Solid professional performance

[drfchound]

Dieng didn’t have a shot to save tonight.

Although Shrews moved the ball around well enough they couldn’t get through our back line.

[drfchound]

I have been saying all season our starting 11 is good enough to finish in the top 3/4 in this league.
Suddenly after 3 wins in the last 4 games others are agreeing with me.

2 or 3 additions this month and we will finish in the play offs.
You heard it hear first.
If I am wrong I will hold my hands up.
But we do need minimum 2 quality additions. + a fully fit Matty Blair and no injuries other than two or three players maybe missing the odd game or two which is inevitable.

Campsall, I don’t think anyone has said that our first choice eleven isn’t good.
Plenty have said that the squad doesn’t have sufficient depth and that we need a proven striker.
You have just said yourself that we need quality additions .

[bpoolrover]

I have been saying all season our starting 11 is good enough to finish in the top 3/4 in this league.
Suddenly after 3 wins in the last 4 games others are agreeing with me.

2 or 3 additions this month and we will finish in the play offs.
You heard it hear first.
If I am wrong I will hold my hands up.
But we do need minimum 2 quality additions. + a fully fit Matty Blair and no injuries other than two or three players maybe missing the odd game or two which is inevitable.

i think most people have agreed all season but over a season you can’t just have your best 11

[steve@dcfd]

I still believe with a good striker and two better players in the final third our first eleven would be better than last year and we could then put pressure on the top of the league.

[Colin C No.3]

A fantastic 3 points & much needed to keep us in the mix.

That pass from Copps with the outside of his right foot that curled the ball into Sadliers run was sublime. The resulting cross had their full back heading a loopiing ball over his own keeper in a desperate attempt to clear the danger only for the ball to fall nicely to a waiting Ennis & a ‘ta very much’ tap in for the first goal.

However, I was frustrated in that first half when we had the ball in attacking situations & whoever happened to have the ball seemed bereft of options, as though it was a case of ‘where or who do I pass it to now?’. Not until we were 2-0 up in the second half did we then seem to have a flow & a plan to our attacks. It was almost as if we needed that 2 goal cushion before the midfield & attack gelled.

Perhaps it’s just me, always on the edge of my seat looking for danger caused by sloppy passing, momentary indecision or apparent lack of movement. Again the old heart skipping a beat when Dieng throws the ball to Wright who turns & gives it back, then Dieng to Anderson, by which time the opposition are closing in like a pack of hyenas who suddenly smell blood, Anderson back to Dieng who then hoofs the ball as their striker bears down on him only for it to land at James’s feet who then attacks down the wing. Was that the plan all along? Someone help me here. Am I the only one who can relax when we’re 2-0 up & the 4th official holds that board up for time added on?

We’re Shrewsbury poor ( yes I’ve seen your stats on them BST ) or did we really make them look poor? I’m honestly in a quandary.

Some posters have said on this thread that this Rovers X1 are good enough to beat any side in the division & are capable of finishing in the top 3 or 4 with a couple of additions. Surely that depends on the quality of the additions?

We’ve beaten Oxford (a game I didn’t attend) but by all accounts on the forum our rear guard action was superb against a side described by some as the best they’d seen in this division & yet we lost to Sunderland who are ‘under achieving’ in most other games.

I guess that all makes me a ‘glass half empty supporter’ watching this Rovers X1. Bristol next then Coventry at home by which time we might just have a couple of worthwhile additions. Worthwhile enough to make this mans glass overflow at long last.

[Pancho Regan]

I must admit I didn't think last night's performance was as good as some posters do, but we can't all see things the same.

Certainly a very important 3 points and a clean sheet, but I was also very nervous until that second goal went in.

After the perfect start of an early goal I really hoped we would keep up the momentum and push for a 2nd, but I felt we started to lose our way as the first half wore on, which allowed what looked like a poor Shrewsbury team to grow in confidence.
I was grateful for some very wayward finishing on their part.

I just felt we didn't control the game enough in the midfield in that first half, although I agree completely that our defence looked very solid and composed.

The second half was much better - we were more positive, we looked more confident, and we won more of the one-on-one challenges than we did in the first half.
Big Tom crowned another excellent display with a goal, and that was game over.

That result keeps us in touch with the leading pack, which is a good position to be in considering the squad at DM's disposal.

Three big games coming up next .... let's hope we have some new blood before then to really boost our push for the top six.

[IDM]

I have to argue your point on wayward finishing on their part.. they only registered 3 attempts and none on target.

I agree in the first half especially we weren’t in their faces enough and they had plenty of build up play, but apart from Diengs fumble was our goal threatened.?

