With the consistency of our inconsistency, it was probably always going to be a case of after the Lord Mayor’s Show, following Wednesday’s 5-0 victory at home to Blackburn Rovers. Nahki Wells penalty in the 101st minute, earned us a point, extended our unbeaten run to five games and broke the hearts of the Huddersfield Town fans, who moments before had been singing, “we are staying up”.
I’m sat at my desk and thinking how on earth am I going to write a column based on that previous 100 minutes? Deep breath, and here we go.
Let’s begin with the starting line-up, as Zak Vyner was ruled out with a knee injury, Liam Manning opted to continue with three at the back but with Ross McCrorie on the right, Haydon Roberts on the left and George Tanner in the middle. Mark Sykes was deployed as right wing-back, Cameron Pring left wing-back, with Matty James and Joe Williams in the middle.
The three up front were Jason Knight, Tommy Conway, and Scott Twine. I thought it at 2pm and what I then witnessed backed up my thinking that Manning got it wrong. Could Jamie Knight Label or Andy King have been played in the middle to replace Vyner?
For me, Knight playing that far forward doesn’t work and while there have been some good games, I don’t think a central midfield of James and Williams excels. There isn’t enough pace and forward-thinking when they play together, and Knight has been excellent when played deeper, in what I think is his best position.
With James and Williams, the pace of the game is slower, and we revert to playing the ball sideways and backwards, albeit retaining the ball. Sykes will do a job as right wing-back, but we don’t get the best out of him and Twine is better in the No10 behind the likes of Conway or Wells.
There really isn’t much to comment on from the game itself. It was dour, in particular the first half. There was some great entertainment during the half-time break, thanks to the Robins Foundation and some of our associate teams.
There was a young man wearing a headband who scored a goal and the joy on his face made my afternoon. It’s what football is all about. The applause that him and his teammates received was brilliant, this young man didn’t want to leave the field and those 15 minutes will live long in their memories.
The second-half was better from both teams with Tommy Conway, Mark Sykes and Nahki Wells having opportunities and Huddersfield Town’s Sorba Thomas and Jack Rudoni going close. When Josh Koroma scored in the 81st minute following a cross that was deflected via a Cam Pring challenge, I honestly thought that was it, a game that had 0-0 written all over it, seemed to have been won by Andre Breitenreiter’s side and given them a real lifeline in their battle to avoid the drop.
Then came that moment. As is so often the case in this modern era, some elements of social media went into meltdown and completely overreacted at Rebecca Welch’s decision to award a penalty against Terrier’s substitute Ollie Turton, who the referee adjudged to have handled Cam Pring’s cross into the box.
Some of the misogynistic comments are just ridiculous and ignorant with comments from some who just want to still feel relevant, continuing to pedal their misogynistic agenda. #HerGameToo there is sadly still so far to go.
I absolutely get the disappointment of the Huddersfield fans, conceding a goal in that manner so late in the game but anyone who watched the game must agree that Welch was excellent all afternoon, making decisive decisions with a consistency and I judged purely on performance and not gender.
For me, I thought the penalty was harsh, and I would have been gutted had similar been given against us, but Welch was sure, gave the decision and I have seen plenty of comments from fans with a view on that side of the pitch, saying that she got it right and that Turton had illegally blocked the cross.
The debate on the timing of the goal was a moot point, down to time-wasting and players that required treatment. On that performance, I would take Welch referring our games over Keith Stroud any day of the week.
Next up is an away game against a Norwich City side looking to cement their place in the play-offs. David Wagner was wanted out by a large majority of Canaries fans back in December when we played them at Ashton Gate, and it took a 95th-minute winner to arguably keep the German in his job.
His celebrations that day, running down the touchline and jumping into a melee with his players said it all. The game will show perhaps just how far we have come and just how far we need to go to be challenging next season.
The Championship is a crazy division, just how many accumulators were busted over the weekend with Plymouth’s victory against Leicester City on Friday night and how many City fans would have thought a Blackburn side that were thumped by us 5-0 on Wednesday could go to Leeds United’s Elland Road and come away with a 1-0 win? It’s a funny old game.
Our 3 Peaps In A Podcast 'Robins Review' player ratings were: Max O’Leary 6, Ross McCrorie 6, George Tanner 7 *MotM, Haydon Roberts 7, Cameron Pring 6, Matty James 5, Joe Williams 5, Jason Knight 5, Mark Sykes 6, Scott Twine 5 and Tommy Conway 6. For the subs, Nahki Wells 7, and Anis Mehmeti 6.
An average player rating of 5.85 and a season average of 6.21. For Liam Manning, it was a 5. His team kept going and got arguably a deserved point, but I think he got his team selection wrong.
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