The FA CUP Third Round ** Spoilers ** [2nd - 6th January 2015]

BaZ87 said:
I think that was a bit of a culture shock for some of our players. From the first whistle Wimbledon players were leaving their foot in at every tackle and making sure they roughed us up - helped by the refs willingness to allow them to. That said we actually started the game pretty well and it was only after we scored that we seemed to completely stop playing and allowed them back into the game.

As the game went on it was clear that we were going to run out winners though. They looked spent 10 minutes into the 2nd half and it was much easier for us, with just our inability to finish keeping them in the game.

I mentioned this after a previous game but I don't know what Rodgers is thinking playing Coutinho off Lambert. It's the oddest of odd couples. Coutinho loves a through ball and Lambert can't run (which makes it amazing how often he gets caught offside). And Lambert's biggest strength is his lay-offs and flick ons, and Coutinho doesn't make the runs to feed off them. If Lambert's going to play up front on his own then we've got to have runners in attacking positions who can run off him. We'd have been far better off switching Henderson with Coutinho today and allowing Coutinho to pull the strings in midfield (which we lacked) and Henderson to make the forward runs off Lambert (which we also lacked).
Click to expand...

Pretty much typical League Two challenges, the ref didn't like half of them. Stupid prem biased ref.. Our game plan was to stop Liverpool playing their usual game and then to take the game to them, I think part of that is to make it more of a battle rather than see who's better at passing it around the pitch as there would have only been one winner in that scenario. Liverpool players are soft though and bought a lot of fouls for pretty soft challenges.

We tired after a bit in the second half and then Gerrard found some space and it was all going through him. Can't deny him the goals, he showed he was above everyone else on the pitch by a mile. Liverpool will be in trouble next season when he goes.

Overall though, happy with the Dons performance, we matched the Premier League runners up for long periods, the second period of the first half and start of the second we really troubled them, for the difference in levels and budgets couldn't have asked for any more barring the result. If Rodgers had decided to rest Gerrard the result would have been at least a draw, I feel.
 
piggeh said:
Pretty much typical League Two challenges, the ref didn't like half of them. Stupid prem biased ref.. Our game plan was to stop Liverpool playing their usual game and then to take the game to them, I think part of that is to make it more of a battle rather than see who's better at passing it around the pitch as there would have only been one winner in that scenario. Liverpool players are soft though and bought a lot of fouls for pretty soft challenges......
Click to expand...

Bias ref and soft challenges? Your lad nearly broke Manquillo's ankle in the opening minutes. In any league that was a red card.

The opening 15 minutes or so was bordering on ridiculous. Every time one of your players went into a challenge he left his studs in. The 'beast' should have been booked for his first challenge in particular, not his 105th foul.

No doubt that was your game plan and it worked because the ref allowed you to. You certainly can't have any complaints about the ref.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom