Ok, so this season's fall guy is firmly established as being Hendrie - I thought he did ok when he came on, certainly gave us options on the left which Macca had had to do on his own up till when he went off.
The pitch was better, but you'd kind of expect it to be after a 2 week rest. It's still a long way from being right, there were still big chunks coming up and I can see that the South West corner is going to cause us trouble when the weather turns for the worse.
There was noticeable security inside and outside the ground, which is understandable, following the very recent troubles in London.
Delighted to see our boy back in the team, showed how much he's been missing, his creativity, the passing, and, of course, being in the right place at the right time to poach a goal. Welcome back Woody.
Northampton were a team of giants, we needed to change tactics and stop just pumping the long balls - once we started running at them and putting low crosses in we had a lot more luck. There were some dirty buggers in their team - Revs continues to defy his age and gallop forever.
I've never been the biggest fan of Demetriou but today he shone head and shoulders above everyone else - a very clear and obvious MotM for me.
Oxley - 7, growing in stature, don't think he could be blamed for the goals
Demetriou - 8.5, MOTM, some absolutely delightful play
Ferdinand - 7, an improved Ferdy, much more his normal self
Kyprianou - 7.5, thought the youngster had a great game and acquitted himself well against Revs' pressure
Timlin - 6, pains me so much to say it, we've had the best years out of Timlin and, as a squad player, he's obviously of value, but he's not a left back. His passing has been poor in the main, and, while there's no doubting the whole heartedness of his challenges, he will get in trouble with some of them
Yearwood - 7, did ok though seemed to tire
Leonard - 7.5, seemed to be a bit of a target for them, thought he had a good game and understood why he got the match sponsors' MotM
Wordsworth - 7.5, oh how we've missed someone with some vision! Just seeing the ball spread about and passed forward with accuracy was a pleasure, let alone being in the right place for his goal
McLaughlin - 7, Macca did ok, should have scored though
Cox - 7, still kept coming too deep when there wasn't really the need to, couple of decent shots, good link up play
Ranger - 7.5, thought he worked very hard, fought well against their tall defenders and was desperately unlucky with their 1st goal. Incidentally tags are on the outside of the leg and I thought that ball came off the inside of his leg. Hopefully it should be off within a few days anyway.
Subs:
McGlashan for Woody - 7, came on and ran at their defence, which made them really uncomfortable
Hendrie for Yearwood - 7, slotted back into LB allowing Tims up into midfield, ran the line well and offered option
Robinson for McLaughlin - 7, similar to Flash, came on and ran at them - and they really didn't like it
Unlike some, I didn't think the 1st half was too bad, I enjoyed the game, and hubby very much enjoyed meeting one of his heroes in Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink beforehand! And I got hugs and kisses from two players so I was happy too :blush: