Match ratings - Airdrie v Hearts

[tcjambo]

Gordon 7 - Assured. No blame for the goal.
Lembikisa 6 - Got better after a shaky first half
Halkett 5 - Shaky but a great pass for rhe second goal. Hope the injury is nothing to worry about
Kingsley 7 - Beaten in the air for their goal but otherwise had a good game
Cochrane 8 - would have been MoM but for LS
Baningime 7 - Great shift
Nieuwenhof 8 - best midfielder and maturing nicely. good strike
Vargas 7 - Non-stop thorn in their side
Grant 5 - Ok but uninspiring
Forrest 8 - great first half and good display
Shankland 9 - MoM great all round performance

 

Substitutes
Atkinson 5 - Tidy
Rowles 6 - good to see hium back
Tait  6 - Very confident player that uses the ball well
Fraser 6 - starting to look pretty good and an asssit

Tagawa 4 - saw a lot of the ball but just looks weak

Edited February 11 by tcjambo

[Corstorphine Jambo]

My only adjustment would be Hoff a 9 and man of the match 

[jambogirlglasgow]

2 minutes ago, Corstorphine Jambo said:

My only adjustment would be Hoff a 9 and man of the match 

Mine too

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Gordon - 7 - One good save. Helpless at their goal

Lembikisa - 6 - One good ping but his crossing was poor. Not his day

Kingsley - 6 - Outjumped at the goal. Otherwise solid

Halkett - 6 - Magnificent pass for the 2nd. Ropey defensively, however. Hopefully, he was taken off as a precaution

Cochrane - 7 - Usual self down the left hand side and his cross for the opener was perfect

Baningime - 6 - Not his best game. Got caught on the wrong side on a couple of occasions

Grant - 7 - Linked play well and had important touches in two of the goals

Nieuwenhof - 9 - MoM. Created space for himself with his turns and covered every blade of grass

Shankland - 8 - Two more goals. What is there left to say?

Forrest - 7 - Full of effort and threat as usual. Unlucky not to score

Vargas - 6 - Poacher's goal. Hopefully, again, taken off as a precaution

Subs:

Rowles - 7 - Looked tidy and composed

Tagawa - 4 - I feel for him. He is desperate for a goal and it is affecting his all round play

Tait - 6 - He will become our version of Barry Ferguson, without being a ned

Fraser - 6 - Great pass for the 4th through to Shanks

Atkinson - 3 - Couple of decent runs

[redjambo]

Would mostly agree with that. The only performances that disappointed me were Halkett and Lembikisa (both sweet and sour - I'd rather someone were bland and solid rather than prone to mistakes that lead to us potentially conceding goals), and Tagawa (as TC says, he looks weak, soft).

[OTT]

Gordon 8 - Very assured presence at the back

Dexter 6 - I thought he was pretty poor tbh. Tell me I'm wrong, but for their goal he was badly out of positon, causing Rowles to go over to cover which opened the space up for the goal.. 

Halkett 7 - He was looking very good until his injury, nice assist for Vargas too

Kingsley 7 - Very assured and dealt with things fine. 

Cochrane 8 - Nice runs down the wing. Would like to see him run with the ball a bit more. Sometimes feels like he's too quick to move it on when there is space he could run into

Beni 8 - Don't think he put a foot wrong. 

Hoff 8.5 - Very good performance, great goal and just generally a very mature performance from him

Grant 6 - I don't think much came off for him but he was very involved and didn't hide.

Forrest 6 - Worked hard, but felt like the quality wasn't there - how he didn't score that chance Shanks tee'd up for him was very disappointing. 

Shankland 9 - MOM

Vargas 7 - Nice to see him score, although a bit clumsy. Decision making still a bit lacking, but he didn't look out of place at all

 

Subs

Rowles 7 - Great to see him back

Tagawa 5 - Poor. I think there is a sense of urgency that he needs to show us something to save his career here. I don't think he's playing confidently or looking very happy at all. 

Tait 8 -  He's got a better range of passing than Beni, there I said it. Needs to bulk up a bit, but looking an extremely good young player. I think in a couple of years he'll be one of the first names on the teamsheet. 

Fraser 7 - Nice assist. Experience showed I think. 

Atkinson 7 - Likewise with Rowles, its good to see him back. Solid. 

 

[jr ewing]

Tagaway yet? - 1 

[colinmaroon]

27 minutes ago, Corstorphine Jambo said:

My only adjustment would be Hoff a 9 and man of the match 

 

Agreed!  Outstanding, including his work off the ball.

 

That's two long range shots, both well walloped.  Am I right in saying first with his right and second with his left, both quality strikes?

 

[SecN]

Thought Grant was overall good.
 

Was it a total fresh air swipe, he was still having a beef with his marker when subbed. Maybe he was nudged or poked. Seemed a bit frustrated. 

[Jamboross]

9 minutes ago, jr ewing said:

Tagaway yet? - 1 

 

Ridiculous 😂 Other than one slightly overhit pass to Dexter he did nothing wrong. Not saying it was an earth shattering performance or anything but it was a solid 5 or 6/10. Would have preferred to see him played through the middle but he was absolutely fine and got in decent positions a few times.

 

Hope to see him get more substantial appearances like that as the season goes on because he's never going to come good or gain confidence being left on the bench every week. 

[rudi must stay]

Shankland and Niuwenhof get 8s in my opinion. Tait looked positive when on, Tawaga ye don't see anything in him 

[Carter]

34 minutes ago, jr ewing said:

Tagaway yet? - 1 

FFS

[GinRummy]

20 minutes ago, Jamboross said:

 

Ridiculous 😂 Other than one slightly overhit pass to Dexter he did nothing wrong. Not saying it was an earth shattering performance or anything but it was a solid 5 or 6/10. Would have preferred to see him played through the middle but he was absolutely fine and got in decent positions a few times.

 

Hope to see him get more substantial appearances like that as the season goes on because he's never going to come good or gain confidence being left on the bench every week. 

This is where I’m at. The guy was a bit rusty but made a couple of good tackles and found some good space. Think he had a couple of stray passes but he’s barely played all season. 

[Disser Pointon]

24 minutes ago, SecN said:

Thought Grant was overall good.
 

Was it a total fresh air swipe, he was still having a beef with his marker when subbed. Maybe he was nudged or poked. Seemed a bit frustrated. 

It was a foul!

[wattie exploited]

1 hour ago, OTT said:

Gordon 8 - Very assured presence at the back

Dexter 6 - I thought he was pretty poor tbh. Tell me I'm wrong, but for their goal he was badly out of positon, causing Rowles to go over to cover which opened the space up for the goal.. 

Halkett 7 - He was looking very good until his injury, nice assist for Vargas too

Kingsley 7 - Very assured and dealt with things fine. 

Cochrane 8 - Nice runs down the wing. Would like to see him run with the ball a bit more. Sometimes feels like he's too quick to move it on when there is space he could run into

Beni 8 - Don't think he put a foot wrong. 

Hoff 8.5 - Very good performance, great goal and just generally a very mature performance from him

Grant 6 - I don't think much came off for him but he was very involved and didn't hide.

Forrest 6 - Worked hard, but felt like the quality wasn't there - how he didn't score that chance Shanks tee'd up for him was very disappointing. 

Shankland 9 - MOM

Vargas 7 - Nice to see him score, although a bit clumsy. Decision making still a bit lacking, but he didn't look out of place at all

 

Subs

Rowles 7 - Great to see him back

Tagawa 5 - Poor. I think there is a sense of urgency that he needs to show us something to save his career here. I don't think he's playing confidently or looking very happy at all. 

Tait 8 -  He's got a better range of passing than Beni, there I said it. Needs to bulk up a bit, but looking an extremely good young player. I think in a couple of years he'll be one of the first names on the teamsheet. 

Fraser 7 - Nice assist. Experience showed I think. 

Atkinson 7 - Likewise with Rowles, its good to see him back. Solid. 

 

tagawa r has shown nothing so far 3

[BackOfTheNet]

Gordon - 6 - Couldn’t do anything with the goal, but not much else to do

 

Lembikisa - 6 - Tried a few things that didn’t really come off, but kept things ticking over helping us with possession play

Halkett - 5 - Shame to see him go down, score reflecting time on the pitch more than anything, as his fantastic assist squared off his errors

Kingsley - 7 - Would have scored him an 8 if he wasn’t doing his usual ball watching at their goal

Cochrane - 8 - Just a solid consistent performer, like a Michael Smith but with more ability

 

Baningime - 7 - Great use of the ball, not much ball winning needed as we had so much possession

Nieuwenhof - 9 - Mind when folk called him slow? Would like to see the heat map for him today, excellent goal too

Grant - 6 - Nothing special from him today, but kept things ticking helping our style of play

 

Forrest - 6 - A few shots on target but never really troubled them too much, but a decent performance nonetheless. Should have scored from Shankland’s layoff.

Vargas - 7 - Pretty much exactly the same as Forrest but an extra point for the goal after his excellent run

 

Shankland - 9 - Took both goals excellently and all round play great again. Might’ve squared it for Tagawa for his second, but completely understand why he’d want it for himself.

 

SUBS

 

Rowles - 6 - Oddly considering how early he was on, the game was already won pretty much so little to do, but did what he had to well

Tagawa - 6 - Nothing exceptional, but no worse than Grant, Forrest or Vargas (without the goal) and actually had some great defensive tackles to win back possession. So anyone saying he’s soft is just being an arse for the sake of it. Also playing out wide rather than through the middle, so done well in that regard.

Fraser - 6- Good half an hour as the game was all but wrapped up so little to show, but got an assist

Tait - 5 - Pretty much same as Fraser but without the assist, showed some good industry at moments

Atkinson - 4 - Only reason score low is because of how little time he had to make an impact

Edited February 11 by BackOfTheNet

[OTT]

22 minutes ago, wattie exploited said:

tagawa r has shown nothing so far 3

 

Yeah, can see his confidence is rock bottom though. 

 

Probably needs a bit of a run in the team, but he needs to actually show something to earn that run. 

 

Personally, I'm not overly impressed with the Japanese market, Oda has been okay, but plenty more consistent players in the league, Tagawa worse than useless so far. 

 

Appreciate its a whole new culture and a massive adjustment, but he's capable of better. 

[Pete Elliott]

1 hour ago, SecN said:

Thought Grant was overall good.
 

Was it a total fresh air swipe, he was still having a beef with his marker when subbed. Maybe he was nudged or poked. Seemed a bit frustrated. 

Playing against Airdrie and still looked shit. Get him in the bin.

[SecN]

1 minute ago, Pete Elliott said:

Playing against Airdrie and still looked shit. Get him in the bin.

😂

[McCrae]

23 minutes ago, OTT said:

 

Yeah, can see his confidence is rock bottom though. 

 

Probably needs a bit of a run in the team, but he needs to actually show something to earn that run. 

 

Personally, I'm not overly impressed with the Japanese market, Oda has been okay, but plenty more consistent players in the league, Tagawa worse than useless so far. 

 

Appreciate its a whole new culture and a massive adjustment, but he's capable of better. 

I wonder if it’s a communication problem. Doesn’t seem to know what he is supposed to be doing.

[rudi must stay]

35 minutes ago, OTT said:

 

Yeah, can see his confidence is rock bottom though. 

 

Probably needs a bit of a run in the team, but he needs to actually show something to earn that run. 

 

Personally, I'm not overly impressed with the Japanese market, Oda has been okay, but plenty more consistent players in the league, Tagawa worse than useless so far. 

 

Appreciate its a whole new culture and a massive adjustment, but he's capable of better. 

 

The shirt can be too big for some players. That's the case with Tagawa

Edited February 11 by rudi must stay

[Jamb04life]

Agree on the Tagawa front; I just don’t see what he brings.. 

 

I really hope he proves me and others wrong but suspect he’ll be sold/loaned out in the summer. If we’re needing a goal, would Naisy even put him on? Can’t remember the last league game he played 

 

Anyway, Hoff MOTM for me. Also thought Gordon commanded his box very well. Off day for Dexter and Shanks did what he always does  

 

 

[OTT]

36 minutes ago, McCrae said:

I wonder if it’s a communication problem. Doesn’t seem to know what he is supposed to be doing.

 

Its probably not just one thing - but I do agree communication will be one of the factors. 

 

Its the risk of going to markets far, far away. Although with Tagawa having a good experience in Portugal, I'm a bit disappointed its not been as fruitful here. 

