GazzyB Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Lasley, Hateley & Hammell were fucking immense tonight. Jamie Murphy was brilliant too. Really gutted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 pana's number 3 was the only one that really stood out for them tho what he did at the end with the strecher carry on was pathetic Agree except I thought Zeca (No.17) looked decent as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat_tony Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Gutted to have lost but can only echo the words of others. Superb performance and unfortunately just short on luck on the night. A freak goal and a quick counter were our undoing, both simply a lapse of concentration. As Al B said, that's one of the big differences between our level and a higher one. All the players put their heart and soul into that tonight and had a couple of things happened differently, it could have been a different story: If Law's shot had squirmed in, the offside hadn't been given (resulting in a penalty) or if Ojamaa had squared to Murphy. Overall though, a superb performance and if we can keep that up throughout the season we are really going to batter some teams in the SPL. It's a big ask for Athens, realistically too much, but as we all know, football's a funny old game where anything can happen so you just never quite know. I'll be there, praying and hoping for one of those spectacular nights that football can sometimes deliver. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC_MKI Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Nicky Law for me, him and Lasley were the best two on the park for us. Signs of a very good balanced partnership. He was excellent aswell, as was Higdon who put in a superb shift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 For me, simply beaten by a better team and there's no shame in that. The nature of the goals is a bit frustrating but realistically we can have no complaints. They took their chances, we didn't. On another night, we might have sneaked a result but it wasn't to be. The performance was good from most of the team. Thought we looked nervous at the start which was understandable. Defence looked a bit shaky, but you have to bear in mind it was the first time Ramsden and Hutchinson have played together. And frankly, they'll not face the quality or the movement they faced tonight in the SPL. If (and with a month of the transfer window left, it has to be if) we can keep the eleven that started tonight, we'll be fine this season. And Keith Lasley. I like the guy, but tonight he exceeded my expectations. He and Law combined well. A large part of our prospects this season rests on keeping these two available. So no silly red cards this season, Keith... Much to be optimistic about for the season, if not for next week.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inthebasement Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Brilliant tonight, whole team can hold their head up and believe they can challenge still for the Europa spot. The quality of some of our football was a surprise at this level, don't buy that we were contained I think they were rattled for spells in both halves. As above, Lasley, Law and Hately outstanding. Love wee OJ but his failure to play Murphy in was our biggest slip up tonight, really frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 we played really well, they were average and we still got beat two nil. we made chances and didn't take them, we were unlucky that our chances fell to higdon and humphrey rather than players with a bit of composure. the higdon header in the second half summed us up. a great cross and a good player scores that goal. for us it goes straight to the goalie and we're well beaten. ramsden didn't look too clever but that's what you get with league two mate's rates. lasley, murphy, law and hateley were all superb and hutchy had a good second half. hammell and randy played below par and henrik struggled but they are all good footballers and if they all stay fit we should be riding spl teams this season. pao looked average but it's difficult to tell how hard they were trying. sissoko was the best player on the park and the wee guy sitting in front of the defence was superb. we've nothing to lose now so hopefully we go all out in the away leg, it's all about the first goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 when the atmosphere is like that fir park is the best ground in the country bar none 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelmaninOZ Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 when the atmosphere is like that fir park is the best ground in the country bar none How true!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzer Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 we played really well, they were average and we still got beat two nil. we made chances and didn't take them, we were unlucky that our chances fell to higdon and humphrey rather than players with a bit of composure. Like who? