Bristol Rovers Vs Barnet, Memorial Stadium, Bristol, Friday 1st February 2013, Kick Off 7:45 please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Barnet At A Glance Nickname: The Bees Founded: 1888 Stadium: Underhill Stadium - Capacity - 6,023 -(2,303 Seated) Address: Underhill Stadium, Westcombe Drive, Barnet, London EN5 2DN. Manager: Edgar Davids (Head Coach) Website: http://www.barnetfc.com/index.aspx Current League Postion: 20th PLD 29 W 7 D 8 L 14 GD -13 PTS 29 Last Five League Games Exeter City (A) D 2-2 Aldershot Town (H) L 0-1 Bradford City (H) W 2-0 Rotherham United (A) W 2-0 Burton Albion (A) L 1-0 Last Two Meetings Between The Clubs Tuesday 21st August 2012 - Barnet 1-1 The Gas Monday 2nd January 2012 - Barnet 2-0 The Gas Head To Head Down The Years http://www.bristolrovers-mad.co.uk/head_to_head/next/vs/match/index.shtml How Will It Go This is a massive game for The Gas with a win it could see us lift ourselves out of the bottom two for the first time since November. The Gas are going in to the game with two outstanding victories away from home against two teams in the play-offs. Barnet have also picked up some impressive victories also, the pick of the last five games being a 2-0 home victory over League Cup finalists Bradford City. Edgar Davids like John Ward has seemed to of got his players playing again so both sets are players will be up for this fixture. After two awesome victories where we have scored six and let in one this is the type of game we normally lose that said our players seem to be on a high and are working hard for each other with brilliant individual performances to boot. I'm having a good feeling about us lately its like a massive weight has lifting from our shoulders and we are now looking forward to games again. This won't be a walk over by any means but if we keep up the effort and hard work we having been putting in on and off the filed then we can come away with all three points and hopefully another clean sheet. Final Score Prediction: Bristol Rovers 2-0 Barnet
If we could average 3 goals a game in the next few months we will soon get our poor goal difference down
A lot rain forecast for the rest of the week. Get the bloody covers on just in case. http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Bristol-UKXX0025
WARD - WE CANNOT GET COMPLACENT Manager on the run of games coming up John Ward believes that his team still have a lot of hard work to do despite picking up back to back wins away from home. He is keen his side donât take anything for granted, especially with fellow strugglers Barnet visiting the Memorial Stadium on Friday. John said: âWe have had a good run, but we are still second bottom in the division, so it shows that other people have stayed the pace as well in that bottom area. âWe have got to keep doing it now, we cannot live on that. âIt takes a massive effort for us to get out of the bottom two, and then stay out of it, that is the whole idea. âThe attitude and approach that we have had, especially in the last two away games, has been excellent and we must put that again to the test this Friday against Barnet.â The manager believes that Barnetâs visit will be a tougher test than the last two games. He said: âYou have got to guard against any complacency. Barnet are playing very well themselves at the moment, so we have got to maintain our form and maintain the approach we have shown. âWe will be expected to win, and mentally we will have to deal with that. There is no way I will be taking Barnet lightly, and I will be passing that on to the team. âIn all aspects it is probably a bigger game than the other two we managed to win away from home. It is a big game and we have to treat it like that.â And with games coming thick and fast over the next month, the manager knows that he has to keep his side free from injury. âThe games are coming fast and I think that will have an account on what happens with all the clubs at the top of the league and the bottom of the league. âIf we, or any club, can get through that period injury free for the majority of the matches, we have a chance of surviving and getting the points we need. âWe have had a bad shout, when I first came there were just 10 or 12 players training and I didnât know six of them as they were from the youth group, so hopefully we have put that behind us and we can be fortunate with the matches in February.â And the manager has also seen an improvement in the depth of his squad since he arrived. He said: âIt was good to have some strength sat around me on Saturday, and to have a selection problem. For us to have the best chance of surviving this season, that has got to happen. âWe have got to have that bulk of bodies that we know can do a job in the first team when called upon. âWe have competition, which when I first came in we didnât have. âThere is competitive nature about the team, but there is also a collective nature, and those guys who didnât feature on Saturday were just as delighted to get the victory as those who did play. As long as that stays the case we give ourselves a good chance.â
The stats at home are not that good to read our defence rank (are rank) 24th letting in almost 2 goals a game and without a clean sheet for some time know, appreciate most of that is under Mcghees management,we did beat Plymouth but were not convincing, possibly due to the pressure of needing to win at home. Barnet fail to score in over 50% of there last 6 matches but will be up for it as they lost there last game. Whilst a narrow win would be nice ,I would be more than happy with a score draw just to keep the momentum and confidence going. Happy who am I kidding I want a win and enjoy the weekend!! so no pressure Rovers keep a clean sheet and win 1-0 COR
This is a must win game if we have any chance of staying up! Im going for a 2-1 hard fought game.. Then we can start whistling the theme from the great escape!! is there anymore news on Benson??
great thread seamange barnet are doing ok, so will be a tough game. however, winning this game is massive and will put us out of the bottom 2 with games in hand too. a big crowd is expected with all the offers, so there will be pressure as they will be expecting a win due to recent form and as we are against a lower side in the league. we are considered favourites for this game. its not going to be easy. im looking forward to seeing this guy live.... please log in to view this image
We obviously were unable to match the wage demands which I assume is why we signed a very young unproven striker on the cheap. Hmm.Still perhaps we used the money for JJ so you win some you lose some. COR
with a few of the injured players coming back vs rotherham and im sure they are looking to start like the hammer and clarkson, who do you think will start vs barnet??
