THE GAME
Rovers suffered their third consecutive defeat when going down 3-2 against Peterborough United at The Weston Homes Stadium; the home side dominated first half proceedings and could have been out of sight by the half time whistle. As it was, they led by goals scored by Kwame Poku and Ricky Jade-Jones and in all honesty it could have been more as Matt Taylor’s side were never in the game.
Poku scored in the tenth minute when he volleyed in after being played in by Hector Kyprianou while Jade-Jones was on target with 33 minutes on the clock, racing clear after capitalising on a mistake by Rovers defence and taking the ball round Josh Griffiths and rolling it into the net.
It became even more difficult for Rovers as, in the 63rd minute first half substitute Malik Mothersille beat the offside trap to get on the end of a pass from Jack Sparkes before hitting a shot past Griffiths.
With the home side seemingly in cruise control, Rovers hit back and scored twice within the space of a minute; Luke McCormick
Goalscorer Luke McCormick
thumped a shot high into the roof of the net from close range before Gatlin O’Donkor scored his first Gas goal when he beat goalkeeper Jed Steer with a looping header.
Unfortunately, it was too little too late and in spite of a spirited finish to the game by Rovers, the home side held out to clinch all three points.
THEY SAID WHAT?
‘We started too poorly and the first half was painful. As the game progressed, we showed what we could do and what we are capable of. It was a different side to us and we stopped being soft.
‘In the second half we took the game on and started coming out on top in individual moments in the game. We almost got a big reward, which would have been to take something from the game.
‘Those three goals we conceded were poor. However I thought O’Donkor was absolutely outstanding. That’s a real moment for him to hold his hand up to be picked next week.’ (Rovers manager Matt Taylor)
‘It was strange in terms of us conceding two goals quite early on. I think the response in the second half was good, but we must try our best to get a foothold in the game and not leave ourselves such a mountain to climb. But the reaction was positive.
‘By us getting two goals in quick succession, you could see what that did to Peterborough, but they are a strong side especially at home. We need to bounce back and try to get some results in our next three games.
‘When you’re coming on with your side two or three goals down, obviously your aim is to score and impact the game positively. I think the substitutes did that, along with the boys who were still on the pitch.’ (Rovers midfielder Luke McCormick)
‘Football can be a strange game; in the first half we completely dominated, it was everything we wanted. The two goals we conceded were really poor and we lost all composure and were hanging on in the end.
‘When you have dominated proceedings, as we did, you should never be in a position where you are hanging on. All in all, though, it was a good day and you leave happy with a win. It’s a happy dressing room!’ (Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson)
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