Player Ratings V Huddersfield

[Ralphingtonpuss]

Stockdale...No chance with the goal, made a couple of good saves 7

Chicksen...Poor performance, 1st half was awful and he really made Dunks game harder due to Dunk having to cover and defend for/with him, it left a huge gap center left that could have been exploited better if Hudds had been on their game. Chicksen didn't really apply himself going forward either 3

Dunk...Did he do his job and half of Chicksens?YES. Did he play a superb 50 yard pass in the second half?YES. Did he try to build play from the back?YES. Did he get booked OOPS!!! Did he score another goal? Of course he did MOTM 8

Greer...Good commanding captains performance? YES. Tried to pass and build play from the back?YES. Couple of passes astray? MAYBE. Did he get booked? OOPS!!! Our two central defenders are the rocks behind this team at the mo IMHO, at the back and up front, again they displayed a good working team ethic between themselves 8

Calderon...Did what he does good, defended and attacked when he could. He looked tired through the second half but with his work rate that's understandable, maybe at the end of this season a place on someone's managers bench beckons? 7

KLL...Played well for some of the game and at times great skilful runs. Trouble was second half he clearly held back to compensate at left back with AC, and although this led to less trouble and an easier half for Dunk, the 30 yard runs with the ball Kas did were ineffective to a point. This is not a criticism of him it's just we and he would have benefited more if his run started from the half way line and not left back. Did he get booked? OH YES!!, shame because both bookings were easily avoidable. 7

JFC...Had a better game I thought, still a little to deep for me, I would like to see him linking up with the back two about 20 yards further up the field 6

Holla...Can't say I noticed anything of exception, although his uncertainty in the first half losing the ball meant Dunk had to take one for the team 5

Gardner...Not sure what he did really, a long range shot or two wide, other than that I don't know 5

COG...Needs to hold the ball up better and link up with SB. Not the speediest of players is he? 5

Baldock...thought he played ok, some of the runs he makes don't always get the ball played it deserves. Still reminds me of CMS but a little more composed 5

Subs....Did not add anything that we didn't have already!!

Our 302 fans.....10/10 We don't sing when we're winning, we sing all the time!!
WE ARE BRIGHTON, SUPER BRIGHTON FROM THE SOUTH!!!

Just to add, a lot of the games in the season I rely on Seagulls Player argh!!! And NSC, well done you lot in NSC and thanks. I've been lucky to see a few games this season so far and last night although midfield to upfront we were still lacking, there were some improvements on show.
The goal that was chalked off was worthy of winning any game, great build up and play. Maybe and hopefully if COG and SB can have a handful of games together they might build an understanding and go on from there.
We do lack a midfielder with the ability not only to run with the ball (KLL) but play a defence splitting pass (Paddy anyone?). If there is a corner we need to turn then hopefully we took a step closer to it last night, maybe not a left back though?

 

[ozzygull]

Thank you. It's really good to get an idea of how the team play from someone who was there.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

David Stockdale 7 good saves had no chance with their goal which was a cross rather than a shot. Loved his celebration when we scored
Gordon Greer 6
Lewis Dunk 7
Adam Chicksen 4 Out of his depth trying to mark Scannell
Inigo Calderon 7 worked hard and with passion
Jake Forster-Caskey 6
Gary Gardner 6
Danny Holla 5 not his best game
Chris O'Grady 6
Sam Baldock 5 went missing at times.
Kazenga LuaLua 5 silly yellow for dissent but unlucky to get a 2nd yellow for a fair tackle.

Colunga 6 attempted to take on players and get on the ball
Ince 6 We looked more lively when he replaced Holla

 

[BensGrandad]

Good to see Stockdale getting good reviews. Hope he has turned the corner

 

[keaton]

Isn't it someone's job on the pitch to help cover the full-back (especially one who is supposed to go forward a lot)?

 

[Ralphingtonpuss]

Isn't it someone's job on the pitch to help cover the full-back (especially one who is supposed to go forward a lot)?

Isn't it the full backs job to do some even if a little bit of defending? If not he may as well be playing in left midfield, AC was awful.

 

[keaton]

Isn't it the full backs job to do some even if a little bit of defending? If not he may as well be playing in left midfield, AC was awful.

Our full-backs pretty much do play in midfield that's one of the issues.
He may have been awful (I only heard the match). The commentators said he was getting no protection and most teams have formations that offer their full-backs protection, ours doesn't.

 

[BASINGSTOKESEAGULL]

Stockdale 7- Got a lot of stick on here recently but made 2-3 good saves last night
Calderon 7
Dunk 8- MOTM
Greer 7
Chicksen 4- Got done every time by Scannell!
Holla 5
JFC 6
Gardner 5
Baldock 6- Feel sorry for him being shifted out on the right wing, spent most of his time tracking back last night. Put him as our central striker and he may have a chance of scoring!
KLL 6- Always better off the bench
COG 5- Off the pace
Subs:
Colunga 6- Looked good when he came on!
Ince 6

 

[aolstudios]

Isn't it the full backs job to do some even if a little bit of defending? If not he may as well be playing in left midfield, AC was awful.

a question for the manager, perhaps?..

