13 Feb 2019 09:56:48
Another cruel ending to a game in the same vein as the dirties away but an outstanding performance and we were set up well to stifle and block Albion for most of the night.

So different to Saturday when Brentford ran the midfield and in the main they were reduced to long range efforts and we really closed down well preventing many decent crosses into the box and those that did make it were generally well dealt with by Benalouane and in particular Milosevic.

Yates second mom award in a row was arguably far more justified than the one from the weekend and he certainly let Albion know he was on the pitch although personally I thought Colback was immense for the whole match.

Another game where it would be picky to criticise any of the players really but that said I thought Watson looked tired from 30 minutes in and may need to have a break on the bench.

Loath as I am to do so I felt that the officials had a poor evening although live and also watching at normal speed on the Tv theirs looked to be a clear penalty and only on replay is it clear that it was a blatant dive by Gayle.

That apart I thought there were several tackles that could and should have been card offences and on another day a red card or two may have been evident and justified

Quite obviously we should have been awarded a penalty for the shirt pulling on Lolley but it seems that so few penalties are awarded for this.
Anywhere else on the pitch a free kick would be given 9 times out of 10 but in the box the other players shirt is fair game.

I see this constantly from my seat in the Trent End week in week out from corners and set pieces and its quite baffling to me how it is done so blatantly and obviously by every side.
If games are to finish with ridiculous scorelines for a while then so be it because surely teams would soon learn not to do it ( be interesting to see how VAR impacts this next season in the prem).

However a point is what I hoped for and a point is what we took so I console myself with that plus it was good to see Messrs O'neill and Keane showing real passion from the touchline.

On to Preston this weekend in the hope that we continue in the same way and

As always ...

COYR

1.) 13 Feb 2019
13 Feb 2019 10:36:15
It's very rare for me to find a reason to disagree with anything that you post creepy1.Keep them coming pal.👍

2.) 13 Feb 2019
13 Feb 2019 10:48:15
Creepy your right mate colback was immense,and I thought Osborn put in a great shift ,I’m less annoyed at the first pen than the one we didn’t get, if shirt pulling in the box is now legal they should just say so because outside the box it appears to be a free kick and a booking, cheats can con refs , but the lolley decision with the ref in a perfect position begs the question whether he’s a cheat because he obviously saw the shirt pulling, oh and the sending off we never got when lolly would have been clean through, I allege this referee was a cheat

3.) 13 Feb 2019
13 Feb 2019 12:24:00
Again Benny put a shift in and it does seem churlish to critical but his lack of strength and pace at times exposed his lack of effectiveness on the flanks going forward.
Watching last night I can see why O'Neil uses the long ball out from he back: Purely to relieve the pressure/stop the attack! It seemed to work well. It is our defence that needs urgent sorting and when we don't concede a headed goal from a dead ball situation it has to be seen as progress.
The two central defenders were strong and dominant. Really like the look of Milosevic. He has some class. Can't wait to see him link up with Carvalho!!