Round 3 - And Another Win

20th May - Rovers 4-1 Mooroolbark

Goals: Ian Branch, Gareth Tanner (2), Trevor Bird

It was a second win on the trot for Rovers as they comfortably beat Mooroolbark 4-1 at Anderson Park on Sunday.

The game kicked off in blustery conditions and Rovers scored in the first minute. A throw-in taken deep into the Mooroolbark half saw some pushing in the penalty area and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Ian Branch stepped up to take the kick and tucked the ball into the corner, sending the keeper the wrong way.

Ten minutes later, Rovers doubled their lead in slightly fortunate circumstances. From a corner on the left, Gareth Tanner swung in a kick which hit the far post and went in direct. Gareth then followed this up with a nicely taken second goal, side-stepping a challenge in the area before calmly driving the ball into the far corner to make the score 3:0 after only 17 minutes.
There were chances at both ends and both keepers were busy. The Mooroolbark keeper made some sharp saves from Ian Branch and Trevor Bird, up front for Rovers, and Adam Bove had to come quickly off his line on two occasions to save smartly at the feet of onrushing Mooroolbark strikers. However, eventually the tactic paid off for Mooroolbark who pulled a goal back to leave a half-time score of 3-1.

The second half carried on with more end-to-end action with both goalkeepers making good saves. Karl Pimlott was particularly unlucky with a drive from outside the box which rebounded back to safety off the inside of the far post. After 60 minutes Trevor Bird made the game save with a smartly taken effort from close range but the drama wasn't over. A few minutes later the referee awarded Mooroolbark a penalty for some pushing but to Rovers relief, the penalty was struck wide of the left-hand post.

The game finished 4-1 which left Rovers on 6 points, in 6th place on the ladder, 3 points behind the early leaders North Caulfield. Next up is the long trip to Sherbrooke.