Ellerslie Echo

It Doesn’t Always Have to be Pretty

Championship Matchday 9: Bristol City (A)

Strangely, Ashton Gate is one of the few stadiums we always manage to come away from with something. Not in my case though – I’ve been twice and seen us lose 2-1 each time. So I’ll stay away from this one for the foreseeable. Firestick should suffice. 

As was the case last year, I wasn’t feeling very lucky this time out, especially after our collaboration with Oxford on Wednesday to demonstrate exactly how the sport shouldn’t be played. 

Going into this one without Amadou Mbuenge raised concerns about the lack of pace in our back line against a fast, intense, attacking side like Bristol City. But when it was announced that Rhys Norrington-Davies had picked up a knock, whilst nervous about his defensive ability, I was excited to see Esquerdinha back in the line-up. 

It could go wrong, but a young, skillful, attacking full-back could also suit a game like this. And suit it he did. One of our better players on the day, Esquerdinha was one that stood out amongst a pretty below-average team performance.

The back four, shakier than they were in the week, did an okay job, but they’ll (Esquerdinha included) be counting their lucky stars that they came away from this with just the one conceded. 

City posed a threat early on and, at 15 minutes gone, when they carried the ball from their own half towards our penalty box, it looked like we were in for a long day. A nice passing move which went, with ease, through our midfield and then our defence, fell to Twine 7 yards out – a gift that he somehow managed to send into row Z.

Outside of this chance, Rangers were competing. It wasn’t pretty, we were by no means the better side, but we were in the game. 

There were a few chances our way – Saito popping a couple of shots off, both of which were smashed into a Bristol defender – but it was pretty unconvincing from both teams. The better opportunities fell to the home side, and after half an hour, Mark Sykes, unchallenged by Esquerdinha, overhit a cross that our defence were utterly convinced had gone out of play. 

Whether or not it had, we don’t play at a level where you get fifteen different angles, so we’ll never know. But the Lino didn’t think it had, and whilst half our team had stopped to throw their arms in the air, Neto Borges, with not a single man within 15 yards of him, volleyed it straight back across the box, reaching an unmarked Emil Riis to head into the top corner.

There’s no point pointing fingers – neither the two creators, nor the goal-scorer were marked. Play to the whistle lads, it’s basic stuff. This goal was nice on the eye, but shouldn’t have been allowed to happen. Proper schoolboy defending from everyone. 

Our best chance of the half came from a Jimmy Dunne throw-in that Kone brought down and laid off quite nicely for Dembele, whose first-time shot on the bounce almost went out for a throw-in. 

A few minutes later Dembele played a hospital pass back to Dunne who couldn’t get to it (a quicker player may have been able to) and Bristol were on the counter. Madsen managed to get a tackle in, but Varane’s weak clearance fell straight to Zak Vyner who fancied himself from distance. Nothing came of it – another free header for the back row spectators.

The Robins continued to control the game into the second half and when Kone was booked for daring to even put a hand on the opposition player (commentator claimed there was a tug on the shirt – there wasn’t), they had a free kick in a very dangerous area. 

Mehmeti whipped it into the box but Varane was able to head it out. The resulting corner ended up falling to Randell on the edge of the box who volleyed it out of the ground. Another couple of chances wasted for the home side, after which the game slowly started to look in real danger of dying out. 

One thing you can’t do with this manager or this squad at the moment, is write us off before the subs have been made. Stephan, having given it 15 minutes of the second half, into the second half, decided it was time to turn to his bench, swapping Dembele and Saito for Vale and Smyth – the former bringing creativity and the latter (who scored here from the half-way line last season) bringing pace. 

One minute was all it took for these changes to take effect. When Esquerdinha played a beautiful long ball to the edge of the box, Dickie headed out wide to Vale (cheers Rob) and the sub put a nicely whipped cross in with his left foot. 

The cross didn’t reach an attacker, but the defence scrambled and it was retrieved in battle by Harvey on the edge of the box for a second chance, this time with his right, hitting a more powerful ball to reach Kone at the back post, who had to work quickly, bringing the ball down and striking at precisely the right moment, into the roof of the net. 

We were back in it. A three-game drought was over for King Kone, and he had his fourth goal in six starts. This was not an easy chance to finish – potentially the most impressive one he’s scored for us so far. With barely any time to think, Kone had to hit it, on the bounce, before it got away from him, demonstrating a real striker’s instinct. A good first touch, an even better strike. 

