blackman 8 - MOTM for me. Though not as good as some other performances and towards the end I think the weight of expectation got a bit too much for him. Superb strike though. At the end he was doubled over, so I hope that was due to the amount of running and not an injury

Hurtado 7 - lively once he came on. Could do with trying to go past the defender a bit more rather than cut inside all the time, but showed some promise
vydra 5 - was off the pace, flicks and touches didn't work and chose wrong option on a couple of occasions when Blackman provided a good outlet ball. One good shot which went close. Needs more game time. Don't expect him to start at Fulham as he looked some way short of fitness still

Ref 5 - who knows what he was up to. Not the worst of the season,but some questionable decisions
Away fans - decent turn out for a Tuesday night and good noise at times. Piazon song was the highlight.

[biff]

Didn't go - just wanted to be the one who started the thread (sorry).

3Points - did you go?

Piazon song was the highlight.

how does it go?

[BTM1962]

Good game with an exciting end to end second half. IMO we deserved our point if only because after the break we stopped admiring Readings pace & passing ability & actually had a go at them. Don't get too despondant Royals fans, you have a fine team, large squad & a good manager. I think you'll go very close this season. BTW, a massive well done to the 450+ Royals fans who came up tonight, great turnout considering the distance.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Happy enough with the draw, looked like we might end up with nothing at one point. Their goal early in the second half probably did not help but we were a bit complacent at times - Gunter and Williams both made some poor short passes.

Piazon may not quite be up to the pace of the Championship but he can thread a pass, Hurtado was pretty much anonymous when he replaced him. I thought Vydra looked sharp enough and could have snatched a winner.

I agree Hector was definitely man of the match but Sa's theatrical rolling around was just embarassing

Thought Hurtado did ok. Tried to get the ball forward and worked really hard to get back.

[Steve_Upper_West]

Didn't go - just wanted to be the one who started the thread (sorry).

3Points - did you go?

Piazon song was the highlight.

how does it go?

As in The Music Man - "what can you play?"

Pia, Pia, Piazon Piazon Piazon
Pia, Pia, Piazon Piazon Piazon
etc etc.....

[Ouroboros]

Positives

Al-habsi was solid, made a couple of good saves.
Blackman was a constant danger.
Williams dangerous running with the ball

Negatives

McCleary didn't really get into the game
While Vydra's intelligence is plain to see, his feet look a little behind his brain at the moment (still nearly won it for us though)
Very poor defensive lapse for their goal.

They put a lot of men behind the ball in the second half. Our most obvious weakness at the moment is in breaking down a team defending deep. We're going about it with some imagination and skill, trying to intricately play it through them, but it's a hard trick to pull off.

[paultheroyal]

Rotherham manager Neil Redfearn:
"They are the best side in this division, I have to say, I have seen a lot of the Championship before I got this job.
"They have got balance, pace and athleticism. I thought for us to produce the sort of performance we did was good.
"Second half they knew they were in the game and if we came away with nothing I thought it would have been a travesty."

[Big Foot]

Draw a fair result in the end I suppose but expected a win for sure, especially once we got ahead with a gr8 goal from Blackman...will struggle to see a better goal this season

Shout out to those planning our countries' roads....closures on the M1, A43, A404 & A329(M) last night - got home at 02:40

[Big Foot]

Piazon song was the highlight.

how does it go?

As in The Music Man - "what can you play?"

Pia, Pia, Piazon Piazon Piazon
Pia, Pia, Piazon Piazon Piazon
etc etc.....

You're welcome

[Brum Royal]

My first game for a little while last night.

From what I have seen (and read/heard) that felt like AAH's best game for us last night, pretty much faultless, a couple of crucial saves and some good distribution. No chance with the goal.
Gunter seemed very reluctant to actually take on his man last night, which didn't seem like him, preferring to lay the ball off to McCleary more often. That's fine, but on a couple of occasions Gunts was one on one and it was crying out for him to have a go at the full back and whip in a cross.
Hector was outstanding I thought, especially first half where he mopped up everything.
McShane generally ok but not as good as I have seen him play this season, not as dominant in the air as usual.
Piazon did ok going forwards, although I thought he was the weak link defensively first half, a lot of Rotherham's threat came through our left midfield position and it left Taylor a bit exposed. I don't think that's a criticism of Piazon, but I don't think he's a left midfielder.
Blackman was generally good, if I was to be a little critical, it struck me second half that he's maybe getting a bit arrogant/over confident as he seemed to hang on to the ball too long or take on too many defenders. A sign of high confidence certainly, but his link up play was better first half when he was shifting the ball quicker.
Sa I thought was largely anonymous last night, barring his theatrics for when he got fouled.

A fair result overall though, both sides had their chances, and Rotherham were certainly good value for their goal. It's encouraging to see we kept trying to play and kept moving the ball from side to side to try and manoeuvre the Rotherham defence around, rather than just lumping it forward aimlessly as we have done in previous seasons.

[Big Foot]

My first game for a little while last night.

From what I have seen (and read/heard) that felt like AAH's best game for us last night, pretty much faultless, a couple of crucial saves and some good distribution. No chance with the goal.
Gunter seemed very reluctant to actually take on his man last night, which didn't seem like him, preferring to lay the ball off to McCleary more often. That's fine, but on a couple of occasions Gunts was one on one and it was crying out for him to have a go at the full back and whip in a cross.
Hector was outstanding I thought, especially first half where he mopped up everything.
McShane generally ok but not as good as I have seen him play this season, not as dominant in the air as usual.
Piazon did ok going forwards, although I thought he was the weak link defensively first half, a lot of Rotherham's threat came through our left midfield position and it left Taylor a bit exposed. I don't think that's a criticism of Piazon, but I don't think he's a left midfielder.
Blackman was generally good, if I was to be a little critical, it struck me second half that he's maybe getting a bit arrogant/over confident as he seemed to hang on to the ball too long or take on too many defenders. A sign of high confidence certainly, but his link up play was better first half when he was shifting the ball quicker.
Sa I thought was largely anonymous last night, barring his theatrics for when he got fouled.

A fair result overall though, both sides had their chances, and Rotherham were certainly good value for their goal. It's encouraging to see we kept trying to play and kept moving the ball from side to side to try and manoeuvre the Rotherham defence around, rather than just lumping it forward aimlessly as we have done in previous seasons.

Can't argue with any of that really

[Sutekh]

Bit of a shambles defensively last night. But the mockery of the "official" match thread and even the start of this thread had to be seen to be believed. Not good.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Dunno what happened for their goal, ya man just seemed to be totes unmarked.

[genome]

Ouroboros, a Rotherham fan has called you out

http://boards.footymad.net/rotherhamuni ... E9qJGy3.97

[Pepe the Horseman]

Ouroboros, a Rotherham fan has called you out

http://boards.footymad.net/rotherhamuni ... E9qJGy3.97

Lolz.

what an absolutely clueless pcunt

[Ouroboros]

Fame at last

Sorry guys, reality is a shitter: you're odds-on for relegation and we're in a promotion race. Doesn't look very likely we'll be playing you next season, does it?

[melonhead]

happy with that point.
sounded like a good game, with plenty in it for both sides.

[Ouroboros]

Idiot!, if it wasn't for Al Habsi they would have lost

Didn't think of that.

It's true, we're not good enough to play without a keeper.

[tidus_mi2]

Ah the internet, where a simple opinion can enrage the masses.

[genome]

Ah the internet, where a simple opinion can enrage the masses.

You can enrage my mass any day x