Player ratings v Bolton (h)

[Napier's Knee]

Stockdale 7- great save at 2-2 that got Bruno out of jail
Bruno 6 - Nearly another Bolton horror show. Very lucky man
Goldson 7 - largely composed but like most of the side, made sloppy mistakes in posession. Great run for the Murphy chance at the end of the first half
Dunk 7 - similar to Goldson
Ridgewell 6 - his best game for us bar the weak header that led to their second
Knockaert 7 - nothing came off for him until that fabulous run in the build up to hemed a goal. Sublime interspersed with sloppy
Stephens 6 - must be under pressure from sidwell/crofts. Kayal carried him today
Kayal 9 - bossed the midfield. Goal, an assist and another shot on target. Big game MOTM
Murphy 8 - tore them to shreds at times. He's raised his game now skalak and AK have arrived
Zamora 7 - WHAT a touch for Hemed's goal. Worth the admission fee alone
Hemed 7.5 - much improved. Could have had a hat trick on another day and an assist for kayals goal

Calde 6 - no major impact
LuaLua 7 - looks like he's lost half a yard of pace but drew fouls well in that stoppage time
Skalak n/a

Overall we were irresistible going forward at times but often sloppy. We might have lost on another day.

Pretty much how I saw it but 8 for Kockaert - his defensive covering is exceptional. Hemed and Zamora worked very well together and Bruno/Knockaert is like Bong/KLL.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

He's clearly a very intelligent player, you very rarely see him dive in and he is superb at reading where the ball is going to go but for me needs to be more alive to the situation when wingers get into crossing positions, you can't give players that amount of time in this division to pick out a man.

Think we'll have to agree to disagree [emoji1]

 

[The Brighton Buzz]

Stockdale 8 -- Great save to keep us in the game. Decent game.
Bruno 6 -- A mixture. Good bits , but then a few poor passes.
Goldson 7 -- What a find. Very good going forward and composed for someone so young
Dunk 6 -- Troubled by Heskey but stuck to his task well
Ridgewell 6 -- Has filled in reasonably well during his loan , but seemed slow and we have better coming back to fitness
Knockaert 7 -- great run for Hemed's goal. We didn't get him on the ball enough
Stephens 6 -- Needs a rest, plays sideways and backwards and slows play down
Kayal 8 -- Another great performance, think that his game has been affected by Stephens lack of form alongside him but back to his best today
Murphy 8.5 MotM -- Great pace and finish for the first, Will be difficult to shift from the team in this form
Zamora 6.5 -- Strong hold-up play, great assist. Thought he had scored again but just missed the post.
Hemed 8 -- Good finish and assist, Good to see him back in the goals.

Calde 6 -- Typical Calde performance
LuaLua 6 -- Looked rusty, but good to see him back
Skalak n/a -- Looking forward to seeing more of him.

 

[Skaville]

Pretty much how I saw it but 8 for Kockaert - his defensive covering is exceptional. Hemed and Zamora worked very well together and Bruno/Knockaert is like Bong/KLL.

I think the two this seem to be on another wavelength to everyone else are Zamora and Knockeart. They seem to love playing together

 

[goldstone]

We were the better team, but some poor defensive play and some poor distribution let us down. We overhit probably six long balls upfield in the first 15 mins. We'll need to do a lot better at the back if we're to get anything from Hull.
Stockdale 8. Kept us in the game with that great stop at 2-2. Otherwise a good game.
Bruno 6. Responsible for Stockdale having to make that stop. Otherwise a decent enough game, but not at his best.
Dunk 6. OK, but the entire defence was below par today.
Goldson 7. Some nice passes, but also some wayward ones. From the Sky highlights it looks as though he might have been partly at fault for their first goal.
Ridgewell 6. OK.
Kayal 8. Back to his best. Great goal. MOM.
Stephens 5. Unfortunately some way off his best. Maybe needs a rest?
Knockhaert 8. Not quite as influential as against Brentford, but again a very good performance.
Murphy 8. Very well taken goal. Also back to his very best.
Hemed 8. Well taken goal and some all-round good forward play.
Zamora 7. Some great hold-up play and lay-offs and a beautiful pass to Hemed for the goal. Looked very fit again after a sluggish performance against Brentford.

Subs: Calderon 6. Looked OK.
Lua Lua 6. OK. Obviously short of match fitness.
Skalak - not on long enough.

