Brighton and Hove Albion vs Derby County

[Guest]

​It needed straining. They were choc-ices.

[eddie]

​And that was a truly strained comeback, Eddie, even by your dodgy comeback standards. Choc-ices indeed, haha.

[Guest]

​I'm a little subdued this week - the only real hero I ever had is no longer with us.

[Ambitious]

After putting the game off for a few days, I've just finished watching it. I didn't know what to expect due to the lack of actual match reports on here, but it was certainly a lot worse than I feared. It's by no exaggeration we were simply robbed. It actually reminded me a bit of the Ipswich at home game two years ago, where we lost 1-0, it was an absolute travesty and Mick McCarthy said as much after the match in his post-match interview... http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/22769/mccarthy-it-was-a-robbery 

Anyway, as usual, here are my match ratings with a slight summary.

Grant - 6 - nothing could be done about the first, that's down to the players infront of him. However, he'll be disappointed to be beat for the second goal. Other than that, it was a solid performance.

Shotton - 4 - okay first-half, followed by a disaster second. Forget his horrible ball retention throughout the game, he's been caught out too many times. He should have blocked the shot for the first goal and was caught in the land of nod for the second. Lua Lua made a mockery of him. 

Keogh - 5 - After watching the goals again, while he may not be the main offender for either, he's got to be doing better. The biggest worry for him was his lack of composure on the ball. He's smashed it long and diagonal far too many times.

Buxton - 8 - MOTM - he's been brilliant. He's not had a lot of work to do, admittedly, but what he had, he did very well. He made one tackle in the first-half that was Bucko gold. Composed on the ball, far more than those around him, and won his battles. It'll be an injustice if he's dropped ahead of Keogh for Albentosa today. 

Forsyth - 6 - very good defensively, but his distribution was poor. It's his biggest pitfall and I fear it will continue to be so. How he was a left midfielder, I'll never know. A model of consistency for defensive capability but a deer in headlights on the ball.

Mascarell - 8 - Excellent performance. I thought his passing was exemplary throughout and he won his challenges well. He made a few silly tackles, as normal, and he can be blamed a tad for the first goal but that's seriously harsh due to what happened before the forward runner scored the goal.

Hendrick - 8 - Very good performance, especially when he was on the ball. I still wish he showed for it a lot more because he has a unbelievable ability but just tends to go missing for minutes at a time!

Bryson - 6 - I would say tidy, if not a tad under the radar. He pulled the trigger and made the wrong decision too much for me. He needed to get closer to Russell, too, but whether that was his or McClaren's fault - I don't know.

Ince - 7 - the spark of life and creativity upfront, but ultimately missed golden chances. If he had kept his head in the box a bit more then he could have walked away with the match ball! 

Ward - 5 - He ran tirelessly but was far, far too wasteful on the ball. I didn't know whether to give him a four or five, so that tells its own story.

Russell - 6 - I'd say a comfortable six performance. He tried hard, linked up well at times, but looked isolated. It's a hard job not to look isolated in that role, but he needed a bit more presence and thought about his play to ultimately succeed there.

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Lingard, Dawkins - 6 - both players showed their technical ability. Lingard should have scored, obviously, but he offered a spark and a bit of life. Dawkins offered his usual superb ball retention. 

Kwame Thomas - 5 - he didn't offer anything. He didn't show for the ball, he didn't look to make a real impact. He just fell into a hole somewhere upfront. Statistics show he touched the ball four times in 20 minutes - I can't remember the four times, either. 

Overall: 

It was an extremely promising performance, but obviously lacking in substance. I felt it was more about bad luck and excellent defending in the final third than bad quality. However, it's no excuse for a side to have so much dominance to draw blank - more thought and composure would have seen us walk away comfortable winners.