Murphy-7. 2 very good saves, decent communication and distribution but didn't command area enough. Didn't see the angle for 2nd goal so can't have a go at him for that myself.
Keogh-8. Seemed to love being back at RB. Bit rusty, but still great. Loved the goal celebration, screaming like a maniac at the fans! Also, lovely touch just before the corner where he patted Deegs, making a "Come on, this is it, you're back mate" gesture. Great team player, great assist for the goal,
never gives up. Still hasn't missed a minute in the league since he signed.
Hussey-5. I love Hussey, but he was relatively poor tonight. Was entirley foxed by Blackpools diagonal long balls, and taught a footballing lesson by the
superb Gary Taylor-Fletcher. I don't think he's usually weak defensively-his tackling his strong and determined. But he is young (21!), has played every minute this season, and will improve. The stick tonight is similar to that Turner got-I'm sure he'll turn it around and go on to play in the top flight. Even tonight, he still made some superb forward runs and passes to feet, and beat his man with those little 10-yard sprints. Crossing generally weak, but one peach of a ball first half and another that caused mayhem in the second.
Cranie-7. Better tonight than of late, seemed to enjoy a bit more responsibility as the sole "ball-playing" CB. Struggled with a few aerial balls.
Cameron-9. Just what the doctor ordered-a strong, aerially dominant CB who doesn't over-elaborate. A defender
who just wants to defend, although he did provide a threat from set-pieces. Distribution was much improved-reminds me of GS saying "Well Shawsy can't pass for toffee, so we're trying to get him better at just passing over a short distance to someone else who is better at it than him.." Another
fine young prospect, who deserves to keep his place. Reminded me a bit of the superb Leon Barnett performance for Norwich last night (yeah, I know, I can't believe it either..) Man of the Match for me. Brilliant showing and his best for the club.
Clingan-6. Maybe harsh, but just doesn't seem at his usual standards. Isn't playing killer balls like he used to, looks sluggish...but then the guy has a huge responsibility as skipper of a rookie side-maybe the strain is starting to show?
Bell-7. Sorry folks, i thought he used the ball intelligently, beat his man, closed down with more energy than usual, had a decent shot, linked well with Hussey..wasn't helped by an ineffective McSheffrey showing, but no-way deserves the stick he's getting. Has a better first touch than anyone in our squad. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our new Julian Gray/Michael McIndoe/Ben Turner/Kevin Kyle/Julian Darby etc, ad infinitum, Boo Boys Favourite!
Thomas-7.5 Bit naive in positioning at times, but better than Gael is in that area. Otherwise-a quality performance. 2 or 3 strong tackles, looks much more match-fit, some decent passes and faultless desire-closes down decently. Was on fire for a 10 minute spell around the goals, which shows just how good a player he can be when confident.
McSheffrey-6. Shame that he didn't follow up Saturdays showing. Looked like he can't manage 2 90 mins in 3 days at this level of fitness. Wasn't atrocious, but first touch wanting a few times and didn't move into space or support the wide areas like he did on Saturday.
O'Donovan-7. Looked dangerous with pacey movement and tenacious closing down in the early stages-once again, did much more than Cody had in his 3 starts. But was then moved to the LW to help cope with Blackpools threat in a spell where they threatened to tear us apart. He then continued to harry, tackle and hassle his opponents constantly, doing just what was needed to unsettle a composed passing sides building-from-the-back. Broke up play on 3 occasions that led to counter-attacks. Was through when ref erroneously called for a Blackpool FK in the 2nd half. Deserves a run up front rather than deployed deeper.
Must stay in the side due to his pace and acceleration.
Lukas-7. Battled well against the odds as a lone frontman for much of the game but got little change out of the Blackpool CB's. Failed to win any of a number of crosses into the area in the first half. Took his goal absolutely superbly-his most predatory finish for us to date. Needs a second striker ahead of him, ideally one with pace...
Subs:
Deegan-9. Just
awesome, all I ever thought he could be. See "Deegan.." thread for more adulation.
Platt-8. Did all we could ask off him, held ball up well and scared the crap out of the Blackpool defence with his power and aggression. Shades of the super-sub he was early on during the Aidy reign. He could well be our Plan B. See "Platt.." thread for more confused pondering by people who thought he was crap before but now think he could have a valuable role to play...
Christie-7. Another smart substitution, added another dimension with his snake-hips dribbling. But still not convinced defensively-looked scared to tackle after the Pen on Sat. I know he was a striker not long ago..are we sure this kid is a defender? He beats defenders for fun at times, maybe he should be deployed in a more attacking role? I'd say winger, but we don't play with wingers..food for thought. Has a goal in him, and looked even more likely to bag one cutting onto his right from the left side. He was even more dangerous doing this from LB in pre-season than he was at RB. At last some competition for Husseys place?
Thorn-9. Getting one hell of a lot out of the most inexperienced CCFC side since the Thompson-Whitton era. Got his subs spot on, and his reorganisation to (a different shaped) 4-3-3 kept us in the game when we were drowning. Coulda won, coulda lost, but boy was it entertaining. Doesn't do our position in the table much good, but again, the hope...there has to be enough there to see us stay up.
