Will be a great point if we can win next week
Jan 13, 2019 11:46:45 GMT
Russgas, philbemmygas, and 4 more like this
Post by stevek192 on Jan 13, 2019 11:46:45 GMT
In my mind this was always a game where you may as well accept that whatever the performance you are going to lose because I have been there on the last god knows how many visits and it has never mattered how we have played (and there have been a mixture of performances) we have always ended up losing by the odd goal! As likely as we are to win at Oxford the more likely we are to lose at Accrington and they have won the last seven games against us. It was with interest that I awaited the team news because whereas under Dc you could never pick the same side but under GC you have a good chance barring injuries to pick the same side as in the League he has given players a chance to establish some kind of form and confidence and you get the feeling that the players as a group are enjoying playing for him particularly players who were never given the luxury of two games on the trot under DC. I am not saying the performances are great because they are not but there are times like yesterday where you need to stick together and grind out a result rather than go for it and end up losing by two or three.
The conditions made the game far from one for the purist with a whirling wind and driving rain particularly in the second half making it difficult to pass a ball straight and certainly favoured Accringtons style of play with big players in the key areas but possession was pretty even with Accrington edging the second half and Rovers the first although it was Stanley who had the most shots at goal with Bonham the busier keeper of the two and it being about the 83rd minute before our first shot on target as most of our better moves ended with a wrong decision.
It could have been the perfect away performance had the keeper not brilliantly turned the final shot of the match; a free kick from the edge of the box by Sercombe; around the post.
In truth the weather conditions worsened in the second half and where in the first half Accrington had the "advantage" of it but we had more of the possession, the second half nulled any chance of our better players really influencing the game as it favoured the big central defenders of Accrington and equally big striker! Unfortunately this is not something we have in our locker.
Bonham 8 MOM apart from a hesitant moment in the first half he had a fine game in awful weather conditions for keepers. Mainly long range shots and low crosses he kept the opponents at bay where poor linemen decisions on a number of occasions could easily have been our downfall. I fail to see why linesmen cannot get basic decisions right but their "amnesty" from having to make decisions seem to make them unable to make decisions at all!!
I have gone for 7s across the back four because in all honesty there were plusses and minuses for all four but whilst some generally used the ball well but were a bit slack on odd occasions with the defensive decision making others played very well defensively but their use of the ball was questionable. Overall though in the terrible conditions they all played well and probably deserved the clean sheet which Bonhams keeper gave them.
J. Clarke 7 Rugged and strong he gave his usual whole hearted effort and commitment to the cause and was only really beaten when a two against one and slick passing from the opposition occurred and this was also when the linemen decisions were most questionable allowing Accrington a couple of chances that should never have occurred.
Lockyer 7 Read the game well as usual and generally defended well and controlled the back. The conditions were never great for either defenders or attackers and really no one other than Bonham were going to get an 8 as football was at a minimum and good play was very difficult.
Craig 7 Same comments as per Lockyer. They stood up manfully to the task and saw out the storm literally.
Kelly 7 Gets caught at times but generally gets the decisions right and Coughlin's faith in him is there for all to see although I feel the time may come where he has to take him out for a while and play Holmes-Dennis there as young inexperienced players generally need this but he has built up an understanding with Holmes-Dennis and there are signs that this is growing and maybe he will keep hold of the left back spot. Time will tell.
Rodman 7.5 Gives us some height in a generally small team and as such is the receiver of most of Bonhams goalkicks. I am sure he will score a few headers before the season is out but yesterday put the best chance of the first half wide from a good position. His strong running gave us time and space but
Upson 6.5 tried hard to get things going throughout with probing passes and getting himself stuck in to the cause but it was very crowded in the midfield area. That said we held our ownh in the possession rights and this was down to a hard working display.
O. Clarke 6.5 same as Upson battled well and it was great to see occasions where as well as winning the ball he actually made himself available and wanted the ball. It was never going to be pretty but it is now clear that the Upson / Clarke partnership is the favoured one and in better conditions will prosper.
