We discuss Rovers' loss to Harrogate.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Good evening, Ricky Charles here from Harrogate after Doncaster's 2-0 defeat this evening.
00:07Yeah, just a really off night for Rovers tonight, really sobering defeat.
00:11And it continues the curse really, or the hoodoo of Harrogate.
00:16Both the goals coming in the first half, and yeah, just a really off night.
00:23I mean, they dominated the ball, dominated chances,
00:26but never really tested James Belshaw in the Harrogate goal sufficiently.
00:31And they were really on top that first half, and then the sucker punch came,
00:36I think it was on the 27th or 28th minute, across from the left,
00:39and Tom Anderson gets beaten to the ball, and it's 1-0.
00:43And then they went close after that as well, Harrogate had a couple of chances to build on it.
00:47And you're thinking 1-0 at half-time is not a disaster.
00:50But yeah, they just crumbled before half-time.
00:54Jay McGrath played the better ball upfield, it gets cut out quite quickly.
00:58And then the forward march runs onto it, McGrath and Anderson chasing him,
01:03but he just beats them to it.
01:05And then Teddy Sharman-Lowe comes out as well, just doesn't quite get to it quickly enough,
01:09and it trickles in.
01:11And from 1-0 at half-time is manageable, but 2-0 gave them a real mountain to climb.
01:17Even though it's a team that's got a lot of goals in it, they just couldn't get over it.
01:23Harrogate brought on Joy inside second half, Jordan Gibson was pulled off,
01:29and he moved Luke Molyneux inside more centrally.
01:32Didn't really have the effect that he wanted though.
01:34I mean, they de-peppered the goal with efforts,
01:36but nothing really of any great standard to threaten or worry Belshaw.
01:44And yeah, like I say, just a really frustrating one.
01:46Harrogate were quite content to hold on to the two-goal lead.
01:50They hooked a spring on the counter, and that's how it just kind of petered out really at the end.
01:55We spoke to Grant just a while ago, and he said that they dominated the game.
02:03And certainly in terms of possession and chances, they did that.
02:06But it's not about possession and chances, it's about goals,
02:09and sadly they didn't get any tonight.
02:11And it continues this quite bizarre record against Harrogate.
02:15Played them five times, never won.
02:17So yeah, it's probably just one to kind of lick your wounds and move on from.
02:22Back to the drawing board, and it's a strange one.
02:24Obviously the timing tonight, being a Thursday night, don't play again until next Saturday.
02:29So kind of a nine-day period to shoo over this result,
02:32and I'm sure they will when they're back in early next week.
02:38In terms of the other kind of talking points tonight,
02:42no Westbrook or Sabara in the squad,
02:44McCann said afterwards it was just personnel, just tactical really,
02:48nothing to worry about, nothing sinister in terms of injuries there.
02:53And yeah, I think it's just a night where you've got to really take stock,
02:57and hopefully they can continue and get back on it like they did against Newport.
03:03Newport was a, I wouldn't say a shock defeat,
03:06but it was kind of a bogey team where they again lost out,
03:10and people were wondering how they'd react to that,
03:12and they reacted in the right way, and they got a three or four game winning streak.
03:16So fingers crossed they can do that once they get back to it against MK Don.
03:19So that game, obviously nine days away, so a fair bit of a wait.
03:23And as I say, I think McCann will be straight into them,
03:27and they'll be stewing over it, but not pondering over it for too long.
03:31And I think all the focus will obviously be on that MK Don strip,
03:35which looks a tasty one, a week on Saturday.