That's potentially good though. It's when I can see Critch's thinking that I worry.
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From the corner, Madine brings it down, turns, finds a bit of space and lashes it not far wide. Already better than Preston.
The noise is terrific. There's not a space to be seen anywhere.
The weeks comedy ref has decided not to give a foul on Shayne Lavery no matter what happens.
Christopher Hamilton gets away again. he crosses behind everyone... I just want CJ to get something right before the season ends. He's so frustrating. He's playing well but also being exactly like CJ.
The goal is calamatous. Thorniley doesn't head the ball because the ball isn't where he thought it was, Maxwell can't decide whether to come or not. He's like me wasting my life trying to decide between two near identical twins of beans in the supermarket, caught in a kind of paralysis of choice... Sam Gallagher rolls it home, agonisingly slowly. Marv just doesn't quite get a boot to it.
We didn't need that. We do the singing after they score thing anyway. I love us.
Ref now decides every time the ball leaves the pitch that it's a corner to them. We rally a bit. Madine goes up at the far post. Gabriel shows outrageous skill to almost trick his way through. I love Jordan Gabriel.
Lavery is threaded through, beats one, goes into the box and is surely, surely, surely clattered. Obviously not. Cos it's us. I'm turning into one of *those* fans but fucking hell, we don't get much do we?
They have some more corners because whatever happens it's a Blackburn corner. One of them is headed over from under the bar. C'mon!!!
Lavery gets not fouled some more. Gabriel sets CJ away and he hurtles the length of the pitch. He's a sight when he's absolutely flying, I don't think I've seen him in the flesh really accelarating to top speed. It's wild. His legs are going everywhere. The Rover's defender looks shellshocked. The corner he wins comes to nothing.
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We've been sporadically decent, but I'm happy to get in only a goal down. They've looked quick to counter and dangerous from set pieces.
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Gabriel gets to the byline with a majestic bit of football. He's made such a difference today already but his little spin and sprint on the touchline is sheer magnificence. The ball in ricochets about and Christopher Hamilton puts a volley not so far over the top as for it to ridiculous. Better...
Again, the ball bounces around the box. Players shape to shoot but it won't drop. Lavery makes a yard of space and cracks it. It's deflected wide, earning him a pat on the arse from Gaz. Kirk goes to take the corner. It's been notable that Kirk can take corners that look at least vaguely threatening. This one goes deep, Madine heads it back across goal, someone else keeps it alive. The ball drops. There's a scramble. There's Marvin, there's the ball going through legs and past the keeper. There's the ball in the back of the net!!!
The ref books Dougall for literally nothing. The ref pulls play back for a foul on us when Charlie Kirk is clearly away. Kirk is not happy. We're playing well. Connolly is giving us presence. We're actually winning some second balls. Gaz tracks back, not once, but twice and wins it. The ref than let's them play on in exactly the same way he denied us. I can't even be bothered being pissed off any more.
CJ makes a stupidly good run and then knocks it too far at the last, earning only a corner, when for all the world it looked like he could have been in. Oh Christopher Hamilton. He is excitimg to watch. He's like bouncing a ball that isn't round, all weird angles and unpredictability.
Critch changes both the wingers. Keshi is so silky in comparison to CJ. Someone I read recently said he reminded them of John Barnes and as he glides through a couple of Rovers challenges, I can totally see it. Stocky, yet graceful as any dancer.
Bowler is ludicrously gifted. His cameo is such a pleasure. I'm already getting sad at the thought that one day not so far away, he will be skipping through challenges like a young foal dancing through a summer meadow in s different coloured shirt. He dribbles but oh, my, his crossfield ball to Jimmy is worth every penny of the ticket price.
We've got them under pressure. The noise is magnificent. They score. It's offside and we all realise before any of them. Haaaaaa! Each goal kick is created with an outstanding "woooooooooooooooooooooo-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - you're shit - aaaaah!" Everytime they go forward, we get a tackle in. Jimmy intercepts, pokes it forward, Connolly makes three tackles in one moves, moves it forward. Dougall, on a yellow cos he challenged for the ball is walking a tightrope, but he walks it well. Lavery charges down the keeper.
It's Crazy Uncle Richard.
Why? Why? Why? (Why?)
Rovers have a spell. We've done this to ourselves. Critch! Why have you done this? Discontent rumbles around. Rovers look bouyed by the fact Super Gaz looks like he needs a good radox bath and a couple of ibuprofen. We've fucking blown this.
Or have we? Bowler and Kesh are pushed right up. The full backs are in midfield. This is more aggressive than it looks and we don't stay penned in for long. Gaz makes a heroic slide after lumbering across the box really slowly and somehow the ref gives a goal kick for an obvious corner...
The fury lifts the fans again. Bowler is limping. For fucks sake!!! Why do we always have this shit? Bowler gets the ball. He doesn't want it, cos he's limping. What's an injured player going to do with it? He's going to shimmy and dance and crack a deflected shot against the woodwork. Josh. Don't go. Please. C'mon Pool!!!
Callum Connolly is taking it in, he's pushing it out of his feet, he's lining up a shot, he's 30 yards out... it's dipping and swerving and the keeper has to be nimble to side step, and strong with his hands to deflect it away. Super Gaz, might get to it, but by now, Super Gaz is moving with the grace of someone trying push an an old heavy wardrobe wedged into a difficult corner of a tricky staircase, so he doesn't.
More noise. A scrap. Connolly of course. Gary the peacemaker. Keshi a coiled spring of rage. Maxwell out of goal shepherding Keshi away. A whistle. More handbags. Brilliant! More noise.
Neil Critchley's Tangerine Army.
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I really enjoyed today. Connolly and Gabriel were magnificent. Kirk is solid enough and he gives us something at set pieces we otherwise lack. Thorniley (mistake aside for the goal) and Marvin dealt well with their forwards and Jimmy looked much happier with Kirk instead of Hamilton in front of him. Hamilton was equally cursed and blessed. Dougall whilst not vintage Kenneth, was much happier next to Connolly than his previous partner and looked much less jet-lagged.
Essentially, we had a tempo and an endeavour that was wholly lacking against PNE. This line up wasn't available, so let's just leave that game there. The atmosphere was tremendous. We only want a little bit and we'll give a lot back. Rovers crowd were almost silent. We had nothing to play for but a bit of salvaged pride after a crap few games and we salvaged that pride for sure.
Was it perfect? No.
Do we expect perfection? No.
Was it good? Yeah. It had passion and fight and attacking. It was loud, intense and there's nowhere I'd rather have been.
We can leave all the 'who could be better' and 'what do we lack' talk for another day.
That was much more like the 'Pool we love.
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