This was pretty much the perfect start to the campaign and we really couldn’t have asked for a whole lot more.
While there were plenty of things that we obviously still need to work on and improve, there were just as many signs that genuine progress has been made since last season and that left me feeling positive as I came away from the game.
But, let’s start with identifying the problems. I spoke recently about how the pre-season campaign could potentially be problematic and I saw the first signs that here against Barnsley.
In the opening 20 minutes, there was several times where the fullbacks were exposed, particularly down our left side, where Clint Hill was left in some really dangerous one-on-one or two-on-one situations.
The issue was that there was clear confusion between Hogan Ephraim and Alejandro Faurlin and occasionally Shaun Derry too. All three seemed a little unsure about who should be offering cover and between them all there was hesitation about who ought to take responsibility.
For me, this is a clear issue that stems from pre-season. When you play this system and roll over the oppositions or play sides who are inferior so that you always have the ball and are on the attack, it doesn’t prepare you for when things break down and you need to react to counters or shifts of possession.
As this scenario probably wasn’t as common in the friendly matches, these guys haven’t had to defend or deal with these situations as much, so hopefully it’s just a teething issue that can be sorted out but we need to get on the ball quickly because better teams will hurt us if we’re as generous in the future.
Similarly Kaspars Gorkss had another head injury and required stitches and the poor sod has had plenty of head knocks since he joined us, but at the same time, it didn’t surprise me. He got caught underneath the ball a couple of times and kept misjudging the flight of the ball and was beaten in the air constantly.
In that sense, it was a bit of a shaky start, but he’s been like that before and usually sorts himself out after a run of games where he can build his rhythm, form and consistency. So I’m not too worried about that at this stage, but my feeling is he needs to get into the swing of things before he’s flying.
I was also slightly concerned by the state of the pitch as well. It cut up a lot just from the warm up over on the Ellerslie Road side. It was a bit difficult to spot, but we need the pitch to hold up over the course of the season and I hope it’s not going to cause us any real problems.
But let’s get onto the good stuff, because there were plenty of positives with the real highlight for me being the performance of Jamie Mackie and he looks the sort of player that will be a fans favourite.
I liked how he came off the right flank and into central positions in the first-half and while he plays a little too high tempo all the time, his work ethic and desire was just fantastic throughout the match. The club needs these characters who just want to play football and are willing to die for the shirt and he looks like he can fit that role. I was thrilled he got a goal and the fact that he still ran in when most people turned away thinking the keeper had picked it up is a testament to his personality.
I thought we also did quite well with our starting positions from dead ball situations. We had better shape and depth from free-kicks, corners, throw-ins and goal-kicks. These can seem minor on the surface, but we just had a better chance to react to situations and either defend or attack properly.
I think a lot of it was to do with Shaun Derry’s performance actually as I think for a defensive midfielder, he actually supported the defence and attack really well and was always on hand to help out and be involved in anything potentially dangerous to our goal. I’m still not sure if he will play well all the time, but in certain games, he will definitely be a bonus for us because of the way he plays.
And while we may be concerned about a lack of pace at the back, I think the two new fullbacks in Bradley Orr and Clint Hill have given us far better balance and shape. I’m really excited by the Mackie and Orr combination and hope that flourishes over the coming months.
We also shouldn’t rule out the importance of four different players getting on the scoresheet so early in the season. It helps breed confidence, including goals for players who were out of favour last season and that’s important.
I was also pleased with Adel Taarabt’s body language, which looked far more positive to his teammates and the fans and he seemed to mix up playing and passing with individuality quite well and he, along with Ephraim, put some lovely deliveries in for the forwards.
Overall and on this evidence, we’re still got work to do. Barnsley were a little unlucky not to score and should have had a penalty, but by the same token we can only react to what’s happened and deal with what’s in front of us at the time and we did that well.
When I look at the team, I still don’t see a promotion winning side there just yet, but I do see a team that can be a real nuisance and surely players like Akos Buzsaky and Matthew Connolly can only improve that first-eleven. Throw in another striker of quality and then we’re going to be more than just a nuisance for anybody.
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