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Certainly the players gave of their best but as can happen in these situations we just blew it. OK Panathanaikos were perhaps a class above us but they didn't have to work very hard for their goals, although their second was well taken. I thought Lasley, Hutchinson and Higdon were the pick of the bunch and didn't look out of place in this game. At the back, too many unforced errors and poor marking cost us. In midfield and up front we lacked penetration and a killer touch. Some poor decision making too. At times our build up was painfully slow when we had the players to hurt them. Felt a bit sorry for Chris Humphrey - he looked to be in the mood early on but poor service limited his involvement. Still on the plus side our lads will have learnt a lot. You don't always have to produce glittering exciting football to win games sometimes being solid and reliable is quite adequate. A great night and the fans turned out in big numbers . A 9,000+ crowd in late July is quite an achievement. The club will have made about £190k from the gate and that can't be bad. If we can just tighten up in defence we can achieve a better result in Athens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welldaft Mk1 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 ramsden didn't look too clever but that's what you get with league two mate's rates. IMHO that is bollox. I like the look of Ramsden and think he will prove to be a better player than Clancy. Pleased with the team as a whole. Lasley and Law were immense. Their second goal was so clinical and summed up the difference in quality. That said we gave as good as we got and 2-0 was a little flattering for the Greeks I heard there were approx 10 scouts at the game. Most of whom were having a look at Big Hutchy. Not sure we will keep him until the end of transfer window...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuwell Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Not a bad summery from the bbc: Plucky Motherwell facean uphill task after their debut in the Champions League qualifiers ended in ahome defeat by a clinical Panathinaikos. Wellwere on top in the early stages but fell behind when a Lazaros Christodoulopoulos'free-kick deceived keeper Darren Randolph on 13 minutes. TomHateley and Nicky Law both tested goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis in an end-to-endfirst leg at Fir Park. Butsub Charalampos Mavrias drove in the killer second after 76 minutes. Panathinaikoshad arrived in some disarray, with Greece captain Giorgios Karagounis missing the trip afterrejecting a new contract with the club that flirted with bankruptsy lastseason. Internationalcolleague Kostas Katsouranis was also absent from midfield, being left on thebench after his exertions for Greece at Euro 2012. Butthe Athens side were still full of quality and gave competitivedebuts to two of their seven summer signings, Venezuela defender Jose Manuel Velazquez and on-loan Wolfsburg forward Ibrahim Sissoko. Incontrast, hard-up Motherwell have lost several experienced players from theirsquad and and only added former Bradford Citymidfielder Simon Ramsden. YetStuart McCall's side looked positive and Chris Humphrey fired inches over from 25 yards. Motherwell'slack of playing resources meant that Shaun Hutchinson was drafted into thestarting line-up despite playing only 45 minutes in pre-season after beinghampered by a groin problem. Theyoung defender's rustiness proved costly when he conceded a needless free-kickon Sissoko that led to the Greeks' breakthrough. Jean-AlainBoumsong failed to connect with Christodoulopoulos ' swinging delivery fromabout 40 yards,but the former Rangers and Newcastle defender's run was enough to put offRandolph and the ball curled inside the far post. Effortsfrom Humphrey and Keith Lasley failed to find the target as Motherwellcontinued to threaten. However,the Greeks ended the first half on top and a 25-yard strike from Jose CarlosZeca was pushed over by Randolph. Christodoulopouloscurled a drive just wide from 25 yards seconds into the second half, but Motherwellresponded and Karnezis nervously pushed away Hateley's 30-yard free-kick offthe wet surface. Thegoalkeeper almost spilled a Law shot from a similar distance into his net andMichael Higdon directed a header straight at Karnezis. Onlya brilliant sliding block from Boumsong stopped Law converting after being setup by Henrik Ojamaa, who also wasted a good chance on the break. However,after Ojamaa lost the ball on the edge of the Greek box, Sissoko found Mavriasand the right winger fired it through Randolph's legs. Motherwellcontinued to push forward, but it was Panathinakos who went closest to addingto the scoring when recent signing Bruno Fornaroli blazed over having come onas a substitute. Motherwell manager Stuart McCall : "I think we more than matched them. I don't think the scorelinereflected the performance. "Ijust wanted the lads to put in a performance their families and the fans wouldbe proud of and they did that. "I'mdisappointed with the goals. We talked about not giving silly free-kicks awaywith the boy's ability from set-pieces. "Wedidn't want to go out with a whimper. We were pressing and probing and mostpeople thought the goal was coming. "Itwould have been nice if we could have got it to 1-1, but it wasn't to be." Panathinaikos head coach Jesualdo Ferreira : "We experienced pressure from Motherwell, butwhenever we had the opportunity to break quickly, we created problems. "Motherwellwork hard and play football that is difficult to control, but I thought wedeserved the win." