Player Ratings: Bristol Rovers vs Gateshead

Spiess 5 bit iffy under a high ball,better second half
Lockyer 6 no protection from Balanta and struggled to contain there winger
Parkes 7 getting back to his best
McCrystal 7 defened well
Brown 7 defended well,got forward better second half
Balanta 1 didn't really do much
Sinclair 9 worked tirelessly and added quality to his game second half
Mansell 8 great free kick worked hard and got on the ball more second half
Monkhouse 6 much better second half,gets in the game more when he drifts into midfield,but leaves us short outwide
Wall 5 not sure about him,better second half like the rest
Taylor 5 his link up play not so good,and no goal threat

Subs Clarke 6 great goal,but some bad control and overhit passes,better with him on though
Trottman 6 slotted back in
Harrison not on long enough

Gateshead 7 keep the ball well and bossed first half

Ref 3 unfit in more ways than one

Spiess 5 

Lockyer 3  Poor defending helped contributed to both goals and was quickly figured out to be rovers weak link by Gateshead
McChrystal 2 Poor defending responsible for 1st goal and gave away possession to easily with poor passing
Parkes 6  Consistent defending throughout 
Brown  4  Poor passing throughout   

Monkhouse 4 Gave away possession to easily with poor passing and did little to help the defence
Mansell  8  Controlled the midfield well and scored a great free kick
Sinclair  9  Covered every inch of the pitch and was the only player closing down in the first half
Balanta  3  Did little whilst on the pitch and made two poor passes

Taylor    2  Contributed nothing to the match. made poor touches throughout and was always in the wrong position. Sinclair had to do his job of closing down the entire first half
Wall       5  Attempted to get into scoring positions and held the ball up well

Subs: Clarke  5 scored a great goal but then was responsible for Gatesheads 2nd. poor passing throughout and seemed to disappear after scoring
Trotman   7   Excellent heading and the defence seems much more confident when Trotman is involved and they dont have to worry about Mcchrystal making silly mistakes
Harrison   not enough time on pitch 

DC  6 Made the right decision to bring Clarke on and to play Sinclair higher up the pitch. but has shown to much loyalty to Taylor who needs to be dropped asap
Ref 2 Poor decisions throughout and has been poor every game he has reffed at the mem
Gateshead 7 Brilliant passing play in the first half but seemed to drop of in the second also felt the keeper could have done better

Spiess 6 Doesn't look comfortable with high balls
Lockyer 5 The winger was skinning him especially first half.
Parkes 7
McCrystal 7
Brown 7
Balanta 0 Can I give him 0? Wasted several opportunities to get a decent cross in
Sinclair 9 As usual, he's here, he's there he's every f..in where
Mansell 8 Solid performance second half and lovely free kick
Monkhouse 6 decent second half
Wall 4.5 poor generally.
Taylor 5.5 Not one of his better games
Clarke 5 Brilliant goal but gave the ball away for their 2nd and generally not good
Trotman 6.5
Harrison 5.5 okay but wasn't on for long
ref 4

Spiess 5 Not sure he could be blamed for either goal, but I felt he could have claimed more from corners instead of leaving it to the defenders every time.

Lockyer 4.5 Their left winger was always gong to cause him problems. Could have done better for both goals.
McChrystal 6.5 Did alright before bravely putting his body on the line.
Parkes 7.5 I thought he had a really good game. Got to the ball on the front foot and passed it out more often than he usually does.
Brown 5.5 Really quiet game, can't think of much he did, right or wrong.

Balanta 3 I'm not sure if he was injured or not, but from the 1st minute he showed an unwillingness to run and close down players. Rightly subbed.
Mansell 6.5 Steady game, another great free kick.
Sinclair 9 Not only did he work harder than normal (didn't think that would be possible) but he had a big impact on the game. Marked their no. 8 out of the game and created chances from nothing with his closing down. Rarely lost possession, even when isolated, and thoroughly deserved his well taken goal.
Monkhouse 4.5 On so many occasions last night, I forgot he was playing. I think he helps our overall shape better than Martin as is fairly comfortable in possession.

Taylor 6.5 The service he received last night was better as the balls up to him had more thought put into them. As a consequence, he won more and held it up more. Wasn't given any clear-cut chances though.
Wall 5.5 Did alright, but probably won less than Taylor. Had a few shots, but none of them hit cleanly enough.

Subs: Clarke 7 A mixed night, but it'd be hard to argue he didn't impact the game. Scored the first, lost possession for their second, then won possession for our winner. Kept the ball well mostly, and gave us a better grip on the game in the middle.
Trotman 8 Really assured performance to see the game out. Losing our captain, we might have crumbled, but Trotman never gave any hint of that happening. Solid pro.
Harrison 5 Not on long, but showed his lack of match time when he mis-controlled late on. 

DC 7.5 I wasn't too worried by letting the Gateshead defence pass the ball around the back as other supporters around me were. I saw Balanta's sub as tactical and I can't think of another Rovers' manager who would have switched it up like he did. The 4-3-1-2 simultaneously brought the best out of Sinclair and stifled Gateshead.
Ref 5 It wasn't a game with too many fouls, but he could have given more decisions than he did give.
Gateshead 6.5 Comfortable in possession in their own half, couldn't (weren't allowed) to break through too often. Once their no.8 was marked out of the game they had no base to build from. Offered nothing at the end.

Spiess 5

Lockyer 5
McCrystal 5
Parkes 5
Brown 5


Mansell 8
Balanta 1
Sinclair 9
Monkhouse 5


Wall 5
Taylor 2

A bit late, but results are in from the Gateshead match. 

Stuart Sinclair arguably gave the outfield performance of the season so far. His score of 8.9 was only bettered by McChrystal (9.0) when he went in goal at Wrexham in a game when only one forum member gave a score. Sinclair also received the first 10 (from markczgas) of the season. 
After Ollie Clarke made the third-worst performance of the season against Bath, Balanta made the third-worst in a league game this week. McChrystal and Parkes at Altrincham again being the benchmark figure of 1.7.
Both those facts made me realise that McChrystal has the dubious honour of having both the best and worst ratings of the season. Will anyone beat him on either front?
Fabian Spiess may be a stand-in keeper but he is not too far of the level of Bristol Rovers goalkeepers this season. Mildenhall averages 6.1, Puddy 6.1 and Spiess 6.0.
Despite the high score for Sinclair, this was the worst team rating for a Rovers win this season. The starting XI averaged 5.8, less than the 5.9 in the win at Telford. The best rated performance was actually in a draw (at Eastleigh, 7.3).

Spiess 5.5 

Lockyer 4.8
McChrystal 5.9
Parkes 6.9
Brown 5.8

Balanta 2.1
Mansell 7.7
Sinclair 8.9
Monkhouse 5.3

Taylor 5.1
Wall 5.5

Subs: Clarke 5.5
Trotman 6.5
Harrison 4.4

DC 6.5
Ref 3.7
Gateshead 7.2