Christ that was horrible. And Cold. Started with the same team that started against Spurts, with Snoddy playing off Beckford. It didn't work, apart from a couple of times when Beckford chased a long ball into space but got crowded out, he was too isolated and Swindon dominated. They'd already managed to miss from about 5 yards before a short from the edge of the area, was only half-saved by Casper and it sneaked in. They might have scored more, Casper made a great save from a deflected shot, their delivery from set pieces was excellent, our marking less so.
Last 15 minutes of the first half we began to move the ball better, keeping possession and nearly getting through a couple of times. Things began to look more positive. 2nd half started with Lubo and Becchio on for Crowe and Kilkenny. We actually started the half quite well, Becchio improved the team (yes really) by giving a bit more physical presence up front and helping to buy time for the midfield to get up in support. We probably should have equalised when Beckford's overhead kick was blocked and Johnson failed to get any power into the follow-up with the goal at his mercy. Then they attacked and scored with a near post header. Then a couple of minutes later a big goal mouth scramble and they got a penalty - with a couple of bookings for us. 3-0 down. We came back, Lucas made 2 good saves from Johnson and Becchio in close succession, Gradel came on and look very dangerous - for 5 minutes. Then it all fell apart again and last 15 minutes they looked likely to score again, Casper made a great one on one save, a couple flew just wide, Casper made more saves. We could have had a penalty when Gradel went down and Becchio had a header from a long throw disallowed, but it would have been no more than a consolation. We were glad when it finished. Douglas was named Man of the Match. It probably should have been Casper. Scores Casper 8 - Made several good saves Hughes 5 - Not sure how you can look so good against Premier League sides and so average the rest of the time Crowe 4 - Not a defender. Cant pass either. Kisnorbo 6 - Battled away but had some dodgy moments. Bromby 5 - Is he in the team just for his long throw. Johnson 6 - Lumbered around, tried hard Kilkenny 4 - Disappeared Doyle 5 - Lost the midfield battle to Douglas Howson 5 - Looked a bit lost Snodgrass 5 - Not really got the pace to threaten when running at a defence from central. Beckford 6 - Despite getting sticking from some after a couple of minutes "Ee look he's not trying now he's not on tele" actually worked hard in a thankless role. Only disappeared after game was lost. Subs Becchio 6- Improved things Lubo 5 - Didnt improve the defence Gradel 6 - Looked great for a few minutes then threw his toys out of the pram when he didnt get a free-kick and didnt do much else. Awful corners. The only good news was that i managed to catch the bus back from the M25 by a few seconds. This was achieved by running into the road waving my arms frantically. Luckily he stopped. By this point i was past caring. Matt _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist www.leedslist.net
