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Great crowd another very very poor goal conceded thought gamble was absolutely shocking he decision making on the ball was schoolboy stuff. Great to see gaffney back o leary was excellent curren played well as did browne he will score his fair share from set pieces big big man.
Rovers had the better chances with ten men looked the more likely which was a bit disappointing overall id take the point.
Thought Gamble was poor in attack but excellent in breaking up play, which he did a lot tonight. I thought Brown was shaky at times but grew into the game a bit as it went on. He may need more regular game time.
O'Leary changes the whole way we play and control the game, excellent again.
Curran outstanding up front once again. Anytime he was in a one on one situation for a high ball he totally outmuscled his marker.
I think we just needed a bit more patience and forced the game too much because they went down to 10.
Very happy with the point though from a goal down.
didn't think browne played well at all, both centrebacks were a little timid tonight. In general rovers put in a good shift and were first to everything, we looked a little tired. Gamble apart from the mistake for the goal was excellent, put in a lot of work. We didn't play as much football as other games but I think that was due to Rovers not giving us space. Was a little disappointed we kept lumping it forward in the second half instead of keeping it a little more. Pitch looked firm though and a little bare so would have been tough. Rovers seamed to have a big team and cleaned up everything in the air. Delighted with the point though, just a shame we didn't play a little better 'cause the oppty to get the 3 points was there. Galbraith really looks the business.
I thought Brown had a shocker tonight (where was O'Callaghan?)
The midfield really don't support Curran enough and the wingers don't get close enough to him when it goes long. We were lucky to get a draw in my opinion. But, not the worst result, just worried about how thin the squad looks.
Brown is ten times the defender O'Callaghan is. Excellent one-on-one, good in the air - just needs game time.
Gamble was shocking on the ball. Depth in our midfield options is a real worry.
Lucky to get away with a point,but would have taken it at the start,i thought we got totally bossed around the whole of midfield throughout most of the match,i thought Bradley was unfit and uninterested,Tracey struggling to adapt to the physicallity of premier football,i thought Gamble was our only bit of class tonight,when Rovers went down to ten we seemed to lack self belief,back five were a bit shakey and lacking confidence but with every game will come on,super to see Gafney on tonight,thought we could have brought on a few more late on,great crowd and with a few wins will keep the crowd,Premier football is all about bums on seats,fair play to the travelling Rovers fans to travel down to Limerick for a midweek game,roll on Dundalk!!!!!
Thought rovers were going to run riot after 20 mins, Brown looked all over the shop, but to be fair to him he grew into the game and settled down in the second half. Nzuzi at left back had a shocker, Made the pitch so small with him coming in on his right foot all night very predictable. Got caught in possession way too often in the middle third, looks like there afraid to counter attack at times, very slow and ponderous. Craig curran looks a decent player, never stops running, what he lacks in ability he certainly makes up for in application. Looked isolated alot tonight and got a little frustrated. Having said all that, Happy with a point. Rovers fans were excellent.. Still think the squad is too small, needs to bulk up with another central midfielder and a striker.
Lucky escape for Limerick last night, despite playing against 10 men for almost 45 minutes.
There were some positive signs early on. O'Leary was surprisingly fit to start alongside Gamble. And from the kick-off, Danny Galbraith was clearly playing more of an outside left role, hugging the touchline, which is something I've been calling for for the last few weeks. Shane Tracy again played tucked in on the right. Stephen Bradley was the number 10, with young Rainsford dropped.
Again this was a problem position for Limerick. With Chambers playing as an anchorman for Rovers, Bradley seemed to be dropping deep to find space and time on the ball, isolating Curran. In addition to this, the distribution from deeper areas was very poor. O'Leary was quiet. Gamble was appalling - he slows the tempo down and takes far too much time on the ball. This of course led to the opener, with Sean O'Connor (*spit*) dispossessing him and finishing extremely well. Folan, who originally looked like the ball playing centre back that we need in this system was again very shaky, misplacing numerous passes. He did however put a few decent free kicks in the area, one of which led to Curran's equaliser.
The poor distribution meant that Galbraith was again starved of service wide on the left. The first time he was found, he picked out an excellent cross which resulted in Limerick's best chance of the game. Shaun Kelly couldn't convert at the back post.
The sending off looked like it represented an opportunity for Limerick to wrest dominance of the game from Rovers, but it didn't turn out that way in the slightest. Rovers were brave - they kept O'Connor and McCabe/Stewart high in a 4-2-2-1 type shape. It wouldn't be outlandish to say that Rovers actually looked more dangerous after this point, hitting the woodwork twice.
