|
|
|
|
Albion v Northampton: A win at home at last!
|
Posted by David Snowball
at
Monday, August 20, 2007
|
A win at home at last
The best thing that could be said about Albion's opening day fixture against Northampton was that it brought a win at long last. After so many abject performances at Withdean last season, the 2-1 defeat of the Cobblers broke what was becoming a rather nasty habit.It should be said, though, that it would be wrong to get carried away. And with the opening day crowd being only 5,137 (and 300 of them were from Northampton), Albion fans obviously weren't persuaded that things would be very much different from last season. Going ahead as early as the second minute, when Hammond cooly converted a penalty given for a trip on Alex Revell, seemed to work against the Albion rather than providing a platform on which to build a performance.
The remainder of the half was dire from Brighton and it wasn't really a surprise that Northampton got back into it with a well-worked headed equaliser. In the final third of the pitch, Northampton posed a series of awkward situations for Albion's shaky-looking defence in which only Tommy Elphick looked assured. However, as if to demonstrate how much confidence a goal can bring, after Albion took the lead when Revell rose well to nod home a free kick, the floodgates really could have opened. Albion suddenly began to perform and, in all truth, really should have ended up 5-1 winners; they had that many clear-cut chances.
Here's my assessment player-by-player:
Kuipers: Failed to command his area and looked decidedly wobbly, particularly in the first half.
Whing: Made a couple of important interventions but doesn't yet look the assured player he was when on loan last season.
Elphick: A contender for man-of-the-match. Looked calm and confident and saved several dangerous-looking situations. Well on the way to cementing a regular place.
Butters: Not one of his better games. An early scrap with Houbertz seemed to unsettle him and his passing from the back was poor.
Rents: Continues to look good going forward but less confident defending. Still a better bet than Mayo, though.
Robinson: Back at the expense of Fraser; another lightweight show. Easily relieved of possession. Eventually substituted.
El-Abd: Worked hard for the team and thankfully kept his head when often we've seen him get too involved when the boots are flying.
Hammond: Cool dispatch of penalty in second minute. Seemed to sit back too deep and therefore didn't offer enough support to the forward players. Stretchered off near the end.
Cox: Right-footed player playing on the left meant there was no chance of crosses from dangerous positions because he always had to cut inside and deliver from angles that are easier to defend.
Revell: Worked really hard; displayed the best aerial ability I have seen since he joined, including heading the winner. Deft touch in box earned the early penalty. Should have had a second when set up by Forster, but his shot was cleared off the line. Deservedly man-of-the-match.
Forster: Disappointing home debut. Missed two good chances, but often starved of decent service from behind.
Subs.
Savage: Impressive contribution as replacement for Robinson. Did enough in 15 minutes to earn a start ahead of him next time out.
Fraser: Late replacement for injured Hammond; spoilt a promising move when three were queuing up for a square pass but he hit it straight at the 'keeper.
Report by Nick Turrell.Labels: News 07-08, Nick Turrell, Northampton Town
|
|
|
|
LOOKING FOR MORE NEWS? Check out
our latest stories...
|
|
|
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Go back to the Homepage...