Murphy-8. Some very good saves, much better handling, a couple of nice throws and a wise and powerful punch. His third best performance after Leeds/Bristol.
Christie-6. Defensively struggled but was up against Brighton's strongest threat, and we kept a clean sheet. Needs to be more aware of when Deegan finds space. Good throw-ins, couple of good runs, one very poor cross into 'keepers hands. But possibly the pass of the game 2nd half when he swung it over to the other flank.
Wood-8. Played very well out of position. Crossing wasn't great and he got sucked-inside defensively at times, but his short-passing was much improved and at a high tempo. Gets an 8 for his utter dominance in the air, which he always brings to the FB role and adds an extra threat to corners.
Keogh-9. What a player. Seems to be even better as skipper. Seems to have got an extra 15% out of his colleagues as captain, too.
Cranie-8. Brilliant comeback from injury. Won everything in the air (sometimes a weakness). Great tackle, distributed calmly from the back. Need a takeover so that we can keep him!
Thomas-10. I've never given a 10 before...he just blew me away today. So skillful, and the pace and energy he has brought to the DMC role is massively underestimated. He's stepped into the shoes of a player we thought vital and irreplaceable in the summer...and played miles better than him. Looks so much more confident and assured now, his first touch, positioning, awareness and anticipation have gone through the roof. Allied to his strength in the tackle and superb engine, he's close to the complete defensive midfielder. I thought he was stunning today, a vital cog at the centre of our shape who dictated play and bossed his opponents out of the game, and made the space for Baker, Sheff and Deegs to play in. Definitely a future Premiership player, but he will be better for staying here and playing than rotting in a big clubs reserves, as we are now seeing-and as he realises, luckily for us. Man of the Match, best performance of his young career. Best home-produced midfielder since Lee Hurst. Deegan-9. Patchy passing early on but got better with time. Some great first-time passes, one great shot and one mis-kicked-a product of countless late-surges into the box, almost unnoticed. Gave us a physical edge, did the dirty stuff well, kicked the right men when they needed kicking. Superb off the ball movement. But most of all his defensive positioning screens the defence and moves our play higher up the pitch. Ran himself into the ground today. A genuine box-to-box midfielder in the classic mould (thought they didn't make 'em like that any more!) Gets extra credit (as does Sheff) for his rousing "come on!" gestures to team-mates during breaks in play;undoubtedly adds guts, leadership and determination. The Pitbull has now well and truly introduced himself to The Championship :wave:
Baker-7: Did some lovely stuff, linked play, clever passing and movement, dribbled well without really taking men on, not quite as effective at switching play to the right as last week. Could have had a goal and in general is looking much-improved of late. May yet be better in the AMC role.
Bell-5. I'm usually a fan (honest!), but thought he was well below par today. In the first half, around 5-6 good moves broke down when they got to him. Got better 2nd half, but not by much. At least he found space and worked hard.
McSheffrey-9. Brilliant. The bloke is a striker, he's been saying that for years! Great goal, great assist, several other great crosses, closed down, dropped wide into space and ran the Brighton defence ragged. The perfect partner for Lukas. Great urging on of team-mates, and a revelation. Welcome back, Sheff-chenko! (yeah, I know, we never really called him that...)
Lukas-8. Held the ball up superbly, strong as an ox but skillful and agile-love these "chest-offs" he keeps doing! Took his goal perfectly. Always a threat in the air or on the deck and worked tirelessly, as usual. A great target-man performance, and his best game for a few weeks.
Gael-6. Passed neatly but dangerously, usually backwards, and didn't look sure of his positioning, but worked hard to protect Christie from Lua-Lua.
