CAMBRIDGE BACK AT THE MEM
For the second time this month Bristol Rovers take on Cambridge United at The Mem tomorrow.
Less than two weeks ago Cambridge returned home with a 2-0 Carabao Cup win under their belts, their first goal being scored by Appere, their second by former Rovers striker Ryan Loft after he was set up by another former Rovers player, James Gibbons.
Watching on from the dugout was another former Rovers man, Adam Barrett, now Assistant Head Coach at Cambridge,
Tomorrow will be the 37th league meeting between the sides with Rovers having won 20 of the previous 36 encounters, while Cambridge have won eight and there’s been eight draws. As far as goals are concerned Rovers have scored 51 and Cambridge 41.
This will be the 19th time we have hosted tomorrow’s opponents, and we go in search of our 13th win as well as our first three point haul of the current season. Cambridge have recorded just two away wins against Rovers.
Among the players to have made their Rovers league debut against Cambridge are Gareth Taylor, Josh Coburn and Sonny Parker, whilst at least 30 players have turned out for both clubs, including Rory Gaffney, Devon White and John Taylor.
Following on from Tuesday’s much improved performance against Oldham, Darrell Clarke has said; ‘We’re all on the same page, myself, Ricky Martin and the owners have what needs to be done, we need to settle things down, we need to build a squad that the fans can connect to and be proud of and over the course of that we’re going to win as many games as we possibly can for that.
‘Those are easy words to say and they’re hard to do, myself and the coaching staff are working night and day to make sure we try and get that flow and that rhythm as quickly as we can, try and get the group connected, try and get the club connected and obviously the players to connect with the fans which is the key, you know that is key for us.
‘I felt it Tuesday night, where the momentum is in the game but the supporters were right with us, and boy am I going to need them, because you could feel the confidence go through to the players, you could feel the energy onto the pitch, does that make sense? So we have to put more performances on like that, that gets them going but they’ve always had this massive part to play and we can do our bit by putting performances that they can get behind and I just felt on Tuesday, if we can get this place going, which I’ve done before, they can be a real asset for us.’
Following the Carabao Cup Tie against tomorrow’s opponents, Darrell kept his squad out on the pitch, no doubt telling them a few home truths after what had been an incredibly poor performance. If there is to be a team huddle after tomorrow’s match, let’s hope it’s a celebratory one!
With a Vertu Trophy game next Tuesday, followed by two away games in the league, a win tomorrow would be the ideal start to another tough period.
The backing for the team on Tuesday was excellent and we need more of the same tomorrow as we go in search of that elusive first win.
