The Opposition View - Bristol Rovers

Following yesterday's 3-1 win over Bristol Rovers, here are some views on the game from the Pirates' manager Paul Buckle and a few of their fans.


Buckle wasn't too downhearted at his side's third consecutive defeat.

'We're in a sticky patch right now, but I have every confidence that I have the players to see us through it,' he said.

I've no qualms about how the players played as I thought we performed great and on another night we wouldn't have lost.

'The scoreline makes it look as though we were beaten convincingly, but that wasn't the case. We had loads of good chances, but nothing seems to be going for us at the moment and we just couldn't take them.'

'They had four good attempts on goal and scored three times, and that has been the story of our last few games.'


The Rovers' fans also felt their side matched Wycombe in all but the scoreline.

The following extracts are taken from the Bristol Rovers Fans Forum & Bristol Rovers Alternative Forum.


SteveK wrote:
"Lots of hoof-ball to Harrold and lots of defensive frailties. This was a winnable game. Oh for a midfielder like Beavon who runs at people and shoots. Then again, he would probably find the ball going over his head all the time in our midfield. Can't at the moment see when the next win will come. We cannot continue to give sides a 2-0 lead and expect to get anything."


The Bright Side of Life wrote:
"The trio of Harrold, McGleish and Richards was very effective. On balance, a 3-3 draw would have been right. On another day our chances would have gone in and once our defence issue is resolved we are a match for Wycombe. For them, Sandell looked a competent left back and Tunniclffe has definitely toughened up. Otherwise, Wycombe are a workmanlike side but may struggle this year in league one without additions."


bac wrote:
"The gist is, when we commit men forward, we struggle to get back to defend when teams are on the break. Wycombe scored twice that way last night. Good to see Harrold back to his best, and Scott McGleish was outstanding once again. That man never stops running. It's so refreshing to see - someone who actually wants to chase the ball down, who wants to win the ball back, you can see why he is a fans' favourite. I'm not too disheartened by losing the game, it could have easily been 4-4."


Raj Gas wrote:
"A nicely watered zippy pitch - but we had to wait until Stanley came on before we started passing the ball around and spreading the play, Wycombe did it 3 times and scored. Smith and Richards played well but we were too narrow and one-dimensional always aiming for Harrold who didn't get much luck with Tunnicliffe and his mate."


Next Game: Wycombe v Brentford - Sat 10th Sept - 3.00pm

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.