oafcprozac Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 (edited) The tempo in the first half was high with JCH causing problems in particular, so much so Keogh their towering centre-back was moaning like a girl every time they competed. Despite our willingness to compete, chances were few and far between. Korey Smith and Jose Baxter looked comfortable in midfield, with Connor Brown looking to push on at every opportunity. Grounds hasn't taken on the notion of pushing on - time and again he turns back or sideways and the attack subsides. Tarky and Mellor coped admirably with the physical threat of Sammon with the ball in front of them. One or two nervy moments before a quick attack down our right, the ball comes in and quick as a flash 1-0 down. Heads didn't drop and we continued to try and take the game to our physically stronger opponents. Oxley made a magnificent save at full stretch to keep the deficit down to just the one goal. One down at half time, but certainly not out of the contest. As the teams came out for the second half, hopes were high that Latics could quickly get themselves back into it. Within the first few minutes it was clear Clough had changed his approach - our determination to play out from the back suddenly became our achilles heel. Derby were now closing us down and giving the two centre-backs little space to play the ball out. The Rams had also quickly cottoned on to our glaring weakness - namely the ball in behind. From then on it became a bit of a procession - our hopes weren't helped when JCH had to hobble off. Wesolowski brought on to try and give Baxter further licence to roam in behind Adam. The tiring and increasingly lightweight looking Dayton made way for Speedster Sidney Schmeltz but he made little impact, before Adam made way for the work-rate of Kirk Millar, In all honesty the substitutions made us far weaker than we had looked earlier. A rare clear cut effort from Monty was cleared off the line - in truth it look very close to actually going in but being sat in the Chaddy End Paddock I couldn't tell. Derby were dominant in the second half and should have had two penalties, as well as missing two free headers and shooting inexplicably wide with the goal at their mercy. I'm not going to slate the team or LJ, we came up against full-strength Championship opposition and they took the game seriously. So much so with 6 minutes left the resorted to holding the ball in the corner. My worries are our susceptibility to a ball over the top, being closed down when playing out of defence - we have to learn to mix it up. Sometimes a hoof is ok, especially given the perceived pace we have. Grounds form worries me, I want him more vocal - he's the elder statesman at the back and should be supporting the attacks more. In an ideal world Wes would be offloaded sooner rather than later, he's one of the highest earners at the club and we simply can't afford to carry him as a squad player. A bruiser of a centre-half could make all the difference to our hopes this season. All in all we competed, we rode our luck at times but now we know that all out pace if teams drop deeper isn't always effective - and Plan B of bringing the Lollipop Guild off the bench may not always work either, but at least the manager tried to make a difference. Our main failing tonight was allowing the ball to bounce in defence time and time again. That's criminal and no matter who is back there, it simply should not be happening. Number one rule of defending….. Oxley - Good distribution, safe handling. One very good save Brown - Great first-half, much harder time after the break Tarky - Thought he did well against a real bruiser in Sammon. A couple of hairy moments but got away with it Mellor - Great with the ball in front of him. Let the ball bounce too many times and should have been punished. His heading is average, but one recovery tackle in particular was outstanding. Grounds - I want more from him, vocality, leadership and push on! Dayton - Looked lightweight tonight, worked in his favour at Stevanage. Tonight, he looked like a little boy lost in terms of physicality. Dangerous with the ball at his feet, not a hope in hell of him winning it back against a bigger, stronger side. Smith - Thought he was excellent won the ball back, stuck his foot in, drove us forward. Faded after half-time and particularly after Wes came on. Baxter - Ok first half, closed down very quickly after half time, little impact when pushed forward. Monty - In and out of the game but a persistent threat. Better connection and we may have taken the game into Extra Time. Adam - I was disappointed with him, he's come from the Championship but didn't win one header and was muscled out of it. I want more from him. JCH - Gave their defence nightmares, bounced Keogh all over the park. Was he knobbled? Subs: Wes - Sideways, backwards, sideways all momentum was lost when he came on. Still has the Dickov mentality of keep the score to 1-0 Millar - Disappointing, couldn't compete against such a big side Schmeltz - One or two good runs, has real pace but no end product and plays too far inside. The Manager: He tried to counter the loss of JCH by bringing on the flying Schmeltz and the nippy Millar, perhaps to counter their ball over the top. But to utilise that pace we have to get the ball quicker from front to back. Mix it up, it doesn't have to passed out EVERY time. Mellor has a great pass on him, let him stride forward then the ball over the top out wide or down the middle. McDonald might have been a more useful sub than Millar. The Referee: What a bell-end, he was dire. Whistle happy, let the niggles go all game and missed two blatant Derby penalties as well as the stamp on JCH. All in all i'm not too disheartened, you learn more in defeat than you do by steam-rollering teams. Looking forward to Saturday, should be a good game between two teams that want to play the right way. Edited August 7, 2013 by oafcprozac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hands on Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Nice analysis. Great experience for the team and manager. It rather looks like penalties are going to be harder to find this year although we had two at Stevenage. Possibly the benefit of the doubt is going to be given to the defender. It did rather look like JCH was taken out. Two positives for me, in a negative sort of way, was the lack of impact by Wes and Millar - neither looked comfortable and I wouldn't have them on the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_balls Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Cheers Prozac, good read