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Post by Nanook on Jul 23, 2016 18:05:49 GMT
Clyde on Tuesday, Kilmarnock on Saturday. Today Morton beat Kilmarnock 2-0, while Clyde won a penalty shootout with Berwick. Makes Rovers opening result 0-0 at Cliftonhill against Ton look like a pretty good result, pity about the penalty shoot out. Highlights of the Berwick match were quite encouraging, I thought, from a Rovers point of view. Interesting table, not easy to find the up to date table anywhere but it is at www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/scottish-league-cup in the fixtures section. Morton top on 3 games, +3 goal difference, 8 points, look good for qualifying, Rovers or Killie could catch them assuming Morton lose last match and either wins both of their two remaining matches, although as Killie and Rovers play each other in the last game only one can catch Morton. How does the second qualifying spot work? Rovers and Killie are both on 3 points, having played 2 games, Rovers on zero goal difference, Killie on -1. Berwick and Clyde are both on 2 points, Berwick have two games to play, Clyde only ourselves, Berwick are on zero goal difference, Clyde on -2. So potential qualifying position for Rovers, but win a must against Clyde is a must and hope that Killie stutter against Berwick away. And then crunch match down at Killie, time for revenge for that League Cup disaster in the 70s (was there), and the Scottish Cup final defeat (no, I was not there). Some interesting detail at www.statto.com/football/stats/results/1973-11-24/kilmarnock-v-albion-roversI will go for AR 1-0 Clyde.
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Post by andrewrovers on Jul 23, 2016 21:55:19 GMT
will admission prices be remaining the same for Tuesday night?
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Post by robert67 on Jul 25, 2016 18:10:11 GMT
heart says 2-0 rovers...head says its a tuesday night home match...seen a few of these go pear shaped but feeling confident.
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Post by d7 on Jul 26, 2016 9:26:13 GMT
Should be a close one. I'll be interested to see what the attendance is tonight. When we played Clyde in the league in Div 2 they brought a fairly healthy support with them.
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Post by Roy of the Rovers on Jul 26, 2016 11:29:02 GMT
Rovers record vs Clyde, 96 games, 22W 19D 55L, goals 122 for 218 against
Todays Rovers game is vs Clyde. Record on 26th Jul, 3 games, 2W 0D 1L, goals 5 for 6 against
It's amazing what you can find on Twitter!
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Post by harriskid44 on Jul 26, 2016 17:20:12 GMT
Will be a hard game, Clyde are scoring goals in there matches, but hope rovers win.
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Post by Nanook on Jul 26, 2016 20:12:34 GMT
Half time, Killie one down at Berwick, come on Rovers, scoreless against Clyde.
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Post by Nanook on Jul 26, 2016 20:54:41 GMT
Killie come back to win 2-3, Rovers lose 1-2. So much, unfortunately, for the League Cup then.
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Post by harriskid44 on Jul 26, 2016 21:28:07 GMT
Bad score line, and with the new players we have not scoring the goals that we thought, and i dont think we will win at killie.
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Post by d7 on Jul 27, 2016 4:31:33 GMT
That was an absolute ‘smash and grab’ job last night. I really enjoyed the game between two sides who, by and large, wanted to play football on an increasingly wet and treacherous surface. Obviously I didn’t enjoy the result anywhere near as much.
On a typical Glasgow Fair Fortnight evening, the rain fairly battered down last night from beginning to end. A small group of fans took up position on the railway embankment for a free view of the game and I just assumed they were Rovers fans. Next thing a big Clyde flag was unfurled and it was clear that some of Cumbernauld’s finest were prepared to brave the elements rather than pay their way in like the 376 who joined me in the stand. Fair play to them but they would have been well soaked before a ball was even kicked in anger.
The first half was a decent enough game with a few chances at both ends. The first real chance fell to Mark Ferry who was played in with a cracking pass that dropped just behind the Clyde defence. His first touch was that of an elephant and although he kind of recovered and got a shot away, it finished wide. Fish was next to feature when he created space for himself at the edge of the box before hitting a left foot shot which he dragged just wide.
Meanwhile at the other end the referee was doing his best to make a game of it by awarding phantom free kicks against the Rovers. He clearly saw fouls where no one else did and awarded one to Clyde just outside the box. The resultant free kick was well struck and if I’m honest I thought it was in all the way; but fortunately it dropped just wide.
Clyde continued to play some nice stuff without really threatening to score and the Rovers had a further two decent chances before half time. The first fell to Ryan Wallace who hit a shot from distance which didn’t trouble the keeper. And then just on the stroke of half time Calum Ferguson should have done better when a neat move saw him get all excited right in front of goal and he really should have scored/hit the target/made the keeper work. He spectacularly failed on all three counts and his shot ended up wide.
So 0-0 at half time and we should really have been in front.
Into the second half and it was much the same story. The Clyde fans on the embankment had disappeared and I thought they had given up. Obviously though they either found a boozer or chippy at half time and dutifully reappeared – absolute stalwarts!
Clyde certainly played their part but the best chances were falling to the Rovers. Darkness was also falling and I was beginning to wonder just how dark it needed to be before the floodlights were going to get switched on. The referee came over to the side of the pitch after about 5 minutes and although I obviously couldn’t hear what he said; or to whom, I’m pretty sure he asked for the floodlights to be switched on! Cue a bit of a run-around then for some of the ground staff to find enough £1 coins to feed the meter…..and there seems to be a meter for each pylon as they had to visit them all and turn them on individually! Anyway I’m rambling already!
