Written by Kirsikka
Andoni Iraola was forced to try something different with Christie injured, Cook suspended, and Scott only fit enough to make the bench (but a hat tip for him to standing up and making himself available given the situation). This meant Tavs starting as the 8 and Brooks coming in to play wide right.
Man of the match against Leicester City
Semenyo
Semenyo
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Zabarnyi
Zabarnyi
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Senesi
Senesi
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Adams
Adams
Vote
Smith
Smith
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Tavernier
Tavernier
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Someone else
Someone else
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Today held the threat of another team camping in their defence quarter, waiting for the frustration to grow as time ticked on and we created little to nothing. It wasn’t to be though, as a busy first fifteen minutes showed this incarnation of AFCB wasn’t on the beach and wanted to finish the season with a win.
There will be points of view about how dire the opposition were, that they were missing players and so on. Those would miss the point that they came to spoil, but we didn’t let them. Their keeper was genuinely time-wasting inside the first ten minutes.
For all that they were firmly set up with our Achilles heel at the front of their mind, we were causing problems. One early move saw Semenyo dummy two men and then pass back to Tavs, who put in deep cross for Brooks, who caught it on the volley at the back post. Saved but a promising sign.
I think that’s one of the differences today. Lately, there have been matches where we barely worked the opposition keeper. We still had to wait a long time to score this afternoon,n but we were at least making their goalie earn his corn out there.
Tavernier was an influence on the match all afternoon in that Christie role. Looking to play short passes, get crosses in and take shots. One second-half curling effort required a superb diving save from the keeper. That was the best performance I’ve seen from MT in a long time.
In short, the match was almost all one-way traffic.
In one rare foray forward, Leicester did score but it was disallowed for offside. That apart, there was nothing worth mentioning as I don’t think Kepa had a shot to save.
VAR had two decisions to make when Evanilson was pushed over when running clear after being played in by Semenyo. Unfortunately for us, it correctly ruled the offence was outside the area and that there was a defender covering close enough, so no penalty or red card.
A slightly more contentious decision came from a disallowed goal scored by Jebbison shortly after he came on.
A quick throw-in saw Eva pick up the ball wide in the area. He crossed, but it took a deflection and looped high into the air before coming down for Jebbo to tap in.
The question rested on whether the ball had gone out and then come back in again. The linesman said it had, and all the camera angles on the line were aimed too low to be of any use, so the decision stood. From the deeper angled camera, it felt like they got away with it slightly, and I’d be interested to hear the opinion of those in the stadium with a good view.
I’ve already mentioned him but Jebbison made (possibly?) his longest PL appearance for us, coming on at the sixty-minute mark for Brooks. DB had just taken a kick to his foot but given the speed at which the change took place it feels like it was already planned. I think he did pretty well in a wide position. He caused Leicester problems and they never really got a handle on him.
Sure, there are aspects of his game that need work. He wasn’t bought as the finished article though.
The breakthrough finally came from a clever corner routine. Kluiver played it short to Tavs who returned it and JK did this weird virtual insanity kind of scooped cross. Zabs rose highest to head back across goal and Semenyo scuffed it home.
If his finish for the first was scrappy, Semenyo’s second was as clean as a whistle. Huijsen hassled high as one of our attacks broke down and managed to toe poke the ball to AS near the edge of the area. He took a touch then lashed it home low. Beautiful.
The late cameo subs included Scott coming on. He took a lot of stick on here in the immediate aftermath of the Villa game before the news of his injury filtered through. Let me say that was incredibly gutsy and brave to put himself forward to play today, and I think AI wanted to acknowledge that by bringing him on even though the game was won.
Overall, there was real intent out there not to let the season peter out. Well done to the players and the coaching staff for getting the result.
A few asides:
The massive over-watering of the pitch continues and we again saw multiple slips as a result. There must be a method to this madness but I haven’t worked it out yet.
Not sure how Zabs got MotM (if I heard correctly). A couple of very sloppy passes from him could have cost us and given they barely attacked, he didn’t have too much to do. There were far more deserving candidates out there. Unless it was an attempt to make him feel loved to try and persuade him to stay?
What’s with all the hands/wrists bandaged up? Kerkez, Evanilson and Zabarnyi were all in the club today.