Limerick brought on Gaffney for Bradley, and again put Tracy (who played well) in the number 10 position. Curran was shunted out wide left, with Galbraith now oddly playing as an outside right. Only Tracy really benefited from those changes, showing again that of the three players we have tried "in the hole" as they say, he's made the strongest claim thus far.
Rovers really should have won this.
It was O'Leary that took the set pieces not Folan.
As the season goes on I think we will click more as a team, each game at a time. Gamble was bad going forward but I still think he broke up play well and put in some tough challenges.
For me it's all about picking up 3 points against the bottom half and hopefully get a few points off the top teams.
We have come a long way since last season and that can't be forgotten either. If we played this season the way we did last we would have the floor wiped with us.
Are you sure it wasn't Folan that took the free for the goal? He certainly took more than a few of the deeper ones.
Ya definitely O'Leary because I was surprised to see O'Leary taking set pieces. He delivered some nice balls too.Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanOB
Delighted with the point but the game highlighted to me that O Callaghan was a huge loss. He is the only centre half that will come out from the back with the ball and bringing our midfield into the game. I know there has been occassions in matches that Calla was dispossessed but overall what he does best is more beneficial to the team. Helping the midfield get on the ball and then dictating the match. Since the Cork game we see teams trying to close our backline down and trying to force our backs into hitting long balls. Shams did this last night to perfection. Brown a good target man from frees and corners but certainly not a footballing centre half. Taylor has a big decision to make on these 2 but my choice would be Calla.
Another decision Taylor has to make is who is going to be his centre forward. Curren or Gaffney. In the game last night when Gaffney came on Curran was put out on the wing. To me both players are not wingers so only one can start. This has to be Curren.
On current form it has to be curran. It's gaffneys first time at this level and he is coming back from a long lay off also.
Id definitely start both tbh. I think its the only way Curran is going to get the support he needs.
The reshuffle to accommodate Gaffney up top weakened us overall. He's not suited to a lone striker role, particularly with the opposition sitting quite deep as they were when he arrived on the field.
Considering our man advantage, we should have paired him with Curran. Galbraith could have remained in his outside left role, with Tracy tucked in on the right. We still would have had 2 v 2 in the middle, and Rovers were sitting off and looking to play on the break (dangerously) anyway.
Bit dogmatic from Taylor to stick with the 4-2-3-1.
a point gained given rovers domination,very dangerous even when down to ten and in chambers and finn had the best players on the pitch.taylor has done ok so far ,however wonder has he a plan B.we were poor and the better teams make us look very ordinary.,both pats and rovers tackling us high up the pitch ,and with our passing across the back slow it invites mistakes.think bradley holds the midfield back,another player like o leary would do there,not so sure about browne good in the air but.....?its early days yet ,judgement a long way off,however we have an almost fulltime setup now so i for one do expect,but will weight that expectation with patience.
It takes a while to form an opinion on the new players and the season so far but some things I've noticed at this stage:
We need Williams back ASAP.
Nzuzi is not a full back.
Folan is far far too casual & possibly thinks he's better than he is. Needs to up the tempo, his aggression & his awareness.
Not one of our centre halves is comfortable playing ball from the back.
Joe Gamble is immense without the ball, bordering on atrocious with it.
David O'Leary is head and shoulders our best player, class act.
Shane Treacy is very tidy on the ball, great eye for a pass and would possibly be better off in the middle.
Galbraith looks decent but doesn't get in to the game enough. Also goes down a bit too easily at times.
Curran is basically Limerick's Dirk Kuyt. Super workhorse. Cult hero right there.
Aaron Browne is possibly our Djimi Traore. Need to see him more but he certainly has Djimi's legs.
Bossekota will be decent for us and we need him back ASAP too.
I admire what Taylor & Malkey are trying to do playing style wise, however I'm not convinced we have the technical players to pull it off, especially playing it around/from the back. Time and games might change that but when it comes to technical ability and that crucial first touch/sharp decision making, I'm a believer that this is something that you either have or you don't. O'Leary has it, can't see it in many of the others though. We're ok in the opposition half and have attacked well so far but at the back and deep midfield we're struggling with it. Will be interesting to see how it pans out!
Browne for a big man was shoite in the air, lost the flight of the ball I don't know how many times..........hopefully he was just a bit rusty.......hopefully