The back five - player ratings

[Steve_orino]

2nd goal:

43:38 - Agbon is in the BOX!!!  Check it out AJ & Row Z, that might be useful sometime.  My apologies, anyway, the ball is 5 ft from Agbon and Hangers loses balance from what seems like a push.  Even if he was pushed though, Hangers was on the wrong side of Agbon as he was between the sideline and Agbon; not the goal and Agbon like he's supposed to be.
43:39 - Goal.  Hangers tries to recover, Smalling isn't quick enough to get over...G.O.

Game Over

Reveiwing a couple more times, Commentator mentions that Hangeland went to the referee about it being a foul.  In the replay, as Agbon comes into the box Hanger does have good positioning but Ag continues on a diagonal float all the while Hangers stays on his left shoulder - in effect putting him on the outside and giving Ag the inside...a no-no for defensemen.  As Agbon receives & turns with the ball, you can see Duff in the background with his arms outstretched as if to ask, "Where was the foul?" 

In the end, it wasn't called.  AV outplayed us.  We lost.  Let's get Portsmouth and move out of the rut that we're in.

[HatterDon]

forgive me if I'm wrong but on the first goal wasn't 6'4" chris smalling
out leaped to a header by 5'11" agbonlahor?

and on the same day, a few miles north, Everton's Cahill scored his 41st goal for the Toffees -- 21 have been headers, and I'd bet 19 of them were against center-halves taller than he is. Agbonlahor didn't out-leap Smalling, he was quicker to the prime position than Smalling, just as Cahill is over and over and over again. One reason he was quicker, was that Smalling was keeping his body between Agbonlahor and the goal, which I always thought was what a center half should do. On the second goal, however, Hangeland turned away from the direction of the ball [for reasons past understanding] and left Agbonlahor a clear view to the corner of the net.

Smalling has played 180 minutes for us since signing for United and in those 180 minutes has shown more mobility, more aggression, better positional sense, and better decision making than Brede. I dont know why so many are turning on the kid. I don't believe he's ever indicated that he thinks he's all that, and all he's done for us this season is step in when Hangeland has been injured or Hughes has needed a rest and turned in good shift after good shift.

And I do believe that I've just got my second ball.

I thin kew.

[Lighthouse]

Swart - 7- Does OK even out of form
Hughes - 5- The best centre half we have. So why play him at RB?
Smalling -5- Was at fault for the goal itself and frankly exposed as average
Hangeland - 2- Made mistake for the first. His Fault for the second, positional sense has abandoned him, still can't pass makes all the wrong decisions.
Kelly- 5- Don't know why he is criticised. Average player who is average.

[FatFreddysCat]

And i'll third that Mr AG. i haven't been a fan of Konch, but now he's out i realise i've been wrong. Can't we just dip  Ruuufus into the fountain of youth and sign him back up again?

[FatFreddysCat]

Just seen the first goal and it's 100% Smallings fault, terrible stuff from a 6ft4 bloke.

[CorkCity]

Swart - 7- Does OK even out of form
Hughes - 5- The best centre half we have. So why play him at RB?
Smalling -5- Was at fault for the goal itself and frankly exposed as average
Hangeland - 2- Made mistake for the first. His Fault for the second, positional sense has abandoned him, still can't pass makes all the wrong decisions.
Kelly- 5- Don't know why he is criticised. Average player who is average.

Totally agree with all these ratings.