Latics display home resolve

FIRST IMPRESSION: Paul Dickov tussles with a Bristol Rovers player, which earned Athletic’s player-manager a yellow card.

3 More Image(s) In Gallery

Athletic 1, Bristol Rovers 1

WARMING up for this trip to Boundary Park, many fans’ routines will have taken in a certain football magazine programme which airs around lunchtime.

After the Premier League and international scenes had been examined by a panel of barely-sentient ‘experts’, the show rounded off with a series of astonishing misses through the ages.

The usual suspects were present. Carlos Tevez last week? Check. Ronnie Rosenthal? Check. Rocky Baptiste? Check – and indeed, check it out on the Internet if you haven’t yet witnessed it.

The same broadcasting corporation were heavy in number at Boundary Park on Saturday.

And in hindsight they may regret not holding back the segment until next week, after Oumare Tounkara contrived to produce one of the most startling misses of the season so far.

At the time, Athletic had just hauled themselves back into a contest which started shakily. Chris Taylor blasted home from a clever free-kick routine which was worked with Dale Stephens as the home team started to dominate proceedings.

Will Hoskins’ opener was a defensive nightmare for centre-back pairing Jason Jarrett and Jean-Yves Mvoto.

The latter player, who had a terrible start to the game before recovering to competence in the second half, misjudged a header and Hoskins skipped round Jarrett before skilfully lobbing Dean Brill from the edge of the area.

But Taylor deservedly levelled and Tounkara should have sent Paul Dickov’s men into the break with the benefit of a one-goal lead.

A couple of seasons ago, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said his wife could have stuck away a golden chance missed by his then-striker Darren Bent.

Mrs Redknapp would have more than fancied her chances with Tounkara’s spurned effort here.

Meeting Paul Black’s cross only six yards from goal and in a central position, the big striker powered a header which he somehow managed to direct a foot wide of the far post.

It was a miss of epic proportions. Yet there is still something about Tounkara which intrigues.

As ungainly and awkward as he sometimes appears, the 20-year-old gets into fantastic areas and with his power and strength, should bag a few goals this season.

Overall, this was a performance which will please those Athletic followers who witnessed it.

Dickov’s side showed impressive resolve to recover from the worst-possible start and produced some incisive football at times.

Dean Furman was again a revelation in midfield, Kieran Lee his usual cultured self at right-back and new wide midfielder Rodrigue Dikaba performed steadily in the absence of Ritchie Jones.

Early defensive woes aside, the only thing really missing was that extra goal.

Still, Athletic remain unbeaten and the manner in which they played should provide extra confidence for the journey to Peterborough next week.

Dickov started the game making three changes to the team that lost 1-0 at home to Shrewsbury in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy first round.

Jarrett returned at the back in place of injured captain Reuben Hazell, with Dale Stephens taking over the skipper’s role.

Dikaba came in from the start on the right side of midfield in place of Deane Smalley and there was a recall up front for Tounkara, at Djeny Bembo-Leta’s expense.

On the bench for the first time this season was Dickov himself, while fit-again Sean Gregan returned and transfer-listed Joe Jacobson’s impressive form for the reserves saw him named among the substitutes.

Taylor was hacked down by full-back Carl Regan in the opening stages which Athletic controlled up until Bristol Rovers’ opening goal.

After Jean-Yves Mvoto had headed wide from a Dale Stephens cross, the big defender got his angles wrong on a long clearance and Hoskins’ pace and a clinical finish put Rovers in front after eight minutes.

The strike seemed to temporarily knock the home side out of their stride and Mvoto and Jarrett in particular looked edgy under pressure.

Jo Kuffour had a half-appeal for a penalty under Jarrett’s challenge turned down before Stephens fired a free-kick towards the near post which was well saved by Rovers goalkeeper Mike Green.

It lifted Athletic and from the half-hour up to the break there was only one team in the game.

Stephens hit a couple of range-finders and after another slip from Mvoto almost let Hoskins in for a second, the equaliser arrived.

It was a clever free-kick that had clearly been worked on during the week. And Taylor’s finish, which was celebrated with gusto by virtually the whole team, was excellent to give Green no chance.

