36 minutes ago, 47er said:

On the basis of that, I wonder if there is a regular place for Dolan? Of if there will be a bit of a rotation policy?

I appreciate that a rest for him  every now and again is wise given the way he plays, but I wouldn't like to see him on the fringes.

For what it’s worth, I think Poveda and Khadra will continue to have highs and lows…..just like Dolan does. Sometimes Dolan is terrific, other times he’s almost anonymous. It’s part of the learning process I reckon. But Dolan has improved considerably already so I’m sure he’ll continue to feature regularly. I like him.

On 09/11/2021 at 03:39, Mashed Potatoes said:

A very interesting analysis. The whoscored.com website also has Poveda and Buckley as our best 2 performers in the game, for those who want to compare the ratings.

I’ve followed whoscored.com for a long time now (stats nerd) and I’ve used them to make points on the message board. They attach a big weighting to goals scored and assists I’ve noticed but I’d like to know how they assess the other contributions. For instance, in the Fulham defeat there were only 1.5 points between all the players’ scores……including van Hecke and the subs! I guess you could say ….”well, they were all garbage!”

Oh yes! And their methods somehow have Gallagher rated as the best Rover and the 7th best player in the Championship! I notice that they have Poveda in their team of the week though.

6 hours ago, BlueBro said:

Thanks again Tony, always very interesting. Buckley's recent scores shows his ever increasing importance to the team.....obviously apart from when he's played as centre forward...........they will be even better when he starts adding more assists and the odd goal to his game, which should come as his confidence continues to grow. Fair play to Poveda who I didn't want to see again after some of his previous appearances.......something to build on hopefully. Let's see if Davenport can push on after a full game, still far from convinced but hopefully he can at least become a worthwhile member of the squad.

Yes, I was definitely a Buckley skeptic up until fairly recently. He has come on a lot in recent weeks and there’s something extra satisfying about seeing ‘one of our own’ step up to the mark. After Wheelton’s comment above, I’ve thought about Davenport’s contribution a bit more. We need that extra bite in midfield. A couple of his “last ditch”  interventions were pleasing …..we are unlikely to get that from, say, Rothwell or Johnson. I want to see more of him.

i’d already written off Poveda!

33 minutes ago, Wheelton Blue said:

It's a really interesting thing you do here btw, hats off to you for taking the time and trouble 👍

Thanks Wheelton Blue. I don’t get a lot of feedback so I appreciate your comment. It cheered me up.

21 minutes ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

Thanks Tony. So much to enjoy about that game, including the best goalmouth scramble I’ve seen for a long time! 

Yep. The atmosphere in the stadium sounded brilliant. We do so much better when we have a positive mindset……let’s hope there’s a lot more to come before the usual rude awakening!

21 minutes ago, Wheelton Blue said:

I'm surprised that Davenport scored so low.

I thought that he was one of our better players on the day.

He adds bite to the midfield but, as you see, he didn’t feature in many critical incidents. I would certainly keep him though……..check out Rothwell’s scores in some of the recent games!

19 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Great stuff Tony, I bet you enjoyed doing that.

Yes, we all needed that Tyrone. It was the most enjoyable watch of the season I think. I wonder how many changes he’ll make for the next game?

Usually I enjoy it but I was looking forward to this match. It’s knocked my enthusiasm for the Sheffield game. I’ve watched all the games live so far but with your clocks going back the K.O. Is now 1 am here! I’ll see how I feel. 

15 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ha ha. Go for it. Don't let them off the hook 

Not much interest shown Bigdogg but I did it anyway!

13 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Tonyoz usually does a review of individual performances. If he can steel himself to watch the game again it should be interesting.

I managed the first half...........I'll maybe do the rest later if i can summon up the enthusiasm.

PLAYER WATCH v Fulham

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale:

(A justification for the main ratings given above)

I wasn’t going to do this but decided it was my duty! It’s the most difficult one I’ve done because so many players were culpable for the goals that it was hard to allocate blame. But I tried my best! Let me know what you think!

03  Johnson passes straight to Mitrovic on halfway who notices that Kaminski is off his line and tries a long shot. Off-target fortunately. (Pathetic, half-hearted attempt by van Hecke to block by the way.)

