We knocked it up to Carroll, but we also built from the back and tried to use the width well, and for the most part were successful with that.
I know they're all ifs, but if Kouyaté doesn't fluff his lines in the first half, if Hernandez shoots a fraction lower, of Kouyaté had got on the end of Carroll's cross shot, if Collins hadn't stuck his boot out and taken Cresswell's freekick off out of Carroll's path, we could have had 4-5 goals last night.
Yes, Ince hit the bar. But had the game gone differently we would have been out of sight by then anyway. We created a bunch of good chances, we didn't look troubled at all, we defended resolutely, and a few of our players gave their best performances in god know how long.
Thanks for that, alderz. I'd just assumed, reading the dismissal of our performance by pundits and meejah types, that it was just me and my unsophisticated football palate that thoroughly enjoyed watching us.
It was a much better performance than of late but leaves plenty of room for improvement. Our lack of ball retention across the piece is a concern as it allows our opponent to come straight back at us. A stat from the Beeb - "Andy Carroll won 13 aerial duels in the game, the most of any player in a Premier League game this season." Not bad for a first appearance of the season. Antonio was unplayable in the first half but, I thought, went missing a bit in the second. Playing the three at the back allowed Zab to defend in the opposition half, which he did really well.
Encouraging improvement that needs to be maintained to get anything at West Brom.
I don't agree that Antonio "went missing", but he did fade in second half. Which was understandable as he hasn't had many minutes since injury, and he ran himself into the ground in the first hour.
Due to Hurricane Irma, I only now was able to watch the game. Great performance from the lads. Not enough credit was given to Kouyate in the build up to our first goal. He hustled their defender out of the ball. Strangely enough, the 2 players I was least impressed with were our goal scorers. I'm not overly impressed with Ayew in open play but he does have the knack of being in the right place in the 6 yard area. And I get nervous with Obiang when he has the ball around our penalty area.
I thought Ayew was impressive in his work rate. He tracked backed, hustled and harried. He misplaced one or two passes, but so did everyone. And don't forget he popped up on the right to provide the assist for Obiang.
Comments
We knocked it up to Carroll, but we also built from the back and tried to use the width well, and for the most part were successful with that.
I know they're all ifs, but if Kouyaté doesn't fluff his lines in the first half, if Hernandez shoots a fraction lower, of Kouyaté had got on the end of Carroll's cross shot, if Collins hadn't stuck his boot out and taken Cresswell's freekick off out of Carroll's path, we could have had 4-5 goals last night.
Yes, Ince hit the bar. But had the game gone differently we would have been out of sight by then anyway. We created a bunch of good chances, we didn't look troubled at all, we defended resolutely, and a few of our players gave their best performances in god know how long.
#thinendofthewedge
A stat from the Beeb - "Andy Carroll won 13 aerial duels in the game, the most of any player in a Premier League game this season." Not bad for a first appearance of the season.
Antonio was unplayable in the first half but, I thought, went missing a bit in the second.
Playing the three at the back allowed Zab to defend in the opposition half, which he did really well.
Encouraging improvement that needs to be maintained to get anything at West Brom.
COYI
I don't agree that Antonio "went missing", but he did fade in second half. Which was understandable as he hasn't had many minutes since injury, and he ran himself into the ground in the first hour.
;run
;yercoat
Apologies for plagiarism Baracks ;biggrin
Not enough credit was given to Kouyate in the build up to our first goal. He hustled their defender out of the ball.
Strangely enough, the 2 players I was least impressed with were our goal scorers.
I'm not overly impressed with Ayew in open play but he does have the knack of being in the right place in the 6 yard area. And I get nervous with Obiang when he has the ball around our penalty area.
Everything ok for you with Irma?