he Rovers have now lost 4 games on the trot although there were some positives to take from this latest loss. The first positive is that they scored a goal from open play, which was their first goal in open play since the Italians thunderbolt against the Harps. The drawback was that the deportiva player scored the goal!.
The first half was even, the Rovers played some very nice football at times. Deportiva had a two great chances to take the lead in the first 5 minutes but Ben was on hand to save one while the striker missed the second chance. After that the Rovers settled down nicely and started to play good football. Kieran was doing a great job at left back while curt and Jonathan were doing well in the middle. Brodie was seeing a great deal of the ball in the first half as was Jose and the damage was coming down that side. Colin also has a great chance as he dribbled into the box. His shot was closed down and perhaps a pass was on but with Colin's goal scoring form you couldn't begrudge Colin having a go. Nigel had a great chance to put the Rovers in front after more good play down the right by Kieran Jose and Brodie. Jose put in a fantastic ball which Nigel did well to pull down but his shot went wide.
Curt was in a good position to score with a free kick but the shot was charged down well by the wall. Finally the deadlock was broken when a Deportiva player came through the middle and palyed a ball over the top and his well placed shot gave Ben no chance. The Rovers went into the half trailing 1-0 but still in. they shoudl have beeen 2-0 one minute into the half. Ben made an excellent save but the shot fell to the forward who had the goal at his mercy. For some reason he took a touch and another and shot direclty at Aiden who made a great clearance. Deportiva missed another chance to go up and a through ball but the Rovers settled down and started to turn the screw. A ball was played into Mark's feet up front and he slid the ball back to Brodie who hit a well struck shot that the goalie could only parry to kieran who turned it in but the lino gave offside. It was a very tight decision. Minutes later Jose turned a player in the box after an excellent ball by Aidenfound him. His heel was clipped and he went down and the ref was left with no choice. Jose converted from the spot and the game was back on.
After a few minutes of pressure the Rovers found themselves behind. Brodie and Joe should have each cleared the ball at some point but they tried to play it out of defense and the Deportiva player nipped in and stole it. As he went to cross the ball it Joe's hand, it was a harsh decision. Ben almost saved the pk but it was 2-1. Then they scored from a corner kick, and honestly I'm not sure what happened on that one. The rovers were given a life line with 15 minutes to go when Brodie knocked down a header to Jose who mis controlled it for once. His touch found the feet of a Deportiva player who tried to kick it clear instead he kicked into his own goal. 3-2. the rovers almost equalized when Brodie robbed the left back, played it to Jose an played it back to him. The cross almost found little Clavey or Colin but the goalie got his finger tips to the ball.
The game ended as the Rovers lost the ball in the middle of the park and a sweeping move found them up 4-2. Cameron played in a great free kick that almost got us back in it but they couldn't convert. In the end the 2nd half passing display was poor and we are really missing Brad and Paulie up top.
Quote of the day: which calvey to Mark...The big one replied the Gaffer
REF; Missed some calls but overall did well to handle the game and he was decisive
Opposition; good team but we should and could have some done some damage early on
MOM; Ben, some fantastic saves
Monday, October 25, 2010
Maritmo 3 Rovers 0
Didn't really feel like doing a match report after this game. A very disapointing finish to this game. It was 0-0 at halftime and in the second half we lost our way. We stopped passing the ball and they started to dominate around the 65 minute mark.
To many stray passes and their quality showed. 3-0 was not a very fair scoreline and how their defender managed to escape with a yellow card after that challenge on bryce is anyone's guess but overall it was another game with out a goal.
MOM: JOn Regala
REF: Did a decent job...not great however, lino on our side was useless
Pitch; Shocking boggy for the amount of rain we had
To many stray passes and their quality showed. 3-0 was not a very fair scoreline and how their defender managed to escape with a yellow card after that challenge on bryce is anyone's guess but overall it was another game with out a goal.
MOM: JOn Regala
REF: Did a decent job...not great however, lino on our side was useless
Pitch; Shocking boggy for the amount of rain we had
Monday, October 11, 2010
Rovers 0 SSF 3
The Rovers were thoroughly outplayed in every part of the game yesterday as they slumped to their first home loss of the season and their second consecutive loss after winning the first three matches. That was the best SSF team that has played Rovers in my tenure as a match reporter. They were simply in irresistible form, the only thing missing from their game was finishing.
IF it was not for Ben in fine form (and the post) it should have been 5 for SSF after 20 minutes. They had at least 5 or 6 clear breaks on goal and the Rovers kept making the same mistakes with no tactical changes being made. It was painful to watch from a Rovers perspective.
Sure the Rovers missed Regali who was late arriving back because of International commitments and they missed the power of Brad and the tactical play of Colin but their was no excuse for the lack of energy and drive and the inability to make a simple 5 yard ball. Frankly it was pathetic. In the first half Brodie had a speculative shot that sailed over in minute 10 and Nigel had a header that went wide, after a nice free kick by Lawton but they never really threatned until about minute 40. By this time SSF had finally scored a single goal, on yet another break directly down the Rovers spine. At this point the Rovers were thrilled to only be down one goal.
In minute 30 the Rovers had a good move as Jose played a square ball to brodie and his clever dink found the waiting Italian. The Italian was surprised at the ball and he met it at the same time as the keeper, the ball going in the air and mike tried to swing and kick it but instead connecting with the center backs stomach, earning himself a yellow card. This was the second hard challenge in minutes as new proud dad Calvey was sent sprawling to the turf minutes before after Brodie dummied a ball for Calvey, Calvey took a clever first touch and the SSF player never stopped and went right through Joe. Frankly it could have been red and had it been in the second half it probably would have.