 

I suppose the big question for Naismith & Savage is, do they go into next season with him - or similar to Kio, look to get the money back and move him on. 

 

 

[mr fox]

2 hours ago, Corstorphine Jambo said:

My only adjustment would be Hoff a 9 and man of the match 

Agree defo mom 

[maltese jambo]

1 hour ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Gordon - 6 - Couldn’t do anything with the goal, but not much else to do

 

Lembikisa - 6 - Tried a few things that didn’t really come off, but kept things ticking over helping us with possession play

Halkett - 5 - Shame to see him go down, score reflecting time on the pitch more than anything, as his fantastic assist squared off his errors

Kingsley - 7 - Would have scored him an 8 if he wasn’t doing his usual ball watching at their goal

Cochrane - 8 - Just a solid consistent performer, like a Michael Smith but with more ability

 

Baningime - 7 - Great use of the ball, not much ball winning needed as we had so much possession

Nieuwenhof - 9 - Mind when folk called him slow? Would like to see the heat map for him today, excellent goal too

Grant - 6 - Nothing special from him today, but kept things ticking helping our style of play

 

Forrest - 6 - A few shots on target but never really troubled them too much, but a decent performance nonetheless. Should have scored from Shankland’s layoff.

Vargas - 7 - Pretty much exactly the same as Forrest but an extra point for the goal after his excellent run

 

Shankland - 9 - Took both goals excellently and all round play great again. Might’ve squared it for Tagawa for his second, but completely understand why he’d want it for himself.

 

SUBS

 

Rowles - 6 - Oddly considering how early he was on, the game was already won pretty much so little to do, but did what he had to well

Tagawa - 6 - Nothing exceptional, but no worse than Grant, Forrest or Vargas (without the goal) and actually had some great defensive tackles to win back possession. So anyone saying he’s soft is just being an arse for the sake of it. Also playing out wide rather than through the middle, so done well in that regard.

Fraser - 6- Good half an hour as the game was all but wrapped up so little to show, but got an assist

Tait - 5 - Pretty much same as Fraser but without the assist, showed some good industry at moments

Atkinson - 4 - Only reason score low is because of how little time he had to make an impact

No worse than Forrest...I hope you're joking.

 

Forrest in a different league than Tagawa.

 

In fact Tagawa on a different planet from the rest of them (and i dont mean in a good sense).

[BackOfTheNet]

3 minutes ago, maltese jambo said:

No worse than Forrest...I hope you're joking.

 

Forrest in a different league than Tagawa.

 

In fact Tagawa on a different planet from the rest of them (and i dont mean in a good sense).

I mean in terms of contribution to today’s game. Honestly, if any other player had put in the performance that Tagawa did today, no one would be saying anything. They only are because it’s Tagawa. Likewise, if Tagawa missed the chance Forrest did when Shankland laid it off with the back heel, the miss would have its own thread. You all know this, so stop pretending otherwise.

[maltese jambo]

I'm also talking in terms of today's game.

[hearts00]

All aboard the Hoff train mates. Choo choo!

[fabienleclerq]

Interested to see if those posting ratings were at the game or watched on the TV?

 

Think you get a different perspective at the game. Grant was popping it about and moving into wee spaces we'll I thought. 

 

Tagawa,  tbh I thought for someone wanting to start games didn't appear to work particularly hard. This is nitpicking though, great performance. 

 

[munro9]

46 minutes ago, Jamb04life said:

Agree on the Tagawa front; I just don’t see what he brings.. 

 

I really hope he proves me and others wrong but suspect he’ll be sold/loaned out in the summer. If we’re needing a goal, would Naisy even put him on? Can’t remember the last league game he played 

 

Anyway, Hoff MOTM for me. Also thought Gordon commanded his box very well. Off day for Dexter and Shanks did what he always does  

 

 

Strangely enough I thought he did his best work tracking back

[jockmac]

I owe Forrest an apology, for long enough I really didn’t think he was up to Hearts standards, but as everyone can see his performances lately have been superb.

 

You can see how confident he is running at players, going past them and putting in quality balls. 

