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Post by andyl on Oct 3, 2020 16:25:44 GMT
Phew, at last a win and some points to set the season going. A much more resilient effort , especially at the back and it just shows what a difference having a lead makes. Well done Doyle for that first goal, probably the bit of class that won us the game.
I'm not though that encouraged save for the fact that we did at last battle. I thought we were outplayed for much of the game and quite awful in the air upfront which meant that we barely won a second ball away from our defence for 75 minutes. No-one really held the ball in midfield and other than the one Santos run, no-one really took it on with conviction. Sarcevic made a difference. Not the fastest or fittest but his positional play was good, he got in a good number of tackles and his forward passing was what really gave us a bit of threat, that and Doyle's running and willingness to occupy two men. Both Jones and later Hickman made a bit of progress down the right in front of Brockbank, who apart from once being caught in possession was generally sound. Equally I thought Mascoll was pretty good too and it was noticeable how they came into it on the right when he went off.
Delfouneso with assist from Doyle scored a neat goal which is just as well because for a tall man he showed little in the air and all too often he was ineffective on the left. Just prior to his goal he appeared odds on for substitution as did Tutte who lasted a while longer but had done his best work earlier. Crawford also vanished rather as the game wore on but he had taken a handful of good corners and was better out of possession this week until fading. He can always hit a killer pass too and early on was quite influential.
I haven't seen the possession statistics but imagine we were 10 or more percent bested. Harrogate were neat with the ball and quite incisive- they tended to find their front men from midfield but in general drew blank against our defence who were always first to second balls today. I'd like to see their goal again. It looked for all the world as if the ball had gone out for a throw in and we switched off. We had a bit of fortune early on thanks to a post ( again) and Crellin despite looking an absolute liability on any and every cross made one quite good reflex clawed back save and a straightforward early one which this week wasn't just parried back but knocked clear in the first half.
Finally praise for man of the match Santos. Quite awful the first three weeks he stood out today, strong aerially and on the ground. He was just too powerful for them most of the time when it mattered and that one run forward in the first half augurs well. I liked his pairing with the left footed Delaney.
The standard is not great in this league and we are a long way from being competitive within it but that was a much more pragmatic,battling effort. I thought we were second best for much of the game and there is much to work on and improve but goals are what win games and we got two from I think two chances--and Doyle's opener wasn't a chance as such just brilliant opportunism Le Fondre style.. If we could just get a good ball carrying midfielder, just maybe we can progress and win more times than we lose?
Crellin 5 Brockbank 7 Santos 8 Delaney 7 Mascoll 7 Tutte 6 Crawford 6, Jones 6 Hickman 5 Doyle 7 Delfouneso 5 Sarcevic 6. ( Gordon and Comley did OK, one excellent run forward by Gordon to be fouled and consuming a good 90 secs at a critical time
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Post by OohMac on Oct 3, 2020 16:38:47 GMT
Brave decision to go again with Santos, drop him and he could have ruined the lads confidence. Play him well, very risky but that paid off.
Good test. Not getting carried away but just what we needed.
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Post by davidm on Oct 3, 2020 16:43:52 GMT
Much better.
A very good first half and then a touch of hanging on for dear life in the second half.
First half, we passed the ball around well but struggled when Harrogate put high balls into the area. They hit the post from a header when Brockbank just did not jump.
Overall, we struggled in the air but we played some good football in the first half with good passing.
Doyle scored the opener really well, turning a corner in at the near post – quality finish.
We could, probably should, have scored a second when Doyle got onto a long ball out of defence, totally beat their 2 defenders and shot past the keeper but their left back slid across and blocked the shot 5 yards out. In all honesty, Doyle should have passed it across to Crawford who would have had a tap-in.
We were comfortable in the first half but second half we couldn’t get the ball and were pressed back.
We scored when their left back made a hash of a sideways pass and passed straight to Crawford who found Doyle who put a lovely ball into Delfouneso who scored through the goalies lags.
And that should have been a comfortable win but we went to sleep. The ball appeared to go out of play. Hickman stopped and was therefore beaten and the whole defence had stopped to give their man to sidefoot in.
After that it really was all Harrogate. Our ball possession went to pot but we hung on.
Well done – the first win of many
Marks:-
Crellin - 7 One good save in the first half and a confident performance from him.
Santos - 8 Surprise, surprise – I thought he was excellent. Partly because he didn’t have to do much defending in our area. His distribution from the back was good.
Brockbank - 6 Good performance. The odd mistake but steady.
Delaney - 7 Solid. He did well against quite a good attack.
