Saints 2 Oldham 1 Post Match Reaction

[saintant]

Well, I thought Lambert was one of our better players today and I'd be surprised if Adkins took him off for any other reason than he wasn't fit after last week's head injury. Oxo must start on tuesday - Chaplow looked very poor today.

 

Andy Durso as usual tried to do all he could to get Oldham back in the game - 5 minutes stoppage time when there was nowhere near that and also giving them free kicks but denying blatant fouls on Barnard.

 

Lallana was superb and needs to be given the ball more.

 

Still think we need a couple of signings as too many give less than average performance. Not convinced by Seabourne I'm afraid and would prefer Martin.

 

Great save by Kelvin to make sure we got the three points.

[Yorkshire Saint]

Did not see game today although was at Huddersfield and last week Lambert was just not worthy of playing along side Guly, Guly was just to quick in the head for him and by the sounds of it today it will work better with Bernard ...recokon Guly and Bernard is the way forward in Adkins style which just aint right for Rickie as he has not enough pace

[Liquidshokk]

Not convinced by a long way. don't get me wrong really happy with the win but we are far from the finished article and deservedly sit in 14th. I know we are only 4pts away from 2nd etc etc. But we really need to find some damaging football if we are to make a statement in this league. For me we are scraping these wins (which is usually a good sign) and not dictating the play as much as we should be. Especially at home which I think most fans find frustrating. Last year we free scoring, this year we seemed to dried up. Alas we miss Papa and Antonio?

 

Anyways, well done Saints, 3pts is 3pts and that is exactly what we need.

 

Lets hope for further improvement and dictation on the field of play which in turn could well lead to more chances converted.

 

I think sometimes peoples expectations are far too high. We won today, we bossed the most of the game and even in the games where we haven't won I have always felt we were the better side. Yeah we're not Chelsea standard but we are pretty damn good for league one. I don't care how we win or if they make a few mistakes. I will only be unhappy when we are losing more than we are winning. At the moment we can't complain really.... COYS!

[hackedoff]

Another great thing today was the tactics and use of subs! Inspired choice to bring AC on, and a good call bringing Wotton on to help close the game out. All very inspiring really.

Not sure the Wotton change was a good call. He played well an did the job he was brought on for but at the time we were all over them and looking to add a decisive third goal. The change took pressure off their defence and invited pressure on ourselves.

[BallBoy]

I thought this was a really good game to watch. Oldham are no mugs and made it really hard for us. They were snapping at our heels the whole game and it was difficult to get a clean pass away, let alone a shot. They reminded me of Derby under Billy Davies when they came and spoiled their way to a result in the play off.

 

Most importantly we won the game with a touch of pure brilliance by Chamberlain. Descriptions of the goal I have seen so far do not do it justice. There was nothing on when he collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area with a mass of players in front of him. He took it through them with magical feet and pace to plant a perfect shot in the far corner. We will not see many better this season. This lad is another gem from the production line that brought us Channon, Tiss, Walcott and Bale among others. We need to nurture him carefully.

[Nexstar]

Not a good performance, not a bad one, but exactly what we needed - a result.

 

First time this season we have conceded first and then scored (let alone won), which was great to see.

 

Chamberlain was brilliant when he came on and absolutely should start instead of Puncheon next week.

 

Fonte did well and seemed to be around the box when the crosses came flying in. Lallana was the reason for the first, another good game.

 

Andy D'Urso was shocking.

 

4 points off second and Adkins has mastered how to change the game, which seemed to be Pardew's stumbling block.

 

Would still be happy with a draw next Saturday

[Liquidshokk]

I thought this was a really good game to watch. Oldham are no mugs and made it really hard for us. They were snapping at our heels the whole game and it was difficult to get a clean pass away, let alone a shot. They reminded me of Derby under Billy Davies when they came and spoiled their way to a result in the play off.

