United Counties Premier League North
Aerial Way, Hucknall
Saturday, 8th February 2025, 3.00pm
The Wait Goes On
Rovers’ woes continued as they were beaten by a Hucknall side who are in a purple patch at the moment which resulted in them receiving team of the month before the kick off.
Sometimes this award is like a death knell for the side receiving it but not this time as they set about a Rovers side devoid of confidence and struggling to take any points with their last being a solitary point at home against Ashby Ivanhoe back on Boxing Day.
Rovers welcomed back Osiris McDonald, Lewis Carr and Massiah McDonald but were without Dylan Hunniford and Tarun Rohilla who are both serving suspensions.
The visitors were the authors of their own defeat giving away three very sloppy goals, something that has been evident throughout the season so far.
The game was barely two minutes old when Rovers went behind. A corner from the right was whipped in by Joe Ashurst and waiting at the back post was Reece Sugars who rose unchallenged to head home.
A few minutes later things could have got even worse. Former Moatman Niall Towles went close to adding to their tally but his well struck shot hit the post followed by Sugars’ shot which was well blocked by Rovers keeper Karamo Ceesay.
The first chance of note for Rovers came on 24 minutes with Oscar McClure’s shot from distance went close. The visitors were denied an even better chance to get back in the game when Jack Thatcher was hacked down just inside the area, but referee Thomas Kennedy waved away the protests and gave a free kick just outside the area.
On the half hour mark saw the goal of the game. A ball was cleared out of the visitors' area but only as far as the impressive Ashurst forty yards away and with Ceesay out of his box he returned a perfect lob over the keeper and into the far corner of the net.
More pressure from the home side saw Sugars get on the end of another corner but this time his effort went narrowly wide. Another chance for Rovers to reduce the arrears came just before the break when Dunkley put Sam Moore through but unfortunately his shot hit the side netting.
Two minutes later the game was as good as over when a miss hit clearance flew straight up into the air and landed at the feet of Chae Whitman- Brown who flew forward before rounding the keeper and firing into the gaping net.
Rovers made a change seven minutes into the second half with Liam Kavanagh replacing the injured Phil Kowalski. The visitors were having a better start to the half and Thatcher was very unlucky not to have scored but saw his well struck shot from the right crash back of the far post.
The half then became scrappy with both sides making plenty of changes.
Whether it was a case of Hucknall taking the foot off gas, but Rovers were having the better of the play with substitute Massiah McDonald having a good goal bound effort blocked but time was running out.
Rovers made their last changes of the game with one of them being the injured Kavanagh replaced by Osiris McDonald and it was his brother who almost grabbed a late consolation seeing his shot whistle over the bar in the dying seconds of the game however, it would have been far too little far too late.
