Vital Verdict – Yeovil Town v AFCB

Written by billythekid

Could have been an early red for the Yeovil Town player, lucky boy to get away with yellow.

Well taken hat-trick by Marcondes.

A stupid mistake by Nyland to give them an easy goal.

Thought our team played well and basically apart from a few flurries from them were in complete control.

Notmarcjackson wrote…

Nyland made the same mistake in the first half and got away with it. You would think that he would have learned but apparently not. I’m wondering how bad Will Dennis is to be the third choice.

Rogers, clearly has a massive lack of confidence and I agree with earlier posters who say that maybe he needs to try elsewhere.

Leif Davis, actually put in a really good shift and looked like someone trying to win a place in the first team rather than someone who may be going back to his parent club.

Maps I am afraid showed a couple of signs of his big problem, a lack of attention. A couple of times he got caught fannying about thinking he is Beckenbauer but against opposition that didn’t have the ability to make anything of it, so it didn’t matter.

Marcondes was superb. Finishing was top drawer, application first-rate and really put a marker down for a starting spot. Also with finishing like that perhaps we should be thinking about him as a backup for Dom.

For Moriah-Welsh to put in a performance like that bodes really well for his future. A real handful

Shout out to Anthony who made a point of clapping the away fans when there was a stoppage in the second half. Top guy.

Weird acoustics meant that the majority of singing fans’ noise went straight up in the air. But if you couldn’t tell they were singing (and you were at the game) then you are doing it on purpose.

All in all a good result. Not just the win but also with no serious injuries given some of the challenges that were going in.

darwinsdummy said…

Figure I’ll take a shot at some player ratings…

Nyland – 4. Not convincing command of his box, being beaten to multiple balls he went for and gave away the goal by keeping it at his feet for too long. Please, Travers, don’t get injured.

Moriah-Welsh – 6. Solidly average, nothing amazing but also no obvious mistakes. Great start for a young player in a position that I think is not their preferred one.

Mepham – 7. Solid game and did well marshalling the defence as the most experienced of the back 4. Great vision and pass to assist Marcondes’s first goal and nearly assisted Lowe when he drove forward and delivered an excellently weighted through ball. Would be competing for MOTM if it wasn’t for Marcondes.

Ibsen Rossi – 6. See Moriah-Welsh. Neither may be up to the standard of a starter in the Championship, but both are young and did their jobs today. Hope to see them both develop further, may benefit from a loan in League 1.

Davis – 6. Stood up well to a very physical game, like Moriah-Welsh and Rossi.

Marcondes – 9 (maybe 10?). Honestly, I don’t know what else could have been asked of him. Creative spark going forward, clinical in his finishing, today he was on fire with great movement and finishes for goals 1 and 2 as well as finding the right place at the right time to cap off his hat trick from a blocked shot by Lowe. Clear MOTM.

Kilkenny – 6. Didn’t notice him much this game, which is fine for his position, means he was just quietly doing his job, keeping everything ticking over.

Pearson – 7. Game of two halves for him, a quiet first half would get an average 6, but in the second half, he seemed to be constantly intervening to win possession and then move the ball forward, 7 for the second. Maybe it a bit of favouritism that I give him a 7 instead of a 6.

Rogers – 4. Just seems out of confidence. He did show good movement at times, but whenever he had the ball he often struggled to find a way past his man or when passing seemed to be on a different wavelength and the ball would go wide. I think there’s still a good player in him somewhere, but probably needs more time at a lower level to develop. Doubt to see much more of him this season.

Anthony – 6. Mercurial. A lot of the game he was pretty quiet and could have gotten a 4 or 5 for that, but pulled off a sweet little pass to put Marcondes in for his second goal. For attacking players, you can play poorly 99% of the game, but if you still manage to find the net or provide the assist, that’s job done. So an average 6. Hoped to see better from him though, got high hopes for him.

Lowe – 6. Christie-esque finishing could easily have picked up 2 goals for himself today, but good overall play to get on the ball in dangerous positions.

Overall – 6. Mostly average, a few poor and a few good. Some good passing sequences and could see Parker’s tactics at play even with a team made up of a mixture of youngsters and players fighting for first-team football. Didn’t need more against a poor and violent Yeovil.

EDIT: forgot the subs
Brady (64′) – 6. Not sure how he is defensively, but he does look forward with his dribbles and passes, which I like. Not a ton to do today though.

Saydee (84′) – 6. Not much time to judge off of, but he got into an argument with a Yeovil player and was smart to put his hands behind his back. Get in their head but don’t get a yellow. Gets my approval for that.

Camp (90′) – 10. Made more saves than Nyland.

A bit more regarding Marcondes and Lowe and how they may figure in our Championship squad.

Marcondes today reminded me a lot of Billing on his good days. A creative spark with good interplay with other attacking players and great timing arriving in the box along with great finishes. Unlike Waz, I’m still uncertain about playing both together, but I think it may depend on the opposition: against someone like Peterborough or Hull that will have 10 men behind the ball at all times, both would be great, but against teams that will take the game to us I think having Cook or Kilkenny partnering with Billing or Marcondes provides a safer midfield in defense and the sacrifice of creativity/finishing we can make up for by having more opportunities to catch such teams on the break.

For Lowe, I think if he finds the net a few times he may get the confidence and be a good backup for Dom, albeit playing a bit differently – more over the shoulder and less intricate linkup. I think he also showed a good understanding with Marcondes today, making space for each other with their runs, so they may be an option as a double switch for Dom/Billing in games that we’re desperate for a goal and those two seem to be tiring. – Join the conversation, click here.