*MATCH PREVIEW*
Willand Rovers v Shaftesbury
All eyes turn to the fixture list this Saturday as Rovers continue battling through the shortest month of the year it’s the turn of Dorset side Shaftesbury who makes the journey to Silver Street this weekend ahead of another clash in the Pitching In Southern Football League Division One South with a 3 pm kick-off at the Stan Robinson.
Our first fixture of the week saw David Steele’s men travel up the motorway to Cribbs in which several returning players made it onto the team sheet for this game. The hosts took the lead early on through a goal from Calney, then two before the half-hour mark through Bonnick. Rovers made sure not to let the hosts run too far away with it as Kempster pulled it back to half the deficit going into the break.
Second half and the hosts did get that third but the story does not end there with Kempster finding a response early within the second half. Harvey Dorothy helped secure a point on the road on a bitter night in Brizzle just under 20 minutes from time which was the final action of the half and 3-3 it stayed.
Onto this game now and it is the Rockies (not the Rookies, sorry Fin) who make the journey down to Mid Devon on Saturday, Pat McManus and his lads have progressed on through the season with it being their debut campaign at this level. They’ve had a midweek off after having Exmouth come to them on Saturday but it was the hosts who managed to find three points on the afternoon.
One to look out for Shaftesbury would have to be Brett Pitman. For those who aren’t familiar with Brett, he has a fantastic CV of footballing experience with his career starting at AFC Bournemouth before making a move to Bristol City where he spent three years at the gate. Other clubs he has plied his trade at include Ipswich Town, Portsmouth, Swindon Town, Bristol Rovers and the most prestigious of all… AFC Portchester where he scored a lot of goals in the 9th tier.
We visited Cockrams during October in which for around 90 minutes it was 0-0, however, it would be the one to look out for which put it in the back of the net to secure three points for the hosts on the night after a heavy battle.
With Valentine’s Day out of the way, hopefully you’ve bought your partner a ticket to this fixture to show your appreciation or if you don’t have a relationship, treat yourself to a game of football and the joy of another exciting Willand Rovers game, see you Saturday.
#WeAreRovers
