Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:08 am
Despite it being the same score line, this was nothing like the Rochdale defeat, in that Rochdale completely stifled us by pressing us and closing us down quickly and giving us little opportunity to play.
This was not the same as it was quite open and therefore you have to say that we weren't good enough.
I didn't think that Millwall particularly looked like a good side and that makes it more of a concern. They largely seemed content with long balls up to their strikers, which on the whole we dealt with. The odd moments of quality, however, were our undoing.
The cross in for Gregory's first goal was just about perfect.
The second goal, if we had we scored a similar one I'm sure we would be raving about it, was absolutely shocking defending from at least three players from memory.
The third goal was clinically taken by Gregory, however for him to be left in so much space was a big worry. Seeing it live my initial reaction was that I thought he was offside, but whatever, the simplicity of a lob forward leading to an easy goal was poor defending.
I don't think the conditions had a bearing on the result, as the pitch stood up well and I didn't see any evidence of players slipping or the ball not rolling normally.
Some have suggested that our squad has become depleted as being a reason behind adverse (home) results. I don't see this as we have only let Baxendale go, Osbourne has never been with us and Evans was recalled.
Yes two goalkeepers have vey recently got injured, but that's hardly a consideration in respect of outfield play.
We have supposedly replaced Evans with Bryn Morris, yet haven't played him. A depleted squad doesn't have the likes of Lalkovic and Keiron Morris on the bench in my opinion.
I think Forde is playing pretty well at the moment and I would even consider playing him centrally, but the return of Lalkovic and Morris, especially at home, is a must. I have been banging on about it for weeks.
Henry did ok wide left in the first half but he is less likely to get a shot in as Lalkovic would do and so his effectiveness is more limited. I would still play Morris (K) ahead of Forde, because although Forde does shoot, I think Morris opens the game up a bit more.
We are not taking risks around the edge of the box and so the opposition just needs to hold their line and form a barrier that we just try to pass around rather than go through.
I think we may well not have lost had we scored when we hit the woodwork, but we just did not create enough genuine chances during the game.
You could talk about the game, the formation and individual player's performances for hours, but suffice to say that if our exceptional results away from home are maintained, then we still have a chance of a successful season.