Yeah, they had Kayembe in a hold and wouldn't let him go and was a clear foul, seen worse go unpunished though! - Lewis so frustrating in the final third. Slows everything down when he should gamble on the cross, much prefer Sema in that role I think. Would've preferred VI to swap Sema for Lewis at HT rather than Martins going off. - Consistency is the enemy for Kone, plays great one game, awful the next, today wasn't great. - Ngakias final ball was much improved tonight, though his short passing isn't great - often overly powerful which makes it really hard to control and we often lose the ball - Can't really remember Rajovic touching the ball other than his shot. - Bayo probably should've bagged that header. Had such power on it and the keeper knew nothing about it until it hit his arm/hand. Overall felt we restricted them well, but also created little of note of our own. Wasn't a great game but still convinced we'll end up mid-table rather than being in deep trouble at the bottom
Not surprised to see King Ken step up for us, I thought he was our best player last season until Wilder took over.
Standout players for me tonight:- 1. Bachmann - has looked pretty reliable you have to say. A couple of very good stops towards the end. 2. Lewis - Much improved. A much better game from him. It has to be acknowledged 3. Bayo - Really chased about and nobody could fault him on his workrate. Always trying to close down their defenders. Won the ball well in the centre to set up the chance which he unfortunately headed straight at the keeper. Another who seems to be improving with games. 4. Livermore - A calm head and a bit of leadership showed. Didn't miss Louza one little bit. 5. Sierralta - Already been said by others, but a defensive masterclass from him. Excellent. 6. Kayembe - Thought he played well again. I'd like to see him regularly. 7. King 'KABOOM' Ken - What can you say. His royal highness. What a hit. Absolutely perfect. One of those that takes you half a second to realise it's gone in. Their keeper was probably the same.
Fair enough, I thought it was too negative, but by the sounds of it we were slightly on top in the first half and the second half when we made the subs they made the difference. Things weren't looking massively broken before Leeds away, then Ismael seemed to lose confidence in the plan A and tried a few things, but he's gone back to something like the old plan A with his old mate at DM, we've been less fluid with the ball, but we have been more solid, even in our better performances pre-Leeds we were shockingly open at times
We rode our luck a bit at times - as with against Wednesday particularly from set-pieces. However, with the way the season has gone so far I think it's been overdue that the luck started to go our way and helped us to edge out what have been a lot of otherwise fairly tight games. After weathering their early storm we grew in to the game, and some of the confidence from the weekend seemed to come through with our play on the ball generally being both more composed and more brave. The most pleasing thing though was the workrate on show today. Although he wasn't always great on the ball, Kayembe coming in to midfield was everywhere and put in a real shift. We didn't miss Louza one bit. Lewis was also a bit more interested today, perhaps motivated by being up against another loanee from his parent club. Sierralta was a rock in defence for the most part, with the only black mark being that he might have lost Darling for a couple of their headers from set-pieces. Bayo was also one of our better players and it was again a surprise when he was subbed - he played key parts in our chances first half (including his own) through either winning the ball off their defenders or with surprisingly tidy link-up play. On the subject of Newcastle loanees, Ashby was a right aggressive sod for them and Martins didn't really know how to deal with it. It was to our benefit when he had to go off injured. I wanted to see more of King Ken again after his cameo at the weekend, and while he didn't get a start he made up for that with a corking winner. Swansea is not an easy place to go to, as shown by the fact we'd lost our previous two visits there including in our last promotion season. Finally getting that long awaited away win will have taken a weight off the players. At the final whistle there looked a real happiness and togetherness from the team, which is very reassuring. While we're still not great, the rumours of our demise have been a bit exaggerated of late. This should keep us on course for the mid-table obscurity which I think is where this team currently belongs.
He becomes statuesque if he's not given the ball once he's gone beyond the initial ball carrier. Is totally redundant at that point as he neither creates space for someone else nor gets into a position to receive the ball as play progresses.
I thought Rajovic had a decent cameo. Used his body better and didn't look out of his depth this time.
Exactly how much has Gino sent over to our last 2 refs? A penalty given then rescinded and disallowing a goal from a corner with all players routinely grabbing each other as usual. This isn't luck, this is Gino's lucrative luck!
