Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2015 21:58:02 GMT
www.bristolpost.co.uk/MATCH-REPORT-Luton-Town-v-Bristol-Rovers/story-27631679-detail/story.html?
If Luton Town are a yardstick by which Bristol Rovers can measure their potential to be a contender in League Two, manager Darrell Clarke can be quietly confident that his side looks to have what it takes after Stuart Sinclair grabbed a stoppage-time winner at Kenilworth Road last night.
Along with Portsmouth, Northampton Town and Oxford United, Luton Town – armed with a healthy playing budget – are well-fancied to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season – but last night, it was Rovers that looked the real live promotion contenders right from the start to the grandstand finish provided by Sinclair just seconds before the final whistle.
Sinclair celebrated like a man possessed with the 500 or so Rovers fans tucked in behind the goal – and why not? Sinclair was, after all, discarded to the football scrapheap when released by Luton Town as a teenager. Point proved and all that.
The one golden opportunity that may have decided a game that Rovers fully deserved to win had fallen to Lee Brown just before half-time – but the wing-back spurned the chance to finish from close-range by aiming his effort too close to the legs of goalkeeper Mark Tyler.
It looked as though Rovers would end up without the rewards that their efforts had deserved – and credit must go to Luton Town for the solid and organised way in which they defended their goal – but even had Sinclair not managed to provide such a dramatic late intervention, Darrell Clarke would still have gone away with plenty of positives to ponder.
The manager’s ambitions to finish as one of the top seven sides come the end of the season certainly look a lot more realistic than they did following the opening day defeat to Northampton Town.
The players at his disposal have since shown themselves to be capable of being, at the very least, competitive and who knows what could happen should the manager be able to add the three extra players he believes he needs to mount a sustained challenge across the course of the season?
Clarke, meanwhile, had named out-of-favour goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall in the squad after omitting him from the 18-man party that travelled to Yeovil Town after informing him that he would no longer be considered his first-choice goalkeeper.
Jermaine Easter, meanwhile, returned to the starting line-up in place of Matty Taylor as the only change to the side that won 1-0 at Huish Park courtesy of Ellis Harrison’s late strike on Saturday.
It was a goal that served to give Rovers the confidence boost that comes with a first three points of the season ahead of what was expected to be a sterner examination of their credentials against a Luton Town side tipped to be one of the leading contenders for promotion.
Manager John Still, who was furious with his side for throwing away a two-goal lead in the final ten minutes to draw 2-2 with Oxford United on Saturday, resisted the temptation to make changes and instead gave the same 11 players a shot at redemption.
Mackail-Smith signalled notice of how aware Rovers needed to be with his movement when sneaking in behind and on to McCourt’s clever pass only for a poor touch to deny the striker an early shooting opportunity.
The former Brighton man, however, who was valued as a £2.5million player only a matter of four years ago, however, cut a largely peripheral figure for much of what remained of the opening perio after being kept firmly in check by Rovers’ erstwhile back three.
It was midfielder Paddy McCourt, in fact, who was Luton’s most promising player as they enjoyed the better of the early exchanges – but despite being given too much time on the ball to produce some clever passing Aaron Chapman was untested prior to Trevor Kettle bring the game to a temporary halt for the obligatory half-time cuppa or that blue drink all the players seem to sup on these days.
Chapman did have to be quick off of his line to smother at the feet of Benson on one occasion when a long diagonal off the boot of Scott Griffiths was miss-controlled by Lee Brown in the 23rd minute.
Rovers had taken some time to find their feet in the game after resorting to long and unsuccessful pot shots as Luton kept a disciplined shape in their defensive third.
Ollie Clarke and James Clarke had both fired wide of the target before Lines saw another effort end in similar fashion, while Jermaine Easter also saw an opportunistic slash at the ball take a deflection and fly wide of the post.
The early indications were, however, that Rovers did have potential to get at a robust-looking defensive line with the pace of Daniel Leadbitter and Ellis Harrison in particular.
On one occasion, defender Luke Wilkinson was lucky to see only a yellow card brandished in his direction for upending Leadbitter on the edge of the penalty area after being severely beaten in a straight footrace for a through ball.
Brown failed to capitalise on the free-kick by curling his effort into the wall before being denied at close-range by the legs of goalkeeper Tyler when presented with the best chance of the opening period on 40 minutes after Leadbitter had produced a delicious ball across the penalty area to pick him out at the far post.
Ellis Harrison raised a smile around the ground when the first attempt after the break completely missed the target only to knock the hat off of the head of a member of the local constabulary as Rovers continued in much the same fashion as they had ended the opening period.
Harrison fired wide on two further occasions as the game ticked past the hour mark and the natives became restless Rovers took full control of the game and began to pass the ball around with an air of nonchalance.
Still acted to breathe new life into his team by introducing Jonathan Smith soon after and a rare attack ensued which ended with McCourt forcing a smart – and rare – save out of Chapman before Sinclair went on to decide the game with a powerful shot past Taylor following a late burst into the penalty area seconds before the final whistle.
Rovers (3-5-2): Chapman; J Clarke, Parkes, Lockyer; Leadbitter, Sinclair, Lines, O Clarke, Brown; Easter (Taylor, 68), Harrison. Subs: Mildenhall, Malpas, Gosling, Montano, Monakana, Bodin.
Luton Town (3-5-2): Tyler; McNulty, Wilkinson, Cuthbert; O’Donnell, McCourt, Doyle (Smith, 65), McGeehan (Mpanzu, 70) Griffiths; Benson, Mackail-Smith (Marriott, 76). Subs: Potts, Lawless, Justham, McQuoid.
