Post by stevewood on Sept 24, 2013 21:18:28 GMT
Saturday 21/09/2013:
Parrswood Celtic Reserves 7 – 1 Rovers
Rovers Starting XI:
1. Tony
2. Masterman
3. White
4. Dec
5. Anto
6. Patterson
7. Fred*
8. Damo (c)
9. Woody
10. Mo
11. Manu
Subs:
12. Sanjay
14. Nathan
15. Ian
16. Gary
17. Tad
This game saw the first ‘1st’ v ‘2nd’ clash of the league, with Rovers topping the table with their 100% start to the season. The home side, Parrswood Celtic Reserves, were themselves also unbeaten after three games, with a somewhat surprising 1-1 draw with Milton last week the only sour point of their start to the season. After the results and performances to date, combined with the strong squad on the day (aided by the Sunday team having a free week), Rovers fancied their chances of taking something away from the game.
First Half
The plan for the first half was much the same as the previous games with a formation designed to dominate the midfield and play own style and tempo of football. For the opening few minutes of the game, it was clear that possession was not going to be given up easy with the Parrswood players finding the same sort of intensity Rovers were trying to apply. A couple of promising phases of play resulted in a free-kick for Rovers deep into the attacking half. Without the prospect of a shot on goal Masterman took the free-kick and delivered superb in-swinging deep cross to the back post, which was knocked back down by a combination of Mo (I think!) and the defender’s back and Fred found himself in space in front of goal to apply the finish to give Rovers another early lead. Inexplicably, from then on Rovers were second best in each and every way.
Parrswood were not unbeaten for no reason and they began to play aggressive, attacking football which put the Rovers defence and midfield under constant pressure. Within minutes of going behind their big striker found half a yard of space on the edge of the box and hit an instinctive shot which hit the base of the far post. The pressure soon told and a simple long ball split the Rovers defence to find their striker in acres of space who made no mistake with the finish. Rovers were now struggling to get a foot on the ball and lacked any communication to string any attack together. Parrswood sensed the game was there for the taking and they showed the greater desire to win every first and second ball, which ultimately led to Rovers going 2-1 down after 30 minutes played to a low drive into the bottom corner. Things quickly went from bad to worse for Rovers who, still adapting to being a goal down, failed to find an answer for Parrswood’s attacking intent and quick precise passing. A mix up in defence between Dec and the keeper resulted in a tame through ball being diverted into the path of their number 11 who was left with a simple tap in to an open goal. Rovers were now being ripped apart and Parrswood were not relenting. There are some times in games where you need to recognise your opponent is playing well and simply dig in, be disciplined and patient. Rovers failed to do either of these with the five man midfield struggling to get up to speed with the game. Pre-match instructions to Manu to focus on attacking rather than tracking back left Rovers vulnerable down the left flank, and another long ball caught out the defence who stopped to appeal for offside. Despite the decision to play on being questionable it made no matter to the striker who finished his one-on-one with ease. The match was quickly slipping away from Rovers, who only had themselves to blame for the lack of fight being shown.
Half-Time: Parrswood 4 – 1 Rovers
Rovers made two changes at half-time, with Tad replacing Woody and Ian replacing Patterson, and reverted to a 4-4-2 formation. Stu made it clear that the first half performance was simply unacceptable and Rovers went out for the second half looking to make amends. During the early phases it looked like the changes had stemmed the flow of Parrswood attacks with Rovers seeing a bit more possession and stringing some passes together. However, the structure in midfield was sloppy and players were not showing for the ball to help out their teammate when in possession. Inevitably this led to direct balls up to the two front men who were being overshadowed by Parrswood’s big centre backs and left Rovers vulnerable on the counter, with a long range effort narrowly missing the target and Tony pulling off a brilliant one-on-one save. Chances at the other end were few and far between, the best chance falling to Masterman whose first time shot flew high over from just outside the box, with more time to take a touch than he perhaps realised – another sign of the lack of talking on the pitch which was a problem throughout the game.