 

[Sheebo]

Laughable, watched a different game to me. Started the move for our first goal with a great header, saved us towards the end with a great sliding tackle.

Incidentally, you don't automatically close wingers down if you have limited cover as you expose the rest of the defence - see Ridgewell on the first goal when he tracked their player to the opposite side of the pitch, and consequently couldn't help Dunk when Heskey pulled off him, as he was still getting back.

I too thought Bruno was excellent today. So did others around me for sure. Seems to win so so so so much more than he used to. Outpaced for the Stockdale save but we shouldn't have left Bruno on him & the lad seemed very quick..!

 

[sllugaes]

Stockdale 8 -- Great save to keep us in the game. Decent game.
Bruno 6 -- A mixture. Good bits , but then a few poor passes.
Goldson 7 -- What a find. Very good going forward and composed for someone so young
Dunk 6 -- Troubled by Heskey but stuck to his task well
Ridgewell 6 -- Has filled in reasonably well during his loan , but seemed slow and we have better coming back to fitness
Knockaert 7 -- great run for Hemed's goal. We didn't get him on the ball enough
Stephens 6 -- Needs a rest, plays sideways and backwards and slows play down
Kayal 8 -- Another great performance, think that his game has been affected by Stephens lack of form alongside him but back to his best today
Murphy 8.5 MotM -- Great pace and finish for the first, Will be difficult to shift from the team in this form
Zamora 6.5 -- Strong hold-up play, great assist. Thought he had scored again but just missed the post.
Hemed 8 -- Good finish and assist, Good to see him back in the goals.

Calde 6 -- Typical Calde performance
LuaLua 6 -- Looked rusty, but good to see him back
Skalak n/a -- Looking forward to seeing more of him.

Can we stop saying Stephens needs a rest - there have been recent periods where Stephens and Co have had rests between games. Stephens has not been on song for the last 3 or so games too be honest. A little lost, and game passing him by. Although a nice touch to Kayak. Rest, is now not the reason!

 

[goldstone]

Can we stop saying Stephens needs a rest - there have been recent periods where Stephens and Co have had rests between games. Stephens has not been on song for the last 3 or so games too be honest. A little lost, and game passing him by. Although a nice touch to Kayak. Rest, is now not the reason!

Maybe "rest" is a nice way of saying that he could need some time on the subs bench and give Sidwell a run out?

 

[swindonseagull]

Bloke behind me in the mill road bus queue was complaining Hemed was lazy and did not chase the ball........I guess it takes all sorts..

 

[dazzer6666]

Stockdale 7 - Vital save at 2-2, couldn't do much about either goal
Bruno 6 - Scary mistake which lead to Stockdale's save at 2-2
Goldson 7.5 - So assured and played a vital part in what would've been goal of the season had Murphy finised at the end of the half.
Dunk 7 - Solid
Ridgewell 6.5 - Solid
Knockaert 8 - What a player, quite why no premier league team signed him I have no idea. Fantastic run for the 2nd goal.
Stephens 6 - Shouldn't have been allowed to take that FK, which had Knockaert's name written all over it.
Kayal 9 (MOTM) - Absolutely fantastic. Amazing tenacity, great assist for Murphy's goal and a brilliant finish for his. Back to his very best.
Murphy 8 - Starting to look like a real quality winger - maybe motivated by our new signings/Lua Lua's return? I didn't realise he was so fast!
Zamora 7.5 - Great hold up play, fantastic skill and awareness for his assist.
Hemed 8 - Played very well and topped it off with a decent finish and another good assist. Glad he's back scoring again.

Overall a good performance, which was far more complicated than it needed to be.

Exactly as I saw it. The knobhead sat behind me would give Stockdale a 2, as both goals were 'completely his fault, the useless ****'

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Stockdale 7

Bruno 7
Goldson 8
Dunk 7
Ridgewell 7

Knockhaert 9
Kayal 8
Stephens 7
Murphy 9

Hemed 7
Zamora 7

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Stockdale 8
Bruno 7
Goldson 6.5
Dunk 7.5
Ridgewell 7
Stephens 6
Kayal 8
Knockaert 7.5
Murphy 8
Zamora 7
Hemed 8.5

