Rovers Vs Man Utd. 1st Leg

[Wild Irish Rover]

Cracking game. Possibly United shaded it, so fair play to RFW for putting out a strong team and making a game of it (YOU LISTENING ARSENE??)

I thought Rovers were excellent tonight - I could only watch from a distance on the dreaded Sky, but it is a long time since I have felt so nervous about a game whilst it was going on. The work that the players got through was tremendous - chasing down everything and I mean everything, as if their lives depended upon it. Perhaps this is the fruit borne of proper fitness coaching and the can do attitude epitomised by Sparky during his playing career.

Anyway, I can't wait for the return leg at the theater (sic) of dreamers.

Now lads... calm down and turn Bolton over for us on Saturday.. PLEASE!!

[N8 ORTS]

yeah i noticed Bellamy was looking rather frustrated at the end of the game. Must be hard when the other strikers ain't at the same level. Hope Hughes gets some one else to support him ASAP, last thing we need is him wanting to move somewhere else (worst case obviously) .

Edited January 11, 2006 by N8 ORTS

[brfcshabba]

I believe it was Bellamy's fifth yellow card tonight and so he will miss the game against Newcastle

[Jim J]

Bellamy must be getting somewhat frustrated by his strike partners. I mean, we have no proper partner for him to play of.

The two other strikers at the club have their roles to fill, Dickov is the "run at everything and kick everyting" kind of terrier and Kuqi is the battering ram tank centre forward, but none of them can put in a decent pass. There is in effect no supply for Bellamy from the other strikers.

Lets hope thare is a quality striker on the way in this month.

373634[/snapback]

My thoughts exactly, it gets a bit embarrassing when Kuqi gets the ball at his feet and has time to think about it. I'll give him 10/10 for effort, but only 3/10 for ability.

Another striker would make so much difference to our push for Europe.

[RoyRover]

We played well in the first half of tonights game and should have been two up after five minutes. In the second hlaf, we struggled to get going. A draw was a fair result. I thought that Todd and Gray were our best players tonight. Another cracking goal from Pedersen! Bellamy desperately needs someone to play along side him. I though Kuqi was dire again tonight. He set up the goal, but did little else to worry the United defence. One our few chances in the second half fell to him and he shot hopelessly into the boards. I really hope that Hughes has someone lined up to buy and play with Bellamy.

[krislu]

Great first half, very poor second half. I counted 5 clear goal scoring chances goals included, 3 of those was for Rovers.

Our passing in defensive areas was really poor today, and on another day it could have cost us dearly. Kuqi was also rotten today, never seen him as poor as this. Also, Bellamy should stop moaning so much, on the other hand he played up front with Kuqi today.

Overall I'm happy, and we still have a chance getting to the final!

[Shevchenko]

Having watched it on TV I'm really disappointed with the second half. It started so well with huge chances and we could have been two up within the first five minutes. First half was good but I wonder what Hughes told them in the dressing room because they came out for the second half and were rubbish really. Pedersen completely disappeared, Kuqi was awful and Tugay and Sav were completely ineffective. We let them take control and win the ball in midfield far to easily. Disappointed that Hughes didn't use his substitues earlier. The match was crying out for someone like Dickov or Reid much earlier.

Fair enough result, just sucks that we seemingly didn't bother to play in the second half.

[yawnsie]

Dunno why, but I feel more confident now then I did before tonight's match. Although United were on top in the second half, we defended well and I can't remember Brad having many serious saves to make, and if Kuqi's touch had been better we might have nicked another one. Also good to see us come back quickly from behind again. If we defend like that at Old Trafford and get a bit of luck, I think we can get a result there.

[modes98]

I believe it was Bellamy's fifth yellow card tonight and so he will miss the game against Newcastle

373638[/snapback]

Thats correct, i thought he had given the card to kuqi at the time though.

Not the best performance, felt we dropped too deep too often. Bellers and kuqi worked ok in the first half and didn't work at all in the second.

Bentley did ok, but i'd rather have emmo with what he offers defensively and in partnership with neill against manyoo.

