Fifth Home Defeat Leaves Rovers Reeling

Bristol Rovers slumped to their first ever defeat to Barnet, going down 2-0 to the Londoner's at the Memorial Stadium and heaping pressure on manager Paul Buckle in the process.

Izale McLeod poked in the opener after 19 minutes before Mark Byrne finished the job, curling an effort around Scott Bevan with the final kick of the match.

The squad left the field to a chorus of 'we want Buckle out' from the home support, who are growing ever more tired of their sides inability to break down opposing sides, the manager taking the brunt of the criticism.

Two changes were made from the starting line-up that disposed of Corby in last weekends FA Cup tie; Matt Gill starting in central midfield while Joe Anyinsah replaced Scott McGleish, Chris Zebroski taking the veterans place up front, partnering Matt Harrold.

It was Zebroski who had the first chance on goal, prodding a right footed effort at Dean Brill's near post, though the goalkeeper was able to comfortably hold the ball in his arms.

McLeod's explosive pace was causing problems to the Rovers backline, the Gas lucky to escape without a red card after ten minutes. McLeod looked as though he was in behind after a ball over the top, only to be sent tumbling by last man Gary Sawyer 35 yards from goal, the referee's final decision lenient with the former Plymouth defender.

Matt Harrold headed against an upright from a Gill corner, but with the game an end-to-end affair it was the visitors who struck first with their own set-peice. Mark Byrne sent a corner towards the near post, Mark Hughes flicking the ball on before McLeod had the simple task of nodding over the line from two yards out.

Neither side was able to take a stranglehold on the game, both defences scrambling crosses out of their penalty areas. The only chances came from long range shots, Gill only yards away with one such dig on the turn, though he could only send the ball into the Rovers fans in the Blackthorn End.

Mark Marshall was a constant threat down the Barnet left, and early in the second half he found a yard of space to shoot, his final effort, however, was scuffed wide.

The home team were beginning to gain the ascendancy, yet still found themselves unable to break through. Full backs Danny Woodards and Lee Brown tried their luck from range, neither able to hit the target, while Mustapha Carayol snatched at a long distance strike which eventually bobbled comfortably to Brill.

With twenty minutes to go McGleish replaced Harrold, unfortunately the experienced forward was not to last long, falling heavily and eventually being replaced by Eliot Richards after a lengthy stoppage, leaving the field on a stretcher.

It was Richards who came closest of all to netting Rovers equaliser, hitting a stinging 30 yard half-volley that looked to be dipping goalwards. The back-peddling Brill, however, managed to tip the ball onto the crossbar, denying he youngster what would have been a stunning leveller.

Despite constant late pressure during the seven allocated minutes of stoppage time the gods looked against the Pirates. Sure enough, Byrne ended any hopes of a revival, beating Bevan from the edge of the box, leaving Buckle with the weight of the world on his shoulders as Rovers go into next Saturday's clash with league leaders Southend.

New Venue, New Champions?

That remains to be seen, but what we do know is that all five reigning Hong Kong Open champions will return to the Pearl of the Orient to fight for title retention. They will not, however, be making their way back to the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Instead the badminton world's finest will take to the court at the Hong Kong Coliseum, a far larger venue that means that an extra day for qualifying and first round ties no longer needs to be facilitated.

Men's Singles

Lee Chong Wei, winner of the tournament's previous two editions, will begin his title defence against Spaniard Pablo Abian, the world number 23 whose search for form looks unlikely to improve come November 15th. Abian failed to advance past the opening rounds of the last two Super Series events in Denmark and France, a pair of disappointments, especially after he reached the third round of August's World Championships, scoring a victory over European number two Marc Zweibler on the way.

Chong Wei has been shaky in his own right, falling short at the final hurdle at three of his last four tournaments. After losing a pulsating World Championship final to Lin Dan, Lee lost two consecutive Super Series finals to Chen Long, though he put that ghost to bed in France, knocking his newest nemesis out at the semi-final stage.

If he is to face Chen Long once again it will be in the final, as the Chinese starts his first tournament as the world's second ranked player. Hsuan Yi Hsueh stands between him and the second round, where he will be reward with either of the two potential qualifiers who face-off in round 1.

