Player Ratings: Bristol Rovers vs Notts County

Nicholls  7 Hardly anything to do.


Leadbitter  7 Looked good going forward,great pace in defence.
Lockyer  7.5 apart from a few misplaced passes another solid game.
McChrystal  7.5 Solid as a rock,better distribution than Parkes.
Brown  7 Got forward very well first half with plenty of dangerous crosses,subdued second half as county man marked him out of the game.


Bodin  7.5 Some lovely touches and beat his marker loads of times,very unlucky with his effort onto the bar.
Mansell  7 Industrious as always.
Sinclair  7.5 Here,there and everywhere.
Gosling  7.5 Another impressive performance.


Taylor 6.5  Worked hard as always.Linked up better with Easter than Harrison. 
Harrison 6 Plenty of fight but control and final ball let him down.


Subs: Easter  7 unlucky not to score,good link up play with Taylor.
Montano  2 AWOL.
Blissett  3 Bad first touch,just could not seem to control the ball and pass it.Very rarely threatened in the air.


Crowd  6
Ref 7
Notts County 6



I thought we played some very good stuff first half,with both Bodin and Gosling looking good.These games are so tight and are often decided by very fine margins and on another day Bodins shot goes in instead of crashing against the underside of the bar and we got 3 points. Apart from that there was not too many clear cut chances.

Second half County got a lot tighter on Brown and we seemed to lose our shape and gave county the initiative to attack us more but apart from a couple of dangerous crosses into our box they never really troubled Nichols.

We just about did enough to win the game but i am not too disappointed with a point as i thought we passed it well and tried to play football and the improvement in our general play now, as opposed to the start of the season is massive.We are an improving team.

My only gripe is with the substitutions, not sure if DC and lines have had a falling out,but bringing on Montano and leaving him on the bench backfired big time.I was hoping lines could have come on and slotted in next to Mansell with sinclair pushing up behind the front two.The pattern of our play needed changing then, but the opportunity was lost.

Sorry to say it but Monty looked completely lost and disinterested.

Nicholls - 6 Quiet night, dropped the ball once but looked ok other than that. Distribution in the last minute was woeful but generally ok and looked to roll out a lot which is good to see.

Leadbitter - 7 Would've been a 6 as I thought he made a few mistakes first half but he came on massively in the last 20 mins, looked really dangerous going forward at times and did well at the back
Lockyer - 8 Another great performance
McChrystal - 8 As above, deserved his man of the match
Brown - 7 Got forward and linked up really well in the first half. Whole defence was very good today, we didn't look like conceding really.

Bodin - 6 Some useful touches but quiet and ran into trouble a few times too many
Mansell - 7 Was probably a 9 in the first half and man of the match but faded a bit in the second. Great gritty performance though
Sinclair - 7 As ever, no explanation needed
Gosling - 7 Very good from Gos today, oozes class, good pace and skill. Technically our best player I think. Can't rate higher than a 7 though as we didn't score and that's a key factor when rating this sort of player

Taylor - 4 Very quiet
Harrison - 5 Huffed and puffed a bit but didn't offer loads. Disappointed with the strikers today. He didn't come back out second half did he? Took a knock before half time I think

Subs: Easter - 6 Pick of the strikers but only marginally
Montano - 5 Didn't do a lot but wasn't on long
Blissett - 5 As above, won a few headers but don't think he's the answer. Would prefer Lucas over Bliss

Crowd - 6 Good numbers, not much vocally, but not a great deal to cheer about in fairness
Ref - 5 Poor first half I thought but better second.
Notts County - 5 Completely mirrored the ref: Poor first half, better second. Alan Smith looked a good player still and controlled the midfield when Manse and Sincs lost their way a bit

Nichols 6
Leadbitter 7.5
McChrystal 7.5
Lockyer 7.5
Brown 7.5
Bodin 7
Mansell 7.5
Sinclair 7
Gosling 7
Taylor 4
Harrison 4

Easter 6
Montana 5
Blissett 4

Crowd 6
Ref 8
Notts 5

Nicholls 7

Leadbitter 7
Lockyer 8
McChrystal 8.5 MOM
Brown 7.5
Bodin 7
Mansell 6.5
Sinclair 6.5
Gosling 7
Taylor 5
Harrison 5.5
Subs: Easter 6.5
Montano 5
Blissett Not long enough to mark

Crowd 5
Ref 8
Notts County 6.5

Nicholls 5 little to do but spilt a couple of crosses
Leadbitter 7 A real threat going forward our best winger on the night
McCrystal 8 Handled Stead like a good pro gave him nothing
Lockyer 8.5 Outstanding alongside Mac ,extra .5 for that amazing second half run
Brown 7 Our second best winger
Bodin 5 Apart from the shot that hit the bar he was anonymous
Mansell 6.5 Did the dirty work but gets involved too much
Sinclair 6.5 Bit of a curates egg good ion places then not so good
Gosling 5.5 Flits in and out of game crosses and corners very weak
Taylor 5 Another chance went begging doesn't get in the game enough
Harrison 6.5 A threat on and off the ball but why isn't he told to stay in the middle
Easter 6.5 Good work rate but missed a good chance
Montano 4 Just not good enough
Blisset 4 Have you seen the film Bambi,thats him

Nichols 7
Leadbitter 7.5
McChrystal 8
Lockyer 8
Brown 7
Bodin 7
Mansell 7.5
Sinclair 7
Gosling 6.5
Taylor 4
Harrison 4.5

Easter 7
Montana 5
Blissett 4

Crowd 6
Ref 8
Notts 7

Nicholls 7

Leadbitter 7
Lockyer 8
McChrystal 7
Brown 7

Bodin 6
Mansell 7
Sinclair 7
Gosling 5

Taylor 5
Harrison 4

Subs: Easter 6
Montano 6
Blissett 3

Crowd 6
Ref 8
Notts County 7

As regards the keepers score, I personally find it hard to score above a six especially when he has hardly had anything to do.
Our defence has certainly looked after our keepers very well this season and long may that continue.