Player Ratings - S****horpe Away

You have to give credit to the manager today, even although he got his initial team selection incorrect, he read the situation and by the 56th minute had corrected his own mistakes.

With Carroll in midfield and Sorenson upfront we might’ve played for a thousand years and not looked like scoring. Both are newer into the squad and didn’t get the full pre-season but both look way under the standard of what’s required. Maybe they deserve the benefit of the doubt, everyone can have a poor afternoon. However, with Carroll in the team the midfield looked unbalanced and the team lacked cohesion. Sorenson looked absolutely clueless upfront, he was on his heels, treading water and the game was passing him by – he needs to up his game massively.

With Sagaf in midfield the team finally gained some energy, momentum and benefited from his crisp passing. With Loft upfront we had a player who could hold the ball up, win a header and bring the rest of the team into play.

Sometimes you’re going to get occasions where the football isn’t flowing as you might like, but you have to be wise enough to know how to get yourselves into a winning position and to have the intelligence to see things through. Today was a decent first step for a new team.

Collin – 6 – Some awful distribution and panic, but made a couple of decent saves. Generally good on his crosses today until he was brutally elbowed in the face towards the end of the game.

Elliott – 7 – Some good use of the football, excellent interceptions and solid positioning.

Webster – 6 – None of his mistakes led to goals today, which will be a relief to him. In fairness to him however, he made some pretty solid tackles and seemed to grow in confidence as the game progressed.

Knight-Percival – 6 – Reliable and saw a lot of the ball, but I know he can pass the ball (in a forward direction) with a lot more quality than he showed today.

Iredale – 6 – Having a tough afternoon until Gillead was bizarrely substituted but coped with things adequately.

Jones – 8* - Held the team together again and worked like a Trojan to break up play, win the ball and protect our back four. When a game isn’t pretty it’s crucial to have a player snapping around putting his foot in for the team.

Bridge – 6 – Not his most effective afternoon and he struggled to find space and use the ball with any real composure. Still showed some quality but needs to impose himself on the game more and show a little more strength of character.

Carroll – 2 – I couldn’t work out where Carroll was supposed to be playing and I don’t think he had any idea either. Likes to shout and point a lot, but had zero influence on the ball. It was curtains for him when Jones started stepping on his toes to do the work he should’ve been doing himself. We can’t afford passengers like this in midfield. Needs to improve dramatically.

Thomas – 5 – Anonymous for large swathes of the game and completely ineffective. In fairness to him, he was man marked very well be Willian on the Sc_nthorpe left and he also did a fair bit of work defensively, but this wasn’t the Thomas who destroys teams with his pace and trickery.

Sorenson – 0 – Moving in slow motion, thinking in slow motion, jumping in slow motion. Unable to win a header, unable to hold the ball up, unable to pass the ball, unable to shoot, unable to anticipate where the ball is going, unable to tackle. Even when he got the ball to his feet in a decent position in the box he expected the defence to melt away and give him space and time to shoot. I don’t want to completely condemn him after one first team start, but I’m struggling to comprehend how he was anywhere close to the first team at N*wcastle. Maybe, hopefully, he just needs time. At the minute however, he’d be behind every other striker at the club in terms of a start – even our youth team players.

McKirdy – 6 – I’m not sure if Pressley was asking him to cut inside but he was isolated too many times and it wasn’t until we had the lead in the second half he was able to worry them with his pace. Maybe I should be giving Clarke a bit of credit for the job he did on McKirdy and the cramp Clarke suffered late in the game was testament to the work McKirdy had forced him into. This being said however, it was still a moment of quality from McKirdy which assisted Loft’s goal...

Subs:

Loft – 7 – Winning headers, holding the ball up, passing the ball to Carlisle players, making a nuisance of himself – and when he carried the ball into the box he smashed it into the back of the net with aplomb. I’m not sure I’d start him ahead of Olomola, but helped make the difference today.

Sagaf – 7 – Seemed to be everywhere – supporting the strikers, protecting the back four. Sparked us into life. He’s been excellent off the bench and deserves a start.

Hope – Energetic.