Pre-Season Friendly
The Moat Ground, Church Gresley
Saturday, 9th August 2008, 3.00pm
Badgers In Seventh Heaven
Eastwood Town clearly showed why they are considered as one of the favourites to claim the UniBond Premier Division title with a comprehensive victory in the final pre-season friendly at the Moat Ground.
Rovers added to their injury list with Robbie Banks, Gavin Saunders and Barry Woolley all succumbing to injuries either before or during the game.
The worst injury came after just 7 minutes when Woolley fell heavily during a tackle dislocating his shoulder in the process.
Jamie Hood, Woolley's replacement was soon in the action making a superb last-ditch tackle as Ian Holmes was put through on goal.
After 30 minutes the Badgers took the lead when Marc Smith powerfully headed Chris Shaw's cross home.
Rovers were back on terms 7 minutes later but it proved to be a false dawn. Brian Woodall sent David Blenkinsopp on his way down the right. The striker then picked out Jordi Gough arriving in the area and despite Badgers' keeper Ian Deakin making a good attempt at a block the ball still found itself in the back of the net.
Blenkinsopp then had a half chance minutes later but blazed his shot from 20 yards just over the bar.
Eastwood were back in front courtesy of a gift from the Rovers' defence. Jamie Barrett tried to head the ball back to his keeper David Clarke but his attempt was woefully short and Holmes gratefully collected his chance and coolly lobbed the stranded Clarke.
Hood then went close to getting his side back on terms just before the break when his header, from a Barrett cross, clattered the post.
Rovers were to rue that miss because Eastwood scored two more in the final two minutes of the first half.
A cross from Richard Dunning picked out Smith and the big number 10 made no mistake with another powerful header. The lead was increased almost from the re-start this time while the Rovers defence were watching Smith Dunning nipped in to get the faintest of touches to Shaw's cross and direct the ball into the net.
Arguably the best move of the match led to goal number five for the visitors. A good passing move led to Holmes firing home his second and four minutes later he completed his hat trick as yet another defensive slip handed him a goal. This time Miles Chamberlain's poor clearance was picked up by Dunning who set up Holmes to easily beat Clarke with his shot.
Things could have been worse for the home side when substitute Chris White's awful back pass to Clarke was almost collected by Lyndon Meikle.
Blenkinsopp had a chance to reduce the arrears but shot too hurriedly firing wide.
The rout was completed on 86 minutes when a pass from Holmes picked out Anton Foster who comfortably beat substitute keeper Simon Baldwin.
If to concede seven goals was bad enough Eastwood almost added an eighth when Meikle shaved a post with a shot.
Rovers had a couple of chances at the end of the match but to be honest, they'd been well beaten by an impressive Eastwood side.
A poor clearance by Deakin fell to Woodall wide on the left and the Rovers frontman sent a cheeky lob back over the keeper's head and towards the goal where a defender managed to head the ball off the line and over the bar.
White went close for Rovers putting a header just wide of the post from Mickey Lyon's cross.
Manager's View
"Obviously I'm feeling a little embarrassed being on the end of a scoreline like that. The disappointing thing was that we wanted to try something in the first half that we've wanted to try all pre-season - an out and out 4-3-3.
"We thought defensively we might be left wanting today against this level of opposition. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest thing to do but I think for twenty, twenty-five minutes anyone watching the game would have felt we were making a good fist of it and perhaps wouldn't have recognised the UniBond Premier club with it's wealth of resources and a modest South club.
"Then for some reason we let a couple of sloppy goals in. I thought we'd worked hard to get back into the game and we had a bit of luck with our equalising goal. They were a couple of cheap goals really that perhaps exposed a couple of flaws in our system out wide.
"Second half we went a little more orthodox but it was disappointing because the last fifteen, twenty minutes when you are on the end of a situation like that you are looking for characters but there were one or two people who couldn't wait to get off the pitch. So we've learned a lot today.
"We are not going to read too much into today. As high as we all were against Burton Albion I was trying to tell people not to read anything into it and as disappointed we are in today's result it means nothing in the grand scheme of things.
"The worrying thing is the level of injuries. Robbie Banks couldn't take part, Barry Woolley had to go off after just ten minutes and Gavin Saunders had to come off with a tightening calf. Jordi Gough had to come off with an injury to the bottom of his foot and we've ended up playing Mickey Lyons out wide on the right and Brian Woodall out on the left. I think we've got seven or eight players on the treatment table now, Oliver Hancock, Tom Liversage and Nathan Morris to name but a few.
"It's a concern a week away from the season being in a good position squad wise to having to now count bodies to see who we'll have available for next week.
"Steve (Hinks) was saying to me, perhaps midway through the second half, a week away from the season do you have friendlies? But you can't wrap them up in cotton wool, you have to play friendlies and you will pick injuries up and it's just one of those things but we'll deal with it and we'll see what shape we are in on Saturday.
"This is the second season on the trot where we've had a lot of injuries running into the season so hopefully one or two will recover. Obviously Barry Woolley's is a serious one and that's a major concern.
"We had hoped not to have to use Jamie Hood much at all today because he was complaining of a bit of a tight groin but obviously he had to play eighty minutes today.
"We have got Nathan Morris who we had hoped to be involved today but we erred on the side of caution with him but hopefully he can train on Tuesday. I'm hoping Ollie Hancock can train on Tuesday but I don't think Tom Liversage is going to be quite there yet. Lee Mellon was gutted at not being involved. He's been to see his doctor with his toe problem and we are waiting for the results so it's not ideal preparation for the start of the season but we'll deal with it and we'll make the best out of it we can.
"Tom Groves' injury is more of a medium to long term problem with his knee. He's a long, long way away so he's not in our immediate thoughts unfortunately.
"We are not going to get too carried away with today's result. Eastwood are a very wealthy side and I've got a lot of time for Paul Cox who's a good friend of mine. He's been afforded a great opportunity of a four year contract so he's got time to build and he can pretty much go out and pick any player he wants and pay money for them and whatever wages it takes to get them.
"He's not going to go daft with that because Paul's very astute, very studious and he's built a very, very hardworking team of players who are well drilled and know what to do. Having money doesn't often mean success but having a manager like Paul who spends well and getting in players who know this league and he said they weren't far away last year but there was a gap where they finished, fourth and the likes of Gateshead, Fleetwood and one or two sides and he's looked to fill that gap in one or two positions we've seen today.
"I said it would be a good test for us and it's been a right kick up the backside and we'll take the positives out of that because the lads are low and we'll use that as a springboard to squeeze every last bit of effort and organisation out of them ahead of Saturday's game."