Jones - 6 Good. Injured.
Mascoll - 6 Another good performance. I didn’t see much of the pace he is renowned for at Wycombe.
Tutte - 7 Very steady. Held the midfield together well.
Sarcevic - 6 Much better than his previous performances. Faded and became raggy in the second half.
Crawford - 7 Like most in midfield, a really good first half and then a bit of a struggle in the second.
Doyle - 7 Good quality goal. Would have had another but for a defensive slide to stop his shot. Set up Delfouneso for the second goal.
Delfouneso - 7 Took his goal well. I could do with him winning a few headers as he was outjumped throughout.
Hickman - 6 Pacey but asleep for their goal
Gordon -
Comlyn -
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2020 17:37:43 GMT
I will take wins like that all season long if it means the gamble pays off and we could make the playoffs as I’m not going to get carried away with one win two or three I might get excited. Stay safe one and all COYWM ps well done the whole team and management
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2020 18:01:45 GMT
I didn't think it was quite a physical game and the football played, although not top class, made it an enjoyable game. This maybe Harrogate's downfall. We'll see how we do against more physical sides that have been hanging around Lge 2 for a while.
I'm sure IE will take the win, but I hoe he doesn't blow the trumpet too loud as Harrogate were pretty lightweight.
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Post by thegrud1 on Oct 3, 2020 19:10:21 GMT
My 2 pence on the Santos debate
I think with the managers philosophy of playing out from the back Santos brings it out better than most and as long as the 2 other centre backs cover its what he wants,,,,,,and he will get better at it as the season goes on
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Post by realtrottersforever on Oct 3, 2020 19:35:16 GMT
Well, i did say my bet on Harrogate would spur us on and it did. having seen the team sheet, my money was feeling fairly safe. no Darcy. Santos not dropped. Taft dropped again ?? . at least the back 3 meant Santos could concentrate on what he's good at the "attacking centre back role".
we started off a lot better than recent games. within 2 mins Jones ( i think) flashed a dangerous ball across the face of their goal. any kind of touch by one of ours or theirs and it's 1-0. Brockbank IIRC ( if i remember correctly) had started the move with a good direct pass out to set Jones free. 2 corners won in the first 5 mins.
they had some big pressure at approx 9mins where they hit our post and kept us pinned in our box for about 2 mins with several half-chances. after that it was virtually 1 way traffic in the first half for us. Crawford with the defence splitting pass , Jones again crossed from the right for Delfouneso whose shot was deflected just wide. that led to the corner that we scored from. thankfully we didn't do the awful short corner. good near post poaching from Doyle, but Harrogate will be mad leaving last season's topscorer get free/unmarked so easily. (11mins gone ).
13 mins. Doyle gets another big chance. can't remember the exact detail. inside left'ish position. maybe beats a man, and gets a shot on target. with his pecker now up, you felt it would go in. bit unlucky.
it was looking so comfy at HT , I even laid off part my original bet, by betting on a Bolton win. got a bit nervy at the end. we only had 39% possession in the end. we generally did better having a lead to hold onto....but the time when pointless sideways possession would have been good, to take the sting out of the game, we didn't quite manage it.
Mascoll impressed. good energy and physical presence. got involved. Gordon hadn't been bad..so little surprised to see that change in the initial line up.
the formation seemed to be 3 4 2 1 or 3-4-3. Crawford not playing in a midfield 3 or in the hole. but kind of inside right, to Delf's inside left. almost a mini triangle up top with Doyle at the tip. Tutte and Sarce in central midfield. and 2 wingbacks in wider midfield areas.
we did better being more flexbile. less obsessed with "safe" & slow passing. we were going direct at times. can't remember which PL commentary i was listening to in the week, but the pundit was saying a line i've heard a few times before.... " you've got to go long to go short ". i.e strikers run in behind and stretch the play...opposition defenders have to drop, and the space opens up for midfielders.
big relief to finally get a win. confidence would be on the floor if we didn't. great to get Doyle up and running. we just need to see if we can play better at home now.
we have decent competition for places. once you get a win , you can largely stick to a settled side and let the rest fight for places.
full backs.... Jones injured. still Brockbank who could play rb (in a 4). Hickman wing back. Gordon and Mascoll for left back ( or lwb). Taft and Greenidge and Baptiste all pushing for cb roles.
midfield. Comley and White, & Darcy now to push the 2 incumbents. Isgrove for right wing. Gnahoua too for wide/attacking role. Faal and Miller for attacking roles.
