Oliver Norburn believes he has taken the chance to state his case to be a first-team regular – but knows that his recent renaissance will be shortlived if he fails to replicate impressive performances on a more consistent basis. Norburn was a regular starter for John Ward's side at the start of the campaign, but was an unfortunate casualty of some of Rovers' indifferent results over the following few weeks and was relegated to the bench. He spent four games among the substitutes before injury and suspensions warranted an opportunity for a return in the FA Cup against York City at the start of November and the cultured midfielder hasn't looked back since. Norburn swept home his first goal of the season as Rovers won an FA Cup first round replay at York City before being named man-of-the-match by sponsors after Saturday's 2-0 win over Portsmouth at the Memorial Stadium. Afterwards, manager John Ward hailed the performance as the best he had seen from the 21-year-old since he had taken charge at the turn of the year and Norburn said: "It is nice to hear comments like that from the manager. "I'm happy with how I have been playing. I still need to find more consistency and I'd like to add a few more assists and a couple of goals if I could. I feel I have taken the opportunity I have been given over the last few weeks, but I also know that if I don't maintain this sort of form then I will find myself out of the team again. "I've learned in the past that the only way to get back in the team when you are dropped is to get your head down and work hard and that is what I have tried to do. "The manager makes the decisions and you soon realise that you have to accept and respect them regardless of how disappointed you might be personally. It is a team game these days and you have to get on with things and wait patiently for your next chance to impress." Norburn, meanwhile, played a key part in Saturday's victory by producing a sublime defence-splitting pass to set David Clarkson up for the second goal to offer Rovers some breathing space, and he added: "It was a good pass and I was happy to add an assist. "I still need to find more consistency in and I'd like to add a few more assists and a couple of goals if I could. "Clarky still had a lot to do when he got the ball, so I was delighted to see it go in. I was pleased to be named man-of-the-match, but I thought all 11 of us were outstanding and any of us could have got it. "It was a brilliant feeling in the changing room at the end because we'd been in a winning position at half-time up at Morecambe the week before and we went on to lose the game. We learned from that experience and spoke about that when we were in the same position against Portsmouth at half-time on Saturday. "We knew we couldn't take our one-goal advantage for granted and we made sure that we really dug in and kicked on in search of that second goal to give us some breathing space." Rovers continue their festive programme with a trip to Torquay United on Boxing Day before further tricky assignments at Rochdale and home to Cheltenham Town follow. "I'd like to think the victory on Saturday might serve to really kick-start our season," Norburn said. "The most important thing for us to focus on are the games we have coming up. We will enjoy Christmas Day with our families, but we have to be professional because we know we have an early start at Torquay on Boxing Day. "There is always a little more on the game when you are playing a team around you in the league and we'll be going there in positive frame of mind to try and get a win."
Yeah I didn't either for got to put the kick off times at the top of the thread might do that now to be on the safe size
