Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
ricardo

Ricardo's report v Blackburn

Recommended Posts

For those who thought the Premier League was beginning to look like a walk in the park this afternoons match was a bit of a reality check. Every point has to be earned the hard way and there are no soft touches, even at the bottom of the table.It was an unchanged team again that kicked off towards the River End this afternoon and it was pretty much even steven in the early moments. Blackburn fizzed one over from 20 yards and City came back with some neat play down either wing. City seemed to carry the greater threat as they continued to come forward and started to exert a good measure of pressure. Pilks got away down the left and it looked like odds on an opener when he squared the ball across the six yard line. The ball ballooned over the bar as Morison clashed with a defender who just got there first. It was an obvious corner but a goal kick was signalled which was only the first of many perverse decisions by the man in black. Bradley Johnson smashed a 25 yarder a foot or so too high and Bennett should have done much better than blaze into the side netting when well placed. The best effort was a volley by Fox which brought a tremendous diving save out of the ex England keeper. It was all looking good for City to eventually take a lead but on the very stroke of half time they fell to a real sucker punch. Blackburn held good posession as the clock ticked away the last seconds of added time when Hoilett wriggled his way along the 18 yard line before clipping a speculative effort over Ruddy to give the visitors an unlikely advantage at the break.It was a real kick in the teeth and Ricardo was soon pontificating that we would need a quick reply to get anything out of the game. Fortunately we didn''t have to wait long as on 53 mins Morisons one touch and volley from the edge of the area was the most stunning of equalisers. This is where City should have taken full control and a few minutes later Wes should have given them the lead but his header didn''t quite have enough power to beat Robinson. From that point on it was disappointingly all Blackburn. They totally bossed the midfield and City just could not get hold of the ball. Some neat play put Yakubu through just after the hour mark. I thought Ruddy was well positioned to make the save but the power of the shot was too much for him. It got even worse a couple of minutes later when a free kick from the left of the box went past everybody except Samba who stooped low to head in from a tight angle.Holt came on to add some punch and was quickly followed by Crofts and Jackson but it looked for all the world that Blackburn''s patient posession play would see them to a comfortable victory as they continued to dominate. City were giving the ball away far too often to exert any consistant pressure and it was hard to see anything but the points winging there way to Blackburn. City almost got through when Holt and Morison combined well but could not add the final touch. It was time for a touch of luck and that duly arrived with 8 minutes left when Johnson''s 20 yarder took a green and yellow deflection and spun beyond Robinson. The crowd were now well up for it but Blackburn still looked like holding on when the 5 minutes of injury time started. City at last got the ball forward and earned a corner. Everyone piled into the cross and a big shout went up as the ball brushed a defenders arm. Ref Mr Taylor redeemed himself in the eyes of 25k City supporters as he pointed to the spot. Holty stepped up to do what Holty does best  and a most unlikely point was rescued from the ashes.Make no mistake this was a massive, massive point today that could be worth its weight in gold come next May. Barnett gets my MOM award and although not everyone was in the best of their form you could fault nobody for effort. Special thanks to Grant Holt for saving me from a miserable weekend.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Top report as normal Ricardo, got to agree with your first paragraph massive point and a handy reality check

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Very good read but I think the penalty was very unfair.

Yes indeed a massive point, not just for us but for the fact that Blackburn were denied two.

If we should faulter eventually and find ourselves down there they look likely to be one of our rivals.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Indeed a reality check. We were not at our best today and for a time seemed to have run out of  ideas.  I think PL needs to shake it up a bit for next week, maybe some of the lads are getting a litttle complacent. I didn''t think I would say this but I think Grant Holt has earned himself a starting position as he really mixed it up when he came on, and you could see he was really up for it. Perhaps we should go with a single winger and have two up front. We''re moving the ball forward really well but need more target options up front. Perhaps Holt and Jackson deserve a runout?  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]Very good read but I think the penalty was very unfair. Yes indeed a massive point, not just for us but for the fact that Blackburn were denied two. If we should faulter eventually and find ourselves down there they look likely to be one of our rivals.[/quote]

One back for the first few we conceeded?

Excellent point in the end and as always a fair report from Ricardo

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I see we are second game up on MOTD tonight. We have consistently featured high in the game order so surely our matches have been entertaining to the neutrals.

Perhaps we have got a little complacent with the quality of matches Norwich are involved in, certainly there are plenty of highlights.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sorry for the error folks. It was of course a free kick from which the penalty resulted, not a corner.Ricardo''s memory playing tricks again. I really should get a note pad.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Pretty good coverage - it is nice not being last each week, as I''m sure we all thought we would be, that does suggest that we have been holding our own and been entertaining.

Looked a decent game...we actually had more chances than I remembered. It was my first look at the pen - a bit harsh but a definite handball and clear advantage gained from it; for me it is far from the crappy decision that some seem to be making it to... we''ve seen at least 2 ''softer'' ones given against us this season.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...