Another season opener, another failure, though to be honest it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Rovers haven't won on the first day of the season since the beginning of the 2004/05 season, thanks to a Junior Agogo brace against Mansfield. Going into the match there was a feeling of some optimism among a fair few gasheads on the various fans forums, though myself, I thought there was some underestimation going on.
When you look at it from a completely neutral viewpoint you have to say that Boro have as good a chance of making there way into to the championship as teams such as Huddersfield, Plymouth and Charlton. Their squad is littered with players that should thrive at League 1 level, Boyd, McClean and Mackail-Smith make up an exciting front-line that in my opinion can collectively challenge any other in the division. Add to that the likes of Lee Frecklington and Grant McCann in the midfield and with Joe Lewis, a goalkeeper who has made one of Fabio Capello's England squads, to sit behind them you have the basis of a formidable lower league team. Admittedly Frecklington wasn't part of the squad on Saturday but that's still only one name left off of a fairly impressive team sheet.
Lets not also forget Gary Johnson, any gasheads dream pantomime villain. Take away everything Rovers fans will hate about the man he's a top class manager, taking Yeovil from non-league mediocrity to League 1 but more notably having the experience of getting out of this division, taking City up into the championship and giving them a day to remember at Wembley, despite their eventual loss. But it's not only his connection and undoubted success with City and Yeovil that makes him a target for Rovers abuse, but his rumoured previous in the Memorial Stadium tunnel with Ian Atkins and his record against thw gas when he was in charge of the glovers.
It's not really fair for me to comment on the game as I wasn't there, in fact I was sat in my bedroom listening to the match via BBC Radio Bristol, but nonetheless I will have my say on what I heard, as well as the two minutes and four seconds of highlights available on the BBC Sport website. The first half seemed to be positive enough, the ball was being knocked about well and according to Paul Trollope we were in the ascendency at midway. The problem seemed to be the same as last term, finishing, as Jeff Hughes and Jo Kuffour missed good one on one chances, thanks in no part to Joe Lewis's starfish manouvres and a general lack of accuracy and as the game wore on we seemed unable to make the chances required to give ourselves the lead or eventually find a way back into the match.
Two of the three goals we conceded seem to arrive due to a couple of mistakes from keeper Mikkel Andersen, the second being the most obvious as he ran way out of his area, only to get beaten to the ball by Aaron McClean. The third goal, a free kick came as a result of poor placement of the wall by the Dane, or so I'm reliably informed anyway, that's something I couldn't really see in the highlights.
But it's all over now, lets put it behind us and look forward, and we don't have to look too far forward either, as tomorrow night the gas travel to Oxford United for the first round of the Carling Cup. It will be interesting to see the side put out as not only do Stuart Campbell and James Tunnicliffe have slight knocks but Mike Green should also finally get his chance due to Mikkel Andersen's international duties with the Danish under-21 side, good luck Greener.
Goodnight Irene
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