A look at Torquay On Boxing Day The Gas take the short trip down the M5 to the South Devon Coast to visit Torquay United. Last season the teams fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw on the final day. It was a day striker Matt Harrold will never forget as he returned from long-term injury off the bench to head a late equaliser. That draw for the Gulls was vital as they still faced the possibility of relegation unless they picked up at least one point and once again this season they are dicing with the bottom of the table. Their first back to back victories of the season has seen them climb back in touch with the bottom group. On Saturday they earned a hard fought 1-0 victory at promotion challenging Dagenham and Redbridge. The Daggers dominated for most of the first half and Torquay keeper Michael Poke later earned praise for his performance. The Essex team were made to rue their missed chances when on 50 minutes the Gulls’ Aaron Downes headed home Jak McCourt's cross. Daggers striker Rhys Murphy hit the post late on as his team looked to prevent their second defeat in a row. United Boss Alan Knill said after the game, "It was a repeat of last Saturday. We're asking for commitment and effort and this is the toughest place to come, and for us to come away with a 1-0 victory was well deserved I thought." Asked about outstanding players for his team he commented, "It's hard for me to say one. I thought the team were excellent and in the first half it was a pretty good game. "I thought they passed it and looked dangerous but I thought when we got it, we did the same. If you're in a dogfight you have to fight first, and we're doing that, so as long as we continue to do that we know that we can compete because we've got some pretty talented players as well who can play. It's so important to be out of the bottom two at Christmas." Meetings between the Gas and the Gulls go back a long time, the first being an FA Cup tie on 27 November 1926 when the game at Plainmoor finished 1-1. Four days later Rovers won the replay 1-0. The first League meeting took place on 29 October 1927 and Rovers thrashed United 5-1 at Eastville. It took the Gulls five more attempts before they were victorious on 2 April 1930, 2-1 at Plainmoor. Rovers’ record in Devon is not a bad one, with 10 wins, 10 draws and 17 defeats in their 37 visits. The one black mark on Rovers' record was back on 29 March 1932 as United ran riot winning 8-1. The irony of this score was that the teams had played out a 1-1 draw 3 days earlier in Bristol. You have to go back 16 games to find anything greater than a single goal difference between the teams and 22 games to find a greater margin (a 4-0 League Cup victory for Rovers at Plainmoor, their best result there, on 15 September 1983 with goals by Nicky Platnauer, Mike Barrett, Paul Randall and Archie Stephens). During the late 1960's there were some very close games between the two teams. Torquay included John Bond, Ken Brown (both ex-West Ham players who went on to manage teams with great success), John Benson and the lethal strike force of Jim Fryatt and Robin Stubbs. Rovers found it so difficult to contain Stubbs that in the summer of 1969 they bought him. He went on to score twice against his former club; both his goals helped his new team to victory in each game. During those late 1960’s games there was never any more than two goals between the teams. Away victories were rare although Rovers twice collected full points in Devon, in 1968-69, 1-0 and the following season when they won 2-1. Alan Knill views the upcoming Christmas period as vital to his team “Now the challenge is to stay unbeaten for a spell, especially over Christmas. “It was just so important to be out of the bottom two at Christmas. Two wins on the bounce is something we haven’t managed before. "After beating Southend at home, it’s great to give our away supporters something to cheer, which we haven’t done for a while. “It certainly makes my Christmas Day better – and my wife’s as well! We’ve had two wins against two really good teams, and this one was well deserved again I thought." Knill will be pleased to have on-loan striker Jayden Stockley available for this match. The 20-year-old AFC Bournemouth forward made his debut as a substitute in United’s 3-1 defeat at Scunthorpe recently, and he then pulled a calf muscle in training. Stockley returned to Bournemouth for treatment, missing Torquay’s 1-0 wins over Southend and Dagenham, but manager Alan Knill reported: “Jayden is OK now and back training with us, and it’s good to have him available again. “It’s just so important that everybody, including Jayden, is ready to play during a busy period of games in a short time.” Winger Jordan Chapell has a toe injury, picked up during the win at Dagenham, but Knill is optimistic that the former Sheffield United player will be available.
