Pompey Crimes
Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:17 pm
A red card that plenty of people thought was not. A yellow that was the clearest red I can imagine. An away keeper timewasting for most of the 105 minutes. A good chunk of the first half where Pompey players lost their heads. A good chunk of the second half where Oxford players shot wildly rather than keeping their heads and playing calmly. Then two screamers to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Sometimes I hate my football team! What a roller-coaster.
Not sure, but not surprised, about the red - but the back of the SSU next to the RadOx commentators is not the best position to see clearly. Sykes' immediate reaction was clear to see, but of course he was also wearing yellow, so perhaps not the most objective. Their Number 9s flying forearm smash on Moore was so blatant, yet I could see the ref immediately take out a yellow, some time before he actually waved it. Did the ref regret giving the earlier red?
Defensively, I was immediately concerned when Brown missed the header that led to their first. And when they scored their second, he was over in McNally's position, leaving a huge gaping hole on the left. Switching to three at the back was apparently planned, but with Long out, putting a new arrival in there was perhaps dodgy. But is that too harsh on the new boy? This was made worse by having Seddon at left wing back. It is all very well saying that WB suits him better, but surely the 3-5-2 formation only works effectively in defence if the WBs drop back when the opposition are attacking?
But hey, what a finish. After so much timewasting, it was heart-warming to see those two shots fly past their keeper. With other teams hitting form ahead of us (Franchise), and behind us (several), the recent jump in our GD looks like being really valuable as teams close up.
Anybody heard from those in the know about what actually happened in the tunnel at half-time? Somehow the wall of silence from the two managers does not convince...
Not sure, but not surprised, about the red - but the back of the SSU next to the RadOx commentators is not the best position to see clearly. Sykes' immediate reaction was clear to see, but of course he was also wearing yellow, so perhaps not the most objective. Their Number 9s flying forearm smash on Moore was so blatant, yet I could see the ref immediately take out a yellow, some time before he actually waved it. Did the ref regret giving the earlier red?
Defensively, I was immediately concerned when Brown missed the header that led to their first. And when they scored their second, he was over in McNally's position, leaving a huge gaping hole on the left. Switching to three at the back was apparently planned, but with Long out, putting a new arrival in there was perhaps dodgy. But is that too harsh on the new boy? This was made worse by having Seddon at left wing back. It is all very well saying that WB suits him better, but surely the 3-5-2 formation only works effectively in defence if the WBs drop back when the opposition are attacking?
But hey, what a finish. After so much timewasting, it was heart-warming to see those two shots fly past their keeper. With other teams hitting form ahead of us (Franchise), and behind us (several), the recent jump in our GD looks like being really valuable as teams close up.
Anybody heard from those in the know about what actually happened in the tunnel at half-time? Somehow the wall of silence from the two managers does not convince...