Ok then. I was 10 mins late so this is for the rest
casper 7 not much to do, but didn't do anything wrong and played the sweeper role well, penalty follow-up hit straight at him. Would be nice in the last 5 mins if he could come and catch crosses, but we know he isn't that kind of keeper by now
calderon 7, made space, closed down well, calderon played higher up than painter as usual with little end product, and nothing really got past him.
Painter, i'll give him a 7 for same reasons as calderon, but i'm less sure how well he can adapt to championship compared to inigo
greer 8 good, very good
dunk 7 this kid has it all, can head, tackle and pass, comfortable on the ball. Point deducted for handball giving away penalty and booked again, 3 in 3 now
bridcutt 8, really feisty , got stuck in a lot, made space and passed well, cleaned up others mistakes. Would have been sent off on another day for persistent fouling
dicker 8, great game in the centre of the park, tackled strongly for him and opened up play well, ran into difficulty a few times but a welcome return to form.
Vincelot 6, wish i knew how to pronounce his name. He's not quite up to the passing speed of the others and i'm still not sure what his style is, but he didn't make any obvious mistakes and was part of a midfield that was on top for the last hour
buckley 6, was subbed off about 5 minutes after i got there and just as the first rendition of his song was being sung
barnes and cms, 6 apiece, i bet everyone else gives cms more, but they both ran their socks off, harrying and getting stuck in, cms higher up the pitch, but were both largely snuffed out by a strong defence when we had the ball. Cms scored from a yard or so, i think.
Subs noone 8, always available as an outlet, too good for their full-backs, every single attacking move went though him. He'll be fun to watch this season.
Navarro 6, on for a bit to save bridcutt from a red.
Wouldn't disagree too much with above. I thought our back 4 were outstanding as a unit and well protected by Bridcutt who for me was best player on the pitch & 9/10.
Thought CMS was absolutely brilliant today, the lad just doesn't stop running. Certainly worthy of an 8. Greer, Bridcutt and Dicker were also stand out players for me, all were superb.
Ankergren - 8 - Dealt with anything Pompey threw at him, passed and kicked pretty well too.
Calderon - 7 - Solid as usual and always looking to get forward.
Greer - 8 - Impressive. Beast of a man who controls the back 4 like any good captain should do.
Dunk - 8 - I won't deduct a point for the handball. But looks like an incredible talent, you would never guess he was 19 years old!
Painter - 7 - Same as Calde, but always a little more defensive.
Vincelot - 7 - I thought he had another good game. Work rate is as good as anyones, and can adapt to any position.
Bridcutt - 8 - For a small man he got stuck in very well, and protected the back 4 very well.
Dicker - 7 - Best game of the season which isn't very hard.
Buckley - 7 - Caused their right back a lot of problems before he got injured, shame he will be out for a few weeks.
Barnes - 7 - No goal but work rate was great.
Mackail-Smith - 8 - A tidy finish, and his work rate is just staggering. How he can do that for 90 minutes just astounds me.
Noone - 8 - What an impact player. Mazy runs, and a cracking left foot to boot.
Navarro - 7 - Didn't get too long, but carried on Bridcutts good work.
Defence looked absolutley solid and midfield covered brilliantly when mistakes were made, Dicker looked class as did bridcutt whereas in attackk buckley looked ok at the start unfortunanly got tooken off but nooooonnnnnneeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy was class when he came on, barnes improved in second half making good turns and causing problems, and mackail-smith looked great again decent goal and my M.O.M Ratings...
Ankergren-8
Calderon-7
Greer-9
Dunk-8
Painter-7
Bridcutt-9
Dicker-9
Vincelot-7
Buckley-7
CMS-9
Barnes-7.5
Subs:
Nooney-8
Navarro-7 not on for long but looked great
Casper - 7. Used his fists well, wound up them Pompey fans and players, good distribution. Seemed to argue with Greer a bit for some reason
Calderon - 7. Solid without being spectacular. Can't argue with a clean sheet
Painter - 7. Same as Calderon
Dunk - 8. Absolutely sensational. Didn't realize it was his handball, but I'm genuinely shocked how good he is. El Abd is going to have a hard time getting his place back
Greer - 8.5. Same as Dunk, but also organized the defence
Bridcutt - 9. I love him. That's it. My favorite player. Everywhere and too good for Pompey
Dicker - 9. On the top of his game today. When he plays like that we tick
Vincelot - 6. 5 for the first half, 7 for the second
Buckley - 7. Encouraging when he was on the pitch. Crudely brought down on more than one occasion.
