Gas vs Derby

BRFC 1 Derby Co 1 - 70% - 30% - Shots 15-10 - On Target 2-5 - Corners 7-5 - Referee: Ollie Yates - Attendance: 9,388 (Away 1,293)

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Antony Evans's equaliser against Derby was his fifth goal of the season for Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers claimed a point late on at home against promotion hopefuls Derby County as Antony Evans smashed home an injury-time penalty to give them a deserved share of the spoils.

The Rams had taken a first-half lead through David McGoldrick but Rovers kept pushing and were eventually rewarded when Evans was pulled down in the box late on and then showed nerves of steel to convert the penalty in front of the Thatchers End deep into stoppage time.

The first chance of the game had fallen to the away side as McGoldrick got in down the left wing and flashed a dangerous-looking cross with the outside of his boot towards the near post that Belshaw was alert to gather.

The Rams scored soon after when McGoldrick found himself with time and space in the Rovers box and he picked his spot to fire low past Belshaw to give them the early lead on four minutes.

The first chance for the Gas came with fifteen minutes played when Collins won a free kick off Jason Rooney 30 yards from goal. Captain Sam Finley floated the ball in but in the end, it came to nothing.

The best chance then came a minute later when Bogarde lifted a through ball over the Derby backline that Scott Sinclair managed to get on the end off but he couldn’t pick out a shot from the edge of the six-yard box. Finley followed up and saw his shot blocked.

Rovers should have equalised when Sinclair intercepted a back pass and rounded Joe Wildsmith and his cross-cum-shot towards the back post landed at the feet of Harry Anderson with time and space, but he could only smash the ball against the post.

The Gas were certainly growing into the game and just before the half-hour mark had another good chance to level the scores. Bogarde, who was controlling play in midfield, switched the ball across to Lewis Gordon who then broke forward with pace. He made it inside the box and then faked an initial shot and slipped past the first challenge, before being dispossessed at the last minute, with him lining up a shot.

The Gas continued pushing for the equaliser before the half-time interval. Bogarde dribbled past a number of challenges and then played the ball out wide where Collins was waiting. The Welshman cut inside and curled a shot that was deflected wide from a corner but Rovers couldn’t force a chance from the resulting set play.

A late free kick in added time at the end of the first half was floated in by Sinclair which Lewis Gibson headed on but Wildsmith gathered easily as the Rovers trailed by one heading into the break.

Rovers started the second half on the front foot and Grant Ward had an early shot that cleared the crossbar two minutes in.

Minutes later Sinclair whipped in a dangerous cross that Collins was inches away from getting a head to it From the loose ball Bogarde drew a free kick as Eiran Cashin was booked for a late tackle. Sinclair curled over from the resulting free kick.

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The Gas came once more, this time it was Gordon who picked up the ball out wide on the left flank and chipped in a dangerous cross. Luca Hoole fired a shot that deflected out on the box to Ward, although his quick-thinking attempt with the outside of his boot from the edge of the area went narrowly over.

There was a moment of panic at the back for the Gas as James Collins appeared to get goal side of Gibson but the Rovers’ defender managed to get back and clear his lines.

Straight up the other end, there was yet another good chance for the Gas as some intricate play in the final third once again saw them break the Derby defensive lines as Gordon chipped in a cross towards the back post that Sinclair headed just over from close range.

Collins then dribbled half the length of the pitch after an attacking corner had been cleared upfield, only for substitute Craig Forsyth to cynically pulled back down after having been nutmegged.

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Rovers were by far the most dominant team in the second half and seemed to be producing good chances every couple of minutes. A searching ball from Connolly was magnificently controlled in the box by Ryan Loft and the substitute then spun in behind but fired over with Wildsmith well beaten.

Harvey White then tried to catch out Belshaw from a corner at the near post but the Rovers’ keeper parried the ball away.

With just over ten minutes to play Loft dribbled past Haydon Roberts and found himself in the box but couldn’t get a shot off.

With Rovers pushing forward there were always going to be spaces at the back and Belshaw had to be alert to push away a powerful shot from McGoldrick on the counterattack.