The game was effectively ended on the hour mark when Rovers failed to deal effectively with a loose ball in defence and the ball was cleared straight to their man in space inside the Rovers half. Without being closed down quickly, he took aim and struck a effort from range which Tony got a hand to but couldn’t keep out at the near post. It was now a case of trying to keep things respectable for Rovers, whose performance was a million miles away from what should be expected of a team going into the game top of the league.
Parrswood knew the game was won and could even afford the luxury of dropping their intensity and enjoying the final half hour of the game. Rovers continued to battle but with little success in every department. The few passes Rovers managed to string together were continuously ended by misplaced passes to the front two who were struggling for space and lacked support up front. Rovers were soon 6-1 behind when poor concentration and another misplaced pass gave the ball away in their own half and, with a spare man on the left, added another to their tally. The final nail in the coffin came through what can only be described as a stunning goal when a quick Parrswood attack, which started in defence and built up well across the midfield line, resulted in a cross from the right being back-heel volleyed into the net. Thankfully, this proved to be the last time Tony had to pick up the ball from his net with the ref blowing for full-time on what can only be described as a shameful performance.
Full-Time: Parrswood 7 – 1 Rovers
Despite leading 1-0, in all honesty Rovers never looked likely to win this match. Psychologically Parrswood were more up for it, more determined and showed the greater will to win every ball and every man-for-man contest. Rovers were the stark opposite to this, looking over-confident after taking the lead and unable to find an answer to the desire being shown by Parrswood. Dec was man enough to say after the game that he wasn’t at the races and it was possibly the worst performance of his life but the same could be said (hopefully) for a number of players, and I include myself in that hat as well. Nobody likes to lose but to lose with a whimper and without a fight is not only shameful on ourselves but also, as Stu said, on the club as well. Nevertheless, the game has gone and after four games played Rovers still sit 3rd in the league with three wins from four. Maybe it’s the sort of result we needed to bring us down to earth and ensure we don’t make the same mistakes again. Next week presents an opportunity to put things right, and every single player should now have a point to prove.
I don't want to have to write another match report like this one, it has not been easy or enjoyable.
Parrswood Celtic Reserves 7 – 1 Rovers
Rovers Starting XI:
1. Tony
2. Masterman
3. White
4. Dec
5. Anto
6. Patterson
7. Fred*
8. Damo (c)
9. Woody
10. Mo
11. Manu
Subs:
12. Sanjay
14. Nathan
15. Ian
16. Gary
17. Tad
This game saw the first ‘1st’ v ‘2nd’ clash of the league, with Rovers topping the table with their 100% start to the season. The home side, Parrswood Celtic Reserves, were themselves also unbeaten after three games, with a somewhat surprising 1-1 draw with Milton last week the only sour point of their start to the season. After the results and performances to date, combined with the strong squad on the day (aided by the Sunday team having a free week), Rovers fancied their chances of taking something away from the game.
First Half
The plan for the first half was much the same as the previous games with a formation designed to dominate the midfield and play own style and tempo of football. For the opening few minutes of the game, it was clear that possession was not going to be given up easy with the Parrswood players finding the same sort of intensity Rovers were trying to apply. A couple of promising phases of play resulted in a free-kick for Rovers deep into the attacking half. Without the prospect of a shot on goal Masterman took the free-kick and delivered superb in-swinging deep cross to the back post, which was knocked back down by a combination of Mo (I think!) and the defender’s back and Fred found himself in space in front of goal to apply the finish to give Rovers another early lead. Inexplicably, from then on Rovers were second best in each and every way.