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 IMHO that is bollox. I like the look of Ramsden and think he will prove to be a better player than Clancy. what's clancy got to do with anything? on tonight's showing he is no better than our younger players who can play cb. use his money for centre mid who hasn't played for bradford and we might have done a bit better tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzyB Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Disagree with what steelboy says about ramsden, thought he was solid tonight and very good with the ball at his feet. Almost a carbon copy of Clancy! Edit - disagree with the above too. We were awesome in centre mid tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 what's clancy got to do with anything? on tonight's showing he is no better than our younger players who can play cb. use his money for centre mid who hasn't played for bradford and we might have done a bit better tonight. Maybe you're being a tad unfair. I don't think he played well tonight - he lost his opponent just too often for my liking but he is not a centre back and wouldn't pretend to be. Probably better suited to playing at RB or in midfield. He is doing his best to help out in an emergency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numpty Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 the higdon header in the second half summed us up. a great cross and a good player scores that goal. for us it goes straight to the goalie and we're well . To be honest I didn't think any of the crosses Higdon was on the end of tonight were "great" ... all far too floaty, he was having to do too much of the work that a good whipped cross would have done for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faddythedaddy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Lasley refused to shake that no 3 ghouls hand at the end Yer a good boy Keith 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finlay Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Maybe you're being a tad unfair. I don't think he played well tonight - he lost his opponent just too often for my liking but he is not a centre back and wouldn't pretend to be. Probably better suited to playing at RB or in midfield. He is doing his best to help out in an emergency. If that's the case it is a season long emergency. I am now convinced, rightly or wrongly we all have opinions, that McCall doesn't rate Saunders. Imo at this moment, Hutchinson and Ramsden are McCall's first choice centre back pairing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al B Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 If that's the case it is a season long emergency. I am now convinced, rightly or wrongly we all have opinions, that McCall doesn't rate Saunders. Imo at this moment, Hutchinson and Ramsden are McCall's first choice centre back pairing. Saunders isn't fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finlay Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Ah, thought he was again. Apologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al B Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 I think it was in McCall's press conference interview where he said he was glad that after a few niggling injuries throughout the last couple of weeks, Saunders' was the only one that would keep him out of the squad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Maybe you're being a tad unfair. I don't think he played well tonight - he lost his opponent just too often for my liking but he is not a centre back and wouldn't pretend to be. Probably better suited to playing at RB or in midfield. He is doing his best to help out in an emergency. i think he has been signed to play cb. he's no better than saunders, page or cummins, we should have used the money on a midfielder. obviously no ex-bradford holding midfielders available this summer.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 If that's the case it is a season long emergency. I am now convinced, rightly or wrongly we all have opinions, that McCall doesn't rate Saunders. Imo at this monent, Hutchinson and Ramsden are McCall's first choice centre back pairing. I read somewhere that McCall has been quoted as saying he sees Saunders as a right back. For me that means, Saunders is warming the bench this season and Ramsden is first choice centre back. So I tend to agree that he's not filling in an emergency. But I'm not that concerned about that. He'll do a job. And he's more experienced than all our centre backs put together. He's signed a one year deal. If this one year allows Cummins and Murray to develop (and with our squad size, they'll get games), his wages will be money well spent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finlay Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 In saying that I do think McCall sees Saunders as a RB or he wouldn't have signed Ramsden as Page/Cummins would have been back up to Hutch/Saunders. Devlin is 3rd in line behind Saunders and Hateley for the RB position. Saunders will get his chance but there will need to be an injury or suspension in that back line that plated tonight before he gets it. When he does get that chance he'll need to make sure he takes it and keeps his place......and stats clear if injury. Obviously the latter is in the lap of the Gods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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