Scott’s mask was a thing of terror. I can’t work out if that Mings elbow will be the key moment in the origin story of a superhero or supervillain but its surely one or the other now he has the outfit.
Lots of positive stats out there (more on those later) but one that came from the commentary team (before we scored two so may be out of date) is that only the three relegated sides scored fewer at home this season than us. I think that’s the final piece in the jigsaw.
Selected Player Watch
—– Jebbison —–
Sometimes he still looks all knees and elbows but I think he’ll grow into his frame with a bit of bulk over the next couple of seasons. The important thing right now is that he affected the game positively.
—– Semenyo —–
His best goal return for a season in a year where he’s had a tough run of form makes it an even more impressive feat. That second was more like Antoine at his best. Hopefully he comes back after the summer with those shooting boots on (and still wearing an AFCB shirt).
—– Brooks —–
Looked good out there. Unlucky with his volley attempt. One shocking cross attempt with his right foot tells us he should stick with his left, but aside from that I thought he was impressive.
—– Tavernier —–
Asked to play an unfamiliar position and did the job well. Probably my MotM. I think we might see more of this setup when chasing games against teams sitting deep.
—– Kerkez —–
Probably his last AFCB appearance and never stopped with his lung busting runs. I think we’ll miss him a lot next season.
AI and Tactics Watch
It’s a tough gig against an already relegated side playing some of their reserves. No pressure on them can sometimes release players to perform at a higher level. So credit to AI that we approached it in a thoroughly competent manner.
The use of Tavs in the Christie role was very interesting. I know this is dodgy ground on which to judge due to the opposition but I thought he looked better there than Cook. He was another option when prodding and poking around the area and managed to get several crosses and shots in. So against a determined low-block setup, I think he could be a better option if either of Christie or Scott are unavailable.
That said, I’m not necessarily advocating for him in a game where we also need that defensive impetus and tactical discipline the role requires. Today was a free hit since Leicester came for a 0-0 so he could almost exclusively concentrate on the attacking side of things. Still, it’s something we could perhaps look at more in preseason.
The best way to sum up today is “professional”. We came out and did the job. We worked the keeper several times before finally breaking through and, even when it was getting into the final quarter, I didn’t feel hopeless.
Once again a mention of the opposition having nothing to play for but even so, that’s all we’ve got to judge on and based on that, we can have no serious complaints.
So that’s that. A season which saw our record high finish, record PL points total, record PL goals scored, record least goals conceded in the PL, record PL goal difference, three different players score more than 10 PL goals… there’s so much to celebrate. There’s the tiniest tinge about missing out on Europe but it would be churlish to be negative about anything when you consider the perspective of what we achieved.
And so, the end is near. We’ve faced the final fixture. My friends, I’ll say it clear. It’s been a season, one to remember. Our press has been a handful. When away we used every motorway. And more, much more than this. We did it AI’s way.
Sorry.
Thanks for reading through the season. We may bicker and bitch on here but, when it comes down to it, this is an important part of the AFCB family for many on here (thanks to @DJ for keeping us in line… mostly).
I’m sure I’m not the only one who values the community here as a part of their life so I raise a glass to you all. No doubt I’ll spend time here over the summer posting spurious transfer rumours, but for those who take a break until August, have a good one.
That’s it. It’s been emotional.
Roll on next season…
Your say…
Sao Paulo Cherry wrote…
Agree with most of that.
Tavernier was my MOTM too. He looked more comfortable in the centre of the park. I know the opponent was poor but it’s easy to forget that he was actually a centre mid when we signed him. He looks better driving from deep than he does stuck out on the wing.
Brooks had a good game too. His technical qualities give the side such a good balance.
As poor as Leicester were, if Cook starts as the eight and Tav on the right, then I’m not sure that we would win that.
I feel like most of our better performances this season have come when Iraola has been almost forced to play Brooks due to lack of other options. Forest, Newcastle etc.
I find it confusing that when he does have more options available that he often chooses to go with Cook as the eight and Tav out wide instead of Brooks etc. it seems pretty obvious in terms of results and performances that Cook cannot play as an eight and that Brooks deserves a place in the team. For all the talk of the injury crisis, I actually think that it helped us in some ways because it forced us to play the likes of Brooks. – To join the conversation, please click here.