Bristol Rovers Vs Northampton Town, Sky Bet League 2, Saturday 31st August 2013, Kick Off 3:00pm please log in to view this image VS please log in to view this image
We haven't lost to Northampton in our last six meetings at the Mem so I think we can keep this little run going for me I'm going for a well fought 2-1 victory with JJOT and Clarkson scoring for us.
Early Bird 09:12 28th August 2013 save £2 on normal match day prices Fans are being reminded that they have until 5pm on Friday to get their Early Bird tickets for Saturday's League Two fixture against Northampton. Supporters can save £2 on normal match day prices by buying their tickets in advance. Rovers recorded their first win of the season against York at the Memorial Stadium last Saturday, and will be hoping to make it back to back victories this weekend. Tickets are still available from either of the clubs' two retail outlets - Pirate Leisure at the Memorial Stadium and the Supporters Club shop in Kingswood.
Mmm tricky one this. Northampton will be stronger than York so I'm going for 1-1, preserving our unbeaten home record.
i got us down for a 3-0 win optimistic i know. but with brunt fitter and gill, kenneth and harrold all due back..... competition in places and a win on our last game and the players will want to show ward that they want to be involved in the derby game.
fatty akenfenwa no longer plays for them. he got most of their goals last season. doubt they will be play off contenders this year
Manager on this weekend's game Bristol Rovers will be looking to put back to back wins together when Northampton Town visit the Memorial Stadium this weekend. Manager John Ward said: “Back to back wins would be nice. We got the first one, which was the main thing to do – you always want to get your first win and to get it at home is important. “Now we have to do it again and it carries on. We have to keep trying to keep that form up, especially in front of goal.” The manager was able to call upon Ryan Brunt last weekend following his return from injury, and this week we should see Matt Harrold in the squad as the injury crisis finally begins to lessen. John said: “Getting Ryan Brunt back was a big thing, and we have Matt Harrold back this weekend as well. “He played an hour in the reserve game on Tuesday and providing Thursday and Friday are free from any repercussions from him we will get him back in the squad, which gives us a bit more seniority. “If he is fit and well he will definitely be in the squad, and if he needs to play, he will play. “Ollie Clarke is considering coming back in the next couple of weeks and we have Seanan Clucas up at St George this week and sees his specialist the week after. “Suddenly there is a bit of seniority coming back in and we have strengthened the squad. Jim Paterson gets his leg brace off at the end of this week, and he can start pushing on next week.” And thankfully Eliot Richards’ hamstring injury does not seem as serious as first thought. John said: “Eliot looked like he had pinged his hamstring, but we don’t think the injury is as serious as we first thought. “We are not looking at six weeks anymore, we are probably going to push him on at the beginning of next week and have him back for the week after.” John is expecting a tough test from Northampton – managed by his good friend Aidy Boothroyd. He said: “We saw them play last week and my scout report said they played pretty well and didn’t deserve to get beat. “I know Aidy Boothroyd very well, he is a friend of mine. He will have his time fired up and they will be strong and attack minded. “They will work hard at getting forward and we have to try and combat that and see if we can get up the other end. It will be an entertaining game, no doubt about that.”
Bristol Rovers striker Matt Harrold is set to return to the squad after recovering from a groin problem. But forward Eliot Richards (hamstring) has now joined the club's extensive injury list and will be out for a number of weeks. VIEWS FROM THE TRAINING GROUND Bristol Rovers manager John Ward told BBC Radio Bristol: "Aidy Boothroyd will have his team fired up and they will be strong. "They will be attack-minded. They won't come here and sit five in midfield and not go forward. "We've got to compete and combat that and see if we can get down the other end."
A look ahead to tomorrow's game Bristol Rovers' game against Northampton Town this weekend will give the home team the opportunity to record back to back victories for the first time this season. John Ward will be hoping that the victory over York will provide a springboard for his team as the league table starts to take some shape. Northampton have picked up just 3 points from their 4 league games this season from a 3-1 victory over Newport County. There is some concern that the East Midland’s team may be suffering some sort of hang-over after losing out 3-0 to Bradford City in last season’s Play-Off Final. Town's number 10 Roy O'Donovan insists that isn’t the case, with 8 new players in the squad, he said: “We've got a different team. It's not a hangover - just the team gelling and making mistakes at the wrong time." Last weekend the Sixfields club went down 2-1 at home to Torquay. The home team had been given a 30 minute lead from a Jacob Blyth header and that’s how it stayed until 20 minutes from the end when there was a double whammy from the Gull’s Jordan Chappell. On 72 minutes Chappell put the ball past the Cobbler’s custodian and former Bradford City keeper Matt Duke for the equalizer as his team broke quickly from defence. Then just 6 minutes later Chappell was picked out by a Callum Ball pass to once again beat Duke. Speaking after the game O’Donovan said, "That's the most frustrating game of football I've played in a long time. You can make all the excuses you want but we've got to start gelling quicker now and learn from our mistakes. "We looked dominant. We looked strong and in control and we blew it in the second half. We sat too deep and the goals came from our attacks - that's the most frustrating part." As members of the old Third Division (South) Rovers have a long tradition of games against the Cobblers. There have been some stirring games but perhaps none bring such painful memories than the Cobblers’ 1997/98 Play-off Semi-Final victory. In the first meeting between the clubs in 1907/08 season Rovers ran out 1-0 winners at the County Ground on 11 January 1908. In the first four post-World War II meetings between the teams the away team won the lot! The 1989/90 Championship season probably summed up the difference between a winning and losing team. In the game at Twerton Park on 29th October 1989, Bobby Brown was running the Rovers defence ragged and the undefeated home record looked in danger. Goals by Devon White and Paul Nixon had the game tied at 2-2. Late in