League Two Rovers v Bantams

[Boz]

A strange game. Rovers started brightly, but Bradford forced their way back into it and pushed us deeper back, though their goal came from a break where we stood off and did nothing to stop it, although it was finished well. Picked up towards the end of the half, when on another day one or two decisions might have gone our way. Second half was better, a well-placed shot from outside the box to level from Morris, then a great ball slid into the danger area from Cogley, which Glatzel used his strength and determination to put in the back of the net. Didn't think I'd be saying that a few weeks ago! I did find the subbing of Macdonald, introduction of Mcmanaman and switch to a back 3 puzzling. He played well and got a goal from wing-back at Bristol, could have switched formation without the need for subs. That said, Josh Hawkes played surprisingly well in the wing-back role

MoM for me was Morris although Glatzel ran him very close. Great having Alex Hay in the commentary box, some measured but illuminating assessment of the game from our ex-striker.

 

[keep the faith]

have to disagree about missing spearing as I thought O'Connor was superb cant believe he hasn't featured more often, Clarke was immense apart from their goal we restricted them to long throws and the ball hoofed into our area,cracking atmosphere have to keep it going saturday

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

A fully deserved victory, which should have been by a bigger margin in the end.

I thought we were a bit unfortunate to be behind at half time, as we started and finished the half strongly, but lost our way for fifteen minutes after their goal. Some of our attacking play was decent, and Maynard was unfortunate with his effort cleared off the line. However, after the break we completely blew them away and some of our football was great to watch, with the two strikers, Hawkes and Morris causing them no end of problems at the back.

If he can stay fit, Glatzel could be the difference for us this season. He was the best player on the pitch again, and has so many different facets to his game, with trickery and invention outside the box and, most crucially, goals. Elsewhere, I thought MacManaman looked decent tonight used as an impact sub, Clarke was back to his imperious best. O'Connor had a good game, but Bradford were able to walk through our midfield for the first goal, and I still think we missed Spearing's presence and experience defensively.

Delighted with the result and performance, as I expected a tight game tonight and probably would have taken a point beforehand. How good is it to shut up a noisy travelling support ?

Roll on Saturday.

 

[Sparky]

9 man Salford equalise in the last minute against joey Barton’s Bristol rovers!

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

A strange game. Rovers started brightly, but Bradford forced their way back into it and pushed us deeper back, though their goal came from a break where we stood off and did nothing to stop it, although it was finished well. Picked up towards the end of the half, when on another day one or two decisions might have gone our way. Second half was better, a well-placed shot from outside the box to level from Morris, then a great ball slid into the danger area from Cogley, which Glatzel used his strength and determination to put in the back of the net. Didn't think I'd be saying that a few weeks ago! I did find the subbing of Macdonald, introduction of Mcmanaman and switch to a back 3 puzzling. He played well and got a goal from wing-back at Bristol, could have switched formation without the need for subs. That said, Josh Hawkes played surprisingly well in the wing-back role

MoM for me was Morris although Glatzel ran him very close. Great having Alex Hay in the commentary box, some measured but illuminating assessment of the game from our ex-striker.

I assume MacDonald was injured, and we did not have a like for like replacement on the bench.

 

[Ian]

I thought Morris' goal was crucial tonight and it gave the lads a lift and we went on from there doing everything we were not doing in the first half. Running at defenders, tackling, passing and the movement was excellent. I was not as positive about the first half as RLC as I thought we looked a bit lifeless but the second half was a major improvement and would like to see more of that positive energy.

It really makes a difference having two up front as it causes all sorts of problems and it was nice to see Glatzel in position, in the box to slam it home, something we have missed this season, having that extra body in the box to get on the end of loose balls. I would give MOTM to Glatzel for his efforts all game. He looked tired towards the end but never stopped and looks like he is finally getting to grips with the rough and tumble of league two. His confidence will be sky high at the moment and I hope he gets us a few more before Xmas.

Maynard looks like a good pairing and I was pleased with his contribution to the game. Some nice touches and runs and he will get better the more he plays. Still not sure how he missed in the first half. Over the line possibly but the linesman was well behind the play.

Six points off 2nd. Let's hope we can go on a nice run now we seem to have found a system that will get us goals.

 

[Sparky]

I assume MacDonald was injured, and we did not have a like for like replacement on the bench.

I think it was tactical possibly. He could have brought Davies on and put KP at left back. Or put OConnor there and spearing in the middle which is how it finished.
Hey ho - 3 points all that mattered

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think it was tactical possibly. He could have brought Davies on and put KP at left back. Or put OConnor there and spearing in the middle which is how it finished.
Hey ho - 3 points all that mattered

Yes, he might have been matching Bradford up as they had three at the back, but strange he did not bring Davies on if that was the case.

 

[ADD]

Just watched the extended highlights and MM interview. He confirmed the substitution was tactical.
Difficult to get the full picture even from extended highlights but it looked so much better. I for one have been baffled by how long MM insisted on sticking with the Nevitt up front alone experiment as to me it seemed obvious it wasn't working for weeks but maybe there were factors at play we cannot know about.
Credit where credit is due however he has made the switch and also been bold in his selections and we look far more purposeful now.
Glatzel in particular you can see is now finding space behind defenders almost at will - and as he plays more with the likes of Hawkes, Foley and Morris they will spot and anticipate that more and more. He will hopefully flourish now he is finally up to speed. MM rightly seemed very happy with him and reiterated again how different L2 play is from U23 football but intimated that he is pretty much there now and should continue to get better. He also made the point that Nevitt will have to take a step back and work out "what he can do to improve" which is understandable so we can expect Maynard and Glatzel for the forseeable I think now which I am happy with. MM can then tweak his midfield - will Spearing come back in - will he not?
A good win all in all against a decent side who had a decent spell in the first half. Win on Saturday now and things start to look far more rosey - even as it is only 6 points off a promotion spot. Much more like it!

 

[drwhoman]

Good win with a better team structure. Maybe L2 is a level too far for Nevitt but we will see. I am glad that Glatzel is seemingly showing that he has adapted to L2. He is a clever player but I always have a concern that young players at the top clubs are too cosseted and that adapting to a different league is very difficult for them.

 

[bigmart]

Glatzel is a clever player his movement is excellent, now that he's scoring his confidence is high. Glatzel Hawkes and Morris have creativity and goals in them which is what we need going forward

 

[Boz]

I’ll have to catch Micky’s post-match interview, but still slightly puzzled by the tactical substitution. As it preserved our lead, I’ll remain baffled but grateful.

Re Nevitt, agree with ADD that it seemed strange on the face of it that Micky stuck with him for so long. I’d hope that he doesn’t join the likes of Merrie and Walker in a footballing Siberia, as his hold-up play could be useful in some situations. Glatzel looks like becoming a regular for the rest of his loan spell and the way he’s been allowed to develop out of the limelight after a disappointing start is good management. Maynard was good in patches, certainly doing enough to keep his place in the team

 

[Ian]

 

[Ian]

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

One of Micky's best interviews. He expressed himself particularly well. Yes, it's easier to talk frankly when your team has won, but we had some more useful insights into his thinking.

 

[Ian]

Yeah, I enjoyed listening too.

 

[Salfordwhite]

Like listening to Kevin Bridges

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

In fairness, we only had three defeats playing with a lone striker, after a period of eight or nine games where that tactic had been successful.

Mellon was always likely to persist with that formation for a couple of games to see if we could recapture the form of September and October, but when it became obvious the system was no longer working he changed it. Perhaps the change came one game too late, but that is all it was at worst.