Rankings at Sheffield

[Salopian 1]

Virtually everyone played well. Even Robinson contributed vitally to the first goal in an otherwise fairly anonymous game.Green - 7 - safe catching and one or two good low down savesColin - 6 - his presence and speed means that he was seldom taken on by the winger, but he needs to tackle, claim the ball.Doherty - 8 - massive presence, missed very little in the airFleming - 8 - same as Doheerty, if anything contributed more going forwardDrury - 7 - steady, caught out of position once or twice, but recovered well, crossing not so goodRobinson - 5 - fairly anonymous, virtually failed to notice him.Safri - 7 -quiet and mostly defensive, but effectiveCharlton - 8 - a revelation! -outjumped much bigger players for headers, did simple things but did them well.McVeigh - 8 - showed what a great player he can be, instant control, lovely touchesHuckerby - 7 - less of a force in the second half, but led to the last goal.Ashton - 9 - a towering performance! What talent! The difference between the two sides. Can we have a whip round to keep him? We shall be a fairly ordinary side without him.General verdict - a fighting performance, deserving the spoils. We matched them in the first half, sustained tremendous pressure in the second half, but broke quickly to score a good goal. After the third they were a beaten team. I overheard a Sheffield supported say that his team lacked a cutting edge - a fair summary - they had a more dominant midfield and pressurised us, but unless there was  another defensive mistake by us it was not easy to see how they were going to score.