Darryl Flahaven - 6; After Darryl made his obligatory brilliant save
he had no chance with Rowlands stunning shot on the half hour.
However, the size debate will raise its head as, in my opinion, he
was fairly challanged for the ball which he lost and it then fell
nicely for Wards tap in. His injury from said challange forcing
him to leave the pitch for.......
Steve Collis - 6; Well he got his chance earlier than he might have expected and played well pulling off a couple of good saves but too early to say whether he can match Darryl's consistancy and he had less to deal with in the second haf.
Simon Francis - 6; Some good tackles and link ups with the midfield but Simon gave the ball away far too easily and on too many occassions especially in the first half, something all his team mates were guilty off.
Spencer Prior - 6; Tilly, "your in for the first week Spinner, three
games". Spinner, "very funny boss, now this new centre half we've got, like me to do some one on one training with him?". Tilly, "No, your really in." Spinner, "Oh!" Lots of effort, gave it everything, but showed his thirty something years in the second half and cannot be expected to perform at this level on a weekly basis.
Adam Barrett - 6; The usual 110% performance from the boy Barrett but the step up in pace and street wiseness he is now facing week in week out is looking as if it will catch him out more often than not. Throwing yourself in front of the ball will not work if the forward is already passed you and three yards away.
Steven Hammell - 6; Similar game to his full back partner Francis
but obviously has a good football brain and makes some well timed
interceptions to set up attacking options. Will be an assett once he starts playing with a central partnership thst gives him some freedom from his defensive duties.
Jamal
Luke Gutteridge - 5; Luke is certainly doing his best to make all
those managers who were looking at him last year look a touch silly. His third poor performance in a row as his power and passing game seems to have deserted him. Sadly he also missed the best chance of the game which would have put us right back in it. We have to remember he was nearer the confrence than championship only 2 years ago and he need more time to adjust to this level. I'm confident he will.
KEVIN MAHER - 7; While Luke has struggled Captain Kev has stepped up a gear. Tried single handed to keep us in the game in the first half and was at the centre of most of the attacking moves in the improved second. Can't do it on his own though.
Mark Gower - 6; Mark, Mark. Please read any of this players reviews for last season and see how nothing seems to have changed. Flashes, as ever, of what he can do followed by long periods of non participation. Always the first one Tilly looks too if he wants to make changes. Must improve, quickly.
Lee Bradbury - 5; After two games when he had played into Tilly's
first team plans Lee decided that his third game in a week was a game too far. Poor in all departments, gave Freddy no help atall and generally was not at the races. Maybe too early to think of dropping him, he was not the only one to have a poor one but a certain Mr. Paynter must be bursting to get a full one under his belt.
Freddy Eastwood - 6; Freddy does try to be a one man forward line especially when he receives such poor service from his colleagues, however he is finding defences are not so open to let him run at them as they have been and he need to learn a few extra tricks. Still the one player that makes you stand up though if he gets the goal in his sights and will get 20 goals this season, hopefully all for us.
Subs: Billy Paynter - 5; Bring on......The Decorator. Not enough
time on the pitch yet to know if we have Drew in disguise and must get his chance soon. The effort is there but the shooting boots are not. Bradbury did nothing wrong in his first two games.
Welcome to the Championship. We have a decent idea what we are facing now but after two seasons in
Chris Daniels