Ricardo's report v Portsmouth FA Cup

[ricardo 7,444]

A bit on the chilly side tonight and it was an obvious decision to give my long thermals a first run out of the season. It was mass changes all round with only Zimmerman, Trybul, Godfrey and a barely recognisable Cantwell, retained from the team who played at Griffin Park.

There was little of note in the early stages although City looked the far more accomplished team on the ball. After being almost constantly on the back foot. Pompey broke forward on the quarter hour and when Hanley brought the forward down I think most of us weren't expecting a red card to be shown. I'm at the other end of the field but it certainly seemed a bit harsh to me but with seventy five minutes left to play it was obviously going to make it a much more difficult game.

For most of the first half it seemed to make little difference as apart from a couple of crosses McGovern had little to do. A strong run down the right and a cross headed over was about it as far as any danger was concerned. Up our end McLean hit a free kick into the wall and another free kick was frantically cleared away as both Rhodes and Godfrey had close range efforts blocked almost on the line. By the break City had retained sixty percent possession and had twice the number of shots so it appeared that the result was far from a foregone conclusion.

Portsmouth began the second period with a bit more sting and McGovern was finally called into action when he had to go down to a low shot but he was a virtual spectator when a header from a cross skimmed right across goal with nobody able to get a touch. Things were now much more even and despite still bossing possession City couldn't find the telling pass when they got within twenty yards of the visitors goal. Passlack fired one over when well placde and but in truth it was a case of defences dominating.

I thought for a moment Rhodes had earned a penalty but there were disappointed groans when Mr Bond waved it away. His speed with the red card was not matched by the yellows until the free kicks began to mount up and at last a couple of Portsmouth defenders were rightly booked. The numbers were beginning to tell as Pompey began to have chances and McGovern did well when finally called upon to make a goal saving stop with his right hand at the expense of a corner.

As we moved into the final quarter the game surged from end to end. The Pompey number ten looked the pick of the bunch and began to look very dangerous down the right. McGovern fumbled a shot seemingly into the path of a Pompey forward but Zimmerman came from nowhere to hook it away. Minutes later he was on the spot again to somehow block another hard low cross that seemed destined for a lurking forward. Klose then came on for Marshall as Farke changed the formation.

Pukki and Hernandez were introduced for the last ten but it was Cantwell who went closest when he almost finished off a fine move only to see his flying header clawed away by the keeper. It was all City as we moved into injury time and Pompey had to strongly defend a free kick. The ball pinged around the visitors area but suddenly took a favourable ricochet and away came Pompey down their left. A quick ball was swung over and despite a couple of blocks the ball fell very kindly for Green who with his third attempt flicked it past McGovern and in off the left post. Game over.

I'm not unduly disappointed other than Hanley didn't get the minutes he needed. McLean also needs more time but I thought Passlack looked decent (although only half the size of Pritchard). It was the extra man that evened up the game but the FA Cup is not the quest this season and in days to come there will be much bigger fish to fry.

Zimmerman outstanding today, also Godfrey, excellent.

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by ricardo
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[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,821]

Zimmerman outstanding....until he dangled a foot in at the end....as with Derby...

[westcoastcanary 173]

Thanks ricardo. I saw the first half but not the second, so appreciate your report.  I'm more disappointed by Hanley's stupidity than by his failure to get the minutes he needed. What was he thinking about? What sort of captaincy did it display? How experienced do you have to be to know that we are more likely to be able to win a game from 1 goal down as opposed to 75 minutes with 10 men? Poor, poor, poor. 

[Chelm Canary 404]

Thanks Riccardo. 

Does the Hanley red result in a league ban anyone?

[Van wink 2,994]

5 minutes ago, westcoastcanary said:

Thanks ricardo. I saw the first half but not the second, so appreciate your report.  I'm more disappointed by Hanley's stupidity than by his failure to get the minutes he needed. What was he thinking about? What sort of captaincy did it display? How experienced do you have to be to know that we are more likely to be able to win a game from 1 goal down as opposed to 75 minutes with 10 men? Poor, poor, poor. 

Blimey that judgement is is almost as harsh as the red card.

Yes it was a mistake, a mistake from a player who has played very little footy for months and completely mistimed his tackle.

Everything you say is completely true but it wont be going through the players mind, especially when he hasnt played in anger for months, when faced with an immediate decision.

[Herman 9,857]

4 minutes ago, Chelm Canary said:

Thanks Riccardo. 

