Player Ratings: Bristol Rovers vs. Plymouth Argyle (RESULTS)

Bonham 8.5


Leadbitter 4
J. Clarke 7
Craig 6
Kelly 6

Matthews 8
O. Clarke 6
Lines 5
Bennett 5


Reilly 5
Payne 5


Subs: Nichols 4
Sinclair 6
Broadbent NOLE


Crowd 6
Ref 6
Plymouth 5

Yeah, same for me please.

Bonham 8 - Good command of area and collects crosses well
Leadbitter 5.5 - Whats happened?? Crap crosses
Kelly 7.5 - Decent debut, especially going forward
Craig 6 - A bit hit and miss, seems too slow
J Clarke 7 - Steady performance
Bennett 7.5 - Always in the game
O Clarke 8.5 - MOM best player on the pitch by country mile
Lines 6 - A bit anonymous tbh
Matthews 8 - A threat but doesn't seem to play beyond 75-80 minutes
Payne 5 - Poor but no decent service
Reilly 6.5 -Looked good in patches

Sinclair 6.5 - Says what he does on the tin
Nicholls 6 - Bright little cameo
Broadbent NOLE

Ref 4 - Are all refs crap??
D.C. 7 - Picked the right line up
Crowd 6 - Understandably quiet at times

Again two poor teams! I fear for when we play the better teams. No real quality and appears as though Leads and J Clarke picked up late knocks. Need to get some confidence from somewhere. Ollie Clarke is playing really well and the goalkeeper makes a big difference. Too many of the other players are really off form, Leadbitter, Craig etc. Need a win and some goals to kickstart our season! Still onto next project and remember its small building blocks and we are unbeaten in Sept UTG

Bonham 7

Leadbitter 5.5
J. Clarke 6.5
Craig 6.5
Kelly 6.5

Matthews 8
O. Clarke 7.5
Lines 5
Bennett 6.5

Reilly 6.5
Payne 5

Subs: Nichols 6
Sinclair 6
Broadbent 6

Crowd 6
Ref 5
Plymouth 6

Bonham: 8. Good command of his area on more than one occasion a d a worldy close range save in the second half. Encouraging and looks like he may be an upgrade on both previous keepers.

Leadbitter: 5. Defensively ok first half bit got targetted in the second and was found wanting. Crossing was awful.
Kelly: 6.5. Crossing no better than Leadbitter's to be honest but did ok defensively. Distribution poor.
J Clarke: 7.5. This boy loves a battle and got one with Lapadu, who was a real threat and the sort of player I wish we had up top. James stuck to his task well.
Craig: 8. Immaculate throughout and plenty of life in this old dog yet...at centre half.

Matthews: 7.5. Excellent first half but faded in the second, hence the necessary substitution. Clearly has talent but like Bennett can be predictable in always cutting in. Perhaps they could swap wings for 20 mins or so now and then, to give defenders something else to think about. For all his talent he was one of four wide men who failed to get a good cross in all game.
Bennett: 7. Not quite on his game yet but is trying hard. Like Matthews though, I wish he would vary his game a bit by going outside the full back on occasion. Guilty of not getting a good cross in too.
Lines: 7. Not his most influential game but good to see him back in the team as someone who can take the ball from defenders and build. Our classiest player.
O Clarke: 9 (MoM). An all action display by the Ollie who is showing the form of two seasons ago. When he plays like this he is undroppable.

Payne: 6.5. Good first half but faded in the second. Linked well with Reilly at times.
Reilly: 7. Encouraging. Seems a bit more direct than Nichols and from what I know of his time in Scotland has an eye for goal. Like Payne, needs better service.

Nichols: Added little to be honest. Not a bad player at all, but I just don't see it happening for him. Sorry.
Sinclair: Great to see him back. Will offer us a lot, even with the added competition in midfield.
Broadbent: Rightly brought on to shore up at the back when we were rocking.

