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"One-all! We only draw one-all!"
Anybody remember when we had the pleasure of singing "Four-nil! You only lose four-nil!" to the Irons? Well, perhaps the one-all chant would be an apt one right now after our fourth - yes, fourth! - consecutive one-all draw. You could look at it as four points that we've picked up. Then again, and particularly on the back of the utterly dominant performance we put in yesterday, you could look at it as plenty more dropped!
Its been such a long time since I last went to a game - Pompey at the Lane on 22nd March, a 2-0 win, for the record! - I'd kind of forgotten the realities and got swept away with the general malaise that seems to have surrounded us since our exit from the UEFA Cup in Eindhoven.
Reading a lot of reactions to recent games you'd think we were in all sorts of trouble. A side destined to pick up no more points this season, with nothing to play for, just yearning for the summer break and a slew of new signings to bolster us for the next campaign.
Generally, you'd probably be right! Let's face it - with the exception of the Chelsea 4-4, we've been pretty average since that Sunday at Wembley. Yeah, we've played well in patches. Yeah, we've led again and again. But really, its been one of those - "Ah well, not in trouble, not going to nudge further up the table" sort of things. A far cry from the last two seasons where interest was maintained till the very last day. How I yearn for a return to those sentiments!
So, under bright blue skies and warm sunshine - the first of the spring that meant I could get to London top down for the first time this year! - we got cracking against a Bolton side in all sorts of trouble and looking for every point they could pick up.
I dearly wanted us to beat Bolton yesterday. Never mind the fact that I always want us to win and that Bolton are not the side they once used to be. My best mate - and best man - is a Mackem through and through and much as I hate the trip up there, its a good excuse to visit one of the furthest afield grounds on my away travels. Hence the desire to ensure Bolton stayed right in the mix and Sunderland edged away.
The reality was that we were utterly, utterly dominant throughout this game. I mean utterly. The scoreline was - is - a complete travesty. I have no idea what the stats say about chances created. Somewhere I read it was 27 for us, 7 for them. That would probably sum it up quite well. I would also assume that possession was probably somewhere in the region of 65%-35% in our favour. And yet..... and yet..... it still ended a goal apiece!
In a first half where it took Bolton until near enough the 40th minute to even win a corner, we controlled possession, play, tempo..... just about everything, but had nothing to show for it. Actually, the chances weren't really there. The best actually came very late in the half with a snapshot from Keane (I think) that deflected off the post. OK, that was the best chance, but there were a few others dotted around, and Bolton had..... well, nothing to show! Anywhere. At all. Put simply, their first half performance was probably the very worst I've seen from any side visiting the Lane, or indeed some I've had the misfortune to see from Spurs!
It was so one-sided that Cerny was a virtual bystander save for having to come off his line once or twice to gather through balls. The defence remained untroubled, so much so in fact that neither the full backs nor the centre halves had anything much to do until having to defend the first Bolton corner.
In midfield we looked fine. Unspectacular, but easily able to control that area of the pitch. Problem was our inability to create either from the centre of the pitch or the wings, and our lack of sharpness up front from either Keane or Berbatov. OK, Keane put his usual whole-hearted effort in, but it didn't really lead to a great deal. As for Berbatov..... mmmmm..... he didn't really get himself into the game.
So, at half-time, no goals at half-time. Still time for that 1-1 draw then!
Bolton made a couple of switches for the second half, as did we with Huddlestone replaced Hutton. The change in formation leading to Zokora dropping back. It was all a bit disorganised really and in the twenty or so seconds it took from the whistle to get ourselves resembling some shape for a back four, Stelios (one of the Bolton subs) had managed to somehow sneak them into the lead!
Totally nuts. No chances. No real possession. No threat. Goal! It was a shabby, shabby clearance from Dawson (I think) that let them in. For a player who makes a habit of absolutely whacking it long so often, to fail to do the same with the second half just underway..... ah well.
It livened us up a bit and we came forward with a bit more determination than had been the case earlier. It didn't take long to get on level terms with a neat swivel and pass through into the box by Keane being exploited by Malbranque with a smart run, unmarked, to poke in at the post. It was a decent ball in, a nice finish.
From here we'd go on and win it.
Yeah.....
The chances were there. Again, we utterly dominated. A couple of chances that stick in my mind - Lennon firing straight at the keeper from about eighteen yards out having done well to run onto the ball and cut inside; Bent unable to beat the keeper from similar distance having come on - probably a lot of people will use it as another reason to get on the lad's back, but really, he was so close to the keeper by the time he got to the ball that to beat him would've taken a superhuman effort; Berbatov with what I'm reliably informed was a free header from a lovely ball delivered by O'Hara. Didn't see that last one as the two pre-match pints had worked their way through the system!
There you go then. One-all again. A game we should have won by a margin of three, four or more, ending with just a point. Bolton are not a very good side. Well, they certainly weren't a very good side yesterday. The point could prove crucial in their hunt for Premiership survival. For us? Well, it doesn't really seem to matter one way or the other. We were rock solid at the back - aside from the shabby clearance that allowed Bolton to score - good enough across the middle without ever really displaying breathtaking pace of passing, and, sadly, profligate in front of goal. Ultimately, our lack of ability to convert the chances we did have - despite them not necessarily having been the most clearcut - cost us. There was no way Bolton could've scored again. Two goals would easily have been enough.
No use harping on about it. The performance was pleasing. I'd expected lack of effort and commitment, I got plenty of both. Whilst lacking the true quality we'd expect, it should've been plenty good enough to see off Bolton.
With new signing Modric looking on from the stands it was a good enough performance to send us away looking forward to next season. Let's hope that the form and quality he showed for Croatia and that saw us pay a large slice of cash and beat Newcastle to his signature - ha ha! - is on plentiful display next season to help us convert results like this into three points!
Cheers mate! No worries. Two more to come before we wind the season up. Would be nice to report on one win before the summer break!
why was huton taken off?
Generally positive then, as I gleaned from the motd highlights. As Riverwire said 'good to have you back.'
Not entirely sure. Didn't look like he'd picked up an injury, but I could be wrong. Tactical switch? Seems a strange one if pushing Zokora into a full back role.Originally Posted by graememass77
Oh yeah, certainly positive. We were miles ahead in all departments, just totally incapable of converting! Here's hoping we maintain that sort of performance - which is still short of what we know we're capable of - and convert a few chances on Saturday at Reading.
great report funster, shame we couldnt nick all 3 points but alot of positives to take by the sounds of it.
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