New Bristol Rovers Match thread
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Southampton Gull
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Andy, to top it all off, Saints beat Barnsley
Dave
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A fantastic day for our fans yesterday in Bristol. We should be very proud of our club after the team's performance on the pitch and our part to play from the stands. It's always a great feeling to put one over a rival, and that's what Rovers are for now. They may move on to better things under Buckle, and we may be in for a season of mid-table consolidation, but for this weekend, I think we're allowed to enjoy this!
Onto the game and I feel we were very good value for our win. We took the lead after Atieno was given the freedom of the Memorial Stadium to find the far corner, a good finish from a player that has excelled everyone's expectations at this very early stage. He then cottons onto a hospital pass from their liability of a full back, Smith, Bevan hacks him down and Howe tucks away the penalty with aplomb. We then had more chances, Saah just over from a header from a corner, and Morris was found on the left hand side of the box on his own but he couldn't find the target. The half was, dare I say it, pretty comfortable, apart from Olejnik dropping the ball from a cross under a lot of pressure that couldn't be converted and a Virgo free kick that was saved well. We had the majority of the play and the better chances.
Second half, Rovers started brightly and we were put under pressure. Unfortunately we conceded during this time and I have to blame Bobby for the goal. The throw in that led to the goal only came about because he punched the ball out under no pressure whatsoever, it skidded off his gloves and went for a throw-in in a dangerous position. It should have been caught and we could have regrouped in what was a hard time for our defence. Could he also have done better on the original shot that was parried to Anthony to nod home? I'm unsure, but I feel during the whole passage of play, Olejnik could have done better. The next 10 minutes after the goal was more pressure from the home team but we stood up to it. We did manage a great chance in this time, Nicholson's free kick was floated over and Morris had a free header at the back post which Bevan did very well to turn round the post. Carayol still looked dangerous but his final ball was, quelle surprise, disappointing. After he was replaced, we started to counter attack a lot better, Howe's shot from a tight angled one on one fell to Atieno, who then showed good skill and fantastic composure to take the ball around three or four Bristol Rovers players, including the keeper but his shot was blocked on the line. O'Kane then should have been found from a Morris cross but it evaded him by an inch on the goalline, Mansell and Morris both had chances 20 yards out that could and maybe should have found the target, and Howe and Atieno both still looked extremely lively. Up the other end, Kuffour was denied by a great save by Bobby, who is clearly a good shot-stopper, and Zebs fluffed his lines from a good chance when Robbo was dispossed on the edge of our own box when trying to dribble out of defence. Shaun Taylor must have had kittens at that point! We held out well in the very late stages of the game and the points were ours.
We played some nice football at times, but we also knew when to play a little bit more direct and get the ball in behind what is a very slow Rovers defence. Our partnerships are starting to take shape now - Howe and Atieno, Mansell and O'Kane, Saah and Robbo. Carayol only looked dangerous because he was in one-on-one situations with Oastler way too often. Joe was given little help by Danny Stevens and that is one area I'm sure Ling won't be too happy with. The fact Mcphee replaced Stevens was testiment to this I feel as Chris spent a lot of his time in our own half. Buckle's decision to take Carayol off was trademark Buckle and they lost their outlet on the left. Howe was fantastic, his hold up play is a joy to watch and he isn't as slow as some would have you believe. "An elephant with ballerina shoes" is how I heard him described in the terraces and an apt description it is. Atieno also has very good hold up play and it is certainly the Martin Ling way to feed the strikers on the floor and bring in others around them. Both Southampton and Bristol Rovers fans have berated their centre halves after their games against us. It's no co-incidence, our strikers our an absolute handful. Mansell and O'Kane look like they have played together for years, when one links up up front the other is there to stop the break, O'Kane is effective as a deep playmaker or someone playing in behind the strikers and Mansell is clearly suited to breaking forward as well as being tenacious in our half. It's a great pairing. Robbo was imperious again, he gets better and better the more I see him, and it's even more impressive now he's on the left hand side of defence.
