Hell Sid: Barrow 1 Rovers 1
Keith Hill ringing the changes, where Jack Young was frozen out the squad altogether, would have suggested that he was not afraid to wield the axe when needed. But as full-time blew in a game that Rovers ought to have won with the right attitude, decision making, tactics and some level of desire, there is now a danger that Hill is experiencing the same issues that led to Michael Jackson’s departure.
And yet at half time, Rovers were in control. Apart from a breakdown in communication between Peter Clarke and Jay Spearing that gave Scott Quigley an early opening and Clarke not clearing his lines which led to a free-kick that would have gone in had it not been for James Vaughan’s intervention, Rovers did all the right things. Morgan Ferrier was a constant thorn in the Barrow defence on the ball and willing to harass and harry off the ball. It was the nearest Rovers have had to a James Norwood tribute act.
Like Nors, Ferrier had done the hard yards in the lower leagues which meant that even when you didn’t get the rub of the green, you would ask enough questions of the opposition to create openings for your team-mates. Corey Blackett-Taylor, for all his silky skills and turn of pace, doesn’t have this work ethic. And Ferrier’s commitment rubbed off on his fellow players who were finding space in dangerous areas through an increase in endeavour, something that was severely lacking against Bradford.
Such was the shift that Ferrier had put in that he was ready to latch on to Liam Feeney’s cross from the left which James Vaughan glanced away beyond Dixon’s reach. Had Vaughan looked for similar placement in an earlier chance for Rovers, that would have been his second of the night. Still this missed opportunity seemed to matter little as Rovers grew stronger as the match progressed and were well in command going into the interval.
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But that was the first half. The second half saw Rovers fall back into their bad habits were once again they were reluctant to find the openings behind Barrow’s wing backs. But that wasn’t the only issue. For reasons I’ve never been able to quite fathom, and Rovers are not the only culprits here, Rovers decided that the back line was going to defend in such depth that Barrow had the time and space in Rovers’ half to apply pressure and ask questions of their back line, even when Barrow were reduced to ten men.
To illustrate, Barrow’s best chance to win the game came from a shot from Hardcastle where Scott Davies’ line of sight was completely blocked by Vaughan of all people. Instead of gathering what would have been a routine save, the ball looped off Vaughan into an uncertain area and it was through a bit of luck that Rovers managed to clear the danger. And Kaiyne Woolery found himself lacking an outlet as he looked to catch Barrow on the counter attack that followed, given that Vaughan was the wholly unneeded last line of defence.
By the time Biggins picked up his 2nd yellow for his off the ball fracas with Vaughan, Barrow had levelled through Quigley exploiting Sid Nelson’s lack of composure to earn and convert a penalty with ease. Up to that point, Nelson did what was asked of him in getting his head in where it hurts and clearing his lines, and he was busy having to protect Callum MacDonald whose continued selection at right back when he has no right foot to speak of remains a mystery. Aside from trimming an overly bloated squad, another right back to compete with Lee O’Connor ought to be Hill’s immediate priority come January.
Yet MacDonald’s selection paled into insignificance compared to Hill deciding that Ferrier, the only player still putting Barrow’s back line under the sword, should be the one to come off when Rovers had a man advantage. Compare this switch to Ian Dawes’ and Andy Parkinson’s more gung-ho approach when Rovers had a man advantage at Port Vale last month, where Woolery came on for Nelson at Right Back and weighed in with an equaliser and an assist for Kieron Morris’s screamer in injury time.
To compound the situation, Woolery played up front with Vaughan even though he is not an out an out striker like Ferrier and always had two blue shirts for company every time he tried to feed off the scraps of Rovers’ increasing tendency to lump the ball forward and hope for the best. Had Woolery drifted right to provide an outlet for MacDonald, like he did against Port Vale, then this could have created something approaching an opening.
And it got worse. Rovers waited until the 89th minute to make their only other change and that was to bring on a defensive midfielder in Ollie Banks in place of an attacking midfielder in Morris, when Rovers would have surely benefitted from Danny Lloyd’s energy much sooner. More lumping long balls forward to play into Barrow’s hands and allow them to see out a draw with criminal comfort.
So the knives are out for Hill, meaning that he needs to make January’s transfer window work in his favour if he is to survive until the end of this season. Maybe once he’s got the players he wants Hill might show a bit more bravery than he did tonight. Maybe.
