Post by stevek192 on Dec 27, 2017 12:03:48 GMT
So on a cold and wet day we travelled to a place that has not seen many positive results in recent years and with a very good turnout of supporters a side with four changes from the home defeat. The return of Broadbent was no real surprise after Sweeney's shaky game or the return of Lines and Ollie Clarke in central midfield however the inclusion of Nicholls up front was a strange one.
Anyway on to the performances in a game that also saw Darrell Clarke back from illness.
Smith 8 MOM Two great saves and everything he did he did well. controlled his area and this is more like what we want to see from our goalkeeper. Came to the edge of his box a couple of times to clear up well and kicking was much improved..
Leadbitter 6 Shame he suffered a hamstring injury when he was having a good game which will probably see him out till mid February.
Lockyer 6.5 Generally a much better game but there was still the odd lapse notably in the second half where he tried to be too clever and presented the Walsall player with a clear run on goal and chance that could have killed us off. It is these sort of lapses that have been costing us a lot of points but yesterday it was just frustrating because he played well.
Broadbent 7 apart from a couple of times where he allowed his opponent the room to get the wrong side of him this was a solid performance and his use of the ball when in possession was very good and only once do I recall him giving the ball away.
Brown 6 Steady performance but seemed to lapse into the old habit of allowing his opponent too much room during a ten minute spell midway through the second half which could have given Walsall a goal they barely deserved.
Lines 6 Not at his very best but at least he worked hard and put a shift in and always tried to keep the ball moving.
Ollie Clarke 6 same as with Lines but he must control his discipline and not give what are generally poor referees a decision to make as could easily have been sent off and that would surely have meant a pointless return from the game. He was to be fair much better than the majority of his performances this season.
Sercombe 6 Not his best game as he struggles in a wide position but still put in a reasonable shift and put a lovely ball in to Nicholls which should have provided the winning goal and also broke clean through and delayed his shot when I thought we were about to see the net bulge.
Bodin 5 Another game where for me where he was nowhere near his best and apart from a couple of shots which went straight to the keeper he did not really do much although DC said he was substituted for a hamstring injury to avoid problems whereas I thought it was just because he was having a poor game.
Nicholls 4 Well DC felt after he had a good game. I beg to differ and thought he was weak and struggled to get into the game and probably missed the best chance when he burst through onto a great ball from I believe Sercombe but failed to beat the out rushing keeper. it was the sort of one chance in a game you expect a £300,000 striker to take if he is on his game but Nicholls is not.
Harrison 6 Not as good as he has been recently but still chased everything and worked hard throughout which is not easy on what was quite a heavy pitch. Cannot fault his effort but didn't really get in goalscoring positions.
Subs:
Sinclair Noel Couple of tackles where he showed his commitment. it was good to see DC try to close the game up and keep the point we had instead of going all out for a win and ending up losing again. We still could have edged it at the end.
Bola 7 Interesting that the two best performances I have seen from him have been as a right back rather than his natural side. Played very well has the speed of Leadbitter but that extra bit of quality both defensively and as an attacker. one great cross in the second half where I was sure Harrison was going to meet it and head a winner. Personally I would stick with Bola in the next game.
Gaffney 6 Managed to get caught offside a few times but did liven things up and looked dangerous. I am at a loss as to how Nicholls started ahead of him.
Crowd 9 Great turnout in the circumstances. Totally out sang the home crowd because at times I actually wondered if there were any home supporters there.
Ref 4 Another referee who seemed to favour the home side but who didn't really influence the result so not worth talking about other than the lack of common sense when Leadbitter crawled back on the pitch clearly stressed with hamstring injury and the referee made him crawl back off.
Walsall 4 In truth probably two poor to average teams who fought out what was probably a fair result although we probably should have sneaked it. Their star player took very little part in the game until the last twenty minutes where he livened up and he had the look of a player who is probably going somewhere in January but perhaps it just wasn't his day.
