League Two Stockport v Rovers

[dollar'sbloke]

Unchanged line-up. No Jameson on the bench so Brad Walker is our central defensive cover.

Bar an injury that puts him on the scrapheap. He played full back at crewe so if he can't beat midfielders as cover he is toast

 

[bigmart]

1 down already

 

[bigmart]

Hemmings pen levels it up.

 

[bigmart]

That didn't last long.

 

[Boz]

Unable to follow the game as watching another. Fair reflection of the half?

 

[dollar'sbloke]

First goal floated header any pressure on him it goes up and no threat. Bristow straight next to him has no idea what is required.
Tranmere haven't conceded many they didn't give away. 2nd was a bit of a freak

 

[bigmart]

3 1 poor result, going to have to bounce back on Tuesday if the season is not to fizzle out.

 

[bigmart]

Morris pulls one back

 

[Am on mobile]

The lads just cant play infront of big crowds not great today

 

[dollar'sbloke]

The lads just cant play infront of big crowds not great today

I suspect you are confusing causation and correlation. Fairly even contest both sides showed areas of merit. Another Bristow technical howler and two sloppy bits of defending from usually solid players.
Long term looks to have potential, play offs unlikely for both teams.
Crowd irrelevant imo

 

[bigmart]

The goals were conceded were awful, Cogley and Turnbull big errors but Hewelt really does not fill me with much confidence at all

 

[Ian]

3-2! What happened to our defense? Did we commit to many forward? How did the new guys get on?

 

[Sparky]

The goals were conceded were awful, Cogley and Turnbull big errors but Hewelt really does not fill me with much confidence at all

Agree with this. Hewlet didn’t look great.

Defensively poor as Two of the goals were very avoidable.
Not convince Saunders is an out and out striker.
Hendry looked impressive.
Feels like one step forward and one step back

 

[Boz]

It's hard to gauge from just a goals package how we played collectively and as individuals, I agree with bigmart that all of the Stockport goals looked avoidable.

The first came after some poor defending, initially from JDC who was having a bad day generally by most accounts, then a failure to stop a cross and fairly half-hearted efforts to jump with the scorer and try to put him off. The second seemed like a bit of a freak, Dacres-Cogley caught it wrong for a back-pass, the ball looped up and the Stockport striker reacted quicker than Hewelt. Their third involved Turnbull being caught in possession and Hewelt being unable to remedy the situation.

Assists for Saunders setting Hemming up prior to the penalty and Burton for Morris' late consolation.

I think it would be a mistake to drop Hewelt on the basis of those goals, where the defenders were also at fault, but the coaching staff will need to assess carefully how badly his confidence has been dented.

Did the subs make much of an impact when they came on? Sparky suggests Hendry did, while Chalmers had an effort on goal, but the match updates/reports don't seem to suggest a significant change in the was the game was going; seemed Stockport well on top regardless.

Some decisions for Micky to make on Tuesday.

 

[overthewater]

It's hard to gauge from just a goals package how we played collectively and as individuals, I agree with bigmart that all of the Stockport goals looked avoidable.

The first came after some poor defending, initially from JDC who was having a bad day generally by most accounts, then a failure to stop a cross and fairly half-hearted efforts to jump with the scorer and try to put him off. The second seemed like a bit of a freak, Dacres-Cogley caught it wrong for a back-pass, the ball looped up and the Stockport striker reacted quicker than Hewelt. Their third involved Turnbull being caught in possession and Hewelt being unable to remedy the situation.

Assists for Saunders setting Hemming up prior to the penalty and Burton for Morris' late consolation.

I think it would be a mistake to drop Hewelt on the basis of those goals, where the defenders were also at fault, but the coaching staff will need to assess carefully how badly his confidence has been dented.

Did the subs make much of an impact when they came on? Sparky suggests Hendry did, while Chalmers had an effort on goal, but the match updates/reports don't seem to suggest a significant change in the was the game was going; seemed Stockport well on top regardless.

Some decisions for Micky to make on Tuesday.

