All the news and build up to Saturdays game will appear on this thread And if anyone is around then its also the match day thread The poll will close on Feb 12, 2016 at 4:53 PM.
A different option for the poll this time around is the chance to change your vote At the moment I'm going for 2-2
Seen this on our supporters club site.... http://bristolroverssc.co.uk/2016/02/07/no-goal-glut/ Portsmouth may have lost some home matches recently but the Goals Against column is pretty impressive. The list blow contains the LAST 11 Home League results. Only THREE GOALS let in during this spell. Sat 6th February 2016 Portsmouth 0 v 1 Leyton Orient Sat 23rd January 2016 Portsmouth 0 v 1 Oxford United Sat 2nd January 2016 Portsmouth 3 v 0 Crawley Town Mon 28th December 2015 Portsmouth 0 v 0 Luton Town Sat 12th December 2015 Portsmouth 4 v 0 Hartlepool United Sat 5th December 2015 Portsmouth 1 v 0 Accrington Stanley Tue 24th November 2015 Portsmouth 6 v 0 York City Sun 15th November 2015 Portsmouth 0 v 0 AFC Wimbledon Sat 24th October 2015 Portsmouth 0 v 0 Mansfield Town Tue 20th October 2015 Portsmouth 1 v 1 Stevenage Sat 3rd October 2015 Portsmouth 0 v 0 Yeovil Town
Conceded 3 goals at home in last 11 home games and we are struggling to score. Bet we score 5 at the weekend now
Darrell Clarke has been handed a boost by the return to fitness of goalkeeper Will Puddy. Puddy has been suffering with a difficult groin complaint for the best part of 12 months and has managed just one first-team appearance since the start of the season. That ended after 45 minutes at Dagenham on December 19 when Puddy pulled up with a related injury that has sidelined him for a further six weeks. He returned to training last week though, and Clarke confirmed: "Will would probably have made it as far as the bench if the game against Wimbledon had gone ahead on Saturday. "He suffered a grade two tear in his groin muscle at Dagenham, but his rehabilitation has gone without a hitch and he returned to full training last week." Puddy, who had taken over as Clarke's number 1 towards the end of last season, will have a fight on his hands to regain first-choice status following a return to form for Steve Mildenhall. The long-serving shot-stopper was dropped by Clarke in August and told to consider his future, but has made an impressive return since taking command between the posts again when replacing Puddy at Dagenham. "Mildy has done really well since he has come back in and has staked his claim," said Clarke. "Will being back back just gives me two good goalkeepers competing for that number 1 spot."
Bristol Rovers are delighted to announce that tickets for this weekend's game with Portsmouth are now sold out. The club would like the thank the supporters for selling out our full allocation of 2,860 tickets. Darrell Clarke's side travel to Fratton Park this Saturday (13th February) and the team is expecting a very vocal presence from all you Gasheads.
By Gerry Prewett Bristol Rovers take a trip down to face Portsmouth at Fratton Park this weekend to face one of the teams that is engaged in the battle for a promotion spot with them. After a week of not playing Rovers position on the table has become clearer and it is not all bad news. Results of teams around Rovers, since they last played has seen them drop down to fifth place. On Saturday, Accrington, Wycombe and Portsmouth were all defeated. The team who made ground and overtook Rovers was Mansfield, who won at home on Saturday and held Oxford to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday night. The Stags are now one point ahead of Rovers but have played two games more. On Saturday Pompey went down at home to Leyton Orient. The home team had a few clear-cut chances in the first half and it was Marc McNulty who had the best chance. They were made to rue their failure to score when on 53 minutes the Londoners Jay Simpson’s path to goal was blocked and the ball sat up for winger Jobi McAnuff, who fired home an unstoppable first time shot from 25 yards. Orient saw the game out comfortably for a 1-0 win. Portsmouth Manager Paul Cook admitted that his side were simply not good enough, “I thought Orient were excellent and continuously caused us problems; we were second best. They must take credit for their performance, while we have to go away and lick our wounds because we never got going.” “It was a flat display from us at a crucial stage of the season, so I have to take the criticism for that. You can’t take any positives from that and we have to regroup and make sure that we come back stronger. We always knew that it wouldn’t just be instant success when we came in at the start of the season.” “It’s a long season and there are plenty of highs and lows, the previous Saturday we were leaving the ground with plaudits ringing in our ears. The reality is that there are other good teams in this league and on this occasion we came up against one who were better than us. We’re all deeply, deeply disappointed and now it’s all how about how we react to that.” Pompey skipper Michael echoed his Boss’s sentiments, “It’s a 50-game season and unfortunately you are not going to be at your best for all those matches. You are going to have days like Saturday which none of us like.” “The fans don’t like it, as players we certainly don’t like it, but you have just got to show your character now. You need to pick yourself up and make sure you are ready to go next week because it makes the game a lot bigger than it already was.” “I don’t think we can have any complaints about Saturday. They had some chances to kill the game off and in the second half when the onus was on us we didn’t look like scoring. As a squad we are well aware recent results haven’t gone our way and have kind of tailed off. Pretty obviously we were looking for automatic promotion and now are making it really difficult for ourselves.” “I think right now all talk like that has to be put on the backburner, you have to make sure to win your next game and get out of this rut. This whole week now from today is about performance and training, making sure you bring that performance into the Bristol Rovers game and whatever you have got on your shoulders leave it behind.” “It’s about how you react to it and that is what’s going to be important now. If we show the character to get ourselves up the table next week it can go a long way in having a say in whether we get promoted.” Looking at the history of games between the clubs, in total there have been 31, with Pompey dominating, with 16 victories to Rovers 9. At Fratton in 15 matches Rovers have 2 victories to Portsmouth’s 10. The first time the teams met was