So this was the game to save our season. Or at least make a start. And it's very nice to come home from a freezing football match having won 3-1. In truth it was quite a nice game because we had a team at our level who also want to play football (like us, they're just not terribly good at it) and these are absolutely the games we need to win. Like the West Brom and Blackpool games that we didn't but today we had some good fortune. When Wigan had a penalty at 2-0 up, it could all have started to go very wrong if they had scored. But Rob Green saved what was, in truth, a pretty poor effort and we could leave off the nervousness until the 85th minute and our obligatory concession.
Our first two goals were surprising. Behrami got into the box from midfield for Piquionne's knock-down, held off two defenders and prodded the ball home. A very quiet Boleyn Ground found its voice. Then, in the second half, from his fiftieth shot of the season, Obinna found the net. If that's his goals to shots ratio, we'll be well into the new year before we see another. But the third goal was business as usual - Super Scott won a ball in midfield, drove forward and released Obinna to his left, continued his run into the box and beat the defender to the cross. Determination, vision and skill all in the one package.
Of course we had time for the numbnuts to boo Carlton Cole coming on to replace Piquionne at 3-0 up - as if that's going to help the team.
And even Avram managed to seem animated on the touchline, waving his arms around incomprehensibly. But he had made a number of decisive changes for the game. Ilunga was not even on the bench as was entirely proper after his abject display at Liverpool. Gabbidon shuffled across to left back and Tomkins came into central defence. Behrami and Stanislas came into midfield to replace the injured Noble and the incompetent Boa Morte. Cole was on the bench with Obinna and Piquionne up front in a more solid 4-4-2 formation. So maybe Avram was watching the same game as the rest of us last week.
Now it's just the two Manchester teams in a week - United in the fizzypop, City in the Premiership next Saturday. The return of King Carlos is unlikely to bring us any points, but they're not in the league we need to win. Blackburn and Fulham in the next two games are much more important for us.
It's the hope, always the hope .......
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