 

Most importantly we won the game with a touch of pure brilliance by Chamberlain. Descriptions of the goal I have seen so far do not do it justice. There was nothing on when he collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area with a mass of players in front of him. He took it through them with magical feet and pace to plant a perfect shot in the far corner. We will not see many better this season. This lad is another gem from the production line that brought us Channon, Tiss, Walcott and Bale among others. We need to nurture him carefully.

 

Absolutely agree about chambos goal. I was on cloud 9 when that goal went in and cannot wait to see the highlights. Brilliant game to watch and because it was so close and scrappy that made it all the more entertaining. Whatever happens this season my first season ticket is the best thing I've ever bought.

 

Yours,

 

Happy Clapper

[Nexstar]

Oh and Chamberlain's run from near our penalty box was amazing, had it gone in it would have been the best solo effort i'd seen at St. Mary's.

[Thedelldays]

If chamberlain scored his second that would have been unbelievable..

 

This kid is a special talent

[70's Mike]

If chamberlain scored his second that would have been unbelievable..

 

This kid is a special talent

 

lets play him down, keep him a secret and not build him up to quick

[doggface]

Not sure the Wotton change was a good call. He played well an did the job he was brought on for but at the time we were all over them and looking to add a decisive third goal. The change took pressure off their defence and invited pressure on ourselves.

 

I agree, could really see them equalising when they had not threatened all game.

[Leicestersaint]

We needed that win - now we need a few more!

[Shroppie]

Good performance. You need scrappy wins to come out on top. Agree Oxo was excellent but still think he's better kept as an impact sub. Don't agree that Chaplow was poor. I thought he worked hard for the team and should challenge Hammond for a place. Sorry to say it but it really is time to rest Ricky. Barnard is offering far more. Puncheon did well, if you ignore his finishing!

[richardc]

If chamberlain scored his second that would have been unbelievable..

 

This kid is a special talent

 

chamberlain was woeful today - scuffed his shot in and and could nt believe he missed that second shocking

[lethallee]

Good win without playing that well. Lambert ok in first half; Lallana quiet up to first goal; Chaplow gave ball away too much. Ox good impact player from bench and should remain that way.

 

There will be plenty more teams like Oldham coming here setting up in same way so something we have to get used too.

[Give it to Ron]

It was a good battling win against a combative Oldham team and fair play to Dickov who actually played 3 and 4 up at times which was why we saw Wotton introduced.

I was disappointed that we reverted to long ball and hoofed it far to often rather than give it to Lallanas feet quicker.

I thought Schneiderling was poor today - he played far too many nothing safe passes and didn't think the partnership with Chaplow worked well as far too often they were too far away from the forwards - his shooting was abysmal as well!

Good substitutions by Adkins but thought could of been made 5 or 10 minutes earlier.

Guly finally found someone to link with when Barnard came on and we looked better - was a shame he went off when he did but can understand why after losing last week that Adkins played safe.

[bpsaint]

Oh and Chamberlain's run from near our penalty box was amazing, had it gone in it would have been the best solo effort i'd seen at St. Mary's.

 

Twas an awesome run,would have been right up there with Anders against Spurs if it had gone in.

[PokingFun]

A few questions to ponder:

 

Just how many points has Kelv saved us over the last 2/3 seasons?

 

Will Lambert start the next game?

 

Did we miss Hammond in the first half?

 

Just how good is Chamberlain?

 

Kelvin, 2 fantastic saves! Lambert still needs to play as he touch and game is good bringing others into play. Hammond, yes felt we missed him and NA rates him if you look at recent interviews. AOC, looks an absolutely fantastic prospect for us! Won the game today with his pace, trickery and a fabulous finish for his goal. The kid is good!

[ericofarabia]

Have to say a big thank you to Phil for texting me updates .... fortunately Mrs EoA was driving so I could read the texts as they came in!!

 

Bonus for me (besides missing out on yet another feck up by SaintsPlayer and whoever else along the way) was a 10 pointer in The prediction Line. Go me!!!

 

doesn't sound like an inspiring win, but, as the old adage goes it's a sign of a good team if they can get 3 points when not playing well (or maybe just lucky but who cares luck has been in short supply as well).

