Post by irishrover on Apr 7, 2015 12:51:09 GMT
Here's my take on yesterday's game.
It was a really warm day. Where I started out from it was cold but when I arrived in Kidderminster it was hot for April and I was spectacularly over dressed. Had a look round Kidderminster - it seemed shut. I know it was bank holiday Monday but I struggled to find a pub to sit in and have lunch anywhere. I liked the train station at Smethwick Galton Bridge though with the criss-crossing lines over the canal. That seemed gloriously mad.
Overall I thought Kidderminster were one of the worst teams I've seen. They really did look like an amateur outfit (which they kind of are at the moment) who had won some kind of sponsored promotion to have a professional footballer (Lee Hughes) play for them in a one off game. They lacked organisation, they lacked strategy, they lacked basic skill. They did battle incredibly hard and no doubt for a lot of them it was one of the biggest games they'll play in as far as atmosphere is concerned but they looked every inch like a side that had just lost at home to Nuneaton. I doubt many of those players will be playing Conference football next season if Kidderminster get their act together. The protest banners etc and general atmosphere among Harriers fans showed that all was far from well. In other words they were right there for the taking, it was about the nicest away fixture we could possibly have but we still did the job very well.
One of the things I like about Clarke is his tactical flexibility - he isn't afraid to change a winning side in order to take advantage of specific matchups or circumstances that are in our favour. Irrespective of what people think of Matt Taylor I don't think there are many managers who would leave out their leading goalscorer in a promotion race with 4 games to go. The fact he did it showed courage and confidence and it was validated by an excellent performance from Blisset and Harrison who linked up superbly against a Kidderminster defence who just couldn't handle their pace or physical presence. It also meant we played differently. In all the games I've seen us play this year our main tactic seemed to be to work it into Taylor's feet and he's bought other people into the game. Generally we attacked in quite a narrow way. In this game though it was all about the little dinked balls over the top of the Centre backs for Blisset and Harrison to run onto and working it outwide for Dawson against their very exposed full back. In the first half it seemed most of our threat came from Dawson and Harrison linking up; in the second half Dawson wasn't as in the game and we were a bit more direct. But it was interesting to see us play in such a completely different way going forward. Against their shaky 3 at the back it was very effective.
Kidderminster were much better going forward than they were defensively and the 1st half was more even than the second. I was a bit worried that we looked a little dozy at the back. I counted 4 free headers from set pieces and there were a couple of incidents where we just didn't pick up their players very well. They got behind us 3 times (Hughes is still a tricky player with good movement even if he's now bascially past it) and Hughes really should have scored when he completely fluffed the best chance they had. We just seemed to be a bit switched off at the back. In general though we dominated the play without creating the killer chance. Only Blisset's header really came close. The pitch was dodgy which didn't help the final ball but we also made some poor decisions. Dawson played really well but twice got the final ball wrong which wasted golden opportunities. Our midfield was pretty dominant. It was a good half but I was worried that they had more shots on goal (none of them threatening admittedly) than we did despite our relative dominance.
In the second half though we basically completely battered them. Our midfield starved them of the ball and after we scored they offered pretty much nothing. Harrison and Blisset ran amock and everybody got involved going forward after that. Dawson wasn't quite the threat he'd been in the first half but I think they realised how exposed their wing back had been in the first half and put more cover out there. That just created more space for us in the middle. It's an odd feeling given the importance of the game but after we went 1 up I wasn't really worried. They were so poor and their heads went down and they lacked all organisation you just felt it was a matter of time. We should have a had a penalty and again we didn't create quite the volume of chances our dominance should have given us but it was completely 1 way traffic. I think the awful error for our 2nd was just partly due to Kidderminster being completely knackered because we'd run them ragged. They were a total mess for the whole second half. Taylor then took a very well taken 3rd to wrap it up. We looked fitter, more skillful, more physical and more composed than them in every department as of course we should. It was one of the most one sided halves of football I've seen in a league game. So excellent job all round really; if we can replicate that performance in our remaining 3 games we should pick up the maximum points and all we'd need is for Barnet to slip up once.
Puddy 6 - Very safe hands. It was a nasty bobbly pitch for a goalie but he got down well with his body behind it a couple of times. Also came and claimed confidently. His distribution in the first half was very poor though.
Brown 7 - Decent performance but didn't really have very much to do. They offered next to nothing down his side all game. In the second half he got forward well to support Monkhouse and Harrison.
Lockyer 5 - Didn't think he had a great game. He was caught out a few times in the first half which he really shouldn't have been because they didn't really have the numbers outside to cause us that much trouble. In the 2nd poor control/decision making create the only 2 times they ever looked vaguely threatening. He wasn't utterly terrible he just didn't have a great afternoon.
McChrystal 6 - Decent enough and had little to do in the second half. But in the first I thought as a defence we were a bit switched off and I think you have to look at the Captain and experienced Centre Back to be a bit more obviously vocal. We looked a candidate to concede a really daft goal.
