Fringe players need to be given an opportunity

Iam pretty sure that will be my last trip to Longford and the immaculate City Calling Stadium. I may be wrong as it’s still tight down the bottom but to not have won a game since the opening day of the season it’s difficult to remain optimistic of their chances.

It’s an away trip I love. It’s obviously close but as I said it’s a nice compact neat ground and is inviting for visiting supporters to attend. They may be Longford in name but in reality they are a Dublin based football club which has unfortunately led to their demise.

It was a game I expected to be difficult for us but I thought we would have too much quality for them. I felt a draw was a fair result in the end as both sides could have won it or lost it in the last few minutes. I was desperately disappointed with our overall performance and the game as a whole was littered with mistakes and poor play from both sides.

We lacked tempo in our play - something that has been missing too many times this season. They should not be able to live with us if we play and press at a high tempo. We did neither only near the end when we were scrambling for the three points.

We started okay, we controlled enough in possession but needed to move the ball quicker. We got as good an opening team goal as you’re likely to see this season, a sublime Boylan long pass to Martin who delivered a fantastic cross that Raff finished brilliantly.

We should have turned the screw after that but we obviously didn’t and our play was pedestrian, lethargic and predictable. I couldn’t, coming home in the car, name one player who I thought had a good game in a Rovers shirt. Sure, some of them tried but no one stood out for us at all.

We needed someone to take the game to them and drive the team on and I’m sure we would have came away with the three points if that was the case.

The most effective player I saw on the night was Don Cowan, the striker for Longford who caused Peersy and Boylan plenty of headaches. Dave should look and see about getting him in he’s quick, strong and a nuisance and a real menace.

I know we have a lad arriving from Peterborough this week but Cowan would be someone worth a chance. He’s on a small contract at Longford and would be easily swayed from them I’m sure.

I know the fans are screaming for a forward but I don’t think we are creating chances in games for our striker. How many efforts had we on Coulter in goals Saturday night? And how many chances did we create in play? The fans who made the trip know the answer and it has been an issue all season.

They were atrocious at the back but we didn’t exploit that weakness especially in the first half. I look at our team and we lack balance and again too many players not playing in their best positions in Sadlier and Roberts from Saturday night.

Sadlier has been hugely disappointing in recent weeks but in his defence his only position is the wing for me. Roberts on the other hand I’m not sure what his favoured position is but he’s not a right sided player.

When he scored his brilliant free kick, as poor as our performance was we should have seen it out. They had players dropping with cramp and one player cramped in front of us after 55 minutes.

This stage of the season we are neither going to be relegated or qualify for Europe so let’s throw in a few lads and see if they are up to the standard.

Mikey Place, Gary Armstrong, Hunt and Lyons who Robertson spoke up as the next big thing give them a couple of games and see if they are up to it.

I’m not asking for them all to be played together but the only way he will find out if they are up to the standard is to give them a run of matches.

It was a poor night but we have to move on and we have a difficult tie against one of the teams of the season in Derry Friday night.

They are very organised but forget about them let’s go out and give an entertaining lively football performance where the team are getting people of their seats and they are leaving the ground talking about it.

We had terrific support in Longford but fans nowadays want to be entertained let’s start it this weekend.