Three changes to the starting line up were made since the thumping we received at Oxford and all three were positive, improving the side, but the big change was that of the formation with Paul Trollope reverting back to the tried and tested 4-4-2, which I can't say I'm disappointed to see. The 4-2-3-1 formation that we had been using throughout the season so far is all well and good if you have a target man who can take the role of 'the one', but when you have 5ft 7in Jo Kuffour and 5ft 9in Will Hoskins up top it doesn't quite work, not unless you have players of the Xavi and Villa ilk in your team. And the search for a targetman seems to be going nowhere either, at least not in the public eye, as nothing has been seen or heard about the subject in the press aside from Nick Higgs stating that Trolls is yet to find someone who fits the bill.
The game itself saw Rovers only perform for about 25 minutes of the 90, the first five, the last five and a fifteen minute period at the start of the second half but aside from that, Yeovil appeared to have more of the ball and the better of the play even though the stats said that possession was 50/50. During those short spells when Rovers were on top however we looked like a side that can truly perform, Jeff Hughes shot in the first minute that followed some tidy passing and movement being evident of that. But it could have been so different had Danny Coles not gotten in a flying goal line clearance when the Glovers should have taken the lead and shortly after that Rovers took the lead as an excellent cross from Gary Sawyer was nodded in by Jo Kuffour, a player who rarely gets on the scoresheet from headers.
The second half started far better and the initial spell saw some slick passing, including an excellent counter attack that was set up by Wayne Brown, though all of the endeavour never lead to anything substantial. And once that period of pressure was over the Gas found themselves being forced further and further back by Yeovil and this continued even after the red card received by Jean-Paul Kalala and eventually Rovers paid as Adam Virgo drove a volley into the back of the net from a corner.
Most gasheads would have been left with a feeling of what could have been after the equaliser and two very good handball appeals in stoppage time wouldn't have helped that feeling go away but thankfully, right at the death, Byron Anthony, who had rather oddly been given man of the match minutes before, forced home the third goal of the match to win it for the Gas in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the sponsors must have been psychic! You could see how much this meant to the players on the field as Anthony was then mobbed before celebrating to the crowd.
My two stand out players from the match were Wayne Brown and Will Hoskins. Hoskins chased nearly every ball, putting pressure on the Yeovil defenders and winning a number of throw-ins during the match. His first touch is one of the best in the club, up there with Jo 'glue boots' Kuffour, and if he can get the right service from the players around him he will score goals at this level. Wayne Brown continued from when I last saw him in pre-season, he has bags of energy and isn't afraid to get stuck in for such a small player. Many of the passes he played were of a top standard, including a ball over the top that unfortuneatley just evaded both Hoskins and Kuffour.
So an overall disappointing performance from Rovers, too many long balls and being forced too far back made things look as if there had been no positive change from last season, though we can all be thankful for three points which can hopefully kick start our season. Onto Exeter next and hopefully some more points to add to the tally, though it will be their first game since the sad death of Adam Stansfield, so it should certainly be an emotionally charged affair. RIP Adam.
Goodnight Irene
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