Scottish Cup - Fifth Round Motherwell V Inverness Caley Thistle Sat 6 Feb 15:00

[BigWeegieDosser]

Defending for both goals is criminal. For the first one Law really should've cut it out and why Ripley doesn't stick an arm out when the ball is crossed 3 yards out beggars belief.

 

For the second one? Just bring the guy down!! Numerous players back off as well! I did think it was a foul on Gomis in the build up but there was still opportunities to stop the shot getting away.

I'm afraid I just don't see a foul on Gomis, he was just outmuscled. Two or three half-hearted challenges after that before he shot, poor effort.

At the first I think Ripley and Kennedy assumed the other was going for it. Law didn't as much challenge as spectate .

C'est la vie. If only ....

File it under déja vu, or have I done that already?

[Goggles & Flippers]

I felt McGhee had his fingers burned in the 3-1 so opted to learn from where the players he had available could address it. I agree with some of the comments so far, while ICT are above us, it's not a huge gulf, it's 3 points. Nothing there to suggest we have to opt for such a defensively minded team at home in a cup tie. I keep on looking through our squad and thinking that on paper they appear to be better players than so many in this league. The only difference I can see is like Leicester, the other teams are more cohesive and compliment each other well to generate something greater than the sum of their individual parts.

 

Too often people forget if we opt for a certain formation or tactic, opposition teams also have to adapt to combat it.

 

Pearson seems to have thrived when bursting through from midfield in support, however when tasked to play so advanced and compliment McDonald, it didn't seem to work.

 

Moult could have been a better bet leading the line as his work ethic can't be questioned and offers slightly more in aerial challenges.

 

Skippy (however as a partner or sitting just behind Moult) I would have started for the same reason at the expense of Marvin who unfortunately reminds me more and more of Chris Humphrey progressively in every game. He is purely a ball over the top and chase it type winger (I don't think he was when he arrived but he seems like that now).

 

Nobody can deny Gomis is a class act and outrageously composed on the ball. However he has to get out of over egging the pudding, at times I felt is was a bit like "haw Robbie Nielson, you watching this?". He will get caught out as the season progresses. Someone like Cadden (who put in a impressive performance) can only flourish learning from a guy like that however.

 

I asked before the game how the stats compared when he had Lasley starting and not. Unfortunately he does a role that is unglamorous and therefore overlooked. Certainly with Pearson, Gomis, Cadden and Lasley as part of a potential 4-4-2 I certainly think we had enough there to combat ICT.

 

Hammell has an incredible first touch on show a few times when he killed balls stone cold, it's what gives him the time many of his teammates lack as their second touches are often lunges to beat an attempted tackle.

 

The other glaring thing that stood out was the 15 yard by 15 yard area of the park that sits just in front of our box. Opposition players are not closed down the same way ours are at the other end. I find too often balls rebounded or cleared from both defensive and attacking corners are mopped up by opposition teams and pressure reasserted or cleared.

[Kmcalpin]

Too often people forget if we opt for a certain formation or tactic, opposition teams also have to adapt to combat it.

 

Skippy (however as a partner or sitting just behind Moult) I would have started for the same reason at the expense of Marvin who unfortunately reminds me more and more of Chris Humphrey progressively in every game. He is purely a ball over the top and chase it type winger (I don't think he was when he arrived but he seems like that now).

 

I asked before the game how the stats compared when he had Lasley starting and not. Unfortunately he does a role that is unglamorous and therefore overlooked. Certainly with Pearson, Gomis, Cadden and Lasley as part of a potential 4-4-2 I certainly think we had enough there to combat ICT.

 

Hammell has an incredible first touch on show a few times when he killed balls stone cold, it's what gives him the time many of his teammates lack as their second touches are often lunges to beat an attempted tackle.

 

The other glaring thing that stood out was the 15 yard by 15 yard area of the park that sits just in front of our box. Opposition players are not closed down the same way ours are at the other end. I find too often balls rebounded or cleared from both defensive and attacking corners are mopped up by opposition teams and pressure reasserted or cleared.

Some good points there. However sometimes you make tactical changes that suit the opposition and thats just what happened on Saturday.

 

I don't think our midfield competed that well especially in the closing stages. Age wise Pearson and Lasley are over 30, Gomis is 30 and Cadden is a teenager I think. Draper simply steamrollered Lasley.

 

Stevie Hammell has got a great first touch but his passing and positioning was awful against Inverness.