Rothwell picks up a loose ball and runs towards the box, he lays off to Edun near the byline but his cross is too close to the keeper.

05  Good, robust  challenge by Nyambe wins the ball from Kebano but Rothwell presents the ball back to Fulham with a woeful short pass. They sweep it out to the wing and Reid drives it to the line where he goes past Rothwell with ease and Edun is scared to put a foot in inside the box. Reid puts the ball on a plate for Kebano, near the penalty spot, who gleefully smashes it into the net.

07  Unnecessary risky play around our own box as Fulham put on the press and inevitably Edun gives it away. After many Fulham passes Edun makes a good interception to win the ball back.

10  Decent long ball down the channel from Lenihan but Diaz is offside.

12  Blimey, they’re passing us to death at the moment!

16  Nyambe is done comprehensively by Kebano near the corner flag and the cross comes in. van Hecke hoofs away. But it comes back! Fulham are tearing us apart around the box until Rothwell gets a foot in and a foul on Buckley halts the torment!

17  Impressive attack down the Fulham left but Lenihan is in place at the near post to intercept the cross for a corner.

18  The corner comes in to the near post and Mitrovic swats Nyambe aside to smash his header into the net. What’s that all about? Why put Nyambe on the most dangerous header in the opposition team. Who made that decision? Mowbray before the game or was it the captain’s decision on the field? Dumb!

19 Travis to Nyambe on the wing and he plays a nice ball to Dolan just to the right of the box. Dolan wriggles into the box but his shot is weak and straight at the keeper. Disappointing finish.

23  Travis wins the ball half way in the Fulham half and passes to Buckley who slides a lovely pass through to Diaz inside the box, tight on the right, but his shot, from that angle and distance, is ambitious and well over.

29  van Hecke leaps and attempts to decapitate the Fulham man. Dearie me! Red card all day long. It’s a nightmare from here!

Buckley off, Carter on! I’m not sure I would have taken off our most creative player in these circumstances but there you are!

34  We haven’t touched the ball since the re-start.

Kebano beats Nyambe again and puts in a flat cross which Lenihan intercepts for a corner as Mitrovic hovered.

38  More neat play from Fulham and this time it’s Nyambe who blocks the cross at the expense of a corner.

41  Neat footwork as Edun beats his man and launches a long ball down the wing but Diaz is offside. That’s hard to forgive as we aren’t creating much and to waste it like that…………….

43  Deja vu. Just like the first goal but this time it’s Wilson who drives to the line and it’s Edun who is done all over before Wilson lays it on the penalty spot and Reed fires at goal. This time Kaminski makes an excellent save. Should be 0-3.

44  Lenihan is caught stranded upfield and Fulham stream forward. Mitrovic runs into the box and Kaminski saves his shot. This time Nyambe out-muscles Kebano and comes away with the loose ball.

Half time.

46  Good long run out of defence by Edun, he passes to Dolan and heads for the Fulham D but the return pass is poor and the keeper collects. 

This is weird; the keeper boots the ball to halfway and Rothwell gets into a minor physical tussle with Wilson and the Fulham man comes away with the ball. Instead of chasing him down Rothwell stands there with his arms spread, complaining pathetically, while Wilson spots Kaminski off his line again and tries his luck. Kaminski scrambles back in vain but luckily the shot, from halfway, is a couple of metres wide. Fulham have obviously talked about Kaminski’s habit of pushing up, he needs to be more careful!

49  A long ball from Lenihan reaches Dolan with the help of Johnson and hares away towards the box. He tries to lay off a short pass to Diaz but again it’s not good enough. Diaz was offside anyway!

50  Fulham the first to every ball.

Mitrovic receives the ball in the middle of our half and there’s no one anywhere near him! He puts a perfect through ball into the box for Reid to chase but Kaminski saves the shot. LUCKY!

52  Poor passes from Johnson and Rothwell stunt all momentum as Fulham continue to pass it around with confidence. They stroll through midfield with ease, Travis and Lenihan fail to stop them and Robinson fires wide from inside the box. A bad miss!

