We’re back again with another pre-season player ratings! Unfortunately I wasn’t at Chelmsford so couldn’t cover that game but luckily I was able to make it to Wealdstone. Mike Williamson fielded what’s probably been his strongest line-up so far this pre-season and it showed from the result, securing a 1-3 win.
Once again I’ll be giving two separate squad ratings, one for the team that started the game and another for the players that came on at the 60 minute mark. Jack Tucker and Callum Tripp played in both XI’s so they’ll be listed with the second XI but it’s worth noting that both players came on long before the other substitutions were made. With the explanations out the way, here’s how I rated the players after the 1-3 win over Wealdstone:
Formation: 5-4-1/5-2-2-1 (Two holding midfielders and two attacking midfielders)
FIRST XI:
GK – Tom McGill – 6.5: Had a quiet game in terms of shot-stopping, only really having to make one or two routine saves. McGill’s distribution was mostly solid with the exception of a long ball he put straight out of play. Importantly, he looked confident and displayed positive body language, unlike a certain loan keeper from last season.
RWB – Joe Pritchard – 4.5: It became apparent very quickly that wingback isn’t a natural position for Pritchard. His positioning was all over the place and he struggled to make an impact. He looked solid enough when on the ball but he did leave Sam Sherring a little exposed at times. It would be worth seeing Pritchard playing his best position before judging him too harshly. Pritchard was replaced by Callum Tripp at half-time.
RCB – Sam Sherring – 7: Sherring looked solid enough for the most part. He did make one mistake giving the ball away in a dangerous area but he got back quickly to make the challenge and win the ball back. Sherring looked comfortable on the ball and wasn’t afraid to pick out passes over the top or play out under pressure. He seemed to work particularly well alongside Luke Offord.
CB – Luke Offord – 7.5: Stood out as a centre-back, mopping up even in situations where it looked like Wealdstone might break through. Offord looked good on the ball and wasn’t intimidated by opposition players pressing him, often combining with the likes of Liam Kelly to navigate the minefield of Wealdstone players. He moved into the holding midfield role after 30 minutes when Jack Tucker came on for MJ Williams. Offord didn’t look quite as impressive as he did in defence, though he kept things ticking nicely in the middle of the park.
LCB – Laurence Maguire – 6: Probably the shakiest of the starting back three though he improved as the game went on. He did gift Wealdstone a corner with a rogue pass that was intended for McGill but fortunately it came to nothing. Maguire was dominant in the air and did play the ball out well enough aside from the previously mentioned mistake.
LWB – Joe Tomlinson – 7.5: Tomlinson’s been playing in this system for longer than a lot of this squad and it showed. He was constantly asking questions of Wealdstone’s back line with his runs and it wasn’t long before he capitalised on a mistake at the back, scoring after 16 minutes to make it 0-2. Tomlinson did all of this without neglecting his defensive duties, getting stuck in and winning his aerial battles.
CM – MJ Williams – 5: Lacked consistency with his passing and a lot of the better passages of build-up play seemed to bypass Williams. He did have a few good moments, but nothing that really stood out. Williams came off after 30 minutes for Jack Tucker.
CM – Liam Kelly – 8 (TOP DON): Outstanding! Kelly immediately emerged as The Dons’ key player, dictating the game and picking out passes all over the pitch. It felt like every attacking move came through him at some point and he very rarely made mistakes, only really giving the ball away one or two times. Kelly positioned himself well to help Dons play out under pressure. This enabled the team to either counter quickly or simply defuse the situation by rotating the ball so efficiently that Wealdstone couldn’t keep up.
RAM – Stephen Wearne – 7: Wearne had a relatively quiet game aside from his goal, though it was very well taken. After Callum Hendry crossed the ball back for Alex Gilbey, The Dons captain let the ball run through for Wearne, who comfortably finished a very well-worked move. This made it 0-1 after 12 minutes. Wearne carried on getting involved with the build-up play where possible though at times it seemed like he didn’t know where to go with Pritchard pushing quite high up beside him. Tomlinson did the same thing on the other side so maybe Wearne needed to drop in deeper to get more involved.
LAM – Alex Gilbey (C) – 7: Didn’t do much in terms of attacking output but he was an important cog in the machine, getting involved in a lot of the build-up play. His decision to let the ball run through his legs for Wearne’s goal gave his teammate that extra bit of space needed to find the back of the net. Gilbey put in a shift and contributed well to the press, protecting Tomlinson from any breaks down the left.