Rovers look for Harrold in the air at every opportunity and it's not pretty. He wins a fair bit, unless he comes up against Chris Robertson it seems, and it will probably fare them well against weaker defences then ours, but it's unattractive football where winning the second ball is vital. Their centre midfield isn't a great pairing, both are slow and don't work too well together. Virgo and Anthony are also very slow and were suspect against any sort of running at them or pace. Some player comments:-
Bobby - 6.5 - Not the great commander of his box as we were hoping but a great shot-stopper. At fault for their goal in some capacity and his kicking was not good either. Made some good saves though.
Oastler - 7 - Did ok at right back against a tricky customer. Was given little help in the first hour of the game and unsurprisingly Carayol did get in behind him once or twice. Thankfully nothing came of it but he is still getting used to the position.
Saah - 7 - Brian was pretty solid yesterday and is clearly very good at the last ditch tackle in the box or blocking a shot that is bound for the goal. He did lose a bit in the air and his distribution wasn't great but it was a good display at the heart of the defence which was important. Should have done better with a chance from a corner.
Robbo - 9 - Absolutely awesome at centre half. Didn't lose much in the air, countless interceptions, sliding tackles - one in particular against Kuffour when he was baring down on goal was fantastic. Was clearing every cross and he gets better and better. Branston has taught him the tricks of the trade too it seems!
Nico - 8 - Anyinsah was very quiet and that means Nico did well. Gave the ball away a bit but his set-piece delivery was mostly good again. Was especially good in the second half.
Stevens - 7 - Attacking wise he got in some good positions that we could have profited from had his teammates looked up and found him. He looked dangerous when he drifted into the centre, playing some neat balls and running at their centre halves. Defensively he didn't do enough to help out Oastler, especially during our dodgy spell at the beginning of the second half and that is why he was taken off, not because of his ineffectiveness in attack. He was bright.
O'Kane - 8 - Has improved the dirty side of his game massively. He's always had talent in passing the ball and he was ok in possession yesterday but his tackling and harrassing of opponents was just as good as Mansell and he is becoming a rounded footballer (not in the Howe sense though).
Mansell - 8.5 - He genuinely looks an attacking threat at the moment, breaking forward and enjoying the excellent hold up play of our front two. He's clearly high in confidence as he kept taking shots on when a pass may have been better. The perfect captain for our team.
Morris - 8 - Excellent on the ball, showed a few tricks, rarely gave the ball away, good link-up with the forward men. Doesn't have a great deal of pace though and he probably should have scored yesterday, three of four excellent opportunities. Didn't lose one header yesterday against their full back.
Atieno - 9 - I wasn't expecting much of this lad when he signed and thought he would be a lanky forward that has a lot of pace and not much ability. Wrong! He is accomplished in possession, strong, quick, got a good, powerful shot on him, holds the ball up nearly as well as Howe, hard working. Hopefully he can keep it up for a prolonged period of time because if he can - excellent find Mr. Ling!
Howe - 9.5 - This lad's hold up play is above our standard. The ball sticks to him, whether it comes to him on his chest, his middrift, his feet, he will control and then somehow find a way to turn and find himself in space. He isn't slow, he is hard-working, and yes he may need to lose some weight but I think his build helps him to keep the ball so well! A massive threat to their defence. He did tire in the second half and it would have been nice to be able to bring someone on in the last 10 minutes to chase the ball down from clearances.
Mcphee - 7 - Tidy in possession but his work helping Oastler was better than his predecessor. Hard to see where he could break into the team and whether he is good enough.
Kee - 6 - Billy didn't work anywhere near hard enough when he came on. Not only was his work off the ball not good, his work on it wasn't much better. Gave the ball away, not great control, skied a half decent chance. Disappointing.
Cue wild celebrations at the final whistle. Mansell, Nicholson and Oastler certainly enjoyed it when they came over to the fans! What a day :~D
Onto the game and I feel we were very good value for our win. We took the lead after Atieno was given the freedom of the Memorial Stadium to find the far corner, a good finish from a player that has excelled everyone's expectations at this very early stage. He then cottons onto a hospital pass from their liability of a full back, Smith, Bevan hacks him down and Howe tucks away the penalty with aplomb. We then had more chances, Saah just over from a header from a corner, and Morris was found on the left hand side of the box on his own but he couldn't find the target. The half was, dare I say it, pretty comfortable, apart from Olejnik dropping the ball from a cross under a lot of pressure that couldn't be converted and a Virgo free kick that was saved well. We had the majority of the play and the better chances.
