Walker - 7 - made a good save in the first half and got most balls into the box, showing pace and bravery a few times and getting punished for it once when he was knocked to the floor by another of those mild-mannered Millwall players, at times his kicking could have been better but he also got the ball out quickly a few times when he needed to. Might have been able to do better before McCarthy had to kick the ball off the line.
Stearman - 8 - quick, sharp, eager... went bombing down the right every opportunity he had, put in some great tackles (when he tackled that player and put the ball out it was the first time in ages that I can remember the crowd actually cheering a tackle! We used to be able to do that a lot), and showed some skill.. was battered by their players a lot (can’t believe the ref did nothing when he got smacked in the face) but overcame it most of the time. Great volley for the goal, and you could tell by the celebration that it really meant a lot to him (just wish there were more than 100 people in that part of the stand though!)
Dublin - 7 - solid at the back, opted for kicking rather than heading a few times which was probably wise considering how bad he was at heading at the start of the season, wasn’t much of an attacking option in this game but held things together at the back.
McCarthy - 8 - fantastic goal-line clearance, was quick and solid at the back and even though he played out of position for awhile he looked comfortable. Tugged on players shirts a bit, but that should clear up once he’s been told to pay no attention to Dabizas...
Maybury - 7 - still not as effective on the left as on the right, although he did get forward more this time and showed he has the pace to do so as well, still has the tendency to get beaten a bit at the back though.
Hughes - 8 - MOTM - energetic, looked comfortable out of position and linked up well with Stearman, who was also playing out of position, put in good corners and crosses (can’t count the amount of times he drove it fast and low into the box, also took it to the corner a lot as well), linked the midfield and strikers in a way we’ve not been able to do much of this season and at times seemed to be working as a 3rd striker as he was so advanced. Great buy.
Williams - 6 - same old, same old from Williams again... showed some good touches occasionally and didn’t really let anyone down, also he won a good few headers, but he drifted in and out of the game and while he didn’t really do anything wrong he didn’t do anything above-average either.
Nalis - 4 - oh Nalis, what has become of you? I know he was good friends with Micky, so maybe that’s his problem. He won a lot of headers... but other than that, he was slow (took him ages to decide where to pass) and I can hardly remember any time when one of his passes went to one of our players. I don’t really want to slag him off as I think he’s an honest pro and a nice bloke who tries... But as he’s probably not going to get a contract for next season, I feel his heart might just not be in it anymore.
Wilcox - 5 - did he put any good crosses in? I remember put one in from about the half-way line that went to no-one and he had a header in the box that he headed away from goal... he wasn’t awfully bad but just disappointing (as he has been for all but one game this season), its good to have back-up on the left but I’m not sure he should be starting.
Connolly - 7 - missed his usual easy chances, but worked hard as usual and took his penalty well. With people working on the wings he sometimes looks at a bit of a loss of what to do, but not too much so, won more headers than de Vries and showed his pace on occasion... held the ball up well also.
de Vries - 6 - his passing is good, he holds up the ball well and has a few touches of class, but his heading is so woefully bad it detracts from all that. He won about 5 headers yesterday from a possible 25, and when he did win them they’d usually go out of play or to a Millwall player... that said he did score with a header! What a shock that was, his second chance was the better one though and he was unlucky to hit the post but you could see his growing confidence after the goal, lets just hope it continues. Overall I think it was a better performance than some of his previous ones, but he needs to keep working on his heading.
Subs:
Heath - 6 - actually did quite a few good things, won the ball a few times and a lot of headers as well. His passing has improved and he cleared a ball that was very close to being a goal, he made a few minor Heath-like mistakes but overall I think he’s improving and I’m not sure Levein has written him off just yet.
Gillespie - 7 - not sure I like him on the left as he cuts inside even more than usual! However when you look at him now and compare that to what he was like its amazing to see the improvement. He looked full of confidence and energy. Managed to keep possession when we needed it and looked very eager to please.
Gudjonsson - wasn't on long enough to rate.