Boz
Member
- Joined
- 30 Sep 2005
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- 8,935
- Player
- Iain Hume
Rovers were held by a competitive Marine side in this friendly in front of 445. The Whites were under the cosh early on, a good save from reserve keeper Mooney and a header off our line in the opening exchanges. However Bell-Baggie set up Tehoue for the Rovers opener, a lead which only lasted for a few minutes, before an equaliser. The rest of the half mainly Marine, with Rover's scoring trialist having to leave the field injured. Rovers had made a brighter start to the second half, but went behind to a goal from a corner. A series of changes on 60 minutes saw Joe Conchie return to the field(he'd initially replaced Tehoue) and he made the most of a good ball from Akpa Akpro to draw Rovers level. AA was prominent in the closing stages, shooting straight at the keeper in a one-on-one, missing a penalty Waddle-style and shooting wide. Marine could have had a pen of their own late on and a draw was the very least they deserved.
Defence. Mooney looked ok as a reserve goalie. Holmes and Ash Taylor both had decent individual games at the back, Black was a bit rusty and the trialist Kamara played himself into trouble on occasion. However, they didn't gel as a unit.
Midfield. Max Power was busy, but didn't always pick the right ball. Palmer was anonymous and Kirby fairly quiet. It looks like Bell-Baggie will be offered a deal says the o/s. He showed flashes of promise, but kept being drawn into the middle.
Forwards. Didn't see enough of Tehoue to form a view. Jeffers near invisible. Stockton did little when he came on as sub, save get in the way of a good ball, while Akpa Akpro looks like a very frustrating player.
Subs. Conchie was the pick of the bunch, although Danny Harrison made sure the midfield kept hold of the ball more. I cannot understand the manager's bone-headed reluctance to give Will Vaulks an outing in central defence in a game like this#-o
It's hard to know what weight should be attached to pre-season games like this. However, Marine had a lot of new lads playing or on trial for them as well and seemed to function better. Points I hope have been learned are for the midfield to help out the defence more and to create more momentum going forward.
Defence. Mooney looked ok as a reserve goalie. Holmes and Ash Taylor both had decent individual games at the back, Black was a bit rusty and the trialist Kamara played himself into trouble on occasion. However, they didn't gel as a unit.
Midfield. Max Power was busy, but didn't always pick the right ball. Palmer was anonymous and Kirby fairly quiet. It looks like Bell-Baggie will be offered a deal says the o/s. He showed flashes of promise, but kept being drawn into the middle.
Forwards. Didn't see enough of Tehoue to form a view. Jeffers near invisible. Stockton did little when he came on as sub, save get in the way of a good ball, while Akpa Akpro looks like a very frustrating player.
Subs. Conchie was the pick of the bunch, although Danny Harrison made sure the midfield kept hold of the ball more. I cannot understand the manager's bone-headed reluctance to give Will Vaulks an outing in central defence in a game like this#-o
It's hard to know what weight should be attached to pre-season games like this. However, Marine had a lot of new lads playing or on trial for them as well and seemed to function better. Points I hope have been learned are for the midfield to help out the defence more and to create more momentum going forward.