Torquay United v Rotherham United

[SuperNickyWroe]

all over, cracking game, well played both sides, another draw for mr ling to mull over!

well done! would have taken a point!

well we won the 2nd half one nil! =D

[Southampton Gull]

Looking forward to this one, tough looking game but think we are more than capable. I'm hoping we can get one of the strikers on the score sheet, to keep their confidence up if nothing else. Not sure what the crowd will be, never going to be brillant with 2 games in a week, but hopefully Rotherham will bring a few more than Macc/Cheltenham have managed. Think i'll go for another draw ...... 3-3.

Good shout

[Enzo]

A cracking point. Well fought fellas. Cheers for the updates.

Another draw, but I think this season is just going to be one of consolidation. This is good point gained on the relegation strugglers like Argyle, Hereford, Barnet and Bristol Rovers.

[Gullscorer]

Early poor defending cost us. But at least in this game it didn't take until half-time to begin the improvement.

[Dave]

Wow what can i say about this game, 10 minutes in 2 down and very worried, as Rotherham climbed all over us and our defence were making there very own episode of the key stone cop's, once again the spark came from Bodin as it looked like the team were going to fight there way back, before a dissapointing 3rd for them.



Nicho's goal just before the break gave us aplatorm for a much improved team performance and a worthy point gained, once again i think Saah stepped up another gear and is getting better each game, atlast we are staring to see the player , most of us thought he was.

[Colorado Gull]

A match report will be posted later tonight, I have started it but will be going out now and won't be back until late, so I will post up my report then.

[yellow]

Wow what can i say about this game, 10 minutes in 2 down and very worried, as Rotherham climbed all over us and our defence were making there very own episode of the key stone cop's, once again the spark came from Bodin as it looked like the team were going to fight there way back, before a dissapointing 3rd for them.



Nicho's goal just before the break gave us aplatorm for a much improved team performance and a worthy point gained, once again i think Saah stepped up another gear and is getting better each game, atlast we are staring to see the player , most of us thought he was.

Good to hear Forza.

[westbaygull]

Ta everso for all the updates on here - was going to go today but swapped a shift so that one of the girls could go to the Hat Festival (Bridport is soooo rock n roll...).
Was a bit pessimistic before kick off, even more so when checked my phone after 10 minutes so am delighted with the result. Well done to all you lot who brightened my mood with the posts on here.
Bix - the boots are pvc I'm afraid :whip:

[SuperNickyWroe]

Ta everso for all the updates on here - was going to go today but swapped a shift so that one of the girls could go to the Hat Festival (Bridport is soooo rock n roll...).
Was a bit pessimistic before kick off, even more so when checked my phone after 10 minutes so am delighted with the result. Well done to all you lot who brightened my mood with the posts on here.
Bix - the boots are pvc I'm afraid :whip:

of course they are miss whiplash :whip: sorry i meant Jane...... =D

[yellowforever]

Well, apart from some abysmal defending in the first half, not a bad performance against one of the better teams in the league. A couple of things to note;

1) Not sure really what McPhee offers us in the position he played (wide right on a front 3) and I'd have much prefered Atieno to play there all game (and learn some wing play) or even give Macklin a go there.

2) Bodin is very good, get him till the end of the season please, preferably longer.

3) Saah had a good game, Robertson didn't, bit of a switch around there after the previous games I've seen them in.

4) If we play the 4-3-3 formation again, which I think we should, then if Manse and O'Kane go forward, Lathrope has to sit deeper.

5) With Howe's flick on's and clever balls over the defence as he drops back a bit, the team is crying out for some pace other than Bodin.

[markw]

What a game, thought we were dead at 0-2 but said next goal was so important , and it proved to be. Make no mistake Rotherham are very good going forward , couldn't work out if we were playing 4 3 3 or a 4 2 3 1 . Eunan appeared to have a free role which suits him, with manse and lathrope doing most of the donkey work. Rene put in a shift and a half today and was my man of the match . Did we deserve to win at the end , not sure. They looked like scoring as much as we did in the second half .
Haven't heard Lings post match comments but the radio said he was critical of some of our defending, which have to agree with.
But all in all great match great excitement

[Modgull]

Agree that this was a cracking game - excellent entertainment.

Hopeless defending in the first half leads me to wonder what our assistant manager is bringing to the party. I remain very critical of Saah, in the first half he was totally dominated by the Rotherham strikers. But it was Robbo who was at fault for the second goal. And Oastler was consistently beaten by Evans, their winger and most dangerous player.

I thought Rene Howe was immense today - bringing the ball under control, bringing others into play and scoring a truly classy goal. Bodin was also impressive.

I also thought McPhee played a good game down the right.

As for yours truly's attempts at the cross bar challenge - well, taxi for Modgull!

