Rate The Players v Portsmouth | Vital Football

Rate The Players v Portsmouth

Scotimp

Vital Football Legend
Vickers
Eardley
Connolly
Shackell
Toffolo
O'Connor
Andrade
Morrell
Payne
Walker
Akinde

6.0 is the par score, use half-marks and give us your comments too.

Deadline is 5pm on Thursday.
 
Vickers 6.5
Eardley 6
Connolly 6
Shackell 7
Toffolo 7
O'Connor 6.5
Andrade 8
Morrell 6.5
Payne 6.5
Walker 5.5
Akinde 6
 
Vickers - 7- sound, good save on the line, did his best with the goal
Eardley - 7 - a mixed night, got forward well and some good crosses 2nd half
Connolly -5.5 - a worry, one great tackle but not a natural midfielder nor a natural CB? Everton clearly have sent him here to answer that question. Should have got header on target first half, scary back-pass second. Not good enough??
Shackell - 7 - covered for the inexperience alongside, used his experience against younger/faster players
Toffolo - 7 - tiring, which is a worry for the rest of the season as he's still our best attacking option
O'Connor - 8 - controlled midfield, can only assume sub was for injury or with a view to Saturday
Andrade - 7 - moved positions lots which didn't help, link ups with Toff not usual standard. Needs to start on left.
Morrell - 8 - good ball winning, good distribution
Payne - 7- grr.. skills, check. Application?Double check. End product? Nada.
Walker - 6 - whatever gets the best out of him, it wasn't tonight's set up against a poor side. 'Tackle' on Akinde a low point.
Akinde - 6 - unlucky with header first half, probably had the better of Raggs and Bennett throughout the match, but I think tonight shows hasn't got the skills for this level.'Tackle' on Walker a low point Prove me wrong with 2 on Saturday, please JA...
 
Vickers - 7.5 - good work with his feet, made the necessary saves, little chance with goal.

Eardley - 7.0 - age and injuries look to be catching up with him but he’s still a decent act.
Connolly - 8.5 - Thought he was superb against some decent strikers. Won headers and dealt with pace well. Couple of nervy moments but to be expected.
Shackell - 8.0 - was in charge of organisation and they got a free header. Dealt with them well other than that.
Toffolo - 8.0 - shame we couldn’t get him forwards more as he’s dangerous going forward. Our best player?

Payne - 7.0 - all good hustle and bustle but had few options in front of him and did nothing to create something.
O’Connor - 7.5 - he’s a good player isn’t he? How did their centre mid get man of the match when he lost everything against our CM’s!
Morrell - 8.5 - my man of the match. Had some drive and won every 3rd, 4th and 5th ball it seemed.
Andrade - 7.0 - played well but I thought their RB kept him as under check as you can (which isn’t too under check)

Walker - 6.0 - I don’t know what he brings outside the 18 yard box. I remember the comments when he was playing for Mansfield and they all seem to be correct, and they weren’t the most positive from us. Needs more energy to feed off Akinde’s knock downs.
Akinde - 8.0 - he needs a wonder goal to big up his confidence but his all round game right now, for me, is our best striker option. Unfortunately doesn’t look like scoring, but more likely to get the team scoring.
 
Vickers 6
Eardley 6
Connolly 7
Shackell 7
Toffolo 6
O'Connor 7
Andrade 6.5
Morrell 6.5
Payne 5
Walker 5.5
Akinde 7
 
Vickers 7 decent
Eardley 6 ok but not much going forward
Connolly 6 ok
Shackell 6 ok
Toffolo 7
O'Connor 7
Andrade 6 shooting off form
Morrell 6
Payne 6 mix of good and not good
Walker 4
Akinde 5
Just average and disappointing all round
 
Vickers. - 6.5
Eardley. -6.5
Connolly. -6.5
Shackell. - 7
Toffolo. -6.5
O'Connor. -6
Andrade. -7
Morrell. -6
Payne -5
Walker -5
Akinde -5.5
 
Vickers - 7 Good save turned into a bundled goal that he couldn't do much about. Assured kicking, although doesn't have the distance. Hope his leg is still OK.
Eardley - 6.5 Caught out at the back, great crosses in second half
Connolly - 7 Not a natural CB. Gave away a couple of clumsy free kicks and a rocket of a backpass straight to Vickers. Generally decent positionally. Nerves to be expected. And the only probable option we have there for the next 2 games.
Shackell - 7.5 On form and seemed to help Connolly along.
Toffolo - 7.5 Pretty much up to his own high standards.
O'Connor - 8 Another commanding performance. Didn't get the rub of the green with the ref, but was good to see him really putting himself about.
Andrade - 7.5 The only player to carry the ball with threat. Should have at least had a shot after taking on 3 to get inside the box. Great long shot in the first half. Not the usual end product overall.
Morrell - 7.5 Dovetails perfectly with MOC.
Payne - 6.5 Lost the ball quite a lot. Sometimes tries to be a bit too smart. Should have probably been given a couple of free kicks as he was bundled over quite a lot in challenges that we would have been penalised for.
Walker - 6 Won the types of balls into the chest that Akinde should be eating up. Never in the right place (the box) at the right time (when Eardley is pinging them in) on a subdued evening.
Akinde - 6 Low on confidence. Wasn't making himself available for passes, losing out on challenges that he should be winning all day long, little tappy passes not quite working out. There were a few moments in the second half where he looked more like last season's player. Needs more game time with Walker so they can form a partnership, and for Akinde to prove he can play at this level.
 
