Expanding on my earlier remarks, this was quite an edgy performance from Rovers. Plenty of chances spurned by Mangan, Tollit and Norwood and the way McNulty was being too clever in our own box would have given the visitors hope. Sutton not at his best either, showing a marked reluctance to pass to Ridehalgh, preferring to send the ball back to Davies, who ultimately gave up and was bowling the ball directly to Liam. Both full-backs did ok, Vaughan's error for the goal aside.
I was a little puzzled at the subs today. Logically Hughes could have been moved to left-back when Liam got injured, he's played there for us before. However he was doing a steady job in midfield, where his height was useful, but it did seem a bit risky sticking Ihiekwe out at left-back, where so far as I know he's not played before. Ihky did nothing wrong, more of the visiting attacks were coming down the other side, but would prefer someone else filling that spot come Tuesday night. Mangan was having a better game than Cook, yet he was taken off, something to do with trying different partnerships up front. Kirby for Harris,was probably wisest, if a third substitution needed, given how the game was shaping, though it would have been good to see Dawson get a chance to stretch his legs.
The crowd was disappointing, unsure how much blame can be attributed to the weather.
MoM Andy Mangan for the match-winning goals, Tollit the other stand-out performer.`