Can't complain with 1-1, can complain with Savage still not being able to miss the keeper even from 5 yards!

Bring on the Bolton!!!

[Mafioso]

well done to andy todd and michael gray ... kuqi was far too slow, its tough for bellamy wen his strike partner constantly falls behind. tugay passing wasnt as accurate and piercing as usual but a good performance nonetheless. savage worked hard but didnt do too much more than that apart frm missing that chance (nooooo !!!!) emerton and reid didnt have much chance to impress but did nothing much with the little they had either. bellamy played a good game but had to resort to passing and crossing rather than waiting to finsih which is a good reason to be frustrated ... 2 thumbs up to pedersen for the goal, right footed goal that is .... we defended well but paniced at times and found trouble coming forward, bentley did well bringing up attacks.... as for united, they had their tail between their legs in the opening moments of the game but credit to fletcher for a flawless performance. both teams scored a goal each both were denied clear chances so i guess 1 - 1 was a fair result ... old trafford awaits

[philipl]

Brilliant First Half with two well-matched teams, Rovers didn't get going second half but contained the Manc attacks fairly comfortably. I expect shots on/off target numbers are pretty equal.

Yes Savage and Kuqi should both have scored inside the first six minutes but Rooney was thankfully wayward as well. Just hope Savage has scored by the time we go to OT because he's getting into scoring opportunities but not believing in himself putting them away at the moment.

When we were on top MGP and Bentley were having superb games and Kuqi was causing real problems. In the second half the two wide players disappeared, Kuqi was back to an agricultural level and Nelsen's passing became awful. Have to say Reid really looked good for the short time he was on in place of Tugay and the Rovers were beginning to change the balance of play as the final whistle went.

MGP's goal was so sweet- a volley that reminded me of Duffer at his best!

I thought Rob Stiles was pretty fair and handled the game well. The linesman should have spotted the entireless needless shove by Fedrinand on Bellamy in the box- it was pretty blatant. Smith's lunge on Savage was awful and I think he would have walked had Savage not grabbed Rooney round the neck in the ensuing melee. As it was either they both went or they both got the yellows which Stiles gave them.

A really bad foul by Wes Brown on Bellamy where he left his studs in the back of his knee early on went unpunished. And a really stupidly bad decision against Kuqi when Van Der Saar got upended by Brown which led to Bellamy mouthing of for his yellow.

Enjoyed it and although its an outside chance, we can still make the Final. 2-2 after ET at OT?

Edited January 11, 2006 by philipl

[ABBEY]

24,348... well done Roverites.

373620[/snapback]

another fiddle!!!if there were thousands of empty seats i couldnt see em....and the blackburn end was shocking tonight,about 50 singing and getting behind the team the rest just sat on there hands aprt from 10 mins in 2nd half...it was a semi and the people didnt care...

[krislu]

Disappointed that Hughes didn't use his substitues  earlier. The match was crying out for someone like Dickov or Reid much earlier.

373642[/snapback]

Totally agree!

[S15]

Kuqi is awful. Needs replacing asap (Time machine - Sutton etc). Dickov and Bellamy from the start week in week out now please.

And those talking about Pedersen being poached, all I can say it's a bloody good job he scores these goals (and yes it is the most important thing in football, so credit to him) as if he didn't, IMO, his performances could easily be considered inept.

Pleased with result, play average yet never in much danger of losing to United is always a good sign, we are a good team, but as we know, plenty of area for improvement.

Could do with Peters' youthful fearlessness in the final third at some point at OT, certainly a more worthy substitute than some.

[RovertheHill]

Generally happy with that. Thought the booking on Sav was unfortunate but he's only got himself to blame. It took him out of the game really. Unhappy with the inconsistency - in the second half I watched Stiles book Tugay after counting 4 fairly innocuous fouls, yet both Silvestre (why the long face) and Ronaldo (neck, what neck?) both committed a similar series of fouls in a similar timeframe and didn't get carded.