Parkes 7 - He was good. He was getting out there and attacking the ball but not getting caught out too much. I think it helped that they didn't really have much attacking width so there was not much danger of being dragged into wide areas but it was a solid performance and distribution was better than usual.
Mansell 8 - He just dominated their midfield. They never really had a kick. You really see the attacking value of a good defensive midfield player in these games. It keeps you on the front foot. Time after time they tried to bring it out and were trapped because Mansell ran all over their midfield which kept us on the attack.
Lines 8 - Excellent performance. Good passing that bought Dawson, Monkhouse and Harrison (when he went wide) consistently into the game. Caused consistent panic by running at Kidderminster and generally dictated the game for us in midfield. Again he and Mansell completely destroyed their midfield.
Monkhouse 8 - I thought he played really well and was a consistent problem. He's an interesting player as he doesn't pop up where you'd expect him to. He reminds me quite a lot of Jeff Hughes. He plays wide left but he likes to drift right across the whole midfield and influence the game. He's not going to be the guy who skins 2 defenders and whips it in the box but he does the little things really well and is excellent at keeping it simple which keeps attacks going. Our attacks rarely breakdown with Monkhouse.
Dawson 7 - He tired in the 2nd half but his first half performance was superb and really set the tone for the game. He managed to get the 2 defenders on his side of the pitch booked, which is always a good sign that a wide player is having a good game. He interlined really well with Harrison and just generally made himself available. Mind you they were absolutely there for the taking with the way they were set up. It made his life easy but he took full advantage. In the second they definitely tightened up and he wasn't quite as effective. Attacks do breakdown with him too often because he tries to do too much with it sometimes. But that was a lot more like it; I can see why people like the guy now.
Blisset 8. He did everything but score. He really worked his socks off and was an absolute menace. Gave everything, clearly very up for it against his old club. The bit that summed him up was in the highlights from the first half where he twice just throws his body at the ball to get Dawson in the clear. Just really committed performance and linked really well with Harrison. It was a very favourable matchup against a poor set of Centre Backs but he had them terrified every time he had the ball. He's just a really awkward type of player; you can see exactly the potential that made him worth buying. Just because he's 6'4 etc people expect him to be a physical player but his main attribute isn't that; it's more the chaos he causes with the ball at his feet.
Harrison 9. What a great performance. Just everywhere. He's beginning to finally look like a proper Centre Forward. Ran everything down, held up the ball well to bring others into the game. Timed his runs perfectly, drifted into wide areas to run at Centre Backs on the angle. Took a headed goal well and then harassed a mistake out of their defender. Just a superb performance. More of that please.
Onwards and just a little bit more upwards please!
It was a really warm day. Where I started out from it was cold but when I arrived in Kidderminster it was hot for April and I was spectacularly over dressed. Had a look round Kidderminster - it seemed shut. I know it was bank holiday Monday but I struggled to find a pub to sit in and have lunch anywhere. I liked the train station at Smethwick Galton Bridge though with the criss-crossing lines over the canal. That seemed gloriously mad.
Overall I thought Kidderminster were one of the worst teams I've seen. They really did look like an amateur outfit (which they kind of are at the moment) who had won some kind of sponsored promotion to have a professional footballer (Lee Hughes) play for them in a one off game. They lacked organisation, they lacked strategy, they lacked basic skill. They did battle incredibly hard and no doubt for a lot of them it was one of the biggest games they'll play in as far as atmosphere is concerned but they looked every inch like a side that had just lost at home to Nuneaton. I doubt many of those players will be playing Conference football next season if Kidderminster get their act together. The protest banners etc and general atmosphere among Harriers fans showed that all was far from well. In other words they were right there for the taking, it was about the nicest away fixture we could possibly have but we still did the job very well.
One of the things I like about Clarke is his tactical flexibility - he isn't afraid to change a winning side in order to take advantage of specific matchups or circumstances that are in our favour. Irrespective of what people think of Matt Taylor I don't think there are many managers who would leave out their leading goalscorer in a promotion race with 4 games to go. The fact he did it showed courage and confidence and it was validated by an excellent performance from Blisset and Harrison who linked up superbly against a Kidderminster defence who just couldn't handle their pace or physical presence. It also meant we played differently. In all the games I've seen us play this year our main tactic seemed to be to work it into Taylor's feet and he's bought other people into the game. Generally we attacked in quite a narrow way. In this game though it was all about the little dinked balls over the top of the Centre backs for Blisset and Harrison to run onto and working it outwide for Dawson against their very exposed full back. In the first half it seemed most of our threat came from Dawson and Harrison linking up; in the second half Dawson wasn't as in the game and we were a bit more direct. But it was interesting to see us play in such a completely different way going forward. Against their shaky 3 at the back it was very effective.
