Not a game that will live long in the memory, but a good three points to cap off a very good week. I’m not surprised we were below par given the effort we’ve expended since the Villa game.
I have to say that despite the occasional error of judgement, the ref today was probably 7/10. He let the game flow by ignoring obvious diving and even denied Crawley an undeserved penalty. We've had way worse.
TBF to Crawley, they lost their manager and have been recently taken over. When Blooms came in after Ainsworth left, on the back of a good run, we were turgid and lost
We didn't seem to play as much through midfield today. Partly because Morley was out, but also because they let us have the ball in the back 3 and then got tight fairly quickly in midfield.
No issue with us going over the top if that's the more effective route. The ball looped behind between CB and full back is something we seem to rely on as a way to get forward. I think we've gotten fairly good at dropping ball in the right place so the second bounce hits around the corner of the penalty box, which is a nice position for the striker running into the ball. Kone isn't great in contact, but is quite effective moving onto those long passes and bringing others into the game when he's facing the corner flag, so it seems to be a sensible tactic. We won loads of corners through that route first half, and eventually got the goal from there.
Crawley were arguably tidier on the ball inside their own third. But seemed to have a lot of bodies deep in their own half to achieve that possession. Often when they eventually went long Low and Taylor were able to easily win the ball against an isolated forward.
Not an exceptional game but I did like the goal. Both Scowen and GMac using their respective traits perfectly - one winning the ball from behind the man, and the other driving into the box and putting in crosses - to put it on a plate for Fred.
Just a comment about a superb passing move fairly early (I think) in the second half. If Butcher had managed to finish it off it would have been up there with the best passing goals I've ever seen us score for years.
I thought Crawley played well, we struggled to get the ball of them in the second half. We did not help ourselves either by inaccurate passing, often making the wrong choice. Still, onwards and upwards!
I'm almost more excited about winning a game where we weren't particularly at our best, but it feeling routine and never really in doubt than I would be had we torn them apart for 90 minutes
Today was exactly the sort of game you need when you have a successful season. We probably will remember very little of it in years to come but it's just about points accumulation
Starting to think I might just have to dig out the keys to the bandwagon
First half they were error strewn we looked good, second half roles reversed.
Big difference between the teams is we can make quality sub after quality sub and not weaken the team in anyway. Kone runs out of gas, here comes Udoh. Fred tires, here’s Bez. Etc etc
Forgettable afternoon really but these are important come May. I’ll take a glorious goal feast victory some other day.
Really? It shows how different fans can have different opinions of the same game I thought Crawley were the weakest team we’ve played with the exception of their number 18.
It amazing - we are five years removed from nine players showing up to pre-season, and now (once healthy) we can go nine deep just with dangerous forwards!
I think he just couldn't get in the squad with Leahy back and Skura available. I expect Leahy fulfilled a dual role of being able to come on for either a midfielder or for a Harvie injury, so Hartridge is further down the pecking order.
Excellent first half and a controlled second but we didn’t half let Crawley play in the second.
We saw exactly what we gain defensively with Scowen / Butcher axis and exactly what we miss with Morley not playing.
I thought Leahy was very poor when he came on and seemed to be blowing after only a couple of minutes. Definitely not match fit yet.
Harvie was very good but Scowen was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch. I do worry what would happen if we lost Josh for a period of time.
I’d quite like to see Fred through the middle at some point. Kone and Udoh had sub standard games there when trying to hold the ball up or run at defenders. Defensively they were both very good.
Great to get a clean sheet and although Franco still gives me the jitters his stats are so impressive and yet again some important saves.
really annoyed about Stockport. 11/12 games off, they need to change something.
Team unbeaten in 7, playing decent football, riding high in the league, decent weather and still we only attract 4000 home fans. We all know about the access issues but I wonder what the club are doing proactively to encourage new fans. Not living in the area anymore, I don’t know what they are doing regarding promotion of games in the town, local schools and communities. They seem to be reluctant to offer ticket deals. Over 8000 for the Villa game, so there are new fans out there.
The Butcher / Scowen discussion is an interesting area. We certainly missed Morley, especially his ability to bring people into the game, I think Humphries certainly missed him yesterday. However, although Butcher lacks Morley’s creativity and energy, he does make us more solid defensively.
For me the 3 of Morley, Humphries and Scowen is our best midfield unit but Butcher is a really good squad player and I sincerely hope he gets enough game time to keep him happy.
I agree with your point regarding Luke Leahy, he did look well off the pace when he came on yesterday.
Good 3 points though and it’s a real shame we will miss a game again next week due to these farcical International breaks, as we have the momentum with us at the moment.
