Reflections on a few performances in yesterday's friendly
Yesterday was my first attendance at any of the friendlies. In so many games nowadays players have few opportunities to make a mark. Wycombe dominated for long periods yesterday which led to quite a few passages of play upon which the following initial impressions are drawn:-
Scott Brown - looks quite small for a keeper in the modern game. Could perhaps have done better with Tarpey's goal, but generally had little to do.
How much has Danny Rowe grown / bulked up? He played just in front of the back 4 and was impressive, throwing himself into challenges. He was the subject of a late challenge /blow to the head and was substituted after about 30 minutes but looked very useful before then.
Marcus Bean's fitness levels were impressive. He kept finding space and making runs which were not used and did well covering gaps at right back in the first half when Harriman got caught up field a couple of times.
Will De Havilland looked a bit of a liability. He struggled all afternoon and despite having pretty good pace for CB, did not inspire confidence. I hope this was just a bad day at the office for the youngster.
Myles Weston saw a fair bit of the ball but did little with it - again, I hope that was just an off-day.
Luke O'Nien looked sharp with two very crisp finishes for his goals. Despite impressive performances by other midfielders, Luke must be an automatic choice come next week and I hope he keeps his shooting boots on.
Steven McGinn came on for about the last 30 minutes and was probably the classiest player on the park playing with his head up and splaying passes around with both feet. He deserves a chance in the team based on that brief performance.
Sam Wood came on after Danny Rowe’s injury and looked very sharp in a central midfield position (Myles was still playing wide left). He looked assured on the ball, speedy as ever and scored a beauty from about 30 yards.
Dayle Southwell also looked sharp, held the ball up well and got into good positions without really having any clear-cut chances. I would love him to be the next Beaver.
Adebayo Akinfenwa came on at about the same time as McGinn and was also a class apart. The Maidenhead fans next to me didn't know him and were initially sceptical about his appearance /weight but he bossed the game when he came on and laid on 3 great chances for Woody, Blooms and Weston, all of which were spurned. He has the ability to cause chaos if he gets the ball played in to his body or feet i.e. it comes to him, not him chasing it.
Overall a good run out and little evidence of hoofball. Pray though, that we get Aaron back next week.
Comments
Beyo came on at the beginning of the 2nd half with sido.
Apart from a brief spell where Maidenhead were on top, we looked every part of the 2 divisions above, and should really have scored a good few extra.
De Hav looked good when he was facing balls, quite dominant in the air. But anything he was chasing over his head, he looked quite uncomfortable.
Really hope Pierre is back on Saturday