J_Mo reports from St.Andrews
So what went wrong?
Conceding from two set pieces didn’t help, but we were sitting back when we took the lead when it was clear that the game was pretty even.
Another problem is our glaring lack of depth. Birmingham made changes after the hour and we didn’t make any until forced to do so. This could be a key reason why we keep conceding in the last 10 minutes of a game.
Today it became apparent that we’ve been doing our strikers, Marcus Bent in particular, a small disservice.
They haven’t scored many, but this hasn’t been helped by the lack of service from the midfield.
Barring Valencia, they hardly created a chance between them all game.
Player Ratings
Kirkland 7
Made some good saves, and didn’t do much wrong.
Melchiot 8
Strong in defence, and assisted both goals. Complimented Valencia well.
Bramble 6
Fine defensively, but gave the ball away cheaply sometimes.
Granqvist 7
Solid, made some important challenges.
Kilbane 6
Good in spells, got caught out on occasion. De Ridder gave him a tough time.
Valencia 9
By far our best player on the pitch. Always threatening, and his crossing was spot on.
Scharner 4
One to forget for the Austrian. Gave away a penalty, was lucky not be sent off, and his passing was all over the place.
Landzaat 6
Wasn’t too bad, but was fighting a losing battle in the midfield.
Koumas 6
Disappointing. Didn’t threaten much at all, and wasted a lot of set pieces.
Sibierski 6
Fought hard, but didn’t have a lot of impact.
Bent 8
Worked his socks off, well taken first goal and was in the right area to cause the second.
Aghahowa 5
No impact, but little time to do so.