[Colorado Gull]

We all knew that playing Rotherham would be a tough test and a draw would be a good result, and that’s exactly what the outcome was, the points shared. The Millers were the strongest in the 1st half and that showed by scoring 3 goals in the first 45 minutes. But we were no push overs at times in the 1st half, by scoring 2 goals you could see why. In the 2nd half we were the stronger side and an equalising goal showed that. In the end we earned that point but some would say that we deserved to get that extra goal in the final minutes to steal a victory.

In the early stages of the game Mansell was getting stuck in, as he always does, and linked up well with Eunan and Howe. After this the Millers got into the game with a dangerous cross made to scare the Torquay defence. Rotherham were on top and when the game was just 3 minutes old the visitors took the lead by Lewis Grabban (who was a threat all game!) A kick from the Rotherham goalkeeper came straight to a midfielder who was unmarked! He gave the ball out to the winger who beat Oastler, shot towards goal Olejnik saved, but Grabban scored the rebound. 0-1

The Millers were now on the front foot piling on the pressure, beating the Torquay full backs and winning corners. We tried our hardest to get an equaliser straight after conceding, just like we did against Cheltenham. Nicholson, Bodin and Manse played well together and linked up with Howe and Eunan but nothing came at the end of that passage of play.

However the Millers were still the better side and that was awarded with another goal on the 9 minute mark. Very poor play by the defenders, mostly Robertson unfortunately, a deflected cross came in from the left, Robbo attempted to clear the ball away but he completely missed itl! The ball went out for a corner, the corner was taken and the cross went straight to the unmarked Cresswell (whom Robertson should have been marking) heading home! 0-2

After the 2nd conceding goal we sprung into life Bodin linking up with Eunan fantastically well. A one two was played by O’Kane and Bodin and the striker on loan from Swindon shot at goal with power and he scored! 1-2, the goals keep on coming!!

Following that goal from Bodin, it was all Torquay, linking up well in every department. Rene Howe was fouled in the 1st half after the goal and a free kick was given. Nicholson crossed in a good ball but it was cleared away for a throw in. Nicholson took the throw in and the ball was cleared for a Torquay corner. Nicholson took the corner with great technique but it came to nothing. After this the possession was 50/50.

Howe, O’Kane, Nicholson and Mansell all linked up well, but the Millers still piled on the pressure. The Rotherham wingers made life difficult for Oastler and Nicholson but no danger was really created. A sloppy mis-kick from Olejnik but luckily there was no Rotherham forward to pounce on an opportunity to have a glorious chance to score. Mcphee made some ground tracking back and he tackled well.

Rene Howe played well with the ball at his feet linking up well with Lathrope and Bodin, Billy Bodin retrieved the ball and shot towards goal and his effort just whispered past the post. Bodin also linked up with Nicholson at the back tackling well, but the Rotherham wingers were still causing trouble!

Howe and Mcphee weren’t a great target for the long ball but linked up once again passing well together. Even better tackling from Mcphee was made but when he looks for a long ball he plays them with sloppiness. With that sloppiness in mind a 3rd goal was scored by Rotherham when there was only 11 minutes of the 1st half to be played. Silly mistakes at the back again, a cross came in from the left and Grabban headed the ball into the net to make the score line read 1-3!

Robertson had a pretty poor game; he just couldn’t handle the man he was marking. Mcphee was just awful at times, plus there was no Midfield and we couldn’t clear the ball away at this time. But Nicholson (who was awarded Man of the Match) scored on 41 minutes to cut the score line down to only 1 goal. He showed that never say die attitude. He collected the ball at the back, linked up with Bodin, retrieved the ball again and shot for goal. His shot was deflected up in the air and he headed the ball into the net! 2-3

Straight after this goal, Eunan linked up with Howe and Bodin winning a corner. Eunan took the corner and it was a poor one, and it was cleared for a throw in. Nicholson with a terrific throw in, Robertson attempted to get to the ball but the Rotherham defenders cleared the ball out for another corner. Eunan took it again, this time the cross was a better one but it was cleared.

And that pretty much sums up the 1st half, it was pretty dire at times but Rotherham played very well and deserved to be a goal up. 3-2 down and the players went back into the changing rooms for the half time break with the Fans wanting more in the 2nd period.

In the early stages of the 2nd half Rene Howe tackled well and linked up well with Mcphee who crossed the ball into the box and Eunan O’Kane headed for goal. Then when the 2nd half was only 2 minutes old Rene Howe scored the equaliser. Great work rate from Howe, he was so strong and he powered through to score! 3-3

Then after a Rotherham corner, Joe Oastler ran up the line with Eunan, Eunan got the ball linked up with Lathrope and Mcphee. Chris Mcphee finished that passage of play with a cross but it came to nothing. After this the Millers were again on the attack winning corners and causing trouble.

