Player Ratings - Cardiff v Brighton

[Seagull27]

Kuszczak 10 - Wow.
Bruno 8 - All defenders brilliant, absolutely solid brick wall defending.
El-Abd 8 - see above
Upson 8 - see above
Bridge 8 - see above
Bridcutt 8.5 - standard
David 8.5 - didn't do a lot in the second half, but two top quality assists. Real quality on the ball on both occasions and one of those players who can make something out of nothing with a great touch and pin point precision
Hammond 5 - mostly a game to forget for Dean, would have been lower if not for his build up to the first
Orlandi 7.5 - great finish, did well in first half. Went missing in second a bit.
Buckley 7 - looked mildly threatening, but not too clinical when given the chances
Ulloa 7.5 - got a goal so well on him. Nothing to do in the second half, but not much he could do about it either.

Edit: should add subs -

Dicker 7 - defended well when called upon
Calderon 7 -same as Dicker
JFC - N/A

 

[big nuts]

Kuszczak 10 - Wow.
Bruno 8 - All defenders brilliant, absolutely solid brick wall defending.
El-Abd 8 - see above
Upson 8 - see above
Bridge 8 - see above
Bridcutt 8.5 - standard
David 8.5 - didn't do a lot in the second half, but two top quality assists. Real quality on the ball on both occasions and one of those players who can make something out of nothing with a great touch and pin point precision
Hammond 5 - mostly a game to forget for Dean, would have been lower if not for his build up to the first
Orlandi 7.5 - great finish, did well in first half. Went missing in second a bit.
Buckley 7 - looked mildly threatening, but not too clinical when given the chances
Ulloa 7.5 - got a goal so well on him. Nothing to do in the second half, but not much he could do about it either.

Edit: should add subs -

Dicker 7 - defended well when called upon
Calderon 7 -same as Dicker
JFC - N/A

Granted my stream was shit but I thought Hammond was pivotal to our win both in attack and defense. I thought Bruno had a bit of a mare again too casual in possession which put the rest of the back four under pressure. He reminds me a lot of Reyes last season, started of brilliantly but a bit of a liability as the season progressed. Really wouldn't mind Calderon playing ahead of him at the moment.

Can't complain though a great win and a great battling performance against a very strong team destined for Premier League football.

 

[shaolinpunk]

10 for everyone.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

JFC should get at least an 8 for an inspired late late substitution

 

[Mellotron]

Very hard to judge. Bruno and El Abd had INCREDIBLY shaky first halves but the whole unit solidified a lot in the 2nd. Kusz - 10.

 

[Hyperion]

Kusczcack 10
Everyone else 6

The Bar & Post behind Kusczcack 9

 

[terryberry1]

I thought Hammond had a really good game

 

[Seagull27]

Very hard to judge. Bruno and El Abd had INCREDIBLY shaky first halves but the whole unit solidified a lot in the 2nd. Kusz - 10.

Agreed, hard to rate as we were playing a completely different game to our usual, but to keep them out as we did in the 2nd half was heroic to say the least.

- - - Updated - - -

I thought Hammond had a really good game

He did make some good runs forward I guess, but we could have easily conceded goals on a few occasions because of Hammond had it not been for Kuszczak.

 

[Mellotron]

Also thought Bridge had a very good game - 8.5

 

[finlaych]

Woodwork 10

Saved us 4 times

 

[VAL1850]

They arn't very happy with Nooney

Football never fails to frustrate, infuriate etc. etc.

Hit the woodwork three times. Had 4 other clear cut chances on goal - and what looked to be the most obvious penalty seen for a long time. And their keeper had a blinder.

Brighton did their homework, and pressed and crowded us up the field.

and we didn't play quite at our best, too many people were a little off tune, the passing wasn't quite there, nor the bounce of the ball - and we've had a result which suggests we were roundly beaten.

On another night, that could have been at least 3 or 4 - 1 - but that's football I suppose.

Ratings;

Marshall - pulled off his usual blinder, hasd little chance with the goals, maybe distribution was a teeny bit shaky at times - 7

Connolly - Poor night for him - defended fine, but his passing, crossing and general support play let him down too many times - 5

Taylor - Solid - maybe partly at fault for the second goal, but it was sh*t or bust by then, so hardly point costing, supported the attack well - 6

Hudson - a poor night for Captain Fantastic - a bit headless to start off with, then naturally calmed down after he was booked - not his most influential evening - 5

Turner - another who defended well - but who's distribution was off key - 6

Gunnar - quiet night in general, seemed to come second in the midfield battle, had a couple of clear cut chances on goal, fluffed them both - 5

Whitts - orchestrated the play superbly - but again his set pieces were very poor by his exceptionally high standards. How he needs a goal - but his best game for a while - 7

Noone - Just shocking. His most positive contribution all night was his clapping of the Brighton fans when he came on and again when he went off. Missed a sitter, sadly did nothing at all right - 1 (for tying his bootlaces)

Smith - another for whom things just didn't quite run tonight - didn't do a great deal wrong, but nothing much went right for him either - 6

Bellers - run, run, run and run again. Fought, quarrelled, argued - and should have been given a pen - but too often his massive efforts appeared wasted - another for whom it didn't quite work tonight - 6

Campbell - after being sublime on Saturday, he gets one more mark than Noone simply for the fact that he didn't applaud the opposition fans twice. Very, very poor. - 2

Conway - made a big difference when he came on. Doesn't quite get MOTM for 35 mins, but a very good effort from him - 7

Anyway, let's not dwell too much - let's just bounce back like we've done every time there's been a setback this season - onwards and upwards!

Bloooooooooooooooooobiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiurds!
[Updated on: Tue, 19 February 2013 22:19]

 

[Barry Izbak]

Kooshak was immense, and celebrated big time at the end.
For me Hammond, Buckley and Bruno were well off their game.

Bridcutt was just short of fcuking brilliant. It's his own fault frankly for setting himself such high standards. I'm only giving him 11/10 today.


I'm looking forward to picking up the local paper in the morning. The locals I spoke to were impressed with us. To be fair they were down on their team, but impressed by us.
Tbh we were not as fantastic as the fixture here last year, IMO

 

[BHA96]

Kush-10 best game for us, saves were sublime

Bruno-6 shaky
Upson-9 very solid
El-abd-8.5 shaky at the start but solid after
Bridge-9 solid defending good get forward

Bridcutt-9 solid, strong, brave, good going forward
Hammond-7.5 solid occasionally sloppy

Lopez-9 good on the ball and grabbed two assists
Orlandi-9 always seems to pop up with goals when you need him

Buckley-8 first half was best he been for a while, dropped off a bit in 2nd half
Ulloa-8 held up the ball well, got back and defended well

Dicker-7 defended well didn't really notice him
Calde- not on long enough

 

[Triggaaar]

Noone - Just shocking. His most positive contribution all night was his clapping of the Brighton fans when he came on and again when he went off. Missed a sitter, sadly did nothing at all right - 1 (for tying his bootlaces)

nice one agent Noone

- - - Updated - - -

The locals I spoke to were impressed with us. To be fair they were down on their team, but impressed by us.

I don't see why, the only thing we did really well was to ride our luck.

 

[HenryC]

I thought Hammond had a really good game

Yes I did too! Shame he got injured.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Upson and Bridge get 10, so totally in control. The win is down to Upson IMO. To be fair, though, they didn't have Bellamy or Conway on their side of the pitch who terrorised Bruno and El-Abd,

Last years team was our wingless wonders - Ankergren, Painter, Calderon, Greer, Dunk, Bridcutt, Dicker, Vincelot, Navarro, Barnes, Mackail-Smith - and a better performance I'd wager, but Cardiff have improved immeasurably.

 

[maltaseagull]

Yes I did too! Shame he got injured.

With Bridcutt suspended and Hammond likely to be out, who is going to play this role? Dicker or will JFC get his chance?

 

[JBizzle]

Kuszczak 10 - Inspired
Bruno 6 - Gave the ball away a lot
Upson 8 - Totally in control
El-Abd 7.5 - Slightly shaky 1st half but immense second
Bridge 8 - Superb
Bridcutt 8 -Superb as usual
Hammond 7 - Solid is unspectacular, gets the job done
Buckley 8 - Tireless
Orlandi 7.5 - Great finish
Lopez 8 - Two great assists
Ulloa 8 - Worked very hard, earned a goal

Subs:
Dicker 7.5 - Kept things ticking over nicely
Calderon 7 - Adapted to the DM role nicely
JFC N/A

Team 10 - For me, this wasn't a game of individual brillance (although Kuszczak was a glaring exception). This was a massive team performance where everyone contributed to the win and, yes, we were lucky at times but it was a monstrous result when most were expecting at most a point. Still a very happy seagull this morning

 

[SeagullSongs]

Result - 9.5.
Overall performance - 8. Not brilliant to be honest, but a hard-earned, well-defended victory.

Kuszczak - 9.5 MOTM. Unbelievable.

Bruno - 5.5. Passing was a joke at times and seemed unwilling to close down their wingers. Gave away the ball cheaply in the 92nd minute or so, nearly leading to them equalising.
Upson - 8. Solid.
El-Abd - 8. See Upson. Pretty stupid to get himself booked like that though. What does it achieve?
Bridge - 8. Didn't have many opportunities to stretch his legs, but a vital contribution at the back.

Bridcutt - 7.5. Didn't have the best first half, but got back into it the second to control the game.
Hammond - 7.5. Some good all-round midfield work, coupled with a few decent runs.
Lopez - 8.5. Two assists speak for themselves. He's turning out to be a cracking acquisition.
Orlandi - 8. Pretty damn good and a nice take for his goal.
Buckley - 7.5. Much better than a few recent performances, but still not quite back to his old, confident self. Worked his bollocks off today though.

Ulloa - 8. Not sure how he got booked, looked like he won the ball from where I was... Slightly fortunate with the goal but hopefully he'll be banging them in now.

----------

Dicker - 7. Did what he had to.
Calderon - 7. Seems he can play in centre-midfield, eh?
Forster-Caskey - n/a.


Gus - 10. Practically perfect team selection and decent substitutions. Nice to see JFC getting on the pitch even if only for a couple of minutes, shows he's still in the picture.

 

[Mackenzie]

Kuszczak 9
Bruno 5
El-Abd 6
Upson 8
Bridge 8
Bridcutt 8
Hammond 6
Spanish Dave 7
Orlandi 7
Buckley 6
Ulloa 7