Holmes-Dennis 6 Felt sorry for him as his influence on the game faded as the game went on. First half he was full of running and him and Kelly worked well together
Sercombe 7 another who fell foul of the conditions but kept going and so unlucky with the driven free kick at the end. Goals have pretty well deserted him this season and we can only hope that his are still to come.
Jakubiak 7 A willing strong runner who tried to make the best of the conditions but failed to get many shots away until the last few minutes although particularly the first half he had a couple of good runs with the ball. In truth he needs a strong tall partner up front to stand a chance against tall uncompromising defenders. surely there is someone around that can fit the bill.
Sub: Reilly 6 Ran about and showed good close control on a couple of occasions without seriously causing problems. I felt that Payne should have been used but in all honesty the height factor was always going to be in Accringtons favour so perhaps the Reilly pace was more likely to succeed as Payne is not the greatest in the air.
Subs:
Reilly 6 Ran about but devoid of any real service and didn't really make an impact on the game.
Crowd 10 the 400 or so deserve a medal especially those behind the goal in terrible weather conditions and also give credit to the Accrington fans who kept the vocal support up from beginning to end together with their irritating drum. I am sure that every Rovers fan felt like telling them where to stick it!!
Ref 4.5 Gave some ridiculous free kicks which showed in the foul count being heavily against us and in the first half especially he was far too lenient and let Accrington get away with far too much without bookings but I have really marked him down as well for his linesmen whose decision making was questionable both in the decisions made but also in the ones that weren't.
Accrington 6 Improved as the game went on and played some good football out wide and will probably consider themselves unlucky not to have won. Always felt that we had the edge football wise but in truth the conditions favoured physical strength. I feel they will probably finish mid table to 18th.
GC His record continues to go well and long may it last. His enthusiasm is there for all to see and his interviews at the moment are refreshing and his reliance on consistency of selection is paying dividends. he is so right when he says that yesterday will be a very important and good point if we manage to beat Wycombe next week. Lets get behind the boys in numbers next week and be the 12th man. On the point of transfers I very much hope that we will see two players in the door sooner rather than later in the form of a left sided midfielder and a tall targetman to give us the option we need but I can fully understand that it is not going to be easy to persuade better players than we have to come to a relegation fighting team especially if the money isn't enticing!! I fear if we don't get some additions then it will be a tough fight to get out of the relegation fight. The dire situation we were in when DC left is only shown by the fact that the excellent 11 points gained in the last 5 games still only sees us a point outside the drop zone.
At least now although still fearing the worst I am enjoying football again though not the cold weather. UTG
The conditions made the game far from one for the purist with a whirling wind and driving rain particularly in the second half making it difficult to pass a ball straight and certainly favoured Accringtons style of play with big players in the key areas but possession was pretty even with Accrington edging the second half and Rovers the first although it was Stanley who had the most shots at goal with Bonham the busier keeper of the two and it being about the 83rd minute before our first shot on target as most of our better moves ended with a wrong decision.
It could have been the perfect away performance had the keeper not brilliantly turned the final shot of the match; a free kick from the edge of the box by Sercombe; around the post.
In truth the weather conditions worsened in the second half and where in the first half Accrington had the "advantage" of it but we had more of the possession, the second half nulled any chance of our better players really influencing the game as it favoured the big central defenders of Accrington and equally big striker! Unfortunately this is not something we have in our locker.
Bonham 8 MOM apart from a hesitant moment in the first half he had a fine game in awful weather conditions for keepers. Mainly long range shots and low crosses he kept the opponents at bay where poor linemen decisions on a number of occasions could easily have been our downfall. I fail to see why linesmen cannot get basic decisions right but their "amnesty" from having to make decisions seem to make them unable to make decisions at all!!
I have gone for 7s across the back four because in all honesty there were plusses and minuses for all four but whilst some generally used the ball well but were a bit slack on odd occasions with the defensive decision making others played very well defensively but their use of the ball was questionable. Overall though in the terrible conditions they all played well and probably deserved the clean sheet which Bonhams keeper gave them.
