Marek Rodak: There was very little for Rodak to do today but he almost made a mess with the ball at his feet late in the second half, he held onto it for too long and was lucky to see the attacker’s challenge go behind for a goal kick. In the second half he delivered a beautiful ball out wide to Decordova-Reid to set up an attack which was definitely his highlight. Nothing he could have done to stop the goal. 6
Neco Williams: A very promising performance again from Williams, I still think he has work to do to improve defensively and will be found out against better sides but driving forwards he looks very good indeed. He whipped in some beautiful crosses and made an excellent run from halfway into the area, passing 4 players on his way, it ended with a penalty shout and what should have been a goal for Harrison Reed after Decordova-Reid picked up the ball to lay it off for him. 7
Tosin Adarabioyo: A solid game from Tosin until the Peterborough goal, he was an onlooker as Seri found Wilson who’s volley was parried away and he wasn’t alert enough to the counter attack. His man had the edge on him as soon as the ball came forward and he was unable to get back to help Ream out against the attacking duo of Morton and Marriott. These lapses in concentration must be cut out and they make me nervous as we approach another season in the Premier League. 6
Tim Ream: A relatively strong performance from the captain in Cairney’s absence but nothing to shout about. The defence still seems leaky as it has done for a while now and Ream, along with others, giving the ball away in dangerous areas has contributed to that. It seems to happen most games at the moment but that is something we have to risk to play the way we do. 6
Antonee Robinson: I want to highlight an excellent piece of covering from Robinson who somehow mustered up the pace to prevent a one on one chance for Peterborough, he might not be in the best vain of form but he certainly showed his worth on this occasion. Aside from that it was a fairly solid performance from him, he was caught out of position a couple of times but so was everyone in that backline. 6
Harrison Reed: Much like Seri he’s found himself sat on the bench recently behind Chalobah but was restored to the starting line up for this one. He was as reliable as ever and found himself in a more advance position filling in for Cairney who was out with illness. It was his inventive flick on that found Mitrovic before he was taken out for the penalty, I’m not sure he meant it but it still came off. He also had a rare opportunity to grab himself a goal, he managed to keep his effort on target but should have directed it either side of the keeper. If Cairney is back on the weekend then it will most likely be between Reed and Seri for the CDM spot. 7
Jean Michael Seri: I’ve been surprised we haven’t seen more of Seri since he returned from AFCON and this performance showed why. He controlled everything through the middle and really showed off his range of passing. Peterborough did well to crowd us out in the first half but in the second half he found the gaps and provided two sumptuous chips behind their backline to Mitrovic and Wilson who were both denied one on one by some great goalkeeping, any other day and that’s two assists for Seri, no less than he deserved. My man of the match. 8
Fabio Carvalho: Carvalho struggled to break through the Peterborough defence in the first half but as the space opened up in the second half he certainly made the most of it. Once again he looked menacing every time he touched the ball, and his skill followed by a perfectly weighted through ball found Kebano who in turn found Mitrovic to make it 2-0. A beautifully crafted move started by Fabio. His name was sung once again from the Hammy End after contract situations have hushed that recently but I for one will sing his name every game I can. He’s a very talented player who I want to watch as much as possible whilst we still can. 8
Bobby Decordova-Reid: Bobby showed his value with his work rate and willingness to fill in various positions. He started the game wide right but was frustrated by the Peterborough defence and struggled to make quite the same impact that he has in recent games. Despite that, he found himself in promising positions and should have had an assist as he set up Reed who was denied by the fingertips of Benda. Later on he found himself in central midfield as Reed was replaced by Wilson who occupied the right wing position. 7
Neeskens Kebano: Back in the starting lineup after being benched on Saturday and the tricky winger showed his form again. Along with the rest of the side he struggled to really make an impact in the first half but he found gaps in the second and after five games without a goal involvement he managed his 6th assist of the season as his cross inevitably found Mitrovic to make it 2-0. 7
Aleksandar Mitrovic: Record breaker! We all knew it wouldn’t be long until he broke the record, he was taken down in the first half and dispatched the resulting penalty. He sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 32 goals in 30 games and he was on hand to place a side-footed volley into the corner of the net in the second half to extend his tally. On another day he’d have followed it up with two more goals! He’ll be kicking himself that he didn’t capitalise on a couple of free headers and he was denied his hat-trick by some excellent goalkeeping after being slipped through by Seri. Once again his hold up play and passing was impressive. 8
Substitutes:
Harry Wilson: Wilson disappointed again when he came on, he was relatively quiet compared to the standard we’ve seen him at for much of the season and we’ve come to expect a lot more which is a compliment to him. He made a brilliant run in the closing stages and latched onto Seri’s ball over the top but didn’t connect as he’d have hoped and was denied by Benda, the counter attack followed this and Marriott pulled one back for Peterborough to set up a nervy finish. 5
Ivan Cavaleiro: It was a decent cameo from Cavaleiro who continues to build up his fitness after an extensive injury lay-off. He was bright when he came on and created some promising situations down the left. He was unlucky not to find the net after he beat his man at the near post but he also blasted one well over the bar from distance. I think with some more game time he can be an important player between now and the end of the season. 7
Josh Onomah: He was only one for ten minutes and unsurprisingly didn’t manage to get heavily involved in the play. 5
