Hughie hands out the marks
Areola: Early boob when coming for a cross but looked pretty safe after that 6+
Johnson: Another very competent performance from the young man 7
Diop: Grabbed the second goal and rarely troubled at the back 7+
Dawson: Got the breakthrough with a looping headed effort and always in charge at back 7
Cresswell: Two assists, involved in everything going forward and defended well when reuired 8
Rice: Usual high standard, breaking stuff up and not a wasted pass 8
Soucek: Quietly effective in the middle and some very telling passing and movement 7+
Vlasic: That was more like it – lots of attacking potential. Best game in the shirt 7
Lanzini: Flitted in and out of the game – some nice footwork 6
Yarmolemko: Lots of touches – not much effect 6
Bowen: Decent goal helped by a goalkeeping error. Usual high energy performance 7+
Subs: Noble 6 Fornals No rating Fredericks No ratings Benrahma No rating Chesters No rating
Fair assessment Hugh, as it would be easy to be a little more critical of some of the players, but it has to be taken into account that many of the players haven’t been playing regularly, so didn’t play with much freedom, therefore, erred on the side of caution in their play.
The most pleasing aspect of all is that we found a way to win without Antonio, who we will need as fresh as a daisy for Sunday’s clash with the spuds.
Another pleasing aspect of this game was young Dan Chesters debut. His rise with the Academy has been meteoric and he hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Academy looks to be working again. On a final note, Genk’s Paul Onuachu made me nervous at times and has great feet for a player of his size and I was glad to see him get taken off.
Funny how we see games differently isn’t it ? I thought Yarmolenko’s performance was very good last night. Always looking for an opening and trying to create something. And I didn’t see too much from Vlasic, although his performance was adequate without him pulling up any trees.