by Simon Hough
... our very own Roving Reporter!

Yet another play-off failure but at least this time we come away knowing that we didn’t let ourselves down and came within a post-width of at least forcing extra time against a tiring opposition. As Billy predicted, refereeing decisions and Lady Luck would have a big say on the outcome of these games and he was proved correct. With three efforts off the woodwork, missed chances and a number of penalty decisions declined, things could have been so different.

It’s fair to say that none of the major decisions went in our favour after the first ninety seconds of the opening game and last night was no exception. The blatant handball decision from Earnshaw’s shot summed up our mis-fortune with weak officials over the ninety minutes.

Davies, with one eye on extra time, got the tactics spot on. Using the workers and runners (with Tyson and Tudgay) in the early stages and then adding the extra quality of Boyd and Earnshaw as the game progressed. The only exception to this was the use of McGoldrick who was lucky to remain on the pitch for so long with another indifferent display.

Having started the game so well, keeping the crowd quiet (apart from one deflected effort off the bar for them) and creating a number of decent chances, we let ourselves down for a short spell and got caught out twice. Firstly, we didn’t react to a quick corner, Tudgay didn’t close down their player properly who curled the ball past an unsighted Camp and into the far corner. We still hadn’t regained our composure when some neat footwork and calm finish across Camp doubled their lead. At that stage, we were grateful to get through to half-time without any further damage.

The second half saw Forest come out looking resolute and with purpose and soon had Swansea under pressure. Suddenly we were winning the midfield battles with Moussi looking much more like himself and Cohen showing the energy and purpose missing from the first half.

Tyson again was the creator down the left and Tudgay missed from twelve yards when it looked easier to score. Shortly after the bar denied us again. McGugan lined up a free kick on the edge of the area, fired it towards the top corner but with the keeper beaten, it crashed against the bar and away to safety.

Swansea still threatened on the break but the majority of the play was in their half as we were improving at just the right time. With Earnshaw, Boyd and Majewski we had real quality going forward and finally found a way through. Majewski’s pin-point pass released Earnshaw to find the sort of finish he makes look so easy.

There was still time for Earnshaw to hit the post again and then denied a blatant penalty for a doubled handed “save” – a shocking decision at any level. With Camp coming forwards for late set pieces, they took advantage of Gunter’s slip and he scored with a composed finish from the half-way line.

MOTM Moloney had another impressive evening keeping Sinclair quiet and was one of the few players to perform consistently in both legs. He doesn’t posess the quality of Gunter going forward and that cost us on occasions as we had a number of promising openings down the right hand side in the second half. Throughout the whole tie, Sinclair contributed very little and great credit to Moloney for that. Gunter looked lost at left back and had another tough evening against the lively Dyer. We had so many opportunities crying out for a naturally left footed player which were wasted. It’s a real shame that we had to sacrifice the best right back in the league for the failings of others at the club to address the annual left back situation.

Moussi had a terrible opening to the game but still contributes more to the game than McKenna ever does. When he’s fit and on form, there’s nothing stopping him. In contrast to the pedestrian pace of Thursday night, we had a dynamic force in midfield to drive forward at every opportunity even if the passing is sometimes wayward. Always willing to take responsibility of possession from Chambers and Morgan and get the team moving forward. Will be sorely missed if this is the last time we see him in a red shirt.

Majewski showed plenty of quality on the ball in the second half and that through-ball to Earnshaw for the second goal was the pass of the season. One of few naturally gifted footballers in our squad and he’s too good to be wasted on our bench. We have to find a way to include both him and McGugan into the same side next season.

It’s surprising that Billy still tolerates this type of performance from McGoldrick, very wasteful in possession following good work from others and surely it’s time to admit that it’s not going to work out for him here. Just not mobile, physical or clinical enough to play up front and goes missing for too long to play him in midfield.

Assuming that’s Tyson’s last game for the club, he could not have done any more until he left due to another injury. Rightly criticised for a lack of quality or goals in the past, on this occasion he created straight-forward chances for McGoldrick and Tudgay at the start of each half which would have changed the course of the game.

