FL2: Torquay Utd v Bristol Rovers 10/3/12

god almighty,we are at it again,bleeding coronary care country.Just how many different emotions can one team put its supporters through in one game?Tonight i sit here feeling like we have won,ridiculous of course because we didnt,but it certainly feels like that.
Just when you think the ship is sinking captain marvel mansell comes to the rescue,aided by a certain rene howe,who in my opinion was man of the match today,he never stopped hussling and bustling.As a team we were out of sorts today,but come the end of the season this point could prove massive to our aspirations,and to grind out a result says lots about our grit,determination and team spirit,quite how many of us fans it kills off with shock before the seasons end remains to be seen,but never a dull moment down at tq1 at present

A hard fought draw in which we showed a lot of character to come back and something that we have not managed since the early part of the season! Although I was pleased to see Poke not starting I thought Bevan was very good today and I don't recall him celebrating after the Zebroski goal so fair play to the former TFF sponsored player!

It was a fairly even first half and it was a pity that one of Howe's chances didn't come off. Danny wasn't quite his sparkling self and maybe a start was a little too soon for him but great news he is back so quickly! The former Torquay players seemed to be really up for it and all made their mark, quite literally in some cases. Carayol challenged Nicholson late which saw him out of the game after not being unable to run it off shortly after. Although, LRT is a more than able replacement, I thought we missed Nicholson's delivery, particularly when we were chasing the game. As for Zebroski, absolutely no reason as to why he barged into Olejnik to send him tumbling onto his back and heard one supporter mutter on the way out that he should have seen red for that!

So back to the match, thought Carayol was threatening and you can see why the Rover supporters have taken to him. Saah had to take him out when he was given license to run at the defence and a snap shot saw Olejnik just get a hand to it and tip it wide. Zebroski shot high over when he could have done better to have a nearby supporter jeer - no wonder we sold you! However, a great solo run and goal in the second half showed why most fans and the manager wanted him to stay!

So just when the match looked to end in stalemate at half time, the ball pinged out to Harrold from midfield when maybe the ball could have been cleared and his speculative shot looped off Lathrope to wickedly deflect into the top right hand corner. I spoke to Loyalgull who pointed out that we always seem to play poorly in front of a decent crowd (maybe I should have brought up Swindon and Plymouth, ). However, he was right in that we were off the pace and our passing was not up to recent high standards although Rovers have got some very good players for this level and were never going to roll over for this one!

So we began the second half, with some trepidation from this writer at least as our record in chasing the game had not been good recently. I did remark to my neighbour that I could see some goals in this half but not necessarily to our advantage!
Bristol Rovers did seem to start the half stronger and although Mansell tried to get the crowd going, he was as guilty as anyone in those mislaid passes. The second goal came on the counter attack with some great individual skill by Zebs leaving us to climb a mountain.

However, with Danny and Lathrope off for Jarvis and Atieno we attempted a fightback. Shortly after, a shot from Howe was parry-ed by the excellent Bevan and through persistent Manse managed to force it over the line. By this stage Rovers were defending deep with a lot of long balls coming in and although their defender Bolger was equal to a lot of it, chances were coming and a goal could be sniffed. We were open to the counter attack and Stanley could have ended it after some good passing saw him shoot wide from within the area with the goal at his mercy!

A last gasp corner saw Oastler direct a superb volley which Bevan reacted well to push around the corner. However, a minute or so later, a supline cross by Eunan saw what I thought was Howe but learned later that it was Manse that got the volley home and send rapturous applause around the yellow side and end of the ground! I missed the injury time board so was surprised to hear the whistle on this one.

I think it shows the spirit that permeates through the side that we were able to come back and get something when not at our best against a strong side that we were very much the underdogs for in the return fixture and shows how far we have come this season! The bench is looking a lot better to the extent that McPhee couldn't even get on it! Key players seem to be very much in form and I still think things bode very well!

Brilliant to get back into the game, little boys first point out of three games he's watched...... Hopefully a win will come against Burslem for him.

Whats all this about then? I think somebody at the club should look into the matter.

The lads 2, seen us against Gillingham lost 5-2, Bratfurt lost 2-1 and yesterday. He really loves it now and always wants to go to "football"....... who am I to say no?

Although I say no to going to Burton for him, Dad needs a drink!