Player Ratings: Sheffield United vs Sheffield Wednesday (2-1) and Portsmouth (1-0)
After a short break, Riley’s back with DERBY DAY ratings...
Riley Roberts
Sheffield Wednesday
Michael Cooper - 5
Had nothing to do for large parts of the game before being beaten at his near post by McNeill. Was brave in a few challenges where he threw himself towards an attacker’s feet to challenge for a low ball.
Femi Seriki - 6
A weird one as he had some shaky moments and at times did look like he was in a bit of trouble, but he was able to make sure that, even for all his efforts, Wednesday winger Ndala was unable to be too productive.
Japhet Tanganga - 7
Going to give the CBs a bit of a joint assessment as they both had very similar, good performances. Wednesday’s forwards struggled in their individual battles with the pair, and when the going got tough after Phillips’ red, they both found themselves defending the box well.
Tyler Bindon - 7
See above.
Harrison Burrows - 7
Got his goal not long after firing an effort just wide, but had one of his better performances of the season all round, with a couple of early passes down the line getting us into good areas.
Kalvin Phillips - 2
Can we please just stop this red card epidemic?
Sydie Peck - 6
Maybe controversial, but I thought Peck started the game pretty poorly, as he gave away possession cheaply in the middle a few times at 1-0. His pass, though, for that second goal was a thing of beauty, weighted to perfection, and his energy towards the end of the game and after it showed just what an asset he is.
Andre Brooks - 5
Hassled the Wednesday defenders throughout his time on the pitch without causing all that much damage.
Callum O’Hare - 4
Maybe a harsh rating, but I thought he had a few too many loose touches which led to a bit of scrappiness, though he was unfortunate not to score after seeing an effort bounce back off the post.
Gustavo Hamer - 7
Subbed after the red card, but he was probably on his way to a MOTM display after a delightful assist for the opener.
Patrick Bamford - 7
Bagged the opening goal with a beautifully patient finish. A good performance from an outrageously good signing.
Subs
Ki-Jana Hoever - 6
Not often do I rate subs on here, but I feel a special mention needs to go to a player I was less than thrilled to see entering the fray, but who had a really solid half an hour or so, making some nice tackles to shut down Wednesday attacks.
Average rating - 5.75
Portsmouth
Michael Cooper - 8
Despite the fact it usually means we haven’t played great, it feels so good to say that Michael Cooper is potentially back to match-winning shutouts after the tricky spells he’s experienced this season.
Femi Seriki - 4
Struggled defensively, especially in the first half, where he was often in a heap on the floor or being dribbled past.
Japhet Tanganga - 6
Had a lot to deal with as we ceded control of the game for the most part, but he was individually solid enough.
Tyler Bindon - 7
Battled well throughout the game despite being up against a tough customer in Colby Bishop. His post-match interview too was a clear highlight.
Harrison Burrows - 5
Despite Pompey’s Segecic looking extremely lively, he didn’t actually produce all that much, for which you do have to give Burrows credit, though he never looked fully comfortable in the game, with a couple of poor passes also highlighting that.
Djibril Soumare - 3
A really bad day as he struggled to put any kind of stamp on the game, often losing the ball and allowing Pompey to break.
Kalvin Phillips - 6
Put in a solid shift despite our struggle to control the game. Did incredibly well, as Wilder said, to go for 85 minutes despite only being recommended 60.
Andre Brooks - 6
It was a quiet day for Brooksy, as he spent a lot of the game going the other way and didn’t really manage to produce much when he did get the ball in good areas. That was until the 90th minute, when he was in the right place at the right time to secure a slightly fortuitous victory.
Gustavo Hamer - 5
Had some early moments of promise, including striking the post from an acute angle, though his big moments in the game were infrequent.
Tom Cannon - 3
Subbed at the break after doing very little in the first half.
Patrick Bamford - 4
Had a tough day as Pompey’s CB defended well, but it’s hard to call it anything other than disappointing when a player of Bamford’s quality struggles to make much of a meaningful impact.
Subs
Callum O’Hare - 5
Came on for Cannon and generally added a bit of connectivity to our play without having a huge individual impact.
Average rating - 5.17
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.