Progression

[Butchers Red]

Another disappointing and harsh defeat against the run of play,every one of the Rovers put in a decent shift without any reward -  and again there were still some positives as the rebuilding process continues;

Jay McGrath - Hugely impressive debut - won every challenge both in the air and on the deck, looked so at ease and comfortable with everything and clearly lots more in the tank - great left footed long range passes. Best all round performance by a Rovers Centre Back for many seasons was that. Surely he and Bailey who yet again was superb will now stay together as the heart of our defence.

Billy Waters - Much more orthodox than Faal and probably more consistent - Showed all his experience with lots of good,intelligent runs down the channels many of which were found by his team mates, controlled every ball that came into him well and when blocked off retained possession with nice passing and quick feet,rather than running into blind alleys and losing possession as many others do. Complements Ironside and pressed very well as the first line of defence and it's easy to see how he will be a reliable 15 goal a season player

Matthew Craig  Took him 20 minutes or so to get up to speed but showed plenty of pace,power and an eye for a slide rule pass - looks to have all the attributes and for sure is an upgrade in quality.

And at last when Kyle Hurst came on he looked to have rediscovered some confidence and was taking them on and getting decent balls in - looked a real threat once again - how we have missed his "star quality"this season, whilst he may never match Molyneux's work rate - for sure he will always outscore and out assist him , immense potential in that lad.
 
Lastly , credit to Biggins who came on and showed some real fight and passion, clearly the lad is fighting for his shirt and in my view has something to offer still.

So Wigan in the Cup - Bradford away followed by Stockport at home all in the next fortnight. It would be typical of our season for us to win all 3 - but results apart, I hope Bailey and McGrath stay paired up against those 3 sides with formidable centre forward pairings - still lots to enjoy this season.

RTID

[Peebles Rover]

Nice to read a positive post from yesterday :-)

[In the box]

McCann is riding his luck of the support he has from all sides of the club , but it’s results that we need and it’s his performance in the training pitch that needs to be examined . Tactically we look vague and uncertain as to where our best opportunities are to get results . Defensively we are still not command in our our own box , but it’s upfront where our real problems are . Not scoring enough when we’re in top !!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

A fair assessment I think there Butchers.

Yes, I forgot to mention Hurst who did some good things when he came on.

McGraths missed header for the goal was the only downside to his debut and is typical of our luck in defence this season while the same luck seems to desert us at the other end.

Definitely like what I saw from Waters who could prove to be more valuable to us than any unlocked potential of Faal.

As you say, Craig gradually got more involved so we hope he'll develop more understanding with his team mates and show more of what he can do.

Alas with Broadbent and Biggins, it's a case of them putting the effort in but not quite there in their overall performance, which is reflected in the teams overall performance.

It was good to hear Bailey in his post match interview refusing to be downbeat, at least providing some belief the squad will keep on fighting.

[Butchers Red]

A fair assessment I think there Butchers.

Yes, I forgot to mention Hurst who did some good things when he came on.

McGraths missed header for the goal was the only downside to his debut and is typical of our luck in defence this season while the same luck seems to desert us at the other end.

Definitely like what I saw from Waters who could prove to be more valuable to us than any unlocked potential of Faal.

As you say, Craig gradually got more involved so we hope he'll develop more understanding with his team mates and show more of what he can do.

Alas with Broadbent and Biggins, it's a case of them putting the effort in but not quite there in their overall performance, which is reflected in the teams overall performance.

It was good to hear Bailey in his post match interview refusing to be downbeat, at least providing some belief the squad will keep on fighting.

Bailey is a future Captain for sure, and a midfield of Close / Westbrooke and Craig would be a game changer at this level - without wanting to split hairs on their goal - having watched it a few times I don't think McGrath "missed" it - the ball was simply too high for him to reach despite climbing as high as he could.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

A fair assessment I think there Butchers.

Yes, I forgot to mention Hurst who did some good things when he came on.

McGraths missed header for the goal was the only downside to his debut and is typical of our luck in defence this season while the same luck seems to desert us at the other end.

Definitely like what I saw from Waters who could prove to be more valuable to us than any unlocked potential of Faal.

As you say, Craig gradually got more involved so we hope he'll develop more understanding with his team mates and show more of what he can do.

Alas with Broadbent and Biggins, it's a case of them putting the effort in but not quite there in their overall performance, which is reflected in the teams overall performance.

It was good to hear Bailey in his post match interview refusing to be downbeat, at least providing some belief the squad will keep on fighting.

Bailey is a future Captain for sure, and a midfield of Close / Westbrooke and Craig would be a game changer at this level - without wanting to split hairs on their goal - having watched it a few times I don't think McGrath "missed" it - the ball was simply too high for him to reach despite climbing as high as he could.

I'm not blaming him, he was millimetres out. Any touch on that and it goes to safety. It's just another one to add to the unlucky column.

[Filo]

A fair assessment I think there Butchers.

Yes, I forgot to mention Hurst who did some good things when he came on.

McGraths missed header for the goal was the only downside to his debut and is typical of our luck in defence this season while the same luck seems to desert us at the other end.

Definitely like what I saw from Waters who could prove to be more valuable to us than any unlocked potential of Faal.

As you say, Craig gradually got more involved so we hope he'll develop more understanding with his team mates and show more of what he can do.

Alas with Broadbent and Biggins, it's a case of them putting the effort in but not quite there in their overall performance, which is reflected in the teams overall performance.

It was good to hear Bailey in his post match interview refusing to be downbeat, at least providing some belief the squad will keep on fighting.

Bailey is a future Captain for sure, and a midfield of Close / Westbrooke and Craig would be a game changer at this level - without wanting to split hairs on their goal - having watched it a few times I don't think McGrath "missed" it - the ball was simply too high for him to reach despite climbing as high as he could.

Agree the cross was too high for him.
Biggins made it far too easy for the crosser to get the cross in, stood too far off him, and Nixon allowed the goalscorer to get in front of him. But after creating numerous chances we all knew what was going to happen and it did happen

[GazLaz]

A fair assessment I think there Butchers.

Yes, I forgot to mention Hurst who did some good things when he came on.

McGraths missed header for the goal was the only downside to his debut and is typical of our luck in defence this season while the same luck seems to desert us at the other end.

Definitely like what I saw from Waters who could prove to be more valuable to us than any unlocked potential of Faal.

As you say, Craig gradually got more involved so we hope he'll develop more understanding with his team mates and show more of what he can do.

Alas with Broadbent and Biggins, it's a case of them putting the effort in but not quite there in their overall performance, which is reflected in the teams overall performance.

It was good to hear Bailey in his post match interview refusing to be downbeat, at least providing some belief the squad will keep on fighting.

Bailey is a future Captain for sure, and a midfield of Close / Westbrooke and Craig would be a game changer at this level - without wanting to split hairs on their goal - having watched it a few times I don't think McGrath "missed" it - the ball was simply too high for him to reach despite climbing as high as he could.

Agree the cross was too high for him.
Biggins made it far too easy for the crosser to get the cross in, stood too far off him, and Nixon allowed the goalscorer to get in front of him. But after creating numerous chances we all knew what was going to happen and it did happen

He misread the flight of the ball and missed the header. Simple as that. It was getable. He wasn’t the only culprit in the conceding of the goal though.