reston – Poor really. They have had a great season and to be where they are is testament to the players and the management team but they played very little football today and it was very scrappy. We should have been good enough to beat them but we were not. They threw men in the line of the ball and defended with numbers but barely had an attack of note all game and it was a classic smash and grab job. They time wasted even at 0-0 and were quite cynical. How the keeper survived until stoppage time without getting booked I do not know… Pearson the lad in midfield’s antics were equally embarrassing too. A decent player but he feigned injury THREE times. They had a number that just fell on the floor for no reason. That is up the ref to penalise though and he let them get away with it time after time.
Football wise they played little and how they won that game is a bit ridiculous but they scored and we did not. They still have a chance of the playoffs but even if they sneaked in; be very surprised if they did anything in them. Lack quality throughout the side but will say they have finished in a decent position and have overachieved. Like us, not sure they will be as high next season as they will probably invest about as much as us – sod all. Credit to them for a good season though and shows with organisation and work ethic what you can do. They got the sort of win today that we have been unable to do a lot of the season; a hard-working performance where they do not really deserve it but do what they need to in both boxes. Shows for all the ball possession and pretty football; it is a bit pointless if you do nothing with it.
Opposition Man of the Match: Huntington and Davies won everything and Sharp and Clarke did very little. Take your pick between them. Johnson and Robinson were lively in spells.
Opposition Weak link: The right back Fisher was poor and got booked and moaned all game. The lad Pearson I like but I felt he did little today.
Blackman 5.5/10 – Had little to do really but at fault for the goal. Made one good top over from Robinson and a few catches but made a bad error on the goal. I felt he could have actually held it but at the least had to push it away from goal and he put it right into the path of the striker. Poor error really to end his Bramall Lane season.
Freeman 6/10 – Good to see him back. Looked rusty to start and kicked it out a few times or overplayed it. Got forward when he could but final ball was lacking. Had one shot blocked at the end of the first half. Improved as the game went on and had some decent runs down the right second half but no end product. Baldock is the better option there no matter how good Freeman was last season.
Stevens 6/10 – Sure he will get a lot of criticism but in general play he was better than Freeman and kept it better and got forward more but again his final ball was lacking although he put one good one in first half and one second half that missed everyone. He was poor on the goal but equally O’Connell did not react very well either when the rebound went off Blackman. He needs some competition.
Basham 8/10 – Man of the match by a country mile. Competed harder than any other Blade. Won all the loose stuff, used it well and played intelligently. Looked like he really cared and was so up for it. Shame no one else was. He was excellent today and carried the fight. As my Uncle said, it was like he was playing them on his own at times.
O’Connell 6.5/10 – Thought he was ok in general play but then he was slow to react on the goal when him and Stevens both looked favourite. He then let Robinson get away and it was nearly 2-0. The rest of his game was ok and he used it when he could but has to concentrate better.
Stearman 6.5/10 – He was ok and did try and at least carry it forward. Not sure he quite dominates like I would want him to or any central defender and is maybe guilty of being too nice. Preston did not really have a physical threat though so an easier game for him in this sense. We just concede too many goals at the moment so we may need to bring in a more domination player and one may have to come out.
Fleck 6/10 – Thought he tried to get on the ball and at times did some good things but equally was sloppy at times. First half he gave it away more than he has for some time and then picked up another daft booking – again this was his fault for giving the ball away. Second half did a few decent things but his final ball/shot was lacking and at times took too long (obsessed with always going left) to move it on. Had better games.
Evans 5.5/10 – Anonymous for the most part. I get called for criticising him but not sure what he offers really. He is neat and tidy on the ball but it is mostly sideways and backwards. Sure, he scored 2 great goals against Boro and an assist v Millwall but in the last two crucial games he has offered next to nothing. He is very slow and this hinders us both defensively and going forward as he lacks pace to get ahead of players or to get back and track. His corners were mostly poor too aside from one good one driven over 2nd half – the rest were floated and cleared easily. He gave it away three times today that led to them breaking; once he hacked someone down and then on another they scored. He was taken off not long after which summed up how much he was contributing. Not sure I see this great prospect that many do sadly. It is a game of opinions but he does not affect games positively enough for me.
Duffy 6/10 – Not really his day today – even though he saw a lot of the ball. Not a lot, if anything came off for him. Surprised he stayed on but Wilder felt maybe that he would give us that one moment. Overplayed it all day and was quite sloppy in possession. He kept trying and for that give him some credit and did not hide. He was always looking for the ball but when he got it cannot recall one decisive forward pass that came off. Did not really link with others or create much for the front two. Too often he took too long to make decisions. As with Evans; (yes, I know he scored at Brum) but offered up two quite lame performances the last two weeks.
Clarke 6/10 – Not his best game but he had little service at all. He did try and I saw him chase things down a lot and try and cause problems but when he had it; it did not always stick. He had one half chance that was deflected over and then had another which was blocked. He could have done more second half I felt though as despite little service – he should have put more of a shift in. He got frustrated that no decent balls came into the box. Ironically when a few good ones came in; he was flat footed. He ended up coming into midfield a lot as he was so frustrated with the lack of service. Ended up with some daft fouls near the end.
Sharp 6.5/10 – I felt he did try and held it up or got in front of his defender a few times and like Basham was one of few who seemed to bust a gut. At times his touch was not great though and missed a half chance when Freeman put him in – he also mis controlled second half with a half chance. He kept plugging away but gave away a number of fouls and got frustrated and was rightly booked. He showed like he really cared though today.