I thought that we gave a gritty and determined performance against a very good Salford side. Definitely a point gained, as i was concerned that Wednesdays game would have taken too much out of us. That said, MM chose not to change a winning side, for very good reason! We were able to neutralise any goal threats from them, and where we we were tested, John White was immense, as always. This man is like a good cheese, getting better and better as he has matured - but quietly getting on with it, and for a long time no one has noticed just how good he is!
It wasnt a pretty watch yesterday, but it was effective and it was good to see us finally being strong and more consistently competitive. Find it difficult to rate players, because you can't get the full picture from the ifollow coverage. However, some mentions.
Bass - looked slightly nervy at the start, unsurprising as he is 22 and only arrived late on friday! Made some good decisions, but got clattered a couple of times and his body language changed, no doubt he was hurting and couldn't continue. Shame, as he is highly regarded.
Seadon - every credit to this young man. He must have been disappointed not being named in the starting line up, but when called on, he was equal to the challenge and made his presence felt with a couple of super saves, which will do his confidence the world of good. I still think bringing in someone with more experience to cover during our relegation battle is the right thing to do. MM is trying to protect the lad, and bring him on, so throwing him in to the lions den with so much at stake is not the best way to develop him.
The back 4. Already mentioned JW. Elvis, Hobson and Clifford did really well against the onslaught held the line well and battled hard, keeping the pressure off Bass / Seadon.
Midfield. Dieng, probably MOM (most visible on ifollow). Ferguson - not quite as effective goal-bound, going to be a huge player for us over the next couple of months. Reeco - still a bit of a one trick pony, but despite that, had a few moments where he looked really threatening and he tracked back well and put in a good defensive shift. KT looked solid, but not quite to his usual standard.
Up top - Akinola, massive loss when he went off. Hope he recovers quickly as he is fast becoming a crucial part of the side. Acqah - built on Wednesday's super performance, and is learning and improving game by game. His positioning and hold up play was good yesterday, and he is using his size and strength more effectively now. The two chances he had were not clear cut, both difficult balls in to him. Given time he will come good, and be a consistent 10 goal a season man, i am convinced of that!
Subs - Macca. Beautiful placement of that volley straight into the flats behind the South Upper. Gold dust, that really made me smile ? in fairness, his grit and aggression really add something, you cant deny he is an asset, and acceping he will get booked and suspended regularly, i would still want him in our side rather than in the opposition! ANG, didnt make as much of an impact as you would hope, but he gave their defence something else to think about. JD, not on that long, probably not in the plan for him to come on. Ranger - the prodigal son returned. To be fair, he looked in good shape, and definitely hasnt lost his aerial presence and ability to cause problems. It was always a risk that he would pick up an injury. I thought initially he had taken a kick in the crown jewels, but it did look like a groin problem when he hobbled off. I hope that his model professional attitude prevails and he can knuckle down and get back quickly.
Which brings me to another issue for the club to sort out. Our terrible injury blight seems to stem back to Phil Browns idea of having a cabbage patch pitch, and the loss of our brilliant old groundsman. That pitch does seem to be a mess, and it cuts up badly, gives way and i think is the reason why we have seen so many injuries over the last 2-3 years.
