Stevenage Player Ratings

[Stuliasz]

If you went to the game, please post your ratings at www.player-ratings.com/rate and discuss below.

Here's mine:

Henderson 7 - Not a lot to do

Edworthy 7 - Solid defensively and supported attacks well, tired late on

Mattock 7 - Did one good thing, one bad but overall a decent game

Kisnorbo N/A

Tunchev 8 - Very very solid with the exception of one poor backpass

Oakley 8 - Probably the best game he's had this season, constantly moving off the ball to make himself available

Dyer 8 - Scored one and set up another with an excellent run

Berner 6 - His control let him down too often for me

King 8 - Decent game, superb goal but needs to release the ball quicker

Fryatt 8 - Solid performance, good goal but what a miss

Howard 7 - Hard working performance but never really looked like scoring

Morrison 7 - Solid defensively but panicked distribution on occasions

Campbell / Dickov - not on long enough to rate but good to see them back

[Bert]

Hendo 6 - Didn't have much to do, but was very efficient in distribution.

Edworthy 7 - Very good. Always tight to his man, tried to support as much as he could.

Mattock 7 - Another very good game. Grew in confidence as the game wore on.

Kisnorbo - N/A

Tunch 7 - Solid, but looked a bit shaky at the start.

King 7 - Scored an absolutely wonderful goal, the goal of the season so far, didn't start so bright out wide right, but sprayed some nice balls and always made himself available.

Dyer 7 - A goal and an assist. Can't ask for much more from your winger.

Berner 6 - Poor touch, seemed to take a while to make a decision.

Oakley 7.5 - Would've scored a brilliant team goal if it wasn't for a tremendous save. Playing out of position wide right, always made himself available played some wonderful passes and worked hard too.

Fryatt 7.5 - Scored a great team goal with a good finish, which started at left back. Sterling work for Dyer's goal down the wing, just a shame that he missed what seemed a relatively easy chance.

Howard 7 - Won everything in the air. Was unlucky not to get a goal today beat his man on the floor a few times too.

Morrison 7 - Solid as a rock, no nonsense defending.

The least i expected today, a comfortable win, with a fairly decent performance overall, we could've scored more though.

[Thracian]

Henderson 7.25 (Not a lot to do but one block early on after Tunchev's underhit and ill-advised back pass was vital in stopping Stevenage getting the boost of an early lead. Even tried to distrbute the ball constructively).

Edworthy 6.5 (Okay. Exposed as a bit slow at times but just did the simple thing competently and played his part in a return to clean sheet defending and passing the ball on the floor out of defence).

Mattock 7 (Well involved contribution throughout including involvement with one of the goals.).

Kisnorbo NA (But his absence coincided with our defence keeping it's clean sheet and, more important, playing football like the rest of the team and moving the ball through King and co instead of lumping it over or past them).

Tunchev 7 (Lousy start. Almost gave a goal away and made other errors before settling down and taking command in his characteristic style)

Oakley 8 (Excellent. Like King he benefitted from the extra help in midfield and had great influence once the shaky start was behind us, playing a part in at least two of our goals, perhaps all three.).

Dyer 8 (Grabbed his sixth goal of the season which is a good haul for a winger and, although closely marked, still managed an assist and to make himself a thorough nuisance to Stevenage, particularly second half when the team put some clever moves together)

Berner 5.5 (The one individual disappointment. For me much of the game passed him by and he sometimes looked like lost).

King 8 (Once he got away from the wing and assumed his normal role he orchestrated everything from defensive midfield, linking so well with Oakley and trying to spread the play to right, left and through the centre. As for his goal, Howard did so well to tee it up but what an awesome finish. Surely one of the best we'll see this season, move and shot. Starting the four-man move which led to Dyer's goal).

Fryatt 7.5 (Fourteenth goal. What music that is to the fans ears. Lively and dangerous but oh, what a miss. He even looked up to pick his spot so it has to be the miss of a lifetime. Thankfully it was of no consequence, especially considering his assist for the first goal.).

Howard 8 (Howard was at the heart of so many of our best moves today. I much prefer it when the ball's delivered to his feet and thought today his touches were sublime and his teamwork exceptional).

Morrison 7 (A bit rusty at times but I was glad to see him back and to see us looking much more like we did at the start of the season in the last hour.)

Subs:

Not worth rating.

