Have poured myself a big glass of something strengthening, that was a tough watch.
I don't think you can read too much into the performance itself, because those conditions were an anomaly. I went for a run at 5 o'clock here and couldn't use my phone for half an hour after I got back my fingers were so cold, so must have been absolutely grim for them. The pitch was clearly an issue too, players were slipping around from minute one. So while it wasn't our most fluid performance with the ball or the most committed physically (as I said at HT, our press was token at best), I think that can be forgiven.
That said, some of our defensive play can't be explained away by the conditions.It was pure lack of concentration. It will probably be lost in the (justified) excitement of a really good win in tricky conditions at a ground where our fortunes have been mixed in recent years, but I honestly don't think we could have too many complaints if we had lost that comfortably. They missed SO many chances from good positions. Thinking back on it, the Stevens save changed the game. A brilliant stop, before we went up the other end to score. But even then, they created enough in that second half to pull level at the very least. We defended very poorly in general for me, and it was worrying to see. If I was a Gas fan I'd be tearing my hair out. Also, I'm generally a big KR fan, but he got that tactical switch midway through the second half HORRIBLY wrong. It nearly lost us the game. What was he thinking?! To be fair, his changes rectified it when Kelly and Sykes came on, but still!
But it's important to look at the positives here, too. Barker, going forward, is quite clearly a level or two above this league. He's absolutely unplayable when he decides to go on a dribble. It's such a shame we'll probably never get to see him in a yellow shirt in person because on the telly, I honestly don't think I've ever seen anything like it at this level. He reminds me of our FA Cup ties in recent years when the opposition had Adama Traore (Boro) or Saint Maximin (last year), and they could just breeze past our full backs. He makes it look so easy. His pulling out of the challenge was poor and defensively and fitness-wise he still has work to do, but when he decides to go on a jolly with the ball, it really is the jolliest of jollies, and it's breathtaking. Lee looks tailor made for a Robinson team, all clever movement and quick feet, and I thought Gorrin had his best game for a while. Sykes also did well when he came on, and I think he's showing signs of looking like he could be on his way back to his best. While he wasn't generally outstanding, I also hope Henry gets the credit he deserves for his excellent assist today, after the pelters he got on the weekend (justifiably, imo). That moment of skill and interplay was essentially the difference between the two sides (Barker's goal just the cherry on top), and that was by no means an easy pass.
We're not going to go up by winning every game 4-0, and very few teams are going to fold in the manner of some of our opponents earlier in our run. Most games you're going to have to work bloody hard to get those three points. While the performance in terms of silky football wasn't there, we've had to work bloody hard in our last two wins to get the points, which is really good to see. People questioned this side's mentality earlier in the season, but I think they've shown that they've got character in abundance. Bouncing back from the weekend with a win in these conditions is really impressive.
We roll onto the next one. Given out momentum I love how quickly the games are rolling around at the moment - although I am worried about the Long injury.
