“Last year, we’d have drawn that.”
That was my first thought when the whistle blew.
This was a very different contest to the opening four fixtures. Eastleigh turned it into a stop-start grind – at times, a farce. The ball was barely in play for more than 18 minutes in the second half, such was the Spitfires’ determination to rain on the Rovers parade.
To their credit, it almost worked. We were forced into tactical tweaks, searching for a way through. Then, as the clock ticked past 80, Rovers found it.
On came Ryan Inniss, boots laced with one clear mission: cause chaos. Within 30 seconds, a trademark Jordan Moore-Taylor diagonal landed perfectly, ricocheting off Inniss.
The crowd grew frantic. That energy spilled onto the pitch as Rovers won a late free kick. I turned to Stewart and muttered, “Please don’t shoot from there.” Shows what I know.
Suddenly, Eastleigh discovered a miraculous urgency for the first time all afternoon. Robbie Savage joined us in the East Stand, taking up an aisle seat to watch the closing moments. In truth, the visitors never threatened. Rovers dropped into a 4-4-2 for the final five minutes and looked rock solid.
One hundred minutes. Five formation changes. And, ultimately, a massive three points to wrap up the Bank Holiday weekend.
Forest Green fan Tom Carter hands out the ratings following Rovers’ 1-0 victory over Eastleigh.
Player Ratings
McNicholas – 7.0 – Luke’s role today was similar to the previous home games. He didn’t have masses to do, but everything he did do, was more than competent. Possibly some hesitancy with distribution in the first half.
Pemberton – 8.0 -I was pleased to see Tre back in the starting XI — a tough call given Tom Knowles’ outstanding performance on Saturday. But Tre more than justified his inclusion. He showed real tactical maturity, especially in the latter stages when he dropped into the right of a back three. He’s increasingly looking at home, exemplified by him taking the game to the opposition.
JMT – 8.2 – Imperious from Jordy. Gave no scraps for the Eastleigh front line to feed off. Also was responsible for two excellent recovery tackles in the second half, as Rovers were pushing for their winner. He was more than comfortable sat in a 2 with Kanu, allowing his team mates to push on.
Kanu – 8.0 – The partnership between the two centre-backs is clearly growing, and it must be pleasing for FGR to see that understanding develop. Kanu stood out in the first half, seeing plenty of the ball and, importantly, refusing to just take the safe option. Instead, he looked to play forward, probing with his passing and setting a positive tone. That kind of bravery shows his confidence is growing game by game – and he’s starting to look like a real asset at the heart of the defence.
Kengni – 7.9 – Neil was regularly the “out” ball for Rovers this afternoon, especially in the first half. Eastleigh were quick to crowd him out, often forcing both full-backs towards the corner flag to limit space. Even so, the coaching staff will take confidence in knowing they can rely on Kengni’s pace to snuff out any counter-attacks that come the other way. He did this on several occasions today & didn’t put a foot wrong.
Mendy – 9.0 – Goodness me, he was everywhere this afternoon. Ninety minutes on Saturday, ninety more on Monday – no problem at all. Sports scientists need to study Laurent! Mendy will rightly earn plaudits for his ball-winning, but it’s his role in launching Rovers’ attacking patterns that really stood out. Time and again he was the go-to man, setting the tempo and turning defence into attack. A monstrous shift.
Moore – 7.6 – It wasn’t the easiest of afternoons for Isaac today. Eastleigh’s press was somewhat targeted towards him, it felt like he didn’t get too much space on the ball. He was caught in possession a few times, probably a result of that pressure applied on him. He can take confidence from his desire to continually take the ball & responsibility for trying to start moves for Rovers.
McAllister – Clarke – Haughton – 7.0 – I think the gaffer summed up the afternoon for Rovers more creative players. It wasn’t their day being truthful. There was very little space in behind for the trio to exploit, at times, they had no option but to force the ball.
Mitchell – 7.5 – Tricky for Kairo today, his role was mostly a thankless task, in occupying the centre halves of Eastleigh. He worked tirelessly to create space, ran the channels very well but ultimately didn’t get the chances he’d have liked.
Subs
Bamba – 8.4 – He was electric! Coming into the game at HT allowed him to really assert his dominance down the left had side. We started to really see his pace, as he left 3 Eastleigh defenders scrambling. The switch in shape probably didn’t help his game personally, as he moved to the right to allow for a switch of wings for Knowles.
Whitwell – 7.7 – Harry came in & immediately adapted to the game. Again, as with the FGR’s other flare players, it wasn’t really a conducive environment for creativity, though Harry showed a real determination to get Rovers up the pitch.
Knowles – 8.4 – Third time lucky for Tom this afternoon when it came to efforts from distance! Honestly, I didn’t see the set-piece as a goalscoring chance – my eyes, like Eastleigh’s, were firmly fixed on the taller Rovers players waiting in the box. Then Tom pulled the trigger, and the rest is history.
Cardwell – 7.5 – Facing a front three of Harry, Kairo & Ryan Inniss must be overwhelming. Harry’s arrival drew more attention & forced the Spitfires to come out of the low block, particularly when Harry dropped deeper to pick up possession. It’s a tough game to come into & make a difference.
Inniss – 7.8 – Robbie gave credit to Dan Connor post match, for the bold most to put Ryan up front for the remaining 15 minutes of the game. If you can’t go round, go through, was the message! The attention Ryan drew was exactly the thinking from the Rovers bench – as they were looking to find a way.
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