Pearson 7 (Apart from our woeful first 20 minutes he got the right result and in the right way. I was pleased he upped our tempo at the start of the second half and got the team to keep on attacking. Players were clearly under instructions to pass the ball and be patient and I though some of the one-two's were quality. I'd still like to see more movement of the ball, more urgency and a faster start. The extra midfielder helped King/Oakley immensely even though Berner was too often anonymous).

Referee: embarrassing. The football authorities can demand what they like but they want get respect for those sort of comic capers. The more the game went on the worse his decision-making became.

[Milky]

Henderson 7

Edworthy 7 - Looks a steady eddy. Should do well for us, and he seems like a leader.

Mattock 7

Kisnorbo N/A

Tunchev 7 - a relative off day by his high standards, but was comfortable enough.

Oakley 8 - one of his best performances. Nice to see him move in behind the front two regularly.

Dyer 7

Berner 6 - EARTH TO PEARSON! EARTH TO PEARSON! Not a CM!

King 8 - sad to see him start on the right. In fact he himself was sad to see it! Playmaker in the second half.

Fryatt 7

Howard 7 -

Oh and where on earth did they get these officials. Muppets.

[RowlattsFox]

Henderson -7- didn't do anything wrong.

Edworthy -7- Did well, goal saving challenge at the start of second half when it was 1-0.

Tunchev -7- Recovered well from the early mistake.

Morrison -7- Thought he was a bit shaky and panicy when he first came on but had good second half.

Mattock -7- Struggled initially but got better, looked class at times.

Oakley -7- Great second half.

King -8- Was poor on the right of midfield but ran the show second half, need to see him do it against better opposition now.

Berner -6- Not a centre midfielder, looked composed enough on the ball but the game passed him by.

Dyer -6.5- Good finish, always a threat.

Fryatt -7.5- Would have been an 8 were it not for the shocking miss, great assist, great goal and some great link up play.

Howard -8- Great game, some great control. Deserved a goal but he would have to get in the box to do that.

[stevie909]

Henderson - 7 - Very confident, passed it well and played one awesome throw to the left.

Edworthy - 7 - Looked strong and overlapped well. Will be good cover for gilbert.

Kisnorbo - N/A - I have to agree with Thracian on this one, i was glad to see our central defenders playing the ball out

of defence after his exit.

Tunchev - 7 - His usual solid self. Picked himself up well after an early mistake.

Mattock - 8 - Great going forward. Looks back to his best after a couple of shaky games.

Oakley - 8 - Man of the match imo. Fantastic playmaker, always in good positions, and could have had a great goal to his name where it not for a good save.

Berner - 6 - The worst of a good bunch, but still linked play reasonably well

King - 8 - One word: Screamer.

Dyer - 7 - Made mazy runs down the left, and left the right back with his pants down on a couple of occasions.

Fryatt - 7 - Good goal, and the assist for dyer was immense (unlike our matty to skin two players). Shame about the miss, but i'll forgive him.

Howard - 7 - First touch and flick - ons were outstanding early on, but faded towards the end.

Subs:

Dickov - 5

Campbell - 6

Ref - 0 - OXYGEN THIEF

[Jimmy]

Henderson 6

Edworthy 7 - solid defensively, got forward all game and a couple of decent crosses to boot

Kisnorbo N/A

Tunchev 6 - 1st real fook up thankfully went unpunished

Mattock 7 - more of what we should be expecting from him today

King 7 - superb goal was picking his passes well, looked far more comfortable after swapping with Oakley

Berner 6

Oakley 7 - best performance since Cheltenham away for me and spent most of the on the right

Dyer 8 - MOTM

Howard 7

Fryatt 6

Morrison 7

Dickov N/A

Campbell N/A

[dandannieldanok]

Henderson 6 (Nothing to do, great throw to Dickov )

Edworthy 6 (Solid but his aged showed at times, it was clear after a few minutes this would have been a perfect game to integrate one of the youngsters)

Tunchev 6 (Recovered after a very dodgy start, won everything in the air)

Morrison 6.5 (Very solid, after a few early hoofs he settled down and passed nicely)

Mattock 7 (Pretty good, supported attacks well, composed in possession)

Oakley 7 (Best performance I've seen him put in, where is this running and attacking endeavor in the league though?)

