Post by molloy on Nov 26, 2013 23:20:56 GMT
Starting line up,
Jono (GK)
Luke
Robbie
Terry
Lucas
Marc
Liam
Stephen (C)
Lee
Andy
Pete
Subs,
Ben
Liam
Alex
George
Today's game was built up as the most important game of the season so far and rovers could be forgiven for not feeling as optimistic going into the fixture with the late news that 3 or 4 key players were missing including rovers number 1 Gavin and as Jono read out the team sheet before the game with the surprise inclusion of himself as goal keeper rovers knew they would have to be at their best to stop a very good santos team who before today's fixture in pole position for the title, and with a slight formation change including 2 defensive mids the game got underway,
Pete making his debut for rovers up top on his own started brightly holding the ball up and bringing others into the game and it wasn't long before rovers had their first chance as Stephen on the left hand side found himself in space squared for Pete in the area who just had to hit first time but got the ball caught under his feet, despite the missed opportunity rovers kept coming at santos breaking very fast with some nice passing.
As rovers took full dominance Andy Murphy began to enjoy himself taking players on up and down the wings with great effect often leaving them for dead with his dribbling causing santos problems rovers kept the tempo going and with santos only having a half chance in the first 15 mins which was a strike from 35 yards which was dealt with easily by Jono in net.
Rovers kept pressing and when a first time pass from Stephen found Pete leaving him one on one with the keeper rovers held their breath but Pete could only fire wide but the blues weren't to be denied for long as another trademark dribble from Andy right across the santos defence gave him the opportunity to curl one into the corner 1-0 and a well deserved lead, rovers knew that if they were to take the spoils they must keep this tempo going and not allow Santos to start playing their football and with Marc and Liam closing down everything in the middle santos were finding it hard to link up often hitting long balls which were dealt with easily by the rovers defence, Pete found himself again alone in the penalty area as he chased down a back pass successfully but on a tight angle was unable to steer the ball into the net, another rovers chance went begging as an over hit corner found Stephen at the back post with a bit of space but his right footed effort was off target, Marc also had a good chance when his mazy run through midfield left him with space to get a shot off but his 25 yard effort failed to hit the target.
Half time and so far so good and with previous weeks being a reminder of how much things can change on the second half, Jono made recognise that santos weren't going to lie down in the second and let us take the points and that we would have to withstand the pressure that they pile on us especially in the opening 15 mins and just like clockwork rovers found themselves on the back foot and santos began the second half very brightly commuting players forward santos had a few half chances as some dangerous balls whipped in the area but only to be dealt with comfortably by the defence, Jono was finally called in to action when a scramble in the area lead to Jono dropping the ball just in front of him but recovered with a brilliant acrobatic dive to keep rovers ahead rovers attacks became very limited in the second half but another chance came as Liam Wilson capitalised on a loose ball on the edge of the area and his fierce drive was saved well by the santos keeper and almost instantly santos went on the attack and their number 10 broke the offside trap and ran one on one with Jono who charged out of his net and executed a perfect slide tackle this was a wake up call for rovers and with still a good 20 minutes left rovers needed to stay focused but were very nearly behind again as Santos's left winger found himself with time and space in the box managed to round Jono in net but only for him to fire at terry who's last ditch block kept rovers ahead.
Within the closing stages rovers continued to battle with some brilliant tackles showing santos that rovers can play the beautiful stuff and also dig deep when needed and with a matter of seconds left rovers had an excellent chance to seal the 3 points when a quick counter attack left it 3 on 1 in rovers favour as Pete crossed for Stephen In the middle but the centre mid's touch letting him down with just the keeper to beat, full time 1-0 and a well deserved 3 points for rovers once again showing their credentials in the big games,
MOM - would give it the whole team if I could everyone was outstanding today but Andy Murphy just shaves it for me, he shown today what a talent he is with a bit of confidence and if he could learn to pass the possibilities would be endless,
Also have to mention Jono today as a brilliant performance from him ensured rovers didn't go home empty handed.
