ASHLEIGH PLUMPTRE

[anointed]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

[packerland]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

She is definitely a better CB than a LB due to her lack of speed. You might have a valid point about her passing ability. She had some nice passes/give and go and drew at least a couple fouls in the last 2 games. The problem with shifting her to the midfield is that the World Cup is not the right place to start testing players in unfamiliar positions.

[kali]

Don't know which match you watched. She was solid the entire game. The defensive error that led to the goal was because she rushed to cover for missing cb.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

She is definitely a better CB than a LB due to her lack of speed. You might have a valid point about her passing ability. She had some nice passes/give and go and drew at least a couple fouls in the last 2 games. The problem with shifting her to the midfield is that the World Cup is not the right place to start testing players in unfamiliar positions.

Told him jare. The team is winning, they’re happy and performing for the coach. Now he wants the coach to start experimenting in the middle of the World Cup at a time most good teams start to reach their next level of performance he wants to experiment. This kind of thinking is why we’re poor as heck; the lack of willingness and patience to make what you have better rather than starting over. What happens if the experiment fails?

[deanotito]

Honestly….I admire her heart and she seems like she understands the game well….but her defending has been weak and her attacking is just ok.

I get the sense that she understands positional play and tactics very well. It’s just the physical effort/ability that I haven’t seen enough of.

I would not even feel comfortable shifting her to CB. We can say a lot about her being played out of position at LB, but there are some basic defending traits I like to see and I haven’t seen them

[anointed]

Don't know which match you watched. She was solid the entire game. The defensive error that led to the goal was because she rushed to cover for missing cb.

Maybe it's the game you watched that's the issue. There were so many times we had to rush back to cover up lapses especially because we were giving too many balls away. As the last person in that situation, she needed to go down..

[anointed]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

She is definitely a better CB than a LB due to her lack of speed. You might have a valid point about her passing ability. She had some nice passes/give and go and drew at least a couple fouls in the last 2 games. The problem with shifting her to the midfield is that the World Cup is not the right place to start testing players in unfamiliar positions.

Told him jare. The team is winning, they’re happy and performing for the coach. Now he wants the coach to start experimenting in the middle of the World Cup at a time most good teams start to reach their next level of performance he wants to experiment. This kind of thinking is why we’re poor as heck; the lack of willingness and patience to make what you have better rather than starting over. What happens if the experiment fails?

Who said anything about "experimenting"?

I guess you have never seen it done in the middle of a tournament or even a game before? You didn't see Mikel or Ndidi become defenders in the middle of a game before?

Speak for yourself, bro. It's why you are poor as whatever.

[Bigpokey24]

some yall should stop viewing women footballers as what you see week in week out during the season when you watch top footballing leagues etc.

[onovo]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

I think she is decent enough.

[1naija]

Uncle, that's not the way to watch a player's performance, otherwise you will move every player to the midfield by the time you are done. Every player on the pitch yesterday, missed a tackle, got beat on one play or the other, or missed the person she was supposed to mark at some point. A better way is to look at her performance in totality to see if she did her job. It's clear from the match that Australia's right side was their strongest side and the player Plumptre was primarily marking is one of their best players. She contained her for the most part. Even the goal you mentioned, if you look at the sequence of the play and positioning of all the players involved, she is the least to blame. Unless you want to move Alozie and the other 2 defenders that was beaten by the Australian player that laid the perfect pass for the goal to the midfield also.

Sometimes the opponents just had a good play!

[media]https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-68a791b02000102[/media]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

[Cmoke]

The genesis if Aussies first goal was poor goal kick by Nnadozie - her weak point!

Uncle, that's not the way to watch a player's performance, otherwise you will move every player to the midfield by the time you are done. Every player on the pitch yesterday, missed a tackle, got beat on one play or the other, or missed the person she was supposed to mark at some point. A better way is to look at her performance in totality to see if she did her job. It's clear from the match that Australia's right side was their strongest side and the player Plumptre was primarily marking is one of their best players. She contained her for the most part. Even the goal you mentioned, if you look at the sequence of the play and positioning of all the players involved, she is the least to blame. Unless you want to move Alozie and the other 2 defenders that was beaten by the Australian player that laid the perfect pass for the goal to the midfield also.

Sometimes the opponents just had a good play!

[media]https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-68a791b02000102[/media]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

[Cellular]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

She has shown to be one of their better defenders. And she doesn't give the ball away when the ball is played to her.
Moreover, defending is done as a unit.
If you are to pinpoint individual errors outside of Ohale she has been the most consistent of the 4 at the back.

We don't need her in midfield. We have enough midfielders already. What we need is for the wide players to put in a decent shift on the defensive side of the ball... something Ordega did very well.

BTW, imagine if it was her that was at the end of the individual mistakes by the likes of Alozie and Dehmehin.

[packerland]

I doubt if she's good defender but she's a good passer of the ball. She was complicit as a last
person in the Aussie's first goal. There were other defensive gaffes I noticed.

