Football Tisdale praises skill and technique shown by Nicholson
It’s rare a player takes that type of shot on and keeps it below the crossbar. He did beautifully well to control it into the back of the net
PAUL Tisdale heaped praise on match-winner Sam Nicholson after Bristol Rovers’ 2-1 win against Blackpool on Saturday.
The Gas came from behind at the Memorial Stadium with Brandon Hanlan - from Nicholson’s through ball - scoring the equaliser after Gary Madine’s early opener for the Tangerines.
Nicholson, two minutes later, then scored a brilliant half-volley, showing incredible technique to keep his effort down and find the top corner from 18 yards with nine minutes of the first half remaining.
Hanlan should have doubled his tally from the penalty spot just after the break, and Rovers needed to grimly hold on as the Tangerines applied immense pressure. They succeeded in that task, securing back-to-back home wins for the first time this season to climb out of League One’s bottom four.
Tisdale feels fortunate to have a player of Nicholson’s quality in his ranks.
“It’s one thing having the ability to actually execute what you think, but the first thing is having the capability to think the right thing and make quick decisions,” said the Rovers boss.
“He is half-a-second ahead of if not all players, most players, and that’s his greatest strength.
“The fact he’s got the speed and technique to execute makes him a very good player.
“It’s rare a player takes that type of shot on and keeps it below the crossbar. He did beautifully well to control it into the back of the net.”
The victory lifts Rovers into 18th spot, three points clear of the bottom four. Tisdale’s side also have several games in hand on most teams around them.
“We’ve come forward,” Tisdale said after his third league win in seven games in charge.
“Other than the first half at MK Dons, they are listening and taking instruction. The instructions are hopefully simple enough, I’m not over-complicating the technical part of the game.
“I’m asking them to achieve an image and a type of performance. That suits the players we have and
when they do that and apply themselves to it, we’ve got a chance in every game.
“We’ve got such a long way to go
and we believe we’re good enough to climb this league.
“First and foremost, I have to keep players fit and keep enough of those players on the pitch as possible, which will be a hard thing to do with the schedule we have coming up.”