In minute 40 the Rovers finally got a good move off as Kieran and Brodie played a quick free kick. Brodie to Kieran, Kieran back to Brodie on the overlap and his left footed cross just missed the Italian. Gibbsy was on hand, from right back, to hit a shot that was charged down. These moves were few and far between as SSF kept at it.
the half time talk centered around improving the effort and they did just that for a spell of about 10 minutes in the second half but SSF hit the Rovers on the break and the game was over. Jose had a good shot charged down. Nigel had a free kick that the goalie held well, Brodie hit the cross bar after a good move with Jose but none of this really mattered as SSF had already made it 3-0 by the time Rovers started to pass it around. Their second goal came after some great play in the middle of the park spread the ball wide and their center forward could not miss. Their third goal came from a Rovers short corner. Kieran floated the ball to the back post, Regali saved it, played it to Brodie who lost the ball in the box of SSF. They went all the way up the field with out a Rovers playing touching it to make it 3.
Of course SSF had to take some of the gloss of their victory when a silly elbow struck Jose in the face and the ref was forced to send him off. I dont' believe their was much intent but it was a poor foul and the ref had to send him off.
Pitch: huge, would have been a nightmare if this game kicked off at 11..would have been well over 100 degrees
Ref: Did a good job, they could have had two pks' in the first 5 minutes and the one foul he did give was a dive inside the box yet he gave it outside the box and booked ben...probably his worst decision of the day, followed up by the clear obstruction of nigel in the dying moments of the match, closely followed by the guy who pushed mark in the back..mark handled it..and he saw neither..
IF it was not for Ben in fine form (and the post) it should have been 5 for SSF after 20 minutes. They had at least 5 or 6 clear breaks on goal and the Rovers kept making the same mistakes with no tactical changes being made. It was painful to watch from a Rovers perspective.
Sure the Rovers missed Regali who was late arriving back because of International commitments and they missed the power of Brad and the tactical play of Colin but their was no excuse for the lack of energy and drive and the inability to make a simple 5 yard ball. Frankly it was pathetic. In the first half Brodie had a speculative shot that sailed over in minute 10 and Nigel had a header that went wide, after a nice free kick by Lawton but they never really threatned until about minute 40. By this time SSF had finally scored a single goal, on yet another break directly down the Rovers spine. At this point the Rovers were thrilled to only be down one goal.
In minute 30 the Rovers had a good move as Jose played a square ball to brodie and his clever dink found the waiting Italian. The Italian was surprised at the ball and he met it at the same time as the keeper, the ball going in the air and mike tried to swing and kick it but instead connecting with the center backs stomach, earning himself a yellow card. This was the second hard challenge in minutes as new proud dad Calvey was sent sprawling to the turf minutes before after Brodie dummied a ball for Calvey, Calvey took a clever first touch and the SSF player never stopped and went right through Joe. Frankly it could have been red and had it been in the second half it probably would have.
In minute 40 the Rovers finally got a good move off as Kieran and Brodie played a quick free kick. Brodie to Kieran, Kieran back to Brodie on the overlap and his left footed cross just missed the Italian. Gibbsy was on hand, from right back, to hit a shot that was charged down. These moves were few and far between as SSF kept at it.
the half time talk centered around improving the effort and they did just that for a spell of about 10 minutes in the second half but SSF hit the Rovers on the break and the game was over. Jose had a good shot charged down. Nigel had a free kick that the goalie held well, Brodie hit the cross bar after a good move with Jose but none of this really mattered as SSF had already made it 3-0 by the time Rovers started to pass it around. Their second goal came after some great play in the middle of the park spread the ball wide and their center forward could not miss. Their third goal came from a Rovers short corner. Kieran floated the ball to the back post, Regali saved it, played it to Brodie who lost the ball in the box of SSF. They went all the way up the field with out a Rovers playing touching it to make it 3.
Of course SSF had to take some of the gloss of their victory when a silly elbow struck Jose in the face and the ref was forced to send him off. I dont' believe their was much intent but it was a poor foul and the ref had to send him off.
Pitch: huge, would have been a nightmare if this game kicked off at 11..would have been well over 100 degrees
Ref: Did a good job, they could have had two pks' in the first 5 minutes and the one foul he did give was a dive inside the box yet he gave it outside the box and booked ben...probably his worst decision of the day, followed up by the clear obstruction of nigel in the dying moments of the match, closely followed by the guy who pushed mark in the back..mark handled it..and he saw neither..
Friday, October 8, 2010
Sunnyvale 2 Rovers 0
The Rovers great to start the season came to an abrupt halt against their bogey team, Sunnyvale United at Mayfield Park this Sunday night. After the 100+ temps that engulfed the Rovers match the previous week the Sunday night temp must have been at least 45 degrees cooler.
The Rovers knew that this would be a tough match however they were in a boisterous mood after their 3 consecutive wins. The Rovers were dealt in early blow when their new player Brad Brewer thought it was a good idea to run a ½ marathon the morning of the game and he pulled up lame before kick-off. The Rovers then received a further blow when their star man of the 2010-11 seasons was declared ineligible when his pass could not be found. There was a panic on the sides as Jose’s card was missing, only to discover, at the end of the match when the refs handed back the player passes that they in fact had the pass! How this can happen is beyond me.
The Rovers started off in the familiar formation with unfamiliar people playing in certain roles. Kieran and Mark started up front for the Rovers, both of them suffering early nose bleeds because they were so high up the pitch. In saying that the Rovers started off the better team and this continued throughout the half. Some of the Rovers passing were fantastic and this must not be forgotten in their next game. The Rovers came close when Boride’s speculative cross/shot hit the cross bar but in fairness the shot was always going over. After some more good play by Kieran the ball fell onto the head of Colin who didn’t make great contact. Normally you would have backed Colin to score but this chance went begging. The Rovers next best chance came when Brodie played in a ball to Mike Davis who also didn’t make great contact with the ball, although who knows if the goal would have stood as the assistant ref had his flag up in the air.