So with a welcome point we returned home and I have to admit that after so many fruitless journeys it almost felt like a victory. With the snow overnight I now wonder if this will be the draw we have been waiting for and also the last game of 2017. If the Oldham game does go ahead personally I would start with Bola as right back, keep the midfield the same and start Gaffney ahead of Nicholls. UTG
Anyway on to the performances in a game that also saw Darrell Clarke back from illness.
Smith 8 MOM Two great saves and everything he did he did well. controlled his area and this is more like what we want to see from our goalkeeper. Came to the edge of his box a couple of times to clear up well and kicking was much improved..
Leadbitter 6 Shame he suffered a hamstring injury when he was having a good game which will probably see him out till mid February.
Lockyer 6.5 Generally a much better game but there was still the odd lapse notably in the second half where he tried to be too clever and presented the Walsall player with a clear run on goal and chance that could have killed us off. It is these sort of lapses that have been costing us a lot of points but yesterday it was just frustrating because he played well.
Broadbent 7 apart from a couple of times where he allowed his opponent the room to get the wrong side of him this was a solid performance and his use of the ball when in possession was very good and only once do I recall him giving the ball away.
Brown 6 Steady performance but seemed to lapse into the old habit of allowing his opponent too much room during a ten minute spell midway through the second half which could have given Walsall a goal they barely deserved.
Lines 6 Not at his very best but at least he worked hard and put a shift in and always tried to keep the ball moving.
Ollie Clarke 6 same as with Lines but he must control his discipline and not give what are generally poor referees a decision to make as could easily have been sent off and that would surely have meant a pointless return from the game. He was to be fair much better than the majority of his performances this season.
Sercombe 6 Not his best game as he struggles in a wide position but still put in a reasonable shift and put a lovely ball in to Nicholls which should have provided the winning goal and also broke clean through and delayed his shot when I thought we were about to see the net bulge.
Bodin 5 Another game where for me where he was nowhere near his best and apart from a couple of shots which went straight to the keeper he did not really do much although DC said he was substituted for a hamstring injury to avoid problems whereas I thought it was just because he was having a poor game.
Nicholls 4 Well DC felt after he had a good game. I beg to differ and thought he was weak and struggled to get into the game and probably missed the best chance when he burst through onto a great ball from I believe Sercombe but failed to beat the out rushing keeper. it was the sort of one chance in a game you expect a £300,000 striker to take if he is on his game but Nicholls is not.
Harrison 6 Not as good as he has been recently but still chased everything and worked hard throughout which is not easy on what was quite a heavy pitch. Cannot fault his effort but didn't really get in goalscoring positions.
Subs:
Sinclair Noel Couple of tackles where he showed his commitment. it was good to see DC try to close the game up and keep the point we had instead of going all out for a win and ending up losing again. We still could have edged it at the end.
Bola 7 Interesting that the two best performances I have seen from him have been as a right back rather than his natural side. Played very well has the speed of Leadbitter but that extra bit of quality both defensively and as an attacker. one great cross in the second half where I was sure Harrison was going to meet it and head a winner. Personally I would stick with Bola in the next game.
Gaffney 6 Managed to get caught offside a few times but did liven things up and looked dangerous. I am at a loss as to how Nicholls started ahead of him.
Crowd 9 Great turnout in the circumstances. Totally out sang the home crowd because at times I actually wondered if there were any home supporters there.
Ref 4 Another referee who seemed to favour the home side but who didn't really influence the result so not worth talking about other than the lack of common sense when Leadbitter crawled back on the pitch clearly stressed with hamstring injury and the referee made him crawl back off.
Walsall 4 In truth probably two poor to average teams who fought out what was probably a fair result although we probably should have sneaked it. Their star player took very little part in the game until the last twenty minutes where he livened up and he had the look of a player who is probably going somewhere in January but perhaps it just wasn't his day.
So with a welcome point we returned home and I have to admit that after so many fruitless journeys it almost felt like a victory. With the snow overnight I now wonder if this will be the draw we have been waiting for and also the last game of 2017. If the Oldham game does go ahead personally I would start with Bola as right back, keep the midfield the same and start Gaffney ahead of Nicholls. UTG