 

[BensGrandad]

Any news on why Chicksen played was Bennett injured, dropped or what?

 

[Box of Frogs]

Any news on why Chicksen played was Bennett injured, dropped or what?

Bennett had a tight hamstring apparently.

 

[drew]

Kazenga LuaLua 5 silly yellow for dissent but unlucky to get a 2nd yellow for a fair tackle.

Exactly how is a trip a fair tackle?

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Stockdale made a couple of saves, looked generally solid enough, and only one really poor ball out of defence that I can think of. 6

Chicksen- oh dear. Run ragged by Scannell, say what you like about covering defenders, but as the full back, you still have to get the basics right. Was maddening how many times he left himself open to being beaten, or showed the attacker inside the line instead of out. Caught out of position far too often. 4

Dunk- solid, dependable, and of course: "Who needs Jordan Rhodes?/Who needs Jordan Rhodes?/ We've got Lewis/We've got Lewis/We've got Lewis Dunk". 8

Greer: couple of poor passes that left us momentarily in sticky situations, but defended well. I can't remember Grant Holt having a shot, or at least not one worthy of the game. 7

Calderon: beaten for pace a few times by one of their wingers, but nothing too terrifying, and he always gets an extra point simply for being Inigo. 6

Gardner: can't recall him doing a lot wrong, probably the least inept of the midfield: 6

JFC: same as, really, can't think of him doing an awful lot, good or bad. Lovely flick for Baldock's disallowed goal. 6

Holla: Gone right off the boil since he first came in. Gave the ball away far too much. 5

KLL. Hard to call. Not his usual fizzing self. Got frustrated. Ridiculous first yellow card for gobbing off completely unnecessarily. Then diced with fate with a couple more hairy challenges, before finally pissing the referee off one too many times with a daft trip near the end. 6 for performance, marked down to 5 for stupidity.

O'Grady. No worse than Holt. Held it up well. Had a couple of tricky chances. Lacked service (familiar?). Doesn't have any discernible pace 6

Baldock. I like him. He's intelligent. Worked hard (again). Lovely finish for the disallowed goal (what that might have done for our season and his if it had counted). Movement was good. Suffered from lack of decent passes in useful positions. I think he'll come good, so long as we treat him right. 6

The subs didn't get that long, to be honest. Ince seemed to represent an improvement on Holla, Colunga didn't do an awful lot, but had our best effort of the night, superbly tipped over by Smithies.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Exactly how is a trip a fair tackle?

i thought the Huddersfield player made a meal of it. It is also possible to make a tackle look like a trip by leaving a foot behind.

 

[keaton]

Baldock 6- Feel sorry for him being shifted out on the right wing, spent most of his time tracking back last night. Put him as our central striker and he may have a chance of scoring!

He played up front on Saturday and didn't look remotely like scoring. Hasn't he played most of his games at centre-forward for us?

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

A feisty Albion performance in a game that had everything - except 3 points for the good guys.

I would like to see if our disallowed goal was actually offside. We were in the ascendant at that point and could easily have taken the win.

For a good part of the game we tend to look far too predictable in our build up play, which makes it curious when one or two players look surprised to receive the ball and then don't seem to know where the next pass should go. We miss a playmaker with that 'x' factor. It was only when the game got stretched in the last 20 minutes or so that we played a more expansive game with some lovely direct balls into dangerous spaces for Baldock and Colunga to run onto.

The tactics are still leaving our CBs over exposed and having to make too many last ditch tackles for comfort. Fortunately Huddersfield did not capitalise. Dunk in particular was immense, not only doing his own job, plus scoring the vital equaliser and then having to do much of Chicksen's defensive work too. Plus he took a yellow card for the team when Holla lost the ball. Greer was obliged to take a yellow too when Calde bombed on.

Anyway it was an encouraging performance, finishing strongly against a team that is free scoring - and despite a poor Ref. who penalised us at will, but ignored the niggles from the home side.

Stockdale: 6. Pretty solid, one excellent save. First impression was that their goal looked a bit soft but was very well taken.
Chicksen: 3. Ok he hasn't had much first team football but went AWOL after 2 minutes, Scannell completely owned him thereafter and threatened to run riot but for a series of interventions by Dunk. AC makes Bennett look like a defensive genius, which is worrying.
Greer: 8. Apart from a couple of minor hiccups it was another typically solid game from GG.
Dunk: 9. MoM. An immense all round performance. Restricted Holt to one difficult overhead volley. Read the game well and did a heck of a shift covering for Chicksen too. We will do well to hang onto him when the transfer window opens.
Calderon: 6 - combative in defence, ok going forward but launched some poor crosses when well placed.
Holla: 5. Gone off the boil since his debut at Leeds. Some nice distribution but looks a bit overweight and runs out of stamina after an hour.
Gardener: 5. Anonymous. Difficult to think of any outstanding moments.
JFC: 6. More prominent than Gardener, but not exactly imposing.
KLL: 7. A decent contribution that caused Huddersfield a lot of problems, although Kaz never quite got an opening for his trademark cut in and shot. However his petulance drew a soft yellow and the trigger happy Ref made his night complete with a second card.
COG: 6 - Probably got more attempts on target but drifted out of the game. Not entirely his fault as many of the diagonal balls into the box were aimed at Baldock but sailed harmlessly over little Sam's head
Baldock: 6. Couple of chances in the first half but his shooting was woeful. Then he looked injured and likely to be subbed but managed a decent revival, including the disallowed goal. Late on he might have done a tad better with a couple of great early balls that put him into potential breakaways against the tiring defence, maybe he was surprised to receive them!! Pity about the disallowed goal. However there was enough about Sam's performance to suggest there is more to come, given a bit more luck and better service.