Parrswood were not unbeaten for no reason and they began to play aggressive, attacking football which put the Rovers defence and midfield under constant pressure. Within minutes of going behind their big striker found half a yard of space on the edge of the box and hit an instinctive shot which hit the base of the far post. The pressure soon told and a simple long ball split the Rovers defence to find their striker in acres of space who made no mistake with the finish. Rovers were now struggling to get a foot on the ball and lacked any communication to string any attack together. Parrswood sensed the game was there for the taking and they showed the greater desire to win every first and second ball, which ultimately led to Rovers going 2-1 down after 30 minutes played to a low drive into the bottom corner. Things quickly went from bad to worse for Rovers who, still adapting to being a goal down, failed to find an answer for Parrswood’s attacking intent and quick precise passing. A mix up in defence between Dec and the keeper resulted in a tame through ball being diverted into the path of their number 11 who was left with a simple tap in to an open goal. Rovers were now being ripped apart and Parrswood were not relenting. There are some times in games where you need to recognise your opponent is playing well and simply dig in, be disciplined and patient. Rovers failed to do either of these with the five man midfield struggling to get up to speed with the game. Pre-match instructions to Manu to focus on attacking rather than tracking back left Rovers vulnerable down the left flank, and another long ball caught out the defence who stopped to appeal for offside. Despite the decision to play on being questionable it made no matter to the striker who finished his one-on-one with ease. The match was quickly slipping away from Rovers, who only had themselves to blame for the lack of fight being shown.
Half-Time: Parrswood 4 – 1 Rovers
Rovers made two changes at half-time, with Tad replacing Woody and Ian replacing Patterson, and reverted to a 4-4-2 formation. Stu made it clear that the first half performance was simply unacceptable and Rovers went out for the second half looking to make amends. During the early phases it looked like the changes had stemmed the flow of Parrswood attacks with Rovers seeing a bit more possession and stringing some passes together. However, the structure in midfield was sloppy and players were not showing for the ball to help out their teammate when in possession. Inevitably this led to direct balls up to the two front men who were being overshadowed by Parrswood’s big centre backs and left Rovers vulnerable on the counter, with a long range effort narrowly missing the target and Tony pulling off a brilliant one-on-one save. Chances at the other end were few and far between, the best chance falling to Masterman whose first time shot flew high over from just outside the box, with more time to take a touch than he perhaps realised – another sign of the lack of talking on the pitch which was a problem throughout the game.
The game was effectively ended on the hour mark when Rovers failed to deal effectively with a loose ball in defence and the ball was cleared straight to their man in space inside the Rovers half. Without being closed down quickly, he took aim and struck a effort from range which Tony got a hand to but couldn’t keep out at the near post. It was now a case of trying to keep things respectable for Rovers, whose performance was a million miles away from what should be expected of a team going into the game top of the league.
Parrswood knew the game was won and could even afford the luxury of dropping their intensity and enjoying the final half hour of the game. Rovers continued to battle but with little success in every department. The few passes Rovers managed to string together were continuously ended by misplaced passes to the front two who were struggling for space and lacked support up front. Rovers were soon 6-1 behind when poor concentration and another misplaced pass gave the ball away in their own half and, with a spare man on the left, added another to their tally. The final nail in the coffin came through what can only be described as a stunning goal when a quick Parrswood attack, which started in defence and built up well across the midfield line, resulted in a cross from the right being back-heel volleyed into the net. Thankfully, this proved to be the last time Tony had to pick up the ball from his net with the ref blowing for full-time on what can only be described as a shameful performance.
Full-Time: Parrswood 7 – 1 Rovers
Despite leading 1-0, in all honesty Rovers never looked likely to win this match. Psychologically Parrswood were more up for it, more determined and showed the greater will to win every ball and every man-for-man contest. Rovers were the stark opposite to this, looking over-confident after taking the lead and unable to find an answer to the desire being shown by Parrswood. Dec was man enough to say after the game that he wasn’t at the races and it was possibly the worst performance of his life but the same could be said (hopefully) for a number of players, and I include myself in that hat as well. Nobody likes to lose but to lose with a whimper and without a fight is not only shameful on ourselves but also, as Stu said, on the club as well. Nevertheless, the game has gone and after four games played Rovers still sit 3rd in the league with three wins from four. Maybe it’s the sort of result we needed to bring us down to earth and ensure we don’t make the same mistakes again. Next week presents an opportunity to put things right, and every single player should now have a point to prove.
I don't want to have to write another match report like this one, it has not been easy or enjoyable.