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League Cup 2015/16


Toxteth O'Grady
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Fair to say that was an close call - certainly nothing to brag about but we got the result and when we look back in a few weeks time that's all that matters. Much rather that than out in a good performance and come away with nothin ala Dundee Utd and the Aberdeen.

 

If we beat killie on Saturday then we can really look to kick on and put a run together. That's a big if though.

 

In the meantime I'm not going to start getting involved with Barra bashing. At the end of the day we're all Well fans, and we'd do well to back the man in charge until the board decides his days are numbered. Negativity, especially in the stands, will do nothing but breed a shite atmosphere and that's not good for anyone.

 

Even if you don't think he's the man, get behind the team on Saturday and let's get intake these.

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Fair play to Leitch, Thomas, McDonald and Moult, they have dragged us through tonight. More promising is how good an understanding the three attackers that finished the game seem to have. Ainsworth started to make better runs aswell after the changes.

Again, that can't be right? Our young players aren't good enough. They can't have outshone their more experienced colleagues. Against a lower league side granted but at least Thomas and Leitch played their part.

 

Disappointed with Johnson's apparent loss of form. Thomas deserves his shot...

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Again, that can't be right? Our young players aren't good enough. They can't have outshone their more experienced colleagues. Against a lower league side granted but at least Thomas and Leitch played their part.

 

Disappointed with Johnson's apparent loss of form. Thomas deserves his shot...

 

By far his best performances last season were the two matches against Rangers. I think ending on a high has skewed some peoples memories of his overall form last term.

 

I do think he has something about him though but he's a long way from the finished article.

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For those that were there at both games was that better or worse than Aberdeen? Being the only game Ive seen in person?

Just back. That was painful and much worse than Aberdeen game. The 1st 80 minutes were as woeful as the 2nd half on Saturday.

 

Players could not pass 5 yards to one another. Law and Laing were frighteningly bad against 3rd division players. Laing is a good defender of balls in the air, but on the deck he gets taken to the cleaners time and again.

 

Bringing on Thomas and Skippy turned the game in our favour and how. By the end of ET we could have scored another 4.

 

I worry for the future based on tonight. I would like to see Watt in for Law, Kennedy for Laing and Dom for Marvin.

 

We got through but I am not convinced that Barra will survive. I hope I am wrong as I have nothing against him.

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For those that were there at both games was that better or worse than Aberdeen? Being the only game Ive seen in person?

Worse, in fact the worst performance I've seen Motherwell play for many a season. East Fife played the best most composed football, they passed the ball around and genuinely looked like a team.

Motherwell on the other hand were a shambles couldn't string more than a couple of passes together, too many players resorted to sideways passing or even back to the keeper who just hoofs it aimlessly up the pitch. We didn't look or play like a team tonight very disappointing. Only when McDonald came on did we have any drive forward.

Against Aberdeen we played as a team

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Overall a very lucky victory tonight! Thought EF's Nathan Austin showed our front 2 how to play a strikers role. He was superb and thankfully got flagged offside when he put the ball in the net when they were 1-0 up. A reflection of how good he was came when he got a standing ovation from the Well fans, me included. He had Laing breathing out his arse in the 1st half and gave Kennedy major problems in the 2nd. If we had some money in the bank, I'd snap him up without a second thought.

I thought overall Kennedy seemed solid enough beside Laing. Our midfield was waste of space for large chunks of the game, Las is past his sell by date, Leitch chases shadows and contributes very little, and with Marv on no show and Ainsworth fading in and out, this had the hallmarks of another shocking cup exit!

I hope I'm way off the mark but I haven't seen any improvement team wise from last season.

On a positive note, I thought Thomas was outstanding when he came on. His link up play and runs at defenders are a joy to watch.

All 3 goals well taken, but for 90 minutes it was hard to tell who were the team from the top league.

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Winning or losing tonight was never going to influence me much either way. We've had to many disappointing cup exits over the years to really use tonight as a stick to beat the manager with. What I hope the team will take from tonight is that regardless of the lower league opposition is that we found a way to win even when not playing well. We've played reasonably in 4 of the league games so far in the main, lets see if we can't kick on win a couple of home games and get some positivity back.

