[Div3North]

Bristol Rovers

V

Accrington Stanley

2013/14 Prediction League – Game 29; v Bristol Rovers (away)

They have a record which reads P26 W7 D9 L10 GF25 CA27 Pts 30; they lie 18th in League Two…………..What that simple summary of their League season conceals, though, is the split between home and away form ………

You’ll all remember that their visit to FortressScoreFirst on 22nd October 2013 really kick-started our season; we met them on a Tuesday night, the crowd was 1101, and after 5 minutes we were a goal down, but James Gray (on 19) and Kal Naismith (29) gave us the win . Since then they’ve played six home League games; they drew the first two (0-0 v Snakefield and 1-1 v Bury); the last four they’ve won, putting, in turn, the Wombles (3-0), Pompey (2-0), the Grecians (2-1) and Newport (3-1) to the sword ….. P4 W4 F10 A2 Pts 12 ………In fact their home form all season has been good ………….P12 W6 D4 L2 – their only defeats coming before we played them, and involving consecutive games (1-3 to Fleetwood and 0-1 to Wycombe); ok, that means their form on the road has been W1 (1-0 at Oxford, who may or may not still have a manager – why would you leave Oxford for Northampton, I wonder?) D5 and L8 ………..but, apart from the 22 points won, 18 of their 25 League goals have come at home as well; so this – make no mistake – is not an easy game!

Little movement of players in or out since October; MF Matt Gill (33) went on loan to Exeter (where he’s previously played, as well as at Norwich), and has now signed a permanent contract there, and 18 year-old GK Matt Macey – who was out of contract anyway – has joined Arsenal; in on loan have come (from PNE) ex Stevenage, Kettering, York, Mansfield and Kidderminster striker Chris Beardsley (29), and last week they acquired Port Vale striker Kaid Mohammed – also 29 and also on loan – who opened the scoring against Newport for them on Saturday.

They did the Cups the hard way …..they lost in the Capitol One Cup 3-1 at home to Watford, left the PaintPot 2-1 across the City at ……..Bristol City …..and eventually departed the FA Cup 3-0 at Birmingham, having beaten York in Round One (3-2 away after a home draw 3-3) and Crawley in Round Two, 2-1 away after a home 0-0 draw

In all games they’ve scored 35; 11 of those have gone to John-Joe O’Toole, a 25 year-old MF whose previous clubs have included Watford, Colchester and various loans (wasn't his sister Plenty in one of the Bond films a while back? ); much-traveled striker Matt Harrold (29, known to his friends as “Ginger” ) – Brentford, Yeovil, Southend, Wycombe and Shrewsbury – has 5, and so does local Youth-product Eliot Richards (22)

We met them in 2006/7, drawing 1-1 at home, and losing 4-0 away; they went up that year, but back down in 2010/11; in 2011/12 we won 2-1 at home (Micah Evans and Kev Long ) but got savaged (5-1) away; last season we won 1-0 at home (Podge), and saved our League status with a 1-0 win at the Memorial Ground in our penultimate game of the season; and the 2-1 to us (see above) in October makes the head-to-head W4 D1 L2, including winning the last three on the spin ……Like it!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 7.45pm on Tuesday 28th January. Another potential 6-pointer, methinks, but with Moly back, Roddan chomping, no doubt, at the bit, Kayode out to prove a point, and Joyce scoring regularly (once ever 22 months …. ) plus the attitude of the whole squad, this is certainly not beyond us to win ……….Might not be pretty, but how often does “pretty” get you anything? And will the last one out of the ground please make sure we've turned off the Gas!

Good luck to everyone ………Remember; passion overcomes logic ………..Keep the Faith! ………….and thanks for playing