Far from perfect but what a thrilling success for Rovers
Talking points from Bristol Rovers’ victory against Blackpool at the Memorial Stadium, by
IT was messy, it was imperfect and it was most certainly bonkers, but who cares? Bristol Rovers dug out a vital three points to dig themselves out of the League One relegation zone and start the new year on the front foot.
A shoddy and stodgy opening 30 minutes at the Memorial Stadium against Blackpool, akin to the lax display at MK Dons on Boxing Day, had Gasheads fearing the preChristmas success of Paul Tisdale was an anomaly rather than a recovery.
But Rovers rallied from a goal down to lead at the interval, with Brandon Hanlan and Sam Nicholson scoring in a two-minute spell after the half hour.
The second period was laden with mistakes, drama, nervousness and entertainment, but the Gas held on to climb to 18th in the League One table.
METHOD IN THE MADNESS
THIS game to conclude the festive fixtures deserved a crowd. It was breathless at times, with no shortage of drama, moments of inspiration and agonising misses.
The Gas were woeful in the opening minutes, and the evidence of Blackpool’s Liverpool connection - boss Neil Critchley left the Under23s’ head coach job at Anfield for the Tangerines last year - was plentiful.
A high press and threats in wide areas left Rovers penned in their own third for the opening halfhour, and they deserved to be one behind when Gary Madine converted Grant Ward’s cross.
Then Tisdale changed tact. Limp attempts to play through the Blackpool press were swiftly dumped as the Rovers boss looked to move the chaos from one end of the pitch to the other.
Chatting after the game, the manager told the Bristol Post he felt a messier game would disrupt a tidy Blackpool side’s momentum and boost the influence of Rovers’ key players. It was route one at times, but they were calculated long balls in Hanlan’s direction, and he gave the Blackpool centrebacks a tough examination. As the first half wore on, Rovers began to find rewards in the second-ball battle, with Nicholson and the superb Erhun Oztumer buzzing around in dangerous areas to profit amid the madness. They did on 34 minutes, the latter pouncing on a defensive mistake from a long ball to release Nicholson, who in turn found Rovers’ number nine to level the score. Two minutes later, Nicholson had a goal of his own thanks to a moment of genius.
For the neutral, the entertainment continued immediately after the interval. Ward conceded a bizarre penalty, failing to stoop low enough to head clear an under-hit Zain Westbrooke corner. The ball struck his arm under no pressure, giving Rovers a chance to double their lead from the spot. Hanlan had converted his two League One penalties in the blue and white quarters earlier in the campaign, but former Rovers loanee Sam Walker had the measure of his effort from 12 yards. It was his second penalty save in a week - not a bad return from a seven-day emergency loan from Reading.
Seconds later, again Hanlan had a gilt-edged chance, this time from Luke Leahy’s driven cross, but the striker could not muster enough purchase on his sliding prod goalwards and the ball skewed wide from inside the six-yard box.
One sensed the misses could prove very costly, and a Blackpool
resurgence as the game wore on appeared inevitable. Momentum swung back and forth until the final 20 minutes when the game was almost exclusively played in Rovers’ half of the pitch.
They applied huge pressure in the closing stages with dominance of possession and territory, but Rovers defended their box manfully under an aerial assault from countless corners and crosses. Centre-backs Jack Baldwin and Alfie Kilgour were outstanding as Rovers clung on in the face of plenty of scares, none more so than Bez Lubala’s skied effort from six yards out in stoppage-time.
NICHOLSON’S KNACK
THE stands may be empty, as are the reserves of patience of fans forced to endure the buffering of iFollow, but Nicholson has certainly secured fan-favourite status.
His thrilling dribbling and flair for the spectacular in front of goal will have supporters singing his name when time allows, and he added to his already impressive highlights reel on Saturday.
While his assist for Hanlan’s equaliser was routine by his standards, Nicholson’s goal two minutes later was just outrageous. The 25-year-old mustered a Bruce Leestyle high kick while moving away from goal to thump the ball into the top corner from 18 yards. The finish was so good even goalkeeper Walker couldn’t believe it. He stood rooted and admired the strike as it flew into his top corner.
Gasheads can expect more magic from their Scottish speedster in the
months to come, provided clubs don’t come calling this month.
TISDALE’S RISKY TACTIC WHILE Blackpool used all five subs at their disposal, Tisdale did not look at his bench once on Saturday and it is becoming a theme when Rovers are in winning positions.
At AFC Wimbledon in early December, the Gas boss again decided against making a change while the home side utilised their five options in the dugout.
The logic is understandable. Clearly in those games, the Gas boss was content with the pattern of play and the energy reserves of his players. He did not want to risk disrupting their flow.
What is also apparent is he has great faith in 12 or 13 key players, but with Rovers still battling near the relegation zone he lacks trust for some of the fringe members of the squad. Again, that is understandable. It’s a results game and Tisdale needs points, but his seemingly safe option could prove to be costly gamble for the Gas boss. The schedule ahead is daunting, and he risks running key players into the ground, particularly with the physical demands he places on players in every position.
This transfer window already has huge importance for Rovers to address the imbalances in the squad, but it will also be key to bolster’s Tisdale’s realistic starting options from 12 or 13 to 15 or 16. Otherwise, the relentless fixture chaos that looms after next weekend’s FA Cup tie threatens to catch up with Rovers.