53  Carter and Lenihan are defending high up the pitch and Carter is drawn well into the Fulham half. Mitrovic leaves him stranded with a wonderful crossfield ball to Wilson on the opposite wing. Wilson goes past Edun far too easily and nutmegs Kaminski and it’s 0-3.

Edun is holding his head in his hands.

55  Nice control by Travis and he finds Diaz just inside the box but he’s offside AGAIN!

57  Nyambe is dispossessed on halfway and a lovely ball through the middle of our defence creates chaos. Edun is drawn right across the field leaving Wilson completely unmarked on Fulham’s right. Mitrovic finds him in the box and he smashes the ball into the net.

59  Nice long ball from Lenihan finds Diaz on the wing and his header finds Edun in the box, he’s tackled near the byline but wins a corner.

61 Rothwell and Dolan off, Rankin-Costello and Butterworth on.

64  Edun wins the ball in midfield and runs forward, then finds Diaz on the wing with a lovely pass. Diaz crosses to Butterworth in the box but it’s intercepted.

Apart from rare sorties like this, Fulham are in complete control, different class.

69  We win a free-kick deep in the Fulham half. We send up the big guns but Diaz and Butterworth decide to take a short one and it falls to pieces and the free-kick is wasted! Lenihan and Carter trudge back. But we still have the ball, Diaz receives it near the right corner and beats 2 men and runs into the box. His attempted cross is cleared.

From the throw in there’s more neat footwork from Travis and JRC gets a decent cross in but Diaz’s header loops gently into the keeper’s hands.

73  Edun pulls back the winger by his neck. Yellow card.

77  Edun intercepts near our box but he then fouls a Fulham man….again around the neck! It’s a short free-kick and there’s some lovely inter-passing until Kebano gets it deep in the box. He turns so fast that Edun is left for dead and his deflected shot crashes into the net.

80  Fulham totally dominant. Kebano, with the ball, stationary on the wing teases Butterworth then darts past him to deliver a beautiful cross into the 6 yard box. Carter is done by Muniz who puts the ball in the net.

84  Fulham continue to give us a football lesson in all areas of the pitch. Kaminski has had to be agile a couple of times.

89  Reckless sliding challenge from JRC earns a yellow card. Neat football from Fulham again as they sweep the ball across the pitch. JRC is watching Robinson on the wing but allows himself to be drawn towards the ball and Robinson is away when the ball is switched wide. His cross is excellent but Lenihan and Carter have to do better as Muniz beats them to the ball and it’s 0-7. The humiliation is complete!

Strangely, I’m enjoying the games so far…..the QPR game was cack and the 2-2 draws were infuriating but the team is likeable.

I applauded the exodus of hangers-on and misfits last term……….Their replacements may be a bit flawed (or young!) but, with the exception of Poveda and Clarkson, they have put in some good performances. 
Kaminski, Nyambe, Lenihan, Ayala and Pickering/Edun at the back are solid. Ayala has toughened us up no end…..what an influence! I like van Hecke…..what if he’d scored on that ‘full-length of the field’ charge v Reading??? And Carter.

The midfield needs more ‘bite’ ……teams waltz through too easily too often but Buckley is growing in stature and Rothwell is finding an end product at last. We need the pre-injury Travis back. Johnson was decent last time out.

Before the season started I really thought we’d struggle to score goals. Well, there wasn’t much optimism to be drawn from last year’s performances was there? BBD……..unbelievable…….it’s gotta be self-belief I guess but very, very impressive. Dolan can be quiet but on his day he’s a joy to watch. I’ve given Gallagher heaps on here but, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, he’s rated 6th best player in the Championship on whoscored.com!!! I dunno how they justify that but even I am now hoping he’ll stay fit. Khadra looks like he could make a contribution in attack too.

And there’s the BIG weak spot……..if 2 or 3 of the players I mentioned get injured we’re in big trouble. The squad is wafer thin Still, we’ve a chance to go into the top 6 tonight so I’ve set the alarm!

