Hoppers 6 Rovers 0

Well if you feel like you have read this match report before it's because this was pretty much an exact replica of the previous meeting between these two clubs back in October. That day the Hoppers trounced the Rovers 6-0 and that scoreline and battering were evident again in this meeting.

Frankly the hoppers are just to good for the current crop of Rovers players and they are the best side in the league. Perhaps will a complete full team (Seamus, Jose, Brodie, Matty, Big Joe) the result might have been closer but the result would have still be the same.

For 20 minutes the Rovers battled bravely but it seemed the Hoppers goal was inevitable. The Rovers did have a couple of half chances both falling to the skipper but on one occassion he didn't get enough power behind the shot. Then Mark floated in a free kick that he did well to head on. Once the Hoppers scored though the Rovers didnt' look like they would be able to get back in the contest.

On a positive note the game was played in a very good spirit, by both sets of players and supporters. The ref did a decent job as well.

The Hoppers could have had more then 2 before the break as they hit the post 3 times as well.

The Rovers kept fighting up until about minute 80 when some heads seemed to drop but overall they battled well.

MOM; Jed would have been 10 with out him.
Best Moment of the Match. JOnathan's fair but last ditch crunching tackle to save a goal in the first half
Ref: good job
Groin: killing me

Rovers 1 Sunnyvale 2

Use whatever cliche comes to mind, "you make your own luck," football is a game of two halves, you reap what you sow, all of these are appropriate when discussing the Rovers latest game in the PSL this Sunday.

What is clearly turning into one of the most fierce local Derby's in the league didn't disappoint on Sunday. If you wanted to witness what is wrong with the game, from the grassroots level, this was the game to be at. From poor refereeing, from an unruly traveling support, to both sets of players not doing themselves any favors, this game had it all. Combine that with 3 sending offs this was a game that will live in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

Their were a few bright spots in this contest and that mainly comes from the back 3 and KC, who did everything they could to hold out Sunnyvale. Jon,Jed, Matty and KC were tremendous at the back. All of them played brilliantly and kept the Rovers in the contest. Jed was immense. He was the best player on the field, by a country a mile.

The Rovers started pretty well and had a few decent attempts but no clear cut chances in the opening exchanges. Same goes for Sunnyvale, just a midfield battle. Nav, Curt and Brodie were doing a decent job in the middle of the park with Jon finding some good joy down the right. The Rovers took a surprise lead when Ben whipped in a great ball after a throw in that Jon reacted to quickly and his sliding header beat the keeper. Moments Brodie was booked for swearing, not at the ref, and the tone was set. Little Joe had a great chance that he swung and missed at but he made amends moments later when Brodie put in a cross, Joe got it down, and first time his shot just over the top. They were scared of Bryce every time he touched the ball, most of the time they had to hold him to stop him....the ref turning away every chance he got. The Rovers hit Sunnyvale on the break with Jose playing a great ball to Brodie. Brodie's first choice took him around the left back. One yard from getting in the box Brodie was hacked down...The resulting free kick was wasted by Brodie, the ref did not book the player. The game continued in this vein with Matty intercepting every loose ball and Jed and Jonathan on hand to pick up balls over the top. The Rovers went into the break with a surprising 1-0 lead.

Sunnyvale dominated the 2nd half and deserved to equalize but it was painful in the manner in which it was done. Again, like the Rovers last game, the ball appeared to cross the line for a throw in, however the linesman waived play on.. KC did well to save the one on one but the rebound fell nicely for the Sunnyvale forward who made no mistake. Bryce came close minutes later with a fantastic shot that just went over but the Rovers didn't have much as an attacking force. The game swung again when Brodie saw red after his feet collided with a Sunnyvale player who was attacking the goal, even though the pass was actually behind him. The Rovers were down to 10 men and Sunnyvale scored the go ahead goal after their man dove in the box. The ref took no action and the ball rebounded in for Sunnyvale to slot it home. More ridiculous interaction occurred after the match with a Sunnyvale player jogging the width of the pitch to confront Jose after the match. Prior to this Jose was awarded a 2nd yellow for his involvement in the post match involvement. A Sunnyvale player was also ejected, and who they managed to last the game with all 11 players is a mystery to me.

At some point the Rovers need to start getting the rub of the green because it went missing again yesterday.

