Tonight's game has made me feel relieved that Clough never made it with us. Another thug at Forest Green it appears...
A good night sleep and watching the incidents again..... I am not impressed at all. The ref last night was the same ref we had when we faced FGR in our home league game that we lost 1-0 and he sent off Leadbitter that game too. 2 games against FGR and both games he sends off our player. Last night, Harrisons 1st booking was for something the ref didnt even see. Replays showed it happened behind the ref and he didnt discuss anything with his assistants. With what happened both Harrison and the FGR player was booked but neither should have been booked. Ref presumed something happened and booked them both. Should had been just a warning. Harrisons 2nd yellow was for a challenge on the keeper. Eyes were on the ball and has a right to go for. Hardly any contact was made and the keeper fell to the ground like he had been shot. Harrison maybe shouldnt had put himself up with the keeper but then we all would had moaned that he didnt try. But where is the consistancy? How were both incidents a yellow meaning a red but.... Clough's in the 1st half drove his forearm into Taylors neck and got away with it. Ref didnt even give a foul. Commentators of BT sports thought that was very poor. Clough should had been booked minimum with that. Then in the 2nd half Clough kicked Puddy for no reason. Only a yellow. Commentators of BT sports thought it was a straight red and it happened strait in front of the ref as well. So how was Harrisons challenge with the FGR keeper deemed the same punishment (both yellows) as Clough's kick on Puddy? Lets say both Harrisons were actual yellow offences. Then Cloughs 1st half challenge on Taylor should have been a yellow and his kick on Puddy should have been a straight red. Instead Harrison is sent off and Clough remained on the pitch and hit the cross bar in injury time. Not impressed at all.
First opportunity I've had to report............ Our end full and noisy. A group of about three dozen had managed to access the terracing to the right of us. The stewards accepted this and made a token barrier. Only at the end was it clear that there were loads of our fans in the seats to our left. They'd 'controlled themselves' during the game but erupted at the end! I stood next to a fan who travels from NORWICH for every home and away game!!!!!!! We bossed the first half-hour. Never thought Taylor would get it in from that angle. But their goalie had an inspired spell...we could have gone in 2/3/4 up. Second half more even. Referee got progressively worse after a reasonable first half. In the last twenty minutes he made decisions which didn't make sense to either side! Although it may be harsh that Harrison got sent off, but he does go looking for it! Silly things ....tapping the ball away before a free kick.....backchatting. He has to learn. His reaction when sent off in some sports would bring further punishment. Before the game a 1-0 win would have been acceptable...but it could have been more. It's certainly not over yet. For Sunday, without Harrison, I'd leave Taylor up front and bring Clarke/Sinclair into a five man midfield, giving Lines licence to get forward.
If the ref did not speak to clough then maybe the FA will take retrospective action like they did with Diego Costa of Chelsea, or as it/s Bristol Rovers maybe they will not bother may be the club should contact the people that deal with these offences and get them to look into the offence. The match was televised and the incident picked by the commentators so the evidence should be able to be obtained
issue is, if ref seen it which he did and chose the punishment of just a yellow then its already been dealt with. Cant see anything happen now. Plus thinking about it, I rather see Clough start instead of Coles
If I was DC I would put Leadbitter RW and move Gosling over to LW and put Monkhouse up top with Taylor. Have to go 2 up front. With Leadbitter starting we could easily go 5 at the back (with Leadbitter going RB and Lockyer moving central in a 3 man CB). when under pressure and we will be under pressure. Leadbitter is pretty fit and looks good when attacking. Having just 1 up front invites pressure and Taylor on his own won win many headers when route 1 happens so will always be handing possession over to FGR. Sinclair is out as had a set back with his injury.
Good post match interview with DC. Handles the Harrison situation well. I liked how he ended the interview. That gave me confidence that I needed as Sunday will be very hard.
Im watching the other semi final - Eastleigh vs Grimsby. Currently 1-0 to Grimsby after 2 minutes. Could have been 3-0 before the 7th minute! Great save denied a 2nd goal and the post from a sitter chance denied the 3rd. Its all Grimsby!
Grimsby won 2-1. Both away teams in the semi's won their 1st leg and have 1 foot in to the final. All though very much to play for on Sunday. Will the ex football league sides kill off the sugar daddies in the 2nd leg or will the village idiots step it up and cause a shock?
A quick look at tomorrow's opponents! Bristol Rovers go into tonight's fixture looking to build on their 0-1 win over Forest Green on Wednesday. Rovers: Darrell Clarke's men will be looking to secure passage to Wembley and the Play-Off Final on the 17th May. Team News: Only Jermaine Easter and Neal Trotman are long term absentees for the fixture. Darrell's View: "We will go there in a confident mood but at the same time having respect for Forest Green because they've got very good players that can hurt you. "They've been in the top five all season so it is going to be a very tough task but we will be going into the game looking forward to the challenge. Opposition: Forest Green Rovers go into the game a goal down and will need to score at least twice at the Mem to win the game within the 90 minutes. Dangerman - Jon Parkin: The journeyman forward failed to hit the back of the net on Wednesday night but he is Forest Green's top goal scorer this season with 25 goals in the league with the most recent coming against away at Gateshead two weeks ago where the striker scored a brace with the second coming from the penalty spot. Last Time Out: 10 man Rovers went the distance and kept a clean sheet after Matty Taylor's 17th minute strike opened the scoring.
11am opening time for bars at the stadium! Bristol Rovers would like to announce that the bars at the Memorial Stadium will be open from 11am tomorrow. Darrell Clarke's men take on Forest Green Rovers in the second leg of their play-off semi-final with a 12:45pm kick off. However, the bars around the stadium will be open from 11am but due to the early kick off there will be no happy hour.
