Brentford 2 Rovers 1

[Boz]

Another late goal causing Rovers to drop a point, surely we must be overdue a last minute goal of our own. Labadie booked and scored, will miss the next two games. Cresswell off injured in the first half. Sounds as though a bit unlucky, but defending too deep at the death. With the Owls drawing at Bournemouth, we drop 2 places and need to win on Saturday to stop the rot.

 

[DIW]

Infuriating to say the least. Walsall, Rochdale and now Brentford. 5 points that little lot have cost us.

And I checked and we haven't scored a meaningful goal in injury time all season.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

After a poor first 20 minutes, the performance sounded like a repeat of Saturday and I can't believe we haven't taken anything from the two games. Criminal really that what was by all accounts a bread and butter ball into the box undid us at the end.

The loss of Labadie and Cresswell are real blows.

Saturday is must win now with even tougher away games coming up in the next few weeks, and games in hand fast running out.

 

[Ian]

This is very annoying. This month sums us up really. 1 draw, 2 wins and 2 defeats. Just when you think we are turning the corner with a few wins, we then lose as many games. Although I do think we are playing better football now and making games competitive, we just need to be able to kill of games or in some cases, hang on to what would have been a decent point last night. Very frustrating to conceded so late on, considering the lads gradually got into the game after the poor first 10 minutes.

Les Parry on the OS:

"That's four occasions where we've lost games when we've been leading or drawing when the board has gone up and it can't carry on."

Source: http://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/page/Manager/0,,10365~2299932,00.html

Anyway, pleasing to see Labadie on the score sheet with what sounded like a cracking shot. Yes, we'll miss him for 2 games, but I'm hoping Weir can step into his boots. Losing Cresswell is a blow but at least we have Bakayogo in reserve.

 

[Mal]

I can't realistically be disappointed given I predicted 6 points out of 12 for the last four games. Bristol, Swindon, Walsall, Dagenham and Plymouth all have a large task to catch Tranmere and I believe we'll win at least 5 more to go beyond the 50 total cited as 'safety'. Prediction now is that we'll stuff Yeovil due to pent-up frustration at playing well and losing in the last two. No logic to that, just a feeling that there will be a motivated team.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

Yes, I'd like to think we'll be doubly determined to win on Saturday, but this is Tranmere we're dealing with.

One earlier poster identified five points we'd chucked away with injury time goals conceded in 2011 - I'd add a sixth, the point we lost at Rochdale. Not injury time, but late on when we looked to have got a draw.

We just need to learn to be a little harder to get at in the final few minutes of games. One area I think we are weak at is allowing the opposition to get too many crosses into our box from wide areas. I feel this is an area we could improve on. You see it at all levels, so it's not just a L1 thing, but sometimes our full-back stand off a bit much for my liking.

Still, if we get 15 points from the next 10 games (that's what we got from the last 10) then relegation won't be an issue and we can relax for once. Our last six games of the season are all very winnable.

Mind you, am still cursing them for chucking it away at the death again last night! :evil:

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think the last couple of games have been a bit of a reality check for those who thought we could storm on to the play-offs. We are playing as well as we have for two years, but if we finish in fifteenth place it is still a good season.

Despite the disappointment of the last two results, a win on Saturday could put us 8 or 9 points clear of the relegation zone, still with a couple of games in hand on some teams, and we would have to be really appalling in the run-in to get relegated from that position.

 

[Boz]

Equally losing to Yeovil would put us just a point ahead of them and dangerously close to the drop zone. Rovers don't do predictable, aside from conceding goals at the death, so who knows what will happen...

I do get the impression that we were prepared to settle for a point last night, when going for the jugular might have reaped more reward. Before the Joss wonder-goal, Les was about to take him off and replace with Robbo, mainly as he feared a sending off. After our goal, Joss was left on a bit longer, but when subbed, it was Weir not Robinson who came on. Why? I haven't seen Weir in action, but Robinson a good bet for creating something, so would seem the better option if we were going for the win.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Actually, listening to the commentary yesterday and some of the comments after the game, I think we were probably a bit too adventurous ater we equalised and that may have been our downfall in the end. There is a real naivety about us in the last ten or fifteen minutes of games where we seem unable to get the right balance between defence and attack and hold on to what we have.

 

[Higgy]

I think the last couple of games have been a bit of a reality check for those who thought we could storm on to the play-offs. We are playing as well as we have for two years, but if we finish in fifteenth place it is still a good season.

I must admit I was thinking of progress up the table, but as RLC says I did give myself the odd reality check given a couple of the sides we did beat ie Plymouth and the Owls are poor and were in decline. Although I have to say we are a better side.
Disappointed we have not seen more of Robbo - we need a bit of class when the chips are down and given les said he arrived with us fit he should be playing more. However, I have to say from a non-qulaified physio perspective he is carrying a bit of timber.:-k

 

[SonkORLY?]

There is a real naivety about us in the last ten or fifteen minutes of games where we seem unable to get the right balance between defence and attack and hold on to what we have.

For a team that plays with 3 central midfielders we're awfully inept at keeping the ball and controlling the tempo of games when we need to.