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A game of two halves - very few below par in the first half, not a great deal to pick out in the second. Not that it was bad, but we weren't as in control as I'd have liked. Hmm, who to pick?

Not sure who to vote for after that. Noone was perfect in the first half. Williams had a spell, Simpson was very good and Reed effective. In the second half it was a dirty scruffy game really. Simpson was a passenger and Reed and Williams faded - The latter's main contribution was gettting free kicks.

McKirdy excited me the most in the game, but, he should have scored a hattrick at least! The fact he bottled 2 x 1 on 1s, hit the post when the ball seemed to ricochet to him and also had 2 more saved showed he got into the right positions.

So, I'm going to sleep on it.

Despite our attacking threats most of the match. Baudry, Ellis and Hunt were fantastic second half and earned us that win

The Iandolo votes 😂😂😂😂

Williams and Simpson were outstanding in the first 30 and Williams stayed involved throughout, but have voted for Hunt who was both solid defensively and a threat running at their left back. Lots of decent performers though.

you disagree? I actually voted hunt but ellis had a brilliant game

I voted EI, thought he did very well tonight.  Of course one bad ball down the line is usually enough to persuade people he's rubbish...

Just as I saw it.  Really pleased for Hunt, and it's great for the team to have competition fort places.

Rob Hunt, by a distance

Hunt, Baudry and Iandolo all did well.

I thought everyone defended well, Hunt put some cracking challenges in towards the end of the game, but for a 30 minute spell or so Williams showed why he doesn't play at this level.  Nothing out of this world, but just looked like he was playing a different game.

Would say Williams during the fluid football phase of the game.
But Rob Hunt was excellent throughout & credit to the rest of the back five as well.

Voted Williams for MoM but could have a been a few others. Impressed with Baudry who I have often berated. He always has an error in him and that worries me but today he was very good. Hunt, Iandolo, Payne and McKirdy also played very well but it was a great team performance like FGR and I am very pleased with how things are going so far.

Rob Hunt tonight.
True defensive qualities.

In the end I think I'd go for Hunt. Looked composed and effortless.

Wollacott - Did what he had to. Looked small in goal compared to Ward.

Baudry and Crichlow looked untidy at times and both made several mistakes.

Odimayo - I didn't notice him! Must have meant he did well!

Simpson good first half but poor second.

McKirdy - exciting but wasteful.

Iandolo - Nice shot. Much of his passing was poor.

Midfield - Williams, Payne & Reed all drifted in and out of the game.

Williams for me. Outstanding in the decisive period when the game was won.

Thats Redbuck and all his aliases I am sure, Iandolo had a poor game.

I went for Williams as he was eager and kept on running and winning free kicks, looked a much better option than Gladwin for me.

Due to spending a large proportion of the game looking at the back of our fans who were relocated from the terrace to the empty zone next to the seated area, hence right in the way, I can't possibly comment beyond what an organizational shower of shit Sutton were....

I thought Iandolo did well and is much maligned in my opinion. I wasn't one of the three votes by the way. I didn't vote because I thought the whole team was excellent...

It is fair to say we all see things differently

Yes, yes you do  :)

:D

I agree.

+1

Indeed as stated above everybody has an opinion and we don't have to agree on them.

I thought Iandolo was alright but agree with the sentiment that his delivery has worsened. The trouble is when Hunt plays left we lose momentum when he invariably cuts back onto his right foot so Iandolo is the better option imo.

There are a few that suffer that way. I was sat in front of someone who felt the need to slag Simpson off for most of the second half, even claiming he hadn't won a single header all night, about two mins after he won a header & flicked it on (to McKirdy I think).

The odd thing is McKirdy missed at least 3 times when clean through on the keeper and yet is free from any sort of criticism, had that have been Simpson he would have been slaughtered for it.

What people don't seem to quite grasp, is that we are in Division 4, and have players that are at that level for a reason, they are going to make mistakes, we just have to hope that they do more good things than bad.

