By Deadly Submarine
April 1 2006

Steven O’Leary’s first goal for Rovers is not enough to take all three points as a lapse of concentration by the Rovers defence and a bad miss from Delroy Facey that could have doubled the lead sees Darren Byfield snatch an equaliser in a bad-tempered affair at the Priestfield Stadium.

 

 

 

                  Byfield 72                                                  O'Leary 47

 

Attendance: 6,803

 

 

In exchange for ten hours on a coach, and sitting by the toilet at that, the least a Rovers fan would have expected from the trip to the Priestfield was a decent performance but on the back of Rovers recent away matches, a decent and entertaining performance was by no means guaranteed.

 

However this time Rovers put in a spirited but at times frustrating performance that left the Rovers fans travelling home feeling that perhaps the team deserved a win but at the same time feeling that a point was better than nothing against a side with a decent home record.

 

After a goalless first half, Rovers took the lead just two minutes into the second half through an excellent Steven O’Leary goal but as the game turned into a bad tempered encounter that eventually saw ten bookings in all, Rovers failed to build on their lead and ultimately paid the price as Gills top-scorer Darren Byfield who spent most of the game on the floor rather than playing the game, equalised as Rovers failed to defend a free-kick.

 

Brian Little once again switched his formation from the one that began the home win over Huddersfield last week, with wingers Sam Aiston and Carl Tremarco dropping to the bench in favour of Jason McAteer and Ian Goodison as Rovers started the game with a 3-5-2 formation with Roberts and Francis as the wing-backs.  Delroy Facey started upfront with Chris Greenacre in place of the suspended Calvin Zola.

 

Other than an early shot in the opening minute from Steven O’Leary that resulted in a corner for Rovers after good work by Chris Greenacre, there was little in the way of goal-scoring chances in the opening twenty minutes of the game although Rovers seemed to have slightly the better of often long-winded the midfield exchanges that dictated the pattern of the game.

 

The home side broke away on a couple of occasions but the Rovers offside trap worked to effect to prevent further danger.  At the other end, Rovers were getting forward and putting pressure on the Gills defence but couldn’t create any decent chances.  Chris Greenacre kept plugging away for Rovers and trying to hold up the ball for the midfield and he had a shot in the 21^st minute that sailed over the crossbar.

 

Steven O’Leary and Simon Francis were heavily involved in everything Rovers did and with perhaps a sign of things to come in the game, O’Leary registered his second chance of the game on the half hour mark after more great work from  Greenacre.  Just prior to that chance, the on-loan midfielder had turned the ball across goal but there was no-one in a yellow shirt on the end of it.

 

As the first half drew to a close, the home side had two decent chances which both fell to new loan signing from Crewe, Justin Cochrane who first fired over the crossbar and then forced Dino Seremet into a save.

 

So 0-0 it was at half-time as the teams left the field and whilst there hadn’t been many chances at goal, the game had been an entertaining affair.  The Rovers fans were just hoping that a breakthrough would come in the second half.

 

The Rovers fans didn’t have to wait long when the second half kicked off as just two minutes in, Simon Francis’s excellent pass picked out Steven O’Leary on the edge of the area and the midfielder scored his first goal for the Club and one that his performance in this game so far had deserved.

 

The on-loan Luton player picked up the pass from Francis, fooled a defender by flicking the ball up into the air in Gazza vs Scotland type fashion and then when it came down he held off the defender and chipped the ball neatly into the top of the net to give Rovers the lead.  O’Leary was booked in the celebrations that followed but at that point no-one really seemed to care.

 

Ten minutes after Rovers took the lead, Dino Seremet kept the visitors in front with a wonderful fingertip save from a fierce Darren Byfield strike.  Just a minute later Delroy Facey could, and in fairness should, have wrapped the game up as he ran clear onto a pass from Chris Greenacre but as the Gills keeper Brown advanced on him, Facey almost inexplicably chose to try and chip him instead of burying it past him into the corner and the chipped effort sailed over.

 

The question on the lips of the Rovers fans was whether their side would be made to pay for that miss but soon after Sam Aiston had replaced Jason McAteer in midfield just fater the hour, they were asking the same question again. 

 

Once again Facey broke clear of the defence but this time he had the unmarked Sam Aiston running to his left.  Perhaps Facey was trying to make up for his earlier miss but the pass to Aiston was the best option and Facey didn’t take it and the danger passed as Rovers missed another opportunity to double their advantage.

 

The game began to turn into a bad tempered affair as Rovers picked up six bookings and the Gills picked up four.  Seremet was booked for time-wasting for the second away game in succession and Ian Sharps was among the other players booked which means he will be suspended for the game at home to Barnsley next Saturday.

 

With all the bookings and free-kicks in the game, in the end it was no surprise that the Gills equalised from a set piece.  Crystal Palace loanee Tommy Black crossed the free-kick into the area from the right and as Rovers defence seemed to switch off, Darren Byfield finished from close range for his third goal against Rovers this season.

 

After the equaliser, the home side had more momentum but there were no real scoring opportunities and the game ended 1-1 which in the end was a fair result. 

 

A section of Rovers travelling fans booed Brian Little off the pitch at the end of the game after they had first begun needless chants of “three points are better than one” which had begun when Little substituted striker Delroy Facey with midfielder Mark Rankine with two minutes remaining – a move which the fans saw as negative rather than an attempt to not lose the game.

 

Rovers dropped one place to eleventh in League One but now face two home games in five days and a chance to extend their unbeaten run which now stretches to eleven games.  Rovers face Hartlepool United at Prenton Park this Tuesday evening (14th February) Kick-Off 7.45pm.

 

 

 

Steven O’Leary:  When Rovers attacked Gillingham, it was more often than not that Steven O’Leary and Simon Francis was involved in some way and coupled with a great first goal for the Club,  O’Leary gets the award.  Credit must also go to Francis and also Chris Greenacre who worked tirelessly to link with the midfielders behind him but just had no lucky breaks in front of goal.

 

 

Gillingham:  Brown, Clohessy, Hope, Johnson, Jackman, Black, Spiller (Mulligan 66), Crofts, Cochrane, Byfield, Harris.

Substitutes Not Used: Crichton, Sancho, Rose, Grant.

Tranmere Rovers:  Seremet, Francis, Jackson, Sharps, Roberts, Goodison, McAteer (Aiston 62),  O'Leary, Harrison, Facey (Rankine 88), Greenacre.

Substitutes Not Used: Wilson, Jennings, Tremarco.

Booked: Crofts, Cochrane, Harris and Byfield (Gillingham) Francis, McAteer, O’Leary, Goodison, Seremet Sharps (Tranmere).  

Referee: Grant Hegley (Hertfordshire)

Brian Little Speaking the Tranmere Rovers Official Website:

"Overall, for the first hour we were the better side.  We had a chance to make it 2-0 just before they equalised when Del got free.”

I'll take a point but on the back of us being one up and having a chance to go two up and possibly finishing the game off, it is a bit disappointing.”

     

"We had a situation where everyone got a bit wound up. Ian Goodison was fouled in the corner and reacted and after that everyone was on edge. Ian has dished it out a bit in his time so he should be able to take it a bit as well.”

 

"The goal gave their players a buzz but we really should have been more professional than that. After they equalised they were the stronger team."