Brighton & Hove Albion v Walsall: Match Ratings

[HP Seagull]

Ankergren - 6 - Looked nervy in the first 20 but seemed to settle down.

Calderon - 6 - Skinned far too easily for my liking. Looks shaky defensively but came alive in the last twenty minutes.
Elphick - 7 - Won everything in the air.
El-Abd - 6 - Not his best game but no real errors.
Painter - 8 - Great goal and defensively solid.

Battipiedi - 6 - Didn't really get into the game.
Bennett - 7 - Looked our only threat for the first 65 minutes while the rest were relatively poor. Great work ethic epitomised by chasing down a 'lost cause' towards the end which almost set up a goal.
Dicker - 6 - Decent without being spectacular.
Kishishev - 6 - Solid and composed on the ball.

Barnes - 7 - Brilliant goal and worked hard.
Murray - 8 - Good performance. At the heart of most of our best chances and worked hard.



Smith - 7 - Should have started in my opinion.
Holroyd - Not on long enough

 

[Bean]

Ankergren: 6

Calderon:7
Elphick:7
El-Abd:6
Painter:7

Battipiedi:6
Bennett:7
Dicker:7
Kishishev:6

Barnes:7
Murray:7

Subs-
Smith:7
Holroyd:6

 

[Beach Hut]

Ankergren - 6 - Looked like he could cause an error at any time

Calderon - 7 - OK but caught out of position a couple of times
Elphick - 8 - Excellent
El-Abd - 3 - Looked a nail on liability right from the off
Painter - 9 - Superb and finally a goal

Battipiedi - 7 - Lot of promise
Bennett - 6 - So much promise so little delivery
Dicker - 5 - Too many poor passes
Kishishev - 7 - Good composure

Barnes - 8 - Great finish and really worked hard
Murray - 7 - Desperately needs a goal

Smith - 7 - Did not deserve to be benched
Holroyd - 4 Like a broken pencil, pointless

 

[Acker79]

Defence
I thought there seemed to be issues between Ankergren and Elphick/El Abd early on. I don't know if it is confidence, communication, or if they're still getting to know each other, but passes going astray, uncertainty, and so on. It made us very nervy at the back, and it did seem like they were too scared to go long. I like us to be a passing side, but we shouldn't be afraid to have our keeper kick it out if there are no options short.
Once Ankergren started to kick it there seemed to be more confidence at the back, but I was concerned that Ankergren seemed to never come for crosses, causing few heart-in-mouth moments.

Midfield
Seemed too narrow and too reliant on Bennett, who was a work horse. Kish seemed to get caught too much on the ball. Battipiedi didn't seem too confident, but there were some moments that suggest he could be a good signing. Dicker had a lot of good runs, but defensively was a bit slow chasing back. When Smith came on we got a lot more positive, and became a much better unit.

Forwards.
Great work from Murray, though I felt he was going down too easily a lot, a couple of attempts to con a penalty, and he did seem to get in the way of a couple of good looking shots, but he held the ball up well, and set up one of the goals with a great cross, and came back and was a major asset in defence.
Barnes great finish for the goal, and hopefully that's what he needed to start putting them away like he did late last season. Wasn't consistently great, but had some good moments where it really looked like he and Murray were clicking as a pair.

Overall, not the greatest 90 minutes of football. We didn't seem to get going until we scored, Walsall seemed content to just come and frustrate us, which meant they weren't exactly trying to make a game of it, which probably didn't help. They looked more of a threat in the first half until our defence started to sort themselves out. Obviously the ref played a major part in the goal, but it was a casual pass that did not need to be played so close to the ref, if the ref was a walsall player running back, we'd be slaughtering the pass, not the walsall player, so I feel we shouldn't be so harsh on the ref, who seemed ok to me. He tried not to get his cards out, talked to players before the challenges got out of hand, but the linesman by the north stand seemed lost on several occasions, not sure what to give and just going with the ref, or whichever player screamed most convincingly.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Acker79 - Good summary

 

[Simon Morgan]

Defence
I thought there seemed to be issues between Ankergren and Elphick/El Abd early on. I don't know if it is confidence, communication, or if they're still getting to know each other, but passes going astray, uncertainty, and so on. It made us very nervy at the back, and it did seem like they were too scared to go long. I like us to be a passing side, but we shouldn't be afraid to have our keeper kick it out if there are no options short.
Once Ankergren started to kick it there seemed to be more confidence at the back, but I was concerned that Ankergren seemed to never come for crosses, causing few heart-in-mouth moments.

This is spot on. I get very nervous when El-Abd, Elphick and Casper pass it amongst themselves. Often creates more problems than it solves really. Sometimes it is ok for the keeper just to kick it forward.

 

[Perkino]

Ankergren - 6 - Not a lot to do but did ok, seems to want to smash it up field everytime

Calderon - 7 - Looked better defensively than he has for a long time
Elphick - 6 - Shaky to start with but he seemed to settle after about 30 mins
El-Abd - 4 - I was concerned everytime he had the ball - his worst game for a while
Painter - 8 - Did a top job all day, dealt with everything defensively and scored a goal

Battipiedi - 6 - A tricky game to play in although he showed some good touches
Bennett - 7 - Worked his socks off but his choices in the final third let him down
Dicker - 7 - Some lovely passing moves throughout, he kept the game ticking and broke up their attacks well
Kishishev - 6 - Worked hard, but seems to make sloppy passes towards the end of a game

Barnes - 7 - Did well and hs positioning unsettled their defence several times, also a well taken goal
Murray - 8 - Won most things in the air and got a kicking by their centre backs, he does need to stop fouling people needlessly

Smith - 7 - A transormed player from last season - his introduction changed the game
Holroyd - 6 - Only had about 3 minutes, and was brought on to help see out the game