Eosin/Mike/Kieran was doing a great job of spreading the ball around the field with the duo of Regale/Jonathan doing another fantastic job in the middle of defense. Calve and Lawton were also playing very intelligent balls to the wide men, it was good stuff. Of course Sunnyvale were a threat, they always are, and they were finding some joy with their best player on the ball down their right wing.
A few times they got behind us but their pull back where either hit wide or they were blocked off by the defense efforts of the back 5. The Rovers got another great chance to take the lead when a Sunnyvale player handled the ball, after a Brodie cross, just outside the box. Eoin took the kick but the ball was hit over the top.
I’m not sure why but the ref slowly started to lose control of this match, probably with the fact that he was on island in the middle of the park. His assistant on the near side was a cross between a human and a mouse, not uttering a single word throughout proceedings. Also as the other lino didn’t show he was forced into asking Jeff Spicilo of Fast Time at Ridgemont High to run the line for him. Gibbsy was fouled in the middle of the field and the ball fell to Brodie and he unbelievable blew up for a kick, it was one of the clearest cases of advantage someone could ever see. To the ref’s credit, he did apologize for this gaff later in the match.
Colin was booked for “time-wasting” in the first half, which is ironic considering the match official kicked off 15 minutes late, with only one match ball. It was maybe a warning at best, the ball rolled about two feet away. Moments later the Sunnyvale full back booted the ball against the fence in anger, in front of both the lino and the ref, no action was taken….. This yellow card picked up by Colin would prove to be a key moment in the match.
The rovers stated the second half with Brodie and Gibbs on the bench and Sunnyvale started brightly. They had a great chance to take the lead from just outside of the 6 yard box but they player got the shot horrible wrong and it sailed over. In minute 55 with the game ebbing towards a 0-0 the man in the middle decided to influence proceedings. The ball rolled out of bounds, the Sunnyvale right back, who is a complete toss pot, picked up the ball ran about 8-10 yards up the line, from where the throw in should have been taken from and threw the ball at Colin. He then ran onto the pitch and did some sort of a forearm shiv to Colin. The ref walked over, everyone inside the ground thought the right back was going to get his marching orders, but the ref somehow booked Colin, and showed him the red for two yellows. Sunnyvale went unpunished. Brodie was also booked for dissent in the aftermath. After this moment Sunnyvale dominated the proceeding and went ahead when their shot struck the post and fell to the Sunnyvale right winger, his shot going past ben at the near post. They increased their lead further after a great cross found an unmarked player three yards from goal, he couldn’t miss. Mark almost got the Rovers back in it after some good play by Cameron and Brodie but his shot went wide.
The Ref wasn’t done, awarding a late pk to Sunnyvale, after the player got off his shot, blowing up for a foul. The ref said to me I played and advantage and then blew it back up, so in saying that he basically gave Sunnyvale two excellent chances to score. It was a horrific decision. Lawton was having a good physical game on the left side and he clattered into the right back, getting booked for his troubles. He was lucky not to see a second yellow moment later when he put in a hard tackle as the Sunnyvale player nipped in. These were probably the only two hard tackles in the game!
The match petered out with Sunnyvale in command, 80 minutes played and Sunnyvale winning 2-0.
Man of the Match; Jon Regala, second Kieran
Ref: Out of his depth, not helped by the situation
Field: Like playing pin ball
The Rovers knew that this would be a tough match however they were in a boisterous mood after their 3 consecutive wins. The Rovers were dealt in early blow when their new player Brad Brewer thought it was a good idea to run a ½ marathon the morning of the game and he pulled up lame before kick-off. The Rovers then received a further blow when their star man of the 2010-11 seasons was declared ineligible when his pass could not be found. There was a panic on the sides as Jose’s card was missing, only to discover, at the end of the match when the refs handed back the player passes that they in fact had the pass! How this can happen is beyond me.
The Rovers started off in the familiar formation with unfamiliar people playing in certain roles. Kieran and Mark started up front for the Rovers, both of them suffering early nose bleeds because they were so high up the pitch. In saying that the Rovers started off the better team and this continued throughout the half. Some of the Rovers passing were fantastic and this must not be forgotten in their next game. The Rovers came close when Boride’s speculative cross/shot hit the cross bar but in fairness the shot was always going over. After some more good play by Kieran the ball fell onto the head of Colin who didn’t make great contact. Normally you would have backed Colin to score but this chance went begging. The Rovers next best chance came when Brodie played in a ball to Mike Davis who also didn’t make great contact with the ball, although who knows if the goal would have stood as the assistant ref had his flag up in the air.
Eosin/Mike/Kieran was doing a great job of spreading the ball around the field with the duo of Regale/Jonathan doing another fantastic job in the middle of defense. Calve and Lawton were also playing very intelligent balls to the wide men, it was good stuff. Of course Sunnyvale were a threat, they always are, and they were finding some joy with their best player on the ball down their right wing.
A few times they got behind us but their pull back where either hit wide or they were blocked off by the defense efforts of the back 5. The Rovers got another great chance to take the lead when a Sunnyvale player handled the ball, after a Brodie cross, just outside the box. Eoin took the kick but the ball was hit over the top.
I’m not sure why but the ref slowly started to lose control of this match, probably with the fact that he was on island in the middle of the park. His assistant on the near side was a cross between a human and a mouse, not uttering a single word throughout proceedings. Also as the other lino didn’t show he was forced into asking Jeff Spicilo of Fast Time at Ridgemont High to run the line for him. Gibbsy was fouled in the middle of the field and the ball fell to Brodie and he unbelievable blew up for a kick, it was one of the clearest cases of advantage someone could ever see. To the ref’s credit, he did apologize for this gaff later in the match.