 

Doing my bit for the team, my face looks like the new shirt .... due to a combination of snorkel, diving mask and badly applied suncream my face now sports a red line somewhat similar to the sash!!

 

Making up for lack of Old Specky with a bottle of Oxford Landing Chardonney, not brilliant but hitting the spot prettty quickly.

[Cabrone]

Great 3 points and current record looking good.

 

Just looked at the stats and defensivley we are 3rd stingiest in the league. However attacking wise we are 20th= in the goals scored table (alongside thse free scoring legends Hartlepool and Tranmere)

 

Another striker needed?

[georgeweahscousin]

Good win. Tough game, Oldham probably better than we were expecting.

 

Ref was atrocious. Good to know we can come from behind and win.

 

Guly, Fonte and Alex OC immense.

 

Introduction of Barnard and OC, shows Adkins has something Pardew didn't have, a Plan B and an ability to change the game. Watch Alex OC go the same way as Walcott and Bale now. Class act.

[corsacar saint]

Great to win from a goal down.A bit worrying though that the heads went down,for a good 20 minutes after they scored. Despite

having very gifted individuals in midfield,the balance is still not right.[i do not think we missed Hammond though]

As for Andy Durso,is he fit to even referee in the Conference,he let an awful lot of very cynical Oldham tackles go in the second half.

How Feeney got only a yellow card for that awful late challenge on Harding near the end,god only knows.

[Toomer]

Forget the performance (well I will) we got three points, great goal from the Oxo kid unlucky not to get a 2nd, Ging Gang should have got a pen when being pulled back when he was through on goal, great save from Kelvin in added time.

[St Marco]

Personally i thought it wasn't a good performance overall. Up until the last 15mins or so we looked average. Players making mistake after mistake. Passes going to nobody, losing possession very easily. We lacked ideas going forward and in my opinion lacked the ability to take players on. Credit to Oldham they had a plan and they tried to attack, they didn't come and park everyone in the goal like other teams. They passed it about well and kept it when needed to. Looking at the stats i am not surprised to see they had more possession then us.

The first half we were not in the game at all. If we had gone in 0-1 at half time you could not argue that Oldham would of deserved it. We never looked like winning until we took off Lambert and put young Alex on. He gave the team the spark and ideas, upped the tempo. His shot that hit the post was so unlucky. But he deserved his goal for his effort. Credit has to go to Nigel for changing it about. His decisions paid off. The last 15mins was all us but at the death Kelvin pulled off a massive save. How many times over the past year or two would we have seen that go in and end up with a draw?

So not a great performance, the team has to improve if we are to be promoted, they need to cut out the mistakes. A win is a win and i will take that everytime.

[Chez]

A game of two half in many respects. In the first we gave the ball away time after time so cheaply its not true. In the second half Oldham decided to emulate our first half and gave the ball back to us time after time. Make no mistake though, we were the btter side, we just took 45 minutes to get going. In the second half we were much improved and once we went on front we controlled the game very well. Only when they pushed the extra player upfront did we start to look a little fragile to the long ball. Bringing Jardi on would have made much more sense than giving Wotton ten minutes. We are still a way from were we were at at the end of last season, but at least we have broken the hoodoo of not being able to come back from behind.

Davis 7 one horrific distribution decision that could easily have cost us, but a last minute save that was top draw

Butterfield 8 not beaten by winger, comfortable

Fonte 9 very strong performance, although was beaten a lot by sub at end

Seaborne 8 kept Feeney in his pocket and overall was much nastier than normal. Tougher oponents await.