Second half, Rovers started brightly and we were put under pressure. Unfortunately we conceded during this time and I have to blame Bobby for the goal. The throw in that led to the goal only came about because he punched the ball out under no pressure whatsoever, it skidded off his gloves and went for a throw-in in a dangerous position. It should have been caught and we could have regrouped in what was a hard time for our defence. Could he also have done better on the original shot that was parried to Anthony to nod home? I'm unsure, but I feel during the whole passage of play, Olejnik could have done better. The next 10 minutes after the goal was more pressure from the home team but we stood up to it. We did manage a great chance in this time, Nicholson's free kick was floated over and Morris had a free header at the back post which Bevan did very well to turn round the post. Carayol still looked dangerous but his final ball was, quelle surprise, disappointing. After he was replaced, we started to counter attack a lot better, Howe's shot from a tight angled one on one fell to Atieno, who then showed good skill and fantastic composure to take the ball around three or four Bristol Rovers players, including the keeper but his shot was blocked on the line. O'Kane then should have been found from a Morris cross but it evaded him by an inch on the goalline, Mansell and Morris both had chances 20 yards out that could and maybe should have found the target, and Howe and Atieno both still looked extremely lively. Up the other end, Kuffour was denied by a great save by Bobby, who is clearly a good shot-stopper, and Zebs fluffed his lines from a good chance when Robbo was dispossed on the edge of our own box when trying to dribble out of defence. Shaun Taylor must have had kittens at that point! We held out well in the very late stages of the game and the points were ours.
We played some nice football at times, but we also knew when to play a little bit more direct and get the ball in behind what is a very slow Rovers defence. Our partnerships are starting to take shape now - Howe and Atieno, Mansell and O'Kane, Saah and Robbo. Carayol only looked dangerous because he was in one-on-one situations with Oastler way too often. Joe was given little help by Danny Stevens and that is one area I'm sure Ling won't be too happy with. The fact Mcphee replaced Stevens was testiment to this I feel as Chris spent a lot of his time in our own half. Buckle's decision to take Carayol off was trademark Buckle and they lost their outlet on the left. Howe was fantastic, his hold up play is a joy to watch and he isn't as slow as some would have you believe. "An elephant with ballerina shoes" is how I heard him described in the terraces and an apt description it is. Atieno also has very good hold up play and it is certainly the Martin Ling way to feed the strikers on the floor and bring in others around them. Both Southampton and Bristol Rovers fans have berated their centre halves after their games against us. It's no co-incidence, our strikers our an absolute handful. Mansell and O'Kane look like they have played together for years, when one links up up front the other is there to stop the break, O'Kane is effective as a deep playmaker or someone playing in behind the strikers and Mansell is clearly suited to breaking forward as well as being tenacious in our half. It's a great pairing. Robbo was imperious again, he gets better and better the more I see him, and it's even more impressive now he's on the left hand side of defence.
Rovers look for Harrold in the air at every opportunity and it's not pretty. He wins a fair bit, unless he comes up against Chris Robertson it seems, and it will probably fare them well against weaker defences then ours, but it's unattractive football where winning the second ball is vital. Their centre midfield isn't a great pairing, both are slow and don't work too well together. Virgo and Anthony are also very slow and were suspect against any sort of running at them or pace. Some player comments:-
Bobby - 6.5 - Not the great commander of his box as we were hoping but a great shot-stopper. At fault for their goal in some capacity and his kicking was not good either. Made some good saves though.
Oastler - 7 - Did ok at right back against a tricky customer. Was given little help in the first hour of the game and unsurprisingly Carayol did get in behind him once or twice. Thankfully nothing came of it but he is still getting used to the position.
Saah - 7 - Brian was pretty solid yesterday and is clearly very good at the last ditch tackle in the box or blocking a shot that is bound for the goal. He did lose a bit in the air and his distribution wasn't great but it was a good display at the heart of the defence which was important. Should have done better with a chance from a corner.