 

I'd definitely get Watt in for Law, would consider keeping Thomas in but long term still reckon Marvin can be a player for us, just that right now he is reminicent of early days Humphrey looks threatining with ball at his feet but on Saturdays evidence, not so sure what he did or didn't do tonight, he needs coached seriously on his decision making in the final third.

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Anyone who thinks Leitch had a good game, or assisted in 'dragging us through' needs to visit an optician and quickly. He's nowhere near ready to be a start and IMO is living off his name - reckon if dad wasn't on coaching staff he'd be playing 1st/2nd division - regrettably even that level passed him by tonight.

 

Now EF 9, 10 and 11 all looked assured and capable of doing the basics, something the majority of our team couldn't. Do we have a scouting set-up in Scotland?

 

Changes for Saturday - ditch Laing (replace with Kennedy) - totally at fault at the goal and was ripped a new one by the EF number 9 - though no doubt there will be some who will contrive a reason to blame Law.

 

Luke Watt did nothing in his cameo tonight to suggest he is any better than those chosen in front of him in recent weeks - despite what others would have you think, however on the basis its a fresh face, then lets see what he can do.

 

Still it's a cup win and we haven't had many of those in recent years

 

EDIT - and Thomas for Johnson (absolutely honking tonight)

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Numbers 8, 10 and 11 for East Fife were fantastic tonight, with number 9 being outstanding...head and shoulders above everyone on the park.

 

Louis Laing will wake up in the middle of a field tonight with no clue how he got there. Absolutely turned inside out the whole game, but particularly a 20 minute spell in the first half where he just couldn't work out if it was Tuesday or sandwiches.

 

Kennedy showed there is definitely some promise there, read the game reasonably well positioning was generally good, was strong and got to the ball first on a number of occasions. Any flaws tonight were due to him having to carry the whole back-line on his first start.

 

Moult will never be considered the most talented striker in the league, but that guy works his ass off and chases and runs and just keeps going. Couple of goals for him now and I think he's better than our tactics are allowing him to be. Has guts though, and wants to win, which is good enough for me...especially at the moment.

 

Jack Leitch is being hung out to dry by the game flying over the top of his head and missing out the middle of the park completely. He's too good a player to spend 80 minutes trying to win the ball back after we've lost possession cheaply.

 

Dom Thomas needs to start every game. Wants to win games and has the talent to make it happen. Should be given a percentage of everyones win bonus from tonight as he's the reason they have it.

 

I am unsure what tasted weirder, the pies or the brown sauce. As a combo though it was strangely satisfying.

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Agree for the most part Al B - but Jack Leitch was the cause of much of that lost possession, his distribution was pitiful and that's being kind. Poor positionally and soft in the tackle, certainly not the attributes of a creative and or combatitve midfielder. Looked like the only thing he was good at tonight was holding out his hand in abject apology with alarming regularity.

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Odd game. Ripley kept us in it with a few good stops, one in particular in first half of et where he toe poked it clear.

 

Thomas coming on changed the game and he was crying out for the ball every time, was all over the park and always a threat.

 

Fair play to Barraclough, he made the changes exactly when required and McDonald coming on straight after they scored confirmed it. McDonald himself looked raging that he had to go on and when he missed that sitter he seemed to decide he'd had enough of messing about, could have had a hat trick following that with some of the chances.

 

Moult ran himself into the ground and took his goal well, he'll be sore in the morning.

 

Lasley was poor for majority of the game but as it dragged on and he was able to create some space for himself he played better.

 

Onto the bad,you can't fault his effort and he ran himself into the ground but Law had another poor game. Last season he played well by keeping it simple, this year he can't even seem to do that.

 

Ainsworth was frustrating for the majority of the game and was lucky he didn't get poleaxed by some of the east fife players when he decided to play keepy uppy inside five minutes. He turned it round later on but only after the two and three men tracking him decided that they had to go and follow Thomas instead.

 

Johnson, I assume, is not fit as he's nowhere near the player we had last year.

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