Vital Reading looks at the players’ performances from the 2-0 victory over Wycombe yesterday, with goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Jake Taylor sealing the pre-season victory.
Vital Reading looks at the players’ performances from the 2-0 victory over Wycombe yesterday, with goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Jake Taylor sealing the pre-season victory.
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Adam Federici – 6 – Feders did not have to make any notable saves in the whole match. However, his kicking seemed slightly off today, which is very rare for him.
Chris Gunter – 7 – Considering we dominated the match, it brought the best out in his attacking qualities – he was essentially playing as a right-winger in the second half! I hope we see similar overlapping runs in the upcoming season.
Sean Morrison – 6 – Not troubled whatsoever in the match. Morro kept his passing simple and cut out those dreadful long balls, which is good to see, but was probably helped by Wycombe`s reluctance to press.
Alex Pearce – 6 – Same as Morrison really, no problems with Wycombe`s lone striker. He was occasionally caught out with space in behind, but having him as the left-sided CB and Obita next to him to bail him out is a smart move by Adkins.
Jordan Obita – 7 – With no signings imminent, it seems Obita is more and more likely to be the starting LB next season. Solid and mature defensive performance again and it was his good, looping cross that set up Pog`s goal.
Hope Akpan – 8 – I`ve never been his biggest fan, but he looked a completely different player, despite it being against League Two opposition. Hope passing was good, moving the ball quickly, and creating a chance for Edwards with a superb pass. He was good off the ball too, hassling the Wycombe midfield and using his strength to his advantage – this will be great for his confidence.
Michael Hector – 6 – Decent showing from the youngster in central midfield, although he didn`t move the ball quick enough at times. I still see his future as a central defender, but with our current midfield injury crisis, a CM role seems the most likely for the near future.
Hal Robson-Kanu – 6 – Played in a right-wing role rather than a central or striking role, which he has been calling for in the local media. There was the odd glimpse of quality and created the odd chance for himself, but his shooting was very poor.
Ryan Edwards – 8 – Man of the Match – It appears that another academy product is set to make an impact on the first team this season, after another outstanding display. The Australlian had another central role again and was pulling the strings, creating our best chances, including the second goal and had a great chance to score himself early on.
Jake Taylor – 7 – Another one of the top performers in the match, in a less familiar left wing role. His touch was superb, passing range was good, both which allowed the space Obita to overlap on numerous occasions. Young Taylor is certainly proving his worth to the manager at the moment, getting a goal to round off his performance.
Pave Pogrebnyak – 7 – If you give him the supply, then Pog will score goals, simple as. The big Russian is good with his feet and his head, with the latter proving for the goal. As he always does, he was mostly playing with his back to goal but did it effectively, bringing the likes of Edwards and Taylor into play. Pog was also drifting out wide a lot, dragging the central defenders out, which allowed Edwards to exploit the space.
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Shaun Cummings – 6 – Like he has all of this pre-season, Cummings was used in the left-back spot and did a decent job. He wasn`t troubled defensively, but didn`t see much overlapping, probably not helped by playing on his weaker side. I would still prefer Cummings over Kelly as a back-up LB though.
Nick Blackman – 7 – The much-debated striker only had thrity minutes to stake his claim for a starting spot in two weeks, but he would have given his manager food for thought with his good cameo appearance. Blackman slammed the bar with a superb 30-yard effort and could have scored a far-post header if it wasn`t for a word-class save from the keeper. Seeing him play with some confidence was great to see – could it be his season after all?
Under 21s – Eight under 21 players came on on 75 minutes and did well for the final 15 minutes, putting Wycombe under some good pressure. Jake Cooper had a slight scare, but was bailed out by Federici.