Colin was booked for “time-wasting” in the first half, which is ironic considering the match official kicked off 15 minutes late, with only one match ball. It was maybe a warning at best, the ball rolled about two feet away. Moments later the Sunnyvale full back booted the ball against the fence in anger, in front of both the lino and the ref, no action was taken….. This yellow card picked up by Colin would prove to be a key moment in the match.
The rovers stated the second half with Brodie and Gibbs on the bench and Sunnyvale started brightly. They had a great chance to take the lead from just outside of the 6 yard box but they player got the shot horrible wrong and it sailed over. In minute 55 with the game ebbing towards a 0-0 the man in the middle decided to influence proceedings. The ball rolled out of bounds, the Sunnyvale right back, who is a complete toss pot, picked up the ball ran about 8-10 yards up the line, from where the throw in should have been taken from and threw the ball at Colin. He then ran onto the pitch and did some sort of a forearm shiv to Colin. The ref walked over, everyone inside the ground thought the right back was going to get his marching orders, but the ref somehow booked Colin, and showed him the red for two yellows. Sunnyvale went unpunished. Brodie was also booked for dissent in the aftermath. After this moment Sunnyvale dominated the proceeding and went ahead when their shot struck the post and fell to the Sunnyvale right winger, his shot going past ben at the near post. They increased their lead further after a great cross found an unmarked player three yards from goal, he couldn’t miss. Mark almost got the Rovers back in it after some good play by Cameron and Brodie but his shot went wide.
The Ref wasn’t done, awarding a late pk to Sunnyvale, after the player got off his shot, blowing up for a foul. The ref said to me I played and advantage and then blew it back up, so in saying that he basically gave Sunnyvale two excellent chances to score. It was a horrific decision. Lawton was having a good physical game on the left side and he clattered into the right back, getting booked for his troubles. He was lucky not to see a second yellow moment later when he put in a hard tackle as the Sunnyvale player nipped in. These were probably the only two hard tackles in the game!
The match petered out with Sunnyvale in command, 80 minutes played and Sunnyvale winning 2-0.
Man of the Match; Jon Regala, second Kieran
Ref: Out of his depth, not helped by the situation
Field: Like playing pin ball
Rovers 2 Harps 1
Rovers played so well this game could have been out of site by halftime. It should have been about 6-2. Both goals were things of beauty's. Brodie's first goal in almost 2 years was set up by fantastic play which involved about 10 passes. Harps equalized against the run of play in the second half but the Rovers answered back almost right away. The rovers new boy, Alberto Aquilina belted in a left footed shoot to win it.
Man of the Match: Jose
Ref; good job
Man of the Match: Jose
Ref; good job
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Shaheen 1 Rovers 2
Well the Rovers finally beat Shaheen in an incident filled game that the rovers deserved to win. Like many of their previous matches against Shaheen the Rovers dominated the possession but failed to take their chances.
The Gaffer started with the same 11 as last week stating you dont' change a winning team. The only difference was Paulie was out due to injury so Jose replaced him in the lineup. The Rovers started out on the upper hand with the defense of John,JOn Curt and Joe handling everything that was thrown at them.They were getting the ball down on the ground and playing it to Jose and Kieran's feet. The Rovers had some fantastic chances to score, the first opportunity being when the Rovers were given when the Rovers were given an indirect free kick just outside of the box. Brodie's touch was to Brad but his shot was right at the keeper. Moments later Curt took a tremendous free kick that left Shaheeen ball watching, only for Eoin's glancing header to go wide. It looked like a sure goal but somehow it didn't go in. Later Brodie was sent away by Cameron but he should have pulled the back and instead opted for goal which was hit wide. Moments later Brodie played in Mike who had replaced the injured Gibbsy, but Mike decided to pass rather then shoot and he found Colin who was unable to get his shot off. Colin had another good chance and layed it back for Brad who went for glory but it over the top. All things considered the Rovers were on top. Jose/Eoin and Kieran were bossing the middle of the park. With about 5 minutes to go in the half the Rovers were dealt a sucker punch. Cameron and Bryce lost the ball in their own half and the ball was played long. Jonathan had to cover for Cameron but the Shaheen player was first to the ball and his run took him into the box. His run found a Shaheen player who made no mistake from close range.
At halftime everyone but one seemed to indicate that we were doing ok and should just keep going. The Italian stayed on as did Bryce. Bryce was causing them problems with his pace but Jose was pulling the strings. Cameron was also playing well at left back. The Rovers were given a life line was Bryce was tripped in the box going away from goal. Jose stepped up and finisehd with ease and it was 1-1 with game on. Again the defense was playing great,allowing the Rovers to knock it around. As the game ticked to the 30 minute mark jose stepped up,after neat play by Eoin and Kieran and the little spainard played a fantastic ball to Colin. Colin still had work to do but he finished sweetly with his left foot giving the Rovers the lead. What happened after that was utter chaos. Shaheen went to their usual antics of throwing themselves all over the field and going down at the slightest bit of contact or sometimes no contact. Their bench was given a yellow card after Colin's goal, he was very onside.
Maheen reigned supreme in the last 10 minutes as the Rovers lost their passing skills. Instead of using the ball the ball was being hoofed up in the air and we just couldn't clear. They have a series of long throw in and corners and some very dodgy moments in the box. Brodie was called for a dangerous play in the box, whne it wasn't, and the resulting indirect free kick must have taken 5 minutes to take. The kick when it happened resulted in ben making a good save. the last 3 minutes Jose went on a fantastic run which saw him run 50 yars with the ball. In the end after 53 minutes the ref finally blew up.
Their were some very ugly scense as the end of the match as Shaheen were calling the referee names and a racist. That kind of accusation as no place on the soccer field and they should be ashamed of themselves. If anything they wre lucky they ended up with 11 men on the pitch with the diving that was going on.
Man of the match: jose was fantstic again, one goal one assist but the center back pariing of jOn and John were also excellent
Tackle of the match; Brad gettting booked again. It was a complete stick and he got all ball.