I'd expect Hendry to start on Tuesday, probably instead of Merrie

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

It was frustrating that we did not take a point from the game after an improved second half performance. It is ironic that in the week when we improved the quality of the squad in creative areas, it was the defence that let us down. I disagree with suggestions above that Bristow had a particularly poor game. However, the second and third goals we conceded were completely avoidable, resulting from terrible back passes by Cogley and Turnbull, with Hewelt not covering himself in glory either. Disappointing, as there were certainly positive aspects to the display.

In the first half I thought Stockport created the better chances and were deservedly ahead at half time, irrespective of the Cogley / Hewelt howler. We actually looked sharp when we won the ball high up the field and we got into good areas, but the familiar problem of lack of imagination and quality in the final third let us down and we did not create a great deal other than the penalty.

However, the substitutions changed the game and we were the better side in the second half, creating a number of chances. Hendry was absolute quality and made a huge difference to our midfield play. I don't remember him making a single bad pass and it was noticeable that he was happy to receive the ball when tightly marked, including from the goalkeeper. Chalmers also impressed me with his willingness to get stuck in and help the defence out. Burton again made a positive contribution from the bench, forcing a great save from their keeper in the closing stages which would have earned us a point we possibly deserved overall.

I think in the medium term the new signings will make a big difference to us, and I agree that Hendry will start ahead of Merrie on Tuesday. However, we probably need four points from the next two games to stay in touch with the top seven.

 

[Sparky]

My last away game was Crewe on New Years Day. A good rovers following against a relatively out of form home side. A game that we should have gotten something from. Sadly it was the same again today albeit some poor defending cost us.

We started ok but then the home side had a spell. Morris and Cogley weren't great on the right and let a cross come in too easily that their right wing back attacked and headed in. Back we came, and even though the linesman initially flagged for offside he put it down when the penalty was awarded. I wasn't complaining and Hemmings dispatched it well. Only a few minutes before half time we were back in it, but their second was a killer. A poor back pass from JDC saw Hewlet challenging for a header with the tall Wooton. Only one outcome although in hindsight Matt could have caught the ball or punched it and it would have been an indirect free kick.

Second half we looked better and the subs made a big difference. Once again though we shot ourselves in the foot. Trying to play it around at the back, Turnbulls clearance looped up when he was closed down. Hewlet perhaps could have caught it but instead punched and it fell to their midfielder who stroked it into the net. We kept going and Morris who I felt was average all game, popped up with a goal. We could have got an equaliser but if you concede three goals away from home you are likely to lose. A few points:

Hawkes - a typically frustrating performance from Josh but I didn't agree that he should come off for Morris. Josh is our second top scorer so why does he keep getting hooked? Ironically Morris got the second goal but he does seem to be undroppable at times for some reason. I like Kieron but he has been out of form a fair bit this season - so has Hawkes, but he brings you goals.

Saunders - still early days, but I can see why he has in his career played wide or in a more creative role. I am not convinced at all he is going to score enough goals but as I say early days. I could be wrong but I still look at Kane, Saunders, Burton, Mumbongo and Lewis and think there just aren't enough goals in them. Although to be fair we didn't create much for them today.

Hewelt - he didn't looked confident at all today. Another one it is early days for but some around me were saying he looked out of his depth at this level.

Chalmers - clearly a talent and I'd give him a start on Tuesday although that will mean Hawkes is likely on the bench but my above points still stand.

Hendry - the one real positive. Technically very gifted and always wanting the ball. He has to start on Tuesday and you wonder why he can't get into the FGR side bottom of league one.

Doncaster on Tuesday is a winnable game but certainly not one we should lose. Hopefully the defensive issues will be a one off as overall we've been strong at the back this season.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I actually thought Morris was good today and linked well with Cogley. It is too early to judge Saunders, and in the second half when the service from midfield improved he did get into promising positions.

Hewelt was impressive with his feet last week and it almost seemed like we got carried away today by asking him to play out from the back on every occasion. He does not look good enough to do that on a consistent basis, so we would be better simply playing the percentages on occasions.

 

[Sparky]

I can see why we do try and build from the back. Hemmings isn’t strong in the air and so often long clearances from the Keeper just come back or their centre halves win them.

However building from the back is a big risk as the third goal showed today

 

[Ian]

We seriously need to find some consistency if we are to build a playoff challenge.