Blimey, that was a bit tense. Strange game. We were better than we’ve been of late, but in all honesty I thought the better team lost. Carlisle must have had a dozen openings and it looked like they’d never score. Pretty sure there was an offside in our second too, so it’s fair to say we rode our luck.
That said, some decent individual displays in the first half in-particular...
Collin - 5 - Shouldn’t be playing. Just doesn’t inspire confidence. Failed to get down to shot that hit the post, let a corner straight through his hands, threw an easy-to-deal-with looping deflected shot back into his six yard box. Calamitous. Heard Nolan say after he had ‘another excellent game’ so looks like he’s going nowhere.
Tootle - 7 - Big attacking threat first half and had to contend with their most dangerous player 1v1 throughout, with mixed results.
Hall - 7.5 - Excellent debut. Looked composed, strong in the tackle and good in the air - a number of crucial blocks and headers, with the ball regularly flying around our box.
Duffy - 5 - Complete headloss. His tactic of trying to buy free-kicks rather than just winning the ball cost us a goal, and he nearly talked himself into a red card before having to be thrown away by Stead (who probably should be our captain). Has improved this season but would still be more comfortable with Brisley and Hall as our defensive pairing for now.
Jones - 5 - Big fan of his but a major off day in all aspects. Still a far superior player to Dickinson so hopefully just a one-off.
Noble - 7 - Sometimes left Tootle isolated defensively but a decent display out of position on the right. Our wingers very rarely beat a man anyway so we aren’t losing anything by playing him there.
Hewitt - 8* - Makes all the difference having him rattling around in there. Endless work as always.
Husin - 7.5 - Classy on the ball and better off it than he has been previously. Only 20, he could prove to be a hell of a find. Was he free?
Alessandra - 8 - All of his good displays this season have come on the wing. Keep him there! Great game going forward and coming back; an outstanding assist for the opener.
Ameobi - 7.5 - Some sumptuous touches and link-up play, looked more like his old self. Faded a bit and probably should’ve come off earlier. Should’ve scored.
Stead - 8 - Two predatory finishes and worked hard, before fading a little late on. Still think he’s under-rated by our fan base. He’s 34, plays 90 minutes almost every week, scores regularly, is top of the assist charts and is the model pro. Now on-course for his best ever season in-front of goal.
Subs - Both on far too late (no subs ‘til the 83rd minute despite us being outplayed all second half), which could’ve cost us.
Officials - Laughable. The four yellow cards in a minute for Notts players summed the ref up, and I’ve never seen 7 minutes of added time before when there’s been no serious injuries. Thankful that it didn’t cost us.
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