With a bit of luck united will be over-confident in the second leg

Edited January 11, 2006 by RovertheHill

[Exiled in Toronto]

Interesting to see Kuqi being given no credit whatsoever on this thread for setting up our two substantive chances of the game, including the goal. Yes he is crap on the ground, but no more than Bellamy would look if every ball were to his head.

Thoroughly enjoyed the first half; good attacking play by both teams.

excellent result for us after the 2nd half when we were awful. The Man Yoo of old would have buried us. Would have been nice if MGP and Savage had come out after half time. And who picked Todd as MoM - Fergie? Gray for me.

[trueblue]

I can't believe what I'm reading on here !! "the referee was fair" - What ??

Rooney and Smith should have been given the red card for that atrocious debacle on Savage ! if that had been Dickov and Tugay on a red do you think they would both be still on the pitch?

Also, that same referee who Alex Ferguson critisised so heavily.. then had all charges dropped by the FA.. should never have referee'd this game !

We pay good money to watch a game of football only to see it turned into a one-ring-circus by inept referees

Come on Rovers, lets get this red scum beat at the theatre of merchandising

[waggy]

a blood and thunder semi final,were we rovers played our part in a fasinating game.we started off really well,chances fell to the wrong players but we took the game to manu.united seemed to have a lot more time on the ball,i sat in the riverside and ronaldo was a joy to watch,pace electric,beat a man but cannot cross for the life of him.

utd goal was caused by us getting to many men forward,saha made a good run but nelsen and todd seemed to leave the tackle to one another.the equaliser was a fantastic strike,mgp all over.

the fracas that saw savage,smith and rooney booked was a real scrumage,at the game my lad was convinced rooney had punched sav,but it looks like more histrionics by lily when viewed again on tv.smith was lucky to stay on,but when i was baiting the ref during the warm -up smith and him were having a little chat.

the 2nd half was controlled from start to finish by manu and sparky should have used the subs 15 minutes earlier,but the tie is alive.

my ratings

brad 6 no chance with goal

niell 7 strong

todd8 motm back to his best

admiral 6 poor game by his high standards,seemed to be carrying a injury/

gray 7 ran todd close for motm but was upfield when utd scored

bentley 6 in and out

lily 6 tireless runner and poor finisher

tugay 6 solid

mgp 7 fantastic goal,but get more involved

bellers 7 needs a partner

honet monster *** cannot give him a mark,but this man has a lions heart.

[RevidgeBlue]

Although 1-1 isn't an ideal score to take out of the home leg, you have to be pleased we're still in the tie after such a dire second half.

We were electrifying for the first fifteen minutes and should have been two goals up.

After that our performance gradually deteriorated as the game went on and it was no real surprise when we went one down. We didn't pick up a great deal after that and it took yet another special goal out of the blue from MGP to get us back in the tie. I thought we could then get to half time and regroup but..................

We never came out of the dressing room in the second half. We looked disinterested, second to every ball, and no-one was moving for each other.

If we'd have played any deeper we'd have been in the Darwen end with the Manure fans.

Thankfully we defended well.

The United side of 5 or 6 years ago would have absolutely mullered us, but thankfully this bunch are distinctly ordinary in comparison and couldn't punish us.

Must say Kuqi is normally full of hustle and bustle but his contribution tonight in this our most important game of the season was a disgrace.

He wasn't moving freely at all but in his defence he seemed to me to be clearly limping on his right ankle throughout and I was amazed he was not taken off.

Only Reid and Dickov showed the urgency that had previously been sadly lacking when introduced as substitutes far too late.

So on the face of it we blew our chance in the second half tonight.

Although something inside me says we can't possibly play as badly again at OT as we did in that second half tonight.

And I'm not sure United can do any better. The disappointing thing is conceding an away goal.

[modes98]

Rooney and Smith should have been given the red card for that atrocious debacle on Savage !

373666[/snapback]

Couldn't agree more with the Smith challange being a straight red. Nothing but pure anger and hatred in that challange.

I thought first out and after the first couple of replays that rooney thrust his elbow at sav's face, then from the other angle it seemed as if it may have been smith's fault for taking him out aswell.

