John Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Plucky County went ahead three times last night before two extra time goals produced a flattering final score for us. Tim rang the changes last night as is the norm in cup ties and this so nearly did for us again against lower league opposition. Sinclair’s goals prevented further cup embarrassment of the sort we have annoyingly become accustomed to. But we cannot afford to take the same liberties in the next round and we must start with our first choice starting line up because defeat against our neighbours from the dark side of the city would be beyond humiliation. The defence was near to the one we played regularly last season and it often looked as fragile as it did back then. We played some nice football and deserve credit for coming back from a goal down three times but County kept going at us until their legs understandably grew weary towards the end of this extended cup tie. Their fans can rightly be proud of their team’s whole hearted display and we can be relieved that we made it past them into the next round. My player ratings from a game that has left us one step nearer to another Wembley visit are: Mark Bunn – 6 – Took McLeod’s legs on the edge of the box during first half stoppage time and was sent the wrong way by Stead’s resultant penalty. Got down well to deny Burke a first half goal against his former club on 37 minutes but had no chance of stopping his superbly hit 56th minute curling shot from well outside of the box. Did well to tip a shot from the edge of the box over and got down low at the near post to keep out an effort from the resultant 67th minute corner. Alan Hutton – 5 – His error led to their opening goal on 16 minutes when Snijders shot from the edge of the box took a deflection off Baker on its way into the back of the net. Alan looked in need of games to bring him up to speed. Carlos Sánchez – 7 – Did surprisingly well in the centre of our defence last night and was our best defender by some distance. Nathan Baker – 5 – Has had much better more assured games than this one. Kieran Richardson – 6 – Looked good when getting forward but struggled at times defensively. Allowed Burke too much room and time for their third goal. Jordan Veretout – 6 – Jordan looked livelier and noticeably fitter last night. This was an encouraging performance from him. Carles Gil - 7 – This was a welcome return to first team action for Carles and he did not disappoint producing a good overall display. Hit a shot just wide from the edge of the area on 80 minutes and can make a big contribution for us this season. Jack Grealish – 8 – Threaded the ball through 2 defenders to Richardson who was then brought down by Aborah inside the box for the penalty that Sinclair converted on 78 minutes. Had earlier made our second goal on 49 minutes when he played the ball across the goalmouth and past their defence to the waiting Sinclair who tapped the ball in from close range. Really should have scored when he hit the ball wide when presented with an open goal near the end. Only needs to add goals to his game. Jack relished playing in this one and it showed. Adama Traore – 8 – This is going to be some player! He is that rare footballer that plays as good as his You Tube clip looks isn’t he? He runs at defenders with frightening pace and has more than his share of trickery. Sadly he was kicked out of the game on 60 minutes and he really deserves some protection against the sort of heavy challenges he came up against last night from match officials. Scored our opening goal on 24 minutes when Grealish after a good run unselfishly slid the ball to him inside the box and he beat Carroll with some aplomb and a goal scorer’s finish to his right. Hit the side netting on 48 minutes from the edge of the box following dome nice touches. Hope he is OK for Saturday. Scott Sinclair – 8 – MOTM – His goals eventually made the difference last night. Seemed to have a decent shout for a penalty on 22 minutes and after some good work inside the box his shot was kept out by Carroll’s leg on 35 minutes. He touched a nice cross from Adama just wide on 54 minutes and almost connected with a Grealish cross on 80 minutes. He then made an 81st minute run before seeing his shot saved at the near post and had a shot well held by Carroll 6 minutes later. Scott coolly placed the ball between the left post and Carroll to score our third from the penalty spot on 78 minutes which took the game into extra time. Completed his hat-trick in the 9th minute of stoppage time when he tapped in Cole’s cross and had earlier been in the right place at the right time to convert a Grealish cross in the 49th minute. Scott certainly knows where the net is could he play up front for us in the way that Walcott does for Arsenal? Jordan Ayew – 5 – Substituted on 72 minutes having failed to make a positive impact on the game or to cause any significant concerns for the defenders he faced. Hit a low shot on 26 minutes that Carroll collected easily enough. He badly needs a goal. Substitutes: Joe Cole – 6 - Replaced Adama on the hour mark. Improved markedly after a less than convincing start and pulled the strings in the midfield increasingly as the game wore on. Joe claimed an assist when we went ahead for the first time in the game on 99 minutes and put Sinclair clear in the 16th minute of extra time but his shot went just past the far post. Libor Kozak – 6 – So nice to see him get some game time at Villa Park on his long awaited return from injury. Replaced Ayew on 72 minutes and provided us with something we had been missing up front prior to that. He was unlucky not to have claimed a goal when he turned and got a strong connection on a cross which Carroll did very well to keep out in the final minute of the game. Joe Bennett – 6 - Replaced Gil in the 10th minute of extra time and settled matters 12 minutes later with a well hit goal from the edge of the box that he placed just inside the post. Up for the Cup Villa! John Lewis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 weird how Gregg Evans implies that Vertout and Gil were much worse than the above, not saying I agree with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 weird how Gregg Evans implies that Vertout and Gil were much worse than the above, not saying I agree with him. Thanks for the above. We all have and are entitled to have our own opinions on player performances and it is rare that we will agree with each other 100%. I do not agree with Gregg's ratings of those two players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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