United vs Rovers-A Clash Of Styles
“Making good decisions is a crucial skill at any level. “
Peter Drucker
Habbin North was full of expectation yesterday as we assembled in the faintly astonishing sunshine. It was an unusual treat to come to and watch a game without rain drifting across everything in the irritating manner almost guaranteed by this winter. Will there be a hosepipe ban later? Of course there will. We compared pothole stories and then speculated about Rovers. A poor side we thought but Steve Evans was likely to have turned them into a team which would be harder to beat and physically competitive. We know what his teams are like and how fond of the dark arts they are. We learned a harsh lesson at Harrogate. We would need skill and determination and the ability to resist any kind of intimidation. Within a short time it was clear that the Referee was going to add to our problems. Foul after foul went unpunished and some serious rough stuff earned no more than a gentle chat. Rovers were encouraged. Jobe and Knight seemed favourite targets but, eventually, justice was seen to be done and Knight scored with another excellent shot. He has been compared with Biley, praise indeed. He was easily the best forward I’ve ever seen here. Harris has uncovered a gem. I suspect we will struggle to keep him. Did Gibbons throw a punch following jostling from a cross in the Rovers area? I suspect he did but the Referee saw nothing blameworthy so I might have imagined it.
Meanwhile a loudmouth in the stand followed up his liberal use of the c word by constant invective against our players and the hapless Ref, who he called a midget several times. He was told to shut up several more times by Habbinites who generally seem to know something about football and acceptable conduct. I never know why such unhappy people come to football in order to make themselves even more unhappy. It’s a mystery.
As half time approached I was reflecting on some desperate clearances and a bad Kai Kai miss, and thinking that we should be at least two up, when Mr Parsons awarded Rovers a penalty because one of their forwards stood on the ball and then fell over one of our players. It was such a bizarre award that the wise men of the Habbin argued for several minutes about exactly what had been awarded. A penalty seemed straight out of the theatre of the absurd. Quigley scored and the four hundred or so Bristol fans roared out their relief. The noise was more embarrassed than triumphant. Half Time came and the Referee left the pitch to a chorus of boos louder than I’ve heard for many years. It was good to hear the Main Stand so passionate for once. The Half Time talk from Harris would be telling. We all felt deflated. Life can be unfair at times.
We enjoyed the second half, which was full of quality and movement. Rovers looked increasingly primitive and short of ideas. On 56 minutes we had our own penalty after Jobe was hauled down. The normally mild mannered Paul Raynor was booked for protesting, whinging and disputing the decision. Will he ever learn? The crowd was delighted. He is an embarrassment to his profession. Gibbons was having a wonderful game. Apparently Rovers fans were stunned, claiming that he was no good for them but world class for us. He has certainly become more disciplined. It was his long throw headed on by the impressive Raggett that was headed in by Watts, who had produced another masterclass. I wasn’t impressed with him at the beginning but he has become a very fine player. We now have three very classy centre backs and ,as various subs came on, we got stronger and stronger. It was particularly good to see Korey Smith back on the field. Our midfield looks better and stronger by the week. There is real competition for places too.
It was good to hear Evans say that we deserved to win because we were the better team. I was shocked though at the way he laid into his own player Sparkes who was not alone in being booked. The Rovers defence was all at sea for our third goal but by that time they had been run ragged. We deserved the win and it was so encouraging to win two games in a row after the debacle at Harrogate. There will be no complacency from us now. There is still a little work to be done up front where I would like to see Appere playing alongside Nevitt and, later, Kouassi. Earlier in the season we were inclined to sit back and so we squandered points. Now we get after teams and make our approach play more aggressive. If we score the goals we should, we will win most games and this league. Bromley are not a patch on us and anyone who doubted the return of Neil Harris must be glad he came back. These are good times.
Andrew Stephen