Had to come in as I thought the complete opposite on Dickinson, who I felt was our weakest player, closely followed by Stead. Opinions, eh.
Fitzsimons - 6 - Could do nothing with either goal. Distribution on either foot is classy; probably a little too cool at times!
Tootle - 6.5 - Could’ve done more to close down on the first goal but great going forward in the second half.
Duffy - 7 - Went down a little too easily for their first but thought he stepped up and really led things second half, particularly at 2-2 when things looked to be getting a bit nervy. For his obvious faults, it’s not hard to see why managers rate him - his commitment levels are outstanding.
Brisley - 6 - Usual mix of aerial dominance in both boxes and poor distribution. Collectovely, things weren’t right defensively today at all but I don’t think that can be attributed to him, or indeed any individual.
Dickinson - 5 - One fantastic cross for Stead aside, distribution was horrendous throughout; constantly shanking the ball out of play and taking the easy option of going direct every time first half, regularly giving it away in the process. Performances have warranted keeping his place but has been more like last season’s version the past two weeks.
Hawkridge- 7 - Got better as it went on and ends the game with two assists. Wish he’d be more confident in attacking the full back more.
Yates - 6 - Usual commitment and enthusiasm but overall impact wasn’t there today.
Hewitt - 6 - As above. This pairing isn’t suited to games where teams are happy to sit deep and let us have the ball. Got into good positions late on but didn’t seem to know what to do when he got there.
Grant - 6.5 - A little over elaborate at times but always classy on the ball and stepped up when it matters. Has already now scored as many as our top scorer in each of the past two seasons’.
Alessandra- 5.5 - Just doesn’t fit our style when used upfront so is never going to have a major impact. Should’ve scored with a header at 2-1 which would’ve killed the game much earlier.
Stead - 5 - Not sure how he won the sponsors MOTM. A cool penalty aside, barely won a header all game and produced a couple of frankly embarrassing dives. Just isn’t a targetman; we have to tailor our approach when Shola is out.
Forte - 6 - Not always the most refined on the ball but his pace and presence caused problems and his header set-up the winner. Not sure quite how or why he’s slipped behind Alessandra in the pecking order.
It’s not been great individually the past two weeks but the fact we’ve still come away with two wins shows just how far we’ve come and how much spirit there is in the camp. I can’t remember us regularly scoring as many late goals before, nor as many from set pieces.
Next week is massive. I assume Ameobi will come back in alongside Stead, but I’d also like to see Dan Jones come back in, long term at left back but given next week should be our toughest league game of the season, at left wing with Grant switching to the right.
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