It was a bright sunny morning that saw the arrival of the first cup game for the Blues in season 10/11 against 2nd Division side JB Knights who were a total unknown as the last time the two sides met was in a friendly two years previous with the Knights now under new management.
The Rovers started slow AGAIN with a lot of sloppy passing and not enough closing down early. This said though the Rovers did not look under any pressure just not playing with their usual flow. The Blues had to sort it out as it looked like the fans were going to be in for another rollercoaster.
However on 14 minutes a real bit of football was played with a link up between Rob and Rich which sent Arron through down the wing to cross for Deji to tap home from close range. A very good team move and now hopefully the nerves were settled.
The Rovers continued to press hard for the next 20 minutes but could not find the net, the woodwork seemed to be the only thing capable of stopping the Rovers. On 38 mins Rich took advantage of such a high line from the Knights and dinked the ball over the top onto Deji's foot for an easy finish for 2-0. Then a couple of minutes later another team move this time involving Shaun, Mohammed and Chris to again see Deji through for a first half hat-trick 3-0.
Another minute passed and G&S were really taking advantage of the Knights sloppy 5 minute spell and Deji headed on for Shaun to smash the ball home from the edge of the box for 4-0. The half time whistle went and the rovers were able to have a much needed break.
G&S kicked off the second half with a fantastic move literally from the centre circle with a 10 pass move which saw the rovers open up the Knight's defence on 46 for 5-0 as Shaun put it on a plate for Mohammed to put it in the back of the net. Another 15 minutes of good play from the rovers but no further breakthrough, so a couple of changes were made. Shaun the 'weasle' was given a much deserved rest after a Man of the Match performance which saw him boss the game in the air to bring in TJ.
On 61 Chris whipped in a corner and TJ met it with a half volley to make it 6-0, then a couple of minutes later Craig sent a through ball for TJ to latch onto for 7-0. The substitution made a big impact as it was clear the Knight's defence could not handle the pace of the on fire TJ.
John was then introduced to the game on 70 for his first competitive match for the rovers which saw him calmly finish a through ball from Rich to make it 8-0. Rich again sent a smart through ball for TJ who made no mistake to put the rovers 9-0 and claim a hat-trick within 30 minutes.
The rest of the game saw a lot of chances go begging for the Rovers and it really should have been a lot more. As the scoreline was so large it did not have an impact but in the more competitive games these chances must be taken. We wont mention any names 'Chris' but on the whole a very good performance from Chris and the rest of the Rovers who finally seem to be able to make their footballing level tell when against the teams from a lower division.
Back to the League against Bostall which we all know is set to be a thriller after the 3 immense battles last season. SEE YOU ALL AT TRAINING 8:00 AT MERIDIAN ON WEDNESDAY.