MOM: JED, but the entire defense deserves a mention
REF: So inconsistent, said he couldn't talk to their fans but went over to ours.just an example of the way he ruled the game. Linesman were poor
Fans: They brought a lot of folks with them, none more so then the muppet in the brown shorts. Love a guy who talks shit but can't play.
Pitch: Huge. Rovers could have used more then one sub

SC 1 (ref aided) Rovers 0

The Mexican Hitler in the middle of the park and his counter-part linesman on the far side of the field missed a good game of football yesterday. The little man in the middle was a joke. I think he thought he was in charge of a rugby game rather then a football game. He missed so many poor tackles it was unbelievable. He just had no concept of how to be a ref but he acted like one. At one point telling Seamus to hurry up in the first half (threatened to book him) when it was our corner kick and Seamus had gone and got the ball. It was hard to be worse then this little man but the linesman on the far side somehow managed to usurp him. Perhaps he felt like Napoleon in this power struggle of the Muppet's. His first unbelievable mistakes occurred twice in the 2nd half when he called Seamus offside for coming back from an offside position. This is a true statement if he does this when the ball is played, but he managed to tell both Seamus and I that it doesn't matter when the ball is played. If that is the case, how does a player ever become onside? Next up the entire ball did roll over the line when Santa Clara got one of their few shots on target, which resulted in the only goal of the match. Again, what was he watching. Lastly, two yards away from him, three minutes to go, I got completely hacked down and he waives play on. Awful stuff.

In saying all that the game should have been well out of sight by the time these events occurred. The Rovers had a make shift back line that excelled all afternoon and had the Rovers failed to capitalize on a minimum of 7 clear opportunities and a handful of other half chances SC would have been well beaten.

The first half was a touch closer then the second half. The Rovers passing wasn't great in the first half, lead by some sloppy passing but the Rovers still had two great chances, both falling to the Rovers front men who were doing their best Robbie Keane impressions. Paulie played in Bryce who should have finished it and the reverse was true moments later. Curt had a good shot as well in the first half while a Brodie corner was headed just wide by Matty. Their were some danger moments for the Rovers in the first half but KC didn't have a great deal to do.

The misses kept adding up in the 2nd half and you perhaps thought the Rovers might pay the ultimate penalty and sure enough they did. Bryce and Paulie were causing the SC defense all kind of problems with seamus playing just behind them. They just couldn't cope. Their goalie was the clear man of the match and he has also improved his kicking tremendously.

Gibbsy got sent off with 3 minutes to go and frankly you couldn't blame him. He was arse fucked in the center of the park and they almost scored from it. Then we witnessed the tackle on me he had enough and told the ref what he thought...

SC did the double of the Rovers this year but this was a farce

MOM: Entire game their keeper for us Jon with honorable mention to Kieran and matty. Jon was everywhere...played fantastic
Ref: Best thing they did all day was send the lino on our side over with the player passes, sending either of the two would have been a huge mistake.

Rover 5 SSF 0

Last Sunday the Rovers scored 5 past PSC but only came away with one point. This week the Rovers managed the same offensive feet, but rightly came away with all 3 points. Last seasonar these two teams won their respective away games. The trend continued this season with the Rovers beating SSF 1-0 at Orange Park. Talk before the game centered around bucking that trend and completing the "double" over SSF this season. The way the game started that didn't look like happening. The Rovers were sloppy in posession and much to slow at moving the ball forward. Lucky enough SSF couldn't capitlize on any of the Rovers poor play As the game wore on the Rovers did start to get on top. An early pot shot by Lawton was the Rovers first chance. Curt almost got on the end of a Brodie cross but he was denied by a fine block. Eoin had a great chance to score from an up and under from Matty, however Eoin had the ball hit off his back rather then his head and the ball trickled wide. Bryce, of course was always a threat and he found himself in acres of space however SSF has improved at the back, so the sweeper was on hand to stop Bryce from having a go. Besides for the Eoin chance the best opportunity the Rovers had to take the lead was after Jose sent Brodie down the channel and his pull back cross found Paulie who connected well, only for his shot to be blocked on the way in.

Of course, SSF had their chances but Jed was usually on hand to snuff out the danger. At one point the SSF forward found himself with a 8 yard lead on Jed and only KC to beat but by the time he got into the box Jed had closed him down and ran the ball out for a goal kick. Jed's only moment of madness came when his attempted back header went about 1 yard to their center forward, but he could do nothing with the gift that was given to him. Jon and Matty were also coming intercepting many loose balls as the Rovers continued to hound SSF out of possession.

The Rovers went into 0-0 in what was a pretty even match at this point. No one could have predicted the following score-line at this point. The Rovers scored inside of 3 minutes of the re-sart. A great move, involving Jon to Brodie to Jose to Brodie to Joe, who played a great pass to Bryce who finish was superb. The Rovers continued to press and won a corner. From the corner SSF broke and almost made it 1-1 after a through ball eluded Jon and Jed but KC was on hand to make a tremendous block. This was the turning point in the match as had that ball beaten KC it would have been anyone's game. Goal 2 came from a set piece, as the Rovers finally let Brodie take one. Brodie's far post ball was into the danger area at pace. Matty was the first to react and his header was saved well by the keeper. Jon looked certain to score on the rebound however the goalie blocked that shot as well, but the ball fell kindly and this time he made no mistake from2 yards. The Rovers seemed to have the game in hand at this point but KC made another fine save tipping the ball over the post with a fierce drive. The resulting corner was cleared with ease.