The thought I was left with after the game is whether we're slightly out on the first choice midfield three. Playing Morley-Humphreys-Scowen is very attacking but does mean we're not getting the best out of our best player and leaves the defence vulnerable. I think Morley's absence yesterday showed what he brings to the team but having Josh where he belongs was fantastic and Butcher adds a huge amount of unsung heroics. While Humphreys is a superb talent we do have a front three all capable of scoring and playing great balls. So I'd be tempted to try a Scowen-Butcher-Morley axis and see if that delivers the best balance between defence and attack.
I think we all need to wind down the narrative about the access problems. It’s a modest problem that shouldn’t get in the way of a good day out.
After the game had a couple of (v expensive, that’s an issue) drinks with pals. And was home by just after six. Doesn’t scream access problems just factor it into a good day out.
It's now possible to watch the games on TV for a lot less money than actually turning up.
(And you can watch the games for free if you use naughty websites and don't mind having some viruses on your PC)
So I'd guess we'd better get used to 4,000 this season. The other 4-6,000 want big games and/or big prizes which will come when we return to the Championship (never thought I'd be able to type 'return')
Although the only stat that really matters is the 1-0 scoreline, I did notice from the BBC website that we had 26 touches in the opposition box, to Crawley's 14.
That indicates how dominant we were, and on another day we could easily have scored another 2 or 3. With a couple of weeks' rest, and hopefully more players returning from injury, Posh are firmly in our sights for another 3 points.
Always interesting reading the opposition view - a few comments about how average we are, should have been a draw etc. This comment jumped out at me however.
2 goals in 8 games. Players like Swan need to be booted out. We are carrying him. Elliot needs to wake up smell the roses. B0llocks talking about it's gonna take time etc., by then we will be adrift of safety.
He’s barely been in the post for five minutes and he’s already coming in for some criticism! A few also described their next fixture as must win, which is mad when you think they’ve already played 4 or 5 of the top 6.
Comments
Not a game that will live long in the memory, but a good three points to cap off a very good week. I’m not surprised we were below par given the effort we’ve expended since the Villa game.
I have to say that despite the occasional error of judgement, the ref today was probably 7/10. He let the game flow by ignoring obvious diving and even denied Crawley an undeserved penalty. We've had way worse.
TBF to Crawley, they lost their manager and have been recently taken over. When Blooms came in after Ainsworth left, on the back of a good run, we were turgid and lost
While Morley has been good recently I don't think we need to worry we're dependent on him or anything.
Poor teams can often produce games like that. The important thing is we saw it out and fairly comfortably too.
It’s a win and a clean sheet. Let’s draw a veil over that second half?
We didn't seem to play as much through midfield today. Partly because Morley was out, but also because they let us have the ball in the back 3 and then got tight fairly quickly in midfield.
No issue with us going over the top if that's the more effective route. The ball looped behind between CB and full back is something we seem to rely on as a way to get forward. I think we've gotten fairly good at dropping ball in the right place so the second bounce hits around the corner of the penalty box, which is a nice position for the striker running into the ball. Kone isn't great in contact, but is quite effective moving onto those long passes and bringing others into the game when he's facing the corner flag, so it seems to be a sensible tactic. We won loads of corners through that route first half, and eventually got the goal from there.
Crawley were arguably tidier on the ball inside their own third. But seemed to have a lot of bodies deep in their own half to achieve that possession. Often when they eventually went long Low and Taylor were able to easily win the ball against an isolated forward.
Not an exceptional game but I did like the goal. Both Scowen and GMac using their respective traits perfectly - one winning the ball from behind the man, and the other driving into the box and putting in crosses - to put it on a plate for Fred.
My first game of season, really enjoy being back at Adams park and although not the greatest game, thought we played pretty well in the first half.
So many exciting attacking options, and seem to be starting to get a bit of stability at the back.
So pleased Gareth McClearly signed on for another year! Loved watching him and Fred today.
Thought we are developing a bit of an air about us and there was a positive atmosphere around the place. Excited for what this season could bring!!
Just a comment about a superb passing move fairly early (I think) in the second half. If Butcher had managed to finish it off it would have been up there with the best passing goals I've ever seen us score for years.
I thought Crawley played well, we struggled to get the ball of them in the second half. We did not help ourselves either by inaccurate passing, often making the wrong choice. Still, onwards and upwards!
I'm almost more excited about winning a game where we weren't particularly at our best, but it feeling routine and never really in doubt than I would be had we torn them apart for 90 minutes
Today was exactly the sort of game you need when you have a successful season. We probably will remember very little of it in years to come but it's just about points accumulation
Starting to think I might just have to dig out the keys to the bandwagon
First half they were error strewn we looked good, second half roles reversed.
Big difference between the teams is we can make quality sub after quality sub and not weaken the team in anyway. Kone runs out of gas, here comes Udoh. Fred tires, here’s Bez. Etc etc
Forgettable afternoon really but these are important come May. I’ll take a glorious goal feast victory some other day.