Didn't see last night but Iandolo is an odd mix. His defending isn't great and his crossing isn't up to much, but his positioning, interplay and dribbling going forwards opens up space and allows us to progress the ball well. He is deceptively integral to us going forward even without that final ball

I think this is pretty close to spot on - the reason Iandolo polarises so much is that as much as he averages out at a L2 player, it's composed of bits that are are really quite good and bits that are really quite bad, rather than being well rounded. Depending on what you're watching for you can have a totally different opinion of him as a player - and probably both are right!

For me, Hunt is almost the polar opposite - he's solid at just about everything but I'd struggle to tell you what he's great at. I'd rather pick Hunt to play for my life, but that doesn't mean Iandolo won't occasionally do better.

McKirdy is not Eoin Doyle and his misses have been pointed out.    

His particular role is to make things happen.  He deserves credit for having made the runs that led to the one on ones.   His gossamer presence upfield complemented Simpson's heavyweight tussles and turns.  Together they kept Sutton honest at the back.  

STFC has more than one way to "finish" this season.  Last night, the excellent Reed and Williams were the ones to excel with the finishing.  

McKirdy also harried back tirelessly as part of a first level defensive cover.  

The win was earned on the back of a committed alround team performance and I think you are quite right - no need to criticise any players.  Difficult to pick a MOM but perhaps Hunt epitomised that team effort best?

He started as an attacking midfielder for us a few years ago and up until the past season or two he had a great delivery on him.  I really do think left back/wing back has impacted on that side of his game - it's probably because he is making 50 yard runs to get into that position to deliver rather than 10-15 yard runs.

Last night was right up his alley for his defensive side though - you know what is coming at you, they are not moving you about, similar to Baudry.  His weakness in defence is tracking and positional, neither of which were much trouble against a lump it team.  It's a different challenge and one he stood up to well.

I agree on the going forward aspect, it plays to his strengths - the ball at feet.  He has good close control, nips inside quite well and his right foot is not great but allows him that mobility and the option to go inside or out.  I'd like to see us get a proper left back/wing back in January if we can and use him as cover for that position only.  Early this season he was in midfield and I think Garner may well see that as his long term position.  I hope so, because it seems to fit his skillset best and it would be a shame to see him drift in a career that promised much a few years back.

Thought McKirdy was awful last night. Has been brilliant recently though.

Iandolo's best games for us have been at centre back, oddly as he struggles to head anything at times.

I think that was more to do with the team being shit last season and he looked half competent for a few games.  Curran and Grounds, for differing reasons, would make you and me look competent.

He was good in midfield at Scunthorpe on the opening day, however that may be because Scunthorpe were not very good.


As RedRag said he & Simpson up front (in the first half particularly) were a real handful for the Sutton defence, and has to be given credit for keeping on making those runs

I wouldn't say anyone was awful last night..

The debate about Mckirdy is an interesting one. He strikes me as essentially quite a selfish player (and that is by no means all bad). It does mean that when he is good, he looks brilliant, but when he is bad, people more readily forgive him!! He quite often runs into trouble and doesn't pass quickly enough, and sometimes gets in the way of other players in the box in his eagerness.....Don Rogers could be the same!!!!

McKirdy, or a player like him, are precisely what we were missing a few games back.  We are a well coached, technical team, but we didn't have anyone in the team asking different questions.  Teams could decide to just let us pass it around and get into a good defensive shape knowing we would try and pass it around them alone.  McKirdy, because of that selfish desire to win the game on his own, asks very different questions and creates confusion in a defence.  He is hit and miss, seems to be a bit shit at one on ones, but he changes the dynamic of our team.  He pulls players around, it creates gaps and makes the passing much more effective as a result.  He also winds-up opposition defenders, which creates distraction.

Williams showed last night and in glimpses before, that he might be similar in so far as having something different about him.   He glides more than McKirdy (who I can best describe as buzzes) but he can get an angle on a player and look like he is about to break free with less effort.  That also unlocks defences.

The Don only very, very rarely missed one on ones

I think we all know how the Don would have finished that one on one last night.  Well Bob Wilson would have known.

Duncan Shearer was another one who was great at this, once he remembered how to score

To be fair to McKirdy it was a brilliant finish that was wrongfully disallowed