The Rovers were doing well with the subs, brining in Kieran and Nav, both were fresh and SSF struggled with this change. Kieran won a lose ball and after some clever play sprung Paulie down the left wing. The striker still had some work to do but his well placed shot found the bottom of the net and SSF just folded. The Rovers were lining up to get on the score sheet at this point and goal 4 came from the unlikely source of Eoin. Lucky for the Rovers the ball didn't fall to his head this time as Paule played a square ball that Eoin hammered in. Paulie was again involved in the 5th goal as his ball played in Bryce who had another cool finish. It could have been more and the Rovers continued to press for it. The tempature finally got the better of both teams as the game petered out competitevly

MOM; Jed again. Head and shoulders the best player on the field. Honarable mention to Bryce who ran them ragged all day.
Pitch: Hot weather and huge field helped the Rovers out today
Ref: Besides for the fact that their little blond guy stayed on the field after about 5 horrendous challenges he did a good job
Quote: Nice cross, Joe to Eoin after he scored. closely followed by a calm down calm down chant from the sidelines.

Rovers 5 PSC 5

Where do you start in a match like this? This has to go down in the archives as Pensinsula Soccer League Premier Classic, (except for the exploits of the ref). This game had more ups and downs then a lady of the evening'ss knickers. The Rovers started out with another make shift lineup with regular players such as Paulie and Bryce missing from action. Eoin returned to the fold after a few weeks off. The Rovers found themselves 2-0 down after 15 minutes, which was quite unbelievable given the way the game was going. Gibbsy committed a silly free kick about half way between the corner flag and pen box. One of the few decisions the ref got right the entire day. The ball was whipped in and the blond forward for PSC out jumped Brodie (not hard) to power in the header. Goal two was remarkable, another free kick whipped in and the ball was volleyed home from the top of the box, which gave KC no chance.



The Rovers continued to press as Big Joe entered the frey. PSC couldn't keep up with his movement. The Rovers pulled one back when Jose whipped in the cross and found Joe un-marked two yards from goal. His header was powerful and their was a hint of a push before the ball was played but their was no chance this ref would have spotted that. Moments later Brodie was put in but his toe poke effort, between the defender and the goalie was pushed out for a corner. Another corner, after a PSC mistake, allowed the Rovers to equalize. Joe whipped in a corner which the goalie was having problems with. His attempt to save the corner was poor and the ball fell to Jon who hammered the ball over the line. With-in moments the Rovers had the ball again, Curt doing the destroy job in the middle of the park. Jose was fouled in the middle of the park and their number 6 raised his hands and pushed Jose. No card to the number 6. Joe went down in the box shortly after, a clear spot kick..as he was tumbling to the ground he was kicked in the mouth. The ref waived play on. As the ball went out of play number 6 again raised his hands. The ref did nothing. The Rovers took the lead after joe played in a great free kick that Gibbsy did well to glance beyond the keeper. The Rovers seemed to be in command. The otherwise flawless Curt Lawton had his best chance ever to break his Rovers scoring duckwhen the ball was pulled back to Curt 8 yards from goal. His shot lacked power and hit a defender and went on the post and was safely cleared away from danger.

Moments later the Rovers found themselves level after the blond lad dribbled in and hit a well placed shot to 3-3. Unbelievable stuff, this with only 35 minutes played. The Rovers had more of the ball but PSC took the lead with the blond lads hat trick which I don't remember all that well. Every shot they had took at this point had lead to a goal. At the break the Rovers were trailing 4-3

Everyone was shocked at half-time and we decided if stopped conceding we would get something out of the match. While the 2nd half lacked in goals it made up for in goal mouth action. After 60minutes the Rovers equalized when Brodie took a well placed free kick directly into Matt, but his header was well saved only for Jon to pounce on the rebound. 4-4. More play, more bad ref decisions. With 70 minutes gone the rovers found themselves behind. Jose lost the ball in the middle of the park for the first time all day and the ball was whipped in quickly. Brodie was near last man, never a good thing, and he dove to the clear the ball. As he was jumped into (read fouled) the ball spun into an attacker path and after a strong challenge by Matt he placed the ball in the net. 4-5. More attacking play and the Rovers were back in the match when super sub Nav, scored a great goal after two PSC went down in a heap. His shot was a rocket over the head of the onrushing goalie. Their left back was sent off in minute 80 (GP) for a comedy of assults and it was all Rovers in the last 10. How the didn't get the winner is anyone's guess. Brodie hit the crossbar from a free kick. Lawton had another half chance. Jon had a great chance for his hatrick a the farpost of a corner. Gibbsy was played in but didn't connect with the outside of his boot shot. The best chance to win it came in minute 90 when Brodie picked up a lose ball and whipped it in for Gibbsy to find himself one on one with the attacking keeper. The ball held up in the wind and Mark's shot beat the keeper. At the last second a defender cleared the ball off the line. At the end the Rovers should have won by 5-5 was probably a fair result

MOM: Joe. Biggest change of the match was not having him in the second half because of the result of being kicked in the face. Would have been 8-5 had he played
Pitch: Not awful and actually helped add to the drama
Ref; Joe is a bafoon of the highest order
Quote: GP calling Jon a stupid mexican however he is not Mexican.