 

[logan89]

Ankergren - 6 - Nothing to do really

Calderon - 7 - Didn't really get forward like he usually does, but solid game
Elphick - 8 - Won everything in the air today, people seem to moan about his passing but I was impressed today. Even his long balls found the man today. Also striker never got passed him and covered El-abd well
El-Abd - 5 - Extremely poor first half, slightly better second half. Barely won a header, gave the ball away a lot when under no pressure whatsoever
Painter - 8 MOM - Was absolute class today. I'll say no more

Battipiedi - 6 - Did ok
Bennett - 6 - Tried hard, nothing really came off
Dicker - 6.5 - Better second half was helped when they went down to 10
Kish - 6.5 Same as Dicker

Barnes - 7 - Struggled to hold up the ball and didn't link up with Murray except on a couple of occasions, one which led to a goal
Murray - 7 - Looked disinterested for most of the game but looked class for the 20 mins he did try. Should have done better with the 2 chances

Smith - 6.5 - Not on long enough but looked good for the time he was on. Probably helped by playing against 10 men

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Ankergren 5 - Flapped at an early shot and looked nervous. Did ok but doesn't fill me with confidence.

Calderon 6 - Improved as the game wore on, is getting more like the player we had last season.

El-Abd 4 - Shocking at start of first half. Keeping the ball on the deck is all well and good, but I do worry when they casually knock it around at the back. Always look like cocking up.

Elphick 6 - Won a lot in the air but see above re on the ball.

Painter 7 - Great performance capped by decent goal. Looked absolutely delighted.

Bennett 7 - Lively, tried to make things happen, made some good blocks.

Batti 5 - Good when on the ball, but this wasn't often enough.

Kishishev 4 - Poor today, dwelled on the ball too often, kept on giving possession away.

Dicker 6 - One of our most gifted players on the ball, but sometimes takes way too much time. Became very involved in second half.

Barnes 6 - Smashing finish. Looked low on confidence before, I think he has it in him though.

Murray 7 - Great performance, worked his NUTS off. Won a lot in the air, scared the life out of their defenders. Was gutted when his shot came off the post.


Smith 6 - I really like him. Was the only midfielder (bar Bennett) not afraid to turn and run at the defence. We looked more threatening with him on the pitch. Should definitely have scored 2 goals, which would have capped a good performance.

I agree with every word.

 

[herecomesaregular]

marking for influence on the game rather than overall performance, so:

ankergen: 6 - rarely tested
calderon: 7 - caught a few times but also some excellent passing and always pushed forward.
elphick: 6- shakey start but soon picked up the tempo. looks like he can learn to pass short rather than hoof. reliable performance.
el abd: 4 -very shakey and made many mistakes in the firsthalf which should have been punished. improved second half. cannot pass for toffee so i would rather see him lump it.
Batti: 5 - quiet, not influential.
kitchen chef: 5 - mostly solid. very poor pass to the ref, leading to the walsall goal.
bennett: 7 - anything creative in the first half involved him. faded in and out second half but still influential.
dicker: 6 - had a lot of the ball. some useful passes but also lost it often, mixed performance from him.
barnes: 7 - worked hard all game with some nice touches. cracking goal.
murray: 9 - worked his nuts off. a nuisance all game. great in the air, excellent crossing, classiest player on the pitch today.

smith: 8 - helped change the game when he came on.

 

[bright1064]

Anyone who has rated Murray lower than any single other player, clearly has shit in their eyes. He was outstanding today regardless of whether or not he scored. He looks sharper than ever and if he stays fit we will have a good season.

 

[Barnham Seagull]

Ankergren - 6 OK, Jurys still out

Calderon - 6.5 Ok
Elphick - 6 Average
El-Abd - 5 Not his best game
Painter - 8 MOM

Battipiedi - 6 Did nothing wrong but did not add anything
Bennett - 7 Looked the most likely to make something happen
Dicker - 6 Better in second half once diamond formation was dispanded in favour of a more traditional 4 across the middle
Kishishev - 6 Same as Dicker

Barnes - 7 Managed to make space for himself several times in the box and great finish for the goal
Murray - 7 Great link up play today, if he plays like that all season I'll be very happy plus the goals will come

Smith - 7 Looked VERY PROMISING
Holroyd - Not Long enough

Poyet - 6 Realised he needed to change the midfield set up at half time and push the full backs forward which ultimately turned it round for us, marked down for the set up at the begining.

 

[Knotty]

Murray - 7 - Looked disinterested for most of the game but looked class for the 20 mins he did try. [\QUOTE]

That isn't just very harsh, it's simply nonsense.

 

[goldstone]

Murray - 7 - Looked disinterested for most of the game but looked class for the 20 mins he did try. [\QUOTE]

That isn't just very harsh, it's simply nonsense.

Agreed. Murray had an excellent game.

 

[Caveman]

Ankergren seems to be coming under a wee bit of stick. But I think he'll come good. His kicking and distribution IS streets ahead of Kuipers.

 

[SI 4 BHA]

Anyone who has rated Murray lower than any single other player, clearly has shit in their eyes. He was outstanding today regardless of whether or not he scored. He looks sharper than ever and if he stays fit we will have a good season.

Spot on! I does worry me how stupid some posters are on here. They hate Murray because he didn't wave to them at the end of a game ages ago, so he is obviously always crap!

 

[Jamie_Seagull]

Ankergren - 6

Calderon - 6
El-Abd - 6
Elphick - 7
Painter - 8 - MOM

Bennett - 8
Kishishev - 6
Battipiedi - 6.5
Dicker - 7.5

Murray - 7
Barnes - 7.5

 

[portslade seagull]

For me Murray was MOM by a long way he was class and Smith looks very promising ... the game changed we he came on.