Vickers - 7 - A couple of smart saves
Eardley - 7 - Some typical balls in
Connolly - 6 - Decent mostly with a couple of very dicey moments
Shackell - 6 - Standard but not quite dominant
Toffolo - 6 - Quiet
Morrell - 6 - Not much opportunity to create, a couple of nearly moments
O’Conner - 7 - Good performance again
Payne - 6 - Not white coming off at the moment, nearly did a couple of times first half
Andrade - 7.5 - Still a terrifying threat, should have done better with at least one chance
Walker - 6.5 - Didn’t get a sniff but I thought his linkup and strength was good
Akinde - 6 - Mixed performance, unlucky to have been adjudged to have fouled Raggs when through, ineffectual defending set pieces, spurned a good chance. Perhaps like Rhead in League Two, he’s an asset, but you’re not likely to be going up if that’s your forward
 
Vickers 7
Eardley 6
Connolly 5
Shackell 6
Toffolo 6
O'Connor 6
Andrade 7.5 MotM
Morrell 6
Payne 5
Walker 5
Akinde 5
 
Vickers 5.5 Didn't catch anything all night. Didn't hold onto the initial header that led to the goal. Didb't catch the one he saved on the line - more like he palmed it down and lay on it which left him open to more pressure from a striker he was (rightfully) trying to poke it away. Any balls into the box - he punched away...
Eardley 6 done for pace once or twice. Put in some good deliveries
Connolly 7 settled into the role well. Made some good challenges and let's not forget he was marking one of last seasons top scorers
Shackell 7 as usual. Strong display
Toffolo 6 didn't really get the usual penetration and overlapping runs didn't pay off. Full of running and effort though
O'Connor 7 played really well in the covering role. Also lots of running.
Andrade 6.5 struggled to make an impact. Had a few chances showing his intent and it's good to have someone with the confidence to shoot! Couple of occasions took it alone instead of passing or playing walker through.
Morrell 6.5 worked tirelessly in getting back and breaking up their play (he had to the amount back Payne kept losing the ball). Not creative enough in the final third
Payne 4.5 it pains me (awful pun) to say this as I admire his effort level but last night was poor. He was trying to get past 2 or 3 players at a time and just ended up muscled off the ball. He wasn't playing decent balls forward to the strikers and in the final third he was too cautious and took too many touches. I really hope we see the return of the Payne from the first 7 or 8 games
Walker 5.5 a harsh score but he barely featured. The service he received was also poor but the few times the ball was played into the box he wasn't making his usual gambling runs
Akinde 7 won alot of his arial battles (no one was close enough to pick up second ball) and seemed to be a presence on the pitch drawing 2 or 3 men which should have created space. Did miss a chance from a lovely low cross
 
Vickers 7 Confidence returning
Eardley 7 Good Solid display
Toffolo 6.5 Solid - not quite his usual threat going forward
Shackell 7.5 Excellent in difficult situation
Connolly 7.0 Considering everything did well - Hardly big enough and good enough in the air to be threatening Bolger or Bostwick when they return, but overall a good effort. Probably end up being a right back.
O’Connor 6.5 Solid and dependable
Morrell 6.5 Ditto
Andrade 7.0 Was a threat, with crosses and forced keeper into a good save.
Payne 5.0 Did his defensive duties fairly well. But if he were the same physique as other players he would be absolutely slated for continually losing 50/50 challenges.
It’s a prerequisite of a midfielder to win possession and he can’t do it. Also kept running up blind alleys and beating 3 players with no success. Will probably be MoM on Saturday he’s that sort of player.
Akinde 6.5 Allowed us to play a bit more direct. Won plenty of physical challenges and therefore we could keep the ball further up the pitch.
Walker 6.0 Does n’t feature much unless he scores... Tuesday wasn’t one of those days.
 
Vickers - 7 Did well, looked confident, unlucky to concede
Eardley - 6.5 A better game, some well timed tackles, good crosses.
Connolly - 7 Fitted in reasonably well, back pass more like a shot, an improvement.
Shackell - 7.5 Little got passed him, some crunching tackles, assured.
Toffolo - 7 Linked well with others, pushed forward.
O'Connor - 7.5 They had difficulty with his rugged style of football, no quarter given.
Andrade - 8 MOM Feared, doubled marked, just had that extra class. Could have swapped wings and mixed things up
Morrell - 7 Always hungry for the ball, great movement, took too many on at times.
Payne - 6.5 Too much given away but always getting stuck in.
Walker - 6 Spent too much time outside the box, needed to be there for the near post crosses.
Akinde - 6 Won headers, some good control and layoffs but always in advanced midfield positions. A striker who hates to be in the penalty area and hasn't the confidence to strike.