Kidderminster were much better going forward than they were defensively and the 1st half was more even than the second. I was a bit worried that we looked a little dozy at the back. I counted 4 free headers from set pieces and there were a couple of incidents where we just didn't pick up their players very well. They got behind us 3 times (Hughes is still a tricky player with good movement even if he's now bascially past it) and Hughes really should have scored when he completely fluffed the best chance they had. We just seemed to be a bit switched off at the back. In general though we dominated the play without creating the killer chance. Only Blisset's header really came close. The pitch was dodgy which didn't help the final ball but we also made some poor decisions. Dawson played really well but twice got the final ball wrong which wasted golden opportunities. Our midfield was pretty dominant. It was a good half but I was worried that they had more shots on goal (none of them threatening admittedly) than we did despite our relative dominance.
In the second half though we basically completely battered them. Our midfield starved them of the ball and after we scored they offered pretty much nothing. Harrison and Blisset ran amock and everybody got involved going forward after that. Dawson wasn't quite the threat he'd been in the first half but I think they realised how exposed their wing back had been in the first half and put more cover out there. That just created more space for us in the middle. It's an odd feeling given the importance of the game but after we went 1 up I wasn't really worried. They were so poor and their heads went down and they lacked all organisation you just felt it was a matter of time. We should have a had a penalty and again we didn't create quite the volume of chances our dominance should have given us but it was completely 1 way traffic. I think the awful error for our 2nd was just partly due to Kidderminster being completely knackered because we'd run them ragged. They were a total mess for the whole second half. Taylor then took a very well taken 3rd to wrap it up. We looked fitter, more skillful, more physical and more composed than them in every department as of course we should. It was one of the most one sided halves of football I've seen in a league game. So excellent job all round really; if we can replicate that performance in our remaining 3 games we should pick up the maximum points and all we'd need is for Barnet to slip up once.
Puddy 6 - Very safe hands. It was a nasty bobbly pitch for a goalie but he got down well with his body behind it a couple of times. Also came and claimed confidently. His distribution in the first half was very poor though.
Brown 7 - Decent performance but didn't really have very much to do. They offered next to nothing down his side all game. In the second half he got forward well to support Monkhouse and Harrison.
Lockyer 5 - Didn't think he had a great game. He was caught out a few times in the first half which he really shouldn't have been because they didn't really have the numbers outside to cause us that much trouble. In the 2nd poor control/decision making create the only 2 times they ever looked vaguely threatening. He wasn't utterly terrible he just didn't have a great afternoon.
McChrystal 6 - Decent enough and had little to do in the second half. But in the first I thought as a defence we were a bit switched off and I think you have to look at the Captain and experienced Centre Back to be a bit more obviously vocal. We looked a candidate to concede a really daft goal.
Parkes 7 - He was good. He was getting out there and attacking the ball but not getting caught out too much. I think it helped that they didn't really have much attacking width so there was not much danger of being dragged into wide areas but it was a solid performance and distribution was better than usual.
Mansell 8 - He just dominated their midfield. They never really had a kick. You really see the attacking value of a good defensive midfield player in these games. It keeps you on the front foot. Time after time they tried to bring it out and were trapped because Mansell ran all over their midfield which kept us on the attack.
Lines 8 - Excellent performance. Good passing that bought Dawson, Monkhouse and Harrison (when he went wide) consistently into the game. Caused consistent panic by running at Kidderminster and generally dictated the game for us in midfield. Again he and Mansell completely destroyed their midfield.
Monkhouse 8 - I thought he played really well and was a consistent problem. He's an interesting player as he doesn't pop up where you'd expect him to. He reminds me quite a lot of Jeff Hughes. He plays wide left but he likes to drift right across the whole midfield and influence the game. He's not going to be the guy who skins 2 defenders and whips it in the box but he does the little things really well and is excellent at keeping it simple which keeps attacks going. Our attacks rarely breakdown with Monkhouse.
Dawson 7 - He tired in the 2nd half but his first half performance was superb and really set the tone for the game. He managed to get the 2 defenders on his side of the pitch booked, which is always a good sign that a wide player is having a good game. He interlined really well with Harrison and just generally made himself available. Mind you they were absolutely there for the taking with the way they were set up. It made his life easy but he took full advantage. In the second they definitely tightened up and he wasn't quite as effective. Attacks do breakdown with him too often because he tries to do too much with it sometimes. But that was a lot more like it; I can see why people like the guy now.
Blisset 8. He did everything but score. He really worked his socks off and was an absolute menace. Gave everything, clearly very up for it against his old club. The bit that summed him up was in the highlights from the first half where he twice just throws his body at the ball to get Dawson in the clear. Just really committed performance and linked really well with Harrison. It was a very favourable matchup against a poor set of Centre Backs but he had them terrified every time he had the ball. He's just a really awkward type of player; you can see exactly the potential that made him worth buying. Just because he's 6'4 etc people expect him to be a physical player but his main attribute isn't that; it's more the chaos he causes with the ball at his feet.
Harrison 9. What a great performance. Just everywhere. He's beginning to finally look like a proper Centre Forward. Ran everything down, held up the ball well to bring others into the game. Timed his runs perfectly, drifted into wide areas to run at Centre Backs on the angle. Took a headed goal well and then harassed a mistake out of their defender. Just a superb performance. More of that please.
Onwards and just a little bit more upwards please!
