On the surface a great point away against a side full of expensive and highly rated players. However, i think it also showed how difficult it will be to keep the millers in this division. No shots on target in the whole game from us. Just no cutting edge in the final third with Washington offering very little apart from an ordinary first touch.
I think it is fair to say in previous stays in this division we would have been beaten in a game like this. No doubt about it our defence is decent this time around and the midfield close down the opposition very well. The goalkeeper is also at the top of his game. Can we continue to keep clean sheets when we are under so much pressure? I am not so sure. In the final third we have Ogbene (new role, Washington, Kelly and Eaves. Apart from Ogbene none of the other three imo would get a place in a championship side. This is a tight league this year with four points between us and third from bottom. We have to make NYS a fortress and somehow get enough home points to keep us up. If we could pick up a further ten points away from home would be some bonus. It can only be draws if we play like we did yesterday and no additions are forthcoming in January. I hope Warne Stays as i am a ,massive fan but his talents deserve better backing and that would come from a bigger club.
A decent enough point to round off a good start. We are much more comfortable in possession but can’t help feeling we need to be a bit braver in our away performances. I think last night was there for the taking against a side lacking confidence but we set out for a point and in the end we got what we wanted.
Hopefully our home form stays excellent as I can’t see many wins on the road.
At the moment we dont look like scoring away from home other than from set pieces, and there was no chance of that yesterday because the bloody referee was blowing for free kicks as soon as the taker had kicked the ball. We do look much better in possession which is great because we are getting a breather and not just chasing the ball for ninety minutes. That might be why we are defensively more solid and not caving in and conceding late goals. In the first half in particular we got into some decent positions but the final ball or cross wasnt good enough. I think it might be partly a quality issue but perhaps more likely a confidence/composure thing. I felt a bit for Washingron because he was very isolated much of the time. It's a really good point though. We are much better than last time we were here and there is plenty to build on. The next step in our evolution might be to pose more of a threat away from home. All in all it's a good news story.
I've only seen the highlights of last night's game, and it looked as though they were all over us. It looked to me from the 2 minutes of the game seen that we were playing for the point. Their number 18 was a real challenge for the defence and our goalie was very brave going for the ball when they hit the post. Washington was a shade away when running in but their goalie did well. I did think young Georgie would have been given a game as I think he would have caused them some problems he seems eager and up for it and I think his raw-ness could also make him unpredictable to their defence, but I trust the coaching staff know what they're doing. Four points from 2 games and another point towards safety will do nicely for me. I do share everyone's concerns though about our attacking.
The only other clear cut chance was the early one when Woody fell over and it dropped to Watmore who put it over the bar. That was a good chance. I thought Watmore was a real threat for them. I've got no idea why Wilder took him off but was thrilled to see his number on the board. Although we didnt make clear chances I agree with NSM that we were at least as good as Boro on the ball and we got into some great situations. Our problem was our decision making or final ball when we got there. It surprised me how slow Boro were to move the ball. Wilders team at The Lane was known for creating waves of pressure and swarming forward relentlessly. There was just no hint of that from Boro the other night - although that isnt really our concern.
