Man of the Match & Scores L**ds Utd (H)

[scilly owl]

It’s really nice to have most of the team to pick from !!

Despite Sky’s decision to award MOM to White ( and he was flippin good) he wasn’t the best centre back in the pitch, Iorfa was, no debate about that.

But I’m going for Hutch. 

When Borner was injured in the warm up I thought “ that’s it, we’re in trouble now”. Everyone around me was crestfallen.... then in steps Hutch ! How could we doubt him.

And he didn’t even get booked.

[darklord]

great performances including Nuhui but he shouldn't be allowed to defend within our own half. I think he thought he was playing the all Blacks at times

[Paul G Wisbech Owl]

Went for Hutch, thought he was immense today, to be thrown in to the position just before KO, as mentioned earlier it was like him and Iorfa had played together all season. Bonus no booking either

[Guest gizowl]

Difficult call, good all round performance today and for 90 minutes, considering late enforced changes too.Gone for Hutch, big void to fill ,and to play on the left ,think Luongo would have put the icing on the cake. Well done GM and the players. UTO. 

[Guest Ferkorf]

3 hours ago, Holmowl said:

 

Nuhiu had a header saved on the line one minute before being subbed.

 

In the previous 15 minutes he set up Bannan’s shot and Harris’s great chance.  

I didn't say he was having a bad game. I said I'd have preferred monk to replace him a bit sooner. I appreciate he had a header saved and made chances. A bit more time on the pitch Im sure Forestieri with fresh legs may have scored a chance or created more chances even winnall would have brought something slightly different to bother the tired leeds defenders

 

[paulrs]

5 hours ago, FreshOwl said:

Westwood - 8

Fantastic save from Bamford, apart from that not much to do 

 

Palmer - 7 

solid 

 

Iorfa - 9 

MOM. Nothing gets past him, plus he can carry the ball. Gonna be worth a lot of money 

 

Hutch - 8 

Solid. 

 

Fox - 8

Great defending, and nearly an assist from fletchers crossbar effort. Making LB spot his own 

 

Harris - 7

thought he was a bit flat first half, seemed to lack a yard of pace he had earlier this season. Turned it on and much improved 2nd 

 

Pelupessey - 6 

the weak link today. Bad positioning at times, careless in possession 

 

Bannan - 8.5

Some great balls and energy. Usual Bannan performance 

 

Reach - 8.5

this is the type of performance I want to see from him every week. Energy and willingness was fantastic as usual, but his positive running at defenders was great to see. Immaculate first touch at times 

 

Nuhiu - 7 

thought he was poor first half. Did better second but I really prefer him off the bench 

 

Fletcher - 8 

usual battering performance from action man. Some superb hold up play and ridiculously unlucky not to score. Needs a partner up front and watch us take off 

 

Start FF next match 

Although I gave it to Hutch just ahead of Iorfa this sums up my thoughts pretty much exactly 

[malek]

Iorfa was my MOM tonight. Not only that he played great, but how he played as well. Getting high up the pitch to help us press was key in how we played and how we stopped Leeds from playing. One of the best defensive displays I've seen in a long time at this level.

 

Big well done to Morgan Fox as well. I'm notca fan of him starting for us in lb spot, but today he did great. Not a typical full backs performance, bombing up and down the pitch, etc... He played more defensive role, was very confortable on the ball and managed to create our best chance as well. Huge well done to him.

[frastheowl]

 

Westwood - 8 - Really smart save to deny Bamford just before half time, in an otherwise routine display. Struggled with his kicking however. Two big lads up front, and how many times did he kick it to either Reach or Harris?! Argh!

 

Palmer - 8 - A positive, front-foot defensive display. Looked confident enough to nip in front of Harrison and intercept things, and when required to defend one on one, did so admirably. 

 

Iorfa - 9 - Man of the Match - An almost flawless performance. One lapse of concentration cost him a Perfect 10, which could've cost us the game, when he let Bamford drift off him for the chance before half time. Other than that, absolutely immense. Physically dominated both Bamford and Nkeitah, and chucked in a couple of marauding forays forward like a thoroughbred for good measure. What a signing. And can we now all put to bed the ridiculous thoughts that he can't play centre half and should revert to full back?

 

Hutchinson - 8 - Best performance of the season so far. He upped his game on Tuesday, but raised the bar again. Type of game he thrives in, and you could tell he loved the high intensity and battling performance today. Superb considering he'd have prepared to play centre midfield all week.