We weren't Man City but I wouldn't say it was overly negative, especially in the context of our reduced expectations for this season. In the poll 75% of votes were for a Swansea win and they had been on a decent run and apparently unlucky to lose vs Leicester. If the roles were reversed and we had put in a performance at home like Swansea did tonight people would be getting a bit worked up. My point being it was a solid awaÿ performance.
I’ve been in the Caribbean since Friday (back to back wins) and am due back Saturday in time for Millwall. If anybody wants to pay for me to stay on for another day or so I will take one for the team. You’re welcome
Maybe now people will finally give Gino the break that dude in the other thread keeps banging on about?
Definitely, a fine away performance where we had the better of it and they were restricted to little, it's more that I thought we'd struggle with that lineup!
Suggest you ask that lovely Hannah Ingram-Moore if she could crowdfund you for the remainder of the season with (god bless 'im) Capt Tom's loose change hidden down the back of her sofa in her office block/spa thingummy. I hear she's good for a few coppers, at least I think that's what she meant....?
We deserved that, it was an improved performance and we showed good character. Nice to see the players genuinely look happy and passionate about playing for us too. All I wanted to see really.
The second half performance deserved the win and no surprises that it coincided with the introduction of Sema. Second game in a row that he’s come on and changed the game Livermore I thought was excellent. Many questioned his signing (myself included) but experience and know-how goes a long way and he’s showing that to be true.
I see Watford have won an away game. I assume the scoreboard is broken? There can't be much denying that we were very, very fortuitous with the disallowed Swansea goal at 0-0. That would have completely changed the game and I think we would have done well to come out with a point from that juncture. However, we earned our luck tonight and were decidedly worthy winners. The most pleasing aspect tonight for me was how many strong individual performances there were, but each gave something slightly different, resulting in an excellent team showing. Sierralta, Kone, Livermore, Kayembe, Sema and Asprilla all produced superb displays without attempting anything flash or unnecessary. I cannot remember the last time I watched Sema in the Championship where he didn't produce at least a 6 out of 10 display - I know he is far from everyone's cup of tea, but he is very consistent, never hides, and does (sometimes) produce moments of genuine technical quality such as our goal tonight. In a similar vein, Kone deserves great credit for the marked improvement we've seen from him in recent weeks. I struggled to see what others saw in him, and felt he went missing in about 75% of the games he was involved in. Recently, however, he's showed signs of being the decisive driver from midfield we need to push us up the pitch, retain the ball and stretch defences. Long may his resurgence continue. Hats off to Ismael for picking near enough our strongest team. What I do really like about him is his proactivity and decisiveness when it comes to using the bench. I can't think of a manager since Jokanovic who made subs as boldly as he does and I think we are starting to reap the rewards from this, with both our match winners in the past two games substituted on to score. He has been fairly criticised at points this season, so I think he should take considerable plaudits for the past four days and utilising one of his strongest abilities to turn drab draws into welcome wins.
Thought he looked slightly better and made a couple of good runs, but it was concerning how knackered he looked towards the end
That was our most complete performance this season. We were on it from the off. It was a professional away performance. We were tidy and accurate with our passing. No big mistakes. Is it a coincidence the last 3 games Livermore has played we pick up 2 wins and a draw? I think he’s made a huge difference. Didn’t need Louza. That team looked good tonight. Competitive. Only issue for me is up front. Far too many touches, nervousness and indecisive. Rajovic offers far too little too. Two good saves from Bachmann and a strange disallowed goal helped us keep the clean sheet. Thought we should have had a penalty for a foul on Livermore.
Thought we actually looked decent tonight. VI with a bold team selection and good second half subs paid off. Hoedt & Sierralta were solid at the back. Livermore had a decent game in midfield, thought he put in a good shift. Fair play to Rajovic when he came on too, put himself about and put their defence under pressure a number of times. Oh & as for Sema, what a goal!
Not pretty but a good battling away performance and a fab goal from Ken . There was a jack of quality at times but we still managed to create the better chances over the course of the match. We have looked a bit more Solid over the last few matches , which has enabled us to win a coupe if tight matches .
There was one in injury time when we were trying to work the ball away and hold it up. It came to him in the centre circle, he stuck his leg out to try and control it and it ballooned about 20yds back towards danger. Sums him up sadly. Tries hard, little to no technical ability for the level.