Good Football was then played by the Torquay front men, especially Rene Howe and Eunan, that period of play was finished off by a Kevin Nicolson strike that went far too high. Again the front men were causing confusion forcing the Rotherham back line to concede a corner. A good cross by Nicholson, Howe flicked the ball on and it came to Mcphee. He linked up with Mansell, he gave the ball to Howe and he crossed the ball out of play.

Howe again was causing trouble, winning corners. Nicholson was playing so well, he looked strong and his vision was top class.

Afterwards Rotherham piled on the pressure that meant that our defence needed to play to their full potential. Saah and Olejnik played well and cleared the ball away fantastically well.

Then Howe and Bodin were in a 2 on 1 break, Howe slotted the ball into Bodin’s path and then he was taken down on the edge of the box. Eunan took the free kick and his shot just went wide. A similar thing happened again two minutes later, the ball came to Eunan he was tackled and then the danger was cleared by the Rotherham defence.

Tawio Atieno on for Chris Mcphee.

Rotherham still looked dangerous on the break but their link up play at times was poor. Taiwo looked good as soon as he came on; he linked up with Howe and won a corner which was a great threat once again!

After this Rotherham looked strong but no danger was made, then the possession was 50/50. The back four and Olejnik played well in the later stages in the 2nd half, even when it started to get a little scrappy!

Then just before the fourth official signalled that there was only 3 minutes of injury time to play we had a glorious chance to win the game. Howe linked up with Bodin, Bodin hit the post it came out to Atieno but he shot way over the bar.

That was the last chance of the game to get a goal; it looked like we could have got a fourth goal and maybe we deserved to because of our hard work in the 2nd half. But the points were shared and that was the correct result, because of the way Rotherham played in the 1st half and in parts of the 2nd.

We go on now to play Shrewsbury away next Saturday.

Olejnik 8.5 – He played very well again, even though we conceded 3 goals. He had a moment of madness when he mis-kicked the ball, but apart from that he played with class. His kicking was good and he always comes out to collect the ball at the right time.
Oastler 8 – He played well. He linked up with Eunan a couple of times up field and he did a pretty good job against the Rotherham wingers.
Saah 8 – He didn’t play to well in the 1st half but he improved greatly in the 2nd. He cleared the ball away from danger with skill and his heading was good.
Robbo 7.5 – I don’t think he had a good game, he didn’t have a clue how to deal with his man all game, he was at fault with one of the 3 goals from the Millers and he was sloppy at times. Not a great game for Robbo but I’m sure he’ll do better in the next.
Nicholson 9 – I think he played really well, deserved to be the MOTM. His goal helped, but he worked extremely hard. His vision and none stop effort and hard work rate was vital today. Well Played Nico!!
Mcphee 7 – I think overall he played pretty poorly. He gives up on so many balls and he is too sloppy. I have to admit when he came back in defence he did defend well and tackling hard. But his overall performance wasn’t great. I think it’s time to drop Mcphee and swap him with a different player.
Mansell 8 – Manse played well once again, worked very hard as always and linked up well with the players around him. The same old Manse nonstop effort!
Lathrope 7.5 – I think he did ok, nothing special. I didn’t really see him in the game TBH, but what I did think is that at times our midfield was lacking something. However at times I did see Lathrope getting stuck in and working with Mansell in the Midfield.
Bodin 9 – I think he played fantastically well, just like Nicholson. He linked up really well with Nico in every department of the game. His goal was top class as well. Very good!
O’Kane 8 – Eunan played well in my eyes, he was a bit lazy at times, but that can’t dampen his performance too much. He, like Manse, linked up well with the players around him and looked dangerous coming forward.
Howe 8.5 – I think Howe was very good. He put in 100% effort and looked so strong on the ball. His ball skills are very good and his goal was well taken as well. He is a “must have” in our team! Well done Rene!
Atieno 8 – Even though he was only on for 15 minutes he played very well. He linked up well with Howe and the wide men. I think that he should be in the starting XI no doubt.

As I said earlier we go on to face Shrewsbury away next Saturday.

[Southampton Gull]

Another great report Danny and on your birthday too, top effort and many happy returns.

[bc-gull]

I think this is a great point, I think Rotherham will go up.. if not win the League, but at times both teams are sloppy, but there is a reason why they are league two. Please sign up Bodin, he is amazing!! Howe used his strength really well to shrug off players and a great goal, Saah my MOTM, he kept them out at all times. You can see are team are playing with much more freedom now with Ling. Lathrope has clearly improved, he done what he needed to do as did the whole team, a great performance with a great point from a very strong Rotherham team!!