So, why put her in the defence on a team that has challenges passing and servicing its attack?
The team already has some mean and spirited defenders!

I think she should be relocated to the midfield. I guess the coaches will be said to know better.
The best of a player like Asisat has not been seen because for long cos the service has never been
there but we know she can do stuff from yesterday's tight-angle goal that some SE players past
and players may not have scored., and that was courtesy of a defensive blunder from the Aussie's
defence.

She has shown to be one of their better defenders. And she doesn't give the ball away when the ball is played to her.
Moreover, defending is done as a unit.
If you are to pinpoint individual errors outside of Ohale she has been the most consistent of the 4 at the back.

We don't need her in midfield. We have enough midfielders already. What we need is for the wide players to put in a decent shift on the defensive side of the ball... something Ordega did very well.

BTW, imagine if it was her that was at the end of the individual mistakes by the likes of Alozie and Dehmehin.

Alozie is lucky she has speed to burn. She has gotten caught out of position in one or two occasions.

[Enugu II]

Honestly….I admire her heart and she seems like she understands the game well….but her defending has been weak and her attacking is just ok.

I get the sense that she understands positional play and tactics very well. It’s just the physical effort/ability that I haven’t seen enough of.

I would not even feel comfortable shifting her to CB. We can say a lot about her being played out of position at LB, but there are some basic defending traits I like to see and I haven’t seen them

Dean,

I feel exactly the same way. As for midfield? I wouldn't try that either because midfield requires a high work rate and she has not shown that she can handle that, at least from her performance thus far on the field. I will not risk that. Best is keep her stuck wide defense where there is a less risk and you can utilize her occasional but assured passing with range.

[waka-man]

For sure she’s no left back but let’s not start blaming her for that first Aussie goal. She was screaming for someone to track the run of the scorer as she still had her woman to track. She makes a last second call to switch and arrives a split second too late. You could see how livid she was.

I think Randy is playing her in the right position for us right now. Even the gaps that appear behind her seem calculated which is why we’re playing with a deep lying 6.

This team is designed for soaking up pressure, counter attacking and the ball over the top to the speed merchants. I still can’t wait to see a starting line up of Kanu, Oshoala and Ajigbade. That will scare the living daylights out of any defence in the world with Payne doing her thing behind them. The rest of the team including Plumtre can just lock the doors behind them.

[felarey]

She's a central defender playing as a left back and it shows. Some people like their LB in the form of a young Taiwo, Babayaro, Ashley Cole etc. She's not that type of player. She was one of our best players on the pitch against Canada where she had to contain Adriana Leon. But the Aussies sourced out her weakness (i.e. recovery) and sought to exploit it. Her strength is positioning and the trifecta of Raso, Edgmond and ConnyCross figured best to put her on 2 v 1 situations and got penetration. Nevermind Raso being a fast, skillful, quality player. I was surprised when she got subbed and they shifted to long ball strategy. Our coach was right to sub out Plumptre and the replacement did the job but Aussie tactics also changed.

Not sure how she'd fare in midfield, I think she'd definitely need a partner playing closer to her to link with in reduced space... minimum 4 man midfield.

We need a plan though for these long ball, huff it up to a targetman strategy. We conceded so many corners and they scored from their 15th corner in the game. It's a glaring weakness we have right now. German, Bri'ish, scandinavian, Aussie plus NZ teams seem to be good at this and have headers of the ball, perhaps Plumptre from experience knows a thing about countering these headmasters. Maybe she should be moved to centre when it happens, that might work.

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

What have you all been smoking? The goal resulted from a cross into the middle of the box from our right flank. You didn’t blame the central defenders who failed to clear the ball. Instead you’re blaming the LB who only came over to help. You guys have an agenda and it shows. Somebody earlier on had stated a preference for Rofiat Imuran at LB… but sorry, you are not the coach. I’m certain the coach knows who the most suitable person to play at LB is


Cheers.

[deanotito]

Honestly….I admire her heart and she seems like she understands the game well….but her defending has been weak and her attacking is just ok.

I get the sense that she understands positional play and tactics very well. It’s just the physical effort/ability that I haven’t seen enough of.

I would not even feel comfortable shifting her to CB. We can say a lot about her being played out of position at LB, but there are some basic defending traits I like to see and I haven’t seen them

Dean,

I feel exactly the same way. As for midfield? I wouldn't try that either because midfield requires a high work rate and she has not shown that she can handle that, at least from her performance thus far on the field. I will not risk that. Best is keep her stuck wide defense where there is a less risk and you can utilize her occasional but assured passing with range.

