Bullet
Andy Thompson
Re: Jermain Defoe
When you think of top strikers, you think of great goals scored from tough positions.
But a huge number of goals are scored from tap-ins, deflections, luck etc.
Earlier Dempsey scored because Carrick lost his run and he got into space and knocked it in, pretty simple really.
Every week goals are scored because a shot is parried and the ball runs loose and gets bundled in.
So it may not be necessary to get some awesome Drogba Torres Van Persie combo to get to the CL - we just need enough bodies in the box, and enough crosses (hard and low).
Did you notice that when Dempsey scored it was Dawson busting a gut to get into the box and screaming for the pull back from Lennon?
That can be what wins games, the desire to get into the box.
Sometimes it seems like we don't get the breaks in the box, but if we got more pressure, more people in the box, more balls fired at the keeper and across the defence, it would fall to our player more often, for a tap in like tonight.
Remember the shot from Lennon, De Gea saved it and Defoe followed up and his effort was saved too? That is the kind of great follow-up work we need.
Remember the shot that was deflected and De Gea saved with his left leg? That was so fortunate to be saved, any bigger deflection and it flies in.
The same happened with Julio Cesar at QPR, Defoe's shot was deflected and saved with a leg.
Dempsey ran through, skipped a challenge, got a shot off with his left foot but somehow De Gea saved it.
We will get bits of luck in games and be coasting and saying how awesome our players are, when essentially they've done the same things as tonight.
When you think of top strikers, you think of great goals scored from tough positions.
But a huge number of goals are scored from tap-ins, deflections, luck etc.
Earlier Dempsey scored because Carrick lost his run and he got into space and knocked it in, pretty simple really.
Every week goals are scored because a shot is parried and the ball runs loose and gets bundled in.
So it may not be necessary to get some awesome Drogba Torres Van Persie combo to get to the CL - we just need enough bodies in the box, and enough crosses (hard and low).
Did you notice that when Dempsey scored it was Dawson busting a gut to get into the box and screaming for the pull back from Lennon?
That can be what wins games, the desire to get into the box.
Sometimes it seems like we don't get the breaks in the box, but if we got more pressure, more people in the box, more balls fired at the keeper and across the defence, it would fall to our player more often, for a tap in like tonight.
Remember the shot from Lennon, De Gea saved it and Defoe followed up and his effort was saved too? That is the kind of great follow-up work we need.
Remember the shot that was deflected and De Gea saved with his left leg? That was so fortunate to be saved, any bigger deflection and it flies in.
The same happened with Julio Cesar at QPR, Defoe's shot was deflected and saved with a leg.
Dempsey ran through, skipped a challenge, got a shot off with his left foot but somehow De Gea saved it.
We will get bits of luck in games and be coasting and saying how awesome our players are, when essentially they've done the same things as tonight.