All you need to know about the Boxing Day game Opposition: Torquay have moved out of the bottom two after putting together back to back wins for the first time this season. The Gulls now sit in 22 place, just one point behind Rovers. On-loan striker Jayden Stockley should be available for this match, after receiving treatment for a calf injury at his parent club. Winger Jordan Chapell has a toe injury, picked up during the win at Dagenham, but the manager is optimistic that the player will be available. Opposition view: Manager Alan Knill said: âNow the challenge is to stay unbeaten for a spell, especially over Christmas. âIt was just so important to be out of the bottom two at Christmas. Two wins on the bounce is something we havenât managed before. âIt certainly makes my Christmas Day better â and my wifeâs as well! Weâve had two wins against two really good teams, and this one was well deserved again I thought." John Wardâs Comments: âI will have full respect for Torquay, and we will have to play well again. Our present form suggests that we can and that is something we have to work hard to replicate. âIf we have a disappointment at Torquay, similar to that we had at Morecambe, we could slip back down again. âIt is really tight, and really close, and anyone who can collect a few points over this Christmas period is going to be lifted up the table a little bit. âWhat we donât have is that game on January 4th in the league anymore, so the two away games coming up are going to be very important.â Last Meeting: The last meeting between the two teams came at the end of last season. Matt Harrold returned from injury to come off the bench and score in the final minute to gain Rovers a point in a 3-3 draw. Team News: John Ward will have Tom Lockyer back from suspension. Tickets: This match is all ticket and sales have now finished. Please do not travel to the game without a ticket. REMINDER - this is a 1pm kick off! Listen Live: Unable to make the trip to Plainmoor tomorrow? Then you can follow all the action from 1pm as Bristol Rovers take on Portsmouth LIVE on Gas Player. Betting: Rovers are 19/10 to pick up all three points tomorrow. You can get 6/1 on Matt Harrold to be the first goalscorer, or 18/1 on David Clarkson to score in both halves. Bristol Rovers will benefit as you bet throughout the season, so make sure you open your Sky Bet account via www.skybet.com/bristolrovers Join the £5 Free Bet Club you get a FREE £5 BET every week - Place a £5 accumulator on any sport with combined odds of 5/1 or more before midnight Sunday. Your £5 free bet will then be credited by 7pm Monday for you to use on any sport.
United v Rovers (from the Torquay end) Our previous game with Bristol Rovers on the final day of last season produced a sensational 3-3 draw and a wonderful atmosphere inside Plainmoor. The same opposition arrive at TQ1 on Boxing Day and manager Alan Knill is bursting for an opportunity to prolong our winning run to three games in the first of our local derbies over Christmas. Six points have lifted the Gulls off the bottom of League 2 and Yellow eyes are now casting up the division. ‘’The big thing with that game against Rovers at the end of last season was the atmosphere,’’ said Alan. ‘’Just before that, we’d played Barnet in a night game and the atmosphere was really good but you don’t always get that on a Saturday. ‘’I remember being in the dug-out and feeling the difference in atmosphere. There were plenty of Bristol Rovers fans in the ground and, like the Plymouth game last month, it makes our supporters louder. ‘’I expect another real good atmosphere on Boxing Day and it’s great that all our Christmas games are against local opposition. I’m looking forward to all of them because these are the ones that generate a great occasion. ‘’We are working hard to try and get ourselves out of the position we’ve put ourselves in. Two wins and two good performances create momentum. ‘’We’ve had good performances before but now we’re coming away with the points, and you can see how important it is. If we hadn’t taken anything over the last two games, things would be difficult. ‘’We now we’re making it tough for teams that probably thought they had a comfortable bridge between the bottom of the league and around 15th or 16th. ‘’It’s not so comfortable now and credit to the players because this division is so tight. You have to take each game as it comes and we’re focussed on Bristol Rovers. ‘’If we keep the same level of performance, we give ourselves a great chance and then we plan again for Exeter on Sunday.’’
Attacking Options Growing For Torquay THE outstanding form of John Marquis has been given a further boost by the return to fitness for fellow-loan striker Jayden Stockley. Marquis had led the line brilliantly in United’s three-man attack for the last two games and now Jayden has recovered from a calf problem, manager Alan Knill has different attacking options to explore. It also means we can revert to a conventional 4-4-2 formation when needed and Alan also has the likes of Elliot Benyon and Karl Hawley waiting in the wings. ‘’Jayden came back into training yesterday,’’ said Alan. ‘’It was unfortunate for him to injure his calf and we thought it would be a quick turnaround, but he then felt his back. ‘’We’re glad to have him back, looking strong and fit. It gives us more options. We’re playing John on his own at the moment and trying to get people around him, but Jayden gives us a different option if we need to stay that shape. ‘’Alternatively, the two can play together and we also have Elliot and Karl as different options. We now have a couple of systems we can play and plenty of strikers to choose from. ‘’We’ve got the two smaller ones and two big ones. Any squad needs four strikers and options on the bench for that crucial area of the pitch.’’
Bloody hope so especially after a great result against Pompey really need to win this one but I'm sticking with my 2-2 draw.