Does the Hanley red result in a league ban anyone?

So far I have heard it is only a one game ban.

[Hucks6 171]

Isn’t a straight card an automatic 3 match ban ? Hope not

Edited January 5, 2019 by Hucks6
Didn’t finish

[Hucks6 171]

Red card dorry

[Hucks6 171]

Big fingers sorry isn’t a straight red card an automatic 3 match ban

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,821]

Its been confirmed as a one match ban as it was given as a professional foul rather than violent conduct.....we'll take that but it does make it more a mockery as i could understand if it was violent conduct more as he was never the last man

[nutty nigel 7,658]

27 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Zimmerman outstanding....until he dangled a foot in at the end....as with Derby...

I thought Ben Godfrey was outstanding. Not just our best defender but probably our best player. I prefer him at centre back too. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by nutty nigel

[Van wink 2,994]

3 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

I thought Ben Godfrey was outstanding. Not just our best defender but probably our best player. I prefer him at centre back too. 

Spot on and you were right about his selection. He gets better and better.

[Aggy 766]

17 minutes ago, Van wink said:

Blimey that judgement is is almost as harsh as the red card.

Yes it was a mistake, a mistake from a player who has played very little footy for months and completely mistimed his tackle.

Everything you say is completely true but it wont be going through the players mind, especially when he hasnt played in anger for months, when faced with an immediate decision.

Not so sure about that van wink. It looks like he knows what he’s doing to me - wiping the player out. That’s nothing to do with how much he’s played, and almost certainly was going through his mind. In the 93rd minute to protect a result, fair enough dive in at all costs, but in the 15th you stay on your feet and try to get back if you can.

[Aggy 766]

11 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Its been confirmed as a one match ban as it was given as a professional foul rather than violent conduct.....we'll take that but it does make it more a mockery as i could understand if it was violent conduct more as he was never the last man

He was the last man. He’s a long way out and not quite central, but the striker is clear through if he doesn’t bring him down.

Can see it here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46707005

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,821]

You could be the last man on the edge of the oppositions penalty box.....thats too far out to give a red for that....as i said, i could understand it more if it was given for violent conduct!

[It's Character Forming 1,167]

Thanks Ricardo, great report and ultimately the cup is just not a priority this season.

 

im finally returning  to the UK on Monday and looking forward to going to WBA next Saturday which is a massive game .

Edited January 5, 2019 by It's Character Forming
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[westcoastcanary 173]

3 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

You could be the last man on the edge of the oppositions penalty box.....thats too far out to give a red for that....as i said, i could understand it more if it was given for violent conduct!

 I've seen players red carded for "last man" tackles far nearer the half way line than the penalty box. The crux is whether it denies a clear goal scoring opportunity and in Hanley's case it certainly did.

[westcoastcanary 173]

59 minutes ago, Van wink said:

Blimey that judgement is is almost as harsh as the red card.

Yes it was a mistake, a mistake from a player who has played very little footy for months and completely mistimed his tackle.

Everything you say is completely true but it wont be going through the players mind, especially when he hasnt played in anger for months, when faced with an immediate decision.

I agree Van Wink, as harsh as the red card -- which was absolutely justified and not "harsh" at all! 

[vos 155]

Thought sending off was a bit harsh. Looked to me as a badly timed tackle. Ironically ref did not get out the yellow card for several poor Pompey challenges thereafter. Zimmerman and Godfrey were very impressive and Trybull had a good first half. Did not see any of the "reserves" as knocking on the door for a first team place. Rhodes/Srbeny offered little threat. Overall we still looked a far better footballing side and a full strength team would have probably won quite comfortably. Fairly obvious that Farke was not bothered about the result otherwise he would have surely brought on Pukki and Hernandez much earlier. I think he mainly viewed the match as a way of judging how the fringe players would perform on the bigger scene. A crowd of 23,000 was excellent and the game was end to end and quite entertaining.

[It's Character Forming 1,167]

Also good that Farke now understands you have to approach cup games in the modern game this way and prioritise the league, unlike last season.

[Surfer 1,547]

Zimmermann and Godfrey will likely be our starting center backs next season. Klose off at the end of this season and if we have any sense we'll try and find another team to take Hanley and his 4 year contract. IMO he's not the kind of ball control center back we need in our system and for me he's one of our worst recent signings. Mr "4th Division" Zimmermann is showing him up at the moment. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Surfer

[Chelm Canary 404]

Just seen the highlights - definite red. Professional foul. One defender over but the forward was in and McGovern was already on his bike, in no mans land. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Chelm Canary

[hogesar 9,811]

It was good to see how well we kept and moved the ball even with 10 men this evening.

