UniBond League Division One South
Christchurch Meadow, Belper
Saturday, 14th February 2009, 3.00pm
Nailers Show Their Metal
Belper Town clearly showed that they will be challenging for a play-off place at the very least. Indeed they could even be challenging Retford for the top spot come the end of the season.
On a pitch that was declared playable just an hour or so before the scheduled kick off, Rovers started well enough but could easily have found themselves two or three goals down early on if it hadn't been for some poor finishing from Ben Walker.
After just eight minutes a superb diagonal ball from Ryan Hindley picked out Walker on the right but the final shot went straight to Rovers' keeper Simon Baldwin. Walker had two more chances in as many minutes flashing a shot wide and after catching the visiting back line flat finished the move with a dreadful shot that also went wide.
Rovers were putting up a brave show but it was the homeside who was making the chances. However, on 17 minutes the visitors had a half chance when Belper keeper Leigh Walker fumbled Jordi Gough's cross but the defenders managed to clear the danger.
On 23 minutes Baldwin was called into action having to push a shot from Hindley away for a corner while ten minutes later at the other end Gough saw his free kick sail over the bar.
Belper didn't have to wait too much longer for the goal that looked certain to come. On 35 minutes a cross from the right picked out Hindley lurking unmarked just inside the left of the area and after one touch he hammered a low shot past Baldwin.
The homeside almost doubled the lead five minutes into the second period when Anthony Wilson caught the Rovers defence knapping but Baldwin did very well to grab the low shot.
Rovers' best chance of the game came on 54 minutes. John Shales made a good run down the left, cut inside and sent over an inviting cross into the box where Carl Slater was on hand to head the ball goalwards but Leigh Walker got down quickly to grab the ball on the line.
Baldwin was much the busier of the two keepers and he did well once more to hold onto a low free kick from Andy Rushbury that flew through a crowded area.
A mix-up between Baldwin, Nathan Tate and Martyn Rowntree almost let Wilson in for number two but the shot went wide of the far post.
Belper did grab their second somewhat fortuitously when on 75 minutes a shot from Dean Oliver clattered the underside of the bar and fell kindly for the same player who rammed the ball home from close in before the Rovers' defence could react.
That goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors with many players looking already beaten even with 15 minutes still remaining of the match.
A tired tackle from substitute Tate three minutes later summed up how Rovers appeared. Danny Hudson was running into the area when Tate tripped the midfielder and referee Mr Naylor had no option but to point to the spot.
Hindley chose to take the kick that was almost saved by Baldwin who had chosen the right way to dive but the shot was too powerful and the ball squirmed under his body and into the net.
Rovers looked dead on their feet and almost went further behind but Rowntree made a superb tackle to deny Oliver who also should have done much better moments later when beating the offside trap could only fire wide with just Baldwin to beat.
The final goal came with three minutes of normal time remaining. A long ball over the Rovers defence saw Baldwin rushing out of his goal. Already got away with a similar tactic earlier in the game this time it wasn't to be and he missed the ball allowing Hindley to trot the ball into the empty net.
Rovers went close to getting a consolation goal when a corner from the right by Michael Lonergan picked out Harley Hollinshead but the youngster's header flew just over.
Manager's View
"I was disappointed with the scale of the defeat. If you'd have asked me after an hour of the game if we'd have been standing in the dressing room afterwards addressing a four -nil defeat I certainly wouldn't have expected that.
"Having said that Belper are a good side and I hope they go on and win the league, I really do. But for an hour of that game maybe a little longer maybe seventy minutes of the game I thought we were competing well obviously we were trailing by the goal in the first half without really threatening we looked fairly compact, we were fairly organised but we rode our luck a little bit at times.
"But for me, the second goal was pivotal. We didn't do enough. We had a bit of luck when the ball hit the bar and came back and I think Paul Edwards threw himself at the ball but too many of his team mates stood and watched whilst they scored a fairly simple goal in the end from the rebound.
"I then looked around and for the first time in a long time there were people looking at the floor and it knocked the stuffing out of us and for the last twenty minutes I think we'd gone.
"For the amount of time we've had this side together I think that was the first twenty minutes where we've seen a little bit of a loss of confidence and one or two players spent most of that twenty minutes looking at the floor rather than looking round and trying to keep the score respectable and trying to keep us in the game.
"For the first goal I could see the movement. Ryan (Hindley) is a good player and you could see that as the ball came across he's dropped off and he's gambled and the ball dropped to his feet and he's shifted it and got his shot off.