Rovers 3 Maritimo 1

The Rovers finally returned to winning ways with a good display back on their home field of De Anza. Unbelievably after 20 minutes played the Rovers found themselves 1-0 down after dominating the intial stages of the match. Bryce and Paulie were chosen to lead the line after Seamus pulled another Darren Anderton. The Rovers opted to play 5 across the middle, Brodie losing out in the middle of the park with the return of Jose. Apparently Gibbsy thought he would utilize Brodie's speed as a wing back. Big Joe arrived on time and commanded the left wing back role with Lawton and Gibbsy partnering Jose. The back 3 had Jed returning to partner Matty and Jon, so overall not a bad line-up.

The Rovers had some great chances to take the lead, most of which came from Bryce. His intellegient pull backs and runs were causing Maritimo's slow of foot defense problems. Paulie had two half chances to score after the ball was being pinged around in the box, but his efforts lacked enough punch to trouble the keeper. Jose was pulling the strings per usual but the Rovers failed to capitlize. They were hit with a sucker punch has Matty's header took a poor deflection as it bounced directly to a Maritimo player who thrased the ball past KC to make it 1-0. The Rovers couldnt' believe it and the biggest worry at this point was that their heads would drop, given their 4 game losing streak.

However they continued to pass the ball around and get stuck in the middle of the park. The equalizer came when Paulie was judged to have been fouled in the box. It sounded it a bit worse then it was but the same player made no mistake from the spot with a kick down the middle. The Rovers continued to press and they took advantage of their height advantage when manager Gibbsy whipped in a corner kick to find Matty at the back post. His bullet header found the roof of the net and the Rovers were in charge. Lawton, Jon and Matty were doing a great job of winning the 50/50 balls, Lawton going on a great run that saw his pass just intercepted at the last moment. It would have been a killer ball to Paulie. More dominate pressure found the Rovers score from another set piece as Bryce bundled in Big Joe's inswinging corner kick. Gibbsy went close himself witha fierce drive that keeper did well to save from a free-kick.The Rovers went into the break winning 3-1.

The next 25 minutes of the 2nd half were madness. The Rovers, instead of playing it simple, starting hoofing the ball upfield. Maritimo looked lively and were well up for it. Jed making a couple of key interceptions. The game was in the balance at this point as a Maritimo goal would have given them the momentum to get back in the match. A rare Rovers break during this period found Ben on goal, after a great ball by Big Joe. Ben's left footed effort went just wide.

Finally after 70 minutes the Rovers settled down and started passing it around a tired Maritimo. The Rovers had two great chances to kill the game off after Brodie played in Paulie both times. One of his efforst was foiled by the keeper, the other was placed just wide. Paulie was also set free just inside his own half but the distance of his run and the chasing defenders did just enough to put him off. On another day he would have had a hatrick. Big Joe also created a couple of great chances for himself in the box, only for his efforts to go just wide.

In the end it was a desrved 3 points.

Man of the Match: Jed, the Rovers are a different team when he plays. Honarable mention to go Matty for getting on the score sheet.

Pitch. Huge but benefited the Rovers in this game

Ref: Very good

Quote

DV3 Rovers 0

Well for the first time in my long career, some might say too long, the Rovers started a match with only 10 players. One of those players was Nigel who could barely move so needless to say it was not exactly ideal match preparation. Matty, who was at work, showed up just moments after kick off which gave the team some added strength down the middle. Nav, per usual was late again, but did show up to give Nigel a break, who was clearly not fit. Big Joe, late as well, also gave the Rovers a chance to give Ben a break when needed. Kieran Donnely also made his return to first team action after a 9 month lay off. This was not exactly the Rovers strongest 11.
Curt Lawton's amazing 4 year game streak came to end. Questions at the MOnday morning press conference are surrounding Curt. Will their be a way back into the lineup for Curt after his loyality as been called into question?

The Rovers were completely at sea in first half, with goals being conceded so easily. DV8 didn't really have to work that hard to get one on one opportunites and the fact that it was 3-0 at half-time was done to poor finishing from DV8 and great keeping by KC. The 2nd goal came from a throw in that would see in an under 6 game. The third goal was offside but make no mistake dv8 had other moments to kill the game off. The Rovers only had a few chances off note, the best falling to big Joe after a neat move by Paulie played in Brodie who's through ball gave him a good opportunity but the shot was well saved. Brodie also tried his luck from distance but his shot was hit directly at the keeper.

The Rovers went into half-time with a big point to prove. They didn't have the excuse of not having a full team and you can see the difference in their play in the 2nd half. While the second half score-line read 0-0, the Rovers were clearly the better team. With big Joe flying around the pitch, and Brodie pulling the strings in the middle, the Rovers out-classed dv8 in the second half. Were it not for some of the worst referring in the history of the PSL the Rovers would have been back in the match, as two stone-wall pk's were turned down. The ref was not just bad he was disgraceful. His attitude of contempt and his complete lack of positioning was frankly unbelievable. In saying that the Rovers kept on going and the work rate by everyone was so much improved.

