THE GAME
Rovers were beaten on the road again, slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Salford City at the Peninsula Stadium.
Steve Evans made three changes to his starting XI from the side beaten by Colchester United the previous week, which saw Brad Young, Kofi Balmer and Isaac Hutchinson coming in at the expense of Luke Southwood, Joel Senior and Kamil Conteh.
Salford began the game on the front foot and created an early goalscoring opportunity after only five minutes but Kelly N’mai hit his shot over the bar.
Three minutes later the hosts scored the only goal of the game when Ryan Graydon ran on to N’mai’s through ball and lifted it over Brad Young as the keeper came off his line in an attempt to clear.
At the other end, Shaq Forde fired a shot over the bar, but Rovers then had Brad Young to thank for preventing another Salford goal as he made a strong save from Graydon’s close range effort.
Although Forde looked lively when on the ball, Rovers created very little going forward though Ryan De Havilland did see his volley deflected behind for a corner before the break.
Evans rang the changes at half time and made a triple substitution at the start of the second period, sending on Tom Lockyer for Alfie Kilgour, who had been injured in a bad challenge just before the break, Senior for Hutchinson and Ellis Harrison for Luke Thomas.
Another shot from De Havilland was blocked at the expense of a corner before the hosts threatened again when Kallum Cesay spun away from Jack Sparkes before unleashing an effort that Young did well to turn around the post.
Graydon might have scored a second goal but headed over from a Jorge Grant corner and Luke Garbutt and Ben Woodburn went close to scoring in the final few minutes.
For all their efforts, Rovers created very little and results elsewhere saw them drop a further place in the league standings.
Failure in front of goal is costing them dearly and they face another tough away game on Tuesday, against MK Dons, followed by three home games in a week.
WHAT WAS SAID
‘I think it was a poor first half from us. I think we’ve got the advantage of a wind that’s more noticeable on the pitch than off it. We didn’t play to any of those conditions. To me, we lacked that physicality and desire to win that you need to win in League Two; they had it more than we did. I think in the second half, when we changed that around, changed the shape, we were much better.
‘Did we work their goalkeeper? No, we didn’t. Did we have ample opportunities with entries in at the box with throw ins, free kicks and corners? Yes, we did, but we didn’t work their goalkeeper. But for me, the game hinges in the first half, and it was an absolute shocking challenge on Alfie Kilgour. It’s got no place in football. The referee has got to know; he’s got to have been facing the high street and not actually on the pitch to not see how bad that challenge was. I’m not going to blame the referee other than to say that he’s missed the most obvious red card of the season.
‘The goal was too simple. It went through two centre backs. Balmer tries to come in and cover, but for me, our goalkeeper probably should have stayed a bit higher. I think he felt at one point he could get it because he’s a big, over touch from the boy who scored the goal, and then he just slides in and just gets a bit lucky with it. He just drilled it, and it lifts a bit over the keeper.’ Rovers Head Coach Steve Evans
‘It started terribly, you can’t start games like that, it’s just not good enough. I thought we picked up a bit in the first half, trying to create some chances, but the final pass wasn’t there. At the end of the day, if you start games like that, you’re giving yourselves no chance. You’re giving yourself no chance to really put a stamp on the game when you start a game like that. If it’s nil-nil, I think that we’ve got a chance going forward.
‘I think we battled well in the second half. I think the first half we probably played a bit more and created a few more chances, and I think the second half was more, find the strikers and play off them. But we didn’t have a shot on goal, to be honest. It was the same as the last game; it’s not good enough. We’re not creating enough chances, and we’re not causing the keeper a problem.
‘Obviously, I’m pleased to be playing. From my past at Peterborough, I wasn’t playing, and to play two games and two 90 minutes in a row, I’m very happy. But at the end of the day, the result is all that matters, and as I said before, it’s not good enough, and we need to really improve and get back on the pitch on Monday and really look back at this game and what we need to improve on and how we can build on something moving forward to get some wins.’ Rovers midfielder Ryan De Havilland
‘I felt that today we had to be very, very clever. And not maybe a Salford second half performance, but we won and we found a different way. Over the course of the season we’ve got to be creative enough within the football club to find different ways to get the best out of our team.
‘All that ever matters is winning, and we found a way to win today. I really enjoyed the way that we looked like we were in control and it’s another three points on the board, is all it is.
‘Brandon Cooper was brilliant. He’s a lively lad, and he plays like that. His enthusiasm is something that I love. And he gives me everything every single week, whether he comes off the bench or when he starts, on the right, on the left and in the middle. Salford City boss Karl Robinson