the game Devon White was controversially brought down in the box and Holloway converted the penalty to give the Gas an unlikely lead. Then with the seconds ticking away an unlucky Trevor Quow guided a clearance into his own net to give the final score of 4-2. It was all 6 points to Rovers largely due to their 'never say die' spirit, after another Ian Holloway penalty secured a 2-1 win at the County Ground. The previous time Rovers had 'done the double' over the Cobblers was back in 1967/68 season. Two goals in the home game by Stuart Taylor secured the points at Eastville. However it was the game at the County Ground that had been so remarkable. Rovers’ away record was nothing to shout about, of their first 7 away games they had won 1 drawn 2 and lost 4, the Cobblers had won 5 of their previous 6 games. Converted Left Half (Remember them? They used to wear number 6) Ray Mabbutt had a field day in the County Ground mud. Frank Large gave the home team an early lead but Rovers were quickly level when a Johnny Williams pile driver was parried by Harvey straight to Mabbutt, who stabbed the ball home. Soon after Large was brought down in the box and Mackin scored from the spot. It fell to Bobby Jones scoring against his old club to restore Rovers to parity. A 30-yard shot from Johnny Williams gave Rovers a 3-2 lead but that man Large made sure things were all square by half time. It was some while into the second-half before the goals started to roll in again, Mabbutt accepting a simple tap in before Large scored the Cobblers fourth goal and completed his hat trick. Not to be outdone Mabbutt scored once more to complete the only hat trick of his career and to give Rovers an incredible 5-4 away win. Rovers biggest ever win over the Midlanders was a 7-1 result on 16 January 1935. Wally McArthur, George McNestry (2 including a penalty), Jimmy McCambridge, Bert Taylor (2) and Irvine Harwood all scored for Rovers, with Tom Bell scoring for Northampton. Looking at those 1997/98 Play-Off Semi-Finals, having secured a 3-1 home win many Rovers fans were already booking tickets for Wembley. However the Cobblers thought (quite rightly, as it turned out) that their away goal, scored late in the game, would be crucial. So it turned out to be. Results in the West Country generally favour Rovers with 18 victories and 11 defeats in the 43 games played. Rovers have won the last 3 games played in Bristol, including their first home win of the season last year a 3-1 victory on 6 October. Before the half hour mark, Northampton were down to 10 men after Anthony Charles was sent off after holding Riordan back. Three players scored their first Bristol Rovers goal in that game, where no goals were recorded until the 53rd minute. Tom Eaves netted the opener from close in, before Garry Kenneth doubled the lead minutes later from an Eliot Richards corner. Adebayo Akinfenwa pulled one back for the Cobblers heading home from a long Ben Tozer throw, but Oliver Norburn rounded off the scoring with a glancing header from a Lee Brown cross. Following that Play-Off defeat, Cobbler’s Boss and former Gas player Aidy Boothroyd did not rest on his laurels. He looked for a different style of play, speaking before the season kicked-off, he said, "I'm not a purist, but I do believe in good attacking football. I think we've got variety now. "I'm not going to start saying you'll see Barcelona at Sixfields, but certainly we are looking to play a different game. What we've got is players who can handle a ball. I have gone on record to say that a domineering centre-half is crucial to their promotion chances but now I think priority must be given to finding that elusive goal-scoring striker. "That's not to say the ones before couldn't, but these are a little bit better than anything I've ever had, particularly in the midfield. "I can't do anything about people's perceptions. We think the grass is greener over the side of the channel and their way is the best way to play. But I think the English way is the best way to play, as long as we realise it's about coming up with a strategy and a structure. I like penetrative football, whether it be on the floor or in the air." Since the season has got underway he has started to look at bolstering his defence, "We may need some new blood to toughen us up a bit. Every team needs that balance of artists and soldiers and we haven't got that balance right yet." He continued: "You can't have a load of fancy dans because at some point or other they'll be found wanting in the physical side. And you can only get so far with a team of brutes. I've highlighted a couple of players and it's just a matter of whether we can do something. "In the first few games we've beaten ourselves, which is irritating from a managerial point of view. We're creating chances but we're not defending with the intensity I want us to consistently enough and I would prefer us to be more threatening at set-plays. "Bristol Rovers are similar to us in many ways. They have been missing some players but they are coming back now and it should be a good game. I know John Ward well, I worked with him at Colchester and I have a lot of respect for John. I also know John Joe O'Toole, who I had at Colchester and Watford. He is a good player, but they have a number of good players and it will be a tough game." Boothroyd’s assessment of the nature of the game will almost certainly be mirrored by John Ward. With Matt Harrold keen to get back into the fray for the first time he will have the kind of selection problem he is relishing after David Clarkson’s double against York.
Clarkson and Brunt to start upfront IMO, with Harrold replacing Brunt on the hour to net the winner...... I hope!
Kenneth comes on with 15 minutes to go and all is forgiven as he powers in a header to win the game for Rovers!
Up against a stereotypical big and 'ard L2 side...and we won! Good to see Lockyer score...and we dug in and held on. After the trash we've seen in recent seasons 100% commitment and a win will do for me.
[video=youtube;57dXYbl7RqY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=57dXYbl7RqY[/video]
delighted with 3 points. delighted with a clean sheet. we did well, scored a good goal, defended well, stayed strong, great to see harrold back, hope brunt is ok, clarkson took a lot of bad tackles hopefully he is ok. blackthorn end was near its best. ref was poor. played 5, won 2, drew 1, lost 2, scored 5 and conceded 5. not a bad start considering the players we have had out. good things is they are returning. compare the bench from the 1st game of the season to todays game (5th game).... vs exeter:- gough, southway, keary, lockyer, santos and hunter vs northampton:- gough, kenneth, gill, harding, santos, richards and harrold things are looking up. clucas should be backing in a few weeks apparently as well!
