Have to echo those others who said last nights performance was immense.
Like many others, the standout performance for me was Grant, his work rate was astounding last night. He is playing with such freedom now, and that in my opinion is down to the steadying influence of Easton beside him. If we can get through the August window without losing him to a Championship side, we are in for a treat this Autumn, we really are.
First time I have seen Coughlan tonight. As the only player in the squad older than me I have to big him up(!), but he really did remind me of Rob Newman - even down to the way he got caught on the half way line with the ball caught between his feet. His influence out there was exactly what the tie needed last night, all the more so when we went behind at two very difficult points in the game. Like Easton bringing the best out of Grant, I think Coughlan gave Prosser the confidence to get stuck in and really shine next to him, which he did with some great interventions and some battering ram headers as the night wore on.
Simpson put in a very solid performance at right back, though was caught out of position a few times, perhaps to be understood if he was in an unfamiliar role. We probably won't get found out like that quite so much week in week out in League 2, but Brizzle's second goal came about through that.
Barker, sign him. Simple as. Superb commitment; took a nasty knock on the head and was itching to get out again. Feel so sorry for Jonny Herd, but can't get around the fact that Barker is a different class. Slight concern about his pace, especially in a back four with Coughlan, but he really is a solid player.
The one area last night where there is still places up for grabs is on the wings. Zaboub was the only real disappointment last night; perhaps a bad day at the office, perhaps he's taking longer than others to settle in (I believe he has language problems?), but he didn't seem to click with his team mates tonight, who to be fair were sympathetic to it and offered encouragement - a great sign for general team spirit. Screech put in a surprisingly good performance out wide; still has a tendency to blow hot and cold but I am sure last night's cross for Corr won't be the last flash of brilliance we'll see from him this season. Very interested in seeing more of what a fit Ryan Hall will offer. He made some great runs and won us free kicks in good positions, great cross for the winner too. Soares looked like a player playing well within himself last night - nothing special from him but he knew he wasn't having a blinder and generally played some good, sensible football.
Paterson and Sturrock worked well up front. Both worked pretty hard, with some very sensible posession-oriented football, bringing team mates into play very nicely (a great combination between Sturrock winning, holding up then chipping it up to Patterson who chested it into Soares path for a snap shot was a good illustration of this). Corr added some great hunger to the game when he came on and deserved his goal for some superb knock-downs, headers and hold-up play - saw the positive aspects of comparisons with Crouch tonight.
Morris clearly isn't as commanding as Mildy, something he must work on with the high, swirling balls aimed at bruising centre forwards he will undoubtedly have to deal with this season, but was tidy enough for the most part. Maybe at fault on the free kick, simply couldn't tell very well from East Red.
Overall, the atmosphere tonight was better and better as the team got better and better during the game. You could see them growing in self belief and it was a privilege to watch. The atmosphere was entirely about the team lifting the crowd last night. Team spirit and work rate was immense and I am now quite excited about the season. What Sturrock and Widdrington have achieved in 1 month is nothing short of a miracle. We're a long way from safe, but then I am also a long way from the sense of foreboding I had about this season as recently as 2 weeks ago.
UTB!
One last thing - on last nights evidence, this is going to be a very long hard season for Brizzle fans. They never got going despite an excellent start and to have shipped 6 goals in two games against two clubs who, putting it mildly, never really set League 1 alight last season, you have to worry for them.