King 6 (Great goal, would love to see him pass the ball forward more often, too blinkered to the simple pass sideways or backwards for me)

Berner 5 (Eager but anonymous)

Dyer 6.5 (Vital goal and ran the line well, didn't get as many crosses in as he could have though)

Fryatt 7 (Brilliant assist and nice finish, good work-rate too)

Howard 6.5 (Held the ball up well and exposed some loose defending with a few runs)

[Thracian]

Henderson 6 (Nothing to do, great throw to Dickov )

Edworthy 6 (Solid but his aged showed at times, it was clear after a few minutes this would have been a perfect game to integrate one of the youngsters)

Tunchev 6 (Recovered after a very dodgy start, won everything in the air)

Morrison 6.5 (Very solid, after a few early hoofs he settled down and passed nicely)

Mattock 7 (Pretty good, supported attacks well, composed in possession)

Oakley 7 (Best performance I've seen him put in, where is this running and attacking endeavor in the league though?)

King 6 (Great goal, would love to see him pass the ball forward more often, too blinkered to the simple pass sideways or backwards for me)

Berner 5 (Eager but anonymous)

Dyer 6.5 (Vital goal and ran the line well, didn't get as many crosses in as he could have though)

Fryatt 7 (Brilliant assist and nice finish, good work-rate too)

Howard 6.5 (Held the ball up well and exposed some loose defending with a few runs)

I really can't believe anyone rated King as low as six today with his contender for goal of the season, his hand in the opening goal, his mostly reliable and varied passing in all directions which eventually wrested total control of the match , plus a couple of shots and some timely defending thrown in for good measure.

King is probably the least blinkered of all our players as his goal emphasised along with one raking 40 yard pass across field to the right wing.

When you're operating as the holding midfield - albeit loosely - you can't afford to experiment with all sorts of high risk or hopeful passes.

The task is to constantly build and back moves which will take the ball safely into the danger zone. That all the attacking players around him were constantly involved in those moves suggests that he fulfilled that function admirably.

[Fez of Mahrez]

King 10.

[BedsFox]

I'd give them all 7's except Howard who was very good today,8, and of course King,9

Once King moved into CM he ran the show. Great passing, fantastic goal, even a tackle or two to break up moves.

His goal was deliberately hit off the outside of his right boot with topspin to achieve late dip. Wonderful skill.

Granted the opposition wasn't up to his quality and gave him a bit more time than normally found in League 1 but he was the best player on the pitch by a mile today.

How could he possibly be rated as low as a 6?

[Thracian]

King 10.

I suppose I asked for that - or a 4! :D

[dandannieldanok]

I really can't believe anyone rated King as low as six today with his contender for goal of the season, his hand in the opening goal, his mostly reliable and varied passing in all directions which eventually wrested total control of the match , plus a couple of shots and some timely defending thrown in for good measure.

King is probably the least blinkered of all our players as his goal emphasised along with one raking 40 yard pass across field to the right wing.

When you're operating as the holding midfield - albeit loosely - you can't afford to experiment with all sorts of high risk or hopeful passes.

The task is to constantly build and back moves which will take the ball safely into the danger zone. That all the attacking players around him were constantly involved in those moves suggests that he fulfilled that function admirably.

So a goal automatically means he's played well?, not in my book it doesn't. He was alright but this was Stevenage, of course he could afford to experiment. We all have our different opinions and I personally thought that on a number occasions if he'd got his head up he could have made some telling passes forward and open more doors. My expectations are perhaps higher than they should be but I thought today was a perfect opportunity for King to do what Oakley did for once and dictate attacks.

[Jimmy]

I really can't believe anyone rated King as low as six today with his contender for goal of the season, his hand in the opening goal, his mostly reliable and varied passing in all directions which eventually wrested total control of the match , plus a couple of shots and some timely defending thrown in for good measure.

King is probably the least blinkered of all our players as his goal emphasised along with one raking 40 yard pass across field to the right wing.

When you're operating as the holding midfield - albeit loosely - you can't afford to experiment with all sorts of high risk or hopeful passes.

The task is to constantly build and back moves which will take the ball safely into the danger zone. That all the attacking players around him were constantly involved in those moves suggests that he fulfilled that function admirably.

you mean his side ways pass inside his own half to Edworthy? and for the record Berner was doing the holding role today

[Thracian]

you mean his side ways pass inside his own half to Edworthy? and for the record Berner was doing the holding role today

I didn't notice Berner doing much at all.

King assumed complete control of midfield in an area between Oakley and Tunchev and so many of our moves passed through him.

[syston_fox]

I really can't believe anyone rated King as low as six today with his contender for goal of the season, his hand in the opening goal, his mostly reliable and varied passing in all directions which eventually wrested total control of the match , plus a couple of shots and some timely defending thrown in for good measure.

What did I tell you, Joe and LD3?