Back to the football and the goal when it came was a moment of real quality. Wallace picked up the ball wide on the left hand side and played an inch perfect pass to Ross Davidson who had made a great run straight through the middle. As the Clyde keeper came out Ross coolly passed the ball into the back of the net. A quality finish from Ross. For some reason this sent our keeper Ross into wild celebration in front of the Clyde support. I can only assume they were giving him absolute dogs abuse for something and this was his moment of revenge. All a bit bizarre really.
We pushed on a wee bit from there but in truth I don’t think we really knew whether to ‘stick’ or ‘twist’, and so ended up doing neither. To be fair to Clyde, who had nothing to play for in this match; they started to come more and more into the game – helped in no small part by us allowing them to do so. Their equalizer when it came was a belter of a strike. MacDonald advanced and we backed off, and backed off, and backed off. Before he knew it he was within sight of goal and he fairly leathered a shot which flew across the keeper and into the net. We should have closed him down long before he got the shot away but certainly credit where it is due for the shot itself.
So 1-1 and at that stage we ran out of puff a bit. Clyde began to come forward and obviously got a boost from the goal. We huffed and puffed and created a few half chances before, with only minutes remaining, a decent move saw the ball fall really nicely to Ryan Wallace just about 8 yards out from goal. I would have fancied my luck with an opportunity like this but the bold Ryan obviously saw the chance to make a name for himself and fairly lashed at the ball without grace, style or composure. Even now some 7 or 8 hours later I am sure that ball is still rising as it enters orbit. It probably goes without saying that it was a poor finish.
At that stage it looked like penalties would sort out the men from the boys…………………and of course as it turned out it was a single penalty that did so. Clyde had worked their way into the Rovers penalty area and I couldn’t quite see who made a kind of stupid tackle but whoever it was ended up being booked for their efforts. The Clyde player hit the deck and although it looked quite soft it did look a penalty from where I was. Easton finished the job and with about 90 seconds to play, that was that.
Clyde must have made their way home just wondering ow they managed to snatch a victory here. They contributed to a good game and obviously took two chances. But they lack any real cutting edge based on this performance and we should really be seeing off sides from the lower league. For ourselves it seems we have started this season using the blueprint from last season – and given how well that turned out I can’t really have any complaints. It’s the first game I have seen this year so I’ll leave most of my thoughts until I’ve seen a few. But it seems we continue to concentrate on not conceding anything at the back (can’t argue with that) but lack a bit of quality up front.
I thought Ryan Wallace looked pacey and contributed in fits and starts. He probably needs to do a bit more work off the ball but maybe he’s short of match fitness at the moment? Our striker Ross Stewart came on and looked quite lively. Not sure what height he is but he is tall and should be a threat at set pieces. As for the rest of the team – pretty much as you would expect - solid and contributed a decent shift. Fish won man of the match – deservedly so I thought.
My main ‘complaint’ is that we sit too deep – especially after taking a lead. On top of that, we don’t get enough bodies forward quickly enough to support our main striker. The net result is (and I know it’s just one game but the pattern was similar last year) you watch the game and wonder where a goal is going to come from. Overall though a really enjoyable night and a decent enough game.
Nevertheless, the sooner the league games start, the happier I’ll be.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2016 7:29:28 GMT
A crap night with our worrying inability to stick the ball in the net costing us dearly. A dubious penalty and the second game out of three where a dodgy ref has cost us. Also wonder why we didn't bring subs on as the midfield was knackered. Has Darren learnt nothing on this front? As for the dross on the hill, I do not expect to walk home form the match under fear of being attacked by a bunch of tanked up neds. Disgraceful and you do wonder what the police in this town do. They, (the police), were up at this lot in the second half and did nothing and then cleared off leaving those of us walking home at the mercy of these clowns. Had to detour round the back of the town centre for safety. Hope everyone got home safely as they were clearly looking for a fight. Disgusted. Back to the dark ages of football.
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Post by chris on Jul 27, 2016 9:15:10 GMT
I want to know why the club allowed them to throw 3 glass bottles into the ground before someone went over and then left them to sit on the wall after they came back
Seems like they were too scared to do anything doesn't bode well for the green half of Scotland shame coming to visit
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Post by tommysermanni on Jul 27, 2016 10:27:41 GMT
Good report from D7 as always but I think it's unfair to say this was a Smash and Grab by Clyde.
First have was pretty even although Rovers had the best chances but we tended to over elaborate at the box.
Second half was totally dominated by Clyde.Fisher,who had an excellent first half,faded in the second and we were completely over ran in midfield.
Took our goal well and it is early days but we had little up front. Good points by Jimbo.Why are we allowing club directors to go over and talk to the mob on the hill? Surely that's one for the stewards and failing that the police.
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Post by d7 on Jul 27, 2016 12:26:15 GMT
Fair points Tommy and I'm probably being overly hard on Clyde. They did cause us a few problems, especially from the long throw ins and direct free kicks. We might just have done enough to sneak a victory but a draw might have been a fairer result. The last minute penalty was a bit of a sickener but when you're perpetually guilty of not taking your chances it is what unfortunately happens.
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Post by harriskid44 on Jul 27, 2016 14:39:44 GMT
A am really disappointed with some off the results sofar, we should of been finishing of Berwick and Clyde in these cup games, am worried about the start of the season with our first game against East fife, one of Rovers boggie teams and with Rovers struggling to score goals is a worry, and with the new players that have just come in not getting the goals for us is very disappointed, so where are the goals going to come from and the players thats going to really help our strikers.
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