ROVERS FANZ VIEW COLUMN
|
I don't know which was worse; getting thumped at our dearly beloved local rivals Yeovil (again) or crumbling to defeat in the home leg of the Vans Area Final. With so many players fighting the effects of an illness that Ian Atkins himself appears to have passed around, it was not the ideal time to play either of those matches. I feared the worst in the build-up to our trip down to Yeovil and brought the necessary wet-weather and wind-proof gear for the unsheltered away end, which gave us all a taster of how visitors to the Mem feel every other week. It surely couldn't be as bad as last year's 4-0 hammering and when Craig Disley jinked through the defence to slot us one-up, the form book seemed to be on its way out of the window. But after being on top in the opening 25 minutes, Phil Jevons struck an incredible goal with Yeovil's first shot and we suddenly lost all belief that we could upset the league leaders on their own patch as we sank into a footballing coma for the next 40 minutes. Most of us had hoped Ryan Williams would be given a long-awaited start on the back of his impressive showing against Grimsby, but frustratingly he was confined to the subs' bench because of the club virus. When Williams eventually did get summoned, Rovers transformed from rabbits in headlights to wanton predators and the first few times he touched the ball, he nearly created goals with deadly deliveries from the left flank. His introduction plunged Yeovil into a state of chaos and after Stuart Campbell missed a gaping chance, Richard Walker turned well to fire home our second before James Hunt somehow volleyed wide from point-blank range. It would have been no exaggeration to say we should have got four ourselves but there have been too many 'should-haves' this season when we have come away with nothing. Not too many sides get to concentrate on the Cup with Easter approaching but our commendable run in the LDV Vans paired us with Southend in Tuesday night's Southern Final as we aimed to forget about mid-table mediocrity in the league. With only a couple of fit defenders compared to a four-strong bunch of strikers to choose from, it was very surprising to see the Rovers team start off with a defensive 4-5-1 formation on the night. Whatever the plan was, it backfired rather embarrassingly as we conceded a vital away goal within the first ten minutes and then survived a spell of heavy pressure for the next ten. Atkins was forced to act and so Walker entered the fray to pair up with Junior Agogo in attack. It wasn't long before something happened for us and when Disley was upended in the box, the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Agogo stepped up but slammed his kick against the crossbar, no doubt with all the frustration of the previous week behind it. Walker popped up once again to head in Ryan Williams' pin-point corner after the break and put us right back in it but our inability to keep possession for more than two passes gifted Southend too much of the ball and we saw another piledriver fly in later on. At the end, we were fortunate to get away with just a one-goal defeat, which was far from ideal. Those of us with tickets for the second leg only have to look at Wrexham's 5-3 win at Oldham in the Northern Final 1st leg to see that anything can happen on the night and it might just be worth the trip.
|