Player ratings at Villa

[tigertim68]

Stockdale 5
Bruno 6
Pog 4
Dunk 7
Tomori 7
Sidwell 8 MOTM
Stephens 7
Murphy 5
Knockeart 6
Baldock 7
Murray 7

March 6
Rosenior 6
Hemed 6

I agree with these marks

 

[kevo]

Boy, we certainly do know how to take our foot off the pedal at the end of the season. Three playoff defeats in the last four years and now this. One point from our last three games of the season and no goals from open play. Just as well we got promotion wrapped up before we went walkabout.

Another poor performance today. Villa had many more chances than we did and if not for Stockdale (a man-of-the match performance before he gifted them the equaliser) they could well have had a two or three goal lead before the penalty. Playing against ten men for 25 minutes we should have been going all out for more goals and not adopting this frankly ridiculous defensive attitude.

Great season, but the poor ending has taken some of the gloss off it.

Stockdale 7. Some great saves ... and then THAT goal.
Bruno 7. OK
Dunk 9. Another great game.
Tomori 8. He's a good 'un. Let's get him in for next season.
Pocognoli 5. Did his very best to gift them a goal on more than one occasion in the first half. Disappointing.
Stephens 7. Good game, but too many sideways and backwards passes particularly later in the game when we needed to push forward.
Sidwell 6. OK
Murphy 4. Did nothing of note. I had hoped he would be given a start to show what he could offer ... based on today the answer is "not much".
Knockaert 6. Another below par performance. He can play so much better.
Murray 7. Great penalty to give us hope, but otherwise he had trouble keeping the ball under control on too many occasions. Not at his best.
Baldock 7. Great to see him back. Awful miss in the second half which would have sealed it for us.

Subs:
March 7. A few good runs and crosses, but inconsistent.
Rosenior 5. Looked rusty and off the pace.
Hemed N/A

That's about right.

 

[big nuts]

In terms of saves alone, I think it was the best display I've ever seen from an Albion keeper. There were about five or six crackers. From where I was it looked like he was completely unsighted for the goal too. There were a couple of poor kicks admittedly. But how can it be a five? He was still my MOM. Without him we could have been about 5-0 down before we got our first.



So glad it's not just me.

I disagree. It was poor goal keeping rather than unsighted. Yes the Dunk lunge didn't help but you presume the natural flight/curveiture of the ball will continue. Replays and Stockdale's reaction says it all.

I agree up until then a superb display the save with his legs after the Pog under hit back pass being the highlight. But he has to save the Grealish shot it wasn't powerful and wasn't far from the centre of the goal.

 

[Machiavelli]

It was almost as if we were watching the match from the same spot!

Think you two were pretty much in line with me. Stockdale played a blinder. For the goal, Dunk did his best to clear the ball but missed, and was probably no more than eight yards in front of Stockdale, the ball bounced just in front of him, and he didn't have the time to adjust to make yet another save.
It's a real shame that my PotS and runner-up were involved in that incident, but it's just one of those things that happens. If you do what we've done for most the season, and park the bus to defend leads, then deflections and incidents like that more often than not lead to goals than wonder-strikes.