Just home from the match

Good match, some signs of promise from a few individuals. Good to see City supporting a local club as well; apparently tonight alone will keep Lowestoft afloat for a long time.

Starting line up looked like this:

Marshall

Otsemobor Dublin Spillane Lappin

Chadwick Safri Hughes Eagles

Martin Brown

Pros

- Chris Martin: My man of the match, made some excellent moves and scored some classy goals. I think Martin will develop into a great player, and even though today he was against inferior opposition

- Chadwick and Otsemobor: Everything came down the right flank - which was a refreshing change. Both Chadwick and Otsemobor showed a great deal of attacking guile. Both looked comfortable on the ball and both put some decent balls in. I think this could be a winning partnership for us.

- Safri: Pulled the strings in midfield and scored a blinder of a goal - Grant would be mad to let him go.

- Youngsters: Kris Renton and Rossi Jarvis impressed me immensely. Renton scored twice in (I believe, this was down the other end of the pitch) two different ways, once with his head and once with his feet. Rossi Jarvis reminded me a bit of Dickson Etuhu; strong in the tackle, and good going forward. I'll look forward to seeing these two more this season.

Cons

- Eagles: Muscled off the ball on several occasions and for a technically gifted winger made some chronic passes too.

- Hughes: Again I felt Hughes passing was poor. The only time he got himself into a threatening position he blasted the ball well over the crossbar in a cross cum shot.

- Chris Brown: Should have had more than the one goal; Brown still needs to brush up on his accuracy.

Player Ratings

Marshall - 6 - Nowt to do.

Otsemobor - 8 - Looks a cracking signing

Lappin - 7 - Good dead balls and a threat going forward

Spillane - 7 - Followed his captain's orders and defended well in tricky situations.

Dublin (c) - 7 - Lead by example and really encouraged the younger players around.

Chadwick - 8 - Was the conduit through which everything flowed.

Eagles - 6 - Muscled off the ball alot but scored a peach of a goal.

Safri - 7 1/2 - Great long distant goal and pulled the string in midfield. If Grant sells him now, he'd be nuts.

Hughes - 6 - Never looked like doing much beyond his usual hustle and bustle.

Martin - 8 1/2 - MotM - Lowestoft didn't know what to do with him.
Appeared all over the pitch, dropping off to get the ball, causing havoc in the box and showing individual touches that reminded me alot of Thierry Henry. No, I'm not saying Martin is the next Henry, just that his touches reminded me a bit of him, with the same intelligence.

Brown - 6 1/2 - Tried his hardest as always but should have scored more than one. Got into some excellent positions though, and really worked hard.

Subs

Arnold - 6 - Replaced Marshall. Very little to do, made a smart save but also came out for the ball when shouldn't have. Looks a tidy keeper for the future.

Lathrope - 6 - Replaced Otsemobor. Decent enough going forward but struggled a bit defending. Am I right in thinking he's not a full back by trade?

Smart - 6 - Replaced Chadwick. Very, very quick; easily the quickest player on the pitch. If he could get his final touch sorted, we'll be onto a winner here.

Renton - 7 - Replaced Brown. Scored two excellent and different goals. With Martin's emergence onto the scene it's easy to forget Renton who IMO could have just as bright a future.

Miller - 5 - Replaced Eagles. Got to say I barely noticed the lad once he came on.

Rossi Jarvis - 7 - Replaced Safri. Some wayward passing but worked hard to get those vital assists for Renton and scored a decent goal himself.

Posted By: LincolnshireCanary, Jul 17, 23:00:41