Post by stevewood on Oct 21, 2013 19:26:07 GMT
Saturday 19/10/2013:
Staly Lions 3 – 1 Rovers
Starting XI
1. Tony
2. Nathan
3. Youssef
4. Brads
5. Anto
6. Damo (c)
7. Woody
8. Ian
9. Idris
10. Mo
11. Gavin
Subs
12. Ben
14. Chris
15. Manu
16. Big Nathan
17. Sanjay
After getting back to winning ways last week Rovers had a real opportunity away to Staly Lions to get back in amongst it at the top of the league table, with Staly sitting in 2nd place - two places but only one point above Rovers. After winning the reverse encounter in the opening game of the season we knew we were in for a close and competitive game and would have to be at the races if we were to come away with a second consecutive win.
First Half
The early tempo of the match was quick paced and very evenly contested by both sides, who had both set their formations out to attack with width. Had Staly produced better deliveries from out wide they may have been able to find an early goal but their counter attacks down the wings failed to produce any more than hopeful balls across the area. In contrast Rovers were producing good build up play across the midfield, with Ian and Mo given licence to get forward to support Idris who was making his first start after two impressive substitute appearances. Damo, playing in front of the defence was able to break up play with relative ease during the opening stages and when the ball was won back Rovers looked to turn into attack with speed, Gavin in particular impressing on the left wing and Woody, being supported by Nathan at full-back, also looking to exploit space on the right wing – with Gavin just failing to get on the end of one early delivery into the box. The opening goal duly came Rovers’ way via an unlikely source – Anto took a free-kick from just inside the Rovers half which, assisted by the wind, flew into the top left corner to embarrass the keeper. “Unbelievable” as Chris Kamara would’ve described it, although he did claim to have seen the keeper off his line…
At the other end of the pitch Staly were pressing high and were getting into good positions at times, but the Rovers defence remained strong with Anto and Brads – yet another central defensive partnership – communicating together to hold the line, with Youssef and Nathan either side providing cover whenever necessary. The few times Staly managed to break free they found Tony in goal in simply brilliant form, doing particularly well to deny their tricky number 9 when through one-on-one. By half-time Rovers could be rightly proud of their performance and probably just about deserved to go into the break with a narrow lead.
Half-Time: Staly Lions 0 – 1 Rovers
Rovers made a tactical change at half-time, with Nathan being substituted for Big Nathan who moved into midfield and Ian slotting into right back. This was intended to support Idris who, despite battling for every ball, was being crowded at times by Staly’s central defensive pair in the first half. Staly were clearly instructed to get out for the second half and run at Rovers’, and had the luxury of the wind behind them to assist. They very nearly found an early equaliser through this pressure when a whipped free-kick from out wide was freely headed in at the back post but the ref ruled it out for offside. Rovers were producing good football as well, although we struggled to keep the rhythm from the first half display. Gavin was having an excellent game on the left wing and his direct running caused all sorts of problems for Staly, and very nearly created the second goal when his unselfish pass across the box was fired just wide by Big Nathan under pressure on the turn.
Not long after Staly found the equaliser they were looking for when their number 9, who had switched wings at half-time, cut inside from the left of the box and his lay off was powerfully struck into the net. Conceding this goal seemed to knock Rovers’ confidence and, possibly due to the extra height in attack, began to play the long-ball more frequently but with little impact. Inevitably this put us on the back foot straight away and, despite creating a couple of half-chances courtesy of a jinxing run into the box by Mo, we soon found ourselves behind when another run from the number 9 created space for a cross which put the ball on a plate for their number 8 only three yards out. Rovers made a couple of changes soon after, with another full-bench to choose from, with a view to getting back into the game. Things in the middle were also beginning to get heated due to the combative and competitive nature of the game – with Damo being penalised for what seemed like every tough challenge. Further changes were made with only ten minutes remaining but Rovers were finding it hard to break out of defence to put pressure on at the other end. With only a couple of minutes to go Staly found the net for the third time to kill the contest off, a corner bouncing kindly for them to poke the ball into the net at close range.
Full-Time: Staly Lions 3 – 1 Rovers
There were few complaints with the result at the final whistle, as judged on the overall play Staly probably just about edged it. We knew it would be a close game but in the end they took their chances when they came along – but for Tony making some great saves it could have been an even harsher score line on Rovers. It was said after the match that the half-time change may have disrupted our play and resulted in more long balls than we’d wish, but hindsight is a virtue and the change was made for honest reasons which on another day would have paid off. There can be no faulting the effort or commitment after this result, it just wasn’t our day and we go again next week to put things right.
League Table
full-time.thefa.com/ProcessPublicSelect.do;jsessionid=2DC23BF3E5FA206E7E2CBB11B94A7023?psSelectedSeason=462663928&psSelectedDivision=6812786&psSelectedCompetition=0&psSelectedLeague=3194634
Season Goals
Manu - 5
Bills - 4
Idris - 3
Andrea - 2
Pricey, Mo, Whitey, Youssef, Anto - 1
NB This match was two days ago and I don’t remember the squad numbers. Feel free to correct any other errors or inaccuracies.