[vlad on the tyne]

 Decent performance today. 1st goal had a bit of class about it. The glaring issue is without Shanks,we will be in real trouble. Tagawa looked shit scared when he came on. He passed safe or gave up possession cheaply.  I really hope Tagawa’s confidence levels are being worked on.  He's a 25 year old international that will be called upon if Shanks gets suspended etc. Thought Hoff strolled it and took goal well.

[Uncle Buck]

Bizarre that people are still defending Tagawa. He’s a shocking footballer.

 

Hoff motm for me and Shankland, Cochrane, Forrest and Kingsley were very good too.

[Jamboross]

13 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

Bizarre that people are still defending Tagawa. He’s a shocking footballer.

 

Hoff motm for me and Shankland, Cochrane, Forrest and Kingsley were very good too.

 

Even more bizarre that people are all over him after a perfectly fine substitute appearance. 

 

Has he previously been poor? Absolutely but this isn't a 'Season 23/24 Ratings Thread'. He came on today, was maybe a bit shaky first few minutes but then did a solid job. Got into decent attacking positions, had a shot on target, tracked back and won us possession on more than one occasion all whilst arguably playing out of position.

 

No-ones saying he was amazing or that he deserves to be starting games off the back of today but to be singling him out after he put in a perfectly acceptable performance is just daft. 

 

We've invested a decent amount in him and he's shown in the top league in Portugal that he can play. In Hoff we've got a very recent example of a player turning things around so I'm all for showing Kyosuke a little bit of patience and persevering with him. 

 

 

[hearts00]

39 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

Bizarre that people are still defending Tagawa. He’s a shocking footballer.

 

Hoff motm for me and Shankland, Cochrane, Forrest and Kingsley were very good too.

Some folk were saying  that Hoff was useless a few weeks back? 

[vladisacoward]

2 hours ago, Pete Elliott said:

Playing against Airdrie and still looked shit. Get him in the bin.

100%

[BackOfTheNet]

54 minutes ago, maltese jambo said:

I'm also talking in terms of today's game.

Do you genuinely believe if Tagawa missed the chance Forrest had that there wouldn’t be a peep about it like has been the case for Forrest tonight? (Not that there should be anything for anyone mind you) And do you genuinely think if Tagawa’s game was played by Forrest that there would be as many people saying he was shite? You know the answer is no to that. Because he had an average game. Not a great game, but not a bad one either. People are wanting to say he played worse than he did, and that’s baffling to me.

[Jambos56]

Don't think Peter Grant praised us once some going when we won 4 1!

[BackOfTheNet]

8 minutes ago, Jamboross said:

 

Even more bizarre that people are all over him after a perfectly fine substitute appearance. 

 

Has he previously been poor? Absolutely but this isn't a 'Season 23/24 Ratings Thread'. He came on today, was maybe a bit shaky first few minutes but then did a solid job. Got into decent attacking positions, had a shot on target, tracked back and won us possession on more than one occasion all whilst arguably playing out of position.

 

No-ones saying he was amazing or that he deserves to be starting games off the back of today but to be singling him out after he put in a perfectly acceptable performance is just daft. 

 

We've invested a decent amount in him and he's shown in the top league in Portugal that he can play. In Hoff we've got a very recent example of a player turning things around so I'm all for showing Kyosuke a little bit of patience and persevering with him. 

 

 

Common sense. Will never catch on.

[Sooks]

42 minutes ago, Jambos56 said:

Don't think Peter Grant praised us once some going when we won 4 1!

He did not . I think he is always just a bit distracted trying to figure out who his parents are and a bit worried about keeping his eyebrow and hair dye in sync 

[Bob Loblaw]

4 hours ago, Jamboross said:

 

Even more bizarre that people are all over him after a perfectly fine substitute appearance. 

 

Has he previously been poor? Absolutely but this isn't a 'Season 23/24 Ratings Thread'. He came on today, was maybe a bit shaky first few minutes but then did a solid job. Got into decent attacking positions, had a shot on target, tracked back and won us possession on more than one occasion all whilst arguably playing out of position.

 

No-ones saying he was amazing or that he deserves to be starting games off the back of today but to be singling him out after he put in a perfectly acceptable performance is just daft. 

 

We've invested a decent amount in him and he's shown in the top league in Portugal that he can play. In Hoff we've got a very recent example of a player turning things around so I'm all for showing Kyosuke a little bit of patience and persevering with him. 

