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
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