Originally Posted by
Eric the Half a Bee
I thought Slovakia got things wrong. They tried to defend virtually the entire second half and that always asks for trouble, even if the opposition doesn't look like scoring. It only takes one ball into the box to drop in the right area, one deflected shot, one misplaced clearance or header and it's in the net.
I don't understand why teams do it. They get into a winning position by playing a certain way, then think we'll stop doing this and hold on to what we've got. It invites pressure. It reminded me a bit of us at Leeds on the opening day of last season. Ahead, deservedly so and playing well, then sat back. Southampton and Ipswich were guilty of it against us. It was almost as if it was a case of "what a result this would be, we have to protect it". It could be said that Slovakia, as we were on that day, were moments away from a terrific victory and those defensive tactics would have been hailed as the right thing. But how often are there late equalisers or winners in games, often where teams try to see things out and not bother having any attacking threat? Too many.
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