THE TERMINATOR – 4/10 – What is this… Place? A Young Arne looked rather bemused and not in a happy spot as he toiled to find space and his touch after finally settling down with the realisation he wasn’t going to end up over the grill in the hotdog stall every time he went to take a corner. But this was a day out of sorts and, frustrated, he grumbled his way onto the bench early.
HAKUNA HATATE – 5/10 – Was wandering around that Dortmund park at the final whistle looking as shell-shocked as the postie ten minutes after ‘Little Boy’ dropped in to rearrange his route. But he’d been one of the few to remember who he played for last Tuesday and he carried that purpose into today. Or so it was shaping up. But after some smooth movement and insightful passing, Reo drifted out of synch. Bit surprising, as I was awaiting his intuitive positioning to bear fruit the further back they drew.
LORD KATSUMOTO – 6/10 – First time I’ve thought Daizen looked tired from the kick-off. Not quite utilising that extra mad burst of pace, as he had a few chances to put himself in finishing positions which we’d normally have seen a blur poking the ball into the net. No shortage of all-out effort for the cause, however. Now we need to tranquillise him for a fortnight before releasing him into the most intense part of the season.
DUNCAN IDAHO – 4.5/10 – Tactical choice – play your big daftie against their big dafties and see if he can rumble up something. Trouble was, we didn’t really play to our big deadly daftie’s strength at all while he was on the pitch.
He hasn’t got the deft touch for what we were asking him to do. Ironic then, that the first delivery into the box after he departed was perfect for him but had Kyogo gawking up at the skyline like a dizzy New York tourist.
TAKINTE – 7/10 – Welcome to Ross Kuhntee, Nic Kuhn! The German Jinky shook off his irritatingly stifled first 87 minutes to show his showbiz class – latching onto that sumptuous AJ ball, it was a subtle Elvis gyration of those silky hips – watch closely for it, fans of the King… – that threw the defender as he cut inside and, uh-huh, the finish was sensational. No accident or uncharacteristic flush of form – this lad’s got quality in those boots and is proving that fully-fit, he gives us a scintillating match-winning option.
SANDMAN’S DEFINITIVE RATINGS CONTINUES ON THE NEXT PAGE…
