Barnsley 1-0 Palace, Getting There.

“If we were out of form the first week of the season as some have said, then Palace were in form, and we have just limited an in-from Palace side to, well, nothing from open play really” said Mark Robins on Radio Sheffield, the mention of us being ‘out of form’ soaked in irony, ridiculing the flocks of doomsday prophets, both in the support and in the mass media.

Of course, that’s all absurd. We proved today how ridiculous so many people have been in the last 4 days, by showing how we can perform in an average Championship match. This wasn’t a special performance, just a week-in-week-out game. There were changes after Tuesday, but the way Robins made them and discussed them seems to suggest that the team we played yesterday was the closest to what Robins imagines as a BFC team we’ve seen yet.

There were changes, and before the whistle I was puzzled. We were playing 5 defenders, Trippier, Hassell and the not-injured Foster as well as Shackell and McEveley. I was wondering if it wasn’t a 5-3-2, but I just couldn’t find a place for Hammill in that. All was soon revealed.

Kieran Trippier was played as a right midfielder in front of Hassell, in order to keep Darren Ambrose, playing left wing for Palace, under control. In fact it turned out that Ambrose was unfit and, well, useless, so it was Trippier doing the attacking, and Ambrose constantly failing to mark him. There was barely a moment when Trippier wasn’t in 15 yards of space and he made the most of that, hurling a variety of crosses in.

This is a 4-2-3-1, just a very lopsided one, with Lovre playing a long way forwards.

The key change here is the central midfield. As many people have been urging (here), Robins changed the midfield to suit the football we want to play. Arismendi was the perfect solution. He played much deeper than Colace, sitting on the half way line. He frequently moved to the flanks, and read the game excellently. The big difference, though, was his accurate and creative passing. Diego was the half-way-line general we have been crying out for, and his passing range was as good as any other Barnsley player’s.

This showed from the start. The first 15 minutes were messy, with neither team getting a clear foot hold. But it was obvious that we were playing much better than before. Robins’ team grew into the game, and by 25 minutes it was the Reds on top.

It was still a messy game, but Palace rarely looked dangerous. We were dominating the midfield, which was an endless benefit to our play.

Palace were very poor, with no creative spirit at all, and while they had some of the ball, the Eagles’ play had no bite in attack. How much of this is because they were poor, and how much because the Reds defense was solid is difficult to tell.

Unfortunate that it had to come from an own goal (we need to get scoring) but we had been the better team that half.

Palace attempted to change things around a bit, bringing Danns on, and there was some initial impact. The second half was more even, especially as the clock got older, because we were more inclined to sit back and simply absorb pressure.

The key mistake Burley made was never paying more attention to Trippier. Sure, he never created a goal, but that space on the right gave us a way out from pressure.

We made three subs in the half. Disco on for Trippier late on, in an attempt to bring on fresh legs, and Colace and Arismendi both went off to a rousing ovation, with a feeling of job done.

At the end of the game, Palace only had one shot on target, which was a credit to our defence and midfield, as well as a criticism of the Eagles. 1-0 to Barnsley was a fair scoreline, especially the 0 part. Apart from a few occasions when Foster lost his man, the centre back pairing worked smoothly. Hassell came under little pressure because (a) Trippier was there and (b) Ambrose did nothing. McEveley had his best game yet, getting forwards but still covering his side well.

Arismendi and Colace appeared to be a great partnership. Neither is quite fit yet, so had to go off, but that will come. Hammill did the usual job of being double marked for the first half and just enjoying the occasional bounce around with the ball, then growing into the match later on. Lovre also had his best game yet. He’s good at scrapping for the ball, and then retains it confidently. A useful player.

Palace were disappointing as a team and as individuals. I expected a lot more from this squad, leaving me wondering if the pundits tipping them to struggle might be more accurate than I was by saying they would achieve easy mid table.

On the day, certainly, the away support deserved a more memorable performance. The chanting started before kick off and never stopped, not even on the final whistle or when we scored. It was quite amazing, actually, and gave the game a kind of rhythm from about 100 Palace fans at the back of the North Stand just bouncing around, so credit to them.

Ratings

Steele: 7 – Did little, got nothing wrong.

McEveley: 8 – Does that count as an assist?

Shackell: 7

Foster: 7

Hassell: 7

Diego ‘the Controller’ Arismendi: MOTM 8

Colace: 7

Trippier: 8 – Is he meant to be a winger? Will O’Brien get into the team when fit?

Hammill: 7

Lovre: 7 – Took a huge hit in the face by the ball from a stoppage time free kick, and had to leave the pitch in on a stretcher with a neck brace. Goran was taken to hospital staright away, but was concious and talking very quickly. News this morning is that he was X-Rayed, past clean and discharged last night as healthy.

Gray: 7 – Did his job, nothing more, nothing less. We need this man if we’re going to play a 4-2-3-1.

So, this was no classic of a game, and no classic performance. It is most notable for being our first points of the season, and it could set us going well. There will be improvement on this, Robins says “We have seen signs today, but nothing like what this group is capable of”.

There is still much talk from Robins and others of signing another striker. It would need to be a player who can be the lone forward, because another Jeronimo/Hume player would be overkill. I am keen to see us sign a forward, but it has to be the right player. I’d rather see no new signing than one who doesn’t fit the bill.

The players need to take the week and recover in time to play a strong first team for next Saturday’s really difficult game away at Bristol City. Bring it on!

Category: Match Reports