Just the numbers for now, I'll try and expand on them tomorrow:
Slocombe 7
Brindley 5
Lacey 5
Cameron 5.5
Taylor 6
Roberts 7.5
Francis 6
Palmer 7.5
Rodrigues 5
Wootton 7.5
Mitchell 6.5
O'Brien 6
Kelly-Evans 6
Sam n/a
Just the numbers for now, I'll try and expand on them tomorrow:
Slocombe 7
Brindley 5
Lacey 5
Cameron 5.5
Taylor 6
Roberts 7.5
Francis 6
Palmer 7.5
Rodrigues 5
Wootton 7.5
Mitchell 6.5
O'Brien 6
Kelly-Evans 6
Sam n/a
Agree with Palmer, thought he maybe shaded Wootton for MOTM, was always busy on and off the ball.
Brindley had a bit of a torrid night but the formation at times had him covering the gap between 2 players (Taylor was isolated too), leaving their winger with lots of room to attack.
Roberts is starting to look like he's getting back up to full fitness and form, I think we'll see a lot more from him in the coming weeks.
First goal we switched off and thought the ball was sailing out.
Second goal was not helped by the conditions. Roberts lots the ball needlessly at half way and the ball skidded through leaving their big, fast striker one on one with, I think, Lacey.
Both easily preventable goals, but in the grand scheme of things, still got three points
Thanks for these Elite and looking forward to the more detailed ones. First live game for me on Saturday so very excited! Pleased we are still unbeaten despite playing in patches, I think the team is still getting used to each other so the performances will become more consistent as the season goes on which bodes very well.
COYP
More detailed ratings:
Slocombe 7 - one dodgy punch apart, he looked a bit more confident. One superb save low down probably earned us two points.
Brindley 5 - a torrid night, constantly exposed and most of their dangerous attacks were down our right.
Lacey 5 - never got to grips with their strikers, had a difficult time.
Cameron 5.5 - same as Lacey, I'd probably upgrade him to a 6 because of him scoring the winner. He needs to show similar dominance and desire in our box as well though.
Taylor 6 - did ok, best of the back line and got forward at times.
Roberts 7.5 - the end product didn't match the approach work, but he was a real danger all game.
Francis 6 - moderate first half, but improved as the game progressed. Needs a bit of shooting practice!
Palmer 7.5* - covered a lot of ground, always available for a pass and hardly wasted a ball all night.
Rodrigues 5 - a shadow of the player he can be. Overhit passes, poor first touch, struggled to get involved.
Wootton 7.5 - led the line well, another goal, showed how viital he is to the team.
Mitchell 6.5 - his pace was always a threat, I think he needs a goal to really show what he can do.
O'Brien 6 - worked hard.
Kelly-Evans 6 - helped to shore up the right side late on.
Sam n/a - not enough time to rate, but the more I see of Eli Sam the more I wonder what he offers.
We started slowly and were poor until Roberts equalised, and we were very lucky to go in ahead at half time. The 15 minutes after half time was our best spell, we created a lot and should have put the game to bed. Once they got back to 3-2 though it was a nervy last half hour, and a relief when the final whistle blew. A very entertaining game where 5-5 would probably have been a fair score. Well done to Wealdstone and their fans, they certainly played their part.
A pretty good summary for all....I thought that was Brindley's least effective game in a Notts shirt although it wasn't helped with the lack of support from Cal...under orders from the gaffer?
Roberts himself looks like getting back to his best....every time he got the ball he looked dangerous and is looking more and more confident of taking defenders on!
All in all a gritty performance against what was a very surprisingly good side!
Pretty much agree with everyone other than on Cameron, who I thought was fantastic. Particularly in the last half an hour.