on 12 February 1921 when Portsmouth won their home game 1-0, one week later the teams fought out a 2-2 draw at Eastville. A most remarkable game took place on 6 February 1960 at Fratton Park in a Second Division game. Two goals by Ron Saunders and others by Harry Harris and Reg Cutler gave the home team 4 goals. However doubles by Peter Hooper and Dai Ward along with an own goal by Ron Howells led to a 5-4 away win. That victory was Rovers last at Portsmouth. One player who is happy to be getting some game time at Pompey is Sheffield United loanee Kieron Freeman, “It was brilliant to get the chance to play because I hadn't had 90 minutes in more than two months. But I got the opportunity to go out there in front of an excellent crowd and I thoroughly enjoyed it.” “When my agent told me about the interest from this club it was something I couldn't really turn down. With the support and what people are trying to achieve here, it's something I'm happy to be a part of. We have to go into next Saturday's test against Bristol Rovers full of confidence and ready to go again.” Former Rovers target Matt Tubbs has moved on to National League side Eastleigh on a 93-day loan. The 31-year-old had this season scored five goals in 17 appearances for Paul Cook’s side. However, he failed to make a Blues first-team squad after October 31 following, firstly, injury and then the form of others. Young striker Conor Chaplin, who Tubbs took under his wing said, “I was very close to Tubbsy, he was one of my best mates here. He’s the best finisher I have ever played with. We were doing a shooting drill the other day and he’s at an angle 18-yards out on the corner of the box and produced a Rabona to send it over the keeper and into the far corner.” “It was the best goal I have ever seen in my life and Kal Naismith will back me up on that! Wherever Tubbsy goes he will score goals, he is a natural-born scorer. I have learnt a lot from him. At Northampton in December I scored my goal from what I had worked on with Tubbsy on the training ground and the positions he has told me to take up.” “We always did shooting together after training with some of the other lads and whenever he felt he needed to offer me tips he would help me out. He has been really good for me since he came to Pompey, made me a better player, and I have scored a goal following advice he has given.” Pompey’s inconsistent form has frustrated Paul Cook and he points to their failure to string league victories together as costing them dear. Of League Two’s top eight, only Pompey have so far failed to triumph in more than two successive matches. In comparison, leaders Northampton are presently on a six-game winning run to leave them 16 points ahead of Pompey. They previously picked up five straight victories until their December encounter with Cook’s men, which yielded a rare defeat. In total, Chris Wilder’s team have won 11 of their last 12 matches in League Two to reign at the top. Plymouth Argyle occupy second spot and have twice embarked on league periods of four consecutive triumphs, last occurring in December/January. Derek Adams’ side also collected three-in-a-row in August following a 2-1 loss to Pompey at Home Park. They are presently nine points clear of the play-off spots, although have one win from their last four league fixtures. Until Tuesday night Oxford United had won three of their last five league encounters, including beating the Blues. The U’s have tasted victory in three successive matches on two different occasions so far, underpinning their sustained promotion push. Cook will be looking to see his team put in a strong performance in what should be an exciting game.
I agree with the Pompey manager that the result of today's game is not the defining moment for either team this season. There are a lot of games left and its not always the case that the best team wins and picks up the points. However as the game will be played between what are probably two of the best four teams in the league, whichever team picks up the three points today will get one hell of an adrenelin rush and massive confidence boost. It is a very important game IMO!!
Fifa predicted Rovers to be losing 2-0 at half time. But then 2 goals from Taylor and a late late winner from Fallon wins Rovers the game 3-2!!!!
Whoever wins today, that momentum could very well be the thing that breaks them into the top 3 come the end of the season.
We take an in-depth look at today's opponents! Bristol Rovers go into today's game looking to put some space between themselves and play-off rivals Portsmouth. Rovers: Darrell Clarke's men will be looking to secure a valuable three points after having last weekends fixture with AFC Wimbledon postponed. Team News: Willy Puddy looks like the clubs only absentee. Darrell's View:”They are all tough games but this one will be even tougher because of the quality of the side that they have down there. "The pedigree of the club is right up there with the best having been in the Premier League and winning the FA Cup but we don't fear anyone and will be looking to get all three points." Opposition: Today's opponents Portsmouth currently sit in 8th position in the Sky Bet League Two table two points adrift of Darrell Clarke's men however Pompey have been stuttering in the league of late, picking up only one point from their last nine on offer including two losses at Fratton Park at the hands of Oxford United and Leyton Orient. Dangerman - Gareth Evans: The dynamic winger joined Pompey in July 2015 having left Fleetwood at the end of the previous campaign and has been in fine goalscoring form hitting the back of the net seven times this season including a first half strike at the Mem back in September. Last Time Out: Jayden Stockley's second half goal secured all three points for Pompey after Jermaine Easter canceled out Gareth Evans opener. Tickets: Today's game is ALL TICKET for away supporters with Rovers selling their full allocation of 2,860 tickets. Keeping Up With The Game: Full match commentary of Rovers game with Portsmouth can be heard through Gas PlayerHD. Supporters can access our LIVE match coverage by clicking here. Alternatively, stay tuned to the club’s social media outlets. Bristol Rovers found on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your match day fix and make sure you use #BristolRovers! Betting: The Football League’s primary sponsors have priced the game up with Rovers available at 13/5, Portsmouth at 11/10 with the draw available at 23/10. Bristol Rovers and SkyBet Promote Responsible Gambling for over 18s only. Prices correct at time of writing and subject to change. www.gambleaware.co.uk.