Jonathan battled on in the 2nd half with a sore ankle, Kieran battled on, who was clearly not fit, but the Rovers playeed with heart and a brain in the 2nd half to create some good chances. In addiiton to the pk's, Byrce hit the bar, Joe had another good chance to score after a long pass by Brodie and Nav was in good position down the right. Of course dv8 did have a few chances by KC was on hand, along with new Jon and Matty to snuff out the danger. The Rovers can build on this 2nd half performance.

MOM: KC for keeping the game close, great point blank save from the header, honarable mention to Big Joe
Pitch: Great field
REF: f'ing disgrace
Quote: "Can someone make me a cup of a tea" you had to be their

Hoppers 6 Rovers 0

I'm not sure how you write a match report about that game yesterday. In my opinion that was the worst Rovers displayI have ever seen. From back to front, everyone was terrible. Only Paddy can hold his head up high from yesterday cause he didn't get a game. The Rovers lost every single 50/50 challenge, couldn't play a ball 4 yards to a wide open team mate, couldn't beat a man and lay the ball off, nothing. The Rovers could have seen themselves back in the game with a pk miss in the first half at 1-0, but even that didnt' motivate them to get involved. The highlight of the first half was a Eoin's clearance off the line.

More of the same in the 2nd half except for an 8-10 minute spell when the Rovers actually looked like a team. Once Mark's shot hit the post, the only highlight of the second half, the Hoppers went down the field for number 3. The Rovers gave up and 3 more followed. Hoppers won 6-0 and it could have been more.

Possibly the least enjoyable game I have been associated with and that includes the 9-1 thrashing by Harmonie last year.

MOM: Paddy, didn't play
Ref: got the majority of throw in's wrong. Made us move back for throw ins let them take it 10 yards from where it went, on the run. Failure to do simple things like put your hand up in the air for an indirect free kick, missed an obvious control by the goalie. So very poor, but had no effect on the pummeling that the Hoppers through out.

Quote: You need to use hand signals, what happens if a player is deaf...Brodie to the ref

Pitch; Trees on the field, limited grass..nets that dont' cover the goal, homeless people behind the goals drinking beers, no parking, but otherwise good

Sunnyvale 3 Rovers 1

Sunnyvale defeated Rovers in their first competitive league match in an exciting premiere league contest this Sunday's at Palo Alto's El Camino Park. Brodie and Gibbs passed late fitness tests to join the starting 11, while the back 3 consisted of Jonathan, Matty and Eoin, 2 of which were not in these positions last week. It was not to much of a surprise that Sunnyvale started brightly. The Rovers didn't make one pass of note in the first 10 minutes. Constantly giving the ball away and making hopeful passes to that the Rovers front men of Nigel and Bryce could not get on the end of. Sunnyvale were sitting very deep defensively, keeping bryce's pace in front of them. Byrce did have a good shout for obstruction when he was wrestled to the ground but a call was not given. After 20 minutes Jed came to help cement the back 3. Of course Jed made an immediate impact on the game and started throwing in tackles. Matty whipped in a great free kick to Bryce but his knock down header was cleared. Brodie put in a corner that Gibbsy did well to react to but his header hit the side netting. It was really no surprise that the Rovers conceded first as they were 2nd to every lose ball. Sunnyvale broke down the Rovers left side and the player hit the by line he played in a simple cross for his team mate to tap in.Good goal and deserved. Kc and the back 3 kept the Rovers in the game for the rest of the half.

Brodie moved into the center of the park with Curt and Mark with Joe going outside right. eoin was on the left of the midfield. Making his debut on to the field for the first time was club captain Paulie. Paulie immediately made an impact. He was holding the ball up, playing balls square and into smart areas of the pitch. The Rovers were like a different team in the 2nd half. They were playing much higher up the field and Bryce was becoming more difficult for them to mark. Inside of 55 minutes the Rovers were all square with Brodie on the score sheet after his wind aided corner went into the goal. The dubious goal panel was consulted but came back with the correct decision. At this point their only looked to be one winner but the Rovers were finding it hard to test the keeper. Bryce was played in, after a good move by Lawton and Brodie, but his shot was hit tamely at the keeper. Lawton went on a tremendous run, beating about 5 Sunnyvale players, his shot was blocked but it feel nicely to O'Mahony who shot was going for the top corner but their goalie managed to save. The resulting corner was almost glanced in however Eoin failed to make enough of a connection to change the flight of the ball.

