A sloppy performance from Eddie’s Mags in our first outing of the season away from St James’ Park, with Nick Pope and some last-ditch defending earning us a point in the end.
However, perhaps that is the sign of a good side when we don’t play our best but come away with something from the game? Here come the ratings from a bore draw at The Amex.
Nick Pope – 9 – Part of a social media extravaganza before the game and was our man of the match. Made a couple of superb saves and kept us in the game at times in the second half, doing brilliantly to stop Lallana’s header and March’s low shot. A lot of social media companies will owe him a fair share of free product! Definitely our number one.
Kieran Trippier – 7 – Steady showing from the England man, who cleared one off the line in the first half. Given the armband again in Lascelles’ absence. Made some good tackles and created a big chance for Burn from a corner, but was caught napping a few times, switching off for Lallana’s chance and being left for dead by Mitoma late on.
Fabian Schar – 8 – Made a superb goal-line clearance in the second half and looked cool, calm and collected amidst the chaos alongside Sven Botman.
Sven Botman – 8 – A full Premier League debut for the Dutchman and he didn’t look out of place. Won 100% of his aerial duels, showed moments of quality on the ball and never looked flustered. His best is still to come with the ball at his feet, but it was a commanding debut.
Dan Burn – 7 – Filling in for the absent Matt Targett (deal leg) at left back this afternoon with a solid performance against his former side. Allowed a few crosses to come in and headed a decent chance over, but he did little wrong aside from that and made one outstanding tackle to deny Welbeck.I question Potters decision to not start Lamptey, as his pace could’ve caused real problems down that side, however he did OK against the wing-back when he came on for the final 15 minutes.
Bruno Guimaraes – 5 – Not the Brazilian’s best afternoon in midfield. Lost possession in bad areas on a couple of occasions in the first half and struggled to find his rhythm in the game. Couldn’t get on the ball enough to influence our play.
Joelinton – 5 – Booked for an altercation with March in the second half and looked a little sluggish on the ball throughout. Still put in a shift, but well below his dominating best at The Amex.
Joe Willock – 5 – Struggled to make an impact on the game, despite being deployed in a slightly more attacking role beyond Bruno and big Joe. At risk of losing his place to Sean Longstaff ahead of next week’s clash with Man City?
Miguel Almiron – 7 – In transition ‘Miggy’ looks a fantastic player, as he often burst away from Brighton shirts and drew a few fouls – getting Mac Allister booked in the first half after breaking clear on the counter. Looked more confident on the ball and won it back in good areas on more than one occasion, although there were still a few moments where he needed to be more decisive in the final third.
Allan Saint-Maximin – 4 – Nothing came off for the Frenchman today. He was dispossessed too easily and lacked composure when breaking into the final third, firing several wayward cut-backs to blue and white shirts. Booked early on in the first half for a poor dive and replaced by Jacob Murphy with 15 minutes to play. After a really encouraging display last weekend, he was poor in all areas today.
Callum Wilson – 5 – Probably his poorest showing for a while. The ball never stuck and struggled to impose himself physically against a strong Brighton defence. Managed to put the ball in the net in the first half before it was disallowed for a high boot. Still getting back to match sharpness. Looked very frustrated all afternoon as he struggled for service from our midfield.
SUBS:
Jacob Murphy – 5 – Struggled to effect the game after coming on in the 75th minute.
Sean Longstaff – 5 – Didn’t see much of the ball late on as Brighton dominated the closing stages.
Chris Wood – N/A – Replaced Wood in the 87th minute.
Think you are a scores are quite fare St Max is playing to be away before the deadline imo, he has become a bit of a liability.
Wilson hasn’t hit his stride yet.
Considering the changes in defence the back four performed very well and Pope deserved his MOTM.
Joelinton is also becoming a liability he getting too easily wound up and he will end up getting sent off with the verbals and pick up too many bookings for his own good and that of the team.
Joseph(Quote)