todays match 2022 / 23 season

I don't want to predict. If I do, I know I will jinx him and he'll get injured for the season.

 

Tonight's line up v Crawley

Belshaw, Kilgour, Hoole, Connolly, Gordon, Finley, Evans, Collins, Marquis, Loft, Anderson.

Subs

Ward, Saunders, Whelan, Jones, Greenslade, Lawrence, Sesay, White, Burden

No Telford but Nichols and Craig both play

 

4 - 2 - 3 - 1 formation Kilgour CB Hoole reverting to RB

Nichols had one shot saved and a header onto Hoole for a corner, he seems determined to score tonight

Exeter 3 goals in 5 minutes against Cheltenham

Evans booked for a foul on Ogungbo 45th minute 3 minutes to be played

Do we play extra time in the event of a draw because if we do it is going to be a long night because I can't see us scoring at present

Exeter 5 up and still playing the first half

 

Johnson replaces Conroy for Crawley HT

Loft puts the ball in the net but fouled their keeper 47th minute

Exeter 6 - 0 up

Oteh replaces Appiah 63 minute

Finley and Gordon Off Whelan and Saunders on 64th minute Anderson playing LB

Tom Nichols 73rd minute Crawley 1 - 0 Rovers who else would it have been

 

Now we are losing I think we should get some of the kids on and rest the senior players for more important matches
Sam frost says against the run of play but our strikers have gone on strike
they have just hit the post as well 78th minute

 

Since this game started this evening, I had a horrible feeling about Nichols. We were making very hard work of things by the sounds of it, and I always rated TN, even though he couldn't hit a barn door for us, for some reason! Well whatever happens now, lets just be grateful it's not a league game, move on and forget it!

 

Nadesan replaced by Balagizi 84th minute

I reckon Rovers have Approximately 5 minutes to make us endure another 30 minutes

And Massive will win again

Jones on for Kilgour 89th minute

Exeter 7 up

4 minutes added time

Loft yellow carded 89th minute

And it's all over now 1 - 0 Crawley

 

I had a feeling Crawley were going to win but I thought we would play a weakened side to rest some key players. I seen the result but I didn't realise we played a strong side. Thankfully it wasn't a league game and although I like a good cup run, so many games are coming quick and fast so squeezing in a round 2 game too with a small squad that we have, probably with hindsight it is a good thing we are out. We have Oxford next game and they beat Swansea on penalties last night so hopefully their players will be worse off than ours after competing against the Swans.

 

Current table.... Im feeling dizzy!

 

Excellent result today. Oxford are a very difficult team to beat. Well done

 

Been on the beach in Cornwall all day with zero mobile signal so only just seen this excellent result!

UTG!

 

Pablo Martinez collapsed today on the pitch during Chippingham's game vs Chelmsford. The game got abandoned and Pablo was taken to hospital. His condition is not life threatening, according to Chippenham's statement https://chippenhamtown.com/club-statement-pablo-martinez/

 

The heat was a bit much for playing a full match tbf. I know people are supposed to get used to it, but I'm actually surprised a few more people didn't flake out tbh.

 

Club statement on crowd behaviour at Oakwell.

The club is aware of an abusive and derogatory chant made by a section of the home crowd towards a female member of our staff at Tuesday’s Sky Bet League One game at Barnsley Football Club.

Bristol Rovers does not condone this behaviour and is against derogatory language used towards any member of our staff, or anyone for that matter.

Football is a game for everyone and it is our responsibility to help tackle sexism and champion the inclusion of women in sport.

We have made contact with Barnsley Football Club to raise our concerns about these chants from a section of their crowd. We feel this is an issue that needs investigating further to prevent it happening again.

Bristol Rovers will cooperate and assist with Barnsley Football Club and the relevant authorities to support them with any investigation into this incident and we support the recent launch of the EFL Together campaign to champion equality, diversity and inclusion.

 

Weird Rovers lineup and formation for today’s match - no wingers or wingbacks whatsoever.

 

Another defeat, the 7 new signings that we were promised haven't materialised, league 2 here we come, 15th in the table cannot see us getting many more points against generally better opposition.

 

Second half was much better today, and we should have had a penalty when Collins was brought down. We lost, but there were some good signs today. Much, much better than Barnsley. Hopefully some reinforcements will arrive next week...

 

Didn't watch the game, just followed on line/forums etc. Much as we all hoped to return with point(s), deep down did we really expect to? Encouraging what you say though, any noticeable improvement in our performance shows the side are learning and developing, and can only bode well for our season ahead. Personally I don't think we're going to set league 1 on fire this season, but thats fine for now, Barnsley and Portsmouth are both very hard teams to face, especially away from home, and it's good to have got these games out of the way. There are equally tough games coming up but with a little bit of luck, some decent new additions hopefully, we should be ok this season, especially as we've had an ok start and aren't playing catch up from the word go. An older and much wiser man than me once told me to look at the season in 5 game blocks, and as long as you achieve 6 points from each block (6 points from possible 15 sounds reasonable to me) then you'll end up on 55+ points and be safe. It sounds and looks so simple when you read it!!

 

The standard of refereeing is shocking. I listened to the game so can only go by radio coverage of the incidents and from what I heard from fans after the game phoning and messaging Radio Bristol, as well watching the highlights and reading peoples comments on twitter - both our fan and Portsmouth fans.

How the ref gave them their penalty seems a mystery to me. He couldn't actually see the incident himself as was blocked by a couple of players and the lineman had a perfect view and gave nothing. Yet the home fans screamed for the penalty and he gave it. It's a very soft penalty to give, especially when he was blind to the incident.
How the ref didn't award us a penalty I will never understand. He had a great view of it and bottled it in front of a big crowd. The early decision not to award Whelan a red card for what looked like a red card tackle, the home fans made it clear how they felt about the ref. The ref clearly didn't want the wrath of the home fans on his back again and gave in to award them a penalty and was too scared to award us a penalty.
Portsmouth fans have been gracious to admit on twitter that their penalty was soft and if theirs was a penalty then ours should have been given as more blatant of a foul.

We didn't deserve anything from the game. Was a bad line up and tactics to try. It failed. However, a sign of a good team is getting something from games that you don't deserve to get. At 2-1 down, a penalty to us could have made it 2-2 and who knows what could have happened but I doubt we would have lost.

 

Barton saying need 6 players. I don't think we will get 3, let alone 6. Why we are leaving it late to get them in is baffling. I get loans could be late as top clubs strengthen still so don't want to release players for loan yet but surely the 6 he wants can't all be loans right?