Rovers inability so far this season to beat the better sides in the league twice could result in them missing out on finishing runner up in the league as they suffered a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Nicholas Wanderers a side that they beat only a month ago.
The first game was a close affair and it started with Rovers going forward straight from the kick off only to see Aaron Mansfield's shot saved by the goalkeeper. The ball was quickly cleared up field and Wanderers took the lead with a good shot into the corner of the net that gave Ethan Malschuk in the Rovers goal no chance of saving. Over the next few minutes Rovers had the better of the play but good moves that they put together were spoilt by bad final passes or a lack of composure on the ball. George Cole though was unlucky when his dangerous cross was palmed to safety and Mansfield had a shot saved after the ball rebounded to him. Again though a bit more composure on the ball would have probably seen Rovers equalise. Gradually Wanderers worked their way back into the game and on one break they brought a good save out of Malschuk and on another couple of occasions they had shots that went just wide. As half time approached Rovers had a free kick which Ricky Kirby probably hit too well as it went high over the bar and following a good run by Ben O'Brien the same player saw a weak shot go wide of the goal when an extra touch may have made the chance easier.
The second half saw both sides battle hard and the first chance fell to Wanderers but came to nothing. They did though increase their lead when Malschuk pulled off a good low diving save only for the rebound to fall to their striker who was left with a simple tap in. Nathan Hewitt came close to bringing Rovers back into the game when his excellent free kick was parried to safety by the Wanderers goalkeeper. The game remained quite tight but Rovers continued to produce sloppy play when in good positions. They were though fortuitous when near the end of the game a low cross from the right by Cole was left by the keeper but it went in at the near post to give Rovers some hope.
With the first game finishing 2-1 to Wanderers all was to play for in the second game. It started though with Wanderers nearly taking an early lead as in the first game but a shot went just over the Rovers bar. The game continued to be quite even but Rovers continued to show less composure on the ball than their opponents which resulted in good moves being let down by the final pass or shots coming from distance when players had more time to get into a better position to shoot. On the one occasion that Rovers did create a half chance Morgan Wager was unlucky when his header from Alex Skuse's free kick went just over the bar. It was Wanderers though who broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when a low bobbling shot evaded Brad Davies in the Rovers goal and found the net. From the kick off Rovers produced a good move which ended up with Brad Lewis seeing his shot from the right tipped over the bar. From the resulting corner the same player saw his volley go wide so Wanderers went in with a one goal advantage at half time.
The second half started with Rovers taking off a defender and bringing on a second striker in the hope of getting back into the game but Wanderers scored the first goal of the half when a bad defensive mistake saw them score their second goal from close range. Only a minute later though an excellent run and shot by Danny Ball saw the ball parried to Ben Alexander who drove the ball home from a couple of yards to reduce the arrears. Unfortunately though as Rovers continued to press forward they were unable to create any chances mainly again due to bad passing and a lack of composure on the ball. With players caught forward this enabled Wanderers to break and score 3 more goals in the space of 5 minutes to give them a convincing 5-1 scoreline as the solitary Rovers defender was left exposed. In the last few minutes some Rovers players though did show a fighting spirit which sadly was missing from some of their colleagues. |
