Back from the game - Donnie

[skipper]

Thought Mills had a great game, got to be at the very least a 7/10!

Cummings had a fantastic game, and will improve. Church's work rate was good, but that shocking miss... If he improves that, then he / we will be fine, but we can't really say too much until he delivers it week in week out, but I was pleased for him and glad he had the hunger.

Anybody going to give Hunt the credit he deserved? He was calling for the ball all afternoon, he wanted it, he was in the thick of most of our attacks, and the 20 minute spell we had in the second half, we were so dominant we could beat any team in this division on that form, shame it took the first 45 to get there, and couldn't keep it up for the last 15.

All round good job - it was the exact reaction we needed - now just get a better person to write the Captains column in the program and we'll be there

[Jerry St Clair]

And BOOOOOO to the stupid woman behind me who knocks Jobi every time he has the ball. Idiot.

I thought Russell Street had stopped going?

[Basingstoke Royal]

Much better performance.

Church did ok - a lot of running but not a lot more. (apart from a tap in thanks to le fondre)

Gorkss -mom

Lol at the knobheab with "madejski out" on the back of his shirt in the east stand.

[Winnershroyal]

Two brilliant goal saving blocks by Pearce and one by Legs at the end.

brilliant, just brilliant.

[jazz]

The result was very important. Not to have beaten the only team below us would have been bad news indeed.

But equally IMO was the fact that Church and Le Fondre were the goal scorers. After the departure of Long we need strikers who can find the net. What team doesn't, you might say?

[CayeneMatt]

I thought Tabb did an OK job - understated, but did well linking up play in Midfield. Unlucky for Karacan to be dropped, but he passed back too much last week even when not under pressure, so Tabby deserved his chance and took it.

Mills I reckon is work in progress still - some shocking ball control in the last 10 mins or so. But his energy makes up for it.

And Jobi needs to sort his corners out. Dear oh dear.

Glad for Churchy - his confidence has been shot to shit, so glad he did well today.

[Ian Royal]

Who went out wide when Kebe came off, was it Hunt?

Good to see Cummings came in and played well.

[skipper]

Who went out wide when Kebe came off, was it Hunt?

Good to see Cummings came in and played well.

Initially Church was out to the right (directly in front of me) but it changed to Hunt. tbh Hunt got about all over the place.

[Ian Royal]

Cheers, Church and Le Fondre sounded like they linked up well when Dellor actually bothered talking about the game. Striker selection headache for McDermott.

Coventry nothing special next up, so would be nice to get back to back wins, although I have my doubts about that central midfield still. Donny play in such a way they're usually quite open to a pacey direct attacking side IMO, Coventry are likely to be a different kettle of fish though. Step in the right direction, but confidence is likely to still be fragile so an early goal first half would be nice to get our noses agead and get that monkey off our back.

[CayeneMatt]

Who went out wide when Kebe came off, was it Hunt?

Good to see Cummings came in and played well.

Initially Church was out to the right (directly in front of me) but it changed to Hunt. tbh Hunt got about all over the place.

Church found himself on the right quite a bit during the 1st half even before Kebe went off. He put in a phenominal cross from the byline in the first few minutes, couldn't see who headed it. Jobi?

[leon]

Gorks looks very good, good defender and a composed passer of the ball. Mills looked pretty good - a few errors but his ball for le Fondre's goal was lovely. Le Fondre surprised me with his passing - he linked up very well - almost Kitson-esque and basically had one chance and scored. Very promising.

Leigertwood was almost back to his best - but he still needs to shed some weight.

[Here for the KEBE]

Thought Mills had a great game, got to be at the very least a 7/10!

Cummings had a fantastic game, and will improve. Church's work rate was good, but that shocking miss... If he improves that, then he / we will be fine, but we can't really say too much until he delivers it week in week out, but I was pleased for him and glad he had the hunger.

Anybody going to give Hunt the credit he deserved? He was calling for the ball all afternoon, he wanted it, he was in the thick of most of our attacks, and the 20 minute spell we had in the second half, we were so dominant we could beat any team in this division on that form, shame it took the first 45 to get there, and couldn't keep it up for the last 15.

All round good job - it was the exact reaction we needed - now just get a better person to write the Captains column in the program and we'll be there

Credit for Hunt? What did he do lol? He'll be extremely lucky to get a start next week after the performances of Alfie and Church.

This was an important game for us and is a marker in the sand. Church played really well and showed that he is technically and positional-wise the best striker at this club. However there's a long way to go in terms of his finishing. Alfie looks like a great finisher from what I saw today so it's just about service for him.

The defence were good today- Cummings and Mills getting up the wings helped us.

However, the worry for me was the central midfield. Both players were poor, showed a real lack of quality and just played hit and hope the whole game. For me, Karacan is the no.1 name of the team sheet every week because he's very good at getting the ball and setting up play. I agree with dropping players but out of everyone, why drop him?!

We played well but we would have got found out by better opposition today. But this is a real positive and a start

[Whore Jackie]

Gorks looks very good, good defender and a composed passer of the ball. Mills looked pretty good - a few errors but his ball for le Fondre's goal was lovely. Le Fondre surprised me with his passing - he linked up very well - almost Kitson-esque and basically had one chance and scored. Very promising.

Spot on.

Cheers, Church and Le Fondre sounded like they linked up well when Dellor actually bothered talking about the game. Striker selection headache for McDermott.

Really couldn't see many opportunities for Church when Alf signed, but he did very well today, and his partnership with Le Fondre has the makings of something quite promising. Nice link-ups and a real appreciation of where each other was.