The quality of Earnshaw’s finish was a rarity this season after a number of missed chances in recent games and almost earned us injury time with another cool finish. Boyd came on through the second half, bashed their centre halves around and made life much more difficult for the home defence. Has been an excellent addition to the squad and his performances have improved noticeably in-line with his fitness levels. Based on reported wages, it remains to be seen whether there’s a deal to be done here but shows the need for a physical target man to lead the line, especially away from home.

So certainly no disgrace unlike previous seasons but just a general feeling of frustration at our own inability in front of goal, such bad luck and the poor officials who bottled the easiest of decisions.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Brendan Moloney

Whilst this might look like an opportunity lost, in reality, we failed to produce the real level of performance we’re capable of and can consider ourselves fortunate not to be losing. Despite the early red card, we failed to take advantage and Swansea could easily have taken a lead back for the second leg.

However, if we had taken a narrow lead into the second leg, it’s likely that we would have adopted a defensive attitude which never seems to suit us well. With the current situation, it’s a straight ninety minute battle for Wembley and there’s no excuse not to go to Swansea and give them a game.

In the absence of Moussi it was back to the slow pedestrian style of play that we struggled to shake off earlier in the season. The importance of Moussi to the team cannot be over-stated and his presence on Monday could be the difference between the sides. Whilst McKenna is happy to watch the defence passing the ball aimlessly between themselves, Moussi takes control and gets the team moving forwards with purpose. Anyone at the Scunthorpe home game saw the difference without and then with Moussi and we badly need his influence in the second leg.

The loss of their left back produced a creditable response from Swansea and made life very difficult for us. Our build-ups were slow and predictable with the visitors attacking on the break with purpose.

Things livened up in the closing stages with the introduction of the pace of McCleary and Tyson. Apart from a hand ball shout from Cohen’s shot, an offside finish from Earnshaw plus a number of poor finishes from the same player, we did little to justify a lead. Despite sitting back for the majority of the half, Swansea had the best chance to break the deadlock when Dyer broke forward and Camp saved well at his near post.

There were a few positives to be taken from the game. At least we kept a clean sheet. MOTM Camp looked back to his best and made a number of decent saves to keep us in the game. He adjusted his positioning well to tip over a dipping free kick, got his body behind a deflected low shot and then prevented the dangerous Dyer from catching us on the break. Moloney, started nervously but coped well with Sinclair down our right hand side as he barely made an impression on the game. Boyd made a number of decent contributions but never found himself able to get an effort on goal. McCleary, provided width in the closing stages and at least tried to commit their defence into making tackles whilst running at them with pace.

In contract, the midfield in general was very poor, with the usual exception of McGugan who was expected to create everything for us. Having struggled to cope with their quick, incisive passing, McKenna’s inability to find a red shirt, he simply handed possession back to them. Cohen had a poor game by his standards, whilst Anderson seemed to be everywhere but where he should be and created nothing. Unless he’s playing wide on the right hand side and giving extra protection to the defence then we don’t get enough from him. Especially against ten men, we needed to stretch the game with players out wide but too often we ended up with a muddled mess of red shirts in the middle of the pitch.

Another poor performance from Earnshaw, a number of decent chances came his way with the most likely result being an aimless shot over the bar. One half-decent effort was hit straight at their keeper but that was it, he doesn’t contribute much else. If only one of those chances had fallen to Boyd instead.

There’s every reason to approach the second leg with confidence where Swansea have to come out and justify their favourites tag. Whilst we could easily have conceded five or six in the same fixture earlier in the season, we created a number of our own chances and caused havoc in the closing stages. Assuming we can get through the first twenty minutes there’s no reason why we can’t start imposing ourselves on the game but a lot rests on the fitness of Mr Moussi.

Tags: Games Drawn, MOTM Lee Camp

It’s easy to look at the score-line and think this was a close game and we might have been unlucky. In reality, the score greatly flattered us and we should have been well-beaten before a late revival brought a consolation. Amazingly, despite this terrible run of form, we still remain in the play-off places as none of our rivals can put together a consistent set of results.

