PieEater My ratings:
Marcus: 7, really had nothing to do, but made 1 fantastic save at the end which could have levelled it. He could be been at fault for the goal, as the angle looked impossible for Hulse to score.
Kicking. Must improve. He put at least 6 goal-kicks straight out. not good, especially when we were desperately trying to stem the red tide. This is simply such a waste of possession, and it is becoming a worryingly regular occurance. Coppell has to have Marcus in all week for 3 hours extra training at kicking the ball into the channel. Or indeed, perhaps he could inform Marcus that he is allowed to play it short occassionally.
Shorey 8; steady game, but pushed forward a lot and caused them problems
Agreed, on the whole good going forwards and back. Unsurprisingly, he looked a bit tired in the last ten minutes.
Sonko 9 ; Absolutely awesome. He won everything in the air and got a toe on every ball that came near him. Some comedy moments with Marcus when he was slow to collect the ball, and one where he was floored by Akinbyi but still headed the ball out to touch whilst lying down.
I was sat quite near to this, and whilst he certainly made a good act of heading the ball, he quite clearly punched it. Sonks looked quite flustered today, I thought. Possibly it was because he finally came up against somebody stronger than him. Akinbiyi certainly wins everything, even if he then can't really do much with it. Sonko air-balled a few times, plus there was a worrying bout of pinball in the box, when he smacked it off somebody's arse.
Ivar 8 ; good game and didnt look short of pace against the blades attack
they were a handful but Sonks and Ivar didnt give them a sniff
Except for the goal?
Murty 7 steady game
Generally agreed, but there were two moments when either Murts should have cleared the ball, or Marcus should have come to smother it. Not sure how to apportion blame here, but ultimately the captain has to take responsibility. Fortunately, we scraped out of both situations.
Seol 8 fantastic in the first half, great goal and forced a great save from their keeper, faded a bit in the second half.
He was really dicking on Unsworth. He's so comfortable with both feet, and I don't think that defenders realise this. Just when they think he has run himself down a blind alley, he switches foot and strolls away from them. Good crossing, great strike for the goal. I think his link-up play is really improving, too, as they get to know each other.
Sid 7 - looks the part, got stuck in as usual, and didnt get booked.
Personally, my man of the match. He looked so comfortable in the first-half, bossing the midfield, and he bailed out the defence several times in the second half. He really looks comfortable at this level, you can see why he's in such demand. He's playing at a much higher level than he did last season, IMO.
Harper 6 still chasing shadows, but played better that against Wigan.
I disagree. I thought he did a good job of holding in midfield - except at the start of the second half, when the whole team was being over-run. He is still the pivot for all of our attacks, linked up well with Seol and Doyle, and really should have had a very sweetly-struck goal.
Convey - 7 great flick on for the first goal, but was again out muscled by his markers.
'Flick-on'? He lofted the ball 30 yards between two defenders!... I thought he played alright, but he will always be a little light-weight. He seems like he's settling into the league now, though. Won us a few good free-kicks, which is always a good measure of how dangerous someone is, IMO.
Lita 6 - Pants. Cant pass, poor first touch, but he could of had 2 goals with his flick ons early in the second half. He did out jump his marker most of the time though. He needs a goal.
'Pants' is too harsh - he worked his arse off for the 60-odd minutes he was on the pitch. His touch really is a cause for concern, and (for someone so well-built), he is shoved off the ball too easily by hulking defenders like Chris Morgan (and Richard Dunne). These are the areas that the coaches need to focus on. However, Lita is an opportunist, and I think he was unlucky that one of his second-half chances didn't go in. I think the last two performances (ie since Bristol) have seen a much-improved Leroy.
Doyler 8 - another great game for Doyler, his hold up play is getting much better, along with his ability to control balls punted to him at pace. Worked his socks off again.
He's actually still getting better. Runs Sidwell close for MOTM, but he was a spectator when we went down to 4-5-1. For the first 60 minutes, though, he was immense. His touch is incredible and, for such a slight guy, he's so strong at holding up the ball. I'm so glad we signed him up to a longer contract!
Worth a brief mention for Gunnarson, Hunt and Little, who all came on and played a part in securing the win. It's a shame that we had to go down to 4-5-1, but it certainly did the job. And for all United's pressure, we could have easily nicked a third with some of the late corners.
