Windass Blows City Away
Bristol City 0-1 Hull City
Review and ratings by Bristol Boy
In a game that epitomised our season, City narrowly failed to win a game they could have and probably, based on possession, they should have.
When your leading scorer enters the fray with ten minutes to go and six of the eight goals he’s scored have come from the bench, you don’t need to be Sir Alex Ferguson to work out what the problem was and the four wonder goals that highlighted our play-off victory over Palace couldn’t be replicated at a packed Wembley.
With one point dividing the teams after forty-six games, the forty-ninth league game was never likely to end 6-0 either way and, in truth, neither goalkeeper made an outstanding save in ninety minutes.
Windass’s volley from the surrounded, yet unchecked, Campbell’s cross was the only meaningful on-target effort in ninety minutes of perspiration without creative inspiration.
Before the play-offs, I expressed my concern that our lack of goals would prove our downfall and in the final analysis the fact that we scored only 54 goals in 46 games meant that only a narrow win was ever a probability and Hull opening the scoring gave us a mountain to climb.
The defending that preceded the goal was schoolboy. We all chased Campbell, surrounded him yet allowed him to find the unmarked Windass sixteen yards out in the middle of the goal with six defenders and our goalkeeper all in the penalty area.
After an even first half highlighted by Windass’s strike, it was almost one way traffic in the second but it wasn’t until Sproule’s introduction that we looked like hitting the byeline and cutting the ball back into the danger area.
Trundle saw a goal bound effort blocked and that typified Hull’s deep and brave defending in the second half.
On reflection, City were the better team for about 70% of the game but loading balls from deep into the front of Hull’s box was just about what their defenders would have ordered before the match and our midfield and wide players couldn’t conjure up the guile & creativity in the final third for the umpteenth time this season.
That and our lack of genuine pace in the central striking positions, not to say goals, must be addressed and our chairman must support our manager in bringing in real quality.
That doesn’t come cheap, but with 12,000 season ticket holders, strong sales of corporate seating and a £10,000 per season Vice Presidents Club, leaving aside our move to a new 35,000 stadium by the end of 2010, the club's ambition must support the manager's and the fans', all of whom now have far higher expectation levels.
Next season will be our toughest for a long time and major surgery is not required. We have a management team that have proved they are ready to move the club forward. Yes, we need players and be in no doubt, our chairman has the wherewithal to bring them to a club with a reputation that grows daily.
Our promotion wasn’t lost on a sunny Saturday 24th May, it was lost over the last ten games when our form was:
P10 W2 D3 L5 F9 A11
Nine points from thirty and if you’re looking for a key result, don’t just look at yesterday look back to the 2-1 defeat at Stoke where, had we won, we would have gained automatic promotion and consigned Stoke to the play offs. I was far angrier after the Stoke game because we didn’t turn up for the first sixty minutes of it!
Having given my play off tickets to my family, I went down the corporate route and ended up in the top tier of Hull’s end!
Believe you me they were ultra relieved at the end of the game and looking at their team, they’ll need to add eight or nine players to even stand a chance… as would we, so please don’t think that’s sour grapes.
Good luck to Hull and to their friendly bunch of fans.
City lined up 4-4-2:
|
Basso |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orr |
Carey |
Fontaine |
McAllister |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Noble |
Elliott |
Carle |
McIndoe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trundle |
Adebola |
|
|
Subs (used)
Johnson
Sproule
Byfield
Not used:
Weale
Vasko
TEAM RATINGS
Passing: 6/10
Set Pieces: 5/10
Creativity: 4/10
Commitment: 9/10
Entertainment Value: 7/10
Defending: 7/10
Attacking: 6/10
PLAYER RATINGS:
BASSO: 7/10 No chance with the goal and an otherwise error free performance. In truth, he didn’t have much to do.
ORR: 5/10 (inj):Brave defending saw him fracture his cheekbone although the passing radar had been on the blink before that in an afternoon to forget for the unfortunate scouser.
CAREY: 8/10 Played his heart out but couldn’t drive us to victory despite dominating difficult opponents for most of the ninety minutes.
FONTAINE: 8/10 Strong defensive display.
MCALLISTER: 6/10 Drove forward, but the distribution and final ball came from him far too often and didn’t miss the first defender.
CARLE: 6/10 Hard working performance that promised much but created little.
ELLIOTT: 6/10 Hard working display even after being moved to right back but the early season bursts forward didn’t happen and those vital goals have dried up.
NOBLE: 5/10 Never really hit the highs of his play off performance and could have been replaced at half time.
MCINDOE: 7/10 Covered every blade of grass and gave everything but the width and crossing that could have undone a resolute back four.
TRUNDLE: 6/10 Pretty much summed up his season with some clever moments and a lot of indifferent ones.
ADEBOLA: 6/10 Held the ball up well and proved handful for Hull’s defence although I can’t remember many efforts on goal.
SUBS:
JOHNSON: 6/10 Helped City dominate possession in the second half but could open up Hull's defence or bring our wide players into the game enough.
SPROULE: 7/10 Lively introduction that should have come earlier. Actually ran at the defence and got to the byeline.
BYFIELD: 6/10 Had a go, but when we started to whoosh it at three up top I knew it was over.
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