Ratings from yesterdays match

Bunn (5) looked partly at fault for the second and fourth goals, although he was hopelessly exposed by our defence on both. Made the right decision to come out for the second but should have retreated back towards the post when Aguero steadied himself. A bit unlucky for the fourth but it was at his near post so he should take some responsibility. His handling from other shots was good and he made one top save from Aguero. I can see why he's a career reserve because he looked outstanding for a few games but started to lose confidence after the first sign of a mistake. I still prefer him to Rudd who has been poor in cup and reserve games that I?ve seen, although I can't comment on Steer who has only played two professional games that I?ve watches, one good, one bad.

Garrido (4) couldn?t do much well at all. Shocking defending for the second and he made a terrible back pass to Bunn. Javier also played Dzeko on for the fourth and offered little going forward. He was also constantly beaten down his flank. Hoping his form starts to pick up again because he's important for us. At least he didn?t completely disappear and kept going despite the mistakes.

Bassong (5) attempted a shockingly poor 'header' before the first goal and should have dealt with the ball for the third, yet he made up for it somewhat with his actual header for Martin's first goal. Couldn't deal with Citeh's strikers at all and started going back to his old hesitant in possession ways, needs to pull his finger out because he has let his standards drop.

Turner (6) was the best of the back four in terms of actual defending. Made a couple of minor mistakes that he got away with and wasn't his usual commanding self, but he got the basics right and made good positional decisions. I?ve got to give credit to this guy for really turning his NCFC career around, he?s our best 'pure' defender.

Martin (6) struggled to deal with Citeh's attacking pace at times and was caught out of position too often. Wasn't at fault for any of the goals and kept the game alive with a brace. Rus is always a willing runner and due to this he became a good outlet for Morison/Kane/Snodgrass.

Pilkington (6) took his goal well but was very quiet in all honesty. Didn't really get at the Citeh right back but found more joy when cutting inside and running at the CB's. Would have preferred to have seen come off instead of Wes.

Tettey (6) looked solid when he was on the pitch and couldn't do anything to prevent the Citeh goals that he was active for because those moves bypassed his area of the pitch. I was surprised to see him come off for a more attacking player (Howson) but it made sense seeing as Citeh were down to ten men. It would have been overly cautious to stick with two out and out CDM?s.

Johnson (6) worked hard and covered a lot of ground. I was pleased to see him move the ball quicker than he usually does, especially when switching the play from flank to flank. He didn't do much on the ball that was noticeable other than that, but kept things tidy and swept up lose passes.

Snodgrass (6) worked incredibly hard up down his wing and his movement on and off the ball was excellent. Lucky to win the free kick for our first but you have to credit him for having the confidence to take on three Citeh defenders. His poor free kicks at the end were rather frustrating, but that was the only real downside to his performance. Despite having a highly inconsistent delivery from set pieces he?s slowly turning into one of our best players.

Hoolahan (7) was especially good in the first half. Citeh players couldn't get anywhere near him when he was dribbling with the ball. When we kept the ball for extended spells it was often due to him, his first touch and link up play looked on the level of some of the opposition players in all honesty. Faded slightly in the second half but I was still disappointed to see him taken off.

Morison (6) worked very hard when long balls were played forward and won lots of headers. He wasn't so impressive when working off the ball in defensive mode, Kompany and Clichey were often able to walk into our half with the ball unchallenged, that's a part of Morison's game that needs to be worked on in my opinion. Hopefully his injury isn?t too bad.

Subs:

Kane (7) really looks like a promising player. He?s strong, technically gifted and makes clever runs. He also busts a nut off of the ball which is what I like to see from strikers (to be fair most do). If he starts on New Year?s Day I will not be concerned at all.

Howson?s (7) passing was far better in this outing, especially when compared to previous weeks. He had been far too keen to attempt Hollywood style passes in recent games, but against Citeh he kept things ticking over nicely and played the simple ball when it was needed. He also prevented another potential Citeh goal with some excellent defensive covering before sweeping the ball away from Aguero. I still don't think that deep lying CM is his position, yet it worked yesterday due to our advantage in numbers.

Jackson (5) Worked hard and put pressure on the Citeh defenders, but he didn't manage to make many of his usual good runs off of the ball.

Overall I thought we played well and should have got something from the game. Our back five needs to improve after yesterday's performance. I could accept conceding four goals against a great team like Citeh in most situations, but none of their goals were down to high quality moves other than the first. It's a shame to see us defend like that after such a solid outing against Chelsea. I thought that Hughton's tactics were sound despite some of his players letting him down, he also adapted to changes during the game very well. No late subs either?

Posted By: Common Sense Police, Dec 30, 13:21:37