Buckle Hails 'Outstanding' Rovers

Bristol Rovers picked up their first home win of the season as they beat Northampton Town 2-1 at the Memorial Stadium.

Jo Kuffour swivelled and half volleyed past Sam Walker to the delight of the home faithful to send the Pirates into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

The game was level after 64 minutes when Cian Bolger's attempted clearance struck Adebayo Akinfenwa and ricocheted into the net but Matt Harrold finished the game as he struck high into the net to move Rovers up into the League 2 play-off zone, much to the delight of manager Paul Buckle.

"We would have took a win by hook or by crook, but to get it in that fashion; I thought we were outstanding.

"Underneath I was disappointed that we weren't 3-0 up at half time, as we dominated the game, had good tempo and good fight and knew what Northampton would offer us.

"Northampton struggled to contain us with the tempo we played at. There was a lot of aerial battles, if you play against a side that keeps throwing the ball in, you have to be resilient and professional."

Rovers were in the ascendancy from the off and nearly took an early lead when Joe Anyinsah hit a spectacular volley, spinning and hitting from waist height, that forced Northampton custodian Walker to tip the ball around the post.

The home side weren't to be denied for long though, Matt Gill's free kick found Kuffour in the box, and the former Arsenal trainee made no mistake, turning and scoring his first of the season.

Into the second half a spell of Northampton pressure tolled as a goalmouth scramble lead to Bolger's clearance rebounding off Akinfenwa to hand Gary Johnson's side an equaliser.

The parity lasted just eleven minutes before Chris Zebroski's fluffed effort rolled through for Matt Harrold who hit the ceiling of the net to restore Rovers lead.

Kuffour and Harrold both had shots cleared off the line late on but there were to be no more goals and Cobblers boss Johnson had to make do with a fruitless journey back to the East Midlands.

"We just never got started at all." Said the Londoner. "They took the game to us, they played their four up front and we knew if we gave the ball away they’d be down our throats.

"That was exactly what we did, we kept giving the ball away and that meant they put us under pressure."

Improved Defence Help Rovers To Win

Having lost at the weekend there was a modicum of pressure on Paul Buckle and his Bristol Rovers side as they lined up to face Northampton Town on Tuesday night at the Memorial Stadium, not that they showed it for a second, the final result ending up being just what the doctor ordered.

Instantly on the attack the Gas put in a free flowing performance that put to rest some of the fears that were rumbling around the minds of fans following the Torquay defeat, Jo Kuffour grabbing the opener and Matt Harrold hitting the winner in the 2-1 win, sandwiched either side of a fluke deflection that rolled agonisingly over the line off Adebayo Akinfenwa.

Questions were asked of the defence on Saturday and, despite a couple of blips, the Rovers back four looked fairly secure. There was one change to the defensive line up that started against the Gulls, full back Michael Smith was dropped in place of Cian Bolger, the bleach blonde Irishman moving into the centre, thus allowing Byron Anthony to take up the position on the right hand side of the defence.

It was Bolger's first appearance since the start of his second loan spell at the Memorial Stadium and the 19 year old justified his selection, winning numerous aerial tussles and pulling off a superb recovering tackle during the second half that denied Michael Jacobs a clear sight of goal.

Bolger did give the home support a couple of heart-in-mouth moments, it was his attempted clearance that ricocheted off Akinfenwa for the Northampton goal and early on the youngster was clearly pumped up, twice breaking the defensive line to press the Cobbler in possession, getting turned on one occasion, but the overall performance was effective and showed off the strengths the Leicester loanee possesses.

At right back Anthony looked defensively solid for the majority of the game, though the introduction of the fleet-footed Lewis Young, brother of Manchester United winger Ashley, gave the Welshman a tough second half. Anthony successfully solidified the defence that looked shaky against Torquay which will have pleased Paul Buckle and vindicated the changes he made, though Anthony is clearly not as comfortable going forward as the man he replaced on the right.

Young's pace and hugging of the touchline gave Anthony a headache and eventually required a second man to come across to contain the quick-witted winger but the side looked overall stronger with the experience of the former Cardiff City youth in its ranks.

Adam Virgo was one of those who took flak following the weekends loss but Northampton found the central defender in fine form, coping well with the height, strength and general imposition of both Bas Savage and Akinfenwa as well as containing the dangerous movement of Jake Robinson. His forward distribution, the majority of which came in the form of high balls towards the tall figure of Harrold, could do with some work and the occasional change in tact but Virgo's first job is to defend and he did so with an air of composure.