[Thracian]

So a goal automatically means he's played well?, not in my book it doesn't. He was alright but this was Stevenage, of course he could afford to experiment. We all have our different opinions and I personally thought that on a number occasions if he'd got his head up he could have made some telling passes forward and open more doors. My expectations are perhaps higher than they should be but I thought today was a perfect opportunity for King to do what Oakley did for once and dictate attacks.

Oakley had the energy to continue our attacks because the additional body in midfield (Berner) meant he wasn't having to continually cover acres of ground backwards and forwards and neither was King - the result being that both players found the time and space to express themselves.

The fact that it was only Stevenage didn't matter. Pearson desperately needed to win today's game to re-establish team morale. You only had to hear him on the radio to know that he wasn't looking for unnecessary risk taking from defensive midfield. He was interested in rock-solid team play and the right result. Which is exactly what he got.

[Jimmy]

I didn't notice Berner doing much at all.

King assumed complete control of midfield in an area between Oakley and Tunchev and so many of our moves passed through him.

yes you didn't notice Berner, because he was doing the spoiler role that we have said we needed in recent week, had King done what he did today you'd of been raving about his superb defensive performance, for a man that bangs on so much about "chosen men" you are the biggest hypocrite on here

[Daggers]

AOWW - 7 Initial quality lapsed with some obnoxious Tunchev interplay

Isle of White - 7 Steaming Cowes product

Phube - 7 Vintage "you'll pay for it" display

Manchester Foxes Fan - 9 Early disappointment vanquished and came back strongly

Kokopops - 5 Late showing before quickly vanishing

gazzer - 7.5 Nice Latin moves

Mad Dog - 3 Didn't work as a substitute for Kokopops

Rest - 1 Far too uninvolved

[dandannieldanok]

I didn't notice Berner doing much at all.

Oakley had the energy to continue our attacks because the additional body in midfield (Berner)

[shen]

Henderson 6 (Nothing to do, great throw to Dickov )

Yeah, noticed that! He should do that regularly.

[Thracian]

Yeah, noticed that! He should do that regularly.

There was an audible gasp of shock around me when he did that - and comment from at last one bloke that he'd never seen the like before.

[C-man]

Henderson - 6 (Not a lot to do other than the one block resulting from Tunch's lazy backpass)

Edworthy - 8 (I thought he did really well, and what a difference playing an actual right-back makes. Supported attacks well. Good signing Nige!)

Morrison - 6 (Did his job at the back, still plays some shit hoofed long balls though)

Tunchev - 7 (Sloppy in parts, but he is instrumental in getting the team playing balls along the floor)

Mattock - 7 (He played well, wish he was more defensively sound)

Oakley - 8 (Played very well today. Looked comfortable out on the right and actually made things happen)

King - 8.5 (MOTM - awesome game, great link-up play and fantastic goal)

Berner - 5 (Disappointing)

Dyer - 7.5 (Good game, scored a good goal and a great run for Fryatt's goal)

Howard - 8 (Quality from Steve, he's so influential and it was noticeable that we created nothing up front when he went off)

Fryatt - 7.5 (Would have given him an 8 if it wasn't for THAT miss )

The referee was truly astonishing. The F.A. talk about respect, but when the ref was as bad as that, the campaign becomes another PR gimmick. Where he took about a minute to realise the assistant had his flag up and yet still signalled that he had given the free kick for handball is an embarrassment. I won't mention the penalty decisions, and where Berner was brought down whilst shooting, it was simply incredible.

[Tilley]

Berner whack.

Edworthy steady.

Oakley much better.

King excellent.

[Corky]

Henderson- 6: Didn't have much to do, made a good block after Tunchev's poor backpass.

Edworthy- 7: Solid debut. Got forward well and looked comfortable.

Tunchev- 7: Apart from his one slight error, looked solid.

Morrison- 7: Good game.

Mattock- 7: Got forward well and looked calm. Linked up with Dyer.

King- 8: Wonderful goal, slow start but grew as the game went on.

Oakley- 8: Not the best in the first-half, much better in the second. Best match of the season so far.

Berner- 6: Not really a centre-midfielder, didn't do a lot wrong though.

Dyer- 8: Very impressed again, got his goal and always looked menacing.

Fryatt- 8: Ran the channels well, great set-up for Dyer's goal, nice finish for his own but horrendous open goal miss.

Howard- 9: Marvellous performance. Ran his socks off, held the ball up well, linked in with others. Deserved standing ovation.

Subs:

Dickov- 6

Campbell- 6

Kisnorbo- N/A