19 minutes ago, Claytons Left Boot said:

It was in the early 70s as hooliganism was taking hold. As a Darrener, I used to enter the ground at the Darwen End turnstiles and if we were kicking towards that end in the first half, we stayed put. Otherwise, we stood on the Riverside, about two thirds the way to the half way line. I started going in 1966 and you could get to the Blackburn End from the Riverside but it was through a relatively narrow gap.

I remember us playing a ‘friendly’ versus the Clarettes in 1970 and winning 2-0. Rovers fans came from the Blackburn End, through the Riverside and into the Darwen End, late in the game, to attack the Burnley fans, so you could still change ends then. Even for a fight 😆. Certainly, by the mid 70s there was a fence inbetween the Darwen End and the Riverside and the small gap inbetween the Bburn End and the Riverside had been removed. To answer your question, I would guess in 1971 or 1972.

Oh! I would have guessed 60’s. I remember fans walking around the cinder track, inside the concrete wall …….from memory it all seemed pretty relaxed. But memories can be unreliable! 

On 27/10/2021 at 05:46, bazza said:

Before 1960 Rovers fans used the Darwen End because it was covered. The Blackburn End was open to the elements. The money from the 1960 cup run was used to provide the cantilever roof over the Blackburn End.

When did Rovers stop fans changing ends at half time?

16 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Goals win games and dictate how they pan out in general me old mucker. Buckley has a great little knack of assisting them from that position. Not disputing Nyambe is a better defender 

I admit I’m a Nyambe fan but I think Buckley can do his quality delivery thing from midfield anyway. And Ryan does have his own unique attacking contributions. Play them both and have the best of both worlds.

According to the Rovers site, Ayala and Pickering have calf injuries and aren’t training at the moment.

Oh! I haven’t heard anything. Happily, I think his influence has already had an impact on our younger defenders. He is an excellent role model and is forever organising those around him. A big miss.

18 hours ago, booth said:

He was alright, now he just needs to improve his passing, shooting, heading and ball control.

Don’t shoot the messenger but whoscored.com has Gallagher rated as the 6th best player in the Championship!!!

Lenihan tried to put himself everywhere……..it was risky but paid off mostly. He’s a crucial player, especially while Ayala is out.

PLAYER WATCH v Derby County

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale:

(A justification for the main ratings given above)

01 Edun receives high up, on the wing, and puts in a great, first-time cross. Gallagher rises at the far post but his downward header goes wide. That’s a bad miss, it should, at least, have been on target.

03  Nice ball down the left wing from Johnson to Gallagher. Sam carries into the box but his shot is weak and wide.

05  Lenihan has to cover the right full-back position as Derby attack. Dolan is drawn in too and is bamboozled near our own corner flag allowing the winger to put in a dangerous cross. Lenihan is still out of position. Thankfully, Edun gets there first but it’s up in the air. Van Hecke hoofs clear.

07  Some nice approach play from our own box, involving half a dozen players. Finally it’s Dolan to Buckley on the wing, 20m out. His cross behind the defence across the face of goal is sublime. Diaz leaps in at the far post to meet it (with his shin I think) but the goalie saves. Diaz follows up and just manages to push it over the line. Derby try to play on but the ref isn’t fooled!

11  Hmm, Lenihan is being drawn forward to challenge more often than usual. No big problem yet but, without Ayala, it’s risky leaving  a hole at the back.

13  Gallagher wins a corner on the left. Rothwell delivers to the far post and, under heavy challenge, van Hecke gets in a good header which grazes the right post.

14  Buckley is nutmegged by the winger but the attempted cross is cut out well by Lenihan.

19  Buckley wins the ball and drives over the halfway line drawing defenders towards him. He passes to Gallagher who lays it off nicely to Dolan. Dolan threads the ball through the defence towards the D, Diaz chases and collects and moves into the right side of the box. It’s quite a tight angle but Diaz slips the ball expertly under the keeper and into the net. Great finish!

22  Travis picks up in the middle of the Derby half and plays a neat 1-2 with Gallagher. Travis slips the ball square to Diaz just inside the box but his shot is scuffed and the goalie collects easily. Shame! that was hat-trick time Ben!

24  Good pressing from Rovers.

25  Lenihan leaping out of the line again, this time it’s a foul. Rothwell just seems to be running around at the moment - he’s not contributing much. No tackles, no passes.