Of all those who started at the back the most comfortable was the man with the least Football League experience, Lee Brown. A summer signing from QPR you could argue that Brown was originally brought in as back up to Gary Sawyer but the injury to the latter has given the 20 year old a chance to shine, one that he has firmly grasped.

At 6ft tall the full back stands as a commanding figure on the left hand side and was rarely beaten either on his flank or in the air while his first touch and coolness in possession, not to mention his passing from the back, looked more like that of a player with far more experience.

Going forward, too, Brown has shown his eagerness to not only prevent but to provide, flying down the wing to overlap Scott McGleish before the addition of his namesake Wayne, deployed in a more central role, gave Lee more space to roam in down the left from where he was able to swing in a number of dangerous crosses throughout the evening, almost setting up Kuffour with an exquisite running centre in the first half.

There is still the odd defensive frailty to work on in training and, when playing with such an attacking mindset, there is often going to be a great deal of pressure loaded upon the shoulders of those at the back, most likely coming from the opposition breaking from within their own half, but on Tuesday's display things look far more secure than before.

Progress is being made and add into the equation the talented attacking players in Paul Buckle's hands Rovers look increasingly hard to better at both ends with every game that goes by.

Buckle Keen To Move On From Weekend Loss

Bristol Rovers welcome Northampton Town to the Memorial Stadium tonight as they look to get their League 2 campaign back on track following the 2-1 weekend defeat to Torquay.

Rovers boss Paul Buckle was keen to put the loss against the club he left in the summer behind him without making excuses, saying:

"We have to dust ourselves down and try and get three points Tuesday night. There is still a lot of things to work on, this is going to take a good few games for us to get to know each other.

"We have got so many players who are relocating and moving, that is not an excuse, but it is going to take a bit of time. If tonight we win I won’t then be saying we are the finished article, it is going to take a bit of time.

"We are not getting above ourselves, we don't think we can breeze into games and win them, we understand where we are as a club, the players do, and we are still working on stuff, but we hope it can start with winning ways at home tonight.”

The improved second half performance and Byron Anthony goal meant that there were still positives to be taken from Saturday for the former Exeter coach who is full of confidence heading into the Northampton tussle.

"I am still very confident that if we play to our very best for the duration of the game, I really fancy us in this league.

"We have seen lots of good things, I have been very pleased with what the players have taken on board, especially the attempts on goal on Saturday. There are lots of plusses, but there are a few negatives that we need to iron out, and we will.”

Rovers started slowly against Torquay, conceding two goals within the first quarter of an hour, and looked defensively shaky throughout but Buckle has the belief that his squad can do enough at both ends of the field to take regular victories.

"It is the whole team that has to function when we don't have the ball. You have to score goals to win games, but over the years the defensive side has been vital to me, so I have to get that into the side now. It is something I know I can do

"Defending the box is a big thing at this level, as we saw at Wimbledon and on Saturday.

"The players were very disappointed Saturday after the game, because they know they can perform better. We are all in it together, we will take defeat on the chin and I am sure if we can keep creating those chances, we will win more than we lose."

Saturday saw some poor on-pitch performances but the new Rovers gaffer says that those will not force him into sudden changes.

"I am not knee jerk, I don't believe in that, I think consistency is the way forward. If we can keep consistency, win, lose or draw, throughout 50 games a season, we won’t be too far away from it.

"We work on things, sometimes that means change of formation or personnel, but I am not knee jerk."

One of the first men to step up off the Northampton coach will be Gary Johnson, formerly manager at both Yeovil Town and Bristol City, and who was so often a figure of ridicule amongst the ranks of Gasheads on the terraces. Buckle, however, had nothing but praise for the job the 55 year old is doing in the East Midlands.

"He is an experienced manager, and they are coming to us on the back of a good away win, so they are going to be dangerous. What we have to do is look at them and their strengths, and then look at us.

"They have invested heavily in the summer, and the club have backed Gary. He is newish to the job, they had a tough time last year and he has bought lots of new faces in, they are one of the favourites, and it is going to be tough."

Johnson himself was also complimentary of Rovers when speaking to ntfc.co.uk pre-match, telling the Cobblers website:

"Bristol Rovers is a good club. They are a big club and their crowd let you know when you are an opposing manager, and they will let me know for sure.

“There are some good people there, they have a new manager and a new team and I expect them to be up the top of the table come the end of the season.”