To be honest, there's something beautiful about a game like today, including the controversy. The complete range of emotions that you go through, topped off with a feeling of satisfaction at having scraped something from the game.
I thought we were a bit rubbish, and every time I look at the squads of some of the teams around us, I think that Lamouchi has coached the hell out of the players at his disposal. This game was a fine example of that. We lost goals to a mistake, then being caught upfield after a poor refereeing decision.
Before both goals, our plan was working really well. We were limiting a talented group of players to set pieces and low percentage shots. Their diving, cheating playmaker was getting kicked out of the game. We dogged and frustrated them, and were a bunch of bastards to play against. With a more competent referee, it would have worked even better. For every free kick we didn't win for blatant fouls, they won three because of a strong wind knocking the cheat over.
All in all, it was an interesting game. Our style is kryptonite to almost all of the teams around us. It is also our own biggest weakness, when teams cede possession to us and let us dictate the direction of play. We're going to have to be a bit more creative to try and find a more effective way of playing when we're chasing games instead of waiting for them to unfold.