27  Shinnie scythes down Gallagher with a crude challenge…..he’s lucky it was just a yellow. The Rovers players are incensed. At least Rothwell’s set-pieces are decent; the free-kick is met by Lenihan who heads back into the box but it’s cleared well by the defence. Corner.

31  Derby attack down their right and Johnson can’t stop the cross coming in from the edge of the box; Sibley brings it down but Lenihan intercepts, in the nick of time, and boots clear. A high ball comes back towards our box and Rothwell allows it to bounce, Lenihan is out-jumped and Travis tries to run clear but is dispossessed. Chaos! Eventually Buckley puts it out for a throw.

36  The commentators mention that Lenihan comes forward again, on the right, to challenge for a header…... further forward than we’re used to. It could be a conscious thing to protect Buckley?

37  Neat footwork from Rothwell midway in Derby’s half and it’s back to Johnson who slides a lovely pass down the wing to Diaz. He approaches the box and lays a beautiful pass behind the last 2 defenders to Gallagher on the far post. Sam fluffs his lines and puts it behind. Bad miss!

38  Bird picks up the ball in his own half and goes past Edun and Rothwell effortlessly. He slips it to Morrison in the box, van Hecke can't get there but his shot is too close to Kaminski and it’s well saved.

45  A loose pass from the Derby goalie is picked up by Diaz who squares the ball to Gallagher on the left edge of the box, he squares to Johnson inside the box but his side-footed shot is saved by the keeper’s legs. It falls to Dolan who takes a touch but then nudges it past the right post. We should be 4 or 5 up!

54  Lenihan brings down a Derby man just to the right of our D. The powerful free-kick goes through the wall and a diving Kaminski palms it round the post.

58  Lawrence beats Lenihan on the edge of the box and the Rover has to foul his man. Yellow card. Similar position to the last free-kick but the shot is well over the bar.

62  All a bit sloppy this half. We’re sitting back more too.

73  Not much happening.

74  Derby having all the possession. Lawrence shoots from just outside the box but it’s wide.

Khadra on, Dolan off.

76  A long bit of Derby possession but no real danger.

77  Long Derby throw and Davies beats Lenihan on the near post and manages to flick the ball over his head. Edun brilliantly gets ahead of the attacker on the edge of the 6 yard box to head clear. It comes back though and Johnson heads clear.

79  Derby the first to every loose ball at the moment.

85  Buckley brings down the Derby man and stops a dangerous run but it’s a yellow card. Gallagher off, Poveda on.

The free-kick leads to a lot of Derby pressure. Khadra is left for dead on the Derby right wing, he rugby tackles the attacker and it’s a free-kick just outside the box. Yellow card.

The free-kick comes in, bounces off a head back to the edge of the 6 yard box and Davies hooks it into the net. That same old feeling!

91  More panicky, chaotic play from Rovers. Eventually Travis takes out a Derby man midway in our half. Yellow card. The free-kick comes in, Diaz loses the aerial challenge on the edge of the box and the ball reaches the penalty spot where Morrison brings it down and Richard’s shot hits the post. Lenihan helps to bundle the ball out of play. Pure panic!

van Hecke heads away the resulting corner. Another cross comes in and this time Lenihan heads away. 

93  A long hoof downfield from Derby and Edun is beaten in the air and the ball flies into the box. Van Hecke can’t prevent Richards charging on to the ball but his shot flies past the right post. Rovers living very dangerously as usual…..Richards pounding the ground in frustration! Outrageous time-wasting from Kaminski!

96  The whistle goes and Diaz punches the air! Phew!

23 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

That’s better reading Tony. That’s as good as being there and a good bit cheaper ! Thanks as always. 

Always good to hear from you. Yes, there were a few good performances second half. Gallagher was a revelation; I just can’t reconcile that performance with some of his recent diabolical efforts. Many popular posters were calling them some of the worst they’d ever seen from a Rovers’ centre forward. How does that happen?  Similarly Dolan’s last couple of games were ordinary but on Saturday he was good to watch.

