Rovers lose 2-1 away to struggling Cinderford Town!

It was another disappointing night for Rovers. This was a repeat of the last few games with Rovers being dominant for long periods but over-playing the ball in the final third and then being wasteful in front of goal when chances presented themselves.

Things started well, as the visitors were quick out the blocks passing the ball quickly & crisply on a good flat and firm playing surface. Josh Searle & Jack Veale were linking up well on the right as were Will Richards & Bailey Kempster on the left.

On 10 minutes Rovers took the lead: the ball fell to Ryan Guppy just inside his own half; he spotted the home keeper off his line and struck a speculative lob that sailed over the keeper, off the inside of the post & into the net leaving the home supporters stunned. 0-1, an absolute worldy!

Willand continued to dominate, but failed to get a shot on target for the remainder of the half: Bailey Kempster, Lewis Hill & Jack Rice all having good opportunities but all missing the target with the final shot. Cinderford were reliant on counter attacking, with Lewis Bamford & Owen Taylor looking dangerous each time they received the ball in the Willand defensive zone.

Cruelly, after one such attack after 45 + 2 minutes at the end of the half, the ball was crossed to Taylor who unleashed an unstoppable half-volley from the edge of the area. Ht 1-1; the hosts fortunate to be on level terms.

The second half started as the first ended, with Willand generally in ascendancy, but Cinderford much more in the game & now opting for the long-ball strategy towards their attacking duo.

On 58 mins, after some good midfield play, Will Richards broke through the hosts back line but was pulled back & brought down on the edge of the penalty area just as he was about to shoot. Remarkably the referee only yellow carded the defender when this was a clearly a goal scoring opportunity and Richards was goal-side of the last defender who committed the foul! The resulting free kick went just wide. Straight from the restart the hosts surged forward and an innocuous looking challenge by Richards on Bamford on the edge of the Willand penalty area was adjudged by the ref to be a penalty! Two “homer” calls by the ref in less than two minutes! Bamford made no mistake from the spot. 2-1.

Willand lost their way after this, perhaps the frustration of decisions going against them and tiredness getting the better of them, and the hosts took control of the game forcing Burton into a number of smart saves towards the end of the match. Rovers huffed and puffed but didn’t create a clear cut chance to equalise and failing to put a shot on target throughout the second half. Ft 2-1.

Improvement will be needed for the trip to title challengers Cirencester on Saturday.