One goal for and eight against have resulted in our last 3 meetings with Newport. The scores may not always have reflected the strength of theopposition, but we were certainly soundly beaten there last season.
The Welsh teams and their fans have a strong fighting spirit and I doubt whether we will get an easy game. Some Rovers fans may think we are strong enough to get the better of every team in this league on the strength of last year’s finish and they overlook the fact that we had a fair amount of good fortune on that unbeaten run. Conceding an early goal or even two and then coming back is the proof of true character and I cannot remember many times, if any, when the team have had to claw back a goal or two goal deficit.
Having beaten 2 teams that will probably not be rivals for promotion and (in the case of Salford) had some scoring opportunities, Salford in particular had a sustained period of pressure on our goal, but the defence stood firm and their shots failed to hit the target.
On the plus side we do have a team with additional talent over that which remained on the books at the end of last season. We have in Billy Sharp an established talent and we can expect some of the other signings to have the potential to develop, but not necessarliy to be as good as Craig or Adelukan at his best, so we are not going to cruise to a 90 plus point score. The new GK put in a confident performance at Salford, but he will not be a TLT within a few games, although I’m hopeful he"ll be more reliable than the 2 others.
But fundamentally, team-building and individual skill takes time to develop and that has only just begun.
I hope they can prevail tomorrow, but it will not be achieved without a 100% effort and players that maintain full concentration.
2-2 (Ironside, Hirst).
DPL v Newport County
posted on 17/8/24
2-1 to Rovers. Ironside with the first, Sharp if Ironside doesn't start. Molyneaux if neither starts.
posted on 17/8/24
Newport 0-3 Rovers
Ironside to score ⚽
posted on 17/8/24
Oh dear
posted on 17/8/24
The Newport curse again. Didn't see or hear it. Was the keeper to blame?
posted on 17/8/24
I don’t think any of the goals were reported as GK error. Based on the sound commentary, he seemed to be sound overall.
I think optimism overrode realism and maybe it extended to the players. In reassessing our strength the true influence of the outstanding contribution of the three January loanees has not been fully credited. Sharp apart, the hype surrounding the rest of the summer signings may have been exaggerated.
posted on 17/8/24
The highlights show that the defence failed to attempt any tackles to prevent the build-up to the first 2 goals. The third one was a shot from distance which TSL dived for, but could not reach. He made fair attempts to save all 3. Jones would have just observed them enter his goal from a standing position thereby having “had no chance”.
posted on 18/8/24
Well,Rovers+ worked - kind of! I do not know if it was my wi-fi connection, but several times the transmission froze, but restarted without jumping forward that means it may have been the actual transition, not my equipment.
As far as the game, I thought we were supposed to be a fit team, but were slow to react many times and often did not have the pace of some of Newport's players.
Our defence was sloppy and jittery, and as Donaldo says, reluctant to tackle. The inability to clear set pieces was shocking, but Newport luckily did not take advantage too many times. Too many "clearances" went straight to Newport.
What I saw of the first two games I thought our defence looked sound, but not today. Sharman-Lowe (S-L from now on!) was sound. I thought he might have done better (diving sooner) with the first goal, but may have been unsighted. Also I thought Molyneux was fouled in the build up.
Overall, we did not deserve anything from the game, but showed some signs of quality, so my optimism balloon is only slightly deflated.
Ironside was not the man of last season and missed two chances I thought he would put away.
posted on 18/8/24
I haven't seen the extended highlights yet, but I can comment on the buffering because that was present in the Sky+ transmission of the Salford game on Tuesday evening as well as the absence of commentary for the entire first half along with breaks in the second. So it's at the UK end.
So far, the sum of the (alleged) additional strength spread across the several summer signings has not equalled what the Magnificent Three added in the 2024 run-in.
posted on 18/8/24
Rovers 4 (Molyneux) : Accrington S 1
>>>>>>> Scorer Score > Result Bonus > Total > Pts B/F >>> O/all
Donaldo>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>>> 0 >>>>>> 3
PDXMickey> 4 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 7 >>>>> 0 >>>>>> 7
Crazy>>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>>> 0 >>>>>> 3
Mooligan>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>>> 0 >>>>>> 3
Nookie>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>>> 0 >>>>>> 3
>>>>>>>>>> 4 >>>>> 0 >>>> 15 >>>> 0 >>>> 19 >>>>> 0 >>>>>> 19
Salford C O : Rovers 2 (Sharp)
>>>>>>> Scorer Score > Result Bonus > Total > Pts B/F >>> O/all
Donaldo>>> 0 >>>>> 4 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 7 >>>>> 3 >>>>>> 10
PDXMickey> 4 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 7 >>>>> 7 >>>>>> 14
Crazy>>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>>>> 3
Mooligan>> 4 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 7 >>>>> 3 >>>>>> 10
Nookie>>>> 4 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>> 0 >>>>> 7 >>>>> 3 >>>>>> 10
>>>>>>>>> 12 >>>>> 4 >>>> 12 >>>> 0 >>>> 28 >>>>> 19 >>>>>> 47
Newport C 3 : Rovers 1 (Bailey)
>>>>>>> Scorer Score > Result Bonus > Total > Pts B/F >>> O/all
Donaldo>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 10 >>>>>> 10
PDXMickey> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 14 >>>>>> 14
Crazy>>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 3 >>>>>> 3
Mooligan>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 10 >>>>>> 10
Nookie>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 10 >>>>>> 10
>>>>>>>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>> 0 >>>>> 0 >>>>> 47 >>>>>> 47
posted on 19/8/24
Early days yet. GM is a notoriously slow starter until he gets a settled team. Let's hope the away day lethargy that has recently plagued us doesn't continue. Let's hope it is a wake up call.