A win’s a win – Bristol Rovers vs Chesterfield [BRFC]

Posted by Harley Thorne on Nov 12, 2012 in All Categories, Bristol Rovers | 0 comments

Many people say – “I don’t care how we play, aslong as we get 3 points”. No phrase could be more befitting of the game on Saturday against Chesterfield.

The Gas came away with 3 points, and that is the main thing, but for me the performance left a lot to be desired. When the line up was announced in the pre match build up, I discussed it with others and we all seemed to agree on what we were going to see. Joe Anyinsah called in onto the right wing, allowing Fabien Broghammer to move back on to his favoured left site, with Derek Riordan and Tom Eaves starting up top. This was not the case.

We began the game with Riordan again deployed on the left wing, and one has to wonder – WHY?! This is a man who is notorious for his potent finishing in the SPL, a ‘fox in the box’ as it were, yet we seem to be keeping him further from the opposition goal than he has been at any point in his career. McGhee will be, like us, desperate to see him score his first goal for the club, so why on earth he is being kept as far away from a goalscoring position as possible is hard to understand. Not only does this leave Riordan in a position where he offers little, but it means that Broghammer is forced to play on the right wing. As a left footed player with bags of pace, when played on the left he can fly past a full back and whip the ball in – on the right he must cut inside to use his left foot .. and time and time again this led to us losing the ball. When we have a fast right footed player in Anyinsah, who was played up front, it is hard to see why McGhee sent us out without him on the right wing, Broghammer on the left, and Riordan up top – where he can score goals.

Nevertheless, we took the lead. Tom Eaves is turning out to be a fantastic loan signing, and I for one desperately hope that we can keep hold of him after January. For a big man, he has a great turn of pace, and combined with his strength this makes him a very difficult player to handle. A solid run from him and a great drilled cross led to a Chesterfield player finishing smartly from 2 yards. They all count! After thinking I had seen a strange goal, you can imagine my reaction when our impressive goalkeeper, Neil Etheridge, walked the ball over his own line. He didn’t seem to argue his case much, but the replays show that is was very close. Without a better camera angle I think it is impossible to be sure, but he seemed confident when talking to fellow goalkeeper Sam Walker at the start of the second half, that he had kept it out.

Chesterfield then took the game to us, and found themselves unlucky to not be ahead. Etheridge made ammends on a number of occasions, before Tom Eaves once again showed his quality with another drilled cross that Joe Anyinsah could not miss. But it wasn’t long before the visitors drew level once again, and you will not see many goals better in this league this weekend. The ball dropped at the corner of our box, and though he should have been closed down faster, you can take nothing away from the finish. A beautifully struck goal, that flew into the far corner of the net – Etheridge lay dismayed.

As I stood in the Blackthorn, I was sure this was the end of us. The fans were tense and I am sure the players could feel it too. I was confident of seeing 3-2 on the scoreline for a second time this week. Turns out, I was correct. But it turned out to be a much better sight than on Tuesday night, as Tom Eaves got the goal he deserved. He had hit the post earlier in the day with a powerful curling strike, and was unlucky not to score, but this time luck was on his side as a deflection off of a defender took the ball into the bottom left of the goal, the keeper unable to reach it. 3 points went to Rovers.

In my honest opinion I do not believe we deserved to win the game, I believe a draw would have been a fair result. But the lads did enough to get the win – and that is all that matters. We will play much better this season and come away with nothing – as we already have in some games. For example, against Fleetwood we looked fantastic. We passed the ball about with great quality and to not get 3 points was hugely disappointing. I guess these things level themselves out.

The decision to play Anyinsah up top seemed to pay dividends. He had a solid game and ran his socks off – which I can’t remember saying about him in the past. Most Gasheads know that he has the talent, but he has rarely showed it in a Rovers shirt. Whether this is due to bad form or a lack of effort is unknown .. most point to the latter. If he can get himself back to his best, he can be like a new signing. Hopefully there is more to come of it.

I wrote an article at the beginning of the season highlighting Matt Gill as ‘The Invisible Man’. Matt Gill is currently out injured, but it seems he passed this trait on to Derek Riordan before leaving. The man does not do much wrong, but he also does very little right. Each time he gets the ball, I replay the many goals  I have seen him score on YouTube in my mind, and every single time I am left dissapointed. I really hope we can see the real Derek Riordan soon, because if he can be at his best he can score many, many goals in this division.

Glad to go into work on the back of a win today, the weekend always seems much sweeter when The Gas have picked up 3 points. But I can’t help but feel we need to improve if we want to come away with another win any time soon.