Rovers were given a late opportunity to equalise when Evans was hauled down in the box. He then dusted himself off to smash the ball home and at last the Gas had what they deserved from their afternoon’s work.

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In the final seconds of the game, McGoldrick found himself one on one with Belshaw but the Rovers keeper came up with a big save to deny the Rams’ forward and give Rovers a share of the points.

Next up for the Gas is Sheffield Wednesday at the Mem on Tuesday 18th April with a 19:45 kick-off time.

Rovers: James Belshaw, James Connolly, Lewis Gordon, Sam Finley (c), Scott Sinclair, Grant Ward, Aaron Collins, Lewis Gibson, Harry Anderson, Lamare Bogarde, Luca Hoole

Subs: Jed Ward, John Marquis, Ryan Loft, Antony Evans, Luke McCormick, James Gibbons, Josh Coburn

Derby County: Joe Wildsmith, Conor Hourihane, Eiran Cashin, Tom Barkhuizen, James Collins, David McGoldrick (c), Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Korey Smith, Haydon Roberts, Jake Rooney, Jason Knight

Subs: Luke McGee, Craig Forsyth, Max Bird, Louie Sibley, Lewis Dobbin, Harvey White, Curtis Davies

Bristol Rovers 1-1 Derby County: Antony Evans' late penalty dents Rams' promotion hopes..Match Highlights.

www.skysports.com/football/bristol-rovers-vs-derby-county/report/469422

Bristol Rovers player ratings vs Derby County: Bogarde top class in deserved draw..by Sam Frost

James Belshaw - 8
Let down by his defence early doors with David McGoldrick given far too much time and space to open the scoring. Belshaw helped them out in the second half with a series of good saves, denying Harvey White and McGoldrick with free-kicks before repelling the latter with a smothering stop in stoppage time.

Luca Hoole - 8
Allowed Tom Barkhuizen too much time and space for the opening goal, but the right-back continued his excellent form with another performance full of ambition and vigour. Attacked with intent, particularly in the second period and on another day his runs could have left to greater rewards

James Connolly - 8
The first goal was not a good look for the Gas with a tame cross finding a striker with far too much time and space in the box and McGoldrick ruthlessly took the chance. Thereafter, Rovers' defence was superb, not only in curbing Derby's attacking threat but also progressing the ball out from the back, which stretched and exposed the Rams all day long.

Lewis Gibson - 8
His influence on this team is huge, so much so that defensive mixups like the opening goal come as a real surprise when they were the norm for the Gas earlier in the season. Led the defence excellently from that moment, with his positive play in possession rewarded in stoppage time when his clipped ball into the box led to the foul on Antony Evans for the penalty.

Lewis Gordon - 7
Will regret not pulling the trigger when the chance opened up for him in the first half, but this was another good outing for the left-back. Attacked to good effect, particularly in the second half, bombing forward and delivering a couple of dangerous crosses into the middle.

Lamare Bogarde - 8
The midfield star on both sides. Both played and received balls through the lines to help Rovers gain a dominant footing in the game, and his defensive work was excellent when required.

Sam Finley (c) - 6
Not at his best with some uncharacteristically slack passes at unfortunate moments. Still, he played his part in a midfield that had control of the game for the majority of the 90 minutes.

Grant Ward - 7
Hugely effective, particularly in a second half where Rovers had the Rams under near-constant pressure. A class act who would be a massive asset to the Gas next season, if they can convince him to stay.

Harry Anderson - 6
Returned to the starting XI for the first time in two months, so naturally he was short of a bit of rhythm. Still he will be disappointed he did not score from Sinclair's cutback after rounding the keeper, hitting the post from close range, albeit from a narrow angle.

Scott Sinclair - 7
A constant menace for the Rams, getting into countless good positions on the right flank. Will be disappointed he did not make more of his chances after robbing Eiran Cashin of the ball on the edge of his own area before nodding Gordon's cross over in the second half, but he was a big problem for Derby all afternoon.

Aaron Collins - 7
No goal or assist to show for it, but this was a performance indicative of Collins returning to his best form. The Gas struggled to get him into the game in the first half, but after the break, with more support up top, his playmaking contributions were superb, setting a number of good moves in motion.