It was backs to the wall stuff for Sunnyvale at this point. Ben was introduced to right midfield and Nigel came in up top, only to limp off moments later with a calf injury. Ben was making some crunching tackles, and one of the worst decisions of the day was when Ben received a yellow card for nothing, he clearly won the ball... The Sunnyvale man did beat Ben and Brodie inside the box only to go down like a big girls blouse under the tackle of Jonathan. Should he kept his feet he would have probably scored he decided to put fate in the hands ofthe ref who didn't want any of it. Sunnyvale, then went ahead against the run of play, but the worry was always that they would score as the Rovers couldn't find that killer ball to give them the lead. They broke the deadlock with a neat move that started on the halfway line and ended up in the back of KC's net after 4 passes. Nothing anyone could do. The third goal was offside but at this point it didn't really look like anyway back for the Rovers as the had only 11 "fit" players left. A good start is turning ugly quick.

MOM: Jonathan Tremendous stuff only gave the ball away once but honorable mention to Curt who worked his arse off and contributed to the attack.

Pitch: Terrible

REF. Let a lot go and we had a strong shot for a pk turned down n both halves.

Sunnyvale 3 Rover 1

In Dallas looking to kick Hicrs in the arse. Have not spotted him yet. Match report to follow

kevin

Sunnyvale v Rovers

This is the first time these two clubs have met in a competitive fixture. For the last two years these teams have played friendlies, with the Rovers winning two years ago and Sunnyvale winning this season. The two teams enjoy a decent relationship, training together for a couple of summers in prepartion for six aside tournmanets.

All friendships will be put aside this Sunday at Palo Alto El Camino Sand Box at 9am. Both teams coming off disapointing results last week. The Rovers look to get back on track with Nigel Thomas returning to the squad after a weekend on the beer. Still missing from the team this week are new boys Big Joe and Nav, who would have to judged as disapointing signings, except for the fact that they have paid their club dues. New Jon also misses out due a scheudled trip. The Rovers are still missing their club captain due an injury.

Sunnyvale will be a tough nut to crack as they have a very solid midfield and some lively players up top. If the Rovers stay compact and do the simple things they have a good chance.

Overall it should be good match.

Rovers 3 Santa Clara 5

The Rovers good start to the 2008-09 came a cropper this Sunday. A superior second half performance by Santa Clara put this once tight contest out of the Rovers reach. The Rovers had only 13 players for this battle, which is a big disappointment considering they would have probably have won this game with a full squad.

The Rovers players battled in the early stages of the match and deservedly took the lead after twenty minutes. Seamus started the move but Bryce still had a great deal of work to do. He took the ball some 35 yards from goal and burst directly past his defender into the box. The angle of run gave the defender no options and Bryce calmly beat the keeper. The Rovers had further excellent chances to increase their lead as Ben was sent away by a pass from Brodie but he failed to get on the end of the chance. Little Joe had another good chance to put the Rovers up as the side-stepped the goalie but his shot was blocked down by the defender. The Rovers 5 across the middle was causing Santa Clara problems as Seamus was picking the ball up in deep spots and going through the banks of 4 that SC had set up. After 30 minutes Seamus picked the ball in his own half. His run saw him get into a one on one with SC's last man. Seamus tried to set up his mate, little Joe for the finish, when being greedy would have been the best option. Moments later the Rovers were caught, out, all be it by a player that was 4 yards offside. The SC player only had KC to beat but he pushed his shot wide.

Jon Regali making his debut at right back was solid during this initial spell playing in some decent balls to middle. One moment of madness between KC and Jon almost caused an own goal but KC was quick to re-act to the danger. With about 37 minutes played the Rovers found themselves in a good position with a dangerous free kick about 25 yards from SC's goal. Brodie's in swinging free kick was very poor and was right at the keeper. His quick punt caused the Rovers problem and they broke down the Rovers left flank. The ball should have been cleared but it was switched the Rovers right. Once the ball was played in a SC player found himself un-marked, 12 yards form goal. His shot found the corner of the goal and the Rovers found themselves going into the break 1-1.

Tired and injured legs started to take their toll as the second half progressed. While it' s easy to point the finger at the Rovers players on the pitch, most tried to do what they could with what they had left. It was hot and a few of the Rovers were suffering an injury. SC were enjoying the space they had in the center of the park and were running at the back 3 with out any help from the Rovers 5 man midfield. Santa Clara scored again from a Rovers corner kick. Brodie whipped in a better corner this time which the goalie punched away. Had a single Rovers player challenged for the ball the outcome might have been different. A jail break was on and the Rovers were to stretched forward to get in time. Another one on one that KC could do anything about. Goal 3 gibbsy was scissored from behind, the ref turned the other way, and a jail break was on again. Goal 4 was a mile offside, the player who scored was clearly in front of the ball when it was played. Goal 5 was a pk, which in fairness was a pk but after all the ref had let go in the middle of the park I was surprised to hear the whistle go. Matty Curt and Jon were doing their best to keep up with the surging runs of the SC midfield and forward line but it was proving to be a tough job.

The Rovers passing was sloppy at times, trying to go for the killer ball rather then keeping possession of it. The ref had a clear make up call by handing the Rovers a consolation pk with about 15 minutes to go. Seamus powered it home. Another one Seamus mazey runs pulled another goal back but it was to little to late as the Rovers were well on their way to their first defeat of the season.

