BFTG - Newport County (H)

[SCIAG]

Tanner <3

[72 bus]

Sat in the East stand for this game (only)
If anyone that needs reminding of the devastating effect two world wars have had on Readings gene pool the east stand concourse is worth a visit.
The only stand at the Madstad where the bar staff are actually sharper than the punters.

[M Brook]

Sat in the East stand for this game (only)
If anyone that needs reminding of the devastating effect two world wars have had on Readings gene pool the east stand concourse is worth a visit.
The only stand at the Madstad where the bar staff are actually sharper than the punters.

Have to agree with that. It certainly is different to the Norff and the West!

[P!ssed Off]

A poor game of football, perked up by 3 goals at the finish.

A couple of players appeared to be trying too hard tonight:

Hector seemed to think he was Paul Scholes, pinging balls 50 yards at every opportunity.

Blackman was on an absolute mission to score and had the keeper not let the ball go right through him for the goal he might well have been criticised on here for being greedy, continuously ignoring those around him in search of a shot or an ambitious dribble.

Oh, well. Better to try too hard than not hard enough, as certain other players might be accused of.

Great cameo from Tanner as well obviously.

[kwik-silva]

Early thoughts:

Pog was immense, brought others into play really well and should have been the creator of a few goals if the rest could finish.
Obita was anonymous, and Hector was poor. The latter had a brief spell where things came off, but other than that...
I'm starting to think it's on purpose but our LB is always incredibly narrow, and they rarely get out to the winger.
Good ball by Cummings for the goal, but didn't have a good game other than that really. Gave the ball away for their goal.

[marlowuk]

I've briefly scanned the previous comments and am amazed at the positivity. This was as bad as I have seen a Reading team play for some time. The surface was wet and didn't help ball control but - really - we were garbage! Newport had 6 efforts on goal in the first 6 minutes and we looked lethargic and untidy. One of those efforts needed a good save from AM at full stretch low to his left to deflect the ball away. Whilst on the subject of AM - his kicking is not getting any better. Three times he put us in trouble with the ball at his feet. He looks nervous and hesitant whenever it is played back to him and you can almost sense every Reading supporter with their hearts in their mouths!

The first goal (looked offside to me but I was seated behind the action so not in a good position to judge for sure) was well taken by Pog (who was our MOTM by a mile) but it was against the run of play. Not that Newport were great by any stretch of the imagination but they were out-playing us for the first 30 minutes or so.

I hoped for a better second half after NA had (I assumed) put a rocket under them but it was more of the same - misplaced passes, too much head tennis, pulling out of 50-50 balls, etc. And we were back to our old habits at throw-ins. Our throw-ins always seem to take an age because hardly anyone makes themselves available to the thrower. Pog does (and Cox and Obita sometimes) but no-one else. As a result the thrower goes long and, invariably, to an opposition player. Conversely we don't bother to even try to mark their players on their throws so it's all too easy for them.

Blackman scored a great individual goal but was otherwise inconsistent. Our defence looked anything but secure. Morrison and Pearce win their headers but usually without trying to pick out one of their colleagues. Cox was energetic and put himself about a bit but creatively was pretty anonymous. Apart from his goal, Pog showed some lovely 'flick-ons' only sometimes read by his team-mates. He was the only sign of class on the pitch tonight!

A few other random thoughts ...
- pleased for Tanner who got the third goal.
- it was never a red card. Pog was not in a goal-scoring position.
- LOL at those who left 5 minutes before the end and missed three goals!
- my first time in the East Stand. Is it always like this? People were constantly leaving their seats and returning for whatever reason. This disturbs others in their row and obscures the view for others. Didn't they come to watch a game of football?
- I counted 10 police cars/vans arriving as I was leaving. Any news on what was happening?

[kwik-silva]

I thought their LB played Pog on, but I also may be wrong.

[Jackson Corner]

These games are never easy. Newport were up for it tonight and TBF they played some good stuff. I quite enjoyed the game and we can take some positives not least losing to lower league opposition like Ipswich Wolves and Blackburn managed tonight.

[Libertine]

A win in a cup game is always good no matter what. We have had a rough go of it in this competition the last few years (I think we've been knocked out in the first round 2 of the last 3 if not mistaken). Even though we fielded a strong team, it is still a bit youngish one in only their second meaningful game this season. We had one of our academy youngsters score on his debut (good going Craig!). And Newport was up for it and gave a very good effort. We made our chances count. We got the win in a tricky cup tie, when we weren't at our best...for me this is a good thing/sign.

[Esteban]

I didn't think it was as bad as some have been saying. We put in a lot of effort on a long away trip on Saturday, we've got a big home game in a few days and Newport really had nothing to lose.

Our issue in the first half was that we had no width and two makeshift midfielders, whereas Newport played 442 and had two quick wingers. Gunter had his work cut out against their left winger, but came out on top.

For all their play, McCarthy was rarely troubled. He made a couple of saves in the first half, but he was hardly stretched. In fact, back passes seemed to cause him more trouble. He didn't do anything wrong, but he's certainly not showing the sort of form he did at the back end of the PL season.

Hector will make a good CB and could become a decent defensive midfielder, but he tried Hollywood passes far to often and most ended up going out of play. He'll learn though, no point getting on his back too much.

We got through in 90 minutes, didn't have any injuries and Tanner got himself on the scoresheet on debut. I'll take that.

[Nameless]

Bit hit and miss. We had some very slick moves in the second half but equally made too many errors. Defence was ok, Newport created nothing second half until the late set piece.
Could easily have been a red. Agree that the ball had run a little ahead of Pog but the intent of the defender was clear and it certainly deserved a red. There ref (not unreasonably) gave the defender the benefit of the doubt )
Very good to see Tanner make such a great start to his first team career. First of many goals for him I think.
Getting Guthrie back will make a big difference to the team, not easy to expect two young players to do a job out of their natural positions for ever.
Decent win, on to the second round and a plum draw away to millwall

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

Good job Newport could not turn their passion and effort into goals.

There was no midfield for me with Taylor roaming about the pitch like a headless chicken.

McCarthy's distribution or kicking has not improved, Feds get the No 1 shirt for me.

Not sure about the system 4-2-3-1.

The referee needs a rule book - If the last man commits a foul it is a straight red - Although many disagree on this reading the other threads.

Bring on the draw a home fixture would be great

[The Reverend]

The referee needs a rule book - If the last man commits a foul it is a straight red

What rule book is that in?

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

It was a decent match and I'm glad I went. The crowd was ok (6439 I think) for an early Cup game and after a lacklustre start from us, we controlled large parts of the game.

Newport played some good stuff and controlled the first 15 minutes, using their wingers to good effect. McCarthys had to pull off a couple of smart saves, but as soon as Pog lobbed Pidgeley for the opening goal, we took control of the match and Newport were restricted to playing on the counter.

First half wasn't our best football. We were quite direct for the early stages, but after the big Russian's goal, we started to play some nice neat football. Pearce should've put us 2-0 up with a header and Newport should have been down to ten men when the last man pulled Pog down, but the Ref only gave a yellow!

Second half continued in the same tidy fashion for us. Lots of nice interplay with Gunter making some strong runs and Hector bossing the midfield. Blackman has continued his good form and should have scored just after the hour mark when a nice passing move started by himself should have seen him finish, but he got his shot al wrong. Good to see him get on the score sheet though with a surging run and finish in the last few minutes.

Newport were good value for their goal so I wouldn't begrudge them it. Their fans were loud and good fun too, particularly the fat lad in the grey down front!

So chuffed for Tanner too. He was on barely five minutes and looked really lively. Took his goal well.

Player ratings:

McCarthy- 7 Some good early stops and despite miss controlling a back pass in the first half, did well enough. Think Feds will be back Saturday though.

Cummings- 7 Mr Versatile very rarely lets you down when called upon and had a steady game, despite being up against a very lively winger.

Morrison -6 Didn't do much wrong, but still needs to work on his positional play

Pearce -7 Solid display from Alex and should've scored from a header too

Gunter- 8 Seems to be relishing the role of stand in Captain. Made some surging runs, but also remembered his defensive duties too

Blackman- 7 Seemed to be a little anonymous first half, but came into the game second half and could've had a Hattrick

Obita- 6 Didn't do a lot wrong, but the central Mid field role doesn't really suit him. Looked better when he drifted out to the left

Hector- 9 (MOTM) Controlled the centre of the park and followed up his strong display at Wigan with a commanding performance in this game

Taylor- 6 Neat in possession, but looked a little short on confidence. Should've gone at his man a little more IMO

Cox- 7 Neat and tidy and linked the play well. Needs time to bed into the side

Pog- 8 The focal point of a lot of our attacking play. Held the ball up very well and caused Newport's back line problems all night. A superb lob for our opening goal

Subs:

Akpan- 6 Did ok when he came on

Edwards- Only played ten minutes or so and found it hard to affect the game at that point

Tanner- Although he only played five minutes, he made the most of it by really going at Newport's tiring back line. A tidy finish for his goal

[East Grinstead Royal]

Definitely a red and from where I was sitting (lower West for the first time in many years) level with the linesman, Pog was definitely offside. The overall performance was exactly as expected - we did enough, no more.

[paultheroyal]

I've briefly scanned the previous comments and am amazed at the positivity. This was as bad as I have seen a Reading team play for some time. The surface was wet and didn't help ball control but - really - we were garbage! Newport had 6 efforts on goal in the first 6 minutes and we looked lethargic and untidy. One of those efforts needed a good save from AM at full stretch low to his left to deflect the ball away. Whilst on the subject of AM - his kicking is not getting any better. Three times he put us in trouble with the ball at his feet. He looks nervous and hesitant whenever it is played back to him and you can almost sense every Reading supporter with their hearts in their mouths!