Quote of the match. Joe someone relating me to Jerry Brown's 40 years of failure
Ref: lost the plot a bit in the las 15 minutes and far to easy on their antics
Pitch: Nice overall
The Gaffer started with the same 11 as last week stating you dont' change a winning team. The only difference was Paulie was out due to injury so Jose replaced him in the lineup. The Rovers started out on the upper hand with the defense of John,JOn Curt and Joe handling everything that was thrown at them.They were getting the ball down on the ground and playing it to Jose and Kieran's feet. The Rovers had some fantastic chances to score, the first opportunity being when the Rovers were given when the Rovers were given an indirect free kick just outside of the box. Brodie's touch was to Brad but his shot was right at the keeper. Moments later Curt took a tremendous free kick that left Shaheeen ball watching, only for Eoin's glancing header to go wide. It looked like a sure goal but somehow it didn't go in. Later Brodie was sent away by Cameron but he should have pulled the back and instead opted for goal which was hit wide. Moments later Brodie played in Mike who had replaced the injured Gibbsy, but Mike decided to pass rather then shoot and he found Colin who was unable to get his shot off. Colin had another good chance and layed it back for Brad who went for glory but it over the top. All things considered the Rovers were on top. Jose/Eoin and Kieran were bossing the middle of the park. With about 5 minutes to go in the half the Rovers were dealt a sucker punch. Cameron and Bryce lost the ball in their own half and the ball was played long. Jonathan had to cover for Cameron but the Shaheen player was first to the ball and his run took him into the box. His run found a Shaheen player who made no mistake from close range.
At halftime everyone but one seemed to indicate that we were doing ok and should just keep going. The Italian stayed on as did Bryce. Bryce was causing them problems with his pace but Jose was pulling the strings. Cameron was also playing well at left back. The Rovers were given a life line was Bryce was tripped in the box going away from goal. Jose stepped up and finisehd with ease and it was 1-1 with game on. Again the defense was playing great,allowing the Rovers to knock it around. As the game ticked to the 30 minute mark jose stepped up,after neat play by Eoin and Kieran and the little spainard played a fantastic ball to Colin. Colin still had work to do but he finished sweetly with his left foot giving the Rovers the lead. What happened after that was utter chaos. Shaheen went to their usual antics of throwing themselves all over the field and going down at the slightest bit of contact or sometimes no contact. Their bench was given a yellow card after Colin's goal, he was very onside.
Maheen reigned supreme in the last 10 minutes as the Rovers lost their passing skills. Instead of using the ball the ball was being hoofed up in the air and we just couldn't clear. They have a series of long throw in and corners and some very dodgy moments in the box. Brodie was called for a dangerous play in the box, whne it wasn't, and the resulting indirect free kick must have taken 5 minutes to take. The kick when it happened resulted in ben making a good save. the last 3 minutes Jose went on a fantastic run which saw him run 50 yars with the ball. In the end after 53 minutes the ref finally blew up.
Their were some very ugly scense as the end of the match as Shaheen were calling the referee names and a racist. That kind of accusation as no place on the soccer field and they should be ashamed of themselves. If anything they wre lucky they ended up with 11 men on the pitch with the diving that was going on.
Man of the match: jose was fantstic again, one goal one assist but the center back pariing of jOn and John were also excellent
Tackle of the match; Brad gettting booked again. It was a complete stick and he got all ball.
Quote of the match. Joe someone relating me to Jerry Brown's 40 years of failure
Ref: lost the plot a bit in the las 15 minutes and far to easy on their antics
Pitch: Nice overall
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Rovers played rival Trabia in their first league game of the season at De Anza college on Sunday at 11am. De Anza's pitch size has not gotten any smaller but the Rovers have become a year older so it was going to be interesting to see how this match played. out.
Trabia were out warming up early and seemed to be well up for the match. The Rovers had there usual stragglers approaching the field at 10:40. Everyone out of the 17 players were available for selection except new boy Mike Davis who was away picking up girls on the train. The starting line up looked very similar to the one last year except Eoin and his ribs were on the sides and Brad Brewer was up top in place of Bryce.
The game started out with Rovers having a great deal of the ball. Brad sent Brodie away inside of two minutes only for him to get his shot horribly wrong. After 15 minutes the Rover had a great chance when Paulie burst into the box after a long run only for his shot to be well saved the Trabia keeper. After the dominate start the Rovers had they started to get sloppy and Trabia scored from their first attack. The ball was played over the top and it seemed only Joe was back. Joe did all he could but the square ball was played perfectly for the Trabia player to tap past the advancing Ben. At 1-0 the rovers started to get even more sloppy and trabia got the upper hand. Brodie's antics were not helping the cause and he was pulled off the field. Eoin and replaced Mark and Kieran was doing a good job in the middle of the park. Paulie sent Brad on goal but he collided heavily with their keeper and was booked and injured for his troubles. Jose came on and the game changed. The little Spaniards play was inspired and he was involved in every good move. The Rovers hauled themselves into the match when Mark took a free kick to the far post that John headed back across the face of the goal. A crazy double save occurred but Colin put the ball home. The Rovers continued to dominate with Paulie missing one of the chances of the season but he did end up with a half a tire on his face for his troubles. The ball would not sit down for the young Irishman and he stumbled over the ball.
Minutes before the half the Rovers got the go ahead goal. Mark lined up over the ball using his left foot and hit a fantastic free kick that hit the post. John r was on hand to head the ball into the goal to make it 2-1. The Rovers went into half talking about getting the ball down the right more. The Rovers seemed to lose their concentration before kick off and Trabia should have made it 2-2. from the start Trabia had a one on one with Ben but the keeper did well to hold onto the shot. From that moment on I would say the next 37 minutes were total domination. I don't believe it's an exaggeration to say that it should have been 10-1. When your right midfielder says he should and could have scored 4 goals in the second half it shows you how much we were on top. Again, like the first half, the little Spaniard was in fine form pulling the strings. Some of his moment with the ball was beautiful to watch.