[Friday's Legacy]

federici - 7

quiet day. not a lot to say really.

cummings - 8

absolutely superb and deserves the shirt. strong at the back, got forward and tackled hard. determined display. a must on the team sheet from here on.

mills - 6

actually pretty disappointed, but it's early days. his passing leaves a lot to be desired but a tidy enough display on a quiet afternoon. i still feel he isn't a big improvement on harte and we miss harte's set-pieces, but a great cross for le fondre's goal.

pearce - 7

looked a lot more composed at the back with the impressive gorkss. this is our first choice back two. tidy display at the back and one particularly top class last-ditch tackle in the box. body on the line stuff.

gorkss - 8

leads by example, very vocal and eager to put his body on the line to win the ball. some top class headers and all round defending. just what we've needed at the back.

kebe - 5 (replaced by le fondre - 7)

didn't really get into the game before he was forced off injured. shame.

le fondre changed the game for me. he worked really well up front with church. good movement and superb finish for 2-0. delighted for him. i like this pairing on today's performance!

mcanuff - 7

much better from our captain. he lead by example and was talking to the players from start to finish. consistency now the key for him.

tabb - 7

came in and did a good job. tackles hard for a little lad and picks out a good pass. we were much more offensive with him in for karacan who i feel is too similar in style to leigertwood. harsh to drop karacan? but it worked. better balance i thought.

leigertwood - 7

much better. more energetic and committed. i still feel there's a lot of room for improvement from one of our key players. if he plays well then the team generally plays well.

hunt - 7

not sure what to say. did alright as he always does but i never feel he's all that threatening. perhaps it's the lack of pace. worked well with church in the first half.

church - 9 (MoTM)

breath-taking performance. his movement and control was like a different player, and his eye for a pass has greatly improved. sadly his shooting really let him down. he should have had two in the first half but got his rewards in the second half with an unmissable opportunity. initially disappointed to see him start but that performance, albeit against the worst side in the division was an opinion changer. he and le fondre looked superb together and i would like to see a lot of that partnership in the future.

we didn't see many long balls today and it's no coincidence we played a lot better as a result. some tidy patient passing rewarded with a number of chances in both halves. our finishing let us down, yet we still bagged two. you can't get too carried away against doncaster but that result will breed a lot of confidence in the side. brian showed a lot of guts with that line-up and it paid off. he got it right today and deserves a lot of credit, they all do.

[Cypry]

Got to agree with Church as MoM.

His willingness to harry the Donny defence, and chase lost causes, was almost Long-esque.....

[floyd__streete]

It would be ludicrous to think we have somehow cracked it with a straight-forward win over a dispirited, injury-hit Doncaster team. There was still plenty to be anxious about; Leigertwood looks a shadow of the man desperate to win a long term contract - the Salako effect? - and I have to question whether Jay Tabb and Noel Hunt really ever contribute anything other than huff-and-puff. The finishing was powder-puff as usual, and Church - however good his all round game was - could only finish off a two yard tap in. Le Fondre put his header away well, but he was unmarked. A goalkeeping error/lucky ricochet and an unmarked header; we need to improve exponentially to be anything other than midtable fodder at best.

[CayeneMatt]

It would be ludicrous to think we have somehow cracked it with a straight-forward win over a dispirited, injury-hit Doncaster team. There was still plenty to be anxious about; Leigertwood looks a shadow of the man desperate to win a long term contract - the Salako effect? - and I have to question whether Jay Tabb and Noel Hunt really ever contribute anything other than huff-and-puff. The finishing was powder-puff as usual, and Church - however good his all round game was - could only finish off a two yard tap in. Le Fondre put his header away well, but he was unmarked. A goalkeeping error/lucky ricochet and an unmarked header; we need to improve exponentially to be anything other than midtable fodder at best.

And theres me thinking you were quite positive in the other Donnie thread. I see you've reverted back to type here.

Church's miss when 1 on 1 in the first half was due more to the defenders tackle. Unbelievable block - think it was Friend but couldn't make him out from my seat.

[RoyalBlue]

It would be ludicrous to think we have somehow cracked it with a straight-forward win over a dispirited, injury-hit Doncaster team. There was still plenty to be anxious about; Leigertwood looks a shadow of the man desperate to win a long term contract - the Salako effect? - and I have to question whether Jay Tabb and Noel Hunt really ever contribute anything other than huff-and-puff. The finishing was powder-puff as usual, and Church - however good his all round game was - could only finish off a two yard tap in. Le Fondre put his header away well, but he was unmarked. A goalkeeping error/lucky ricochet and an unmarked header; we need to improve exponentially to be anything other than midtable fodder at best.

Surely Le Fondre has to get some credit for putting himself into a position where he was unmarked.

[RoyalBlue]

It would be ludicrous to think we have somehow cracked it with a straight-forward win over a dispirited, injury-hit Doncaster team. There was still plenty to be anxious about; Leigertwood looks a shadow of the man desperate to win a long term contract - the Salako effect? - and I have to question whether Jay Tabb and Noel Hunt really ever contribute anything other than huff-and-puff. The finishing was powder-puff as usual, and Church - however good his all round game was - could only finish off a two yard tap in. Le Fondre put his header away well, but he was unmarked. A goalkeeping error/lucky ricochet and an unmarked header; we need to improve exponentially to be anything other than midtable fodder at best.

And theres me thinking you were quite positive in the other Donnie thread. I see you've reverted back to type here.

Church's miss when 1 on 1 in the first half was due more to the defenders tackle. Unbelievable block - think it was Friend but couldn't make him out from my seat.

The defender only managed to get the tackle in because Church took far too long on the ball when in a great position to score. His miss before that (shot hit tamely at the keeper) when completely free inside the left side of the area was probably even worse. Work rate was fantastic though.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

I remember this being a problem with Church, a lot of us were saying on here if he could improve his finishing then he will be a good striker at this level.