Staly Lions 3 – 1 Rovers
Starting XI
1. Tony
2. Nathan
3. Youssef
4. Brads
5. Anto
6. Damo (c)
7. Woody
8. Ian
9. Idris
10. Mo
11. Gavin
Subs
12. Ben
14. Chris
15. Manu
16. Big Nathan
17. Sanjay
After getting back to winning ways last week Rovers had a real opportunity away to Staly Lions to get back in amongst it at the top of the league table, with Staly sitting in 2nd place - two places but only one point above Rovers. After winning the reverse encounter in the opening game of the season we knew we were in for a close and competitive game and would have to be at the races if we were to come away with a second consecutive win.
First Half
The early tempo of the match was quick paced and very evenly contested by both sides, who had both set their formations out to attack with width. Had Staly produced better deliveries from out wide they may have been able to find an early goal but their counter attacks down the wings failed to produce any more than hopeful balls across the area. In contrast Rovers were producing good build up play across the midfield, with Ian and Mo given licence to get forward to support Idris who was making his first start after two impressive substitute appearances. Damo, playing in front of the defence was able to break up play with relative ease during the opening stages and when the ball was won back Rovers looked to turn into attack with speed, Gavin in particular impressing on the left wing and Woody, being supported by Nathan at full-back, also looking to exploit space on the right wing – with Gavin just failing to get on the end of one early delivery into the box. The opening goal duly came Rovers’ way via an unlikely source – Anto took a free-kick from just inside the Rovers half which, assisted by the wind, flew into the top left corner to embarrass the keeper. “Unbelievable” as Chris Kamara would’ve described it, although he did claim to have seen the keeper off his line…
At the other end of the pitch Staly were pressing high and were getting into good positions at times, but the Rovers defence remained strong with Anto and Brads – yet another central defensive partnership – communicating together to hold the line, with Youssef and Nathan either side providing cover whenever necessary. The few times Staly managed to break free they found Tony in goal in simply brilliant form, doing particularly well to deny their tricky number 9 when through one-on-one. By half-time Rovers could be rightly proud of their performance and probably just about deserved to go into the break with a narrow lead.
Half-Time: Staly Lions 0 – 1 Rovers
Rovers made a tactical change at half-time, with Nathan being substituted for Big Nathan who moved into midfield and Ian slotting into right back. This was intended to support Idris who, despite battling for every ball, was being crowded at times by Staly’s central defensive pair in the first half. Staly were clearly instructed to get out for the second half and run at Rovers’, and had the luxury of the wind behind them to assist. They very nearly found an early equaliser through this pressure when a whipped free-kick from out wide was freely headed in at the back post but the ref ruled it out for offside. Rovers were producing good football as well, although we struggled to keep the rhythm from the first half display. Gavin was having an excellent game on the left wing and his direct running caused all sorts of problems for Staly, and very nearly created the second goal when his unselfish pass across the box was fired just wide by Big Nathan under pressure on the turn.
Not long after Staly found the equaliser they were looking for when their number 9, who had switched wings at half-time, cut inside from the left of the box and his lay off was powerfully struck into the net. Conceding this goal seemed to knock Rovers’ confidence and, possibly due to the extra height in attack, began to play the long-ball more frequently but with little impact. Inevitably this put us on the back foot straight away and, despite creating a couple of half-chances courtesy of a jinxing run into the box by Mo, we soon found ourselves behind when another run from the number 9 created space for a cross which put the ball on a plate for their number 8 only three yards out. Rovers made a couple of changes soon after, with another full-bench to choose from, with a view to getting back into the game. Things in the middle were also beginning to get heated due to the combative and competitive nature of the game – with Damo being penalised for what seemed like every tough challenge. Further changes were made with only ten minutes remaining but Rovers were finding it hard to break out of defence to put pressure on at the other end. With only a couple of minutes to go Staly found the net for the third time to kill the contest off, a corner bouncing kindly for them to poke the ball into the net at close range.
Full-Time: Staly Lions 3 – 1 Rovers
There were few complaints with the result at the final whistle, as judged on the overall play Staly probably just about edged it. We knew it would be a close game but in the end they took their chances when they came along – but for Tony making some great saves it could have been an even harsher score line on Rovers. It was said after the match that the half-time change may have disrupted our play and resulted in more long balls than we’d wish, but hindsight is a virtue and the change was made for honest reasons which on another day would have paid off. There can be no faulting the effort or commitment after this result, it just wasn’t our day and we go again next week to put things right.
League Table
full-time.thefa.com/ProcessPublicSelect.do;jsessionid=2DC23BF3E5FA206E7E2CBB11B94A7023?psSelectedSeason=462663928&psSelectedDivision=6812786&psSelectedCompetition=0&psSelectedLeague=3194634
Season Goals
Manu - 5
Bills - 4
Idris - 3
Andrea - 2
Pricey, Mo, Whitey, Youssef, Anto - 1
NB This match was two days ago and I don’t remember the squad numbers. Feel free to correct any other errors or inaccuracies.