Weston Homes Stadium Saturday 29th April 2023
Peterborough United 0
Bristol Rovers 0
Referee: Darren Drysdale Attendance: 9,494
Manager Joe Barton sprung a surprise with his team selection for this game against play off chasing Peterborough United, in that he selected Ellery Balcombe in goal for his first start since 18th February.
Three other changes saw James Gibbons, Sam Finley and Ryan Loft in the starting XI so the four to miss out were the suspended Antony Evans, John Marquis, James Belshaw and Luca Hoole.
Peterborough included former Rovers players Ollie Norburn and Jonson Clark-Harris in their starting lineup but they didn’t start the match looking like a team seeking all three points. Patiently playing along their back line, they waited for the opportunity to lift a long ball over the top of the Rovers defence or switch play from one side of the pitch to the other with a crossfield diagonal ball.
For the first ten minutes it seemed to work and they had Barton’s side on the back foot. Gradually, though, Rovers established a foothold in the game and might well have gone ahead with their first meaningful attack after 26 minutes.
Lamare Bogarde found Josh Coburn in space, but with Aaron Collins screaming for the ball the on loan striker ignored him and opted to shoot. His effort was well wide of the upright and, quite rightly, his strike partner was not amused!
Not surprisingly it was Clarke-Harris, well marshalled by Rovers defenders throughout the afternoon, who went closest for the home side. He flashed one shot wide of the upright and forced Balcombe into a fine save from his left foot shot six minutes before the break.
Rovers looked more determined at the start of the second half and one promising move came to an end after Loft was rugby tackled by Dan Butler. As play carried on down the right flank, the two players carried on their own private wrestling match which was eventually spotted by referee Darren Drysdale.
Common sense prevailed and both players were booked and Rovers continued to thwart the home side who in spite of enjoying a great deal of possession, were unable to do very little with it.
Clarke-Harris went for the spectacular, with an overhead kick that cleared the crossbar, and he also glanced a header wide of the upright.
Colins went close to opening the scoring for Rovers, though, when he lashed a ferocious shot goalwards which keeper Will Norris beat away as far as Sinclair. However the substitute’s subsequent effort was blocked thanks to some desperate defending and the chance was gone.
Marquis saw a header well saved and Finley might have done better with a wayward shot that was well wide of the target while at the other end another Clarke-Harris header drifted wide of the upright.
Rovers back line were solid throughout and helped Balcombe keep a clean sheet. Gibson and Quansah proved to be a formidable pairing at the heart of the defence, while Gibbons and Lewis Gordon also put in solid, if unspectacular, performances.
While the Peterborough players undertook went off on a lap of the pitch to show their appreciation for the support they have received this season, they would have been well aware that this was an opportunity lost to gatecrash the play off places.
Peterborough United: Norris, Knight (Jones, 78), Kent, Edwards, Ward, Norburn (Kyprianou, 58), Taylor, Ogbeta (Butler, 20), Poku, Mason-Clark, Clarke-Harris.
Substitutes: Burrows, Thompson, Blackmore, Tshimanga.
Bristol Rovers: Balcombe, Gibbons, Quansah, Gibson, Gordon, Bogarde (Sinclair, 71), Finley, Ward, Collins (Anderson, 89), Loft (Marquis, 71), Coburn.
Substitutes: Belshaw, Connolly, Hoole, Macdonald.
ALSO
Former Rovers players Jonson Clarke-Harris and Ollie Norburn were in the Peterborough United side
Yellow cards were issued to Ellery Balcombe, James Gibbons, Lamare Bogarde, Sam Finley and Ryan Loft
Sam Finley was skipper
Three substitutes used
Eight added minutes
(photos courtesy of JMP)
Keith Brookman