Vital Reading looks at the players’ individual performances, from the stalemate with Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Vital Reading looks at the players’ individual performances, from the stalemate with Middlesbrough on Saturday.
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Adam Federici – 8 – Man of the Match – A very clear man of the match, where if could have been a convincing loss if it wasn’t for Feders. Made a string of superb saves in the second half, the best of the bunch being Bamford’s effort which he pushed onto the bar – class.
Chris Gunter – 7 – The Welshman’s purple patch in the team continues, as we got another clean sheet. There were a few occasions in the first half when he bailed out our defence, when crosses from the right weren’t dealt with enough.
Alex Pearce – 6 – Solid enough performance from the skipper defensively, it’s merely his lack of composure on the ball and distribution that lets him down.
Michael Hector – 5 – A shaky showing from Hector, who didn’t look as composed as he has in recent games, with a few lapses in concentration. His confidence in passing the ball has been completely shot too, hoofing the ball up field at any opportunity.
Jordan Obita – 6 – I think it would be fair to say Obita is off-form at the moment. Most of Boro’s attacks came from his side and therefore seemed scared to venture forward, with no protection from HRK.
Danny Williams – 6 – Decent enough performance from Williams, but was very anonymous in the first half, as Boro were winning most of the battles in midfield. There was the odd moment where he nearly got caught out in midfield by taking too many touches.
Oliver Norwood – 6 – Not necessarily a poor performance, just an anonymous one from Norwood, who struggled to get into the game. A booking in the first half prevented him from getting in the game in the second half.
Jamie Mackie – 6 – The on-loan Forest man doesn’t seem to have the pace to beat his man, so often cuts inside and becomes anonymous. The work rate and link up with Gunter was there, but couldn’t find any space in behind his man.
Simon Cox – 5 – The first time he would have played with Pogrebnyak and you could see why, as there was no link up. Another player who was quite anonymous and didn’t impact the game.
Hal Robson-Kanu – 5 – It’s not just on the ball that HRK can be frustrating, it’s off the ball too. He left Obita exposed on too many occasions in the first half, as Adomah and Kalas often were outnumbering Obita, with HRK deciding to drift into the middle.
Pavel Pogrebnyak – 6 – I was happy to see the big man back and despite the stick he gets, he always puts in a good shift. He was starved of service and only had one chance from a set piece. Even if we get Pog back to fitness, we still need another striker.
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Nick Blackman – 6 – Decent movement from Blackman when he went up front, but like Pog, was starved of any service.
Danny Guthrie – 6 – The only player that was attempting to penetrate Boro when he came on, also getting more crucial minutes under his belt.
Jem Karacan – N/A – The skipper only came on for a few minutes on his return, but what a great sight it was to see him back.
