Monday, 21 February 2011

Bristol Rovers 1 Oldham Athletic 0 - All For One

Credit where it's due. It's now all for one and one for all down at the Mem.

Readers of this blog will have noted that on several occasions this season I have been critical of some sections of the Memorial Ground's home support for getting on the backs of their team to readily - on Saturday though they backed them and got their reward.

Dave Penney's side dug deep and kept plugging away at an Oldham team who were fighting for the right for a play-off place and Rene Howe eventually grabbed the winner after converting Will Hoskins's cross in the 73rd minute.

Howe, 24, is a confident lad who may well have put immature teenage arrogance behind him (see report below), but has still retained a self-belief that could prove invaluable come the end of the campaign.

The pitch is now cutting up badly and must be strength sapping, but it could prove to be a bit of a leveller when more confident footballing sides come to visit.

My clipping for this morning's copy of The Sun

At half time I had a long chat with Jerel Ifil who was sitting just behind me in the stands. Former Swindon centre back Ifil, 28, is a free agent following his departure from Aberdeen earlier this year and admitted he had talked to Penney about a move and the addition of another experienced defender to add some competition for places won't do Rovers any harm at all.

Jerel told me that as his young family and his church were in the area he was hoping to find a club close by. He was also spotted at the training ground the day before and so it looks as though an announcement will be made early this week.

Penney was understandably delighted with the win and said:

"It was nice to get three points and a clean sheet, which has been long overdue, but we are still down there and we still need points. We have got 30 but we probably need another 20 or 22 – and that gives us something to aim for. The win is massive. We didn't like losing all those games on the trot and it was nice to come into a changing room and see players with smiles on their faces. The spirit and togetherness is coming and we are gradually getting there."

Oldham boss Paul Dickov was left fuming though after seeing his side slip further away from the play-off positions. He said:

"We had enough opportunities to win three games and we have to start being more ruthless at both ends of the pitch. We believe we are a good side but we are on a dodgy run of results because we are not taking our chances.

I have warned the players about the need to concentrate for every minute of games, yet we switched off for a moment in the second half and Rovers capitalised with the winning goal. I don't think it will take much for us to return to winning ways but we have to capitalise when we're on top and make sure we stay tight at the back."

Scouser Carl Regan, 30, left Rovers today to join up with former MK Dons boss Paul Ince at Notts County.

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