 

Fox - 9 - Just missed out on his 2nd Man of the Match of the week. Defensively brilliant. Helder Costa got no change from him all afternoon, and is looking more confident going forward. Great ball into Fletcher for his effort in the 2nd half. 

 

Pelupessy - 7 - I know he'll bare the brunt of the Scapegoat Hunter's negativity today. And yes, he struggled with the pace of the game (which, by the way, was ridiculous throughout) when in possession, giving the ball away too often. However, from a defensive standpoint, he performed his role diligently. He sat, broke things up and allowed Bannan the freedom to go and do his thing. 

 

Bannan - 8 - Thought he had a quiet start to the game, but I think Monk purposely bypassed the midfield early on to limit Leeds from getting a foothold in the game and dominating too much. Once the game settled down (relatively speaking!), Bannan's presence began to show, and in the 2nd half, and especially the latter stages, he was the heartbeat of our relentless pressure on Leeds goal. Disappointing set pieces on the whole, however. 

 

Reach - 7 - Really positive start, and looked right up for it and threatening. Looked to get beyond the high line, and Monk obviously instructed him to play high to push Leeds' left wing back back. It worked, however Reach's quality waned as the game went on. Snatched at the chance when through on goal following Bannan's ball over the top in the 2nd half. 

 

Harris - 7 - In and out of the game. Had periods of real threat, but drifted out for prolonged periods. That said, he was a thorn in Dallas and Ayling's side, and worked tremendously hard to provide Fox back up, with Leeds' wing back and often centre halves creating 3v2 overloads. 

 

Nuhiu - 7 - Typical Nuhiu performance. Frustrating at times, especially in the 1st half when his touch let him down at times. But the two big men pairing looks to be a real threat to opposition defence. They work well together, and if we get a bit more quality into them, they could become really effective. 

 

Fletcher - 8 - He's in such fine form at the minute, and you can see the confidence oozing from him. Linked up play brilliantly, and so unfortunate not to score with a couple of fine efforts. Denied by a superb save in the 1st half, and the woodwork in the 2nd half. 

 

Overall...

 

What a fantastic game of football. It may not have been full of tremendous technique (although there were plenty of glimpses) and a glut of clear cut chances, but both teams played at such high intensity and positivity, it created a fascinating game of Championship football.

 

Leeds are a good side...no getting away from that, and their 3-3-1-3 formation, can suffocate teams if you're too passive and allow them to dominate possession. But we didn't allow them to, and full credit to Monk's selection today. It was brave going with Nuhiu and Fletcher, a few would've seen it (including Bielsa), but by bypassing the midfield, and going through the thirds quickly, it meant Leeds' back three became a back five...with two natural wingers effectively playing full back. 

 

On another day, we could've easily won the game, and also, vica versa. We probably just edged it, but considering we had Borner missing, Hutchinson missing from midfield and our in-form midfielder out injured, there's some real positives to take from the game. 

 

Make no mistake about it...this team CAN compete at the very top of this division. Consistency is the key. Imperative we follow up a positive week of 4 points from two games, with a good result at Blackburn next week. In the next month or so, a team or two are going to hit form and pull away from the rest, in a league which really is a much of a muchness. And on today's evidence, there's no reason why it can't be us. 

 

 

[Lawrie’s Left Peg]

5 hours ago, thesouthowl said:

Thought today was a great team performance. Gave to Hutch as that is hard to suddenly have to play cb like that 

This. Top team performance making Leeds look distinctly average. No gripes with any of the 13 on duty. Went for Hutch for the way he adapted, for the way he dominated Bamford and for the way he was prepared to take responsibility for Bamford when he dropped into midfield allowing Bannan and Joey to play higher up the pitch

[torryowl]

voted for fox but could just have easily gone for 4 or 5 others …...I thought we needed to stiffen the midfield and would have had nuhiu off for lee at half time which goes to show that monk knows more than me coz we were excellent second half .

[Guest Kagoshimaowl]

Westwood 8 outstanding save 

Palmer 7

Iorfa 8

Hutchinson 8

Fox 8 did well against Costa. Thought he was gonna get ripped a new one

Reach 7

Pelupessy 5 thought he struggled 

Bannan 7

Harris 6 does he need a rest?

Nuhiu 7

Fletcher 7

 

Lee 6

Forestieri 6

 

Thought we played well overall. Iorfa was a beast again but I’ve gone for Hutch as MOM. To change positions last minute and play like that is outstanding. Such a good player. Great goal line clearance by Fox too.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Kagoshimaowl

[torryowl]

1 hour ago, Kagoshimaowl said:

Westwood 8 outstanding save 

Palmer 7

Iorfa 8

Hutchinson 8

Fox 8 did well against Costa. Thought he was gonna get ripped a new one

Reach 7

Pelupessy 5 thought he struggled 

Bannan 7

Harris 6 does he need a rest?

