Pre-Season: Hertha BSC vs WHUFC -- July 31st, 2019

Well pre-season is back on the web... the Chinese debacle (losing to Steve Bruce's Newcastle) is done and we're back against Hertha...

found me VPN, walked the dog... looked for the live stream...

and missed the first three minutes of the game to see us a goal down...

Wilshire getting knocked off the ball a lot...

Fabianski puled from goal about ten minutes before the stat - so that's something that sets the jitters going... hopefully nothing serious but we'll see.

Only took ten minutes to get us back in the game...

ball out of midfield from Wilshire... Haller picks it up, cuts it back to Fornals who slots it nicely past the keeper...

so we're looking a lot more comfortable

Johnson is getting another run out at right back, so does this mean this is his season or is this just a trick to throw off the rest of the league?

Wilshire seems to be playing very deep - almost in the Rice role...

Johnson is involved in a lot of the play but unfortunately involved in a lot of the losing possession as well...

I was just about to write that we'd made some nice passing moves through the middle (especially the goal) when Hertha just slice through the team like the proverbial and slam the ball past the keeper and we're back in the being beaten position.

Also goes to show how our defense obviously has not changed at all from last season and more worryingly with him not playing... how much we relied on Fabianski to stop us being relegated...

Hertha won the ball in their half and none of our team touched it until we picked it out of the back of the net.

Now Hertha have a corner...

Jeez... Balbuena tried to clear but hit various players and somehow Hertha managed to miss from 4 yards out...

Apart from Fabianski... this is a pretty strong (on paper) WHUFC XI - so to be cut to ribbons so often is not encouraging...

Haller looks ok. Nice interplay with Fornals for the goal...

and we're back in the game baby...

Lanzini out wide on his own as we play it forward... needs no other assistance than that and his grass cutter clips the inside of the far post and is in...

So we're good going forward...

WHEN we go forward...

Looking a bit invisible when the opportunity have possession

and looking a bit 6's & 7's at the back

so if we play teams that can't score and don't attack - we should be good... otherwise - like today - even our good play is just chasing the game...

5 mins to half time... a Herha player needs a bit of TLC...

would be nice to go in either level or if we can sneak the lead...

we're conceding way too many goals in pre-season

Anderson looks exactly the same as last season... either involved and worth every penny or an extremely expensive passenger...

Haller is showing nice touches and good awareness

Johnson is all energy... needs a bit more focus and concentration

first half done... all square.

some good things to be happy about...

some not so good things to keep us a little bit trepidatious...

in other words... West Ham

players coming out for the 2nd half....

no changes at the break... interesting...

56 minutes before we get our first real attack of the 2nd half... Fornals i the thick of things...

Finally anderson decides to do something and plays in a great cross ball for Wilshire to miss the diving header...

four subs warming up for a big change...

Looks like...

Coming on:
Ogbonna
Snodgrass
Antonio
Sanchez...

Coming off:
Rice
Wilshire
Balbuena
fornals

30 minutes for the 'new' line-up to make something happen...

and that we do is concede another goal...

long ball form defense to the halfway line... defense nowhere to be found...

keeper saves the first strike but the rebound is easily slotted into the open net...

Not sure about the subs... Yarmalenko is playing... but that would make 5 subs if Antonio is on...

I'll try to find out...

Why did Ogbonna stay and Obiang go? I always thought Obiang was the better of the two...

Yes... that's the players that came on...
Ogbonna
Sanchez
Yarmalenko
Antonio

ball in the net again for Hertha... but again they get called offside...


lot of people saying we're defensively worse than last season... can't argue that it looks that way...

but the problems start a lot further forward...

we look decent going forward but the moment e concede possession (which is still way too frequently) and the ball comes back at us... the entire team seems to switch off...

anyway... we have a corner - which is nice.

and now we have a goal... from a free kick... Snoddy takes... Haller at the far post stoops to head the ball off the far post and into the net...

More changes...

so Haller scores them leaves...

Chicharito comes on...
Diangana on...
Zabaleta on...

manukau is also on... so we're either playing with 19 players or someone else came off...

who'd wanna be a pre-season commentator...?



15 minutes to go...

I mean it's a good thing that we've not been downhearted when going behind and have come back three times...

but yes... would be better not to go behind...

oooh... great goal...

all the way form Chicharito on the wng... back to the middle Yarmalenko to Sanchez who sets up Grady who slips the defender and passes into the corner of the net...

oooh... we're actually in the lead...

more chances since the changes...

the defense looks a lot more solid... but whether that's because ur defense is more solid or because the changes to the Hertha line-up has thrown them off... difficult to say...

8 minutes to hang on and get a second win in austria...

Hertha have a corner...

Ogbonna gives away a corner by deflecting the west ham throw in out of play...

coming off an almost goal for Antonio...

Terrible goalkeeping... leaving the goal open but the shot whistles over the bar... and the ref whistles for some kind of infringement...

so maybe it's Hertha not being as good rather than our defense having stepped up...

antonio fouled and still down as we wait to take a free kick...

he's got to his feet... 90 seconds of regular play left...

and guess what...

Antonio scores...

a ping-pong affair from the free kick... shoddy to diangana, to antonio to diangana back to antonio and boom... into the back of the net...

3-5... that'll do nicely.

whistle goes...

three times we went a goal down...

three times we came back...

then took the lead...

then increased it...

open game... no real pressure...

but we won... we scored 5...

three wins and two losses in the five games so far...

the front line looks good

the midfield looks good going forward - anonymous when called on to defend

the defense is pretty piss poor

what the fupp do we do if Fabianski doesn't play?

I think our strongest back 5 going into the season is going to be:
Fabianski
Federicks
Balbuena
Diop
Masuaku

I think whoever plays Saturday inthe Betway Cup will be almost certain to start Against City next weekend.

I hope not, Roberto, Cresswell and Fredericks will get torn apart on their showing yesterday. 

I hope Fabianski is fit for Citeh, I'd also play Masuaku as Left back. 

Fredericks will need to be on his best form with no switch off moments