 

 

Agreed. I actually said at the game it was good to see him snap into a couple of tackles. If it's not going well on the ball you have to show you care and I thought he did.

 

He also had a really positive run that wasn't his fault the move broke down. 

 

Any other sub doesn't get singled out for the performance he had.

[Delboyinoz]

All the negative stuff about Tagawa is just like reading the guff that was said about Calem's early games. Oda and Tagawa are taking time. Yes they're inconsistent but our manager knows their potential. Beginning to feel sorry for the usual suspects who are struggling to find something to winge about 😵‍💫

[Watt-Zeefuik]

I don't want to be overly harsh but I think people are being lenient on Lembikisa's performance. He was spraying passes all over the park today. He got sucked way out of position in the run up to their goal which required Rowles to come all the way out to the touchline to cover. Kingsley then shifted to watch the near post and we had no one to contest the header at the back post. If Dexter's in position on that one Rowles can sink back to the near post and Kingsley can watch the back.

 

4/10 for me. I like him and he's got buckets of potential but right now Atkinson is a better all-around footballer. If Lembikisa were our player I'd be all for letting him learn on the job but I can see why Rotherham fans got tired of him.

[RoiK]

1 hour ago, Watt-Zeefuik said:

I don't want to be overly harsh but I think people are being lenient on Lembikisa's performance. He was spraying passes all over the park today. He got sucked way out of position in the run up to their goal which required Rowles to come all the way out to the touchline to cover. Kingsley then shifted to watch the near post and we had no one to contest the header at the back post. If Dexter's in position on that one Rowles can sink back to the near post and Kingsley can watch the back.

 

4/10 for me. I like him and he's got buckets of potential but right now Atkinson is a better all-around footballer. If Lembikisa were our player I'd be all for letting him learn on the job but I can see why Rotherham fans got tired of him.

 

Sorry, but Dexter would be my first choice every time and he is by some distance the better footballer already IMO. He didn’t have the best of games today but he didn’t hide and he’s far more assured and creative on the ball than Atkinson is (or ever will be) and offers more of an attacking threat.

 

Atkinson has energy, for sure, but doesn’t give me any confidence that he’s ever fully in control when pressing forwards.

 

Dexter is two footed and that’s a great attribute and allows him to link well with colleagues and play a variety of passes. His shot today wasn’t bad at all and in half a dozen games only has already scored for us (c.f. Atkinson’s record). His defending could improve (we knew this before he arrived) but he’s quick and it’s not like Atkinson is an outstanding or clearly the better defender.

 

I thought that Kingsley’s effort at their goal was very poor and that he was far more culpable than Dexter. Their goal scorer was no giant and SK was out-jumped.

[Finlay James]

8 hours ago, fabienleclerq said:

Interested to see if those posting ratings were at the game or watched on the TV?

 

Think you get a different perspective at the game. Grant was popping it about and moving into wee spaces we'll I thought. 

 

Tagawa,  tbh I thought for someone wanting to start games didn't appear to work particularly hard. This is nitpicking though, great performance. 

 

Agree on Grant, surprised so many have rated him so low as he was involved in everything good that we did while he was on the pitch.  The little flicks and dummies were constantly opening up space and creating attacks.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

1 hour ago, RoiK said:

 

Sorry, but Dexter would be my first choice every time and he is by some distance the better footballer already IMO. He didn’t have the best of games today but he didn’t hide and he’s far more assured and creative on the ball than Atkinson is (or ever will be) and offers more of an attacking threat.

 

Atkinson has energy, for sure, but doesn’t give me any confidence that he’s ever fully in control when pressing forwards.

 

Dexter is two footed and that’s a great attribute and allows him to link well with colleagues and play a variety of passes. His shot today wasn’t bad at all and in half a dozen games only has already scored for us (c.f. Atkinson’s record). His defending could improve (we knew this before he arrived) but he’s quick and it’s not like Atkinson is an outstanding or clearly the better defender.

 

I thought that Kingsley’s effort at their goal was very poor and that he was far more culpable than Dexter. Their goal scorer was no giant and SK was out-jumped.