Yes we were far from our best as seen earlier in the autumn, but winning is always good and would breed confidence.?

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

We are becoming good at stifling games a little bit though and that more often than not gets you up the top of the table.  I think we all can see that if we get that much needed boost to the forward line the play off tilt at least is on.  Darren Moore's done a good job this last month turning it around when it wasn't going quite so well.   That coincided with Ennis coming back whilst he hasn't scored many he has managed to give more of an outlet than we had.  I do think there are better players than Ennis to be had but he has had an impact and shows how a striker is important even if not scoring.

[Pancho Regan]

I have to argue your point on wayward finishing on their part.. they only registered 3 attempts and none on target.

That's my point IDM - I can recall an 'attempt' in the first half which went way over the bar (and nearly over the South Stand!) and one which actually went out for a throw-in!

Probably so wayward they didn't register as attempts!

[ravenrover]

I couldn't make it last night, illness,  but taking these comments and what I saw against Oxford looks very similar to the way we played under Saunders and look where that got us 👍

[RugbyRover]

I have been saying all season our starting 11 is good enough to finish in the top 3/4 in this league.
Suddenly after 3 wins in the last 4 games others are agreeing with me.

2 or 3 additions this month and we will finish in the play offs.
You heard it hear first.
If I am wrong I will hold my hands up.
But we do need minimum 2 quality additions. + a fully fit Matty Blair and no injuries other than two or three players maybe missing the odd game or two which is inevitable.

blimey, agreeing with dickos at last. Who would have thought. 

[philsky]

But ballacks to that. Let's moan about not signing players.

Quietly going about our business.

Absolutely no fuss last night - they had not a single shot on target and we did what we needed to do.

I felt we had more gears but why step it up when it's not necessary.

Having said that, the team around us are not being fooled.

[The Beast]

I thought we played well last night, kept possession better and worked the Shrews players hard by making them chase the ball. A lot of the Rovers crowd wind me up!  we’re passing the ball about nicely and the crowd are baying to get it forward or shoot 🙈 how can you shoot when you receive the ball sidewards with two men a yard in front of you?? Don’t they realise that the opposition are also a professional outfit and can defend a hopeful hoof forward? The middle age couple behind me were absolutely painful, moaned at entirely everything even though we were playing well.

[IDM]

You hear that every game, or at least I do..

[Campsall rover]

I have been saying all season our starting 11 is good enough to finish in the top 3/4 in this league.
Suddenly after 3 wins in the last 4 games others are agreeing with me.

2 or 3 additions this month and we will finish in the play offs.
You heard it hear first.
If I am wrong I will hold my hands up.
But we do need minimum 2 quality additions. + a fully fit Matty Blair and no injuries other than two or three players maybe missing the odd game or two which is inevitable.

blimey, agreeing with dickos at last. Who would have thought. 

Rugby Rover if you do your home work on the posts going back to August i think you will find dickos’s post is the one agreeing with mine & not the other way round.
Anyway whatever, we AGREED so that’s something to celebrate definitely. 

[keith79]

When Dm was first signed by the rovers. (Maybe sammy chung) I remember at the time the manager saying we are building from the back. Maybe this is the same now

[i_ateallthepies]

I have to argue your point on wayward finishing on their part.. they only registered 3 attempts and none on target.

I agree in the first half especially we weren’t in their faces enough and they had plenty of build up play, but apart from Diengs fumble was our goal threatened.?

Yes we were far from our best as seen earlier in the autumn, but winning is always good and would breed confidence.?

Didn't Joe Wright make another amazing goal line clearance in the first half, or am I imagining it?

[dknward2]

You are right pies cross came in and seny fumbled the catch it hit either ours or their a player but Joe wright again went straight for the goal line and the ball again

[Alan Southstand]

It hit their player and rebounded towards goal, but Wright cleared the danger. He also made a fantastic recovery slide tackle just before that, after passing straight to one of their players.

[i_ateallthepies]

It hit their player and rebounded towards goal, but Wright cleared the danger. He also made a fantastic recovery slide tackle just before that, after passing straight to one of their players.

He did, Alan and made a couple of other excellent sliding tackles, I was beginning to think we'd got Stuart Robertson back (one for he oldies).  Don't agree with your final comment though, Joe didn't pass to their player, he jumped to head a long ball and didn't reach it, skimming off the top of his head the striker ran straight onto the ball and was away and clear but Wright made up ground amazingly and put in a perfect tackle to take it off his toe in the penalty area, or at least that's the way I remember it.

[IDM]

I have to argue your point on wayward finishing on their part.. they only registered 3 attempts and none on target.