Harding 7 solid as ever, but little going forward again. Maybe that is an Adkins instruction to keep us less exposed to breakaways

Lallana 7 every time he beat a man he was hacked so didn't really get the chance to influence the game as much as you'd like, but some lovely tricks again

Morgan 5 Is it me or does he always play poorly when he first comes back? Very worried about how he didn't go for a few headers late on. Not on same wavelength as Chaplow and not sure he is a defensive midfielder

Chaplow 5 game past him by in first half. Improved in second, but not as tidy as previous games

Puncheon 6 good outlet, tracked back (on one occasion covering the defensive brilliantly when Fonte had got caught upfield which may not have been seen by many) and kept ball well but didn't do quite enough for me

Lambert 5 better but still not a single header went to a white shirt. Missed a great chance that he would have tucked away last season. Some nice link up play and a couple of great through balls, but ball didn't stick enough either

Guly 5 Chased stuff down at the start if the match, but at times he looked lazy and disinterested. He offered some nice touches when we went two one up. Some of the service to him was poor I guess, but miles off the Tranmere display. The two strikers were far too one paced

 

Barnard Looked sharp and we wete much better with him running the channels

Chamberlian ran into the full back three times, but beat im ince and of nearly scored a cracker to add to his excellent opportunist finish. He's going to be a right player. Excellent impact sub.

Wotton same old same old

[Saint_clark]

Must be watching a different game to a lot of you lot. I thought Schneiderlin was fantastic, completely committed and ran the midfield.

Chaplow was poor in the first half but very good in the second, and Guly came to life in the last half an hour - played like he did V Tranmere again.

[doddisalegend]

Poor performance (bar the first 10 and last 15) but 3pts is 3pts so I'm happy. So many sloppy passes today (Chaplow being one of the main culprits). I see playing it out from the back pretty much died a death to day lots more long ball. Puncheon worked hard but without much end product. Fonte looked poor in the first half too (apart from scoring). Adam was quite until the last 20mins when he suddenly looked total class. Last sub was poor we where all over them looking for a third to kill the game and then went all defensive by bring on Wotton and they almost scored thank god for super kelv.

 

On the plus side Oxos goal was pure class and the other one would have been candidate for goal of the season if it had gone in.Oxo could have had another but Guly decided to hold the ball up instead of passing to an unmarked Chamberlin for some reason I couldn't work out. Barnard looked good when he came on, but why do refs constanly let Barnard get fouled? In fact the Ref must have had a bet on for an Oldham win he was totally inept.

[hutch]

How many yellows is that now for Morgan?

[doddisalegend]

Good win. Tough game, Oldham probably better than we were expecting.

 

Ref was atrocious. Good to know we can come from behind and win.

 

Guly, Fonte and Alex OC immense.

 

Introduction of Barnard and OC, shows Adkins has something Pardew didn't have, a Plan B and an ability to change the game. Watch Alex OC go the same way as Walcott and Bale now. Class act.

 

How is that any different to bring on Papa and Antonio?

[positivepete]

First, great avatar DP Saint, that ages three of us!

 

Very pleased to get the three points, getting three points from this type of match is what it takes to go up. I am a big fan of Chaplow but sadly, for me, he had a stinker today by his high standards. I hope he stays, he and Morgan would see us to the top. Also agree Barnard and Guly gives us a lot more movement upfront. At a bit of a loss as to why Puncheon and Lallana do not switch wings during the game, the first time Lallana worked the left back he brought him down for the free kick that led to the goal. And the same player had problems as soon as Chamberlain came on and went passed him on the outside. I am happy to have wide players on the "wrong wings", but they should rotate regularly during the game to give the full backs different problems.

 

Looking forward to the trip next week

[Jesus Reigned]

Had a thoroughly enjoyable day in the Curry Club today.

 

What great value that was for £41; went with my mate and our two kids, it was a day the kids will remember for a long time.

 

Got autographs and photos from Hammond and Morgan; then stopped off at the concourse on the way home and heard most of Adkins' interview and the kids got his autograph too for good measure.

 

As for the match, I was so frustrated in the first half especially to see us reverting to hoof-ball so much of the time, seems like we've gone backwards somewhat for the Tranmere game but maybe a lot of that was down to Oldam pressing us so well.

 

Our tactics were playing right into the hands of their bruising centre-backs and to be honest if we hadn't have got the goal on the stroke of half-time I think we might have lost.

