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Henry Morton · 26-01-2005, 01:37

It was a unique opportunity to judge the fitness and commitment of our players, and I can honestly say that I was impressed by their performance over 120 minutes.

Paul Mullin always gives his all over the 90, and it was no surprise that he found it impossible to do extra time as well . Howarth proved an excellent sub ; sharp, eager.

Rory is clearly back to full fitness ; he never, ever stopped. Great crosses as usual, of course, but it seems to me that a season of 4-5-1 has caused him to start looking for Mullin as soon as he gets to the half-way line ! Even when he puts in a determined attack down the left wing he's still not reaching the bye line at that critical point half-way between the penalty area and the goal area ; closest he came was 4 yards from it in the second half, I think. And I don't criticise him, because it's obviously the way they're being told to play. His crosses will really count if he can get to that position. (Some of us can remember Dave Thomas, of QPR and England, in the Home Internationals under Joe Mercer. Perfect wing play - albeit on the right - which any player today can watch and learn from.) I know that I can be very boring on this subject, but I don't intend to apologise.

Steve Flitcroft has acquired a lot of confidence recently and is playing well, but he is physically vulnerable and the York guys muscled him off the ball too often.

Lee McEvilly was my MOTM by a long way. Those days of doubt about his fitness are now dispelled forever. His commitment is beyond criticism. He kept control of his feelings really well in the face of several rather unpleasant tackles and one particularly nasty one. He played wide, played close, tackled back, and scored a winning goal, all with remarkable skill and strength. It was clear to everyone present that if anyone was going to win this one for Stanley it would be the Evil one. Everyone at the IES had resigned themselves to a penalty shoot-out. Everyone except Mr & Mrs McEvilly's boy Lee, that is. And so it came to pass, in the 120th minute, that he blew everyone away with an amazing break fuelled by some sort of energy which no-one else on the pitch still possessed. Yes, football is a team game. Sometimes, though, it's all about individuals.

And tonight that individual was Lee McEvilly . . . a credit to Accrington Stanley Football Club.

26-01-2005, 01:37	#1
Henry Morton I am Banned Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 623 Liked: 0 times Rep Power: 0	Stanley v. York - The Positives It was a unique opportunity to judge the fitness and commitment of our players, and I can honestly say that I was impressed by their performance over 120 minutes. Paul Mullin always gives his all over the 90, and it was no surprise that he found it impossible to do extra time as well . Howarth proved an excellent sub ; sharp, eager. Rory is clearly back to full fitness ; he never, ever stopped. Great crosses as usual, of course, but it seems to me that a season of 4-5-1 has caused him to start looking for Mullin as soon as he gets to the half-way line ! Even when he puts in a determined attack down the left wing he's still not reaching the bye line at that critical point half-way between the penalty area and the goal area ; closest he came was 4 yards from it in the second half, I think. And I don't criticise him, because it's obviously the way they're being told to play. His crosses will really count if he can get to that position. (Some of us can remember Dave Thomas, of QPR and England, in the Home Internationals under Joe Mercer. Perfect wing play - albeit on the right - which any player today can watch and learn from.) I know that I can be very boring on this subject, but I don't intend to apologise. Steve Flitcroft has acquired a lot of confidence recently and is playing well, but he is physically vulnerable and the York guys muscled him off the ball too often. Lee McEvilly was my MOTM by a long way. Those days of doubt about his fitness are now dispelled forever. His commitment is beyond criticism. He kept control of his feelings really well in the face of several rather unpleasant tackles and one particularly nasty one. He played wide, played close, tackled back, and scored a winning goal, all with remarkable skill and strength. It was clear to everyone present that if anyone was going to win this one for Stanley it would be the Evil one. Everyone at the IES had resigned themselves to a penalty shoot-out. Everyone except Mr & Mrs McEvilly's boy Lee, that is. And so it came to pass, in the 120th minute, that he blew everyone away with an amazing break fuelled by some sort of energy which no-one else on the pitch still possessed. Yes, football is a team game. Sometimes, though, it's all about individuals. And tonight that individual was Lee McEvilly . . . a credit to Accrington Stanley Football Club.