THE GAME
Having been outplayed by Wrexham during a very one sided first half, Rovers improved after the break, pressed hard for an equaliser in the final 20 minutes, and a goal by Promise Omochere four minutes from time gave them a share of the spoils.
All of the hype surrounding Wrexham beforehand led this writer to believe that they were a decent footballing side worthy, perhaps, of achieving a third successive promotion. However, on the evidence of this game they will struggle to manage that.
A decent side they might be, but they were very direct, incredibly physical and masters of the dark arts, they attempted to bully their way to three points. Yes, they could have been out of sight at half time; that they weren’t was down to their own profligacy in front of goal and in the end they got what they deserved – just one point.
Striker Ollie Palmer should have received, at the very least, a first minute yellow card after he elbowed Michael Forbes in the face, but he got away with it. He did pick up a yellow card later in the game, but it should have been his second and, ultimately, a red one.
Palmer had already headed over and Lewis Brunt’s shot had also cleared the crossbar when Wrexham took the lead with a quality move. Matty James found Elliot Lee with a superb through ball and he confidently beat Rovers keeper Josh Griffiths.
The visitors were prepared to shoot on sight and Ryan Barnett fired wide of the target as the half hour mark approached. Shortly afterwards James McClean saw his volley hit the post.
A tame header from Luke McCormick, comfortable saved by Mark Howard, was the sum of Rovers first half attacking intent and they almost conceded a second before the break, but Andy Cannon directed his shot straight at Griffiths.
Second half efforts from Oliver Rathbone and Paddy Mullin failed to trouble Griffiths and Rovers’ substitutes gradually swung then game their way and after Steven Fletcher and Mullin again had squandered good chances, Rovers struck.
Luke Thomas chipped the ball towards Promise Omochere who climbed high to direct a header past Howard. Rovers’ supporters, encouraged by an improved second half performance, roared their team on and were prominent in helping their side avoid a nightmare before Christmas!
A brawl after the final whistle (I didn’t see who instigated it) was witnessed by referee Lee Swabey who booked Rovers James Wilson and two Wrexham players for the part they played in the fracas.
THEY SAID WHAT?
‘It was a mixed day; I think it’s really good we got the point and we needed it to be totally honest. Ideally, we would have wanted the three and, as the game was finishing, we were probably the team on top and chasing the game. I think the boys tried to show fight, passion and energy in the first half, but I thought we lost our way as the half went on.
‘To be fair to our substitutes, they made a big difference to the game and really suited the way the game was actually going. It’s a satisfying point, but there’s still loads that we need to work on. We have a really good squad and a good starting XI, and we always have a strong bench and so we were able to change the flow of the game as it hadn’t been good enough in the first half.
‘The fans turned up and it was brilliant today. I was so pleased for them when we scored. You have to show that passion as a minimum. Don’t step on to the pitch if you’re not going to show it. They did today and even when it wasn’t going so well in the first half I thought they were still committed to the cause.’ (Rovers interim manager David Horseman).
‘We were in the game and we knew that with ten minutes to go, if we’re still only 1-0 down, that we would get a chance and we could get back into the game because I think we fought really well today. It was evident, the togetherness we had throughout the game. We knew that we needed a big performance and a good reaction to the week we had.
‘The goal gave me a long awaited feeling, one I haven’t had for a while. It was brilliant from Luke Thomas to stand it up at the back post and, gladly, I was able to be in the right place at the right time to put it in.
‘We do have a really good squad. The results haven’t gone our way, but we do know the quality that we have in the squad. I thought Luke Thomas was brilliant when he came on and throughout the game. He hasn’t really been playing of late, so it shows the quality that we do have in and around the squad.’ (Rovers goalscorer Promise Omochere)
‘We dominated, really, we never felt under any pressure in difficult conditions. A moment has cost us, but if we’re honest the game should have been done and dusted by then.
‘We should have been two or three up and that late goal should have been a consolation. The way we played first half was really good, against the wind and we passed it really well. We had a lot of opportunities, but we didn’t hit the target enough if we’re honest.
‘Second half we’ve had some really good passages of play. They are always going to step it up to a certain degree, but on the balance of the game it should have been all over before then.’ (Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson).