Robbo - 9 - Absolutely awesome at centre half. Didn't lose much in the air, countless interceptions, sliding tackles - one in particular against Kuffour when he was baring down on goal was fantastic. Was clearing every cross and he gets better and better. Branston has taught him the tricks of the trade too it seems!
Nico - 8 - Anyinsah was very quiet and that means Nico did well. Gave the ball away a bit but his set-piece delivery was mostly good again. Was especially good in the second half.
Stevens - 7 - Attacking wise he got in some good positions that we could have profited from had his teammates looked up and found him. He looked dangerous when he drifted into the centre, playing some neat balls and running at their centre halves. Defensively he didn't do enough to help out Oastler, especially during our dodgy spell at the beginning of the second half and that is why he was taken off, not because of his ineffectiveness in attack. He was bright.
O'Kane - 8 - Has improved the dirty side of his game massively. He's always had talent in passing the ball and he was ok in possession yesterday but his tackling and harrassing of opponents was just as good as Mansell and he is becoming a rounded footballer (not in the Howe sense though).
Mansell - 8.5 - He genuinely looks an attacking threat at the moment, breaking forward and enjoying the excellent hold up play of our front two. He's clearly high in confidence as he kept taking shots on when a pass may have been better. The perfect captain for our team.
Morris - 8 - Excellent on the ball, showed a few tricks, rarely gave the ball away, good link-up with the forward men. Doesn't have a great deal of pace though and he probably should have scored yesterday, three of four excellent opportunities. Didn't lose one header yesterday against their full back.
Atieno - 9 - I wasn't expecting much of this lad when he signed and thought he would be a lanky forward that has a lot of pace and not much ability. Wrong! He is accomplished in possession, strong, quick, got a good, powerful shot on him, holds the ball up nearly as well as Howe, hard working. Hopefully he can keep it up for a prolonged period of time because if he can - excellent find Mr. Ling!
Howe - 9.5 - This lad's hold up play is above our standard. The ball sticks to him, whether it comes to him on his chest, his middrift, his feet, he will control and then somehow find a way to turn and find himself in space. He isn't slow, he is hard-working, and yes he may need to lose some weight but I think his build helps him to keep the ball so well! A massive threat to their defence. He did tire in the second half and it would have been nice to be able to bring someone on in the last 10 minutes to chase the ball down from clearances.
Mcphee - 7 - Tidy in possession but his work helping Oastler was better than his predecessor. Hard to see where he could break into the team and whether he is good enough.
Kee - 6 - Billy didn't work anywhere near hard enough when he came on. Not only was his work off the ball not good, his work on it wasn't much better. Gave the ball away, not great control, skied a half decent chance. Disappointing.
Cue wild celebrations at the final whistle. Mansell, Nicholson and Oastler certainly enjoyed it when they came over to the fans! What a day :~D
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Southampton Gull
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SuperNickyWroe wrote:hi everyone from sunny and hot marmaris in turkey!!!!
great result yesterday!!
That's strange, a trace of your current IP shows you to be in a static caravan in Cleethorpes
Dave
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Kinky John Fowler
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My brother-in-law came round to Kinky Towers this morning (gashead but nice lad). After I had tethered him to the fence he gave me his lowdown on events at the Minimal ground yesterday. In a nutshell "ref was crap, fair play to Torquay they played well though and their fans were loud as f*ck, gave as good as they got mind, can I eat this funny looking mushro...".
City and the Gas dispatched with ease in recent weeks, Torquay is the new Southwest footballing powerhouse perhaps?
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Im gonna listen to us get hammered by Cardiff. Dark clouds over Brizzle.
Congrats Gulls
City and the Gas dispatched with ease in recent weeks, Torquay is the new Southwest footballing powerhouse perhaps?
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Im gonna listen to us get hammered by Cardiff. Dark clouds over Brizzle.
Congrats Gulls
Last edited by Kinky John Fowler on 14 Aug 2011, 13:09, edited 1 time in total.