PLAYER WATCH v Reading

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale:

+5 GOAL

+4 Excellent play

+3 Very good play

+2 Nice/good play

+1 Decent play

  0 Routine stuff

 -1 Sloppy play

 -2 Disappointing/poor play

 -3 Very poor play

 -4 Terrible play

 -5 Own goal

The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match.

Ratings

Key incidents per player = coloured stars              Overall contribution = number

Kaminski             ***  **     2                                 

Nyambe (59)      *************  *****     18

Lenihan                 *******************   *****     26 

Ayala (37)            ****  *     3     

Edun                       **********  ****     12

Travis                     *****************  ***     24 

Rothwell (87)      ***********  *******     13   

Buckley                 *****************  *****     23 

Dolan                      **************  ***     29

 Diaz                        *********  ***     8

Gallagher               *******************  *****     31 

van Hecke (37)     ****************  *****     22

Poveda (59)            ***  ******     -4

Johnson (87)          **  *     1

Highlights and Lowlights

(A justification for the main incidents above.)

05  Edun physically ushers out the Reading attacker and wins a throw.

Blimey, opposition throw and we can’t get a touch as Reading attackers pass it about with impunity on the edge of our box! A shot goes narrowly over the bar!

06  Hmm! I think that’s the 3rd Gallagher flick on header from long balls already!

Now Dolan is off down the wing, he avoids the defender and makes it to the byline, gets a cross in but it’s headed away by the defender on the near post.

07  Lovely long ball from Lenihan down the wing to Nyambe who controls brilliantly on his chest. He manages to get a cross in but it’s straight at the goalie.

16  Rahman turns Nyambe inside out in the box before firing off a shot but it’s over the bar.

17  Travis loses the ball in midfield and and Laurent hares down the wing. Nyambe makes up a lot of ground to challenge in the box and Laurent goes down. Cheat!

19  Rothwell is off on one of his runs but his attempted cross into the box fails to beat the first man.

21  Nice ball from Buckley to Gallagher in the box; Sam shields the ball well and lays off to Rothwell but his ball into the box is poor and the keeper collects.

22  Nyambe tries to clear a long ball but it falls at Laurent's feet and he tries a shot from 30m. Fortunately it’s well off-target.

23  Reading carry the ball all the way downfield, Nyambe can’t stop the cross coming in and Edun is beaten in the air but Yiadom’s header, from the penalty spot, is straight at the, well-positioned, Kaminski.

24  Buckley sends a lovely ball down the inside-left channel to Gallagher who chases it to the byline but his cross is delivered straight into the keeper’s hands. 

Rothwell steals the ball and puts in a short ball to Diaz on the edge of the box….but it’s a poor pass and Reading collect.

28  Turgid stuff. Reading dominating possession and when we do get the ball we are passing it from one defender to another in our own half!

30  At least it’s good to see Travis getting back to his normal self. Another good interception.

31  Rothwell picks up the ball in our half and he’s off again! From the centre-spot he releases a beautiful, defence splitting ball for Gallagher to run on to 35m out. He carries it into the box, cuts inside a defender and bends the ball round the diving keeper but it hits the joint of crossbar and right-hand post. So close to a fantastic finish by Sam.

33  Nyambe collects high up the pitch on the wing. He teases the full-back then drops his shoulder and sprints to the byline, gets a cross in but it’s headed away at the near post.

37  Needless foul by Buckley earns him a yellow card and it’s a dangerous position.

Oh! Ayala walks off injured! The free-kick crashes into the wall and the danger passes.

39  Nice pass by Nyambe to Dolan straight down the wing. Dolan beats his man with ease and passes to Buckley. He crosses into the box where Gallagher challenges but the goalie was always favourite.

42  Nice ball from Nyambe to Gallagher 25m out, Sam turns his defender expertly and unleashes a shot from the right edge of the box but it’s 2m wide at least. Disappointing ending.

47  Reading pass their way through the middle of our defence too easily but it’s Lenihan to clear up again.

A very poor half of football to be honest!

49  Rovers corner. Rothwell slides a flat ball across the ground to Gallagher unmarked to the right of the penalty spot but he puts it well over the bar. Training ground move but Sam should have been on target.