Lua Lua 7
Calderon 7
Skalak n/a

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Stockdale 8 A crucial save at 2-2, but hesitant on a couple of crosses. Fairly typical of him, but can be proud of his contribution today.
Bruno 7 Not at his most influential and a gaffe almost gifted them a crucial goal - good performance.
Goldson 6 Hesitant in possession a few times and too many long thumps forward.
Dunk 6 Ordinary day for the defence against a wonderful legend of the game.
Ridgewell 6 Solid but nothing overly brilliant from him.
Knockaert 8 Not as good as last week but what a player, with brute strength to go with his class.
Stephens 6 A few poor performances consecutively by his standards but still offers more to the team than Crofts would.
Kayal 8 Getting back toward his best form again after a mid-season stall - what a player.
Murphy 8 Rediscovered his form in the last couple with the new additions to the squad, hope he maintains this level.
Hemed 7 Took his goal well but misses too many chances and isn't good enough all round for the next level.
Zamora 7 It was Bobby vs Emile today and our football legend won the day without scoring.

Subs
LuaLua 5 Never going to be my kind of player.
Calderon 7 Will always be my kind of player!
Skalak 7 Looked a player in the flashes we saw, and looks mental which we all like.

Hughton 7 Good subs but I felt we were far too negative against a team with clearly the worst defensive back 4 in the league - two of them were central midfielders and their 20 year old centre back will be out of the football league by the time he is 23. We let them off the hook today through our negativity but we got the result. Thanks to Stockdale at 2-2 at a time when the game should have been long since resolved.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Stockdale - 7 - as a ball-player and one-on-one-stopper he's the best. As a keeper who can dominate his 6-yard box. Nope. Every keeper has their own particular skill set and not a single one is the total package, but i would feel safer if he very much became the man in charge when crosses and floaters came over. Still, his one-on-one smothering of chances was a game-saver.
Bruno - 7 - alright that poor fluff could have caused us rather a lot of awful bother, but overall he was one of the two down the right that almost everything came through. As the beginner of the second goal with that desperate headed clearance i also thank him. A mostly good display.
Goldson - 7 - Bolton seemed to allow all moves to start with him after Stockdale had the ball. I thought he did ok. He and Dunk weren't ruling the roost, and allowed Heskey, for Dennis Waterman's sake, to have quite a presence in proceedings.
Dunk - 6 - in spite of finer performances than those with the odd howler, he's still not looking in great form. Well, 4 winning games in a row might statistically disagree with me, but i am expecting more from Dunkmeister General, and i hope to see it soon.
Ridgewell - 6 - an ok performance, if somewhat anonymous. When Calde came on, he miscontrolled a pass and then dramatically flung himself in the air for a freekick, but also for the remainder of his time on the field was in attacking positions that Ridgewell never got near. If he keeps his head, Calde, i feel he'll do us ok there.
Stephens - 6 - not firing on all cylinders at the minute, the Dalester. I am not in favour of him taking freekicks in dangerous areas. A couple of his corners were better than usual, but if ever a ball is just outside the box i'd have Stephens as a presence in the box, leaving Knockaert to almost invariably cross or shoot.
Kayal - 9 - a cracking display. Twisting and turning and tackling and assisting and scoring. Brilliant.
Murphy - 8 - great finish, for starters. Works incredibly hard and must get a little frustrated to have Knockaert on the other side of the pitch with Bruno behind him. Little play coming his way, but when it did, or when he was allowed to swap sides for a while to get any sort of a foot in, then he did well. I love Kaz, but Murphy is battling to keep his place, and scoring to do so.
Knockaert - 9 - a joy to watch. To sprint as fast as he can with the ball at his feet, then timing his pass so perfectly for Sir Bobbage to flick made for a just a wonder to witness. Some great flair moments and and constant determination. Such a great signing.
Zamora - 7 - great presence up front and far better, other than the assist, when our passing from the back was less skewiff and became more dinksome toward his chest. Played well. Good to see and hope he grabs a winner on Tuesday.
Hemed - 7 - a good performance. Sorry he didn't wallop it past the defender on the line after he rounded the keeper, but glad he tapped home safely and neatly to hopefully keep his confidence up.