Agree with @TheAndyGrahamFanClub - great subs bench today…really strong…and Vokes, Wheeler, Taff and Brandon to add in time
Really? It shows how different fans can have different opinions of the same game I thought Crawley were the weakest team we’ve played with the exception of their number 18.
It amazing - we are five years removed from nine players showing up to pre-season, and now (once healthy) we can go nine deep just with dangerous forwards!
Sadlier-Kone-McCleary
Onyedinma-Lubala-Udoh
Hanlan-Vokes-Kodua
That depth and quality of our forwards gives us a realistic chance of the playoffs.
Is Hartridge injured?
I think he just couldn't get in the squad with Leahy back and Skura available. I expect Leahy fulfilled a dual role of being able to come on for either a midfielder or for a Harvie injury, so Hartridge is further down the pecking order.
Excellent first half and a controlled second but we didn’t half let Crawley play in the second.
We saw exactly what we gain defensively with Scowen / Butcher axis and exactly what we miss with Morley not playing.
I thought Leahy was very poor when he came on and seemed to be blowing after only a couple of minutes. Definitely not match fit yet.
Harvie was very good but Scowen was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch. I do worry what would happen if we lost Josh for a period of time.
I’d quite like to see Fred through the middle at some point. Kone and Udoh had sub standard games there when trying to hold the ball up or run at defenders. Defensively they were both very good.
Great to get a clean sheet and although Franco still gives me the jitters his stats are so impressive and yet again some important saves.
really annoyed about Stockport. 11/12 games off, they need to change something.
Form table looking very good indeed.
Hats off to Mansfield who are in superb form.
Team unbeaten in 7, playing decent football, riding high in the league, decent weather and still we only attract 4000 home fans. We all know about the access issues but I wonder what the club are doing proactively to encourage new fans. Not living in the area anymore, I don’t know what they are doing regarding promotion of games in the town, local schools and communities. They seem to be reluctant to offer ticket deals. Over 8000 for the Villa game, so there are new fans out there.
Lincoln ones to watch as well. Like us they have continued good form in the second half of last season into this one.
In fact they have accumulated more points in 2024 than we have
Some real good points there @Commoner.
The Butcher / Scowen discussion is an interesting area. We certainly missed Morley, especially his ability to bring people into the game, I think Humphries certainly missed him yesterday. However, although Butcher lacks Morley’s creativity and energy, he does make us more solid defensively.
For me the 3 of Morley, Humphries and Scowen is our best midfield unit but Butcher is a really good squad player and I sincerely hope he gets enough game time to keep him happy.
I agree with your point regarding Luke Leahy, he did look well off the pace when he came on yesterday.
Good 3 points though and it’s a real shame we will miss a game again next week due to these farcical International breaks, as we have the momentum with us at the moment.
The thought I was left with after the game is whether we're slightly out on the first choice midfield three. Playing Morley-Humphreys-Scowen is very attacking but does mean we're not getting the best out of our best player and leaves the defence vulnerable. I think Morley's absence yesterday showed what he brings to the team but having Josh where he belongs was fantastic and Butcher adds a huge amount of unsung heroics. While Humphreys is a superb talent we do have a front three all capable of scoring and playing great balls. So I'd be tempted to try a Scowen-Butcher-Morley axis and see if that delivers the best balance between defence and attack.
I think we all need to wind down the narrative about the access problems. It’s a modest problem that shouldn’t get in the way of a good day out.
After the game had a couple of (v expensive, that’s an issue) drinks with pals. And was home by just after six. Doesn’t scream access problems just factor it into a good day out.
It's now possible to watch the games on TV for a lot less money than actually turning up.
(And you can watch the games for free if you use naughty websites and don't mind having some viruses on your PC)
So I'd guess we'd better get used to 4,000 this season. The other 4-6,000 want big games and/or big prizes which will come when we return to the Championship (never thought I'd be able to type 'return')
Or we could try bringing the fireworks back.
Although the only stat that really matters is the 1-0 scoreline, I did notice from the BBC website that we had 26 touches in the opposition box, to Crawley's 14.
That indicates how dominant we were, and on another day we could easily have scored another 2 or 3. With a couple of weeks' rest, and hopefully more players returning from injury, Posh are firmly in our sights for another 3 points.
Always interesting reading the opposition view - a few comments about how average we are, should have been a draw etc. This comment jumped out at me however.
2 goals in 8 games. Players like Swan need to be booted out. We are carrying him. Elliot needs to wake up smell the roses. B0llocks talking about it's gonna take time etc., by then we will be adrift of safety.
He’s barely been in the post for five minutes and he’s already coming in for some criticism! A few also described their next fixture as must win, which is mad when you think they’ve already played 4 or 5 of the top 6.
Oh yeah Swan! Rarely has a player dived so pathetically that the instinctive reaction of all those watching was just to burst out laughing
He must surely have been embarrassed
Swan dive?
Some of the wits around me labelled it as such