ST – Callum Hendry – 7.5: Hendry displayed a very impressive work-rate, putting defenders under pressure and making lots of runs. It was this work-rate and determination that saw him set up Wearne’s goal. He collected a ball forward and managed to beat his man. He did get a little lucky with the bounce but he battled well to make sure he got through. From there he played a lovely ball back for Wearne to finish. Hendry was unlucky not to get a goal for himself, hitting the post with a free-kick. He has a good shot on him and a little bit of an attitude, though not quite as easily irritated as Max Dean used to be.
TEAM RATING – 7: The First XI played some beautiful football. It was very easy on the eye and showed dominance, even with Wealdstone pressing deep into The Dons’ half. There were numerous passages where the team got the ball from back to front with Wealdstone barely getting a touch of the ball which is a really promising sign. After going 0-2 up Dons did seem to settle down a little bit rather than going for more goals which was a bit disappointing. Overall the First XI looked very tough to beat, though admittedly Wealdstone looked like a much weaker side than the Barnet team that Dons faced earlier in pre-season.
SECOND XI:
GK – Nathan Harness – 6.5: Harness carried on from where McGill left off, playing the ball out from the back. There wasn’t much he could’ve done about the goal and he didn’t have to make many saves.
RWB – Callum Tripp – 6.5: Tripp came on at half-time whilst the first team were still on the pitch. He battled well with his marker for the entire half, never giving his opponent space to breathe. Tripp did get beaten a couple of times but he always tracked back and tried to make up for it. He looked good on the ball and caused Wealdstone a few problems, though his final ball was lacking a little bit. A resolute performance.
RCB – Charlie Stirland – 6: A solid showing from the young defender. Stirland played the ball out from the back well enough and showed good levels of composure with both his in possession and out of possession play. He tried to cover his teammates where possible and put in a respectable shift.
CB – Jack Tucker – 5: Mostly solid but his one mistake per game curse returned. He wasn’t the only one at fault for Wealdstone’s goal but he committed to his challenge far too soon, allowing the opposition player to feed his teammate through, giving the rest of the defence no chance to prevent the shot. Aside from this he defended well, winning his aerial battles and passing the ball around without too many problems.
LCB – Dean Lewington (C) – 6.5: Confident on the ball and tough with his tackling. This was a typical Lewington performance, getting stuck in when required whilst also showing the technical ability to play out from the back. The goal came from his side though it was more on Tucker to defend it than it was on the skipper.
LWB – Charlie Waller – 5.5: It was quite noticeable that Waller was playing out of position but he positioned himself as best he could. He did fade from the game at times but he looked okay on the ball and tried to get forward where possible.
CM – Tom Carroll – 6.5: Passed the ball around well enough though with the exception of one or two quality balls forward, he lacked creativity. Carroll clearly has the ability to pick out these more incisive passes but he didn’t try it often enough, often content to pass it around with the defence. He also broke up play well.
CM – Conor Grant – 7: Showed more creative flair than Carroll alongside him though not all of his tricks and turns paid off like they did against Barnet. He did give the ball away a few times but he showed more willingness to get the ball moving forward. Grant did technically get an assist for his ball through to Dennis but unfortunately the goal was ruled out for offside.
RAM – Ellis Harrison – 5: The game seemed to pass him by a little bit. There were a lot of occasions where the ball could’ve found its way to Harrison but it never quite did. He put himself in the right positions but it wasn’t quite coming off for him. He played the ball about nicely enough when he did get it though.
LAM – Tommy Leigh – 4: Hopefully this was just a one-off performance because Leigh looked totally out of it. He gave the ball away near enough every time he had it and was too physically weak when battling for the ball. A lot of Dons’ attacks were stopped due to his lack of quality. He did start to find his feet towards the end but it was too little too late.
ST – Matt Dennis – 7.5 (TOP DON): Doesn’t have the same work-rate that Hendry had but he’s a different sort of striker. If you get Dennis the ball he will create something, as he showed when he scored a fantastic goal from outside the box after beating his man, putting Dons 1-3 ahead after 81 minutes. He nearly scored a few minutes earlier as well after running onto Grant’s through ball and finishing the effort smoothly. Unfortunately he was slightly offside so it was disallowed. Dennis is making the right runs and shows incredible strength on the ball as well, he just needs to be given the service.
TEAM RATING – 6: The Second XI fell a little bit flat in terms of performance. There were a few solid performances but too many were average or below par. This in turn allowed Wealdstone to get a foothold in the game and had Dennis not stepped up with a moment of quality, it could’ve been quite an edgy finish to the game. In comparison to the First XI, this team felt disjointed. With this being said, Callum Tripp deserves a bit of extra praise for playing as well as he did out of position. Given that he played 45 minutes, perhaps it’s an indication that he could make the jump into men’s football this season. He’s certainly one that will be given chances in cup competitions at the very least.
If you’ve read this far then thank you! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the game in the comments below and I hope you enjoyed the read!