I’m surprised by the amount of support she’s getting on this thread. I like her, but to me, her weaknesses are fairly obvious and they transcend just being played out of position. Were I an attacker, I’d go after her every chance I got

[mcal]

...it is not her fault.
3 Aussies vs 2 Nigeria defenders, the rest of the defenders were out of position 3 of them marking the one crosser of the ball.
This is what happens in a fast break, at least Plumtre recovered quicker than the others.
Sh's being blamed because she was closest to the goal scorer.

https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-68 ... le-one-box

[obrin2]

...it is not her fault.
3 Aussies vs 2 Nigeria defenders, the rest of the defenders were out of position 3 of them marking the one crosser of the ball.
This is what happens in a fast break, at least Plumtre recovered quicker than the others.
Sh's being blamed because she was closest to the goal scorer.

https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-68 ... le-one-box

I agree it wasn't her fault. If you guys rewatch the sequence again. It was a simple breakdown of the defensive structure on the breakaway of the aussies. 3 SF players tracking the one player who puts in a cross with only one central defender back positioned centrally, and ashleigh had to be positioned neutrally to allow her to get to the ball if it happens to end up on left side which she was responsible for. She tried to lunge at the ball the very last second, unfortunately the on rushing aussie player got to the ball first. Who to blame? I would say the SF player behind the scorer who could not keep up with the aussie or one of the 3 SF players should have been better positioned centrally to close down the space for the shot to come in. In the end, you win as a team and lose as a team. No need to start blaming certain players.

[Enugu II]

Honestly….I admire her heart and she seems like she understands the game well….but her defending has been weak and her attacking is just ok.

I get the sense that she understands positional play and tactics very well. It’s just the physical effort/ability that I haven’t seen enough of.

I would not even feel comfortable shifting her to CB. We can say a lot about her being played out of position at LB, but there are some basic defending traits I like to see and I haven’t seen them

Dean,

I feel exactly the same way. As for midfield? I wouldn't try that either because midfield requires a high work rate and she has not shown that she can handle that, at least from her performance thus far on the field. I will not risk that. Best is keep her stuck wide defense where there is a less risk and you can utilize her occasional but assured passing with range.

I’m surprised by the amount of support she’s getting on this thread. I like her, but to me, her weaknesses are fairly obvious and they transcend just being played out of position. Were I an attacker, I’d go after her every chance I got

Dean,

The thing is that some of these things were pointed out even after a couple of games that she played for Nigeria but the thing is that when guys like a player then such a player can do no wrong. My view is clearly she is our best passer of the ball out of the defense but really there are glaring weaknesses with her play that differentiate her from the stronger defenders on this team across the line.

In any case, I hope we get past the next hurdle utilizing our offensive pace that should trouble the Irish. I do not think we will be pinned down in our half as much as we witnessed in the previous two games. Moreover, as long as we score first the Falcons would deflate the spirit of the Irish girls, I hope.

Moreover, I think Desire Oparanozie would have recovered well enough to have a run as a sub in this upcoming game. She has got the pace and power to constantly harass the Irish. The problem is that she can be wild with her shooting at times.

[packerland]

Honestly….I admire her heart and she seems like she understands the game well….but her defending has been weak and her attacking is just ok.

I get the sense that she understands positional play and tactics very well. It’s just the physical effort/ability that I haven’t seen enough of.

I would not even feel comfortable shifting her to CB. We can say a lot about her being played out of position at LB, but there are some basic defending traits I like to see and I haven’t seen them

Dean,

I feel exactly the same way. As for midfield? I wouldn't try that either because midfield requires a high work rate and she has not shown that she can handle that, at least from her performance thus far on the field. I will not risk that. Best is keep her stuck wide defense where there is a less risk and you can utilize her occasional but assured passing with range.

I’m surprised by the amount of support she’s getting on this thread. I like her, but to me, her weaknesses are fairly obvious and they transcend just being played out of position. Were I an attacker, I’d go after her every chance I got

Dean,

The thing is that some of these things were pointed out even after a couple of games that she played for Nigeria but the thing is that when guys like a player then such a player can do no wrong. My view is clearly she is our best passer of the ball out of the defense but really there are glaring weaknesses with her play that differentiate her from the stronger defenders on this team across the line.

In any case, I hope we get past the next hurdle utilizing our offensive pace that should trouble the Irish. I do not think we will be pinned down in our half as much as we witnessed in the previous two games. Moreover, as long as we score first the Falcons would deflate the spirit of the Irish girls, I hope.

Moreover, I think Desire Oparanozie would have recovered well enough to have a run as a sub in this upcoming game. She has got the pace and power to constantly harass the Irish. The problem is that she can be wild with her shooting at times.

That is an understatement. Abeg, Oparanozie and Ordega can chop bench small. I want to see Gift Monday get a run.

[Tbite]

Maybe she was being asked to do too much.

Let me say this. She did much more good than harm. If she was complicit in ONE goal, well she may have saved FOUR goals.

She seemed to nullify aerial threats (which I would say were the main threat we faced) BEFORE it even got into the box. So she was an important defender for us, because she was one of the few preventing the onslaught. The other defenders I feel left it too late and we conceded too many corners.

There might be a positional/tactical issue, but I wouldn't go as far as saying she is a bad defender. Far from it. We might have lost the game WITHOUT her.