Nuhiu 7

Fletcher 7

 

Lee 6

Forestieri 6

 

Thought we played well overall. Iorfa was a beast again but I’ve gone for Hutch as MOM. To change positions last minute and play like that is outstanding. Such a good player. Great goal line clearance by Fox too.

why would you think fox would get ripped by costa …..while he's limited going forward defensively ive never seen him ripped by anyone . 

[jamiejohn]

Westwood 8 superb save at end of first half not much else to do 

palmer 7 good defensive performance solid 

fox 9 great game again crucial clearance and played pass of the game for fletchers chance 

iorfa 9

superb again looking a top quality centre back 

hutchinson 9 he’s a great dcm he’s a better centre back 

joey 7 did his defensive duties but careless in possession 

bannan 7 started slowly but improved 

reach 7 worked hard but lacked composure with two good chances 

harris 7 struggled at times against an opponent of equal pace but always keeps going 

nuhui 7 poor first half very good second 

fletcher 8 good game unlucky not to score 

subs did ok but FF should have been on earlier 

good game we could have won forced some good saves and hit the woodwork but so did they difference being if we had scored it was coming if they had it would have been against the run of play . We’ve had the better of one of the leagues better sides today snd i have every confidence we can ar least challenge for the play offs with some quality in January top two 

[Guest Kagoshimaowl]

1 hour ago, torryowl said:

why would you think fox would get ripped by costa …..while he's limited going forward defensively ive never seen him ripped by anyone . 

A thing called ‘pace’. Costa is a very quick winger. Fox is a decent defender but often looks like he’s running in treacle!

[smhouston]

Thought we played well today, with only Joey being an disappointment. Numerous times in the first half he left CM exposed by not reading play allowing them to marauder through. Thought he struggled physically a bit too

 

Even still, thought we would have deserved the win, although bit concerned we're not really scoring again. 2 points dropped for me which I didn't think I'd have said beginning of game!

[steelerian]

fox fox fox fox fox fox

 

oh, and FOX

 

Did I mention Morgan Fox?

 

But thats the best Ive seen us play this season, to a man.

[new zealand owl]

Well watched this game half cut after seeing england gloriously smash the all blacks:)

 

The big stand out was Iorfa, he just looks a premier league player and basically looked the best player on the pitch. Big mention for fox and someone on here mentioned a lewis Buxton style zero to hero trajectory. Hes not there yet but the confidence is there and if he keeps Improving then who knows.

 

Fletcher was terrific and FF looked decent for his cameo. If we are creating a team spirit like this where we are difficult to play against and regularly picking up results then he is going to be important. FF won't become one of the best players in the league again but will be an ace up our sleeve and an occasional match winner. People are either expecting greatness or him never playing well again- in reality he will be somewhere in between I reckon.

[Holmowl]

3 hours ago, new zealand owl said:

Well watched this game half cut after seeing england gloriously smash the all blacks:)

 

The big stand out was Iorfa, he just looks a premier league player and basically looked the best player on the pitch. Big mention for fox and someone on here mentioned a lewis Buxton style zero to hero trajectory. Hes not there yet but the confidence is there and if he keeps Improving then who knows.

 

Fletcher was terrific and FF looked decent for his cameo. If we are creating a team spirit like this where we are difficult to play against and regularly picking up results then he is going to be important. FF won't become one of the best players in the league again but will be an ace up our sleeve and an occasional match winner. People are either expecting greatness or him never playing well again- in reality he will be somewhere in between I reckon.

 

You going into work tomorrow in your England rugby shirt?

[new zealand owl]

13 minutes ago, Holmowl said:

 

You going into work tomorrow in your England rugby shirt?

Damn right mate, it was a great feeling after the cricket but I think this will top it. The whole nation expected 3 in a row,love the media meltdown at the moment. 

[Emerson Thome]

17 hours ago, hirstyboywonder said:

 

Saw the cameras on the pitch with 2 Leeds players on the way out and was surprised that if they were going to give man of the match to one of their players that it wasn't the keeper. 

White is clearly a good defender who can play football but he played them into trouble a couple of times in the 2nd half. Thought Iorfa had a better game than him.

 

Interestingly the WhoScored stats have the Leeds goalie (7.81) as clear Man of the Match, with Morgan Fox (7.54) in second. White and Ayling are tied for third. A sign of us being on top but just couldn't quite kill them off.