At the end of last week, I said that we need to be at the races for our matches against Queen’s Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday. We ultimately weren’t at our best, but we were good enough to get two wins against teams that started the week in a similar position to us.
QPR
In our 5-2-3 setup, it was hard to play long balls from Oliver Dovin up to Ellis Simms, as there was often no teammate within ten yards of the striker to benefit from him winning it up top. This meant we would play it through our centre-halves. We usually played it right to Bobby Thomas, who is given so much time to think about his next move that it hampers his play. This results in a sideways or backwards pass and very little actual progression. Compare this to when we would play down Liam Kitching’s side. Kitching is far better at playing forward passes through the midfield lines, and I feel we would have benefited more from using that outlet more often. However we continued to play down Thomas’ side, be it circumstantial or instructional. It did lead to a lot of play within our own half, and allowed QPR to keep the play high up the pitch from their perspective. However, we did create the better chances on the rare occasions we broke into the final third. The way the game was panning out however, made you realise that taking at least one of those chances was critical.
Going back to Kitching; he offers a different profile to our other defenders, in that he is quite often on the front foot whenever the ball comes near our defensive line. He is an aggressive defender in the way he steps up and tries to win the ball as soon as possible. This however can often lead to him being caught high up the pitch if his attempts to win the ball are unsuccessful, but that’s the risk you take when defending in that manner. It can also mean that the likes of Thomas and Luis Binks catch the eye more when they have to sweep up in behind afterwards. I feel it is necessary to have that balance in defence though, as too many passive-until-necessary defenders can invite unwarranted pressure.
Our somewhat off-the-pace opening to the match could be viewed as a team that had to play in three matches in seven days, coming up against an away side with a full weeks’ rest. In another way, our slower tempo could be seen as a tactical employment of a classic rope-a-dope strategy. This is further enhanced by us turning the screw in the second half, as Frank Lampard reverted back to his preferred 4-2-3-1 system that in turn saw us control proceedings much higher up the pitch. We still had to wait until the very last breath before claiming victory, but in the end it could be considered justified, given the higher quality of opportunities we manufactured.
Outside of the winning goal, my highlight of the match came in the first half; when, trying to get the defence back in position during a Rangers counter, Milan van Ewijk was unsure whether to stick or twist on his marking duties on the dangerous Koki Saito, or close down the man on the ball. Bobby Thomas, charging back into position, answers the question himself; using his momentum and a strong forearm shove, to knock Saito to the ground and subsequently out of the move entirely. The referee wouldn’t have missed it, and on another day there may have been repercussions, but it was a particularly enjoyable little snippet of shithousery.
Sheffield Wednesday
Whether Wednesday usually rely on wide play to create chances, or if they studied our recent matches and decided to exploit our shape by overloading our wing-backs, it’s safe to say that the Hillsborough side carried the bigger threat throughout the 90 minutes, albeit with ultimately scant reward. The pace of their deliveries, especially from Djeidi Gassama on their left flank, made it hard to deal with; both for our defence (resulting in their equaliser), but also for their attackers on occasion.
Whether we were relying on inviting said crosses and packing the box tightly to deal with them, or whether we just rode our luck to the point of near-exhaustion, it’s safe to say that on another day we could have been staring down the barrel of a grim result. The fact that we managed to snatch a result in the face of high pressure from the home side, is the sort of ugly win that can often be decisive in a playoff/promotion chase.
It’s the sort of luck that had deserted us for large parts of the season; and though you can’t rely solely on good fortune, I for one sit firmly in the camp of belief that you make your own luck. Wayne Gretzky knows what I’m on about.
On the tails end of the coin of fate, is the matter that sometimes we put ourselves under pressure. We’re playing on a knife-edge at times, and in games where we’re holding onto a slender lead and under surmounting pressure, we need calmer heads in order to grasp and maintain a modicum of control. The best example from the last match was in the build-up to the Owls’ equaliser. Jay Dasilva was over a loose ball running wide near our corner flag. With the next closest attacker a good few yards away from him, Dasilva had enough time to take a touch before dealing with it. Instead, the wing-back opted to try a first-time clearance despite being too square onto the ball. This led to a poorer clearance than what might have been, resulting in a quick turnover and a goal for the opposition. These are the little things, and the fine margins, that need to be refined and cleaned up by the coaching staff in the post-match reviews at Ryton, in order for us to be at the level required to be serious about our chances at taking the next step.
On a more positive note, it was nice to see us being the subject of derision for the employment of some light gamesmanship. For all the times recently we’ve complained about opposing goalkeepers buying time midway through a half for their managers to issue a tactical refresh and team-talk, it was fun to be on the other side of that whilst Oliver Dovin was tended to for what appeared to be a niggling calf. How sincere these stoppages are may remain a mystery, but it’s the sort of ‘if you can’t beat them…’ attitude that we need to adopt at times, to help prevent us being bullied out of matches.
The feeling of being on edge all game, and that resignation or at least acceptance that the whistle will soon blow for full-time. You’re sitting there while others peter out of the ground, all contemplating what might have been. And in a flash, delirium. There are few things quite like a last-minute goal that gets your team a result. Wolves away, Manchester United at Wembley, that one ridiculous season where we seemed to do it almost every match; nothing beats the buzz of the late, late show. I don’t think that during this current season I have celebrated a goal quite like I did Bobby Thomas’ winner against QPR. I lost my voice as a result. As soon as I’d gotten it back, I proceeded to lose it again following Simms’ winner four days later.
Even though we’re lacking a bit of cut-and-thrust to put games to bed earlier, this past week hints that we are currently good enough to get results even though the general layout of the match has bluffed otherwise, and that’s good enough for me.
Onwards and upwards.
All images credit: CoventryLive. Video credit: EFL
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