Man of the Match: Bryce. Could have scored again but worked tireless for the team.

Ref: new the rules but didn't really apply them very well. Let certain things go for one time and then blew up another time. Linesman's sucked.

Field. Temp didnt' help and that pitch is so damm big

Quote of the Day: Joe imitating Seamus reading a kids book prior to the match. You had to be there but very funny

Preview: Rovers v Santa Clara

Rovers against Santa Clara is always a good competitve game. This is probably the biggest rival game in the league, but their has never been any bad blood between the two teams. John Houston brings a good bunch of guys who are very competitive on the field. The last major transfer deal between the two clubs was a very years back when Santa Clara signed the elusive Elliot and the physical powerhouse, Karl. Karl went on to be a good player for SC for a few years, while Elliot was found passed out drunk just outside Fanny and Alexendars in Palo Alto at 4am the night before a match.

The Rovers come into this game with a handful of injury worries and a few regular members of the team out of town. It's going to be backs to the wall stuff again this week.

The gaffer himself is in doubt with a heavy cold.

SSF 0 Rovers 1

The Rovers lack of finishing almost cost them all 3 points at Orange Memorial Park yesterday afternoon. With a bit of luck this game could have been over a half-time but as it turned out the Rovers endured a series of long throw ins in the last minutes which had the game hanging in the balance.

Orange park is quite narrow so the Rovers decided to play 5 across the middle and this tactic worked well as they immediately seized control of the middle of the park. Jose was pulling the strings with Mark and Curt doing the dirty work. Eoin and Jose created the first chance of the match when Eoin sent Bryce away. As Bryce skipped by the last defender he dragged his shot just wide of the advancing keeper and post. The Rovers had the ball down in the SSf half for the majority of this opening spell, any break by SSF was met by the wall of Matty, Jonathan and Jed. On the occassions that KC did get the ball his monster punts downfield were causing all sorts of problems from the opposition defense. The next Rovers chance saw Nigel play in Bryce after a long punt only for his shot to get blocked out. Rovers won a free kick in a dangerous position, Nigels shot avoiding the wall and the goalie did well to save.

Brodie did well to incercept the ball from a keeper throw in and he kept it in play, picking out Nigel who volleyed, first time, against the post. Brodie went close moments later with a free kick that was well saved. Seamus was introduced to the play and almost took the game by the scruff of the neck. The pace of Seamus and Bryce was hard on SSF and Seamus tried a fantastic chip that skimmed off the post. Moments later Brodie put another one on Eoin's head only for him to head right to the keeper.

All of this domination didn't pay off and the Rovers started to give away some silly free-kicks. Jed was pulled up for one that was clearly the wrong way. The ball was played in, never touching a player and went out for a SSF throw, which caused the Rovers problems. SSF version of Rorey Delap sent the ball and it was not properly cleared but KC was on hand with a fantastic save. The Rovers finally got the breakthough they craved when Bryce took one of his many first half opportunties to just find the inside of the post with a ball that was perfeclty place. It was a great finish, with Seamus playing a part in the build up.
The half petered out, Gibbsy, Lawton and Jose still getting the better of them.

The half time talk centered around keeping it tight at the back. The Rovers came out very focused and should have had all 3 points in the bag after 15 minutes. Bryce had some very good looks at the goal but his shots failed to find the target. Jose sent Brodie away but his chip was the wrong option, he should have done much better with that chance. Seamus also tried a cheecky dummy after a Bryce attempt, that almost beat the keeper. Seamus also had more normal chances on goal but could not take them. Eoin had another header well wide after a corner. Gibbsy and Matty were winning any ball that was off the ground, the aeiral display was very impressive. Curt playing in the middle of the park for the first time in many years won a very crunching tackles and then did the smart thing by playing it simple, to Jose.

Jose came off with about 15 minutes to go and the Rovers lost one of their key players as they stopped holding on the ball. The last 5 minutes of the match saw Rovers with their back to the wall but they managed to hang on with KC making some fantastic catches (and throw outs) to settle any nerves the Rovers had. It was a very hard earned 3 points in the end and very competive match.

Field: Narrow and a bit wet in parts. For a grass field in the Bay Area it was actually pretty good


Ref; The one on our side was very good and the one on the other was not as good. The Center ref did a pretty good, showing a red card to their player in the 2nd half for swearing (with 2 minutes to go) His hand ball decisions (or lack of) were annoying and his calling of petty fells around our box was a bit of nightmare. Overall he did a good job of keeping things moving and admitting he made a mistake when he almost booked their guy when it was Curt who had committed the foul

quote of the day: Any suggestions here guys. I think I was to tired to hear any.
Man of the Match (MOM) Jed; composed display, never put a foot wrong, passed the ball from the back and kept everyone going all day. Honorable mention to Jose who made us tick and Jonathan for an equally good display at the back.