 

Lallana and Guly were virtual passengers in the first half, but much better in the second; I think we probably should have had a pen for the challenge on Guly, but he still got the shot away and from 6 yards out he should have lamped it and taken the keeper into the net with the ball rather than try to place it as he did.

 

Chamberlain made a real difference when he came on and such a shame he didn't get the second, which would have been a goal of the season contender.

 

Morgan did a lot of the unseen stuff very well but needs to work on his shooting; Chaplow got caught in possession too often and his touch was poor at time, but a lot of that was probably down to him not playing much footy recently and he did improve.

 

Lots of room for improvement and we'll play better than that and lose this season, but 3 points is the main thing I guess!

[teamsaint]

we would improve going forward a huge amount if we could get the ball to Lallana a bit more often....

[dubai_phil]

As I said on the match thread - Phew

 

Think our confidence took a knock last week and when we didn't break them down early doors we sounded as if we were sluggish and less precise in our pass and move style. So a very important win from a metality perspective and of course from the table perspective as well.

 

I think we now know we have a special one in Oxo, but also think that the way he was used today is the way ahead for the next month or so. Keep him simmering on the bench to bring him on for the last quarter or so and use up all his emotional and physical energy attacking a tiring defence.

 

Defences will know that and move more resources across leaving more space for Adam to weave his magic.

 

Still work to do on the mental frailty of the team but this result helps keep us on track.

[Appy]

Pretty sure Morgan is now out for next Saturday with 5 bookings.

[doddisalegend]

Pretty sure Morgan is now out for next Saturday with 5 bookings.

 

Hammonds back though? other wise its the dream team of Wotton and Chaplow:?

[Rebel]

Chaplow didn't have a great first half - gave too many balls away - but worked his socks off! Pretty much the same with Puncheon. You cant knock them for their work rate.

 

Second half Chaplow was everywhere - and was one of the main reasons we turned a draw into a win.

 

Barnard has to start with Guly Do Prado - and Lambert needs to drop to the bench.

[InvictaSaint]

Very pleased with the 3 points. Butterfield played very well, as did Lallana and Guly in patches, but after keeping going and getting the equaliser at just the right time, the real game-winner wad Adkins substitutions; we played SO much better when Oxo and Barney came on, we really did. Passing and interchanges were so much slicker and more creative. I worry about Rickie, I really do. His demeanour and general play are both so lumbering and predictable. His partnership with Guly just doesn't seem to work, but Barney comes on and hey presto, instant chemistry. We have a problem here, and either it gets solved or Rickie needs a time out; he is definitely not himself at the moment.

 

However, we are winning 'ugly' - something we have not really done since last season, and even then not brilliantly. D'Urso was absolutely appalling, reprising, and adding to his disastrous handling of Saints v Blackburn in 2004.

 

We are on the move; now to keep it going.

[Appy]

Hammonds back though? other wise its the dream team of Wotton and Chaplow:?

 

Yes Hammond is due back.

[corky morris]

Except that he was woeful and completely at fault last week against Huddersfield!! I'm surprised that he wasn't dropped for today's match. I suspect Adkins approach is to give players another chance. In that way he seeks to build players' confidence. Maybe this is also why Lambert has not been dropped.

 

What?? You were at a different game than me. Fonte was the man at fault last week. The first free kick that lead to the goal came from a very silly Fonte raised foot, NOT Seabourne. Harding had a shocker as well.

First 15 mins today we were great. Next 30 absolute poo. The goal bailed us out. 2nd half loads better & when we went 2-1 up we were excellent. Very strange game.

[Charlie Wayman]

A very hard match and very entertaining, Oldham came to win and nearly did. They are a good side, level with Saints and that's about right on today's showing. If we get near the top so will they; it's odds-on they'll be in the play offs. They gave us the run-around at times in the first half. We were very lucky boys to get away with this one. Too many of our lads had a day off - must have been the sunshine. Lallana, Chaplow, Lambert & Guly (for 70 mins) out on th beer last night?

