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Birley’s belters rescue Rovers
Gary Hay's attempt to get the better of the Cheshunt defence was stifled by goalkeeper Brian Seely.
Gary Hay's attempt to get the better of the Cheshunt defence was stifled by goalkeeper Brian Seely.

Rovers 3
Cheshunt 3

ROD Brown backed his newly assembled coaching team to make a "positive impact".

But as he saw his Rovers side's worrying grey patch hit a new low, it became clear that the impact must come sooner rather than later.

"We are either very good or particularly bad," was Brown's assessment of the season so far in his matchday address.

Then came evidence of the consistency pendulum gradually tipping in favour of the more negative view.

This should have been a routine three points for Rovers against the league's bottom side, who did more than enough to contribute to the poorest six-goal drama likely to be witnessed all season.

However, the Greens continue to frustrate.

Brown has been proved right in his belief that there is enough talent in his squad to achieve a respectable league finish - Matt Birley provided two fine examples, blasting home a pair of unstoppable free kicks to rescue a point. But in recent weeks the back to basics non-league mantra of hard graft and strong organisation has been absent.

And that goes some way to explaining why the league table appears upside down through green and white goggles.

Gary Hay's attempt to get the better of the Cheshunt defence was stifled by goalkeeper Brian Seely.
Gary Hay's attempt to get the better of the Cheshunt defence was stifled by goalkeeper Brian Seely.

Rovers have thus far held their own against Team Bath, King's Lynn and Brackley who occupy three of the top four positions, while Bedford and Clevedon - themselves on the fringes of the play-off positions after the weekend's fixtures - felt the wrath of the Greens at their best.

On the flip side, Brown's men have stumbled amongst the muck and nettles of strugglers Swindon Supermarine, Corby Town, Cirencester and Gloucester City.

On each of those occasions they were outfought, and while Cheshunt hardly provided the sternest of scraps, Rovers' syndrome of more play and less work lingered once more.

It was encapsulated best from the moment Sam Alsop struck his 23rd minute opener.

The in-form midfielder produced a cute lob over Brian Seely from Gary Hay's deft flick-on, and that fine passage of football should have provided the Greens with enough impetus to go on and kill the game stone dead.

Inexplicably, that is when the work ethic and energy levels went astray.

Rovers simply shut down. In attack they had given up the chase, their passing in midfield was sloppy, and the visitors were allowed to force two strikes out of nowhere.

The equaliser came when Darrell Cox was given too much time to cross from the left hand side and Dewayne Clark arrived late at the back post to tuck an easy volley into the bottom corner from close range. Poor marking handed Cheshunt their second with Anthony Fenton nipping in to head past Stuart Brock on the stroke of half time.

Still, Rovers had the opportunity to kick on and take the game by the scruff of the neck, as they hit back with the first of Birley's belters.

The former Birmingham City trainee curled a free kick around the wall, past the outstretched Sealy.

But if a lack of hunger from the Greens was still evident, the awarding of a dubious penalty to the visitors turned the mood to sheer frustration.

Lucan Spittle seemed to make minimal contact with Cox, who lost his footing after missing a wild volley attempt, but referee Mr G.Etchells pointed to the spot for a foul. Cox got up to convert the penalty and the rot of a potential fifth straight defeat looked like setting in.

Man of the match Birley had the final say, however.

Not only did he show his team mates up with his drive, commitment and positive running, but he bailed them out in the final minute with another sweetly struck free kick.

This time it was power rather than placement, as Birley thumped his effort over the wall to Sealy's top left.

And so new backroom staff Carl Heeley and Kim Casey learned first hand the kind of impact that is required, and the fine lines they must work within.

Together with Brown they must restore the hunger and desire that has been missing throughout this terrible run.

If Rovers start rolling their sleeves up, they are capable of, in Brown's words, being "very good".

Take away that key ingredient, however, and the Victoria Ground faithful can brace themselves for something much worse than "particularly bad."

ROVERS: Brock 5, Lloyd 6, Spittle 5, Sanders 6, Knight 5, Petty 6 (Rickards 5, 76 mins), Alsop 7, Bridgwater 5 (Cotterill 5, 45 mins), Hay 5, Clarke 6, BIRLEY 7. Unused subs: McHale, Mole, Heeley.

CHESHUNT: Sealy, D Fenton, Deane, Peddie, A Fenton, Allen, Hicks (Cooper, 64 mins), Obeng, Hunt, Cox, Clark. Unused subs: Parry, Hart, Gregoriou, Graham.Referee: Mr G.Etchells. Attendance: 322.

9:16am Wednesday 14th November 2007


Gary Hay's attempt to get the better of the Cheshunt defence was stifled by goalkeeper Brian Seely.

ESCUE ACT: Matt Birley came to the Greens' rescue with two superb free kicks.

RESCUE ACT: Matt Birley came to the Greens' rescue with two superb free kicks.

RESCUE ACT: Matt Birley came to the Greens' rescue with two superb free kicks.
   

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