Home hopes rely on Wong Wing Ki, who notched a famous victory over Lin Dan at the Danish Open. If he can find his way past Japan's Takuma Ueda he could square off with Lin once again, providing the World Champ beats Kashyap Parupalli.

First round games to watch:

[MAS] Lee Chong Wei (1) V [ESP] Pablo Abian
[CHN] Lin Dan (3) V [IND] Kashyap Parupalli
[GUA] Kevin Cordon V [DEN] Peter Gade (4)

Women's Singles

Despite having been toppled at the top of the rankings Wang Yihan goes into the tournament as the number one seed in the women's singles.

She will open up against Ayane Kurihara, though the young Japanese shuttler, taking her first crack in Hong Kong, should prove little fare for Yihan, looking to add to her Korean, Indonesian and Japanese titles thus far this season.

Her namesakes, Wang Shixian and Wang Xin, face testing tasks in their openers, matching up against talented youngsters Tai Tzu Ying and Sung Ji Hyun respectively. Sung, winner of September's Chinese Taipei Open, proved victorious the last time the pair met; that was in the Korea quarter-finals, the home player coming out on top in three games.

17 year old Tai broke into the top 20 for the first time in April and looks set to become a star of the future. Having captured her first international title in the US back in July the upstart remains on a high, especially after reaching the French Open semis, beating Wang Yihan on the way.

Saina Nehwal, the current holder of the Hong Kong trophy, will have the local crowd on her back as she starts against Chan Tsz Ka.

First round games to watch:

[GER] Juliane Schenk (6) V [JAP] Ai Goto
[CHN] Wang Xin (3) V [KOR] Sung Ji Hyun
[TPE] Tai Tzu Ying V [CHN] Wang Shixian (2)

Men's Doubles

Defending champions Ko Sung Hyun/Yoo Yeon Seong will enter the Coliseum as fourth seeds, battling Chen Hung Lin/Lin Yu Lang of Chinese Taipei, ranked a full 20 places behind them. Their road into the quarter-finals should not be too steep, as they would play either Michael Fuchs/Oliver Roth or a qualifying pair in round two.

Their Korean counterparts, Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae, open up against the Chinese pair of Hong Wei/Shen Ye, a combination they knocked out of the World Championships and hold a 3-0 record over.

Top seeds Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng have yet another Korean pair to challenge them in the first round. Kim Ki Jung/Shin Baek Chol may be way down in 48th place of the latest world rankings, though that may be deceptive. They have only played eight tournaments together since forming their partnership back in June, their results showing they are still working out the creases of their new line-up.

First round games to watch:

[MAS] Koo Kien Kieat/Tan Boon Heong (5) V [JAP] Hiroyuko Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa
[DEN] Mads Conrad-Petersen/Jonas Rasmussen V [IND] Alvent Yulianto Chandra/Hendra Aprida Gunawan (7)

Women's Doubles

With eleven consecutive tournament finals and gold from the Sudirman Cup to boot Wang Xiaoli/Yu Yang look set to continue their domination of the women's doubles category. They took gold twelve months ago and begin their tilt at retention against Sandra Marinello/Birgit Michels, the rest of their potential opponents until the quarters providing similarly average.

Teammates Tian Qing/Zhang Yunlei should have no problems in defeating lowly Chan Tsz Ka/Cheung Ngan Yi, despite the having the crowd against them.

The field for the women's doubles event looks fairly poor on paper, with seven pairs from the home nation, alongside two from Macau, though world number threes Mizuki Fujii/Reika Kakiiwa will look to build on their success at the Bitburger Open.

First round games to watch:

[CHN] Wang Xiaoli/Yu Yang (1) V [GER] Sandra Marinello/Birgit Michels
[IND] Jwala Gutta/Ashwini Ponnappa V [DEN] Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (8)

Mixed Doubles

In-form Joachim Fischer/Christinna Pedersen will be looking to make it a hat-trick of Super Series final wins when they start up against Toby Ng/Grace Gao of Canada. The titles in Denmark and France went the way of the Danes and with Robert Mateusiak/Nadiezda Zieba the other seeds in their quarter of the draw they stand a good chance of making the semis, where their likely rivals will be Xu Chen/Ma Jin, though Hirokatsu Hashimoto/Mizuki Fujii look dangerous floaters.