The Rovers third goal came to Nigel in the box and he was hacked down. The ref put his whistle to mouth and didn't blow, the ball spurted to John who was also pushed over, the ref didnt' blow again and Jonathan got up and played it to Brodie who went round the Trabia back to square to colin who hit the shot past the keeper for the Rovers third. The fourth goal came a few minutes later when Mark won the ball and played it to Brodie, Brodie beat a man and played it to Jose and Jose's perfect ball was played to Brad. Brad made no mistake this time and the game looked over at 4-1. Again it should have been over as the Rovers missed a hatful of chances. Joe came off for Colin at right back. Ben was beaten by a well taken shot to make it 4-2 and then the Rovers were lucky to avoid a pk decision in minute 88 that could have made the last few minutes very interesting. Overall it was a good start but the Rovers will have to improve in taking their chances if they expect to win more games this season.
Man of the Match: Jose
Ref: Quite good
Linesman, also good
pitch: huge
weather: hot
pub: not as many as I would have liked
Trabia were out warming up early and seemed to be well up for the match. The Rovers had there usual stragglers approaching the field at 10:40. Everyone out of the 17 players were available for selection except new boy Mike Davis who was away picking up girls on the train. The starting line up looked very similar to the one last year except Eoin and his ribs were on the sides and Brad Brewer was up top in place of Bryce.
The game started out with Rovers having a great deal of the ball. Brad sent Brodie away inside of two minutes only for him to get his shot horribly wrong. After 15 minutes the Rover had a great chance when Paulie burst into the box after a long run only for his shot to be well saved the Trabia keeper. After the dominate start the Rovers had they started to get sloppy and Trabia scored from their first attack. The ball was played over the top and it seemed only Joe was back. Joe did all he could but the square ball was played perfectly for the Trabia player to tap past the advancing Ben. At 1-0 the rovers started to get even more sloppy and trabia got the upper hand. Brodie's antics were not helping the cause and he was pulled off the field. Eoin and replaced Mark and Kieran was doing a good job in the middle of the park. Paulie sent Brad on goal but he collided heavily with their keeper and was booked and injured for his troubles. Jose came on and the game changed. The little Spaniards play was inspired and he was involved in every good move. The Rovers hauled themselves into the match when Mark took a free kick to the far post that John headed back across the face of the goal. A crazy double save occurred but Colin put the ball home. The Rovers continued to dominate with Paulie missing one of the chances of the season but he did end up with a half a tire on his face for his troubles. The ball would not sit down for the young Irishman and he stumbled over the ball.
Minutes before the half the Rovers got the go ahead goal. Mark lined up over the ball using his left foot and hit a fantastic free kick that hit the post. John r was on hand to head the ball into the goal to make it 2-1. The Rovers went into half talking about getting the ball down the right more. The Rovers seemed to lose their concentration before kick off and Trabia should have made it 2-2. from the start Trabia had a one on one with Ben but the keeper did well to hold onto the shot. From that moment on I would say the next 37 minutes were total domination. I don't believe it's an exaggeration to say that it should have been 10-1. When your right midfielder says he should and could have scored 4 goals in the second half it shows you how much we were on top. Again, like the first half, the little Spaniard was in fine form pulling the strings. Some of his moment with the ball was beautiful to watch.
The Rovers third goal came to Nigel in the box and he was hacked down. The ref put his whistle to mouth and didn't blow, the ball spurted to John who was also pushed over, the ref didnt' blow again and Jonathan got up and played it to Brodie who went round the Trabia back to square to colin who hit the shot past the keeper for the Rovers third. The fourth goal came a few minutes later when Mark won the ball and played it to Brodie, Brodie beat a man and played it to Jose and Jose's perfect ball was played to Brad. Brad made no mistake this time and the game looked over at 4-1. Again it should have been over as the Rovers missed a hatful of chances. Joe came off for Colin at right back. Ben was beaten by a well taken shot to make it 4-2 and then the Rovers were lucky to avoid a pk decision in minute 88 that could have made the last few minutes very interesting. Overall it was a good start but the Rovers will have to improve in taking their chances if they expect to win more games this season.
Man of the Match: Jose
Ref: Quite good
Linesman, also good
pitch: huge
weather: hot
pub: not as many as I would have liked
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Rovers 6 SSF 5
Well well, that was a quite a match. It's odd to walk off the field last Sunday night celebrating a 3-3 draw like a victory and then to walk off the pitch after 6-5 victory with more of a sense of relief rather then the buzzz that should come along with winning a match like this.
This Sunday Peninsula Soccer League battle was not for the defensive purist and I dont' think either manager could have seen this goal onslaught coming. Both teams boasted a pretty tight defensive during the year so it was a shock when SSF took their lead on their first attack. The Rovers had a fantastic chance to take the lead as Colin's pull back could have found either Bryce or Brodie in the box but Bryce was unable to collect the pass and with that the SSF broke down the field. A through ball so the SSF big man brush off Eric and go around Ben for the simplest of tap ins. The good thing about this goal was that it came so early you thought the Rovers would have plenty of time to get back into the match. The Rovers scored immediately from the kick off with out SSF touching the ball. Jose and Bryce got the ball out to Brodie who played Bryce down the wing. He looked up and found an advancing Colin who made no mistake from two yards, bryce's cross was perfect. With that you expected the Rovers to keep the upper hand but just 5 minutes later SSF was in front. Fabio, a thorn in the Rovers side all day long skipped down the Rovers right and was not closed down quick enough. His lofted ball found the big man in the middle who nodded in a headed goal past Ben.