SSF this Weekend

Roves and SSF split last year with each time winning away from home. This will be a tough game for the Rovers as it's early kick off and it's on grass, something the Rovers are not used to.

The Rovers also head to SSF with some key injuries and some late fitness checks. Jed is hoping to make his 2008-09 debut but ankle injury may keep him out. Of course the Rovers are missing their Captain Paulie due to a knee in the back at training a few weeks back. A strong rumor around the club is the Brodie paid KC to injure the captain so he could wear the armband. Also missing from action this week is Nav, off to Toronto. Nav was signed from Fiji for 10Million Fiji dollars (worth a few bucks) but has yet to appear for the Rovers.

Mike's crew from SSF are usually a good bunch of lads and even might still have an ex-rover on the books. It should be a good match, 10am at Orange Park

Rovers 4 PSC 1

The Rovers Soccer Club opened up their league campaign with a resounding 4-1 against rivals Peninsula Social Club. The Rovers offered up 3 debuts to Jonathan in the heart of defense, Big Joe, out on the left and Little Joe finally made is long awaited debut onto the pitch, after an 9 month detox stint.

The Rover had the upper hand at the start of the match with Nigel and Bryce not giving their defenders anytime to think on the ball. Jose was pulling the strings in the opening stages and was knocking every ball simple to feet. This allowed the Rovers to settle down quickly, which has been a problem in years past. The first goal game when Brodie, this year’s Vice-Captain, intercepted a lose ball and played it Jose. Jose quickly switched the play over to Eoin who after some nice work with Bryce had a shot at goal that the goalie parried to Nigel’s feet. Nigel still had a bit of work to do, but running was not involved, so he calmly slotted the ball home for the Rovers first goal of the season.

Curt, Jonathan, Matty and Eoin were dealing with all of the long hopeful balls that were being sent over but the Rovers were caught out in minute 20 when the lineman’s on the far side of the field failed to acknowledge a PSC player who was at least 5 yards offside. Ben came off his line, only for the player to go round Ben, and miss an open net as Jonathan and Curt were hoping to block his effort. This was a huge let off for the Rovers and proved to be a costly miss for PSC. Moments later their goalie kicked out a back pass directly into the chest of Bryce who did well to control the ball. His teammates were urging him to attack the goalie but he looked up and picked his spot in the corner of the PSC goal. Bryce had been unlucky on a couple of other occasions so it was a great to see him celebrate his first goal of the season and the Rovers second of the day.

The Rovers had a great chance to go up by 3 and kill the game off when Nigel played in Brodie down the wing. His cross found new boy, Big Joe in the box. Big Joe side stepped his man and only had the goalie to beat but their keeper made amends for two first half mistakes to palm Joe’s shot to safety. Big Joe, Eoin and Jose were killing down the left side with Gibbsy, marking their number four out of the first half. Matty was knocking all balls down to his back 4 and whatever he didn’t win Jonathan and Curt were on hand to clear.

The Rovers half time talk centered around keeping it tight at the back. Of course, inside of 5 minutes PSC won a fee kick in a dangerous spot. The ball was driven in low and hard and the Rovers defense failed to clear it. The ball ended up at the back post where Lino was on hand to beat place the ball around Ben. The game was back on. This was Rovers worst spell of the match. The ball was not being held up and the Rovers just kept conceding possession. PSC’s number 4 went on a great run going around 5 Rovers players only Ben to make a marvelous save. Moments later Jonathan was pushed off the ball in the box and the ref went to call a foul but waived play on. Ben needed to make another outstanding stop to keep the game level.

PSC again cursed those missed chances when Bryce finished them off after Brodie sent him away from 40 yards. Bryce had only the keeper to beat and he took a beating for his work but at 3-1 the game was truly over. The defense was crunching their opponents and the Rovers were clearly winning the midfield battle. The Rovers fourth goal was a thing of beauty and one of the best goals Rovers have scored in ages. About 8 first time passes, including Jose, Eoin, Mark and Jose, worked the ball up the line for Big Joe to slot in his first Rovers career goal. Little Joe made it 5 but was judged to have handled it. Lawton had a shot that was well saved by the keeper as the Rovers were looking to pile it on but the final result read 4-1 to Rovers and that was pretty fair reflection of the match. PSC will be not an easy game for the Rovers at their field.

MOM; it’s always good when the choice is hard as many players qualified. Jonathan for his non-stop effort in the back. Big Joe for his influence down the left. Bryce for his two-goal performance. But my vote was to the man who pulled all the strings and settled Rovers down. Jose Angel Rodriquez was marvelous.

REF: Average. Linesman: Below Average. She got no help and it showed. She was nervous in her calls at times and clearly contradicted herself with the offside’s law. How she let 20 stay on the field is something only she knows but she did get manage to keep control of the game. Her linesman were pretty poor

Field: Massive as always

Pub: Fun, two free pitchers of Stella is always good

Quote of the Day: Little Joe - "Your pissing on my fire" to the ref after she consulted with the linesman to disallow Joe’s debut goal.