A low key match played in a lower key atmosphere. I’m not a fan of preseason friendlies myself, I don’t understand why we’re still playing them in October.
We won but the players and supporters of Rubin Kazan (a hundred of them? Maybe?) can feel aggrieved that they left north London empty handed. I’ve not seen the stats but the Russians must’ve been well clear on shots and possession. They were slicker and quicker with the ball on the night, we looked disjointed and often half-hearted. Even when Harry brought on the big guns with 15 minutes left in an effort to stave off what seemed like an inevitable equaliser we still looked vulnerable as the away team sped past and through our midfield.
Luckily Gomes had a good night, the highlight of which was a first half reflex save from a close range header. Walker and Bassong were probably the pick of a mediocre bunch elsewhere.
Pav’s goal was a fine one, and given our normal ineptness from free kicks one to be noted, it was out of character with his static and listless performance however. Still, it was his edge of the box strike that’ll be showcased in the Russian shop window and if nothing else it was a better effort than his memorable strike in the 2009 LC final against Man U which is probably still orbiting the planet. Giovani was disappointing, he struggled to make space and didn’t do anything with it when he found it.
Anyway, blah blah moan moan. We won and that’s the main thing; we’ll get a pasting in Russia if we play like this the though.
By MF
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