ROVERS FANZ VIEW COLUMN
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The huge lift we received from beating York the other week, both psychologically and in terms of our league position, well and truly dragged us out of our winless streak and was just the wake up call that we needed. This platform had to be built upon straight away so that we would not slide back into the relegation quicksand and the fact that we sold out our 1,600 allocation for the trip to Cheltenham showed that the fans' faith had in some part been restored. A bubbly start from Rovers suddenly went flat on the half-hour mark as we conceded a soft goal from a couple of yards out and I'm sure I was not alone in wondering if the demons were returning. These fears were quashed within minutes when Kevin Austin raided down the wing as the overlapping left-back to pick out Adam Barrett for a spectacular volley! Captain Barrett is not really recognised alongside the likes of Hugo Sanchez and Mark Hughes in the top bracket of the world's all-time best volleyers and this one in particular was not down to immaculate technique but it certainly sent a third of Whaddon Road wild with delight. It looked more like a 'get-the-toe-on-it' job but he won't forget that in a hurry and I wouldn't be surprised if he has already framed the photo printed in last week's Green Un that depicted the moment the ball flew in. Barrett's been a target for the moaners this season along with people like Rob Quinn and Junior Agogo but his positively prolific goalscoring spell, coupled with some exemplary defending at the other end of the pitch, is sticking it to them as his celebrations in the last two games have shown. Meanwhile Kevin Austin, creator of the first Rovers goal, was on hand shortly after to supply another tasty cross for Agogo, who obliged with a super header past Shane Higgs in the Cheltenham goal. Austin has been steady as a rock whether he has turned out at centre-back or on the left. If you look at the size of him, you would assume he was a central defender, yet his huge frame disguises a useful turn of pace. I was invited up to the TV gantry by Screen Soccer for the York game to help compile their excellent highlights and shortly after kick-off joint manager Kevan Broadhurst turned up to watch the match from what is undoubtedly the best view in the ground. After seeing a typically robust bit of Austin defending, Broadhurst turned to us and with an expression of near-disbelief exclaimed, "Big Kev's a beast!" He has been our most consistent defender this season and his form has been all the more commendable for the fact that he has had to live with the insecurity of month-to-month contracts. In a campaign where nobody has especially taken the breath away going forward, he will probably get my vote for player of the year. It was great to see Junior Agogo find the net after firing so many blanks recently and the partnership with Lee Thorpe is showing a lot of promise. Thorpe won every header on Saturday and should have opened his Rovers account but for a wayward touch or two when in lovely positions. Two wins on the bounce feels like promotion in the current climate but the ease at which our league position has changed with a couple of positive results could also work the other way and two defeats may put us back down in the mire again. Fifteenth place seems a world away from the bottom but there was only a five-point gap to York in the relegation zone before this weekend's action. Let's not get complacent.
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