Not sure if Hanley should have been sent off but it was a stupid challenge regardless. Panicked and dived in which is what I'd expect from a youngster as opposed to him.

Zimmerman and Godfrey were a very good partnership though and looked solid.

Srbeny looks a decent backup option  to Stiepermann whilst hes out injured. Held the ball up well and adds height to our frontline. 

McLean looked better as the game went on and clearly has some quality. 

Passlack also decent second half.

Marshall is not a full back and most certainly not on the left hand side. He was woeful when played there.

Those questioning why Marshall didn't get more game time recently may have an answer in his performance. So far away from Cantwell who was very good. Hopefully it was just because he was out of position. 

[AJ 1,235]

35 minutes ago, It's Character Forming said:

Also good that Farke now understands you have to approach cup games in the modern game this way and prioritise the league, unlike last season.

Very true, but it was a bit of fun last season as our league form meant we were never really in contention for promotion. This season is very different and I'm sure most of us would rather be out of it than face a midweek replay on the south coast

[Van wink 2,994]

1 hour ago, westcoastcanary said:

I agree Van Wink, as harsh as the red card -- which was absolutely justified and not "harsh" at all! 

I didnt say the card wasnt justifiable, in fact I said it was. But that doesnt prevent it from being harsh, particularly from a ref that let many potential yellow card decisions go unpunished.

Curtis had played the ball a long way in front of himself and Mcgovern had it covered. Always a possible red card but far from a clear cut and obvious one, harsh decision.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,821]

40 minutes ago, hogesar said:

It was good to see how well we kept and moved the ball even with 10 men this evening.

Not sure if Hanley should have been sent off but it was a stupid challenge regardless. Panicked and dived in which is what I'd expect from a youngster as opposed to him.

Zimmerman and Godfrey were a very good partnership though and looked solid.

Srbeny looks a decent backup option  to Stiepermann whilst hes out injured. Held the ball up well and adds height to our frontline. 

McLean looked better as the game went on and clearly has some quality. 

Passlack also decent second half.

Marshall is not a full back and most certainly not on the left hand side. He was woeful when played there.

Those questioning why Marshall didn't get more game time recently may have an answer in his performance. So far away from Cantwell who was very good. Hopefully it was just because he was out of position. 

A word to for Rhodes.....plenty clamouring for us to sign him permenantly but this is the sort of performance we were seeing from him at the start of the season when he started games....not quite good enough for me

....looks ok coming off the bench when we're chasing a game , but I cant believe that we would want to sign him or he would want to sign on the basis of that being his role?

[SwindonCanary 455]

It was a sending off , no doubt, but having stated that the Ref was poor, we should have had a penalty and I was astonished that he waiting till we were into the second half before giving the first yellow card. Full marks for our manager, he did not want a replay and did everything to end it today, unfortunately we were caught out on the break, but it could have gone in for us just as easy.  

[daly 516]

Cannot see Passlact. Marshall  or Rhodes being useful in the run in. Hope we can sign a striker on loan

Marshall looked completely shattered in the 2nd half

Never seen Passlact play before is he still growing???

[Peanuts 150]

Will give Hanley the benefit of the doubt and say he mistimed his challenge because if he's gone in there to take their player out and risk a red card that's a poor decision so early in the game.

Of the "new" players I thought McClean did really well and Passlack showed some nice touches but I think we should return him to Dortmund and see if they have him in a bigger size.

I know Marshall was playing out of position, but he looked awful to me. On the positive side Godfrey is looking more and more like the real deal - big, strong, quick, versatile and very comfortable on the ball.

I just watched Michael Bailey who didn't seem impressed with Srbeny, but I thought he had a good game in the Stiepermann role and I'd be happy with him as backup. I was really surprised when he came off instead of Rhodes, who might as well not have been on the pitch for all the impact he had.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Peanuts

[westcoastcanary 173]

I thought it was hard on Marshall. A more natural setup would surely have seen him on the right and Cantwell wide left where he  played while Hernandez was injured. I can only think that playing Marshall on the left was part of DF's plan to contain the dangerous Jamal Lowe. If so I guess the plan could be said to have succeeded, but it rather stifled Marshall in the process.