The players just weren’t up for the challenge and looked a poor relation to the home side. We could not cope with the movement and pace of their frontline as we conceded some very poor goals. At the other end, we did create some chances but anything other than a defeat would have been an unexpected return. The starting line-up looked about the best we could put together, with the possible exception of McGugan for Majewski, on this occasion the defeat is down to the players and not the tactics or selection.

Despite having five men in midfield we were badly second best in this area as the home side dominated. We seemed happy to sit back and let Swansea pass around and through us. On the rare occasions we bothered to put pressure on the home side, we forced errors and caused them problems. When in possession, it was only a matter of time before careless passing gifted them the ball and we found ourselves in trouble again.

For the first, Morgan carried the ball downfield and got caught out. Sinclair carried the ball past a number of players before finding the bottom corner. Shortly after, Tyson didn’t track the on-rushing pull back and despite a number of players on the line, they doubled the lead.

Boyd had a few chances at the other end in our rare attacks. Anderson hit a volley at him that on another day might have caused problems. Boyd forced another effort narrowly wide and then hit a long range effort that was saved. He saw a reward for his efforts in injury time when Tyson pulled the ball back from the left and his turn and shot was too powerful for their keeper.

Having unexpectedly found ourselves back in the game, you would have expected a reaction at the start of the second half. Typically, it was a repeat performance with Swansea pressing for most of the half and Forest only turning up for the closing stages.

They found their two goal lead after a run down the left again went unchallenged; Camp couldn’t hold the shot and left an easy tap in. Even more poor defending against good movement off the ball.

McGoldrick missed a couple of easy chances following quality set pieces from Cohen down the right hand side. Both times he was unmarked six yards out but could only tamely find their keeper with poor efforts. Typically unclinical finishes from someone who just doesn’t look like finding the goals we desperately need.

We started to make a game of in the closing stages when we finally started pressing the ball properly and pushing the home side backwards. McCleary beat a man down the left hand side and pulled the ball back for Anderson to score with a neat finish. Unbelievably we almost stole a point, Anderson met a curling right wing cross, beat the keeper but hit the post and the chance was gone. We were lucky to still be in the game at that stage and a point would have been a miracle.

Very few players came out of the game with any credit. Morgan produced some timely blocks to restrict the damage. Cohen was far from perfect but put everything into the game and produced some quality set pieces which others wasted. MOTM Boyd looked a decent addition with intelligent movement and a well taken first goal for the club. Unfortunately he tired in the closing stages and we lost the physical presence to lead the front line.

McKenna had a very poor afternoon, having no influence on proceedings and providing no cover in front of the defence. With five in midfield, he should be shielding the back four but time and again they ran from deep and left our captain too far downfield, exposed and struggling to get back. He wasn’t alone though. Majewski doesn’t have any impact on games at the moment and struggles to finish a half never mind a full game. Anderson barely features in games and seems to wander aimlessly around the pitch. Similar story with Tyson as both wingers produced very little service of any quality. Throughout the midfield, the passing was woeful with very few options for those unlucky to find themselves in possession.

McCleary continues to provide moments of quality during his brief cameos but probably isn’t consistent enough for a starting place. McGugan’s influence is badly missed and he should be playing in the middle and not stuck out on the left hand side. The return of Moussi can’t come quickly enough but it’s unrealistic to expect him to recover his impressive run of form immediately.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Kris Boyd

Whilst it’s disappointing to lose the unbeaten home record, it’s been on the cards for a while now as a number of important players are running on empty/struggling for form. A number of teams had come close to beating us and it’s credit to our players that we’ve been able to preserve it for so long. There’s so many memorable results to look back on and it’s speaks volumes of the team spirit.

The only shame is that it fell to a side packing the defence and showing no interest in giving us a game. Hull took advantage of a lucky deflection and their only real shot on goal to win. To Fryatt’s credit it was a smart finish into the bottom corner but he was never going to reach the original pass and Gunter should have closed him down much better.

We did have a few chances but never really looked like scoring against a packed defence. They produced a number of decent blocks whilst we lacked a clinical edge in front of goal. Majewski had a powerful effort tipped over, Anderson’s shot was deflected over by Earnshaw, Earnshaw’s free kick was deflected just over and Gunter’s shot from McCleary’s pull back was blocked. These tended to be isolated attacks and we never pressurised them with for any time or with any conviction.