Substitutes
Ryan Loft (for Anderson on 46') - 7
He will be frustrated he didn't take chances, but his impact on the game was clear.

Antony Evans (for Gordon on 71') - 7
Showed plenty of bottle to smash his penalty into the top corner.

Josh Coburn (for Finley on 71') - 6
Got stuck into his battles, but got no help from the referee.

John Marquis (for Sinclair on 84') - 6
Showed his experience to hold the ball as if he was taking the penalty, facing the wind-up attempts from the Rams players, only to hand the ball to Evans, who duly scored.

Luke McCormick (for Ward on 84') - 6
Back in action after the Forest Green episode.

Not used: Jed Ward, James Gibbons.

Just got back..

Well, apart from exact result, I pretty much called it. On merit, we should have won...if it was a boxing match we would've win easy on points.

The bounty of the Gloucester Road included a fire engine yesterday! ? The road just keeps giving..
And the sun delivered too!

Anyhoos.... onto less important matters:

Luca Hoole....my m o m and a sense of wing back breeding that fair play, our coaches deserve so much credit for. If we can just coach his last ball delivery, he'd be the full article. Absolutely brilliant performance yesterday.

As was Gordon, Gibson, Ward, Bogarde and Sincs.

Belly almost got caught near post, but had rather less to do than we all thought pre match, and the last gasp save at the end was offside. By quite a margin.

Not so impressed with Beefy...he needs to look again at the goal we conceded.

Not impressed at all with Azza. Off the boil, seems to be at a canter, lost the zip and hunger that got him where he was with us.....is he off, maybe?

Finley form off too ... Easily traced back to Rossiter injury, but he still buried down and accepted his misplaced passes were poor.

I was even less than impressed with Derby.
Time wasting on 47 mins, (but didn't that come back to bite them!?) goalkeeper (apparently) more fragile than a snowflakes sense of humour, with a team so say "super" as they like to sing, why employ these tactics against a minnow opponent? ...and why double down on post match comments and blame the ref?

....two players came together in the box - and the controversy prediction pre match, was a grey area - that gives opportunity for referees to deliver that verdict. If you watch on replay, especially the legs, Evans is clipped. Unintentionally, but there's definitely contact. The lino didn't object. A penalty is a fair decision, not poor.

Also...we have John Marquis, he takes the p!ss. This time, the wily so in so held the ball for the penalty, then relinquished last minute for Evans..
Why is this taking the p!ss?
I guess research would have been done on JM penalty routine, but can anyone remember the last time Evans took one in a 90 minute match??
They had no clue... and what a fabulously executed penalty it was!
Also, on replay, watch John Marquis....he collects the ball from rebound from the net and does a take the p!ss header shimmy and falls on it!
Thus stopping Derby regrouping early while we are celebrating..

He's John Marquis, he's taking the p!ss...

Summary.
A well thought out and executed plan to not just hold Derby, but play them off the park.
An individual mistake apart, we would've collected all 3 points and Derby really couldn't complain as we had 70 % play, created several good chances and hit the woodwork twice.
Well done JAB players and staff for more than competing with a club the size and resources of Derby, fairly. A great advert for 3rd division football and a great day all round.

From rams to owls.... bring on those Sheffield fellas (whom I personally prefer to United)..

We might have huge say in who finishes where, but we are the Gas, and you can never get rid of the Gas!

Look out for John Marquis taking the Michael out of the Derby goalkeeper's antics after the penalty goes in. 

And I haven’t been through all the matches to make a real case for it but every week I look at he BBC match stats and notice that we foul a lot less than the other team. A few weeks ago our foul count was higher than someone but it was an unusual stat so I remembered it. We’ve been out-fouled more times than not this season! 
Iirc last season we were the most fouled against team. 

UTG!

having a little "discussion" with some Derby fans on the ramstv version of saturday's game, noteably the merits of Rovers being "given" a penalty!! can anyone see where the Derby defender was fouled and then causing him to collide with the attacker and concede the pen'? ....looking close i cannot see their claim anywhere...must be the invisible man cus' sure as hell i cannot see their claim being valid........