 

I agree 100% about Marvin Johnson.

 

Great point about the 15 X 15 box and its costing us goals and games.

[Onthefringes]

Granted, it's rarely well executed at ours... The 4-5-1 formation doesn't mean you aren't set up in an attacking sense like some on here would have you believe.

[Kmcalpin]

Granted, it's rarely well executed at ours... The 4-5-1 formation doesn't mean you aren't set up in an attacking sense like some on here would have you believe.

Absolutely. More often than not it means that our striker is isolated and / or he has to come very deep with the result that the opposition defence and midfield is encouraged to push up the park.

[superward]

Granted, it's rarely well executed at ours... The 4-5-1 formation doesn't mean you aren't set up in an attacking sense like some on here would have you believe.

Yep agreed and said as much in my original comment as well.

 

I think the setup was sound enough and I, along with quite a number of others agreed pretty much that 1 up top with a supporting midfield would be best. But the more the game went on the more we got caught in the 4-5-1 rather than 4-3-3/4-2-3-1. Then when they scored we were stuck in it.

[Busta Nut]

Thought It was clearly a continental style 4-2-3-1 attempt.

Pearo was dreadful, Think we lost cos we took Las off. He wasn't having a good game, But it's the area he would have been around where they scored from. He may have been able to get closer to the player.

McGhee left any changes too late (and made the wrong changes I think) because we got a goal from nothing.

[Malky79]

 

 

Well first of all add up the point tally of Inverness and ourselves over the last season and a half and you'll see that there is a bit of a gap there, they have proved themselves a better team than us. There cup anniversary is also a bit smaller than ours.

 

Secondly think back just a few months ago to when they came to Fir Park and beat us fairly easily.

 

Whatever you think of McGhee, and unlike most or any fans, I'd beat he poured over that match and came to some conclusions to give us a better chance of winning the match.

 

Will anyone deny that we were more likely to win, based on the performance, on Saturday than during the previous defeat? As I've said I thought we were marginally the better team, a big improvement on the previous match.

 

It's not a 'tactical disaster' if you'd still have been in the cup if the ref had blown a minute earlier or if you are eliminated by a shot that the lad Roberts will probably never replicate in his career.

 

That's nothing to do with tactics.

 

You can only piss with the cock you have but like in the Hearts game he didn't give us a chance, in the Hearts game he disrupted the defence much more than was required and on Saturday we never looked like we could get on the front foot and this Caley team are not the team from last season. Indeed they don't even have Christie on loan anymore from the previous game you mention, we should have played to our own strengths and by and large this season that has been with Moult and McDonald together.

 

I have no issue with a 4-5-1 that could become a 4-3-3 with the right players in the right roles, however we set up at home to nullify a currently average SPL outfit. We played our arguably most energetic midfield player almost as a deep lying forward and he looked lost, at no point in the game did it ever look like it was working beyond at best frustrating Inverness. That is a chronic lack of ambition and belief in your players in my view especially in a one of cup tie at home, might have accepted it up at theirs at a push.

[something else]

I honestly don't see why we don't use the Christmas pudding formation

[Well-Made]

My thoughts on the changes: Moult should've be on for Pearo, with Skippy sitting back a bit as soon as we equalised. Not saying that game would've been any different but Pearo seemed lost wherever he played on Saturday. Also as mentioned Las would've probably been able to at least annoy Roberts before he got the shot away.

 

Why Ainsowrth was brought on with 2 minutes to do, I don't know. Too late to do anything in attack and left us a body short in defence to hold out for a draw.

 

Anyway, all this is hindsight, so now let's not make the same mistakes at Killie.

[Kmcalpin]

Also as mentioned Las would've probably been able to at least annoy Roberts before he got the shot away.

 

I don't know about that Jim - thats precisely what Las hasn't been doing these past few seasons. Not just him of course but all our central midfielders. They retreat into our box tortoise like when the going gets tough. For the past few years opponents have had free rein to take pot shots from the edge of the box and just beyond. The law of probability says that eventually some will find their target.

[Goggles & Flippers]

 

Can you imagine what it will be like on here if he sends a 25 yard screamer into the top corner in the 90th minute?

 

Wasn't Vigurs but regardless I appear to have put the curse of Motson on things

[decorator]

i came 2000 miles for

[Goggles & Flippers]

i came 2000 miles for

We're going to have to see photographic evidence I'm afraid

[decorator]

We're going to have to see photographic evidence I'm afraid