Sorry but to me at this point in his career Atkinson is clearly the better defender. It took him a while to get there and as I say I think Lembikisa can get there but it won't be while he's with us.

 

Atkinson was more in control going forwards today, whereas Dexter rarely found a Hearts jersey with his passes.

[boag1874]

11 hours ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Gordon - 6 - Couldn’t do anything with the goal, but not much else to do

 

Lembikisa - 6 - Tried a few things that didn’t really come off, but kept things ticking over helping us with possession play

Halkett - 5 - Shame to see him go down, score reflecting time on the pitch more than anything, as his fantastic assist squared off his errors

Kingsley - 7 - Would have scored him an 8 if he wasn’t doing his usual ball watching at their goal

Cochrane - 8 - Just a solid consistent performer, like a Michael Smith but with more ability

 

Baningime - 7 - Great use of the ball, not much ball winning needed as we had so much possession

Nieuwenhof - 9 - Mind when folk called him slow? Would like to see the heat map for him today, excellent goal too

Grant - 6 - Nothing special from him today, but kept things ticking helping our style of play

 

Forrest - 6 - A few shots on target but never really troubled them too much, but a decent performance nonetheless. Should have scored from Shankland’s layoff.

Vargas - 7 - Pretty much exactly the same as Forrest but an extra point for the goal after his excellent run

 

Shankland - 9 - Took both goals excellently and all round play great again. Might’ve squared it for Tagawa for his second, but completely understand why he’d want it for himself.

 

SUBS

 

Rowles - 6 - Oddly considering how early he was on, the game was already won pretty much so little to do, but did what he had to well

Tagawa - 6 - Nothing exceptional, but no worse than Grant, Forrest or Vargas (without the goal) and actually had some great defensive tackles to win back possession. So anyone saying he’s soft is just being an arse for the sake of it. Also playing out wide rather than through the middle, so done well in that regard.

Fraser - 6- Good half an hour as the game was all but wrapped up so little to show, but got an assist

Tait - 5 - Pretty much same as Fraser but without the assist, showed some good industry at moments

Atkinson - 4 - Only reason score low is because of how little time he had to make an impact

I’d agree with everything there

[tiger Rudi]

2 hours ago, RoiK said:

 

Sorry, but Dexter would be my first choice every time and he is by some distance the better footballer already IMO. He didn’t have the best of games today but he didn’t hide and he’s far more assured and creative on the ball than Atkinson is (or ever will be) and offers more of an attacking threat.

 

Atkinson has energy, for sure, but doesn’t give me any confidence that he’s ever fully in control when pressing forwards.

 

Dexter is two footed and that’s a great attribute and allows him to link well with colleagues and play a variety of passes. His shot today wasn’t bad at all and in half a dozen games only has already scored for us (c.f. Atkinson’s record). His defending could improve (we knew this before he arrived) but he’s quick and it’s not like Atkinson is an outstanding or clearly the better defender.

 

I thought that Kingsley’s effort at their goal was very poor and that he was far more culpable than Dexter. Their goal scorer was no giant and SK was out-jumped.

"His defending could improve". This is a 3million rated player who will go back to his parent club in the summer. Why would we want to improve him for another team and let our own signed international player sit on the bench? He was signed as cover, he should be just that. 

Atty played in our away win at Celtic. He definitely IS a better defender. I've seen very little evidence of defensive nous from Dexter. 

I hope I never see Dexter start against either of the OF. 

[fabienleclerq]

1 hour ago, Finlay James said:

Agree on Grant, surprised so many have rated him so low as he was involved in everything good that we did while he was on the pitch.  The little flicks and dummies were constantly opening up space and creating attacks.

 

Tbh I'm normally a bit negative on Grant but last night he was so comfortable keeping possession and creating space. Thought he was one of our best players yesterday, opinions eh...

[Homme]

13 hours ago, Jamboross said:

 

Ridiculous 😂 Other than one slightly overhit pass to Dexter he did nothing wrong. Not saying it was an earth shattering performance or anything but it was a solid 5 or 6/10. Would have preferred to see him played through the middle but he was absolutely fine and got in decent positions a few times.

 

Hope to see him get more substantial appearances like that as the season goes on because he's never going to come good or gain confidence being left on the bench every week. 

 

Absolutely true. Popped up in good defensive positions too.