and I love it how you call him Adam, and not R#%ney, haha. And Hands on, I disagree, I think in the league we'll have a number of penalties, in pre season we had one against Dinamo, one against Macc, one against Hudds, all because of the speed of our attacks, and then another 2 against Stevenage. In League one we'll come up against sluggish defenders who won't handle the pace of our forward players. The only sticking point will be if referee's decide we're simulating rather than actualy being fouled as a few Stevenage fans seemed to suggest we were a team of Tom Daleys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngen Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 The tempo in the first half was high with JCH causing problems in particular, so much so Keogh their towering centre-back was moaning like a girl every time they competed. Despite our willingness to compete, chances were few and far between. Korey Smith and Jose Baxter looked comfortable in midfield, with Connor Brown looking to push on at every opportunity. Grounds hasn't taken on the notion of pushing on - time and again he turns back or sideways and the attack subsides. Tarky and Mellor coped admirably with the physical threat of Sammon with the ball in front of them. One or two nervy moments before a quick attack down our right, the ball comes in and quick as a flash 1-0 down. Heads didn't drop and we continued to try and take the game to our physically stronger opponents. Oxley made a magnificent save at full stretch to keep the deficit down to just the one goal. One down at half time, but certainly not out of the contest. As the teams came out for the second half, hopes were high that Latics could quickly get themselves back into it. Within the first few minutes it was clear Clough had changed his approach - our determination to play out from the back suddenly became our achilles heel. Derby were now closing us down and giving the two centre-backs little space to play the ball out. The Rams had also quickly cottoned on to our glaring weakness - namely the ball in behind. From then on it became a bit of a procession - our hopes weren't helped when JCH had to hobble off. Wesolowski brought on to try and give Baxter further licence to roam in behind Adam. The tiring and increasingly lightweight looking Dayton made way for Speedster Sidney Schmeltz but he made little impact, before Adam made way for the work-rate of Kirk Millar, In all honesty the substitutions made us far weaker than we had looked earlier. A rare clear cut effort from Monty was cleared off the line - in truth it look very close to actually going in but being sat in the Chaddy End Paddock I couldn't tell. Derby were dominant in the second half and should have had two penalties, as well as missing two free headers and shooting inexplicably wide with the goal at their mercy. I'm not going to slate the team or LJ, we came up against full-strength Championship opposition and they took the game seriously. So much so with 6 minutes left the resorted to holding the ball in the corner. My worries are our susceptibility to a ball over the top, being closed down when playing out of defence - we have to learn to mix it up. Sometimes a hoof is ok, especially given the perceived pace we have. Grounds form worries me, I want him more vocal - he's the elder statesman at the back and should be supporting the attacks more. In an ideal world Wes would be offloaded sooner rather than later, he's one of the highest earners at the club and we simply can't afford to carry him as a squad player. A bruiser of a centre-half could make all the difference to our hopes this season. All in all we competed, we rode our luck at times but now we know that all out pace if teams drop deeper isn't always effective - and Plan B of bringing the Lollipop Guild off the bench may not always work either, but at least the manager tried to make a difference. Our main failing tonight was allowing the ball to bounce in defence time and time again. That's criminal and no matter who is back there, it simply should not be happening. Number one rule of defending….. Oxley - Good distribution, safe handling. One very good save Brown - Great first-half, much harder time after the break Tarky - Thought he did well against a real bruiser in Sammon. A couple of hairy moments but got away with it Mellor - Great with the ball in front of him. Let the ball bounce too many times and should have been punished. His heading is average, but one recovery tackle in particular was outstanding. Grounds - I want more from him, vocality, leadership and push on! Dayton - Looked lightweight tonight, worked in his favour at Stevanage. Tonight, he looked like a little boy lost in terms of physicality. Dangerous with the ball at his feet, not a hope in hell of him winning it back against a bigger, stronger side. Smith - Thought he was excellent won the ball back, stuck his foot in, drove us forward. Faded after half-time and particularly after Wes came on. Baxter - Ok first half, closed down very quickly after half time, little impact when pushed forward. Monty - In and out of the game but a persistent threat. Better connection and we may have taken the game into Extra Time. Adam - I was disappointed with him, he's come from the Championship but didn't win one header and was muscled out of it. I want more from him. JCH - Gave their defence nightmares, bounced Keogh all over the park. Was he knobbled? Subs: Wes - Sideways, backwards, sideways all momentum was lost when he came on. Still has the Dickov mentality of keep the score to 1-0 Millar - Disappointing, couldn't compete against such a big side Schmeltz - One or two good runs, has real pace but no end product and plays too far inside. The Manager: He tried to counter the loss of JCH by bringing on the flying Schmeltz and the nippy Millar, perhaps to counter their ball over the top. But to utilise that pace we have to get the ball quicker from front to back. Mix it up, it doesn't have to passed out EVERY time. Mellor has a great pass on him, let him stride forward then the ball over the top out wide or down the middle. McDonald might have been a more useful sub than Millar. The Referee: What a bell-end, he was dire. Whistle happy, let the niggles go all game and missed two blatant Derby penalties as well as the stamp on JCH. All in all i'm not too disheartened, you learn more in defeat than you do by steam-rollering teams. Looking forward to Saturday, should be a good game against two teams that want to play the right way. I know we look like scoring for fun, but we will struggle playing 2 teams! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewBlue Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Although we kept possession well in the first half by passing neatly and showing good control and composure by all of the team, I think we lacked a presence on the back shoulder of the defender. Rooney was coming short for the flick-ons and hold up play, and JCH was doing the exact same thing (much more successfully), which meant we had nobody stretching the Derby defence so they could push forward and be more physical with our strikers. So it has to be Charlie Mac AND Rooney OR JCH rather than the latter forming a partnership. I've always favoured the big man-little man striking combination I think the negligence of that last season made us struggle to score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafc-latics Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Rooney may as well not have been there, the only disappointment in our team. The effort was there but nothing came off from him. JCH clattered their left back off the ball and then Keogh within five minutes in the first half. Keogh definitely wasn't happy, wouldn't be surprised if it was him who forced JCH off with some revenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melia Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Great summary Prozac. I think most are correct in saying that Derby had the Championship edge on us and it shone through over 90 minutes. Like Saturday Latics started brightly and looked sharp - I would like us to create a few more chances and test the keeper more though when we are on top in this period. Watching the 2 teams you would have thought it was us who had played on Sunday and not them but again I think that is down to Championship fitness and perhaps a bigger squad. Montano didn't look fully fit to me and seemed a little sluggish - might have been an opportunity for Sidney to play? JCH is going to be a handful in League one and I think he and McDonald will be the preferred front 2 in the coming weeks - up to now Rooney hasn't impressed me - yes I understand he isn't fully fit and sharp however if his job is to hold up play, win headers and bring in the midfield I expect him to be doing that on more than 1 or 2 occasions every 10. Saturday I would go with Byrne over Mellor. Simply because Mr Mellor doesn't look like he has enjoyed his last 2 matches one bit and we certainly don't want to kill a player of confidence 2 games in! Extremely postive for the tics over the last 2 games and it's great to see them playing the game the right way - I am confident there will be many more highs than lows this season - Smith is excellent - what a coup he is for League one!! ONwards and upwards bring on Walsall!! P.S any one else thing that Baxter a little over weight?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lags Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Melia, Latics made one change from Saturday, Derby made more than half the team I believe....fresh!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC0AFC Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 you say mellor look shorts on confidence... dropping him two games in will only further this - sticking by him will slowly improve his confidence and things can only get better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Howarth Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Great summary Prozac. I think most are correct in saying that Derby had the Championship edge on us and it shone through over 90 minutes. Like Saturday Latics started brightly and looked sharp - I would like us to create a few more chances and test the keeper more though when we are on top in this period. Watching the 2 teams you would have thought it was us who had played on Sunday and not them but again I think that is down to Championship fitness and perhaps a bigger squad. Montano didn't look fully fit to me and seemed a little sluggish - might have been an opportunity for Sidney to play? JCH is going to be a handful in League one and I think he and McDonald will be the preferred front 2 in the coming weeks - up to now Rooney hasn't impressed me - yes I understand he isn't fully fit and sharp however if his job is to hold up play, win headers and bring in the midfield I expect him to be doing that on more than 1 or 2 occasions every 10. Saturday I would go with Byrne over Mellor. Simply because Mr Mellor doesn't look like he has enjoyed his last 2 matches one bit and we certainly don't want to kill a player of confidence 2 games in! Extremely postive for the tics over the last 2 games and it's great to see them playing the game the right way - I am confident there will be many more highs than lows this season - Smith is excellent - what a coup he is for League one!! ONwards and upwards bring on Walsall!! P.S any one else thing that Baxter a little over weight?????? Smith's our best player he literally does nothing wrong - him and Baxter as CM is championship standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lags Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 you say mellor look shorts on confidence... dropping him two games in will only further this - sticking by him will slowly improve his confidence and things can only get better To be perfectly honest he doesn't seem short of confidence to me. Still coming short looking for the ball deep in injury time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Sinnott Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 To be perfectly honest he doesn't seem short of confidence to me. Still coming short looking for the ball deep in injury time. Agree. Always wants the ball. Can't fault him in that respect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC0AFC Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I don't think he looks short on confidence either, his head never dropped - if LJ doesn't decide to pick him on saturday that's when mellors confidence will drop, so don't know why anyone wants to drop him (for what it's worth he will play him saturday) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoafc Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Agree. Always wants the ball. Can't fault him in that respect... Mellor can be a big player for us this season, and indeed in the future......just not at CB, he's wasted there IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluehobbit Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 dont think we will see JCH for a bit shame i was looking forward to watching him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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