Player Ratings: Bristol Rovers vs. Blackpool (RESULTS)

Bonham-7

Partington-6
Lockyer-7
Craig-7
Holmes-Dennis-8

Upson-7
O. Clarke-7
Ogogo-8.5
Sercombe-8

Nichols-8
Clarke-Harris-9.5

Subs: Jakubiak-6.5
Reilly-6
Sinclair-6

Crowd-7
Ref-7
Blackpool-6

My own opinions from the match:

Bonham 7.5 Couple of good low down saves in the second half

Partington 6.5 Let his man get a cross in too many times
Lockyer 8 Dealt well with the physical threat of Gnanduillet
Craig 8 Same as Lockyer, didn't make any silly mistakes this week
Holmes-Dennis  8.5 Class whenever he got on the ball

Upson 7.5 Sat deep and did exactly what he had to do. Kept shape and picked the ball out of defence with simple passes.
O. Clarke 8 Not everything he tried came off, but he was always looking to get in the game as proven by his three assists for JCH.
Ogogo  8 Covered the pitch well with economical running till the very end
Sercombe 8.5 Seemed to relish running into the space in between the strikers as they pulled wide.

Nichols 8 Good link up play with Sercombe and JCH
Clarke-Harris 9.5 Three goals aside he was pivotal to our attacking play and also looked to have built up an understanding with Nichols. The kind of player who will really infuriate opposition fans with some of his antics though.

Subs: Jakubiak 6 Tried to do too much on his own a couple of times, but a good crossfield pass for Sercombe's goal
Reilly 4.5 Proved how good a game Nichols had had by being completely bullied by the Blackpool defence
Sinclair 6.5 Not on that long, but played one nice through ball to Jakubiak

Crowd 7
Ref 8.5 A couple of early bookings stamped his authority and then I didn't notice him for the rest of the game
Blackpool 5 Honestly didn't think they were that bad. They were a bit limited technically whereas we had one of our best footballing games.

Bonham 7 Didn't have much to do all afternoon, but did what he had to well

Partington 6.5
Lockyer 8 Think his improvement this season has been overlooked by many. Is maturing as a player before our very eyes.
Craig 7.5 Great block for their one major opportunity.
Holmes-Dennis 8 Might already be the best left back we've had in the last 20 years which feels crazy to say after about 3 months with him.

Upson 8 Amazing what happens when he's allowed to dictate the tempo of our play instead of trying to win the ball. A 3 man midfield with Ogogo next to him will be his making here.
O. Clarke 6.5 Some absolutely shocking passing from him. Luckily his cross was deflected into the path of JCH for our first.
Ogogo 8 Blackpool didn't have a clue of how to deal with Ogogo in midfield, absolutely everywhere and winning everything. Hopefully will win over the fans as quickly as J P Kalala did a few years ago.
Sercombe 8 Think that the goal today will do him a world of good because up to that point it seemed like he was trying to force the same type of luck he had last season with his shots from 25 yards. Seemed to cover a lot more ground than he usually did too.

Nichols 9 If JCH doesn't get a hat-trick then Nichols wins MOTM. Seems to have an instinctual partnership with JCH, which is more than we've seen from the other options. His movement is always going to cause defenders troubles and his neat touches will always bring others into the game. Yesterday that led to our first two goals. Who knows what else it can bring before the end of the season. Hopefully his injury wasn't too serious.
Clarke-Harris 9.5 Man gets a hat-trick, then the man is getting MOTM. Think we saw the ideal version of JCH yesterday, powerful, surprisingly quick for a man of his size and clinical finisher. Much like Nichols I would be resting him midweek because it will be vital for our survival attempts to keep him fit.

Subs: Jakubiak 6
Reilly 6
Sinclair 6

Crowd 8 I know we were great on the pitch, but I heard a few chants that I haven't heard in a while outside of Irene and it was good to hear the Blackthorn/Thatchers/North Terrace back in full voice yesterday.
Ref 8 Didn't notice him which is about as high a compliment as I can give to a referee.
Blackpool 6 Initially came on to say that I thought their left back looked good and made some decent tackles, until somebody else mentioned he was their centre back, which I think is evidence of how much our front line moved their back 4 around yesterday. Their keeper kept the score down, but if that is an average performance for them then that 12 point deduction hanging over their heads could soon feel like a noose.

**STOP PRESS**
Hilarious as some have relatively marked Ollie Clarke lower than some of the other players..

He assisted both FIRST and THIRD goals (via a Blackpool player) !

Incredible these go missed.