 

Still, we got the points and they didn't and it showed we can defend sometimes although Harding did not have one of his better days and gave the goal away. Schneiderlin and Fonte were 100% up for it and Butters had a half decent match. Chamberlayne looks increasingly like the real deal, a budding international from the Paine & Walcott mould. This is one player who must not be allowed to leave, along with Lallana and Schneiderlin - they are our best bet to bring premiership football back to SMS>

 

Nice one lads!

[Tony F]

I thought Oldham's workrate in the first half was the reason they nearly went in 1-up at half-time. They seemed to have two players on every Saints player within 2 seconds of him geting the ball. They paid the price later though, as they tired and that's when OC came on to weave his magic.

 

I thought Danny had an excellent game - both defensively and linking through to Punch and then OC - its gonna be hard for Frazer R to get into the team at all, on this showing!.

 

Agree that Guly and Barney seemed to work well together - was a bit concerned that Rickie seemed to be "avin' words" with Guly late on in the first half - detected things not 100% rosy between them.

 

Adam had a few quiet moments but also flashes of brillance. He is definitely a real handful for opposing defenses, not only with his skill and unpredictability but his default mentality is to be positive, always look to create something and not dwell on the ball except when necessary.

 

In my view, Chappers worked very hard all match, broke down a lot of opposition possession (especially in the second half) but was guilty of giving the ball away cheaply a few times.

[Jonnyboy]

Another great thing today was the tactics and use of subs! Inspired choice to bring AC on, and a good call bringing Wotton on to help close the game out. All very inspiring really.

 

disagree with bringing wotton on. nothing against the guy but guly was on fire and we were dominating. doing that just sent out the message that we are sitting back now and holding on for the win, and they very nearly stole it at the death if it wasnt fro kelvin. very big risk

[Roger]

For me Morgan was the best player on the field by miles. He ran the game for most of it. His shooting was awful but he was excellent today. How he didn't play last week is above me. If he scored goals could play premier league football and still young. Chez, what planet are you on?

[Whitey Grandad]

For me Morgan was the best player on the field by miles. He ran the game for most of it. His shooting was awful but he was excellent today. How he didn't play last week is above me. If he scored goals could play premier league football and still young. Chez, what planet are you on?

 

He got caught in possession a few times, to be fair.

[LostBoys]

Tough game against a hard battling Oldham side. Some parts were really good and some parts really awful but 3 points were gained. We will not be top by the end of october as I hoped (thanks to the Huddersfield result) but we will be in the top 6. Head disappearing below parapet.

[Lighthouse]

Great 3 points and current record looking good.

 

Just looked at the stats and defensivley we are 3rd stingiest in the league. However attacking wise we are 20th= in the goals scored table (alongside thse free scoring legends Hartlepool and Tranmere)

 

Another striker needed?

 

Can we have Adam Le Fondre please?

[Doctoroncall]

Just back from the game and it was a scrappy affair. After all the talk of the tranmere game, I was expecting a passing game with plenty of width, but saw very little of either. There just seems to be something wrong in the midfield as it's not linking up with the defence or attack, a bit disjointed.

 

Kelvin - 6: Not much to do except the class save at the end. He did nearly give it away at then edge of the box with a short pass to Fonte

 

Harding - 6: Game of two halves, did little right attacking-wise with poor crosses and distribution but put that right in the second.

 

Butterfield - 7: competent performance, got more into the game as time went on.

 

Fonte - 8: A rock in defence although came under pressure at the end plus a goal to get us back in the game

 

Seabourne - 7: works well with Fonte, did enough to quell any Oldham attacks.

 

Lallana - 7: wasn't protected by the referee until late on in the game, it seems the team just expects him to do something if they get the ball to him, if only he got some support. Did better second half with a bit more space and support.

 

Schneiderlin - 6: too deep first half and didn't work well with Chaplow how was in front of him, some good touches but needs to get another 5-10 yards up the pitch.

