Cambridge United Away - Player Ratings

[Piglet_Phoenix]

We started off totally dominating the first half and might've had a couple of goals before Lambe capped off a well worked move to put us ahead. Cambridge weren't really offering any threat until a piece of abject flappery in the box by Bonham left Liddle with no choice but to concede a penalty. Another referee might've sent Liddle off for clearly denying a goalscoring opportunity, but thankfully for us - this one didn't bother.

It took us until nearer the end of the half to reassert ourselves and after a series of schoolboy blunders by the Cambridge defence, Parkes was johnny on-the-spot to tap home from a yard.

The less said about the second half, the better - it was a horrible display of time wasting and anti-football. Was this necessary to win the game? The approach proved successful, but we'd shown in the first half that when we got the ball down and passed it, Cambridge couldn't defend against us.

Bonham - 6 - Good kicking and did most of the simple things well - as you'd expect a professional keeper. Came way too far off his line and flapped at a couple of crosses - costing us a goal, shot stopping looked a bit shaky. That being said, made an excellent save in the second half that kept us in the lead. Has to play better to keep his place.

Miller - 6 - Didn't do anything especially wrong, generally solid and useful throw-ins.

Grainger - 6 - As Miller, but add a few pointless fouls and lots of whinging to the Ref.

Ellis - 7 - Really excellent in the air against two chunky forwards.

Liddle - 5 - Floating around at the back in disorganised fashion. Sometimes at right-back, other times centre-back, in midfield even. Has Curle given him a defensive "free-role"? "Go out and play wherever you like Gary". Luckily for us, Cambridge only worked out he was the weakest link with ten minutes to go - and even then were too poor to exploit him. When you have Parkes and Ellis at the back - playing Liddle is a waste of a shirt.

Parkes - 8* - If he wasn't fat he'd be playing a couple of divisions higher. Impressively solid, some great tackles and blocks, read the game excellently and led our defence like a Trojan. Capped it all off with a goal. On this showing a great signing by Curle and a far, far superior defender than Raynes.

Joyce - 7 - Was everywhere, always involved breaking play up and always available to receive the ball - an excellent holding midfield display. Lovely assist for our first goal...

Lambe - 6 - Took his goal with a touch of class but not really involved enough.

Adams - 6 - Not his most effective game, but a few decent balls into the box and neat passing in the first half. The game passed him by after the interval, but it's not his fault that Curle had no intention of playing any football in the second period.

Hope - 4 - There's a ball on the pitch Hallam, you're supposed to kick it around. Or you could always to continue to cry to the referee, run around pushing, pulling and kicking the opposition - and generally try to cheat your way through ninety plus minutes. At the top end of the match, he actually combined well with Bennett - maybe concentrating on trying to do that a bit more would be more effective instead of scampering around like a petulant child. Fan favourite? No.

Bennett - 7 - Promising full league debut. Cambridge struggled to cope with his intelligent movement, size - and footwork. Missed a glorious chance early doors, but worked the opportunity really well and was (I thought) unfortunate not to score. He'd benefit hugely by actually playing next to someone upfront who was interested in playing football - someone like Miller for instance...

Subs:

Jones did ok running the clock down. Cosgrove looked poor, needs to improve massively to get up to League standard. Devitt flitted about but contributed little.

[griff]

Didn't know you were over, Piglet, is it for good or just a flying visit?

Was in Canada for 8 days in June for a funeral. Loved the place so we're going back for a fortnight next year. We were near Hamilton this time but further up near the lakes in '18. Nice people, nice country, great values. Also stronger beer, three downs and bigger balls.

[Piglet_Phoenix]

I have no problem admitting I watched the match from the comfort of my office chair at home. I'm thinking about how well it might translate to the home cinema next week

Hamilton is just over 2,000 miles away from where I'm living currently - to put in perspective that's 300 miles further than the distance between Carlisle and Istanbul. As you may expect, it's like a different country here. I have family and friends who live in Ontario and know it quite well, it's a great place (although I'm not the biggest fan of Toronto as a city, the area around there is lovely). The West Coast area has a totally different feel entirely, it's the more relaxed, casual, surf's up, chilled out vibe that's got as much (and probably more) in common with some parts of the US West Coast. There's zero French influence (as you might expect with the province name) and I'd defy anyone from the UK not to feel completely at home, - it's well worth a visit - and not just because everyone loves a British accent...

[griff]

Ah, of course, you're using that iThingy.

We also fancy a bit of BC at some point. A completely different air route of course (polar?) but Mrsgriff's brother lives in Dundas so we'll hang around a bit of Ontario for a couple of weeks next Summer.