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Rovers Know Which Way the Wind Blows |
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Written by Howard Collier
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Monday, 03 March 2008 |
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Another Sunday and another win for Leeds City Rovers, as they continued their remarkable recent form with a 4 – 0 victory at home to East Leeds Trinity. A lot has changed since Rovers slipped to their second straight defeat back in September with a 1 – 0 defeat in the reverse fixture and there have been contrasting fortunes for both sides since the encounter. After briefly topping the league in December East Leeds have dropped points in 2008 and went into their final league game of the season with only mid table mediocrity achievable. Rovers in contrast have their sights firmly set on promotion and good cup runs have given them every possibility of claiming at least one piece of silverware this term.
It was an extremely windy day at the memorial ground however it didn’t deter the punters in the highest crowd of the season. Both managers were pleased to see the game played on the more sheltered of the two pitches at Adel and the surface looked in good condition allowing the possibility of some good football being played. Stewart made two changes from the Morley game, Geoff Clarkson played at Right Back in place of Paul Marriott, and Tom Maxwell moved back into midfield to accommodate Dave Beaumont in attack with Howard Collier dropping to the bench.
In truth the first half was ruined by the conditions with both teams struggling to cope with the wind. Trinity only had one chance of note when they clipped the bar after a dipping cross but otherwise they were pinned in their own half by the strong north easterly. Rovers equally failed to play with too much quality however remarkably they found themselves 3 – 0 up at the break.
The first goal came courtesy of a Lev corner which was deflected into the right hand corner. Despite Mitch’s celebrations it clearly came off the head of an East Leeds defender. The second goal was well taken by the impressive Tom Maxwell. Receiving the ball in some space down the left, the skilful southerner powered into the box and hit a swerving drive across the box which fizzed into the net. Although some may argue that shooting wasn’t Maxwell’s primary objective, the quality of the strike deserved the goal as a result. The third involved midfielder Lev Watach again. Down the right on this occasion Lev picked up the ball and his low curling cross was deflected in off the ankle of a Trinity defender and into the bottom hand corner of the net.
The second half saw a drop in the wind and a noticeable rise in the quality of football. After a promising first 15 minutes however Rovers didn’t create too many clear cut chances. Paul Wills headed just over from a corner and Jonny Richies had a couple half chances which he couldn’t convert. Still struggling with an injury sustained in training last week Nick Wilson was forced to withdraw and Paul Marriott took his place in the centre of midfield. Howard Collier and Alastair Jackson were also thrown into the fray with Joe and Lev both making way. The forth came soon after and it was by far the best move of the match. The ball was played from midfield and the hard working Dave Beaumont delicately flicked the ball through to the marauding Jonny Richies who took one touch before placing the ball into the top right hand corner.
This really killed off any chance for East Leeds and Rovers finished the game at a stroll. Dave Beaumont had one effort which he sliced and Tom Maxwell almost capped his man of the match display with a remarkable goal when he flicked the ball away from a defender and volleyed the ball first time. Unfortunately for him the keeper reacted well and tipped the ball over. John Bell also deserves a mention when he was forced to save his first shot of the match after around 80 minutes, getting down well to a firmly hit shot.
In the end it was another efficient performance and another 2 points in the bag for Leeds City Rovers. Next week the team travel to Rothwell to face Pudsey 2005 in the semi finals of the cup and that will really test how far Rovers have come this season!
Team: John Bell (9), Geoff Clarkson (9), Joe Magnal (8), Craig Wilson (8), Andrew Mitchell (8), Lev Watach (8), Tom Maxwell (9), Nick Wilson (8), Jonny Richies (8), Paul Wills (8), Dave Beaumont (8).
Substitutions: Paul Marriott (8) on for Nick Wilson, Howard Collier (7) on for Lev Watach, Alastair Jackson (8) on for Joe Magnal.
Unused Substitutes: Richard Regan
Goals: O.G x2, Tom Maxwell, Jonny Richies
MoM = Tom Maxwell
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