The Rovers were just not playing at well at this moment. To many simple balls were being avoided and balls were being played to hard or to soft and SSF was able to build every time the Rovers gave the ball away. The only change to the Rovers starting 11 from last week with Eric on for Jon who was in Tahoe. This left a solid bench, with one current Gaffer, Gibbs and ex gaffer Paulie, along with Cameron. At 2-1 Curt played in a great ball that found Jose, who side stepped a defender and finished past the goalie. It was Jose's first goal of the year, and his first goal since I can remember, the fortunate thing was that he didn't' have to shoot past 10 yard so the ball was able to reach the back of the net. Again at 2-2 you would have thought the Rovers would have learned from their mistakes but amazingly they found themselves behind minutes later. To be honest I don't remember their third goal at all put the Rovers were behind 3-2. Then on minute 40 they were behind 4-2, after SSF took a long throw in, after some clever play SSF toe poked the ball goalwards from the edge of the box but the shot hit side netting for 4-2. The Rovers went into the half time 4-2 down. During that time Gibbsy, Cameron and Paulie all made an appearance with Paulie getting a yellow card for what turned out be a very crucial kick on their keeper. Gibbsy floated in a through ball after a free kick and Paulie's header was on target, the ball was spilled and Paulie caught the keeper who was not very pleased. Eoin also had a fantastic chance to score as did Bryce. Bryce opted for a shot when a pull back to Eoin or Brodie was the option, however this was probably the big man's only mistake all day (except for passing it to himself a couple of times).
The half time talk was not very enjoyable to say the least but what happened at the start of the second half was much better. The marking was tighter, the movement was better and the passing was as well. The Rovers started to getting the ball wide and it was no surprise that the third goal came. Colin floated in a great cross for Paulie who still had a lot of work to do but his header was hit perfectly past the keeper. The Rovers then had a stroke of luck to make it 4-4 with the replacement keeper throwing the ball directly to Colin who hammered the ball past the keeper to make it 4-4. Game on and the Rovers were dominating. A double corner kick saw the Rovers fall behind, again. The Ref missed a clear push on Eric on the first corner. The ball went out for another corner and their big left back climbed on Erik's back to nod home. A clear foul but it was not given. I personally thought we were done at this point but I was wrong. A good move between Jose and Brodie fed Bryce and his pin point cross found the onrushing Jon R who made a fantastic bullet header from close range. Paulie should have got another after Brodie put it on his head but the chance went begging. Kieran also had a good half chance but his first time volley went wide. With the game in balance Colin came on and had a fantastic chance for his hatrick but his shot trickled towards goal and it was cleared off the line. With 8 minutes to go Cameron played a long ball to Bryce who took it towards the keeper, went round him with aplomb and passed the ball in the net. 6-5 to Rovers and the game was won.
MOM: Bryce, tireless effort, great assists and the winning goal
REF: Some baffling decisions and needed to grab a pair as he let his assistants overrule him all day long, worst decision was when the goalie got hurt, spilled the ball...no whistle to stop play...i put it in and he says to me that he did stop play but he didn't blow the whistle.
PItch: huge
This Sunday Peninsula Soccer League battle was not for the defensive purist and I dont' think either manager could have seen this goal onslaught coming. Both teams boasted a pretty tight defensive during the year so it was a shock when SSF took their lead on their first attack. The Rovers had a fantastic chance to take the lead as Colin's pull back could have found either Bryce or Brodie in the box but Bryce was unable to collect the pass and with that the SSF broke down the field. A through ball so the SSF big man brush off Eric and go around Ben for the simplest of tap ins. The good thing about this goal was that it came so early you thought the Rovers would have plenty of time to get back into the match. The Rovers scored immediately from the kick off with out SSF touching the ball. Jose and Bryce got the ball out to Brodie who played Bryce down the wing. He looked up and found an advancing Colin who made no mistake from two yards, bryce's cross was perfect. With that you expected the Rovers to keep the upper hand but just 5 minutes later SSF was in front. Fabio, a thorn in the Rovers side all day long skipped down the Rovers right and was not closed down quick enough. His lofted ball found the big man in the middle who nodded in a headed goal past Ben.
The Rovers were just not playing at well at this moment. To many simple balls were being avoided and balls were being played to hard or to soft and SSF was able to build every time the Rovers gave the ball away. The only change to the Rovers starting 11 from last week with Eric on for Jon who was in Tahoe. This left a solid bench, with one current Gaffer, Gibbs and ex gaffer Paulie, along with Cameron. At 2-1 Curt played in a great ball that found Jose, who side stepped a defender and finished past the goalie. It was Jose's first goal of the year, and his first goal since I can remember, the fortunate thing was that he didn't' have to shoot past 10 yard so the ball was able to reach the back of the net. Again at 2-2 you would have thought the Rovers would have learned from their mistakes but amazingly they found themselves behind minutes later. To be honest I don't remember their third goal at all put the Rovers were behind 3-2. Then on minute 40 they were behind 4-2, after SSF took a long throw in, after some clever play SSF toe poked the ball goalwards from the edge of the box but the shot hit side netting for 4-2. The Rovers went into the half time 4-2 down. During that time Gibbsy, Cameron and Paulie all made an appearance with Paulie getting a yellow card for what turned out be a very crucial kick on their keeper. Gibbsy floated in a through ball after a free kick and Paulie's header was on target, the ball was spilled and Paulie caught the keeper who was not very pleased. Eoin also had a fantastic chance to score as did Bryce. Bryce opted for a shot when a pull back to Eoin or Brodie was the option, however this was probably the big man's only mistake all day (except for passing it to himself a couple of times).