 

[amexer]

Stockdale 7 Kept us in game
Ridgewell 6 Ok in defence but on few occasions went forward another player that cant cross past first defender
Goldson 6 Very comfortable on ball. Poor marking for Heskey goal
Dunk 6 Some great tackles but poor marking for Heskey goal
Kayal 8 Very good
Stevens 7 ok
Knockhaert 6 Apart from great run for goal poor game and stupid foul that led to there 2nd goal
Zamora 6 Played better when ball played to his feet and great assist.
Hemed 6 Goal and assist but otherwise very poor. We need a centre forward like Kodja Gray Austin etc that give centre half hard time for 90mins
Murphy 7 Good game and great to have winger comfortable with both feet.
Lua Lua 4 Surprised unable when fresh unable to beat full back once

 

[Acker79]

A few mixed bag performances, I thought. The game as a whole seemed to be quite mixed. We started well, bombarding them with attacks, but couldn't convert those chances. Bolton start attacking and we manage to score on the break instead. The game got really messy in the middle of the first half. Passes going astray, got extremely defensive while in possession. We started to pressure again, but then were only able to score on the counter attack.

I am a little concerned that we can't make that pressure count, can't break down defences when we have pressure, but only a little at the moment, since we seem to have massively improved our ability to make counter attacks work.

Stockdale 7.5 - Very important save, but seemed reluctant to come off his line to collect balls and ease the pressure on defence at times, and I felt should have commanded his area more in the build up to their second goal, not so much the shot itself, that came through too many bodies, but I felt Stockdale should have come and claimed the ball before the couple of weak attempts to clear it.
Bruno 8 - One error aside, a strong performance
Goldson 7 - Weak on the goals, but overall coming on nicely. I liked his run just before half time
Dunk 7 - As with Goldson
Ridgewell 7 - Shame his run ended with an injury.
Murphy 8 -
Stephens 6.5 - Seemed slow to make a decision, kept getting the ball trapped under his feet when it was a good pass, but still made a good contribution
Kayal 8.5
Knockaert 8.5
Hemed 8 - Worked hard, well taken goal (there had been some criticism of the goals he had previously scored during his drought, but his last couple were well taken)
Zamora 6.8 - Some slow reactions, some passes

Calderon - Comfortable.
Lualua - Good, but needs to improve more if he wants to push for a starting spot again
Skalak - Was very good at winning free kicks

 

[Lifelong Supporter]

Stockdale 6 Good one on one save but lacked presence and dominance in area
Bruno 6 Classy overall but poor mistake to present them with a gift at a crucial time (which they declined)
Goldson 6 Average.. sloppy at times
Dunk 6 Let an aged striker have too much influence on play
Ridgewell 6 Plays with composure but a lack of passion
Stephens 6 In and out performance
Kayal 8 Up for it and fully effective today. Classy goal
Knockeart 7 Very skilful but perhaps too much of what the tried today did not come off. Great play for the goal
Murphy 7 Well taken first goal and energetic display More room for him with Knockeart in the team.
Zamora 6 Did well for second goal. Some good lay offs, some poor ones. Did not look too much of a threat in the game
Hemed 7 Nice finish and could/should have had more. More confident than of late and contributing more.


I feel many of the markings given are generous because we won. We were though at home to a team in dire straits and there is reason why it was so close at 3 2. I felt our defence looked vulnerable and that we looked as if we were missing a fit and in form Greer. I am unsure as to whether Goldson and Dunk are a good enough central defensive pair for where we are looking to go. The next three away games should make this clearer !!!

 

[Withdean11]

Stockdale 7.6 - Great match winning save. Needs to be a little more dominating if I'm being picky.
Bruno 6.8 - Usual flair going forward, and a couple of excellently timed tackles. But a couple of defensive errors
Goldson 6.6 - Not his best game for us but did OK. Will be a very good player for us.
Dunk 6.0 - Struggled against a 38 year old Emile Heskey.
Ridgewell 6.4 - Was OK.
Knockaert 7.3 - Even when not at his best, he is a joy to watch.
Stephens 6.9 - Not at his early season form. Slows the game down too much recently.
Kayal 8.0 - Pure class. Fantastic goal. MOM.
Murphy 7.3 - Got much better since having another threat on the other wing.
Zamora 7.0 - That flick...! Showed his quality.
Hemed 7.6 - Best game for a while.

 

[Acker79]

Any more ratings?

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Stockdale 7
Bruno 7
Goldson 7
Dunk 6
Ridgewell 6
Stephens 6
Kayal 8
Knockaert 8
Murphy 8
Zamora 6
Hemed 8

Lua Lua 6
Calderon 5