Top seeds Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei have a Hollywood clash in the first round with Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun, while Kim Ki Jung/Jung Kyung Eun and Chris Adcock/Imogen Bankier are also in the top five ties of what is expected to be a highly contested category.

Adcock/Bankier have overtaken British rivals Nathan Robertson/Jenny Wallwork in the rankings as they start their first Super Series as seeds.

First round games to watch:

[CHN] Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei (1) V [KOR] Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun
[GBR] Chris Adock/Imogen Bankier (6) V [CHN] He Hanbin/Bao Yixin
[GBR] Robert Blair/Gabriel White V [CHN] Xu Chen/Ma Jin

Argyle Saved From FA Cup Upset

Onismor Bhasera's weaving run and finish earned Plymouth Argyle a replay, denying Stourbridge a place in the FA Cup second round for the first time in their history.

Warren Feeney opened the scoring with an early header, only for Aaron Drake to repeat the feat at the other end.

The game came alive in the second half as Ryan Rowe put the visitors ahead with a stunning lobbed half-volley. Argyle player/manager Carl Fletcher levelled with a deflected strike, but his side were soon behind again, Sean Gebbis firing home from the spot after Robbie Williams was dismissed.

Bhasera had the final word, however, netting with two minutes to go.

220 seconds was all it took for the home side to open the scoring, Paul Bignot and Will Atkinson working the ball around the right hand flank; the former eventually putting in a pinpoint cross that Feeney headed past Lewis Solly, despite the keeper getting two hands to the ball.

Stourbridge were struggling to get the ball down, but forced Romain Larrieu's hands into work when Rowe's effort struck his teammate Nathan Bennett and looped up for the French custodian to claim.

The home side continued to pile on the pressure, Feeney, Atkinson and Matt Lecointe all missing the target, only to get hit on the break by the plucky visitors. Larrieu failed to hold Rowe's initial effort, allowing a teammate to chip the ball up from the left-hand side of the area for Leon Broadhurst to head into the path of Drake, equalising with a bullet from his own cranium.

Broadhurst nearly put his side in the lead, though he could only nod into the side netting with Stourbridge starting to take the ascendancy.

The second half opened with Sam Rock hitting a shot at Larrieu, though a qute stunning finish lit the blue-touch paper for an enthralling forty-five minutes.

Drake cleared the ball long upfield, Rowe latching onto the end of it and clipping the ball over the on-coming Larrieu to send the sizable travelling support behind the goal into raptures.

A cleverly worked free kick resulted in Atkinson thudding an effort off the left-hand upright as Plymouth searched for an equaliser, while Rowe was prevented from doubling his tally at close range by Larrieu.

The pressure was growing on the Southern League team's defence, though it took a huge slice of luck for Argyle to level. Fletcher jinked past one man in midfield, left free to run into acres of space, his final shot taking a huge deflection over Solly and ricocheting in off the far post.

With both sides searching for the killer blow the final ten minutes proved a highlight, with two more goals and a pair of red cards. It was Stourbridge who broke into the lead first, Rowe dragged down by Williams when poised to shoot, leading to a straight red card for the ex-Preston defender; Gebbis taking the opportunity to score from 12 yards.

The game was vying for the tie of the round, and it gave the assembled crowd of 6,173 one final twist, Bhasera beating a handful of static red shirts before slamming home the final goal of the game, the stoppage time dismissal of Conor Hourihane proving insignificant in the grand scheme of what was a pulsating cup tie.

Taufik Hidayat: Is the star burning out?

With 24 career titles in 11 years Taufik Hidayat is rightly regarded as one of the finest players in modern badminton. Yet his star is on wane, and with the London Olympics on the horizon, the Indonesian needs a late pick-up to turn around a torrid year.

At the age of 30 Hidayat is not getting any younger – there have long been retirement plans, stretching back four years, when he should still have been in his prime – meaning that 2012 is likely to be his final chance to recapture the lost glories that have included some of the biggest tournaments on the world calendar.

