I thought we started brightly and on another day been 2-0 up in 10 minutes. They came back into the game and being a biased fan, thought they looked to waste time to disrupt our rhythm. The remainder of the first half was not great with them having physical strikers. We stood upto the task well I thought.
Not sure about the penalty, but if you are unbalanced and try a tackle in the box they can be given.
After that it was better. We played with more tempo and looked to move the ball quickly, especially when Arter was introduced. We appeared to look a little more balanced when going back to a 4-4-2. It appeared to wake up Lolley, with Ameobi showing some lovely close control.
I feel we well deserved a goal and as CH has said, even a win.
I have some concern over Ioannou. He appears quick, tall and an athlete, but he really needs to work on his passing and crossing. The number of times he was in a good position and the delivery let him down was getting quite frustrating, especially in the second half. I suppose he is settling in, so he will take a little time to fully find his feet.
I have to say also, I was impressed with the CB's. Mckenna was covering well and Figs was always up for that physical challenge.
I'd like to see Colback and Arter starting in midfield, just simply as I dont feel currently that Yates has that range of passing or perhaps vision that Arter does. Colback is obviously getting more match fit after a long period injured. What you cannot argue with is Yates' desire or ability to challenge for the ball.
Freeman looked a little lost and frustrated last night. He could obviously see what was happening but just couldn't quite influence the game. Perhaps playing 4-4-2 with him as a winger might help?
Anyhow, we are looking better defensively and are starting to create chances which is encouraging.
