It was a game we had to win. York at home was our last fixture against one of the strugglers around us in the table and with just three points separating Rovers from the relegation places, we could not afford to drop any in this match. In the end, we needn't have worried. York stayed true to form on the day and were awful and this time Rovers took advantage to record an emphatic win that will live long in the memory of many fans simply because it's been so long since the last one. Under Phil Bater, Rovers had switched to a 5-3-2 formation and looked a bit tighter for it in some games but as soon as I heard that we had captured the signature of right-winger Ali Gibb on deadline day, I was pretty sure I would be seeing the team line up in a 4-4-2 pattern come the weekend. The arrival of central defender John Anderson from Hull would therefore mean that one of our other defenders would be forced out and most people assumed that it would be Adam Barrett making way. However, when the teams were announced, it was a surprise to see that the back four was going to be made up entirely of centre-backs, with the reliably versatile Kevin Austin on the left flank and Christian Edwards on the right, while Barrett remained as captain in the middle with Anderson. There was also a completely new midfield, with Gibb as the right-winger as expected, recent Bater signing Gary Twigg on the left and a central pairing of Aaron Lescott and Danny Williams. Up front, there was an unexpected starting berth for the off-form Junior Agogo alongside Lee Thorpe, with new boy Bo Henriksen stuck on the bench. Danny Williams had been farmed out to Conference side Chester recently and was something of an unknown quantity but my first impressions on seeing him warm up was that he must be a brutish hard-man with that shaven head and six-foot frame. A meaty late tackle in the opening minute seemed to back that up but as the game progressed we saw some wonderful touches and neat first-time passes from the big man, and then his dream debut was sealed when he thumped home the opening goal from the edge of the box. Now I can see why Kidderminster fans voted him their player of the year last season, although quite why he's since been cast aside is a mystery. With two other decent left-wingers in the squad, namely Lee Hodges and Ryan Williams, Gary Twigg must have done well in training to win the shirt but as we saw in the Torquay match, he demonstrated what a sweet left foot he has with some superb passing. Twigg's beautifully flighted free-kick picked out Barrett for our second just moments after we had taken the lead and the youngster on loan from Derby has now set up two goals in three games at Rovers. Elsewhere, Lescott seemed to be buzzing around everywhere on the pitch and Gibb provided consistently good delivery and always seemed to get his cross into the box whenever he received the ball out wide. It was fitting he should score the third just after the break, and heavily involved in the build-up was Junior Agogo. How different a player he appeared on Saturday with an air of confidence about him. He was fantastic and looked like a £100,000 striker, with one particular run beating two defenders before his shot flashed just wide of the far post. Quite how the old guard will get back into the side is a tough question to answer, but as the old saying goes, one swallow doesn't make a summer and our opponents won't be as bad as York every week. © Chris Chappell - Friday 2nd April 2004 Back to Index