Referee: Trevor Kettle
Att: 8061 (553)
If Luton Town are a yardstick by which Bristol Rovers can measure their potential to be a contender in League Two, manager Darrell Clarke can be quietly confident that his side looks to have what it takes after Stuart Sinclair grabbed a stoppage-time winner at Kenilworth Road last night.
Along with Portsmouth, Northampton Town and Oxford United, Luton Town – armed with a healthy playing budget – are well-fancied to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season – but last night, it was Rovers that looked the real live promotion contenders right from the start to the grandstand finish provided by Sinclair just seconds before the final whistle.
Sinclair celebrated like a man possessed with the 500 or so Rovers fans tucked in behind the goal – and why not? Sinclair was, after all, discarded to the football scrapheap when released by Luton Town as a teenager. Point proved and all that.
The one golden opportunity that may have decided a game that Rovers fully deserved to win had fallen to Lee Brown just before half-time – but the wing-back spurned the chance to finish from close-range by aiming his effort too close to the legs of goalkeeper Mark Tyler.
It looked as though Rovers would end up without the rewards that their efforts had deserved – and credit must go to Luton Town for the solid and organised way in which they defended their goal – but even had Sinclair not managed to provide such a dramatic late intervention, Darrell Clarke would still have gone away with plenty of positives to ponder.
The manager’s ambitions to finish as one of the top seven sides come the end of the season certainly look a lot more realistic than they did following the opening day defeat to Northampton Town.
The players at his disposal have since shown themselves to be capable of being, at the very least, competitive and who knows what could happen should the manager be able to add the three extra players he believes he needs to mount a sustained challenge across the course of the season?
Clarke, meanwhile, had named out-of-favour goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall in the squad after omitting him from the 18-man party that travelled to Yeovil Town after informing him that he would no longer be considered his first-choice goalkeeper.
Jermaine Easter, meanwhile, returned to the starting line-up in place of Matty Taylor as the only change to the side that won 1-0 at Huish Park courtesy of Ellis Harrison’s late strike on Saturday.
It was a goal that served to give Rovers the confidence boost that comes with a first three points of the season ahead of what was expected to be a sterner examination of their credentials against a Luton Town side tipped to be one of the leading contenders for promotion.
Manager John Still, who was furious with his side for throwing away a two-goal lead in the final ten minutes to draw 2-2 with Oxford United on Saturday, resisted the temptation to make changes and instead gave the same 11 players a shot at redemption.
Mackail-Smith signalled notice of how aware Rovers needed to be with his movement when sneaking in behind and on to McCourt’s clever pass only for a poor touch to deny the striker an early shooting opportunity.
The former Brighton man, however, who was valued as a £2.5million player only a matter of four years ago, however, cut a largely peripheral figure for much of what remained of the opening perio after being kept firmly in check by Rovers’ erstwhile back three.
It was midfielder Paddy McCourt, in fact, who was Luton’s most promising player as they enjoyed the better of the early exchanges – but despite being given too much time on the ball to produce some clever passing Aaron Chapman was untested prior to Trevor Kettle bring the game to a temporary halt for the obligatory half-time cuppa or that blue drink all the players seem to sup on these days.
Chapman did have to be quick off of his line to smother at the feet of Benson on one occasion when a long diagonal off the boot of Scott Griffiths was miss-controlled by Lee Brown in the 23rd minute.
Rovers had taken some time to find their feet in the game after resorting to long and unsuccessful pot shots as Luton kept a disciplined shape in their defensive third.
Ollie Clarke and James Clarke had both fired wide of the target before Lines saw another effort end in similar fashion, while Jermaine Easter also saw an opportunistic slash at the ball take a deflection and fly wide of the post.
The early indications were, however, that Rovers did have potential to get at a robust-looking defensive line with the pace of Daniel Leadbitter and Ellis Harrison in particular.
On one occasion, defender Luke Wilkinson was lucky to see only a yellow card brandished in his direction for upending Leadbitter on the edge of the penalty area after being severely beaten in a straight footrace for a through ball.
Brown failed to capitalise on the free-kick by curling his effort into the wall before being denied at close-range by the legs of goalkeeper Tyler when presented with the best chance of the opening period on 40 minutes after Leadbitter had produced a delicious ball across the penalty area to pick him out at the far post.
Ellis Harrison raised a smile around the ground when the first attempt after the break completely missed the target only to knock the hat off of the head of a member of the local constabulary as Rovers continued in much the same fashion as they had ended the opening period.
Harrison fired wide on two further occasions as the game ticked past the hour mark and the natives became restless Rovers took full control of the game and began to pass the ball around with an air of nonchalance.
Still acted to breathe new life into his team by introducing Jonathan Smith soon after and a rare attack ensued which ended with McCourt forcing a smart – and rare – save out of Chapman before Sinclair went on to decide the game with a powerful shot past Taylor following a late burst into the penalty area seconds before the final whistle.
Rovers (3-5-2): Chapman; J Clarke, Parkes, Lockyer; Leadbitter, Sinclair, Lines, O Clarke, Brown; Easter (Taylor, 68), Harrison. Subs: Mildenhall, Malpas, Gosling, Montano, Monakana, Bodin.
Luton Town (3-5-2): Tyler; McNulty, Wilkinson, Cuthbert; O’Donnell, McCourt, Doyle (Smith, 65), McGeehan (Mpanzu, 70) Griffiths; Benson, Mackail-Smith (Marriott, 76). Subs: Potts, Lawless, Justham, McQuoid.
Referee: Trevor Kettle
Att: 8061 (553)
