BFTG - Ipswich

[PieEater]

That was a great 3 points in a very tight game against decent opposition. Except for Tabby Ipswich are a pretty massive side and will bully a lot of teams in this league.

Both sides didn't really have a lot of chances but we took ours in the first half after shambolic Ipswich defending that Taylor was quickly onto to nick the ball past their keeper. Otherwise we played some pretty tidy football and looked comfortable. I thought Big Hec was probably my MOTM, good game from Akpan (yes!) he does the simple things well. Otherwise the rest of the team all put in a shift and the kids looked OK at this level.

[Ian Royal]

Well that was a good result. I though we controlled.the game first half without creating much. Then defended out the win 2nd as our scratch midfield got overrun. A few scares, but Ipswich rarely looked convincing upfront and we could have sneaked another.

Federici 7 did what he had to do. I assume no one will be complaining about his poor kicks.. Near post weakness still there.
Gunter 7 solid
Cummings 8 solid elevated for the line work.
Pearce 7 did little wrong
Hector 11 one of the most commanding defensive displays I've seen.
Obita 7 solid
Akpan 6.5 occasionally sloppy
Taylor 7 poor sod, beats Hec to scoring and still gets outshone.
Cox 7 tired as the game went on
Blackman 7
Pog 8

Nice to see Cooper, Edwards and Stacey get on. Edwards looked good. Surprised.Tshi didn't get on to stiffen midfield.

[LoyalRoyal22]

Good football first half. Hanging on in the second half.

Fed - 7
Gunter- 8
Hector- 9
Pearce -7
Cummings- 7

Akpan- 5
Obita - 7

Blackman- 6
Cox - 6
Taylor -7

Pog- 7

[Wycombe Royal]

good game from Akpan (yes!) he does the simple things well.

his first touch normally ended up 3 yards in front of, he kept passing to the orange shirts, and cannot read the game. I lost count of the amount of times he was passed by an Ipswich player who sold him a simple dummy. He was the weak link today and we need Guthrie, Karacan or Williams back ASAP.

[PieEater]

I lost count of the times other players, unchallenged headed the ball straight back to the Ipswich, whereas pretty well every time Akpan takes the ball on his chest and lays if off rather than heading it. I thought he was ok today (compared to some of his hopeless performances).

[wingnut]

Dreadful game. We didn't have a shot in the second half and the goal the only effort in the first. Couldn't have complained if Ipswich had equalised or even won that - certainly had two very good chances in the second half.
Still a win is a win and Ipswich are a well organised side if somewhat limited so a decent result but Christ it made for poor entertainment.

[Royalwaster]

Dreadful game. We didn't have a shot in the second half and the goal the only effort in the first. Couldn't have complained if Ipswich had equalised or even won that - certainly had two very good chances in the second half.
Still a win is a win and Ipswich are a well organised side if somewhat limited so a decent result but Christ it made for poor entertainment.

I found it very entertaining you miserable sod.

[wingnut]

You're easily pleased then.

[Wycombe Royal]

I lost count of the times other players, unchallenged headed the ball straight back to the Ipswich, whereas pretty well every time Akpan takes the ball on his chest and lays if off rather than heading it. I thought he was ok today (compared to some of his hopeless performances).

I lost count of the number of times Akpan controlled the ball on his chest straight to an Ipswich player. Maybe he should have been headering it as well. Definitely the weakest link today. I'm sure he tried his best and I can't fault his work rate but I just don't think he is good enough at this level.

[3points]

Federici 7 did what he had to do. I assume no one will be complaining about his poor kicks.. Near post weakness still there.

I will be. His kicking was poor today. In the second half he kicked three consecutive balls straight down the middle which were easily nodded on by their centre halves back to their keeper. He kept refusing to throw the ball short (especially to Gunter). The way he just kept hoofing onto their left back's head really started to frustrate me. Does he not have a brain? It felt like McDermott football again every time Federici got the ball

[winchester_royal]

As posted on other thread:

Massive win. Ipswich are the type of physical team that we were always going to struggle against with such a young squad, but we stood up manfully. Hector was gr8, almost got caught out a couple of times in his positioning but his recovery pace and strength is so good that he'll be fine in this division once he gains that experience he'll be an absolute tank. Will easily command 3x the fee that we got for Morrison in a couple of years time.

We didn't play particularly well though. Akpan was completely lost in midfield. Was spent after 20 mins. But Cox did some nice stuff in the hole and Pog fought valiantly up front which created a few chances. Today wasn't about the performance though, it was about the spirit and fight that we showed. Add the right type of quality in the next couple of weeks and we have a chance this season.

What a difference it made though to have some pace in the middle of defence. Morro's exit could be the biggest slice of luck we've had in yonks. Still early days though, and I fear Big Hec may have a few sloppy games mixed between his brilliant ones. Thought JT had his best game of the 3 thus far, though still not convinced the left is his best position as we really do lack width with him cutting inside all the time.

We need to address the midfield area. Akpan is just not particularly good, and Obita (while he had a decent enough game today) is needed on the left.

[3points]

Thought Obita did a good job today in the middle; he certainly marshalled the players around him well, and was always available to take the ball from the defenders

[St. Brynjar]

Couldn't make the game today but I'm delighted with the result. Adkins deserves a lot of credit for the positive start to the season when our injury list is considered.

Great to hear Hector had a good game, it's vital he steps up now Morro's gone.

[RG7Fan]

Thought Akpan was the weak link today - quite a few sloppy passes. Not saying he had a poor game, just not as good as the rest. Also remember that we are 4 senior players down at the moment so a pretty good result against a team that is pretty much the same level as us.

And what is it with Reading goalkeepers waiting until the opposition have reformed before booting it out? Too slow ...

[Pepe the Horseman]

I liked it when he shinned it straight to an Ipswich player, under no pressure. While we're talking scapegoats, what did people think of Blackman? Sounds like he's played well in our opening two games and preseason, but I thought he was rubbish. Got bullied in the first half, and just generally took ages to do anything.

[Wycombe Royal]

Thought Akpan was the weak link today - quite a few sloppy passes. Not saying he had a poor game, just not as good as the rest. Also remember that we are 4 senior players down at the moment so a pretty good result against a team that is pretty much the same level as us.

And what is it with Reading goalkeepers waiting until the opposition have reformed before booting it out? Too slow ...

Only 4? Karacan, Guthrie, Williams, McCleary, Robson-Kanu, Mackie & Ferdinand.

I make that 7.

[3points]

yes, Blackman wasn't great today. His decision making was poor on the two occasions he broke free midway through the second half. However, I'm not sure using him as the target man for Federici, especially in the first half, did him many favours either

[Wycombe Royal]

I liked it when he shinned it straight to an Ipswich player, under no pressure. While we're talking scapegoats, what did people think of Blackman? Sounds like he's played well in our opening two games and preseason, but I thought he was rubbish. Got bullied in the first half, and just generally took ages to do anything.

It was below the standard of other recent performances but I thought he did ok. Nothing spectacular but didn't really do anything wrong.

[RG7Fan]

Thought Akpan was the weak link today - quite a few sloppy passes. Not saying he had a poor game, just not as good as the rest. Also remember that we are 4 senior players down at the moment so a pretty good result against a team that is pretty much the same level as us.

And what is it with Reading goalkeepers waiting until the opposition have reformed before booting it out? Too slow ...

Only 4? Karacan, Guthrie, Williams, McCleary, Robson-Kanu, Mackie & Ferdinand.

I make that 7.

Ooops you're right - and me an accountant as well ...

[Unbelievable Jeff]

How was the whole paint the town blue and white thingy? effective?