Matty D
14th March 2005, 09:46
A competent but uninspired performance. We’ll be pleased with another clean sheet away from home, but Rovers were nothing special, and we rarely threatened to snatch all three points off them.
The first half was at least better than the second; and with a gale at their backs Brentford started brightly. Within the first ten minutes a kick from Nelson’s hands bounced clean over Warrington in the Donny goal, as he came under pressure from Burton. Unfortunately the ref felt the keeper had been obstructed and disallowed what would have been a memorable goal in a very forgettable game!
Doncaster hit straight back with probably their best chance of the game, Roberts clearing the bar as he stretched to connect with a searching far post-cross. Brentford had the better of the half though, and Rankin had the ball in the net again, although the flag had been raised for offside. Burton needed more composure as he failed to beat the defender on the line after good work by Rankin. He repeated the mistake sooner after, but this time the rebound seemed to fall kindly for Hutchinson, who fared no better, struggling to get the ball under control and eventually hooking it over under pressure.
Most glaring of all though was Tabb’s failure to hit the target when played through in the dying minutes of the half. With only the keeper to beat he placed a low shot from the edge of the area confidently enough, but wide of the far post.
When a player generally as clinical as Tabb misses one of those we don’t look like winning, and the second half was a bit of a non-event, as both sides seemed strangely happy with the point, or at least unable to summon the creativity to do much about it if they weren’t. Burton stung Warrington’s gloves with an early snap-shot, and Nelson was forced at full-length to turn away a rising drive from Doolan.
Rankin and Burton swapped roles for a time, but Rovers never looked deserving of the respect we showed them in fielding Frampton at the expense of a second striker. Until Hargreaves is back to make things happen down the centre we might be better off seeing what Fitzgerald can do in partnership with Burton, even away from home. Even the introduction of Pratley and Hunt for Frampton and Tabb did little to spice up the tie, although the former picked up a quick booking.
Nelson 7 – very competent
Sodje 7 - generally in control
Turner 7 – comfortable
O’Connor 6 – not always composed enough
Salako 6 – beaten for pace a few times
Talbot 7 – solid in his familiar role
Frampton 5 – struggled to make an impression
Hutchinson 6 – in the right place often, never cool enough with the execution
Tabb 7 – lots of good work, one glaring miss
Rankin 7 – bright and lively
Burton 6 – good work spoilt by wasteful finishing
Pratley 5 – bags of aggression, but not enough quality
Hunt 6 – tricky as usual
The first half was at least better than the second; and with a gale at their backs Brentford started brightly. Within the first ten minutes a kick from Nelson’s hands bounced clean over Warrington in the Donny goal, as he came under pressure from Burton. Unfortunately the ref felt the keeper had been obstructed and disallowed what would have been a memorable goal in a very forgettable game!
Doncaster hit straight back with probably their best chance of the game, Roberts clearing the bar as he stretched to connect with a searching far post-cross. Brentford had the better of the half though, and Rankin had the ball in the net again, although the flag had been raised for offside. Burton needed more composure as he failed to beat the defender on the line after good work by Rankin. He repeated the mistake sooner after, but this time the rebound seemed to fall kindly for Hutchinson, who fared no better, struggling to get the ball under control and eventually hooking it over under pressure.
Most glaring of all though was Tabb’s failure to hit the target when played through in the dying minutes of the half. With only the keeper to beat he placed a low shot from the edge of the area confidently enough, but wide of the far post.
When a player generally as clinical as Tabb misses one of those we don’t look like winning, and the second half was a bit of a non-event, as both sides seemed strangely happy with the point, or at least unable to summon the creativity to do much about it if they weren’t. Burton stung Warrington’s gloves with an early snap-shot, and Nelson was forced at full-length to turn away a rising drive from Doolan.
Rankin and Burton swapped roles for a time, but Rovers never looked deserving of the respect we showed them in fielding Frampton at the expense of a second striker. Until Hargreaves is back to make things happen down the centre we might be better off seeing what Fitzgerald can do in partnership with Burton, even away from home. Even the introduction of Pratley and Hunt for Frampton and Tabb did little to spice up the tie, although the former picked up a quick booking.
Nelson 7 – very competent
Sodje 7 - generally in control
Turner 7 – comfortable
O’Connor 6 – not always composed enough
Salako 6 – beaten for pace a few times
Talbot 7 – solid in his familiar role
Frampton 5 – struggled to make an impression
Hutchinson 6 – in the right place often, never cool enough with the execution
Tabb 7 – lots of good work, one glaring miss
Rankin 7 – bright and lively
Burton 6 – good work spoilt by wasteful finishing
Pratley 5 – bags of aggression, but not enough quality
Hunt 6 – tricky as usual