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AustrianAndyGull
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Haha! There are no caravans in Cleethorpes that are static, they've all been nicked!Southampton Gull wrote:
That's strange, a trace of your current IP shows you to be in a static caravan in Cleethorpes
Strangely enough it was Pope Gregory the 9th inviting me for drinks aboard his steam yacht, the saucy sue currently wintering in montego bay with the England cricket team and the Balanese Goddess of plenty.
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Plymouth Gull
Haha, thanks Louis.Louis wrote:So glad I've managed to recover this, NickGull would have quite rightly killed me!! Top matchday topic start mate!
This is the first time I've been able to get on as I couldn't get on last night (gutted - missed all the other responses - was there a corker from BritishGas?)
I've just got a permanent smile on my face, had it all weekend. Delighted. I won't say much as I've read and agreed with most others.
Olejnik was solid, two top class saves, the Virgo freekick then Kuffour in the second half.
Oastler did well, first half especially. Carayol got into it more in the second.
Saah was better today, although he's like Robbo in that he'll shirtpull, which is a bit worrying.
Robbo had a good battle with Harrold. Harrold was the best I've seen him, and there were several times when another referee would have given Rovers more than one freekick on the edge of the box. Luckily it wasn't to be.
Nicho was good, you could see how much it meant to him and Manse to get one over Buckle.
Stevens was quiet, unfortunately.
Mansell and O'Kane outdid one of the better L2 Central midfield pairings we'll face this season. Both awesome.
Morris was good. I see him more as a wide midfielder than a winger that we've been used to. It was the same when McPhee came on.
Howe & Atieno were quality. Gave their back 4 a torrid time.
All in all, fantastic day.
What an epic day out really enjoyed this one, much of my thoughts on the match have gone now, sorry to hear some of our fan's came in for a hard time on the way back to there car's, i walked up the road surrounded by Rovers fans and to balance this out a bit htey were all fine, no problems at all.
Formerly known as forevertufc
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Gashead1979
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gullno4 wrote:So so so happy! I'd like to think the yellow army played a big part in yesterdays match! The 12th man certainly appeared, roll on aldershot
He did, the ref apparently.......
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Southampton Gull
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Hearsay, just hearsay............comment when you can vouch for it with your own eyes 
Dave
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Gashead1979
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Southampton Gull wrote:Hearsay, just hearsay............comment when you can vouch for it with your own eyes
of course, only kiddin. didnt sound like we deserved anything but the ref didnt help.
Hopefully we'll give you a right hammering at Plainmoor once the team,have bedded in a bit
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stefano
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One can only hope I suppose ... although it's nice to see you handle disappointment well as that attribute will probably be needed again come March!Gashead1979 wrote:
of course, only kiddin. didnt sound like we deserved anything but the ref didnt help.
Hopefully we'll give you a right hammering at Plainmoor once the team,have bedded in a bit
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Glostergull
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I think you will find he was secretly in Bristol on Saturday. The IP adress was bounced off Cleethorpes. It was actualy in Severn Beach!!Southampton Gull wrote:
That's strange, a trace of your current IP shows you to be in a static caravan in Cleethorpes
Always Look on the bright side of life
Check out my poems topic... http://www.torquayfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4843
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Glostergull
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It seems as if this thread is on it's way out. But before it dissapears for good I would just like to add a small ditti I heard during the match on Saturday. Especialy as I haven't been able to get on this forum for ever.
A Rovers fan I know was talking to me during the match. He commented after going 2 goals down. "Would we like Buckle back".
Now I know they got a goal back and even actually managed to win against "AC Northampton" at the Mem with fatty Arbuckle Akinfatwa and all but he still insisted, would we like him back.
Errr let me think about that for a few moments. tick tick tick .03 seconds later. NNNOOOOOOOOOO!
A Rovers fan I know was talking to me during the match. He commented after going 2 goals down. "Would we like Buckle back".
Now I know they got a goal back and even actually managed to win against "AC Northampton" at the Mem with fatty Arbuckle Akinfatwa and all but he still insisted, would we like him back.
Errr let me think about that for a few moments. tick tick tick .03 seconds later. NNNOOOOOOOOOO!
Always Look on the bright side of life
Check out my poems topic... http://www.torquayfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4843
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