Some positives? Rufer looked back to his best or near to it. Possibly due to low quality opposition.
Smith I thought played pretty well. Big strong guy, tackles well and good in the air. Good goalline save. Actually passes out from the back well (he's another former / makeshift midfielder, like Sheridan and LKH) But.. he doesn't run, he lumbers, and I think he will be caught out one day. Noticeable that teammates avoided passing to him early on.
I thought the Nix started the season short one experienced CB, and today highlighted that. LKH did his best but he's simply not a CB IMO, and not the lynchpin of a backline.
Entertaining game.
Smith I thought played pretty well. Big strong guy, tackles well and good in the air. Good goalline save. Actually passes out from the back well (he's another former / makeshift midfielder, like Sheridan and LKH) But.. he doesn't run, he lumbers, and I think he will be caught out one day. Noticeable that teammates avoided passing to him early on.
I thought the Nix started the season short one experienced CB, and today highlighted that. LKH did his best but he's simply not a CB IMO, and not the lynchpin of a backline.
Entertaining game.
i like your point about running / lumbering. it comes from a systems focus at the expense of winning duals, as well as the obvious lack of conditioning / sprint training. seems to be a common NZ footballer thing that shows up worse on the big guys.