Home Match Day Thread 02-03-2021 L1 OUFC v Peterborough United

[Followtheox1]

Why oh why would kr go on the radio and say he can't see why Stevens got the man of the match award tonight, as there were better players on the field tonight?

I took it as just his way of thinking a couple of outfield players were outstanding and also by having the keeper as MOM looking like they were all over us, when they weren't. I think he realised what it sounded like and actually then said some really positive things about Stevens.

 

[Followtheox1]

Wouldn't a well done, and praise would be more important to the press, certainly not putting him down, after he's been built up by the award. Behind the scenes, if it needed saying at all, was the place to say it.

He did give him praise. He was pretty complimentary about Stevens.

 

[tonyw]

Wouldn't a well done, and praise would be more important to the press, certainly not putting him down, after he's been built up by the award. Behind the scenes, if it needed saying at all, was the place to say it.

By saying it in public, he's sending out a message to his outfield players that he think they did well and weren't second best tonight.

If that comes at the slight expense of stroking Stevens' ego, so be it. He's had a great week with his first proper professional contract, and I'm sure that means a lot more to the lad than a MOTM award.

 

[werthersoriginal]

I enjoyed that! A good point against leaders who had won six in a row. I thought Sykes and Forde were great and Barker awful, though he nearly won it. Did he actually get any crosses in?

 

[DevilsAvocado]

Decent point, thought we started poorly as they had 2 efforts on target in the first 5 minutes and were moving
the ball well, but on 15 minutes we started picking up more balls than them in the center and started to domminate,
didn`t notice Lee much but when he came off i thought we lost momentum and the game evened out.

Concerned about the injuries, the Henry news was bad enough, Long looks like being out for a few weeks at least and
if Lee is also out for any length of time we really will be down to the bare bones, if thats the case making the playoffs
is going to be very complicated.

 

[North Wales Yellow]

The disappearance of Liam Kelly has baffled me.

I wasn’t necessarily his biggest fan, however he was probably in his best form of the season just before he was dropped.

He started nearly all the games in our winning run and with McGaune being out I don’t really get why he’s playing less now.

 

[unification]

A meeting going on atm regarding injuries, with the possibility of an out of contract player coming in.

That would be interesting.

McGuane, Lee, Winnall and Long on the sidelines leaves us looking a bit short. I don’t know how a OOC would work in terms of getting them up to speed (no EFL Trophy games to chuck them into for 60 mins) but we’ll clearly have to acquire some additional bodies to see us through.

I think KR will need to promote some youngsters into the first team squad. We have some decent prospects and a manager who will play them as well.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Decent point, thought we started poorly as they had 2 efforts on target in the first 5 minutes and were moving
the ball well, but on 15 minutes we started picking up more balls than them in the center and started to domminate,
didn`t notice Lee much but when he came off i thought we lost momentum and the game evened out.

Concerned about the injuries, the Henry news was bad enough, Long looks like being out for a few weeks at least and
if Lee is also out for any length of time we really will be down to the bare bones, if thats the case making the playoffs
is going to be very complicated.

Henry and Long are such important players for us. We’ll have to improvise for a bit till they return for our barnstorming late run.

 

[bazzer9461]

We have 30 pages on tonight’s game and they have just and no derogatory remarks about us. Fair play to the Posh.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

It was an odd game.

A point against the leaders, Brannagan starting to look a bit more like his old self, some of the closing down and keeping a clean sheet were the good bits.

But dear lord, the passing is woeful, there's no pace in our side going forwards, even the BBC summary of the game mentions our endless side to side play (and that is being generous as much of it was backwards!), and yes KR, Stevens *was* our man of the match. Barker was terrible, didn't go past his man once, lost the ball constantly and seemed unable to see anyone else in a yellow shirt.

A whole slew of injuries with another tough game in a few days time and I think my glass is probably half empty.

 

[Oxford84]

It was an odd game.

A point against the leaders, Brannagan starting to look a bit more like his old self, some of the closing down and keeping a clean sheet were the good bits.

But dear lord, the passing is woeful, there's no pace in our side going forwards, even the BBC summary of the game mentions our endless side to side play (and that is being generous as much of it was backwards!), and yes KR, Stevens *was* our man of the match. Barker was terrible, didn't go past his man once, lost the ball constantly and seemed unable to see anyone else in a yellow shirt.

A whole slew of injuries with another tough game in a few days time and I think my glass is probably half empty.

Keeping the ball actually stops Peterborough having it,every time we forced a ball forward we lost it.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Keeping the ball actually stops Peterborough having it,every time we forced a ball forward we lost it.