Only a single game was dropped throughout the 2004 Olympics, Taufik cruising to the gold medal with a comfortable 15-8 15-7 victory over Shon Seung-mo, cementing a place within the sports elite. The World Championships in Anaheim followed a year later, but those illustrious pasts are exactly that, adding to the pressure for one last hurrah when the eyes of the badminton world focus on Wembley Arena next July.

The current struggles began following this year’s Korean Open, Taufik finishing in a defeat to eventual winner Lin Dan in the Seoul quarter-finals. The All England Championships, arguably the most prestigious of the Super Series tournaments, were just around the corner, though a first round loss to unseeded Kazushi Yamada left the Indonesian feeling sorry for himself.

Early exits followed in India and Singapore, while a respectable quarter-final loss to Peter Gade back at his home Super Series event looked fairly respectable, given the circumstances that had preceded it. To the home faithful, however, it was a disappointment.

For almost a decade Hidayat has been touted as the face of Indonesian badminton; the star with the forthright power, deft touch and demon backhand, a star that the nation has not seen since Rudy Hartono and his eight All England titles back in the 1970s.

He has the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders, Hartono himself telling Today Online that Simon Santoso, the second ranked Indonesian, is simply ‘not a world-class player’. One of the superpowers of world badminton is in decline, in the singles game at least, leaving Hidayat as the pinnacle of the nation’s hopes, bringing all the associated pressures with it.

In the same interview Hartono also stated that Taufik was too old. That can’t be argued with. He won his first international title in 1999 and has been competing ever since. 30 doesn’t seem old for a sportsman, but badminton takes its toll on the body faster than most, Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei have hinted at retiring after the Olympics and they are even younger than Taufik.

Without a title to his name since the 2010 French Open, the perfect time came to claim a winners’ medal with the two tournament tour of North America in July, though there was to be no gold for the falling giant.

The key tournament before the Olympics was undoubtedly the World Championships, staged at the same venue as a test event for the London games. There should have been little trouble until the quarters for Taufik, though he succumbed to Derek Wong in the second round.

Further failures to make any true progress at the Japan and Denmark Opens compounded a truly awful year, the lacklustre displays against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and Viktor Axelsen in the latter demonstrating Hidayat’s woes perfectly.

The exhaustion he may be suffering is not only physical but also mental, when you watch the Indonesian in recent months there looks to be an air of complacency surrounding his play, as well as a lack of will. Hidayat himself has stated in interviews that he has fallen out of love with the sport, and to hear such a comment from a man who has built his life around the game is disheartening to say the least.

Departures in Japan and France followed, leaving his world ranking down at 8th, with the potential of losing out on Olympic qualification if his countrymen Santoso, in 11th, and Sugiarto, in 16th, overtake him, or if he drops out of the top 16 completely.

Six months are left for Hidayat to maintain his seat on the plane to London, six months that require a mental rethink if the star from Java is to get one final shot at glory. Despite his troubles the Olympic rings hanging above the Wembley courts should be inspiring enough to re-instil the passion in any sportsman, Taufik being no exception.

The First Months Of Marjon

Starting at a new university can be a daunting experience for the brightest of people. One Marjon student, however, has taken it in her stride.


Tina Fouracre, a resident of the campus’ Kay-Shuttleworth halls, has found the transition into the student routine a breeze, and has nothing but complementary words about the institution, be it the people or the academic side of life.

“It’s really good,” The freshman exclaimed. “You settle in really quick, even though we haven’t been here that long. It’s surprising how quick you fit in and get used to everyone.

“I’m on the coach and physical education course; we haven’t actually got too much work to do at the moment, but we have a presentation coming up, so the work is slowly starting to build. Overall I’m really enjoying it.”

There is more to this student’s life than studying, though, with a bubbling social scene to get to grips with.

“There’s a big social life here; it’s really good. You go out every Wednesday, and we’ve just had Halloween, so we all went out for that. Everyone’s really nice, it’s so welcoming.”

One way of mixing with your peer group is to get involved with student sports, our interviewee keen to get going with the Marjon badminton club, though she is not hopeful of making this Friday’s Plymouth & District league game.

“The training is alright, though there don’t seem to be many games at the moment. Hopefully it will pick up, and when it does, I hope to be a part of it.”