Problem is The FA can't now take any action against smith as the red saw the incident (who the made up that y rule).

I assume they could take action against rooney....sorry that almost sounded sensible then, but an england player getting charged by The FA........ we live in hope!

[Tris]

I can't believe what I'm reading on here !! "the referee was fair" - What ??

Rooney and Smith should have been given the red card for that atrocious debacle on Savage ! if that had been Dickov and Tugay on a red do you think they would both be still on the pitch?

Also, that same referee who Alex Ferguson critisised so heavily.. then had all charges dropped by the FA.. should never have referee'd this game !

We pay good money to watch a game of football only to see it turned into a one-ring-circus by inept referees 

Come on Rovers, lets get this red scum beat at the theatre of merchandising 

373666[/snapback]

I think this is really unfair, and people are in danger of developing this "persecution complex" so far that they're no longer objective.

The only mistake the ref made today (IMO) was to book Dickov. He waited ages before producing his first yellow, gave players warnings (eg Tugay couldn't really complain - he'd been told it was coming), and really let the game flow.

The melee involving Savage was instigated by Smiths' challenge, but because Savage reacted the way he did, the card had to be the same for both of them - credit to Stiles for producing yellows rather than reds. I can think of several of his colleagues who would have lost control at that point.

[RevidgeBlue]

Agree on that.

Watching it live I thought a United player had instigated a career threatning challenge on Sav and another United player had pushed Stiles over. I was expecting 2 reds.

Watching the replay on TV, Smith hacked Savage down from behind. Savage put Rooney in a headlock thinking it was him, and the ref fell over. Three yellows was fair.

But didn't Bellamy get a yellow when Van Der Saar collided with one of his own players?

[colin]

A decent game. We now have our work cut out to get a win at The Theater Of Dreams (or a 2-2 draw AET)

MH has yet to lose a game against RFW so there is a little bit of hope there, but I can't help thinking that if this was the situation 4 or 5 years ago we would all be thinking that we were doomed.(note to self..repeating Revidge's comment) There's definately a realistic spark of optimism around the place and it isn't too misplaced.

Just a few notes from the game: Tugay had a bit of an off day by his standards. If he was on song we would have looked a lot more dangerous, we all know how good he can be, but tonight wasn't one of those.

Shefki was himself to the lowest common denominator. A great lump. Nothing wrong with a great lump, but he really needs to get his brain into controlling "the first touch." He was pretty woeful tonight.

Man Of The Match for me was Mickey Gray. He ran his legs off, dealt reasonably well with My Little One Trick Pony (who had a very good game) and he did some sterling support work for MGP.

All in all fairly good night. Now if Wigan can get past Arsenal & we can get past TRS then I'm sure that most people in football, bar the obvious two and the TV people (up yours TV people) will be happy.

And just as a footnote:

Been in the Blackburn End for donkey's years. Always had a chat with the guys around us. Two callow, spotty youths appeared on the row in front of us. They turned round to all behind them and started"F*****g support your team and sing."

And they went on and on and on.

They had moved a bit further forward by the second half.

So if anyone reading this was sat in The Blackburn End rows 9-11, seats 50-60, and you haven't got acne, gentlemen I salute you. Although I've got to say that "Shut the **** up or I'll take you down below and give you a good kicking" was a bit OTT.

Deserved though.

[Jan]

Just back from the game. From my view of the "incident" (from the Jack Walker lower)- whichever of the Mancs went in to Savage definitely deserved a red. It was a two-footed scything lunge, which has no place in a game.

If that's the best team the Mancs can throw at us, and they have more games than us to the next leg (one against Liverpool), we have more than a little chance!

[AxesFirstTouch]

Gray was awesome Defensively, Making some great tackles, although he does look very dodgy if the ball isnt played to his left foot. He seemed to have Ronaldo very sussed unlike previous games when hes been skinned.

Anyone else think bentley had a really good first half? Always looking to drive forward unlike mr emerton. The only gripe is that he looks too lightweight at the moment, he needs to get in the gym, and whenever anyone gets near him you feel hes going to end up on the floor.