Jono (GK)
Luke
Robbie
Terry
Lucas
Marc
Liam
Stephen (C)
Lee
Andy
Pete
Subs,
Ben
Liam
Alex
George
Today's game was built up as the most important game of the season so far and rovers could be forgiven for not feeling as optimistic going into the fixture with the late news that 3 or 4 key players were missing including rovers number 1 Gavin and as Jono read out the team sheet before the game with the surprise inclusion of himself as goal keeper rovers knew they would have to be at their best to stop a very good santos team who before today's fixture in pole position for the title, and with a slight formation change including 2 defensive mids the game got underway,
Pete making his debut for rovers up top on his own started brightly holding the ball up and bringing others into the game and it wasn't long before rovers had their first chance as Stephen on the left hand side found himself in space squared for Pete in the area who just had to hit first time but got the ball caught under his feet, despite the missed opportunity rovers kept coming at santos breaking very fast with some nice passing.
As rovers took full dominance Andy Murphy began to enjoy himself taking players on up and down the wings with great effect often leaving them for dead with his dribbling causing santos problems rovers kept the tempo going and with santos only having a half chance in the first 15 mins which was a strike from 35 yards which was dealt with easily by Jono in net.
Rovers kept pressing and when a first time pass from Stephen found Pete leaving him one on one with the keeper rovers held their breath but Pete could only fire wide but the blues weren't to be denied for long as another trademark dribble from Andy right across the santos defence gave him the opportunity to curl one into the corner 1-0 and a well deserved lead, rovers knew that if they were to take the spoils they must keep this tempo going and not allow Santos to start playing their football and with Marc and Liam closing down everything in the middle santos were finding it hard to link up often hitting long balls which were dealt with easily by the rovers defence, Pete found himself again alone in the penalty area as he chased down a back pass successfully but on a tight angle was unable to steer the ball into the net, another rovers chance went begging as an over hit corner found Stephen at the back post with a bit of space but his right footed effort was off target, Marc also had a good chance when his mazy run through midfield left him with space to get a shot off but his 25 yard effort failed to hit the target.
Half time and so far so good and with previous weeks being a reminder of how much things can change on the second half, Jono made recognise that santos weren't going to lie down in the second and let us take the points and that we would have to withstand the pressure that they pile on us especially in the opening 15 mins and just like clockwork rovers found themselves on the back foot and santos began the second half very brightly commuting players forward santos had a few half chances as some dangerous balls whipped in the area but only to be dealt with comfortably by the defence, Jono was finally called in to action when a scramble in the area lead to Jono dropping the ball just in front of him but recovered with a brilliant acrobatic dive to keep rovers ahead rovers attacks became very limited in the second half but another chance came as Liam Wilson capitalised on a loose ball on the edge of the area and his fierce drive was saved well by the santos keeper and almost instantly santos went on the attack and their number 10 broke the offside trap and ran one on one with Jono who charged out of his net and executed a perfect slide tackle this was a wake up call for rovers and with still a good 20 minutes left rovers needed to stay focused but were very nearly behind again as Santos's left winger found himself with time and space in the box managed to round Jono in net but only for him to fire at terry who's last ditch block kept rovers ahead.
Within the closing stages rovers continued to battle with some brilliant tackles showing santos that rovers can play the beautiful stuff and also dig deep when needed and with a matter of seconds left rovers had an excellent chance to seal the 3 points when a quick counter attack left it 3 on 1 in rovers favour as Pete crossed for Stephen In the middle but the centre mid's touch letting him down with just the keeper to beat, full time 1-0 and a well deserved 3 points for rovers once again showing their credentials in the big games,
MOM - would give it the whole team if I could everyone was outstanding today but Andy Murphy just shaves it for me, he shown today what a talent he is with a bit of confidence and if he could learn to pass the possibilities would be endless,
Also have to mention Jono today as a brilliant performance from him ensured rovers didn't go home empty handed.