“I don’t think I’ll be playing in that one, it’s mainly for the older years, as the first years have just started. I’ll train up a bit first and then, hopefully, who knows.”

Stuart's Sorry, Saddening Saga

'Legend' is a word that is banded about far too often in modern day sports, with an alarming disregard for definition. It is a status that should be earned through years of graft, labour and the highest level of consistency; not just on the pitch, track or court, but with professionalism away from the arena of choice.

In the past decade no Bristol Rovers player has risen through the ranks - from fans favourite, to hero and the final step up to 'legendary status' - like Stuart Campbell, a former captain and manager who has been held in the highest regard by all those connected to the club. One slip, however, has taken the shine off a glittering relationship with fans, who had held him up as a champion of all that is good about Bristol Rovers.

It's been a week since our 3-0 defeat to Port Vale and the start of this ever-unfolding saga, in the public eye at least.

I've spent the last four seasons watching Campbell put his heart and soul into Bristol Rovers, both on and off the pitch, and to look over the current situation brings a tinge of sadness. 'Cams' has been a great servant over the past seven seasons, his exemplary record, through the good and the bad, speaks for itself. When I look with my heart, I don't want to see him leave, but with my head, perhaps it is time to move on.

Stood outside the clubhouse bar at the Mem last Tuesday night I checked my Twitter feed, the best source for finding the team news straight away. BBC Bristol told us that Campbell was missing through illness, though in truth I wasn't disappointed to see him missing out.

The linchpin of our midfield for so many seasons, Stuart has been a great servant, but last year you could see he was beginning to age, in footballing terms at least. JP Kalala came into the side under Dave Penney and did Campbell's job to a better degree than we had seen all year. This season, nevertheless, I still wanted to see Stuart as part of the squad, though not as a regular starter.

From what we have seen so far the midfield has struggled as a whole, Campbell has been putting his usual 100% into his game, but for me he has been chasing shadows too often, once his run in the team began.

Watching 'Cams' leadership and drive, his welcoming nature off the pitch, you instantly get the idea that he is perfect for coaching. He is fully qualified in that respect and made it common knowledge that he believed it was where his future lay, yet he still wants to continue playing. I respect that, but then again you get the impression that he hasn't accepted that his days as a regular starter in the Football have almost passed.

Being honest, most of us on the terraces can see it, but more importantly Paul Buckle sees it. The deal that Nick Higgs has claimed Campbell and his advisor have requested is, quite frankly, ludicrous. An extra year? Perhaps, if he shows what he can do this season. But to throw in the possibility of a further year beyond, and on increased wages to boot, does not make any sense for Bristol Rovers.

If Campbell has, as we are told, rejected the player/coach role, his possible career chances have been threatened by himself. We are lead to believe that getting a job in coaching professional football is an arduous task, Campbell looks as though he has shut a door that was wide open to him.

The comments that have come out in the press are totally out of character for a man who has acted with such dignity throughout his career. The sequence of events, the ultimatum from his advisor, only succeeded in riling Paul Buckle, a man whose ego knows no bounds. While player power has significantly increased over the past two decades, Buckle doesn't come across as a man to play the stubborn game with.

Nick Higgs and the board have invested significantly in both the new manager and his squad, leaving them with no option but to stick to their guns and back the manager on this one. The last line of Higgs' statement on the official Rovers site - 'I am personally disappointed that my previously good relationship with Stuart has disintegrated to a level where these issues have been played out in the press.' - is ominous for Campbell's future at the Memorial Stadium.

What is clear to me is that Stuart Campbell lives and breathes football, and that may have been his undoing. The desire to continue playing, into and past his mid-thirties, while admirable, is not realistic, not while he is at Bristol Rovers at least. I want to see Campbell as a coach at Rovers, he knows the club inside out and his passion for the game, coupled with his reams of experience, give him the tools required to coach at our club.

A little bit of inward reflection, a few harsh words to his advisor and a couple of heartfelt apologies are required for Stuart to get a second chance with us; if anyone deserves one it's him, he hasn't required it in over seven years of faithful service.

The fans showed on Saturday what he means to them and this club, and I'm sure he feels the same way about us.

Whether you stay or go, Stuart, I wish you the best of luck. But please, don't let it end like this.