 

Chaplow - 7: industrious and tried to support the attack but was a bit lost with so much pitch to cover. Did better in the second half when Morgan was beside him.

 

Puncheon - 4: Poor touch, poor decisions, no width and caught off-side.

 

Lambert - 6: not much went his way despite his endeavour. It's strange as last season he won most of his headers and put away the odd chance that he had in this game.

 

Guly - 6: huffed and puffed but didn't do much, even messed up the one on one. He was making some runs but was never seen by team mates.

 

Barnard - 7: Harried and hustled all the time. He caused the oldham defenders trouble with his runs and challenges for the ball.

 

Chamberlain - 7: immediate impact, did so well for the goal and was a useful outlet on the right.

[Smirking_Saint]

Pretty sure Morgan is now out for next Saturday with 5 bookings.

 

I think he is too. I still think we need to sign a quality holding midfielder this january or just a decent and disciplined CM that can actually pass a ball. Personally i don't think that Morgan is a holding player, i think he yearns to be let of the leash a little and when i saw him play for France with a bit of ambition in the Toulon tournament i thought he looked the real deal.

 

Hammond for me is just not up to the quality of our squad, i think he is a good player at this level but will struggle taking the step up. His passing range isn't good enough for a team that now is attemping to play a passing game, nor is his movement, he just isn't on the right wavelength.

 

Its also the time i think to look into striking replacements for January. Connelly for me has had it, even if he returns from yet another injury i think he is past it.

 

I have been impressed with Seaborne coming on strong and Harding playing his heart out defending his left back position.

[NickG]

Just back from the game and it was a scrappy affair. After all the talk of the tranmere game, I was expecting a passing game with plenty of width, but saw very little of either. There just seems to be something wrong in the midfield as it's not linking up with the defence or attack, a bit disjointed.

 

Kelvin - 6: Not much to do except the class save at the end. He did nearly give it away at then edge of the box with a short pass to Fonte

 

Harding - 6: Game of two halves, did little right attacking-wise with poor crosses and distribution but put that right in the second.

 

Butterfield - 7: competent performance, got more into the game as time went on.

 

Fonte - 8: A rock in defence although came under pressure at the end plus a goal to get us back in the game

 

Seabourne - 7: works well with Fonte, did enough to quell any Oldham attacks.

 

Lallana - 7: wasn't protected by the referee until late on in the game, it seems the team just expects him to do something if they get the ball to him, if only he got some support. Did better second half with a bit more space and support.

 

Schneiderlin - 6: too deep first half and didn't work well with Chaplow how was in front of him, some good touches but needs to get another 5-10 yards up the pitch.

 

Chaplow - 7: industrious and tried to support the attack but was a bit lost with so much pitch to cover. Did better in the second half when Morgan was beside him.

 

Puncheon - 4: Poor touch, poor decisions, no width and caught off-side.

 

Lambert - 6: not much went his way despite his endeavour. It's strange as last season he won most of his headers and put away the odd chance that he had in this game.

 

Guly - 6: huffed and puffed but didn't do much, even messed up the one on one. He was making some runs but was never seen by team mates.

 

Barnard - 7: Harried and hustled all the time. He caused the oldham defenders trouble with his runs and challenges for the ball.

 

Chamberlain - 7: immediate impact, did so well for the goal and was a useful outlet on the right.

 

can only remember Puncheon given offside once - which was right in front of me and not convinced it was right decision - someone sent a great ball through.

[Dr Who?]

First 10 minutes we ripped them apart with a high tempo, and should have been 3-0 up. The rest of the half we were the better team, and were trying to play football with a mix of long passes forwards, but after we went one down we became a bit aimless. Needed to get level before half time or I think it could have been different.

 

I thought we were going to come out of the blocks in the second half but up until we scored the half was terrible, and then be scored and ripped them apart again for 10 minutes, and then we decided that we were going to just hang on for the win when I thought we had a 3rd in us, only to nearly score before we tried to throw it away. A bit of an up and down game really and very scrappy in large periods of the game.

 

3 points was the most important thing today!!