Our attacking outlet should have been Barker, but he contributed next to nothing - as did Shodipo.

 

[uptheus]

I know. He keeps on doing things like this. What does it matter to him? Give the lad a verbal pat on the back and leave it there!!

May be it would appear with Stevens getting the MOTM award that we’ve been battered when that wasn’t actually the case.

I think Posh definitely had the better chances, but we deserved a point at least.

Personally I thought Atkinson was MOTM.

 

[tonto]

Shodipo couldnt contribute because nobody gave him the ball! Atkinson is a deceptively good dribbler but he must pick some passes,could have put people in a couple of times. Very committed performance fitness levels look good,Sykes is a machine has hardly stopped for weeks. Where is Kelly we definitely need him now, would like to see some youth also

 

[uptheus]

A good draw, that considering our recent form, I would've taken before the game.


Atkinson was excellent, used the ball well, and defended brilliantly.

Moore was solid and composed, again.

Forde was very good, and needs to start more games, he puts in good crosses and set pieces, and we look more solid and assured with him on the pitch.

Stevens made some great saves, but his kicking still needs a bit of work.

Brannagan looks a lot better when he plays further forward, and looked more like his old self tonight.

Sykes did a lot of good work, with some nice little passes and link up play, although there were a few moments when he was a bit too casual, with some flicks and tricks that went wrong, but overall, I thought he looked good.

Gorrin does the dirty work so well, but needs to be more forward thinking with his passing, too many times he passed it sideways or backwards, when he had time and space to look up, and bring the ball forward, or play a forward pass. And he needs to stop with the silly bookings, it's getting ridiculous now.

Long was playing well, solid as always, but seemed to pull up pretty badly with his hamstring, hope to god it's not a bad one, as he is pretty irreplaceable.

Hanson did ok, and can get stuck in and tackle, but offers virtually nothing going forwards, so hopefully Long returns quickly.

Ruffels had a tough night, and was stretched a few times, but did some good work with the ball.

Taylor is a quality striker at this level, but looks like he needs a rest, to recharge the batteries.

Agyei looked hungry, and did some good work, he simply has to be given a run of games now as a striker, starting Saturday.

Lee was looking good, and was putting in a real shift until he had to go off, after which we clearly missed his energy, hopefully it's not a serious injury.

Barker was poor, lost the ball virtually every time he had it, with a number of moves breaking down once he got the ball, and some bad decision making.

Shodipo did absolutely nothing, in the short amount of time he was on the pitch, I don't think he touched the ball.


We certainly looked better tonight, with more aggression, urgency and desire, and were pretty sound defensively, and with a bit more composure in the final third, coupled with Robbo making the substitutions earlier, and getting Agyei in particular on sooner, we could've won the game.

Still, a good point, on to Saturday

Agree with most of these comments, but personally I think Brannagan isn’t playing as well as he initially did after returning from his eye issue.

Also, re; Gorrin, I just think at times he needs to put his foot on the ball for an extra second or so rather than either just playing it straight back from where it’s just come from or holding onto for too long, thus risking losing the ball in vulnerable areas.

 

[tonto]

Gorrin must try and look forward more. Too much passing it around the back again. I was hoping last saturday was a blueprint for playing more forward balls quicker. I understand that posh were a step up from our recent opponents. A well earned point

 

[Osleroad]

Probably because if your goalkeeper was MOTM, it's usually akin to saying the other team battered you. You only need your goalkeeper to be a star, if you're being absolutely dominated.

Tonight wasn't that.....it was a relatively even game, where Posh created just slightly the better chances.

I think KR was correct as well.....Atkinson was a clear MOTM tonight.

Besides, I can't imagine Jack was too bothered - the club just gave him a new three year deal last week. I think that's a clear sign that he's rated!

The fact is he said "at the time" he thought others deserved it but later the saves swung it.

 

[Osleroad]

The disappearance of Liam Kelly has baffled me.

I wasn’t necessarily his biggest fan, however he was probably in his best form of the season just before he was dropped.

He started nearly all the games in our winning run and with McGaune being out I don’t really get why he’s playing less now.

But who does he replace..Brannagan.? It's prob a case of shuffling the pack to last out the season rather than in all cases "dropping" players ..with even more injuries the options get fewer though.

 

[Foley]

Forde and sykes have 0 goals or assists this season. If our full backs dont get up the pitch and create / score then we tend to generate sod all.

Forde's cross just one game ago at MK was pretty much am assist every if technically it wasn't called that.
Great cross that Agyei headed back for Lee to score.

 

[OxfordYankee]

Midfielders who won’t pass forwards don’t win promotion.

No wonder Taylor’s struggling to score.