Bristol then responded with subs of their own, bringing on Sinclair Armstrong (we know how this ends) and Yu Hirakawa. Two quick players, one with a £2.5million sized point to prove, coming on with just over 20 minutes to play had me biting my nails. 

However, the equaliser had given Rangers a bit of life. Kone received the ball on the edge of our box, and started a promising counter attack, finding Burrell, who was gone before you could even read the shirt number of the man chasing him, and then catching up for the Jamaican to find him in a perfect position. Kone scuffed the shot and was visibly shocked – a huge chance to go in front and bag his first brace.

We had really gained some confidence. Only half a minute later, Dunne whipped a ball in to find Kone again, who the defenders had made sure to mark this time around, and he was unable to get a good angle, with his softly-hit first-time volley going wide. We could actually get something here. 

At this point, it could have gone either way, and my one to watch, Mehmeti, should have put his team back in front when he created a chance for himself with three defenders around him, but he ultimately lost balance and put his shot just wide of the post. A let-off for a slight lapse in concentration. 

It has to be said that for the next ten minutes, we were hanging on. When Esquerdinha misjudged a challenge and let the ball fly past him to McCrorie, he was quick to recover and stop the chance, at the cost of a corner. 

The corner reached Rob Atkinson at the front post who couldn’t shrug Kone off to get a better angle, and we were let off again, with his header going out for a goal kick. They kept coming at us however, and not long after, McCrorie put another good chance wide. 

A third change was made by Stephan with Kolli replacing Kone, bringing fresh legs and pace to cause late danger for City. It was good to see the youngster back in the side, and he played a vital role in what was to come.

Paul Smyth, driving forward through the middle, played it to Kolli on the edge of the box who knocked a quick first-time ball to Vale, who received it on the turn and passed it out wide to Dunne, who put a near-perfect cross in towards the back post. 

Smyth, the man who started the move, managed to leap and win a header as McCrorie preferred to fall onto the ground with his arms and legs in the air like a flipped cockroach, but the ref wasn’t fooled and Smyth’s header was hit perfectly into the far corner. 

That’s what happens when you don’t take your chances. You get punished. Bristol could have put this game to bed on several occasions but just couldn’t find the net.

I back this team going forward against anyone at the moment, they really do know where the net is. That wasn’t an easy chance either, especially for the shortest man on the pitch.

We just had to hang on now – a goal up, against the run of play away from home. This would be a huge way to sign off for the International break.

After going behind, the chances didn’t stop for the reds – Neto Borges had a shot which was blocked, and then in the 90th minute, we were let off once again when a long throw reached Yu at the back post who headed just over.  

6 minutes of added time had me nervous but by then our low-block had come into effect, and with Frey joining play to add some height and strength, we were able to see it out for 3 points. 

It’s cliche, but the most successful teams always manage to grind out results when the performances don’t justify them, and success always comes with a bit of luck. Especially in a 24-team division as chaotic and inescapable as ours. 

It’s too early to say what ‘success’ actually means for us, but 6 games unbeaten and sitting in the play-off spots going into the second break, is not bad going. When you look back to where we were even two months ago, to be in the top 6 is quite a shock – this time last season we had one win in nine.

Cool heads are needed. We are in unfamiliar territory and I’m sure the nose bleeds are in full effect, but it’s important to remember what’s to come. It’s a long old winter in English football, no matter what level you play at. That’s where the men are separated from the boys. 

Bar the nightmare first three, we’ve had a good start, but it’s been a nice run. Cov and Stoke have been the toughest opponents we’ve faced – one embarrassed us and the other, in fairness, we comfortably brushed aside. Bristol City was another test with the start they’ve had, and on another day, they probably win that game.

Looking at our next seven, we’re in for a tough run.  Millwall, Swansea, Derby, Ipswich, Southampton, Sheffield United, Hull – whilst these are all winnable games, more questions will be asked of us than the likes of Wrexham, Charlton, Oxford and Wednesday were able to put to us – but with a few faces returning from injuries, there’s no reason why we can’t pick up a decent amount of points. 