Subs:
Ince: 6 - Good to see him on the pitch and played a couple of decent first time balls in for Baldock and Colunga to run onto.
Colunga: 7 - Injected some energy up front but tried a bit too hard at times. Unlucky to see a great angled shot tipped onto the bar.

 

[Keeping The Dream Alive.]

On the video footage it looks like Gardner was culpable for their goal as he failed to properly track his runner - did it seem like that for those who saw it live?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

A feisty Albion performance in a game that had everything - except 3 points for the good guys.

I would like to see if our disallowed goal was actually offside. We were in the ascendant at that point and could easily have taken the win.

There's a still picture on Bozza's thread - Fine Margins. It was, unfortunately.

 

[drew]

i thought the Huddersfield player made a meal of it. It is also possible to make a tackle look like a trip by leaving a foot behind.

But he didn't even tackle him. He just ran across the back of him and clipped his trailing leg, either intentionally or accidentally but it certainly wasn't a tackle!

 

[ALBION28]

A feisty Albion performance in a game that had everything - except 3 points for the good guys.

I would like to see if our disallowed goal was actually offside. We were in the ascendant at that point and could easily have taken the win.

For a good part of the game we tend to look far too predictable in our build up play, which makes it curious when one or two players look surprised to receive the ball and then don't seem to know where the next pass should go. We miss a playmaker with that 'x' factor. It was only when the game got stretched in the last 20 minutes or so that we played a more expansive game with some lovely direct balls into dangerous spaces for Baldock and Colunga to run onto.

The tactics are still leaving our CBs over exposed and having to make too many last ditch tackles for comfort. Fortunately Huddersfield did not capitalise. Dunk in particular was immense, not only doing his own job, plus scoring the vital equaliser and then having to do much of Chicksen's defensive work too. Plus he took a yellow card for the team when Holla lost the ball. Greer was obliged to take a yellow too when Calde bombed on.

Anyway it was an encouraging performance, finishing strongly against a team that is free scoring - and despite a poor Ref. who penalised us at will, but ignored the niggles from the home side.

Stockdale: 6. Pretty solid, one excellent save. First impression was that their goal looked a bit soft but was very well taken.
Chicksen: 3. Ok he hasn't had much first team football but went AWOL after 2 minutes, Scannell completely owned him thereafter and threatened to run riot but for a series of interventions by Dunk. AC makes Bennett look like a defensive genius, which is worrying.
Greer: 8. Apart from a couple of minor hiccups it was another typically solid game from GG.
Dunk: 9. MoM. An immense all round performance. Restricted Holt to one difficult overhead volley. Read the game well and did a heck of a shift covering for Chicksen too. We will do well to hang onto him when the transfer window opens.
Calderon: 6 - combative in defence, ok going forward but launched some poor crosses when well placed.
Holla: 5. Gone off the boil since his debut at Leeds. Some nice distribution but looks a bit overweight and runs out of stamina after an hour.
Gardener: 5. Anonymous. Difficult to think of any outstanding moments.
JFC: 6. More prominent than Gardener, but not exactly imposing.
KLL: 7. A decent contribution that caused Huddersfield a lot of problems, although Kaz never quite got an opening for his trademark cut in and shot. However his petulance drew a soft yellow and the trigger happy Ref made his night complete with a second card.
COG: 6 - Probably got more attempts on target but drifted out of the game. Not entirely his fault as many of the diagonal balls into the box were aimed at Baldock but sailed harmlessly over little Sam's head
Baldock: 6. Couple of chances in the first half but his shooting was woeful. Then he looked injured and likely to be subbed but managed a decent revival, including the disallowed goal. Late on he might have done a tad better with a couple of great early balls that put him into potential breakaways against the tiring defence, maybe he was surprised to receive them!! Pity about the disallowed goal. However there was enough about Sam's performance to suggest there is more to come, given a bit more luck and better service.

Subs:
Ince: 6 - Good to see him on the pitch and played a couple of decent first time balls in for Baldock and Colunga to run onto.
Colunga: 7 - Injected some energy up front but tried a bit too hard at times. Unlucky to see a great angled shot tipped onto the bar.

As one of the 302 would say this is best assessment but most are on the same lines. Just add playing Baldock so deep (midfield) wasted his abilities and he did not fit this system thought Paddy would have been a better choice as he has more physical stature (might have reached some of those high balls) and skill to threaten. If baldock plays he needs to be up front , bit of what used to be called a sniffer. Will need to have a larger strike partner to work with.