by MoorgateRoyal »
20 Jan 2016 09:51
A good result masked a really poor start, which will really need to be looked at. High pressing and tempo will work against a lot of Championship teams.
Cooper looked good - the mistake for the first goal was a bit crap but he's learning and will just deal with it next time. Otherwise he was solid and plays the ball out from the back with so much class. Ferdinand also looked assured. I liked the way they came out of defence in the second half to attack the ball from goal kicks - that really put us on the front foot on a couple of occasions.
Al-Habsi was superb - he couldn't do much about either goal but he rescued us with the one-on-one and made some top saves. His communication was also excellent and I think he is benefiting from being the outright number one since Brian came back in.
The midfield were decent once they settled in and I'm glad Vydra got a hat-trick - he has so much ability and he hasn't let his head drop when he's not been scoring, which helped with all three goals. Great work-rate as well.
I'm also really glad Alex got a goal, and again looked decent and tidy in possession. He's a good player and one I hope gets a proper chance, as he seems to really want to do well here. All the players went to congratulate him as well, so he seems to be a popular squad member.