Player Ratings: Bristol Rovers vs. Walsall (RESULTS)

Bonham 8


Leadbitter 4
J. Clarke  6
Craig 6
Martin 5

Sinclair 6
Lines 6
O. Clarke 6
Bennett 5

Reilly 5
Nichols 3

Subs: Jakubiak 5
Sercombe 6
Matthews 7

Crowd 6
Ref 6
Walsall  7

Bonham - 9 - there was that mistake at the start with the disallowed goal but he was fantastic today, made some great saves

Leadbitter - 7 - he put a lot of effort into the game and ran his arse off but he really needs to work on his crosses if he’s getting up front
J. Clarke - 6 - he put a lot into his game and wasn’t afraid to go into tackle
Craig - 6 - got to a lot of clearances but the ball was in the air too much around him
Martin - 6 - there was a moment where he defo should’ve got the interception and got megged, but he did surprise me with his work ethic in this game

Overall the defence was pretty on point not many complaints, we were very unlucky to concede

Sinclair - 7 - I’m a fan of Sinclair so was great to hear him start, he’s the sort of player that gives 110% in every game and bless him for his height he still gets up in the jumps, he was up and down the wing which regardless of his pace isn’t really where he should be playing, but he was the only player (apart from Leadbitter) that I saw using any width
Lines - 8 - great amount of effort put in from Linesy, always drawing back to help defence and making clearances but also getting up front and blasted a shot, which our strikers weren’t doing
O. Clarke - 9 - he’s been really going the extra mile in terms of effort and for me he’s one of if not our most crucial player at the moment, not afraid to go in for challenges and takes shots
Bennett - 6 - I think he did well to get the ball and had some good runs but his passing was virtually non existent, good player but I think being subbed was the right move

Reilly - 7 - he got himself up there and was making a good go at getting it in the box but just couldn’t seem to hit the goal
Nichols - 6 - I do notice the amount of effort he puts in but there’s a bit lack in performance and it’s a shame cause I want him to do well
I really don’t think he should still be starting though

Subs: Jakubiak - 7 - didn’t really get enough time to get a proper look but he was in the zone from the moment he came on, up for every header and he was up the pitch making sure he was there for any incoming balls
Sercombe - 7 - was straight up the wings, using a bit of width, and making attempts to get in the box but again not really much time for him, I think he should’ve started tbh because he seemed like he would’ve had a good game
Matthews - 7 - again not much time but he gave it his all, its a huge shame that the free kick come off the post, that would’ve won us the game, he did well and hope he isn’t too hard on himself

Crowd - 9 - always singing as usual, we all agreed the linesman was bollocks and the 28th minute clap was a nice moment to reflect on losing one of our own, huge shame
Was nice to see some Walsall fans join in the applaud too
Only complaint about the crowd was some knob kicking off in the south stand but it was dealt with very well
Ref - 3 sh** ref and sh** linesman who seemed to be very friend with walsall’s number 3 they were chatting all bloody game
Walsall - 5 they’re fans were good, very loud and supportive to their team, but the team themselves were dirty players and i wasn’t very impressed with them AT ALL, was quite shocked tbh, but I will acknowledge in the first half they were all over us
But our defence and goalkeeper were very strong and they were lucky to score

Bonham 8 Started a bit shaky but made a couple of outstanding saves and was easily MoM


Leadbitter 5 Crossing poor in the first half, some good work down the right in the second
J. Clarke 7 Solid and dependable as usual and the only player who win a ball in the air.
Craig 6 might have done more for their goal but not such a bad game
Martin 5 OK, better than many give him credit for

Sinclair 6 Usual workmanlike performance
Lines 7.5 Always involved, worked hard and not afraid to shoot. Dead ball kicking was good.
O. Clarke 6.5 Decent hardworking performance
Bennett 5 Some clever footwork but again no end product

Reilly 4.5 Quiet game and never really threatened
Nichols 2 A small boy playing against men. Can't think of any aspect of his play which deserves merit. Frankly I'm sick of seeing him insult the blue and white quarters by wearing the shirt and he should be left out the squad for some time.

Subs: Jakubiak 7 Strong on the ball and deserves a start next time
Sercombe 6 Not up to his usual standard
Matthews 7.5 Exciting cameo appearance. Would like to see him given more opportunities

Crowd 6
Ref 6 We've had worse. Pernickity with anything resembling a possible high kick. Missed a couple of obvious decisions and was far too friendly and smiley with the Walsall players.
Walsall 7 Nothing special but better than us.

Bonham 7.5

Leadbitter 6.5
J. Clarke 7
Craig 6
Martin 6

Sinclair 5
Lines 8 MOM
O. Clarke 6
Bennett 5.5

Reilly 5.5
Nichols 4

Subs: Jakubiak 6
Sercombe 5.5
Matthews 6.5

Crowd 6.
Ref 5
Walsall 5

Bonham 8 Strong.

Leadbitter 7 Worked really hard, defence good, crossing as ropey as ever.
J. Clarke 6 Errr, dunno.
Craig 7.5 His distribution is obviously iffy, but his marshalling of the defence is increasingly effective.
Martin 7 Surprisingly good.

Overall impressed with the defence.

Sinclair 6.5 Not in the right position.
Lines 7 Good delivery from set pieces but in open play lacking an incisive pass.
O. Clarke 7.5 Good.
Bennett 6.5 Mazy, lovely run very early, after that, not so much.

Reilly 5 Worked hard.
Nichols 4.5 Terminal lack of confidence. Goodnight, sweet prince.

Subs: Jakubiak 7 Best of a bad bunch.
Sercombe 7.5 Our best outfield player. Why isn't he on the pitch from the start?
Matthews 6 Sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Crowd 6.5 Some effective swearing.
Ref 6
Walsall 6 Like us, a bit rubbish.

Bonham: 8. Possibly a bit lucky on the disallowed goal, but at least he comes for crosses. We have to accept that sometimes he won't make them but he got away with this one. Made some good if comfortable saves and overall did his job well again.

Leadbitter: 7. Did ok and supported attacks willingly, but still can't cross.
J Clarke: 7.5. Solid. Decent game and as ever, didn't let us down.
Craig: 7. I'm a fan, but I thought Big Tone found it hard going today. Marshalled us well but struggled in the air at times.
Martin: 7. Would have been an 8 as I thought he had a good game, then he got caught out of positiom at the vital moment.

Sinclair: 7. Worked hard, obviously, but he's not a winger really.
Lines: 8. Quality game and formed an effective pairing with Ollie. His passing ability is something no-one else in the squad has.
O Clarke: 8.5 MoM. Superb second half clinched MoM for me and the reverse ball out to Leadbitter was sublime. Having a cracking season.
Bennett: 6. Promising start but faded from the game. Seems to have lost all confidence and is a different player to the one we had last season.

Reilly: 7. Works hard and I think if we create for him he has the ability to score goals. That's what puts him ahead of Nichols.
Nichols: 5. Works hard in patches but when was the last time anyone thought he was going to do what he is paid for?

Sercombe: 6.5. One powerful shot but otherwise not a lot to show from today. Seems to be easing his way back and we need to find a way of playing him centrally without breaking up the Lines and Clarke combination.
Jakubiak: 7. Blistering pace and a good work ethic. There seems to be an arrogance I like in strikers in this kid. He's raw, but has to get his chance with Reilly or Payne soon.
Matthews: 7. If this kid had a right foot that wasn't just for standing on, he'd play at a higher level. He is though a tad predictable. One mazy run and so unlucky not to score from the free kick. Maybe he could play the no10 role?

