Allan McGregor – 8
Scotland’s number one put his Europa League gaffe behind
him to play a huge part in a brave performance. His low save from Shawcross
from their well worked free-kick was superb while holding on to the ball was
miraculous. He brilliantly tipped over Charlie Adam’s long range strike and
gathered one low cross brilliantly despite the threat of Diouf’s boot literally
hanging over him.
James Chester – n/a
He was the match winner last week and had a fine game in
Lokeren on Thursday. He went from hero to zero today with a foul that earned a
red card after only 15 minutes – more on that below. The decision was 100% correct.
Curtis Davies – 8
Brilliantly marshaled the defence after Chester’s
sending off and maintained a near perfect defensive line. Competed brilliantly
on an individual level but played an immense captain’s role.
Paul McShane – 7
Deservedly given a starting berth which after only 15
minutes turned into a role in a centre back pairing. He battled well against
tricky opponents and used his experience well to massive come out on top in
situations against strikers who were quicker (Diouf), more agile (Crouch) or massive
(Bojan). I particularly liked how he waved an imaginary yellow card at Andrew
Robertson in the second half to remind him that he was on a booking when he was
thinking of taking his time over a throw in.
Ahmed Elmohamady – 7
As always, Elmo put in an incredible shift on the right
hand side. He was still taking the game to them when others were out on their
feet. He’s got a remarkable engine. I’m always impressed by his ability to beat
a man despite possessing only one trick – the kick and run. May I suggest he
might get more decisions off referees if he stopped throwing himself in
anticipation of contact and waited until he’d taken the whack?
Tom Huddlestone – 8
A fabulous defensive effort. At times he was a third
centre half as he sacrificed himself for the team. He made numerous clearances
and covered a lot of ground. Between he and Davies they ensured the team set up
with a narrow, compact shape that took some breaching. The level of discipline
was impressive but he topped it by creating the match winning goal after
bullying Bojan Krkic and unleashing a shot that surprised Begovic so much he
couldn’t do anything but parry it.
Jake Livermore – 5
He had a very poor game in possession that cost the side
big time when he played Chester into an impossible situation leading to the
early bath. After that he was, perhaps understandably, eager to get rid of the
ball as soon as possible which meant his influence was lacking. As someone with
the energy and ability to carry the ball good distance – it robbed us of a great
weapon against a numerical disadvantage. Rating redeemed slightly by his
great endeavour when Stoke had the ball.
Stephen Quinn – 8
Another who deserved to start after his recent
performances. He played a couple of risky passes in the first half that led to
the birth of several kittens in the East Stand but he got away with it.
Otherwise his game was full of enterprise. He ran himself ragged. He was also a
tremendous outlet and gave them something to worry about. If he was for sale –
he isn’t now.
Andrew Robertson – 7
An excellent home debut for a left back cum left
wing-back who already looks a tremendous investment. He has good pace, a great
engine and a real desire to get involved. His yellow card for handball was
farcical but he didn’t let it affect his game. The only criticism I have of him
is that he’s naïve at times with his forward runs. Particularly when we were
down to ten men he was too eager to get forward and left us open. That will improve
with experience though.
Tom Ince – 6
He was starved of service playing off Jelavic last week
and this week he lasted 15 minutes before he was asked to fill in on the right
hand side. He showed some real flair in possession and worked hard to get back
but it was understandable that he was the one hooked early in the second half to
allow Steve Bruce to get a proper right back on.
Nikica Jelavic – 8
He produced one of the most selfless performances you
will see – particularly at the top level. He tried to occupy and harass four
defenders on his own with mixed results. He never let up for a moment when his
goal came, after he gambled on a rebound, it was fully deserved.
Subs:
Liam Rosenior – 7
Calm performance at right back. He allowed Elmo to push
forward and cause problems and he dealt well with the varying threats of Diouf
and Crouch.
David Meyler – 6
George Boyd – 5
Their goal came from a wrongly awarded throw-in. The
throw-in came from a very poor pass by Boyd inside towards Huddlestone. A chap
near me excused it with “We’re looking tired now” but as Boyd had only been on
for 60 seconds, it didn’t really wash!
Gaffer:
Steve Bruce – 7
The tremendous team shape with ten men – something we saw
work remarkably well last year at home to Norwich and at West Ham - is
obviously the result of a lot of hard work on the training ground. I thought we
were negative late on particularly with the introduction of Boyd who immediately
indicated a 4-5-0 formation. We had a couple of chances to nick it too but
turned them down. The decision for Huddlestone to try and run down time from a corner
with only 88 mins on the clock was baffling enough but as Davies and McShane
were in the box for it – it was just crazy.
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