I remember once saying that I thought Peck was never going to manage to get his first goal for United, and it honestly did feel that way during the 66 games it took him to open his account. I would never in a million years have thought I’d see the day he bagged a hat-trick.
The game itself was hardly one of immense quality, but it was a good show of character to bounce back after conceding so early on and drag us within a point of the top eight.
Michael Cooper - 5
Conceded with both shots on target faced, though it would be very harsh to attribute the blame for either goal to him. Potentially saved us from going 2-0 down when he was first out to a ball it initially looked like he might not get to.
Hamza Choudhury - 5
Struggled early on, getting beaten a few times, but has to earn some redemption points for getting between Erabi and the ball when the PNE striker would’ve had an easy chance.
Japhet Tanganga - 5
Was generally good, but his awful defensive header in the build-up to the second goal definitely hurts him here.
Mark McGuinness - 4
Probably fortunate to get away with a few in the game, as he seemed to have a tight hold on his man on more than one occasion without giving away a foul, then managed to lose a header to someone about half a foot shorter than him for the second goal.
Harrison Burrows - 6
Awarded the assist for Peck’s first and, while there was obviously little intent to set up a chance with that pass, it does show exactly what Burrows is good for: his play in and around the opposition penalty area.
Jairo Riedewald - 5
Fairly anonymous in the game. Didn’t do much massively positive or negative.
Sydie Peck - 10
Tahith Chong - 4
Lost it far too easily in the build-up to the opener, though he did almost redeem himself after taking on a couple of defenders and sending his effort just wide.
Romelle Donovan - 6
Thought he was far from his best here, but still played a perfect cross into Peck and offers us so much that even that is still a positive display.
Ben Brereton-Diaz - 7
Played some really nice passes, including a flick in behind to release Peck. Looks much better suited to the role he’s currently playing.
Tom Cannon - 3
Won pretty much nothing at the top of the pitch. I’ve reiterated my point that I don’t like to let data sway my opinions here, but FotMob has him at 2/23 duels won in that game.
Ratings system:
0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.
1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.
2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.
3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.
4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.
5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.
6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.
7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.
8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.
9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.
10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.