Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Gas Loss Harsh On Defence

We all knew it had to end at some point and, sure enough, our 3 game winning streak under Mark McGhee concluded with a 1-0 loss at Shrewsbury. They had a lot of possession in and around our penalty area, but it was a cruel blow to lose so late on in the game. We looked good value for a point with heroic defending and if we could have harboured some more attacking intent, there was scope there to catch Salop on the break, but it was clear we were battling for a 0-0 first and foremost. Harsh, as I say, on the players and also on the supporters who got behind the team, but there were certainly some encouraging signs there for McGhee and Shaun North to work with.

The first half was a pretty dour affair with both sides cancelling each other out. Former Shrew Matt Harrold had a couple of efforts that warmed up the palms of goalkeeper Chris Neal, but there was very little in the way of goalmouth action. Cian Bolger was a man mountain and cleared every long, high ball in to the box with ease, whilst centre half partner Tom Parkes was very assured when tackling in and around the box. In fact all our defenders were sticking to their jobs well with Danny Woodards extinguishing the threat of ex-Gas Mark Wright on the left and Jim Paterson standing firm to the nippy Jon Taylor. The banter between Rovers fans and the Shrews fans in the side stand was hilarious and provided good entertainment. They began chanting 'League One and you f****d it up', to which we responded with 'We won at Wembley' - they didn't like that, but I found it hilarious.

With neither rearguard coming unstuck in the first 45, the second half was set up for plenty of action and it certainly delivered more of a spectacle. Rovers showed some signs of troubling the Shrews back-line early on, Eliot Richards struck a side-footed effort just wide of the left hand post, whilst Lee Brown's powerful half-volley was deflected over the crossbar for a corner. We couldn't maintain our spell of pressure for long though and the home side began to attack us again. They hit a couple of tame long-range efforts wide of Michael Poke's goal before really upping the ante. Captain Ian Sharps headed against the crossbar before centre back partner Jermaine Grandison inexplicably headed the rebound well over the bar from a few yards out. It was a let-off for Rovers, but as supporters we were confident our boys could continue their superb defending.

And they did, up until late in the game. Moments before the killer blow came, Poke made an unbelievable one-handed save to tip over a stinging shot - that's when you could have been forgiven for thinking we had secured a point, but oh no, Shrewsbury had other plans. A corner came in to the box which Poke managed to punch away, but somehow it landed perfectly for James Collins to finish from a few yards out. An absolute kick in the balls if I may say.

All 449 Rovers fans were bitterly disappointed, although there was a moment that made Gasheads laugh. As the stewards congregated in front of one of the exits with 5 minutes remaining of the game, a piece of Weetabix headed in their direction from many rows back in the away end. If you're a long-time Rovers fan with a comprehensive knowledge of all things Gas, you'll fully appreciate what I'm saying, if you don't have a clue what I'm referring to... look it up!

The final whistle went after 4 minutes of stoppage time and the players were left to rue Collins' winner late on in the game. They looked dejected as they came over to applaud the fans, but you could certainly see their appreciation of our vocal support. McGhee looked a little downbeat as well, but his frank and honest post-match interview oozed professionalism and has given us something to 'aspire' to achieve. He labelled Shrewsbury as the best side he'd seen in League Two and to be honest, we didn't look massively out of place against them. As we improve and become a stronger unit, I'm sure we'll see a much more attacking style in our play, something I feel can propel us to the higher echelons of League Two. The Play-Offs are out of reach this season in reality, but the final months of this season can help McGhee determine who will form part of his squad next season and what sort of players he needs to bring in.

Let's start again, get a couple of good days training done and move on to a big game with Oxford United at The Mem on Saturday.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Leave your thoughts...