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Post by bonaparte on Oct 4, 2020 8:48:55 GMT
Waited till my heart rate settled back down, squeeky bum time to say the least, but a great win, two strikers off the mark, and we are out of the bottom two. Large glass of wine to celebrate. 7 for everyone, can't be critical of anybody, the result was what counted, and the goals.
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Post by whitesince63 on Oct 4, 2020 13:57:34 GMT
Agree Bonaparte the result was the most important but we did also learn a few things too. Santos is a big plus ahead of two committed central defenders like Brocky and Delaney and looked really comfortable going forward. If we can now get the creative side of midfield working and support Doyle and Delfouneso more, we should be able to look forward to giving somebody a real spanking soon. I’d still like to see Darcy given a chance up with Doyle because I’m sure both would thrive together and maybe if IE feels more confident at the back he can try that. We still don’t run at the oppositions defence enough for me and Politics been a big miss in that regard but I think Ronan could also do that. Anyway, we’re off the mark now with a much better team performance so let’s hope it’s the first of many.
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Post by realtrottersforever on Oct 4, 2020 20:39:14 GMT
just a few more points after re-watching the highlights. the long punt out of defence at 0.47 is by Delaney. part of the directness i was on about. ended up with Doyles other good chance, which beat the keeper but defender cleared with a slide. immediately from the clearance..Sarce gets on to it... pops it into Crawford. excellent tee up for Tutte...whose decently hit shot is also blocked by a defender. this brief highlights vid doesn't show all of that but it is in the extended hi-lites. our 2nd goal starts at 1.25. awful throw from them, but good alertness from Sarce ( not Crawford as per DavidM's report) to quickly intercept it & feed Doyle. www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18768617.harrogate-town-1-bolton-wanderers-2---player-match-ratings/ <Marc iles must be reading Davidm's reports too as he also had Crawford having " a hand in both goals". our goal conceded at 1.42. Hickmans clearance got intercepted but some awful defending after that which got a bit over-looked with all the delight about the win. keep an eye on their no. 7 at 1.45 in the vid. initially Tutte got him covered. by 1.47 no.7 is in oceans of space right on edge of our box . their no. 9 is occupying both Delaney & Santos. Mascoll seemed to be free and was watching it all but did very little. surely had to shuffle across bit more at the least. Tutte probably getting most on the blame...lack of urgency letting the first guy run free, then even the 2nd guy goes past him. i can see what the 3 cb's were thinking..block the immediate cross, and Brockbank was a bit unlucky.. he was ready to block the cross, but obviously NOT the cut-back. seemed a bit overkill for all 3 to go in same line, especially as we had the numbers back. maybe Santos could have hung back to cut that angle off more. I remember some excellent punditry by Alan Hansen a good few years ago....he was talking about defending with "neutral balance". sadly i can't find any article or clip about it. think it was about defending side-on ( i.e chest to the touchline , not facing the goal or bye lines ) in these circumstances, and being light on your feet..ready to dart right or left.
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Post by westandlower on Oct 5, 2020 7:53:21 GMT
Very pleased with the win. Great first goal. The defence still makes me nervous though: aimless tikka takka between Crellin & Santos on edge of area nearly let them in on a couple of occasions. Much improved performance from Santos though. He was like a more mature and bigger Zouma keeping the ball under control on one charge upfield. Crellins reluctance to catch crosses is another area that needs attention.
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Post by riochforthereebok on Oct 5, 2020 10:51:38 GMT
Think we’ll not score yet again and they’ll get 2 As W63 states often ‘hope I’m wrong’ Something has to change and quick before another lock-down or we may never re-emerge😬😬😬😬😬 Gosh I’m so fickle!!!!! My optimism lasted all but 3 games into the new season Harrogate will be up for this and I can see the ‘veteran’ Jon Stead and the ‘other’ Connor Hall scoring following clumsy parry’s from Billy Crellin😬😬😬 Again, hope I’m wrong (apols W63 for stealing your strap line 😂) COYWM steal anything you like rtf but this time I hope “you’re” wrong!! 😉👍 I knew we’d win (so says the 2 faced fan😬😬😬) Think I’ll keep with the pessimist view and keep predicting defeats, as clearly, I ain’t got a clue what I’m on about Glad we won, now hopefully we kick on and show that belief and trust we’ve all been giving IE and his boys COYWM
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Post by realtrottersforever on Oct 5, 2020 19:27:48 GMT
impressive little montage of Delaney's best work from sat'day.
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Post by realtrottersforever on Oct 6, 2020 15:56:03 GMT
a little montage of Crawfords best moments from sat'day too.
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