"The disappointment for me and the root cause of it was when we had a chance over on the left side to put the ball out of play. We tried to be clever about it and I can't remember the player who got a toe on it and kept the ball in play and the ball went into one of the front two. If we'd have dealt with that as we should deal with it, it would have been a throw in and we could have got ourselves organised again.
"Having said that it was good movement from Ryan to drop off and he's experienced enough. Ninety Nine times out of a hundred the ball wouldn't come to him but on this occasion it did and he took the goal well. That's the quality play he is. He's a UniBond champion as he played for Retford last year and that for me was the difference between the two sides for much of the first half that strike.
"I felt that at time we had good possession but we wasted it at times. We gave the ball away a bit cheaply at times when we weren't under pressure. It was a disappointment that last twenty minutes and I'm glad we've got a game on Tuesday to get back on and perform well.
"Carl Slater's header early in the second half was our best move of the game. We played some lovely football and John Shales cut in on the right, something we work on in training, and he's delivered a cracking ball and if you want someone to get on the end of that in the box it's Carl because he's an experienced player. He's not done too much wrong other than direct it far enough away from the keeper.
"Had that gone in maybe Belper would have worried a little bit and it would have given us a bit of a boost and you never know we may have done the unexpected and got something from the game. That didn't go in and the rest is history once that second goals gone in.
"The penalty was a bit cheap a bit rash. The good thing about it is we haven't done too many things like that. Nathan (Tate) was a bit rash but to be fair to him he hasn't played too much recently. A bit of frustration crept in on that one. If it had been one-nil he may well have stood up and not conceded the penalty.
"Obviously the fourth we got caught. In normal circumstances we would have expected Simon (Baldwin) to have been favourite to win that ball. Previously he done a Cruyff turn, which you don't really want your goalkeeper doing, and he's tried it again and got caught and they've stook it in but in the end that particular one was academic and nobody's going to have too many goes at Simon as long as he doesn't do that at nil-nil or one-nil down.
"We had to take two players off at half time which I think had an impact on the game. Chris Mawbey came off with a groin injury as did Jordi Gough and they are probably two of our most pacey players in the team never mind in the back four.
"No disrespect to Martyn (Rowntree) when he comes on the onset is that we tend to drop deeper and deeper and obviously that means we can't get as tight as we'd like to be in midfield and it has a bit of a knock on through the side.
"I've just spoken to our physio and both Chris and Jordi stand very little chance if any of playing on Tuesday. We'll have to assess things we've got in our limited squad and try and patch things up for Tuesday.
"We are a bit limited in that area. We had hoped that Chris had got over the groin injury but it appears he hasn't and taking advice from Sam (McGregor) it could be two or three weeks if we want to get him back properly. It's a big shame, Chris is a good player and gives us that pace perhaps we haven't got.
"Although, Paul Edwards I thought was well up there again with Carl Slater challenging for man-of-the-match. Paul did okay and we just need to get Martyn some booster boots for a bit more pace, bless him, or find someone else who can do a job in there.
"Callum Keenan declared himself fit last night but I made the decision to put him on the bench. He's had tonsillitis and he's on antibiotics and I just felt today that if we'd put him out there from the start he'd have just run out of legs. So we tried not to use him today and obviously another couple of days and he's a good option to call on if needed.
"Carl Slater and Carl Timms did very well in the middle of the park. That is an area where we have got a bit of strength and depth in the centre of the park but equally they can play well in other positions as well. Two of those three players can play pretty much anywhere we want to put them so certainly we'd hope Callum would be included from the start on Tuesday.
"We need a result for the supporters. Today when the lads' heads were down, three or four goals down the supporters' reactions were fantastic. To have that level of support in the situation we're in you know you are four-nil down away from home many other sides would have seen their supporters drift away from the ground but to a man each and every one of them, twenty five or so in that group you could hear them for the last ten minutes and it certainly gave me a lift. Who motivates the motivator when you're on the run and in a situation like this?
"They were fantastic and I'd love to give them something back and Tuesday night would be brilliant if we could but if not we go onto the next game.
"I felt that if we were going to get a result with the injury situation and the suspensions that Belper has got, today would have been a good chance. But they've got such strength and depth, they really have, and if anyone is going to win the league rather than the pay-offs - I tipped Belper for the play-offs at the start of the season - my tip now is Belper. They are lead by two lovely guys and I've love to see them go on and win it.
"But it's no consolation when you've been beaten four-nil regardless of the fact that you've played fairly well for seventy minutes. A four-nil defeat is a four-nil defeat and it's going to be a long evening.
"Fair play to Belper, they are a good side. They've got some tough games coming up in the next few weeks and I wish them well."
