GravityGrave Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Stevenage had four Shaun Garnett's across their backline which I think we should of exposed more. Thought mellor and kusunga were our best two players . harkins showed flashes of brilliance but unfortunately there was no one on his wavelength hopefully this will come with time but a more than promising full debut. JCH must of stayed on purely for his physical attributes as he offered little in terms of quality today . Should of buried that chance towards the end of first half . Grounds was immense in the air today . Wes was everywhere , korey not up to usual standards. Massive 3 points . Can't see Stevenage staying up after that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Break The Silence Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 (edited) I'll take that today. Potentially a massive 3 points. How many times this season have we played really well and lost? What a nice change to be decidedly mediocre yet still come away with all 3 points. Edited January 11, 2014 by Break The Silence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astottie Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Absolutely crucial 3 points after the debacles against Colchester and Shrewsbury, we have to win games at home against the lower teams. Stevenage targeted our danger players, Petrasso and Philiskirk by closing them down immediately but you can't do that for 90 minutes and we should have made better use of the space in the last 15 minutes. They had no quality except Morais and some of their passing was dreadful. I didn't think our shape did Mellor any favours and I thought he did as well as he possibly could against Morais and still managed to get forward. Smith was excellent but I'm not sure about Harkins as I think there is a danger we may have to carry him for large parts of games - we shall see. Pleased for Oxley with a clean sheet at last, he made some smart saves. Final point for the referee, I thought he was excellent. I dont have a view on the sending off as I didnt see it but I think he didn't get a decision wrong. His spot of Dayton being held for the free kick routine was impressive and I even liked that he booked Oxley from 50 yards away rather than waste even more time by running back to the box like most refs do. Onwards and upwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 We have one of those but LJ has sent him out on loan having never given him a proper run in the team Like he has with Millar, ever think to try Sidney as a striker or attacking midfielder where his tendancy to not defend can be accommodated.......? I don't know what went on. He seemed short of attacking intent and even pace lately, I'm not sure he got over the worst miss ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyres_28 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Isn't it a feeling winning on a Saturday, even when we havent't played that well. I'm not excited or over the moon, just simply relaxed!! Mellor, as already mentioned, had an excellent match, especially as Stevenage utilised Phil Morris very well in the opening 20 mins. Great to see Petrasso put in a cross and have so many players ready in the box to stick it away, but unfortunately he offered very little after that. Harkins provides what it says on the tin; he is such an aware footballer, his touches are clever & well directed, has the body strength to add to his ability and played a few of the through balls we have been crying out for all season - why didn't Philli just shoot 2nd touch or the ref give the pen? Yes he is lazy and slow and at times his feet wouldn't work as fast as his brain 1st half, but he dominated spells in that second half and I think some of our lads will learn from his footballing awarness. Defence were solid after the first 20 mins when we looked a little asleep despite being 1-0 up. Oxley had nothing to do. Wes was simply outstanding - MOM without a doubt, offered a threat going forward after winning ball after ball following his tireless closign down, great goal and we needed his grit against a typically dispicable Westley outfit. JCH was ineffective and with 2 experienced forwards on the bench he should have been off after 60mins. Moving forward I would love to see LJ play a flowing 4-2-3-1 with Harkins behind Rooney/JCH/Charlie Mac and Dayton and Philli in fleixible wide postions. He played this way in his first few games (Hartlepool inc.) with Baxter, Simmo and Crofty and the side were extremely dynamic going forward. I know some like the wide-men in the side, but since the man who is not named left we don't put enough crosses in, unless Dayton plays left; Sid and Petrasso didnt'/don't put in enough crosses so a move to this formation (which it almost is) can only help, although we need the two wide men to consistantly get close to the CF, which they didnt't enough today. Harkins could be the key, but with Smith and Wes generally reasonably deep, we need Mellor and Kususnga to play higher when we have the ball. Excellent win, despite an average performance, take this into Tuesday and we will start to pull away and gain some much needed momentum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Break The Silence Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Isn't it a feeling winning on a Saturday, even when we havent't played that well. I'm not excited or over the moon, just simply relaxed!! This. It's a nice sort of "job done" type feeling, without being ecstatic. I'm going to make a nice hot chilli, get pissed and listen to Steel Panther all night. PS. No matter what they put me through, I :censored:ing love Oldham Athletic!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinevillawill Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Not the best advert for League 1 but a much needed 3 points. Still not happy with our formation despite the introduction of Harkins. Again, it felt very much like 4-5-1. JCH was relatively ineffective and we never once dominated in the middle of the park despite having 5 in midfield. Does anyone else feel that the formation restricts Philliskirk? It just doesn't work for me. Anyway. I'm gonna be half-full tonight for a change and end my post with onwards and upwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvlatic Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 This. It's a nice sort of "job done" type feeling, without being ecstatic. I'm going to make a nice hot chilli, get pissed and listen to Steel Panther all night. PS. No matter what they put me through, I :censored:ing love Oldham Athletic!!! I will echo that but replace the chilli and steel panther for a hot bath with candles and some kenny g! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeP Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 (edited) There was a novelty today - a very good referee. Got all the decisions right that I could see. Or was he just biased towards us for once?! They seemed quite outraged by the sending off... We couldn't string two passes together in the first-half today and very lucky to be ahead at half-time - Morais' crosses caused us a lot of problems early on, but Mellor soon got a handle on him. Thought Stevenage were terrible with some of the basic stuff, but thought they tried to play reasonable football for a Westley side. Bearing in mind Stevenage are bottom of the league, I think we need to raise our game to a better standard than we showed today in the future. Mellor was Man of the Match, but special mention for Oxley as well who made two class saves. Edited January 11, 2014 by JoeP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshgaz Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Why was Petrasso not used today? He was on the pitch, delivered a cracking cross for the goal, then didn't see the ball for the rest of the half. Petrasso bar the assist was completely bobbins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slystallone Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Anti-football Westley side. Cynical, niggley and more Rugby players than footballers. Ashton, Hartley, Chorley and Jones as a back 4 Are a throw back to by-gone days. Its prehistoric football. Its fecking awful. The worry, when coming up against this type of side, is that you get dragged down by them, and forced into a game that suits them better than it does you. I thought we did really well in that regard. We stuck to our football as best as we could do. Yes there were aimless balls played up by Grounds and others; but - by & large, we did try to pass through them. Our goal, and the passages of plays for around 5mins prior to it were examples of cracking football. We always looked to play. They looked to stop us. We rose above it and got the vtital win. Mellor, Wes & Harkins had great games. Pleased for Oxley with the clean sheet. And great to see Charlie Mac back playing. As others have said, onwards & upwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Break The Silence Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I will echo that but replace the chilli and steel panther for a hot bath with candles and some kenny g! ;) I'll have it that hot chilli isn't everybody's cup of tea but no Steel Panther? WTF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slystallone Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Oh yeah. Really good ref today. What a refreshing change. Played the advantage where he could, then pulled it back when needed. Dealt with the fouling and ugly stuff from them, and after consulting the Lino, dealt with the sending off efficiently. What a nice change to have a very decent referee for a change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmer1 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 4-3 and 1-0. Out of interest when was the last time we managed a league double over someone? Can't imagine we have had that many over the last few seasons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvlatic Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I'll have it that hot chilli isn't everybody's cup of tea but no Steel Panther? WTF? Obviously tongue firmly in cheek there! In reality for me its fish&veg followed by 'take me out' on the box to keep er indoors sweet so i can indulge in motd and fls later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disjointed Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 As for the sending off, my lad seemed to think that JCH was looking for it and just ran in to him. The lino though seemed pretty sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayItLivo Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 4-3 and 1-0. Out of interest when was the last time we managed a league double over someone? Can't imagine we have had that many over the last few seasons Portsmouth and Hartlepool last season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Break The Silence Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Obviously tongue firmly in cheek there! In reality for me its fish&veg followed by 'take me out' on the box to keep er indoors sweet so i can indulge in motd and fls later! That's what it's all about, keeping 'er indoors happy. I just incorporate headphones into the equation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 As for the sending off, my lad seemed to think that JCH was looking for it and just ran in to him. The lino though seemed pretty sure. He swung a leg at JCH and made contact. Lino had a perfect view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitygoo Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Was sent for raising hands i think. Clear push to JCH face....there was handbags a couple of times just before...right decision for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueatheart Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Petrasso bar the assist was completely bobbins. Yeah, cos he never got the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Nice calm feeling whilst driving the 100 miles home from the game, unlike the last 2 home games, when we drove home feeling disheartened, frustrated and angry. Won ugly today, but the points are all that matter at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 They were moaning about the sending off because JCH got away with raking his studs along the defender's calf to which he lashed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosa Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Oh yeah. Really good ref today. What a refreshing change. Played the advantage where he could, then pulled it back when needed. Dealt with the fouling and ugly stuff from them, and after consulting the Lino, dealt with the sending off efficiently. What a nice change to have a very decent referee for a change! As good a ref as you'll see at this level. I was grumbling about not booking their players for their persistent nasty fouls early on but fair play to him for letting the game flow. Got most decisions spot on. It was never going to be a classic, good to grind out a result against a team that could have bullied us out of the game. My "what the :censored:'s he doing playing Mellor at left-back?" comment at Anfield looks more and more idiotic, thought he was superb again today. Westley's post-match comments were as entertaining as ever: "they were happy to hang on to their lead and sat quite deep in defence" - really? I must have imagined Tarky and Kusunga repeatedly running at your midfield in your half. You hilarious delusional nutjob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brierleys555 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 today we beat a poor team by 1 goal. we were average at best. still to many turning back and passing the wrong way. when we attacked quick and crossed the ball we scored.. for me wes, mellor and grounds were our best players today. petrassos cross for the goal was brill but he got sussed out today. overall I would have been happy with another goal to settle the nerves but this is latics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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