J. Clarke 7 Rugged and strong he gave his usual whole hearted effort and commitment to the cause and was only really beaten when a two against one and slick passing from the opposition occurred and this was also when the linemen decisions were most questionable allowing Accrington a couple of chances that should never have occurred.
Lockyer 7 Read the game well as usual and generally defended well and controlled the back. The conditions were never great for either defenders or attackers and really no one other than Bonham were going to get an 8 as football was at a minimum and good play was very difficult.
Craig 7 Same comments as per Lockyer. They stood up manfully to the task and saw out the storm literally.
Kelly 7 Gets caught at times but generally gets the decisions right and Coughlin's faith in him is there for all to see although I feel the time may come where he has to take him out for a while and play Holmes-Dennis there as young inexperienced players generally need this but he has built up an understanding with Holmes-Dennis and there are signs that this is growing and maybe he will keep hold of the left back spot. Time will tell.
Rodman 7.5 Gives us some height in a generally small team and as such is the receiver of most of Bonhams goalkicks. I am sure he will score a few headers before the season is out but yesterday put the best chance of the first half wide from a good position. His strong running gave us time and space but
Upson 6.5 tried hard to get things going throughout with probing passes and getting himself stuck in to the cause but it was very crowded in the midfield area. That said we held our ownh in the possession rights and this was down to a hard working display.
O. Clarke 6.5 same as Upson battled well and it was great to see occasions where as well as winning the ball he actually made himself available and wanted the ball. It was never going to be pretty but it is now clear that the Upson / Clarke partnership is the favoured one and in better conditions will prosper.
Holmes-Dennis 6 Felt sorry for him as his influence on the game faded as the game went on. First half he was full of running and him and Kelly worked well together
Sercombe 7 another who fell foul of the conditions but kept going and so unlucky with the driven free kick at the end. Goals have pretty well deserted him this season and we can only hope that his are still to come.
Jakubiak 7 A willing strong runner who tried to make the best of the conditions but failed to get many shots away until the last few minutes although particularly the first half he had a couple of good runs with the ball. In truth he needs a strong tall partner up front to stand a chance against tall uncompromising defenders. surely there is someone around that can fit the bill.
Sub: Reilly 6 Ran about and showed good close control on a couple of occasions without seriously causing problems. I felt that Payne should have been used but in all honesty the height factor was always going to be in Accringtons favour so perhaps the Reilly pace was more likely to succeed as Payne is not the greatest in the air.
Subs:
Reilly 6 Ran about but devoid of any real service and didn't really make an impact on the game.
Crowd 10 the 400 or so deserve a medal especially those behind the goal in terrible weather conditions and also give credit to the Accrington fans who kept the vocal support up from beginning to end together with their irritating drum. I am sure that every Rovers fan felt like telling them where to stick it!!
Ref 4.5 Gave some ridiculous free kicks which showed in the foul count being heavily against us and in the first half especially he was far too lenient and let Accrington get away with far too much without bookings but I have really marked him down as well for his linesmen whose decision making was questionable both in the decisions made but also in the ones that weren't.
Accrington 6 Improved as the game went on and played some good football out wide and will probably consider themselves unlucky not to have won. Always felt that we had the edge football wise but in truth the conditions favoured physical strength. I feel they will probably finish mid table to 18th.
GC His record continues to go well and long may it last. His enthusiasm is there for all to see and his interviews at the moment are refreshing and his reliance on consistency of selection is paying dividends. he is so right when he says that yesterday will be a very important and good point if we manage to beat Wycombe next week. Lets get behind the boys in numbers next week and be the 12th man. On the point of transfers I very much hope that we will see two players in the door sooner rather than later in the form of a left sided midfielder and a tall targetman to give us the option we need but I can fully understand that it is not going to be easy to persuade better players than we have to come to a relegation fighting team especially if the money isn't enticing!! I fear if we don't get some additions then it will be a tough fight to get out of the relegation fight. The dire situation we were in when DC left is only shown by the fact that the excellent 11 points gained in the last 5 games still only sees us a point outside the drop zone.
At least now although still fearing the worst I am enjoying football again though not the cold weather. UTG
