UniBond President's Cup 2nd Round
Christchurch Meadow, Belper
Tuesday, 30th October 2007, 7.45pm
Nailers Clinch Cup Win
Both sides made changes for this UniBond President's Cup game with Rovers starting striker's Paul Edwards and Craig Hanson with prolific frontman David Blenkinsopp on the bench alongside Stefan Marshall.
Rovers had the better of the first 30 minutes or so with Chris Sleath being involved with most of the chances created.
Sleath almost opened the scoring with a good run down the right before beating Belper keeper Adam Ogden with a powerful curled shot to the far post but the ball cannoned off the upright and away from danger.
Hanson tried his aim with a shot from 20 yards that went wide but on 24 minutes Sleath went close again. A long throw from Jamie Hood found Sleath who ran on and hit a superb shot that Ogden did remarkably well to get a fingertip to and push the ball onto the bar and away for a corner.
Just after the half hour mark Belper had their best chance when a cross from James Colliver found former Moatman Mark Smith in space at the far post but his header clattered the bar.
The action swung to the other end and Hanson had his shot held by Ogden and then moments later Morgan Hurley did well to turn his man stride forward through the middle before hitting a shot just wide.
At the start of the second period Hanson got himself into a good position but again failed to hit the target dragging his shot wide.
On 51 minutes Belper had another decent chance when Lee Stevenson's corner from the left picked out Jon Hobson but he put his free header over the bar.
Stevenson was involved again minutes later when he hit a thunderous shot that Rovers keeper David Clarke saved well.
However, on 54 minutes the homeside took the lead. After losing control of the ball in the Belper third, a long ball was threaded through for substitute Dan Toronczack who beat the Rovers' offside trap and coolly slipped the ball past Clarke.
You could just tell that it wasn't going to be Rovers' night when again the woodwork denied them. Minutes after Belper had taken the lead Sleath had a shot blocked and Tom Groves latched onto the loose ball and hit a shot that hit the bar.
Rovers were left to rue the luck they were having - or rather lack of it - because on the hour Belper doubled their lead. Stevenson was allowed far too much time to make his run doen the middle and with the Rovers' defenders backing off he cracked a rocket of a shot that gave Clarke no chance.
Hanson and Sleath then combined well and Sleath hit a shot that Ogden blocked and from a Tom Betteridge cross Paul Edwards put a header over.
Belper should have gone further ahead when Andy Rushbury easily shook of Martyn Rowntree's attention but Clarke reacted well to block the shot.
The home side looked comfortable and Rovers were reduced to trying their luck from distance which proved no problem for Ogden who comfortably saved any attempt heading his way.
However, striker Blenkinsopp on for Hanson, pulled a goal back when he ran onto Edward's through ball and slipped the ball under Ogden and into the net.
It was a false dawn, as the homeside should have put the game out of reach with two decent chances in the final couple of minutes, as Rovers' appeared to have resigned themselves to a defeat.
Toronczak fired just over and Stevenson tested Clarke with a driven shot but the keeper blocked but the rebound hit Smith and the keeper reacted well to touch the ball away for a corner.
Manager's View
"I thought that best team won over the ninety minutes. We hit the woodwork twice in the first half hour and played some really nice football, looked comfortable, looked in control, worked hard off the ball and did the niggardly bits and bobs well and that was about it.
"They crept into things just after the half hour mark and had one or two opportunities and hit the bar themselves. We got a little bit deep and off our men in the middle of the park - a little bit too much room.
"It carried on in the second half. We really didn't get going and Belper did and I felt personally that they deserved to win. Some of the lads are saying we were a little unlucky there and deserved a draw but their were too many half shifts for me out there today.
"The disappointing thing was the fight. I've not said that about this squad this season. We lacked fight in the second half - we are two one down in a cup game away from home and I'm looking around and I saw very few people rolling their sleeves up and encouraging their team mates driving us on and getting people going.
"Hoody (Jamie Hood) would normally do it but he's not very well tonight and he's done well to get through the ninety minutes in all honesty. That apart, if he's not driving us on you are looking for other characters that are normally doing it. But it wasn't quite there tonight.
"Having said that, we've played worse than that this season and won games so it's frustrating. We've had opportunities and half opportunities and Blenko (David Blenkinsopp) has got a great goal but apart from that we hit the woodwork and squandered a few chances which was disappointing. We lost the game in the midfield area in the second half.
"The first goal we were square and for Danny Toronczak, who's not too quick, to get into that amount of time and space was disappointing.
"We needed to get a foothold back into the game but the way we continued the second half was disappointing because Stevo (Lee Stevenson) who had a cracking game tonight by the way, we back off him and backed off and invited the shot and not one of my midfielders engaged him and he struck it well.
"When we are in that sort of position we don't tend to hit the target at all and they've had a pot shot and it's gone in. That was the cushion they needed because if we could have held the game at one-nil and got a foothold back in it we may have gone up their end and put them under pressure. But at two-nil they've got some experienced players as well as some youthful players and they played the last few minutes well.
"We got ourselves two needless bookings and overall it was a disappointing night after what looked like a promising first half hour."