52  Lots of Rovers inter-passing in our attacking third, then Buckley neatly side-steps round his marker on the wing and passes inside to Nyambe who does a clever 1-2 with Dolan and Nyambe collects deep in the box at the byline. His cross is deflected luckily by a defender’s chest into the keeper’s arms. Good move.

54  Fantastic long ball by van Hecke finds Gallagher just onside in the inside left channel. He heads for goal but his flicked shot is at a narrow angle and straight at the keeper.

56  Buckley’s playing well at the moment, getting his foot in and showing good control in tight situations.

57  The second poor pass, in quick succession, from Rothwell as his ball to Dolan goes straight into touch.

Now Reading attack and our defenders are back-pedalling.  Diaz is chasing and manages to get his body into the box to block out the dangerous final pass. Foul given to Rovers.

59  Nyambe off injured. Poveda on. Buckley drops to right back!

60  van Hecke wins the ball on halfway and Poveda slips it to Rothwell midway in the Reading half and he’s off towards the box. Dann almost gets a tackle in but Joe just keeps control and his shot nutmegs another defender, hits the post and runs across the face of goal. Gallagher has a tap-in.

62  Reading almost level immediately. They cut through the centre of our half again. Poveda, Lenihan, Buckley and van Hecke all struggling to get near the ball. Puscas, sliding in, somehow manages to miss the final touch. What a let off!

64  Rovers work it nicely upfield and Dolan picks up midway in Reading’s half on the left wing. He heads straight for goal, cuts inside a defender and fires a fantastic shot from just outside the box. It bends round the keeper and into the right corner of the net. Super goal.

66  Dolan robs the fullback and steams into the box. He slips the ball towards the penalty spot but it’s between Poveda and Rothwell and the chance is gone.

Van Hecke can’t keep pace with Puscas and we’re in trouble but Lenihan again comes across to intercept. He wins the foul.

68  Reading free-kick. Lenihan seems to miss his header, the ball bounces and it’s chaos but Travis hooks away for a corner.

We’re missing that commanding Ayala presence as no one attacks the high ball from the corner, it’s bouncing around again and, this time Lenihan clears.

69  Danger again as Puscas crosses from the wing but Buckley gets up well to clear.

71  van Hecke is struggling and brings down the Reading man just to the left of the box. Yellow card. The free-kick comes in low and flat to the edge of the box and Buckley does well to rush out and block the shot. Eventually Gallagher wins the ball and clears.

76  We're inviting Reading to attack! There’s no out-ball. I’ve seen this before!

78  Poveda is dispossessed in our own half. He has to foul the Reading man. Poor play and a yellow card.

80  Dolan, on the wing, brings the ball out of defence and beats Drinkwater. He’s by the corner flag and this time nutmegs Drinkwater and slides the ball to Poveda in the box. Poveda tries to beat 3 defenders with the inevitable conclusion. Reading hoof clear.

84  Travis makes an important challenge in the box and van Hecke picks up the loose ball and lofts a nice long ball for Poveda to chase. Van Hecke keeps running. Poveda crosses to Diaz who heads the ball back across goal to the charging van Hecke. It bounces on the 6 yard line but van Hecke can’t direct it on goal and it’s just wide. What a fantastic goal that would have been!

86 Rothwell off, Johnson on.

88  Gallagher and Johnson combine to win the ball on halfway. Dolan picks up and gallops down the wing. He cuts inside and shoots trying to repeat his earlier success but this time the keeper brings out an excellent save. Diaz wanted the pass!

Buckley takes a short corner to Travis who immediately loses the ball! Reading stream forward but Johnson takes one for the team. Yellow card.

On 19/10/2021 at 21:37, BlueBro said:

Thanks Tony very interesting and accurate reflection. It also confirms to me that there were quite a number of strong performances, and the biggest liability to the team and reason for the failure was sat in the dugout. 

Thanks BlueBro; dunno if I’ve got the enthusiasm to do the QPR match!

47 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Thanks as always Tony. You appear to have Kane receiving two yellow cards. Minutes 17 and 78.

Well spotted! Kane didn’t get a yellow for the first foul…..even though he deserved one. I’ll edit it. Thanks.