As usual, the defence was solid enough, to be fair Hull never really threatened though and it was good to get Konchesky just in time to replace the injured Lynch. We haven’t really looked like conceding many goals all season and the back 5 is the least of our worries (injuries permitting).

The main concern is our inability to score enough goals. We’ve tended to win games by a narrow margin and have relied upon set pieces and McGugan in particular. Without these sources, the squad doesn’t seem to have enough creativity to generate enough chances on a regular basis. Over the past couple of seasons, our midfield performances tend to dictate our results and this was certainly an off-day.

MOTM Cohen was the one bright spark in an otherwise disappointing set of performances. At times he was on a one-man mission to single-handedly turn the game in our favour. Despite being the obvious candidate to stay back hold the midfield together, in the absence of McKenna, he took responsibility to drive forward, attack space and make something happen.

The likes of Majewski and Anderson have shown very little in terms of contributing this season and their poor form shows no sign of ending. McGugan’s ability got our season going and has carried us in a number of games. At the moment he’s struggling for form and there’s very little from those around him to help us out. Being stuck on the left wing isn’t helping as he needs to be getting more involved to find some form.

Majewski had a couple of decent efforts on goal but those clever through-balls which became his trademark last season have disappeared. Anderson didn’t seem to have a recognised position and wandered around for his time on the pitch. We badly needed width to stretch their defence but he spent most of the time in-field and getting in the way of others. McCleary looked a decent option running at pace but there’s question marks over his ability to produce decent performances when starting games.

Further forward, Earnshaw missed a relatively straight-forward chance following an early mis-placed header, side-footed another well wide and fell over the ball with another promising break. We’re still waiting for him to find form in front of goal this season, we badly need the Earnie of last season to re-appear for the closing stages. Tudgay won plenty in the air, was involved in some neat build-ups but never looked like scoring. However, they still remain the best options available bearing in mind the poor scoring returns from Adebola, McGoldrick and Tyson and the inexperience of Rodney.

Tags: Games Lost, MOTM Chris Cohen

In normal circumstances, a point away at Millwall would be a decent result and one we’d gratefully accept. However, given the flat home atmosphere, dominant possession from Forest, recent dropped points and the results elsewhere; it has to go down as 2 points lost.

Apart from a short spell in the first half, we controlled the game and never looked like losing. Unfortunately we couldn’t convert this into three points as we were restricted to long-range efforts and set pieces. Playing a lone striker relies on the midfield getting forward to support and providing other attacking options. It felt like we were reliant on a McGugan special or a set piece converted by Chambers or Morgan for us to score.

The only time we really looked like scoring for any spell was in the final stages once McCleary and then Earnshaw added an extra threat. In contrast in the anonymous Anderson, McCleary gave us a much better cutting edge going forward. Unlucky not to score with his first touch, flicking McGugan’s cross towards goal and then beating 3 men with his run down the right before hitting the target with a left foot effort.

MOTM Lynch had an excellent game at the back and should have won the game for us. Having burst down the left hand side, found by Cohen’s excellent chip, he crossed for McGoldrick (and missed) instead of going for goal from six yards. The rest of the back five continued their good recent form and really imposed themselves on the game. Gunter had a few uncomfortable moments at the back but provided badly needed pace down the right hand side as we lacked width. Chambers and Morgan saw that Morisson had very little impression on the game. Camp only had a single effort to save as the defence dominated the home forwards

No complaints over the likes of McKenna and Cohen, whose performances ensured that we controlled the midfield areas. However, Majewski and Anderson were ineffective and did very little to turn the game in our favour. Majewski struggled to get involved when we needed his range of passing to unlock their packed defence. Anderson seemed to be roaming everywhere except into wide areas, where we actually needed him.

McGugan did as much as possible going forward and most of our decent breaks revolved around him. He produced a number of decent efforts from outside the area plus another dangerous left foot effort that nearly caught their keeper out. It’s easy to criticise McGoldrick but the service in his direction wasn’t good enough and he only started to get involved once he had support from Tudgay around him.

Tags: Games Drawn, Clean Sheet, MOTM Joel Lynch