Wednesday, September 21, 2005
JJ starts, and Jay finishes
Charlton 3 Hartlepool 1
We are through, not without a few problems, but we made it all the same.
Curbs picked a good side (9 internationals) and gave debuts to Myrhe (surprisingly) and Sorondo. Spector, Sam, Smertin, JJ and Bartlett also started in a 4-4-2 formation.
The official match report is here.
How did Pedro45 rate the new players?
Sam was pretty hyper all night; he had several chances in the first half - just wide, wider, well saved, blocked - and eventually won a penalty, our first for 50 matches! JJ converted well.
Up front, Bartlett and JJ were pretty poor. Our Bokkie in particular didn't look very interested, and I was very pleased to see that Curbs replaced him at half time (with Bent who scored with a fantastic header). If players who want to be in the starting eleven cannot make much effort when they get there (even if it is only a League Cup game) then I'm all for dragging them off and getting sonmeone on who does want to play. Now we have the squad depth, we might see more of this in future.
Sorondo didn't have a good game either; he was beaten in the air many times during the match, and embarrassed a few times on the deck too. He looked a bit of a ball watcher to me, and players pulled off him to find space in dangerous positions. Not the player I thought we were getting on last nights showing.
Spector tried hard, but (playing in the Hermann role) he just didn't have quite the same marauding presence. He did make a few good runs, one of which ended with a good shot, so it wasn't all doom and gloom.
Myrhe made one great save in the second half, when it was one-all, and that may have won us the game in the end. He didn't have much chance with the goal he conceded.
Bothroyd came on for a twenty minute cameo, and what an impression he made! A shot with his first kick, a booking for a late tackle from behind (that could on another day with another ref have been sending off...), and a blistering free kick into the top corner! When he's fit, we may have got a good player. All the talk inside and outside the ground was that Bartlett and JJ may as well pack their bags and leave; the future is rosy red, and the future is Bent and Bothroyd apparently.
The Hartlepool fans, all 300-odd (many more than I anticipated), seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope they all got home safely.
The cup draw is on Saturday, and hopefully we'll get either a nice home game or a trip away to Mansfield, as I haven't been there!
We are through, not without a few problems, but we made it all the same.
Curbs picked a good side (9 internationals) and gave debuts to Myrhe (surprisingly) and Sorondo. Spector, Sam, Smertin, JJ and Bartlett also started in a 4-4-2 formation.
The official match report is here.
How did Pedro45 rate the new players?
Sam was pretty hyper all night; he had several chances in the first half - just wide, wider, well saved, blocked - and eventually won a penalty, our first for 50 matches! JJ converted well.
Up front, Bartlett and JJ were pretty poor. Our Bokkie in particular didn't look very interested, and I was very pleased to see that Curbs replaced him at half time (with Bent who scored with a fantastic header). If players who want to be in the starting eleven cannot make much effort when they get there (even if it is only a League Cup game) then I'm all for dragging them off and getting sonmeone on who does want to play. Now we have the squad depth, we might see more of this in future.
Sorondo didn't have a good game either; he was beaten in the air many times during the match, and embarrassed a few times on the deck too. He looked a bit of a ball watcher to me, and players pulled off him to find space in dangerous positions. Not the player I thought we were getting on last nights showing.
Spector tried hard, but (playing in the Hermann role) he just didn't have quite the same marauding presence. He did make a few good runs, one of which ended with a good shot, so it wasn't all doom and gloom.
Myrhe made one great save in the second half, when it was one-all, and that may have won us the game in the end. He didn't have much chance with the goal he conceded.
Bothroyd came on for a twenty minute cameo, and what an impression he made! A shot with his first kick, a booking for a late tackle from behind (that could on another day with another ref have been sending off...), and a blistering free kick into the top corner! When he's fit, we may have got a good player. All the talk inside and outside the ground was that Bartlett and JJ may as well pack their bags and leave; the future is rosy red, and the future is Bent and Bothroyd apparently.
The Hartlepool fans, all 300-odd (many more than I anticipated), seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope they all got home safely.
The cup draw is on Saturday, and hopefully we'll get either a nice home game or a trip away to Mansfield, as I haven't been there!