The first goal (looked offside to me but I was seated behind the action so not in a good position to judge for sure) was well taken by Pog (who was our MOTM by a mile) but it was against the run of play. Not that Newport were great by any stretch of the imagination but they were out-playing us for the first 30 minutes or so.

I hoped for a better second half after NA had (I assumed) put a rocket under them but it was more of the same - misplaced passes, too much head tennis, pulling out of 50-50 balls, etc. And we were back to our old habits at throw-ins. Our throw-ins always seem to take an age because hardly anyone makes themselves available to the thrower. Pog does (and Cox and Obita sometimes) but no-one else. As a result the thrower goes long and, invariably, to an opposition player. Conversely we don't bother to even try to mark their players on their throws so it's all too easy for them.

Blackman scored a great individual goal but was otherwise inconsistent. Our defence looked anything but secure. Morrison and Pearce win their headers but usually without trying to pick out one of their colleagues. Cox was energetic and put himself about a bit but creatively was pretty anonymous. Apart from his goal, Pog showed some lovely 'flick-ons' only sometimes read by his team-mates. He was the only sign of class on the pitch tonight!

A few other random thoughts ...
- pleased for Tanner who got the third goal.
- it was never a red card. Pog was not in a goal-scoring position.
- LOL at those who left 5 minutes before the end and missed three goals!
- my first time in the East Stand. Is it always like this? People were constantly leaving their seats and returning for whatever reason. This disturbs others in their row and obscures the view for others. Didn't they come to watch a game of football?
- I counted 10 police cars/vans arriving as I was leaving. Any news on what was happening?

LOL clearly your view was blocked on the Pog foul by a deserting east stand can if you think that was never a red card! Red all day long and if that happened this Saturday I am sure he would of been off. Referee treated match like a friendly.

Common theme last night apart from goal is... I hate the east but I love the west vice versa and repeat!

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

Cheers chaps, looks like it was less good than perhaps it sounded.

Still most of the concerns seem to come from playing a centreback + left sider in central midfield, with an AM out left and a right back at left back.

Guthrie + A Midfielder into the centre with Obita out to the left wing (or into left back and someone else left wing) and things should look a little better. Great to see Blackman getting such positive reviews after such a disappointing previous 18 months.

Seems some folk will see bad player performances where there weren't any. (not a dig at you btw Ian). Thought despite a few early misplaced passes, Hector was superb. He never let their midfield settle and was very 'Karacacan' like with his pressure play.

[Schards#2]

Having been pleasently surprised by the result and reports of the performance at Wigan, last night brought back all my pre season concerns. Probably shouldn't read too much in to a Carling Cup games but my thoughts are that a poor Div 2 side dominated us for large sections of the game and that if we play like that in the league we will lose far more than we win.

I cannot understand the selection, our only fit central midfielder sits on the bench while a centre half and a left back/winger play in his position. How did anyone ever get the idea that Obita can play there, he has none of the skill set? Having Obita in midfield weakens both the midfield, (as he's not good there) and the defence as he's a decent left back and without him there we are playing a very poor right footed right back to cover. I've seen Cummings play many games and have yet to see anything to explain why he is being paid to play professional football, I can't think of a single aspect of the game he does well.

The team would improve hugely with Akpan in the middle, Obita at left back and Cummings anywhere that doesn't involve being on the pitch. As soon as Akpan came on we looked steadier in the middle and moved the ball through the midfield better. He's not the finished article but he is a far better option at the moment. Hector does OK and I believe he will make it at this level but he needs more experience as his decision making is poor, the run he made for his booking was reckless as he took himself completely out of the game.

The youngsters are going to take time to find their feet and it will be a struggle while they do but Blackman looks to have improved, took his goal well and had a nice run before blazing over. If we could get everyone fit, it's a decent squad but we are a long way from that a I think we are going to struggle until a further 2-3 are available. Already Mackie's injury has gone from 'a week' to 'a few weeks' and the absence of Guthrie from the bench yesterday concerns me.

Assuming they do all come back eventually, I would expect us to be in the bottom six around November before pushing up the table from there.

[Agent Balti]

Job done, but the scoreline flattered us a bit. Newport had far too much possession, especially in the first half, but I guess that's partially to be expected with the midfield trio we had. Not particularly knocking Obita or Hector as they were out of position, but neither of them did a good job of closing down or knowing quite where to be. Hector improved a lot in the second half in that regard, he can certainly grow into that position.

However...Jake Taylor...I've seen him quite a few times now and I must admit I have no idea what he brings to the table, it certainly didn't show last night. No pace, no gift for passing, limp in the tackle, zero presence. I think he touched the ball a handful of times second half before being taken off. When our injured midfield gets its full health bar back up to scratch, I can't see where he fits in based on current ability, everything is just so 'beige'.

[URZZZZ]

Mccarthy-5
Gunter-8
Pearce-8
Morrison-8
Cummings-7
Hector-4
Obita-4
Taylor-5
Blackman-7
Cox-6
Pog-9

Akpan-7
Edwards-6
Tanner-7