TEAM NEWS Bristol Rovers go in to Friday night's game off the back of two away wins at Fleetwood and Rotherham. Forward Eliot Richards has been struggling to recover from a bout of tonsillitis and will be given a late fitness test. Player-manager Edgar Davids has recovered from a virus and is set to start in midfield for Barnet. Strikers Jake Hyde and Jon Nurse are available but Harry Crawford may start up front after impressing at Burton. VIEW FROM THE TRAINING GROUND Bristol Rovers manager John Ward told BBC Radio Bristol: "I think a Friday night game comes at a nice time for us. It has that added thing for me because of the floodlights and the atmosphere. "After a couple of good results for us there's hopefully going to be a buoyant mood about the place. "People use phrases like 'six-pointer' but it isn't. It's just as important as going to Rotherham or Fleetwood, trying to do the same things there."
About to get ready to leave, come on rovers, come on you blues, up the gas - lets get the 3 points we need tonight. Hope its a cracking atmosphere.
A look ahead to tonight's game On Friday night Bristol Rovers take on Barnet in what promises to be a pivotal game for the Gas. A victory would put them back in touch with the security of mid-table and take them above the Hertfordshire team. On 21 August Rovers gained their first point of the season when they drew 1-1 with Barnet at Underhill. Barnet took the lead when Ricky Holmes won possession out wide near the halfway line and set off for goal, showing a clean pair of heels to the Rovers defence. Once he reached the area, he calmly slotted the Ball past Sam Walker. Rovers’ equaliser came on 55 minutes when Matt Harrold powered home a header from Matt Gill’s corner. A superb display by Barnet’s Liam O’Brien ensured that his team shared the points. The Bees’ season has been as disappointing as Rovers’; it took them 13 games to gain their first victory, a 4-0 thrashing of Northampton. In the 12 games before United had picked up just 3 points from the 36 on offer. In the 17 games since (51 points) the Bees have secured 26 points. During that run they have three times secured back to back victories. Prior to their defeat last weekend at Burton they had picked up 13 points from 6 games, promotion form. In the Burton game Billy Kee had already missed a good chance for the Brewers before Jacques Maghoma converted from the spot on 4 minutes after he had been fouled by Barry Fuller. Ibra Sekajja missed from seven yards for Barnet after good work by Ricky Holmes, and Kee and Calvin Zola both put shot wide for the hosts in a closely fought game. Speaking after the game, the Bees Assistant manager explained Manager Edgar Davids’ absence and commented on the match. "Edgar has a virus and wasn't well enough to travel. I spoke to him on the telephone the whole day on how we were going to play right up to five minutes before the game. “ "I'm disappointed with the result because we played quite good, except for the first five minutes. We knew how Burton would play with the long ball to the striker and everyone working around him. We trained on that but that was what got them the goal. “ "We had a few chances but generally the final ball into the box was disappointing after some good build-up play and we didn't give the goalkeeper a lot of pressure. "I don't think you can ever overplay, but sometimes you can play a little bit more direct into the box." Until last season the Bees had never beaten the Gas, but that changed with a vengeance, the Londoners winning both games 2-0. The clubs first met in the FA Cup in 1983/84 season with a 0-0 draw at Underhill and Rovers winning the replay 3-1. When the Bees played their only season in (the Old) Division 2 in 1993/94 they met Rovers for the first time in a League encounter. Rovers had been relegated the previous season and the Bees promoted. Marcus Browning and John Taylor scored the goals that gave Rovers a 2-1 victory at Underhill in October, with Kelly Haag being on the scoresheet for the Bees. In the return fixture having lost their previous five games Rovers were in dire need of a victory and a Justin Channing hat-trick lead the way to a 5-2 win. An own goal by Alan Walker and a contribution by Marcus Stewart completed the scoring for Rovers, whilst Russell Edwards and Paul Wilson scored for the Hertfordshire team. Summer signing Harry Crawford made his debut for the Bees as a 70th minute substitute in the 1-0 loss at Burton. It was a result which meant Barnet remain 20th in League Two but Crawford feels he has joined a club with a bright future. He said: "It is a club that is going forward and everything is very positive here. We have top class training facilities and when I spoke to the chairman and the manager they all want to take the club forward. So I feel that it is a club that will progress and hopefully we will move up in the table.” "With Edgar Davids being here as well, that was a big selling point for me. With all he has done in his career, playing in World Cups and European championships, I feel that I can learn from him. It is a fantastic club and I didn’t think twice about joining." There is no doubt that Davids has had a very strong and positive influence on the Bees, with a number of former Dutch internationals turning out for the North London team. Their recent form suggests that they won’t be confined to the lower part of the Division for too much longer. John Ward’s challenge is to ensure that the Bees do not secure their 8th victory of the season on Friday night.
