Player Ratings: Bristol Rovers vs Aldershot Town

Puddy        6  did he make a save ?
Leadbitter   8 Getting better every game
McChyrstal 7 His normal high standard but that back pass was a bit iffy - nice to see him go and say                     sorry to Puddy when we scored just after
Parkes        7 Quality pass for the  3rd goal to Brown
Brown        6  Quite night on the wing

Dawson      5  Some good touches but not up to his normal high standard
Lines          6  Some good passes but sat to deep all night
Lockyer      7  thought Tom did well tonight but still can't pass a short ball
Monkhouse 7  Took his goal well but that was about it for me

Taylor        8  Matty at his best tonight along side another striker who new what he was doing
Easter        8  Quality holding the ball up tonight and put the fear of god in defenders with his pace



Subs:
Harrison    5   Very poor to much falling over tonight
Balanta     6   showed his class as soon as he came on - maybe play him for Dawson next game ?
Clarke       5   Not on long enough to form a judgement

DC           8   got it bang on tonight
Ref           6  Good runner and kept up with play and sensible with the bookings
Aldershot  7 looked good going forward but defence did not have a clue how to deal with our front 2

Is that the first goal Puddy has conceeded this season? Mansell and Sinclair to come back so competition hotting up and do hope Trotman is ok but seems to have disappeared from the mix.

Puddy 6 largely untroubled apart from a scrambling save from McChrystal's misdirected back header. Gave a couple of needless corners away and had no chance with the goal.

Leadbitter 7 have seen some calls for him to be MOTM but whilst defensively he was first rate he did have an off night with his passing, he and Daws never quite seemed to be linking up as well as the left side.
Parkes 7.5 committed defending from big Tom brought out the ball well on occasions... Still managed a head in hands moment when having two passing options he managed to exactly dissect the two and put the ball directly into touch.
McChrystal 6.5 a couple of shaky moments but overall a commanding heading display
Brown 8.5 for me he is this season's "Smith" - you don't think anyone will get past him, he is calm on the ball and has the odd trick or two to make some space for himself, he can turn on the turbo when he needs to, puts in some excellent crosses and has a decent shot. His link up with Monky was exceptional and the run and cross for MTs goal was deserving of being in a fixture from a much higher league

Dawson 5 not firing on all cylinders, was on the end of a shocking challenge and did well to see the game out after that. Occasionally over elaborate and frustratingly either takes the wrong option or loses the ball just when you think he's done the hard bit. Nevertheless a committed performance and he did help to stretch their defence out.
Lines 8 oozes class, never knowingly gives the ball away, did his share of closing down but also can run with the ball without looking like he is about to be tackled
Lockyer 7.5 little Tom threw down the gauntlet in this game, proving that when he's got creative players about him finding space, he can make a pass, glide past midfielders and not look out of place in the opponent's half. Add that to the parts of his game we know work well, tenacious tackling and closing down and you've got a good foil for
Lines. Mansell may not find it easy to waltz back into the team when his suspension is over on this showing.
Monkhouse 8 put in a shift aerially, winning more than his share of headers, provided a stable launch pad for Brown's forays down the left, linked brilliantly with Easter for the second goal, showing a cool head in tucking it away and was involved in creating the third. Good day at the office for the oft unappreciated Bob.

Easter 8 some show from the match rusty Jermaine, worked the spaces between midfield and defence well, often held the ball up long enough for the support to arrive, made unselfish runs to make space for his strike partner. Worked well when we did not have the ball too. Assured finish for a well taken goal to top off his home debut.
Taylor 7 benefitted from the inclusion of Lines and Easter, did not have to feed off scraps. Timed his run to perfection for the third goal.

Harrison 5 did not get into the game
Balanta 6 frustrating he can only get cameo performances but again showed class and composure.
Clarke no mark, game was already over when he came on.

DC 8 brave and bold team selection decisions.
Ref 6 did well to remember to book the culprit who laid out Dawson after the game had played on for 5 mins, otherwise another mixed bag of right decisions, wrong decisions
and no decisions - looked like another bottled penalty decision

Aldershot 4 no.23 looked useful till he shot, otherwise they showed little

Puddy - 6

Leadbitter - 7
McChyrstal - 7
Parkes - 7
Brown - 8

Dawson - 4
Lines - 7
Lockyer - 7
Monkhouse - 8

Taylor - 7
Easter - 8.5

Subs: Harrison - 5
Balanta - 6
Clarke N/A

DC - 9
Ref - 6
Aldershot - 5

Puddy 6 - Didn't have a lot to do.

Leadbitter 7 - Improving all the time, his pace is a very useful asset
McChrystal 6 - Gave away that reckless free kick but other than that did ok.
Parkes 7 - Calm, composed, class as usual.
Brown 7 - Put in a good cross for the 3rd which finished the game off.

Dawson 5 - Started off quite bright but was disappointing as the game went on.
Lines 7 - Good ball retention and an important signing in midfield
Lockyer 6 - Committed as usual but passing poor once or twice.
Monkhouse 6.5 - Took his goal well and finds space out wide, good in the air, I feel he gets a bit of a hard time from our fans.

Taylor 7 - Good workrate and good to see two strikers who work hard and are good footballers.
Easter 8 - Set the tone from kick off, chased everything down, you can see his class and experience, ready to sniff out any opportunity.

Subs: Harrison 5 - Ineffective.
Balanta 6 - Did ok.
Clarke N/A - Not on long enough to rate.

DC 8 - Could see that DC realised the importance of the game and set the team out to attack from the off.
Ref 7 - Can't recall too much which usually means the ref had a good game.
Aldershot 5 - Clearly came for a draw as they had a lot of players behind the ball when the scores were level and trying to frustrate us.

So who said Dawson Was a bad player. The ratings are for one game. He was poor in this game IMO. I actually think he is a good player

Puddy 5 distribution and kicking very poor
Leadbiter 7 getting better and better
McCrystal 7 did what he had to do,unsure it was a free kick
Parkes 8 Mr Reliable we will do well to keep him next season
Brown 7.5 Steady,reliable and a threat going forward
Dawson 6 bit of a curates egg sometimes mercurial others frustrating
Lines 8 had so much time when in possession,showed the difference that we have been missing
Lockyer 6 Not his best game got lost a few times
Monkhouse 6 Took his goal well but his passing let him down
Taylor 5 Scored but in all honesty couild hardly miss from that range looke disinterested for long
periods
Easter 8.5 for a player who in not fiy he woeked his socks off and real class
Harrison 5.5 tried hard and chased lost causes but not his night,dont think it was a dive and on another
day could have got a penalty

My ratings for the game on Friday:

Puddy 6 Kicking wasn't great but dealt with everything apart from the goal.

Leadbitter 8 Good to see how he's developing and utilising his pace, reminds me of Smith in that regard.
McChyrstal 6 Solid if unspectacular
Parkes 7 Snuffed out any chance of Aldershot getting back into the game in the 2nd half
Brown 7

Dawson 5.5 Started well but faded after 1/2 hour
Lines 6.5
Lockyer 4.5 Really showed his technical limitations having Lines alongside him
Monkhouse 6.5

Taylor 6
Easter 8

Subs: Harrison 7
Balanta 6
Clarke

DC6 
Ref 4.5
Aldershot 6 Limited but caused some problems in the first half