That’s failing to mention that there’s also Boro, West Brom and Leicester to play. I’m not raising any alarms, I’m very happy with where we are – but going into the break, it’s worth looking at what we’ve got ahead of us, and if we replicate a couple of our performances in the last six (arguably all of the last three), our luck may run out, and we will get punished. 

Rather than letting that concern me, I’m opting to enjoy it while it happens. 4 wins and 2 draws from our last 6, in the top 6 for the first time since 2022, it’s hard to not feel optimistic right now. It’s always nice to go into a break with a win – it’s even nicer to go into it without losing since before the last one. 

Okay, we aren’t world beaters, we have flaws, but you can’t complain when you’re consistently getting points on the board. When was the last time we had depth like this? When was the last time a manager was able to look at the bench and have genuine quality that could replace underperforming starters? And you’re telling me we have even more to add to it?

I’m really liking this squad. It’s an honest, hard-working bunch, every single one of whom has bought into the club. Look at every player’s socials after a win. They’re all buzzing, they’re all loving it. The scenes at full-time, the celebrations. It’s great. 

Let’s rate some players.

Player Ratings:

Paul Nardi – 6.5/10

Most of the missed chances from our opposition were either out wide or over the bar, so Nardi didn’t have much to do – no saves to make. Distribution was also dodgy. Not busy enough to mark up but not bad enough to mark down.  

Jimmy Dunne – 7/10

Dunne looked off the pace in the first half, was nowhere to be seen for the goal – until of course his hand was in the air shouting at the lino – and just generally struggled to cope with Borges and Mehmeti.

Massively improved in the second half, and his cross for the winner made up for it all, but defensively he didn’t have a great game. Regardless, Dunne has been crucial to our form since Cov away and is still one of the first names on the team sheet. 

Liam Morrison – 6.5/10

Not only one of four men who could take equal blame for the goal, but just generally a poor game. Some of the chances Bristol City were able to create were far too easy. Not a shocking performance, but one that, without luck on our side, could have ended a lot worse. 

Steve Cook – 6.5/10

The same goes for Cook. Neither performance was terrible, but some of the defending on show was shaky, and City were made to feel more comfortable than they should have been.

We did expect, on a big pitch, for our slower centre-half pairing to struggle against a quicker attack, and with all said and done, they didn’t embarrass themselves in the end. Cook has proven, especially on Wednesday night, that he still has something to offer to this team, and I’m happy for him. 

Esquerdinha – 7/10

Defensively better than previous appearances, but still has moments where he loses focus on his duties, particularly prominent for the goal where Sykes was able to put a cross in unchallenged. 

Played some lovely long balls, such as the one that led to our equaliser, and was crucial in offering some pace to our defence to support the other three who really lack it. Esquerdinha was, for me, the best performer of the back four on Saturday but still has plenty of room to improve. 

Jonathan Varane – 8/10

A warrior in midfield. Take Varane out of that side and this probably becomes a loss. I’ve said previously that he always has a mistake or a silly decision in him, and he still hasn’t managed to shake that habit – this time a clearance straight to a City attacker, but if you can look past those weekly slip ups, Jon really is the rock of this side. 

His strength is so important to us. I’ve never seen more players bounce off a midfielder than Varane, he is so hard to dispossess and in a duel, I back him against anyone. Varane was also crucial in the air on Saturday, winning 3/3 aerial duels. 

Nicolas Madsen – 7.5/10

A continuation of Madsen’s spectacular form. He and Varane have managed to form a great pair in the middle, making them arguably our two most important players. Their absence was clear on Wednesday and I have little confidence that we would have got the win here without them.

Aside from his positioning, new-found bravery and work-rate, one thing that’s highly noticeable about Madsen’s transformation is his vocalism. Madsen seems to be far more confident in himself, and his teammates are benefitting from it. He’s not afraid to dish out orders, gee his men up or command his teammates. 

Madsen remains top of the pile for ball recoveries AND chances created for QPR, and made the most tackles of both sides in this fixture. A real turnaround from the big Dane, one of the players of the season so far. 

Kader Dembele – 5/10

It’s not clicking for Kaddie at the moment. Our best player in pre-season, Dembele then looked sharp in our opener against Preston. But since the confidence killing run of Watford and Cov, he hasn’t been able to impact the team.