Barnes - 6.5. Worked hard, but he won't be first choice for long I think
CMS - 6.5. Usual great engine, but we're not playing to his strengths
Noone - 8. I think he's good enough to play in the premier league. Gus has really polished up his game
Navarro wasn't on long enough to mark him
Casper 6 - took too long with the ball on a few occasions and 3 of his long balls went out for a throw
Calderon 7 - looked solid defensively which isn't usually his strength
Greer 8 - Outstanding performance his lead the team superbly
Dunk 8 - Kept Kanu and Kitson very quiet, he plays like an experienced championship centre back
Painter 7 - solid performance and never looked out of his depth
Buckley 7 - looked lively and made a couple of great runs before going off injured
Briddcutt 9 - made ex premiership players look extremely average
Dicker 8 - picked up the 2nd ball in midfield all afternoon and kept the game moving
Vincelot 6 - poor first half but got more involved in the 2nd half when he played closer to CMS
Barnes 7 - worked his socks off for the team doing a lot of donkey work to help keep the midfield tight which is not the best use of his ability
Mackail-Smith 8 - he chased everything at full speed and won us loads of throw ins in the opposition half by pressurising their defence
Noone 8 - found some superb positions all afternoon would have got a 9 if he had delivered a few dangerous crosses
Casper - 7 - Really wish he would be more commanding, but great save after the penalty.
Calderon - 7 - solid
Greer - 9 - Just a rock at the heart of the defence, distribution excellent
Dunk - 9 - Getting stronger every game.
Painter - 7 - solid
Buckley - 6 - a couple of dnagerous runs before coming off.
Bridcuttt - 9 - fantastic performance, wise substitution by Gus.
Dicker - 9 - Best performance for months. MOM.
Vincelot - 6 - Got in good positions, but unconvincing. Personally I prefer Sparrow.
Barnes - 7 - Held the ball up well.
Mackail-Smith - 7 - Incredible workrate
Noone - 8 - Always available, great 'out' option. Worked hard and tracked back as well.
Navarro - 6 - Not on for long, but settled things down.
I am a little concerned about Dunk and his one moment of madness per game. I think it is going to cost us dearly sooner or later and still would like us to sign another experienced central defender if only to cover his inevitable suspension. Very lucky not to get a red today as he saved a certain goal.
1. Ankeregen - 7 - Competent display another clean sheet.
2. Calderon - 8 Has already put his poor end to last season behind him. Excellent defensively and going forward.
3. Painter - 8 - Mr dependable
4. Bridcutt - 9 Sheer class. Excellent distribution and snuffed out countless Pompey attacks.
5. Greer - 9 One of his best displays for the club. Commanding.
6. Dunk - 8 - Huge potential, comfortable on the ball and a natural defender.
7. Buckley - 6 - Not enough time on the pitch to make an impact.
8. Mackail Smith -8 - Great to see his endeavour rewarded with a goal.
9. Barnes - 6 - Quiet, some decent hold up play but pretty invisible for most of the game.
10. Dicker - 9 - My MOM. Great tackling, strong in the air and kept up his usual high standard of distribution.
11. Vincelot - 7 - Got through plenty of work and looks a bargain at £100K, a couple of sloppy passes but generally very good.
12. Navarro -6- Not enough time to make much of an impact.
Ankers-7- Kicking was wayward at times- bonus points for properly winding up the Pompey fans at the end
Calde-8- Defended and got forward very well. Looked like the Calderon of 2 seasons ago again. But better.
Greer-9- Class. Just did everything a CB and a captain needs to do.
Dunk-7- Dealt with the passing at the back very well. Looks a class act. Point deducted for whatever the hell that was for the penalty.
Painter-7- Looked solid defensively and did pretty well going forward
Bridcutt-9 MOM- He was just everywhere today. Broke down everything and his passing was superb
Dicker-9- Fantastic to see him put in a performance like this. Complimented Bridders superbly- really got stuck in today, which was great to see
Buckley-6- Didn't have time to impact really- he needs to stop diving so much though..
CMS-8- Another tireless performance. So glad he is off the mark
Barnes-7- Held the ball up well when required. Didn't get much to do going forward, but did his job supporting the midfield and CMS.
Vincelot-7 Did well. Linked up with Calde nicely down the right side. Promising performance
Noone-8- Wound up their players and had the ball glued to his feet most of the time. Another quality performance.
Navs- Didn't have a lot to do. Great to see him back though.
All in all, a great win for us. It was a real battling performance, and ultimately we deserved to come out on top.
Non-stop moaning from Lawrence all game- the penalty miss couldn't have happened to a better person.
Except Dave Kitson probably. How he stayed on the pitch is beyone me. One poor challenge and an elbow within 2 minutes of coming on. Chant of "You dirty ginger bastard" was justified.
Their fans to our left were a bunch of cocks aswell, particularly the twat in the pink shirt just giving it the whole limp wrist thing for 90 minutes. The look on their fans faces when they missed the penalty was so delicious though, especially after they were all giving it the big 'un after it had been awarded
Referee had a very odd game. Seemed to favour us heavily in the first half, dishing out free-kicks for nothing. Not that I'm complaining.
Oh, and the unveiling of Benjani on the pitch, the whole flag thing and those two weird dog things were so cringeworthy. Almost felt sorry for Portsmouth fans for having to deal with such a tinpot set-up.