I agree in the first half especially we weren’t in their faces enough and they had plenty of build up play, but apart from Diengs fumble was our goal threatened.?

Yes we were far from our best as seen earlier in the autumn, but winning is always good and would breed confidence.?

Didn't Joe Wright make another amazing goal line clearance in the first half, or am I imagining it?

Yes, after Dieng’s fumble..

[Lesonthewest]

First of all that was an excellent 3 points, hardworking performance & rock solid defensively. The game  I watched last night however was a game between 2 poor sides with Shrewsbury the better in possession, their passing & movement much better than ours, & although we struggled to get any kind of momentum going due to poor passing & ideas there was no lack of effort from our players, very poor entertainment wise though.

[Donnybax]

I think another thing last night showed was how crucial the first goal is to us. Allows us to stifle the game

[dickos1]

You say all that but we could easily scored 4/5 goals last night.
We created more chances than we have in many of the previous games recently

[BillyStubbsTears]

Les.

I really think you were watching a different game to me.

Other than for 15 mins after we scored the first, we outplayed Shrewsbury in every single department.

[Campsall rover]

First of all that was an excellent 3 points, hardworking performance & rock solid defensively. The game  I watched last night however was a game between 2 poor sides with Shrewsbury the better in possession, their passing & movement much better than ours, & although we struggled to get any kind of momentum going due to poor passing & ideas there was no lack of effort from our players, very poor entertainment wise though.

Your a hard man to please.
We were in total control in the 2nd half.
Better decision making and finishing and we would have won 4-0 possibly 5-0

[NewDonny]

First of all that was an excellent 3 points, hardworking performance & rock solid defensively. The game  I watched last night however was a game between 2 poor sides with Shrewsbury the better in possession, their passing & movement much better than ours, & although we struggled to get any kind of momentum going due to poor passing & ideas there was no lack of effort from our players, very poor entertainment wise though.

Your a hard man to please.
We were in total control in the 2nd half.
Better decision making and finishing and we would have won 4-0 possibly 5-0

We were in total control after about the first 15 minutes you mean, not the second half. Your man Lesonthewest is on the sauce to suggest that Shrewsbury were the better of two sides, for starters our passing at times was sublime, slick and efficient and opened them up time after time. My only complaints about our performance would be that we over passed it at times and without naming names felt that several of our players were happy playing keep ball deep into the oppositions half then getting the ball into their eighteen yard box and our finishing should have been better, attacking the crosses that we put in for a start would have helped.

But seriously, anyone suggesting that we weer poor last night needs to go lie down in a dark room and have a serious word with themselves.

[Cramby10]

First of all that was an excellent 3 points, hardworking performance & rock solid defensively. The game  I watched last night however was a game between 2 poor sides with Shrewsbury the better in possession, their passing & movement much better than ours, & although we struggled to get any kind of momentum going due to poor passing & ideas there was no lack of effort from our players, very poor entertainment wise though.

Totally agree with this. It’s excellent seeing us win but it’s a poor watch. The standard, more so offensively, was not good.

[Lesonthewest]

First of all that was an excellent 3 points, hardworking performance & rock solid defensively. The game  I watched last night however was a game between 2 poor sides with Shrewsbury the better in possession, their passing & movement much better than ours, & although we struggled to get any kind of momentum going due to poor passing & ideas there was no lack of effort from our players, very poor entertainment wise though.

Your a hard man to please.
We were in total control in the 2nd half.
Better decision making and finishing and we would have won 4-0 possibly 5-0

We were in total control after about the first 15 minutes you mean, not the second half. Your man Lesonthewest is on the sauce to suggest that Shrewsbury were the better of two sides, for starters our passing at times was sublime, slick and efficient and opened them up time after time. My only complaints about our performance would be that we over passed it at times and without naming names felt that several of our players were happy playing keep ball deep into the oppositions half then getting the ball into their eighteen yard box and our finishing should have been better, attacking the crosses that we put in for a start would have helped.

But seriously, anyone suggesting that we weer poor last night needs to go lie down in a dark room and have a serious word with themselves.

Sublime passing? Really? I think you may need to go lie in a darkened room. I lost count how many times we gave the ball away after a few passes. I maintain Shrewsbury passed the ball better than we did, they had nothing in the final third. I was bored stiff in what felt like a morgue. Just my opinion of course.

[Lesonthewest]

Les.

I really think you were watching a different game to me.


Other than for 15 mins after we scored the first, we outplayed Shrewsbury in every single department.

Billy, saw the game completely different to you then, what I watched was a hardworking put poor Rovers performance that reminded me of a Saunders game, boring to watch but got the job done.