Holmes_and_Watson

Smallbone got clobbered a bit there. Every bit a yellow. Handy, as we were running out of passing options there. Getting some passing moves togetehr again though. Noting Cam's comment. 🙂

We get the foul, take a second. Sule going off for Fraser. So, Aribo and Fraser to replicate the wider threat we showed from the first half. No doubt Fraser will be keepn to take up space in the middle, so hopefully a bit of a team up with AA there. Just need the pace of play to be getting it up to them, to worry their back line.

Really good Baz clearance there.

Brave post. 🙂

His mere presence is unsettling them. 🙂

Alcaraz for Aribo. So, keeping a pacy central option then. 🙂

Yeah. Subs can;t be far away. Just to get some energy back in. But they have to come on firing, and help us keep a shape. We have brough players on and it's fallen to pieces even more. Which subs will we get today. 🙂

W aren;t a phsycial side. So we're never going to outfight a team. AA is showing that we have to outwork them, stretching the game. I was thinking Alcaraz's shot just gave back possession. But their keeper had a bit of a fumble with it in the wet.

Martin;s half time team talks seem to have this effect. 🙂

Oh, they got a chance there. I thought it was going to go through Baz there. Fortunately, it was his legs it hit and not his hands. 🙂 Good pass from them to split our defence. Anotehr effort form them, has a player in loads of space behind our centre halves. We just need to epxloit the space they must be leaving. But we're floundering a bit, with a lot of noise from their support.

THB seems to win the header, but it comes off of their guy's shoulder. DOwn to where we have to control it, in th emoment that takes, their player is in and Baz has no chance. >sigh< Noted it's another direct attack that we conced from. We just have to get back to the tempo we had first half. AA's shot hit one of their's hands. COntrol, tempo, incisiveness.

Sub makes an insta contribution, courtesy of us makign a defensive fluff up.

Imcomplete pass from Smallbone. Just to show he can do one, it seems today. Meanwhile a lovely Stu ball into the box. AA had made the run, and noone else following in on the other side (which Martin has pointed out)

Oh... another nearly one for AA. Lovely run into the middle from him. More of those for him, and the goals will come.

Good to see us shift out a bit quicker in good positions to stop follow up shots from set pieces. Smallbone gets in another block there too.

Stu... ah. good space for the shot.

Smallbone puts in a massive amount of running, and is expected to pick up a lot of roles in the team. Some of the more attacking one, Alcaraz is better at. But he'd be wasted, and possibly not as ogood at a lot of the more defensive, link up and heavy lifitng ones. It will be interesting to see how Martin goes with it.

Note: The following summary doe snot take into account Martin;'s half time team talk, and our ability to chuck away points. 🙂 We showed a bit of everything in that first half. A very comfortable, accomplished performance. Right from the start, we were prepared to take the longer passes, with our players in good spaces to minimise the risk. Sule caused them problems down the left. When they closed up on that, KWP had loads down the right. We favoured the flanks for much of the half for direct attacks, but AA nearly made it three before the break when the space there presented itself. We had spells where we implemented Death By A Thousand Passes, as they were not coming out to us. So, we showed patience there. We moved it at a decent pace for a lot of of the half, and it makes such a difference. We weren't troubled much. One runner where it hit off the back of their leg, that could have led to a chip over Baz. Baz jumping into the back of one of their players, possibly a pen. The ball had been headed out, possibly making it not one. Just have to be sure we play with the same awareness and pace in the second, and not drift into passing it aorund with no intention of an end product.

Oh, just wide from AA. Just the ball he'd been waiting on.

Alcaraz helps the ref with the foul count, and a yellow is shown. 🙂

That's more like it from Baz. Nice and composed.

That was a bit of a rushed pass out by our standards there. We've passed our way out of a lot worse than that.

AA's workrate got us the ball back. But with him out there getting it, we've noone in the middle. It's one thing we could do with being a bit braver at. Making sure we have someone in there, and giving cover for that gap from deeper.

Nice pick out by Bree! Nearly a third.

Thinking that as I typed. Was definitely not pressing "submit reply" when the ball was in their possession down that flank. 🙂