Ref: 7. Was ok but soft. Actually thought he was the best we have seen at home this season. Mind you, the bar wasn't set high for that accolade and even Gurnham Singh may have achieved that.
Crowd: 6. We are reflecting the team at the moment. Potential is there but we're not quite on our game.
DC: For me, the right starting line up and the right changes at the right times. Maybe Jakubiak instead of Nichols may have given us something else, but Reilly and Matthews were both fading and Leads had to be replaced as he was being torn apart.

We are getting there. The two improved defensive performances have to be a good thing and equally important is that the combinations are improving. Combination between keeper and defenders; combination of Lines and Clarke looks so much more natural than Upson and Clarke; combination of strikers is next. DC needs to establish his best front two and in time, find a way of getting Sercombe in the side with Lines and Clarke. The return of Partington and hopefully Holmes-Dennis will also help. We are easily good enough to achieve a mid table finish this season, and I would think most would have been happy with that at the start of the season.
UTG

Bonham 8 absolute quality, the best and most structured performance from a keeper in ages that inspires confidence and reliability.

Leadbitter 5.5 oh dear, where's the Danny we all know? Woeful crossing, struggled with Grant, rightly subbed.
J. Clarke 8 great fouling and physicality of dealing with their 19. Dealt with rb change very well.
Craig 7.5 same as JC plus a great elbow to the ribs on Carey in first half....he stayed away after that!
Kelly 7.5 great getting forward although some passes astray. Linked up well with Bennett.

Matthews 7.5 some good forward movement and found space to support right flank. A couple of decent shots.
O. Clarke 8.5 m o m....this is our ollie! Lead by example, everywhere, done simple things in mid and skippered admirably. Steve 192, can you see why he is so important to us??
Lines 7.5 great partner to Ollie, even managed a brilliant time tackle in first half, faded in second..
Bennett 7 good show but a little like DL where he gets himself in great positions, but overhits crosses and passes, then underhits shots!??

Reilly 7.5 really tried and started forming links with Payne. I liked how not frightened to get stuck in.
Payne 7 worked hard, good holding ball up but both he and Blimey, poor service.

Subs: Nichols 0 = goals scored this season and chances left (in my book).
Sinclair 6.5 made himself available many times, we have the beard back, but not enough time to make real impact.
Broadbent 7 looked competent when on.

Crowd 5 quiet and mumbling.
Ref 7.5 well done for allowing play to continue, although one moment of madness stopping our move because of feigned injury by Plymouth.
Plymouth 4.5 poor. Playing one up front easy to deal with but Grant sub was their gamechanger and almost stole the show if there wasn't a hole in the topcorne of net leading to stantion?!

Bonham 7 Good game, commanded his area, seemed good at crosses, good save, a bit wayward with his distribution


Leadbitter 4 Do these players actually train to improve their weaknesses, such as, his defending and trying to cross a ball
J. Clarke 6 Steady game throughout and stuck to his task against their 19
Craig 5 Got caught a couple of times with lack of pace, otherwise wise not to bad
Kelly 7 Should stay in the team

Matthews 7 Impressive could have scored then faded
O. Clarke 8 MoM Getting back to his best should stay captain
Lines 5 He can do a lot better and be more influential
Bennett 5 Looks good without much on the end of it.

Reilly 5.5 Good in patches without much help
Payne 3 Service to him was useless to be fair

Subs: Nichols 2 Did not bring anything to the game,
Sinclair 5 Nice to see him come on
Broadbent 5

Crowd 4 Both sets of supporters very quiet, both deserve better
Ref 5 Some odd decisions generally ok
Plymouth 5 Woke up a bit towards the end when their 16 came on
Worth a point, two poor sides at the moment.

Most of the long balls were useless and our crossing was woeful

Bonham 8.5

Leadbitter 4
J. Clarke 6
Craig 6
Kelly 6.5

Matthews 7.5
O. Clarke 8
Lines 6.5
Bennett 6.5

Reilly 3
Payne 4

Subs: Nichols 3
Sinclair 5
Broadbent 5

Crowd 5
Ref 9
Plymouth 5