Tounkara’s epic miss followed only seconds later but Athletic didn’t let it affect them and continued to press forward after half-time.

That man Mvoto went close with a glancing header from a Furman cross and Coles then went down under a challenge from Dean Kelly and required lengthy treatment which contributed much to the eight minutes of additional time at the end of the game.

Dikaba’s testing cross hurt Green as he parried it away and Tounkara got another header wrong from the resulting Stephens corner.

Under the cosh, Rovers brought on John Akinde on the hour and with Hoskins pushed wide on the right, they began to find a way back into the game.

Furman had a shot deflected narrowly wide before Hoskins forced Brill into the first of two diving stops in quick succession.

After the second, Coles won the challenge for Stuart Campbell’s corner and from point-blank range, Hosking emulated Tounkara by missing a sitter, this time toe-poking the ball against the crossbar.

Chris Lines was the next player to suffer a lengthy injury for a visiting side who looked increasingly happy to claim a point.

Furman lashed a shot just wide of the diving Green’s goal before the visitors were reduced to 10 men, Coles getting a second booking for hauling down Kelly.

It was all hands to the pump for Paul Trollope’s side but they clung on – and could have claimed a late winner, had Brill not been alert to flick a deflected Akinde effort over the bar.

Stephens, for the second match running, went mighty close to registering at the death but his 25-yard free-kick clipped the bar on its way over.




Show of resilience delights Dickov

ATHLETIC manager Paul Dickov feels his side are close to finding a way through teams who ‘park the bus’.

After a goalless home draw with Yeovil and a defeat to the game’s only goal against Shrewsbury at Boundary Park in the seven days leading up to the Bristol Rovers clash, Athletic rediscovered their early-season spark.

A total of 21 shots — many of which were admittedly misdirected — were pumped towards the goal of Rovers custodian Mike Green.

Only one went in, with a well-worked free-kick routine resulting in a confidence-inspiring strike for Chris Taylor.

But the overall effort was pleasing for Dickov, who brought himself on to make his debut for the club as the home side searched for a winner with four minutes of normal time left.

“I thought we were excellent,” said Dickov, who picked up a late booking for a minor contretemps with Chris Lines.

“We said to the boys that, with respect to Bristol Rovers, teams are coming here and settling for a draw.

“They are getting everybody behind the ball, time-wasting and doing everything they can to upset us.

“So we said it was important not to lose heart after 25 minutes. Because in the last two games we have done that.

“To be fair to the players, they kept at it and if we had won the game comfortably nobody would have argued.

“Going a goal down, it shows character to come back into the game. Saying that, Dean Brill made a fantastic save for us — but that was because we were the ones who were pushing on, trying to win the game.”

Brill’s special stop came from a shot which deflected off Jean-Yves Mvoto, who recovered from an extremely shaky start to look more solid after the break.

Dickov felt the on-loan Sunderland centre-back wasn’t helped much by his fellow defenders as Athletic went a goal down to a well-taken effort from the dangerous Will Hoskins.

But he also watched Athletic gradually take full control of the game against a Rovers side who finished the match with 10 men.

Danny Coles picked up a second yellow card on 86 minutes — seconds before the player-manager opted to enter the contest, a move that he explained was pre-planned.

“I am disappointed with the result but not with the performance,” Dickov added.

“In the first 20 minutes we defended very poorly and they got their goal, but we sorted that out at half-time.

“In the second half we had a right good go. We passed the ball well and created a few good chances. Everybody worked their socks off. We deserved to win.

“Their goal was slack defending by us, on the part of the whole back four.

“We weren’t on the front foot and didn’t anticipate or help out a team-mate, which is what we constantly tell the players to do.

“Apart from that, we were excellent.

“We had said before the game that if we were winning, I would not get involved.

“And that if we were drawing or losing towards the end of the game, I would possibly come on to try to liven things up a bit. It was always planned.

Bristol Rovers boss Paul Trollope had no complaints over the red card and was happy with a draw.

“It was an up-and-down game where both sides had good spells,” he said.

“In the end, to show the spirit and work ethic we did with 10 men we are okay going away with a point.”