Crowd: 2. Less effort put in by us than any player. Pathetic.
Ref: 6. Fussy.
Walsall: 7. Solid enough defensively but not as attractive a side to watch as some. Always annoying when a side profits by scoring in the added time they caused by wasting so much of the 90.

Can't be too disappointed with that. Decent performance - 80% of the time they turn out to be well earned draws, 10% of the time they turn out to be jammy wins, 10% of the time they are defeats we probably didn't deserve. This time it was the latter, not worth chucking any toys out the pram.

Bonham 8 capable performance including an eye-catching save from Cook's speculative Lambert like belter

Leadbitter 6 did his defensive duties well enough but the crossing was poor when he joined the attack. Got better later in the game when Matthews gave him more room and time to use his pace to outflank them
Craig 6 used his nous to keep his man shackled, including some dirty tricks the ref missed
Clarke J 7 apart from one dodgy half at QPR he's been our most consistent defender
Martin 6 got a couple of blocks and tackles in, Bennett wasn't a great partner for him in the sense that they created much down the left but he worked well with both Sercombe and Lines to work himself into good crossing positions and delivered a couple that he had every right to expect a forward to be busting a gut to get on the end of. Not as bad as some make out.

Sinclair 7 some spirited never say die work from Sincs as usual. Didn't want to come off and who is to say that he might have got himself in the way sometime during their last attack that would have prevented the goal? But on the other hand it was his withdrawal that triggered our best attacking spell of the game.
Lines 8 impressed me today, Dead ball delivery was back to its best, chose the right times to sit and when to move and inject some pace. Chewed Ollie's ear off for a careless loss of possession at the end of the first half and it was him that went to the sidelines to have a tactical discussion with the manager during an injury hiatus rather than the captain...he then ran round everybody distributing the pearls of wisdom and it geed us on to a decent spell the immediate product of which was Ollie's rasping drive and Reilly's instinctive header of the rebound off the keeper that flew wide.
Clarke O 7.5 having a good season and there was much to admire in his game again yesterday, however, several promising moves broke down as his final pass went astray or he chose the wrong option, which puts his performance behind those of Bonham and Lines for me.
Bennett 5 curate's egg of a performance for him, couple of good moments and plenty of not so good, was always a candidate for an early hook.

Nichols 5 worked hard, can't buy a goal, deservedly hooked early.
Reilly 6 quiet start, got better but often his best work was trying to repair the damage he himself had created by losing possession

The best you can hope for with substitutions is that they make a positive impact and this week they all did

Jakubiak 7 instantly injected some belief up front and created doubt in the opponent's minds
Sercombe 7 took up some intelligent positions and opened up the bottleneck that had previously been the uncreative left
Matthews 7 did much the same for the right as Sercombe had done for the left only with more goal threat and in less playing time

Subs bench was better constructed than the team (which was lacking pace and width), the three that came on were there to encourage change if we were in a stalemate or worse still behind, Partington and Upson were there to preserve a winning position if we'd ever got into one and Broadbent and Smith were there to cover specific injuries.

Ref 7 Lee Swabey, we've had worse and on several occasions it has been him, perhaps he's finally learning!
Crowd 6 28th minute apart it was pretty quiet
Walsall 5 very similar standard to ourselves.

Bonham 8

Leadbitter 5
J. Clarke 7
Craig 6
Martin 6

Sinclair 5
Lines 6
O. Clarke 8
Bennett 5

Reilly 5
Nichols 5

Subs: Jakubiak 6
Sercombe 6
Matthews 7

Crowd 7
Ref 6
Walsall 5

Bonham 7

Leadbitter 5
J. Clarke 7
Craig 6
Martin 5

Sinclair 5
Lines 5
O. Clarke 7
Bennett 5

Reilly 5
Nichols 5

Subs: Jakubiak 5
Sercombe 5
Matthews 7

Crowd 3 Crowds dropping, those who only showed up when things were going well seem to have crawled back into the woodwork. Pathetic.
Ref 7
Walsall 6