It must be said that in some of these games, Dembele has looked okay – he looked sharp coming off the bench at Wrexham and was, if it means anything, our best player at Cov. The 22 year-old has shown in other games, glimpses of what he can offer, with some decent crosses from both dead balls and open play, but his physicality, defensive work and overall presence isn’t enough to win us games. 

He’s mostly good on the ball, and gets himself into good areas, but often takes too many touches, is too weak to beat his man or is wasteful with his passing. To add to this, he offers absolutely no help to his defence. Dembele wasn’t on it today, and with everyone fit, he’s at serious risk of falling way down the pecking order. 

Koki Saito – 6/10

A quiet game for our new Japan international. A couple of decent runs and dribbles, but all in all not very impactful. Had two shots in the first half then we didn’t really hear from him again. Also lacked the defensive work that he usually at least mucks in with. 

Rumarn Burrell – 7/10

I have just really, really enjoyed this signing so far. Have I made that clear yet? Not mentioned him much in the match review, because ultimately his relentless hard work went unrewarded, but this was a typical Burrell performance. Running, battling, running some more, getting forward, running again, getting stuck in, running even more – he just doesn’t stop. 

First touch and final ball could do with some work but he should have had an assist when he found Kone on the edge of the box who scuffed his shot. I hope he picks up some goal contribution numbers in games to come, he deserves it. Absolutely crucial player. 

Richard Kone – 8/10

4 goals in 6 starts as a second striker. That’s not bad that, is it? Kone suits this role with his hold up play, physicality and positional awareness, but with everyone fit, I’d like to see him dispatched as a 9. It’s a big selection headache, as Kone sitting behind Burrell works very well, but as our main goalscorer, it just makes sense for him to play as an out and out striker when we have creative players like Saito, Chair, Poku and Dembele to work behind him. 

For now though, this is working. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Kone did have two or three chances to add more than just the one to his tally, but was either covered by a defender or hit a poor shot. The one he did put away though, was not easy. A real striker’s goal, in a crowded box with very little thinking time. Instinctive, powerful and clinical. 

Substitutes:

• Harvey Vale (65) – 7/10 – Changed the game. His work for the equaliser, and even his involvement in the winner, were more than Dembele has managed in his last four games – that’s not a dig, it’s just an unfortunate fact. A two-footed creative player like Vale will shine for us. I guess I was wrong about his best position being an 8 (we still haven’t seen it), as he’s been outstanding at right-wing in all but two or three of his appearances so far.
• Paul Smyth (65) – 7/10 – He just loves Ashton Gate. Started the move and finished off the winner. Not much more needs to be said. Was an ineffective sub at Wednesday, was wasteful against Oxford, but redeemed it all with that leap and header. Outstanding goal. 
• Rayan Kolli (83) – 7/10 – A bit pointless giving a rating for the ten minutes he played but I feel he genuinely did impact the game – his involvement in the winner was small but crucial, and he just generally looked hungry (I’m not surprised with the lack of minutes he’s been getting recently). I’m just glad Stephan hasn’t forgotten about him. 
• Michael Frey (90) – N/A

Man of the Match – Jonathan Varane 

Despite it not being the prettiest performance, there were actually a few candidates for man of the match. Madsen won the fan vote, and I’ve seen shouts for Burrell, Esquerdinha and Kone. For me though, it was our rock in midfield. 

Varane was everywhere. Held his own in midfield, battled for every ball, won his duels, and was just brutal. Going forward was a bit dodgy, with several misplaced passes and long balls, but his work-rate, defensive work and ground covered made up for all of it. Probably not the most obvious shout, but for me, we don’t win that game without Varane sitting in the middle and doing the dirty work. Immense performance. 

Donkey of the Day – Jimmy Dunne, Liam Morrison, Steve Cook and Esquerdinha 

The first ever joint donkey. I can’t pick one defender who’s more to blame for that goal than the other. Every single one switched off. Esquerdinha absent for the first cross, Dunne absent for the second, and the two central boys stationary for the header. All four are taking this one home. PLAY TO THE WHISTLE!

Bristol City Star Player – Neto Borges

It’s hard to pick a standout for the home side with the amount of chances they wasted. McRorie was heavily involved, Adam Randell had a lot of control in the midfield (not at all a criticism of Nico and Jona) and the back three, forgetting that they let the shortest man on the pitch score a header, had a solid game. 

