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Heres my reaction following yesterdays 1-1 home draw with Newcastle.Not a bad result, but a very disappointing oneA draw against Newcastle is a reasonable result, and, given the other results on the day, the point makes our position stronger in our bid for survival, with one bookmaker now giving odds of 11/1 for us to go down, but I cant help but be disappointed. We bo sed the game for the most part, and the three points would have made survival very likely. The fact that we ended up sitting too deep on a one goal lead and paying the price makes it even harder to take.One win from survivalThat being said, it now seems likely that one more win will be enough to keep us up, putting us on 39 points, with next weeks home game against DeAndre Jordan Jersey struggling Blackburn the perfect chance to get it.Pre sure onThe pre sure is now on us to perform in the Blackburn game though. With many people expecting two wins from the games against Newcastle and Blackburn. After yesterday, the players will feel they have to secure one, adding that bit more scope for nerves and mistakes to start coming into the game.Sitting backCountle s times in Tony Puliss early years as Stoke manager, we were punished for sitting back on a lead after we had had the better of the game. This hasnt been the case so much over the last two seasons, so it was very disappointing to see yesterday. Newcastle were there for the beating, Steve Nash Jersey so why did we take off our two most threatening attacking players in James Beattie and Matthew Etherington with fifteen minutes to go and allow them onto us? Im a believer in attack being the best form of defence, and while we attacked Newcastle for the best part fo the second half, they never looked like scoring, the moment we sat back, they did.One Stoke fan unfortunately wrongCostly mi sesWe did have plenty of chances to put the game beyond Newcastle in the second half, with at least three that youd hope Premier League quality players would put away. They didnt however, and paid for it, as Newcastle forced a rare couple of chances, and took one. This season as a whole, our finishing has been good, but if it had been more like it was yesterday, I doubt wed be in as high a league position as we are now.AbdelightHow much money could Abdoulaye Faye have cost his former club Newcastle this year? Not only have they taken a 8 million hit on letting him go and replacing him with the far le s reliable Fabricio Coloccini, he has now scored twice against them this season. If he hadnt scored those two goals, they would be four points better off and looking likely to survive. Instead, they are right in the thick of a battle against relegation to the championship that would cost them ten of millions of pounds.Abdoulaye has swapped despair at Newcastle for delight at Stoke, and I couldnt be happierA matter of temperamentId like to criticise Newcastles Ryan Taylor for his actions in the game yesterday. Firstly, having been caught admittedly late by Etherington, he writhed around like an upended beetle, making the challenge seem worse than in was. Then, later in the game, he launched into a very bad tackle on Etherington, which was, in my opinion, later than Etheringtons, higher than Etheringtons, Jason Kidd Jersey harder than Etheringtons, and an act of premeditated revenge. Yet, both players received a yellow card for their tackles. Hows that fair? In contrast to this is the on-pitch temperament of Beattie, who I must say gets on with the game extremely well. To his credit, despite being felled several times, once sustaining a severe blow to the head, he was always up quickly, making the referees job a lot easier.The oppositionI didnt think Newcastle played very well yesterday, and I think they were lucky to get a point, but it is to their credit that they were able to dig in and get the goal. With so many expensive foreign players in their squad, which in my opinion contributes to their lack of fighting spirit, it is telling that their crucial goal was scored by a young, homegrown player. They were also extremely susceptible to fast breaks and counter-attacks, its just a shame we didnt make any of them count. I feel a faster, more naturally attacking team could have scored a great many against Newcastle yesterday. I think they could stay up, with Shearer giving them a boost that will help their chances, but I am sure they will be right in the relegation mix at the end of the season.Player RatingsThomas Sorensen (gk): The Dane didnt have a great deal to do, with Newcastle only managing two attempts on target all match. On the whole he had a reasonably solid game, dealing well with many cro ses, and may consider himself unlucky not to claim a third straight clean sheet after he was beaten by a very good header that he cannot be blamed for conceding to. 6Andy Wilkinson (rb): Wilko had another good game, as ever James Johnson Jersey he was strong int he tackle and good in the air. his pa sing, without doubt the weakest area of his game, also seems to have improved. He did make an extremely rash tackle in the second half though, and was lucky he didnt make contact with the player, as if he had done, the outcome would probably have been more severe than the yellow card he did receive. 7Ryan Shawcro s (cb): A mediocre showing from Marchs player of the month. He was beaten a fair bit in the air by Ameobi, but on the whole shouldnt be too disappointed with his contribution. 6Abdoulaye Faye (cb): Defensively, Faye had an excellent game, keeping Michael Owen very quiet. He also took his chance well when it came (though he would have been very disappointed to mi s). The one negative point from his performance was that he often tried to do too much, lingering on the ball in an attempt to mock his former club, rather than ensuring defensive security. 8Danny Higginbotham (lb): Higginbotham was carrying a back injury going into the game and it showed as he struggled to make an impact on it, and was importantly beaten to the header by Carroll for Newcastles goal. 5Liam Lawrence (rm): Lawrence was another to have a mediocre game, not seeing as much of the ball as usual from his right-wing position. His delivery was good all day though, and he claimed an a sist for our goal from the corner that wasnt. 6Rory Delap (cm): In a game in which midfielders didnt play a huge role, Delap was moderately effective. His shooting though was woeful as he blazed two half-chances over the bar. 6Glenn Tyler Bey Jersey Whelan (cm): Much like Delap, Whelan did little wrong. He too mi sed his chances when |
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发表于 2023-5-31 17:54:42