The half time talk was not very enjoyable to say the least but what happened at the start of the second half was much better. The marking was tighter, the movement was better and the passing was as well. The Rovers started to getting the ball wide and it was no surprise that the third goal came. Colin floated in a great cross for Paulie who still had a lot of work to do but his header was hit perfectly past the keeper. The Rovers then had a stroke of luck to make it 4-4 with the replacement keeper throwing the ball directly to Colin who hammered the ball past the keeper to make it 4-4. Game on and the Rovers were dominating. A double corner kick saw the Rovers fall behind, again. The Ref missed a clear push on Eric on the first corner. The ball went out for another corner and their big left back climbed on Erik's back to nod home. A clear foul but it was not given. I personally thought we were done at this point but I was wrong. A good move between Jose and Brodie fed Bryce and his pin point cross found the onrushing Jon R who made a fantastic bullet header from close range. Paulie should have got another after Brodie put it on his head but the chance went begging. Kieran also had a good half chance but his first time volley went wide. With the game in balance Colin came on and had a fantastic chance for his hatrick but his shot trickled towards goal and it was cleared off the line. With 8 minutes to go Cameron played a long ball to Bryce who took it towards the keeper, went round him with aplomb and passed the ball in the net. 6-5 to Rovers and the game was won.
MOM: Bryce, tireless effort, great assists and the winning goal
REF: Some baffling decisions and needed to grab a pair as he let his assistants overrule him all day long, worst decision was when the goalie got hurt, spilled the ball...no whistle to stop play...i put it in and he says to me that he did stop play but he didn't blow the whistle.
PItch: huge
Friday, February 5, 2010
Special words from our captain, Rovers 3 Sporting 3
Ok, so we didn’t win the game Sunday night, but Wow, what an effort. To be down 3-1 at the half & to win the 2nd half 2-0 (& tie 3-3) showed heart and desire. Let me back up a bit and fill in some of the blanks. We give up a fluke goal in the first five minutes, and then about ten minutes later we are down 2-0. For a split second I thought this could get (very) ugly. Instead we kept at it. We played short and long passes. Bryce was on fire after every ball whether we passed it to him long or when he was chasing their defenders on short goal kicks. The next thing we knew we had a corner. Kevin played a perfect ball to the back post & Colin went up between three defenders to head it in! (He ended up on his back for his efforts) A few minutes later CLC had a free kick near the box. The rebound went out to my man who played a one-time cross and the CLC forward headed it in for a 3-1. Things went back and forth in the last 10 minutes of the half with both teams having chances but the score stayed 3-1.
The halftime conversation focused on giving the same effort, etc. It seemed we came out with more energy. We had the possession, kept up the pressure and now CLC could not answer the through balls and keep up with Bryce who actually saw the yellow card for something I did not see. This motivated us even more. Moments later Kevin played in another cross to the far post to Colin who was just inside the box and he put a one-time shot into the far side netting for 3-2. CLC did have their chances at 3-2 but Ben always had our backs. His distribution and positioning was flawless with balls wide to Calvey who then played them to the feet of the mid-fielders or long into the box. Jon & Jonathan had no problem with their forwards, winning all the through balls & making all the right passes out of the back. Kieran, Owen, & Jose owned the middle from box to box, creating opportunities and keeping possession. Colin & Kevin were doing their part with attacking and defending. One moment that truly showed the Rover determination was when the CLC sweeper was going towards his goal with Bryce right behind him, near the top of the box the sweeper just went down (sniper?)…and to our dismay the ref gave him the call. CLC seemed to be content with 3-2 and even Colin had to get the ball for them on one of their goal kicks. But we kept taking chances & with 80 minutes played Bryce picked up a loose ball outside the box & ripped a right footed shot that hit the sweeper in the side of the head and deflected into the goal for 3-3. Now CLC was taking long goal kicks, running for all the balls out of bounds & trying desperately to get the 4th goal and their 11th win. That goal never came. On this night the Rovers were up for the challenge & although CLC is still at the top we answered the bell, gave them their most competitive game so far and others also took notice as Trabia vs. Sunnyvale played on the South field. For those of you who could not make the game, you were missed. For the 11 that finished, I have just one word: TREMENDOUS!
Match reporters notes..third goal was a through ball by Calvey
My man of the match was Colin, two goals and a great work rate, but the entire team coudl be up for this award
Ref: Some baffling decisions
The halftime conversation focused on giving the same effort, etc. It seemed we came out with more energy. We had the possession, kept up the pressure and now CLC could not answer the through balls and keep up with Bryce who actually saw the yellow card for something I did not see. This motivated us even more. Moments later Kevin played in another cross to the far post to Colin who was just inside the box and he put a one-time shot into the far side netting for 3-2. CLC did have their chances at 3-2 but Ben always had our backs. His distribution and positioning was flawless with balls wide to Calvey who then played them to the feet of the mid-fielders or long into the box. Jon & Jonathan had no problem with their forwards, winning all the through balls & making all the right passes out of the back. Kieran, Owen, & Jose owned the middle from box to box, creating opportunities and keeping possession. Colin & Kevin were doing their part with attacking and defending. One moment that truly showed the Rover determination was when the CLC sweeper was going towards his goal with Bryce right behind him, near the top of the box the sweeper just went down (sniper?)…and to our dismay the ref gave him the call. CLC seemed to be content with 3-2 and even Colin had to get the ball for them on one of their goal kicks. But we kept taking chances & with 80 minutes played Bryce picked up a loose ball outside the box & ripped a right footed shot that hit the sweeper in the side of the head and deflected into the goal for 3-3. Now CLC was taking long goal kicks, running for all the balls out of bounds & trying desperately to get the 4th goal and their 11th win. That goal never came. On this night the Rovers were up for the challenge & although CLC is still at the top we answered the bell, gave them their most competitive game so far and others also took notice as Trabia vs. Sunnyvale played on the South field. For those of you who could not make the game, you were missed. For the 11 that finished, I have just one word: TREMENDOUS!
Match reporters notes..third goal was a through ball by Calvey
My man of the match was Colin, two goals and a great work rate, but the entire team coudl be up for this award
Ref: Some baffling decisions
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