The player who caused us the most problems though, was probably Borges – who, at least in the first half, had Jimmy Dunne re-thinking his permanent shift to right-back. That cross on the volley, even if it had gone out of play, which landed on an unmarked 6 ft 3 striker’s head was seriously impressive. Shocking defending, avoidable goal, etc. etc., but you have to admire it. 

It doesn’t always need to be pretty. Some concerns about the performances in our last three are understandable. But the fact that, when it isn’t working, we have the resources to chop and change where necessary, is such a positive. 

Stephan has a better, deeper squad than Marti had, there’s no doubt about it – but his adaptability has proved to be a massive improvement on the stubbornness of his predecessor. 

Cifuentes – granted, often because he would turn to his bench to find Alfie Lloyd, Lucas Anderson, Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Harrison Ashby or whatever academy player had been promoted to the bench that week – was not so willing to swap out some of his bigger players when it wasn’t working. 

When you look at our team now, particularly going forward – Saito, Vale, Dembele, Kone, Burrell, Smyth, Frey – when someone isn’t playing up to standard, the options are there, and every one of them seems hungry. 

When we return from the slog that is non-tournament England football, one of our marquee signings, Kwame Poku is set to return – that’s an exciting addition to the squad. On top of that, we have our longest serving player and number 10, Ilias Chair. That’s a pretty insane level of attacking depth. 

Bring on the tougher games. These are exciting times.

Up Next:

Championship Matchday 10: Millwall (H)

Score Prediction: QPR 1-1 Millwall

One to Watch: Femi Azeez

It’s a local lad to look out for this time. Azeez grew up in Ruislip, and began his career with very brief spells at Wealdstone and Hanwell Town before Reading found him. Millwall picked him up last season after Reading failed to return to the championship, and he had a decent first season in South London, scoring 4 and assisting 5. 

Scoring and assisting in their 3-0 win over West Brom over the weekend, I’m hoping that the week off takes some momentum away from him. Azeez does tend to go quiet on occasion but his skill and pace will definitely startle RND or whoever he ends up facing. 

Femi is also one of those players that loves a screamer. He did it for Reading and has done it for Millwall a number of times. His goal this weekend – bringing a long ball down on the counter attack, cutting in on his left, and curling it top bins from distance – is a prime example of that. 

Millwall have quite a decent side – Left-back Zak Sturge has impressed so far this term, he completes a back four that, taking away their home thrashings at the hands of the top 2, have only conceded 5 so far. Billy Mitchell commands the midfield well, and we know what Luongo is capable of.

It’s Azeez that worries me though, we don’t historically fend well against a left-footed talisman – Morgan Whittaker, B*rry B*nnan, etc. So our defence will need to be aware of the threat he poses.

It is at home where Millwall’s form has let them down this season – they’re currently unbeaten on the road. We’re also catching them at a pretty bad time, on the back of a comfortable beating of the Baggies, but QPR go into this game a point above, hoping to continue a run of 6 games without a loss. I think it’ll become 7, but with just a point, rather than three.

Championship Gameweek 10 Predictions:

This was arguably my best week, with three score lines bang on – I’m most happy about predicting Preston to beat Charlton 2-0, the other two; Watford 2-1 Oxford and Blackburn 1-1 Stoke, were more predictable. No one would’ve backed Pompey against Boro, and Millwall’s turnover of West Brom was also a shock. 

I’m not sure what I was smoking when I went for a Norwich away win at Portman Road (in my defence they hadn’t lost that derby for 15 years going into this one) as Norwich continued their pretty horrendous form and got a spanking. 

Sheffield United make it 8 losses out of 9, they’ll be in real trouble if they don’t start getting some wins after the break, and Cov remain unbeaten at the top of the table, with a goal difference of 20. 27 scored, 7 conceded. We’re 9 games in. This is a super team. 

Here are my predictions for the first weekend back:

• Middlesbrough 1-1 Ipswich Town
• Oxford United 1-0 Derby County
• Southampton 2-1 Swansea City
• Birmingham City 1-2 Hull City
• Charlton Athletic 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
• Coventry City 3-1 Blackburn Rovers
• Norwich City 1-1 Bristol City
• Sheffield United 2-0 Watford
• Stoke City 2-1 Wrexham
• West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Preston North End
• Leicester City 2-1 Portsmouth 

See you after Millwall.

You R’s.