Gaz's Week of Sporting Stress. Issue 5

Anyone that knows me or is familiar with my blog knows that I love my sport and I am particularly passionate about the teams that I support. Week on week the performance and results of these teams tend to dictate my daily mood. I have had the idea of documenting the trials and tribulations of following my sporting teams, to share the stress and see whether it can give me a little therapy and, in turn, give you guys maybe a few laughs and an insight into my temporary insanity.

The week’s installment starts on a late Friday night home game for Dinamo Bucharest versus Astra. We then move on to Saturday and Bristol Rovers game away to Luton Town and finish up with a Sunday evening matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers.

Friday night ended up being a little rushed for me as I had only just finished football coaching at 6pm. I coach under 9 football twice a week and today they were learning some dribbling basics. I got back home, showered and caught the bus back up to Stefan Cel Mare the Dinamo stadium. The first stop was the pub to meet the guys. There were 4 of us for this game which was great, 2 of which, Darren and Simon, are first timers. We ordered beers and some food and chat about the game to come. There were some Dinamo fans gathered at the pub making lots of noise and that made for a good atmosphere.

It was time for the match so we settled the bill and made our way to the ground. The pre game chat was that Dinamo will struggle against one of the better teams in the league in Astra. Astra also have the ex Steaua striker Denis Alibec up front and he will be motivated to do well. Dinamo have a new striker of their own though, which has raised hopes of a better performance and goals. Danijel Subotic arrived on a free transfer, although never a prolific goal scorer he is a target man and very physical and should help to hold the ball up for others to join in the attacks.

We went through the turnstiles and the noise level was definitely an improvement on the last game. I estimated around 3,000 people. We find seats with a reasonable view and ready ourselves for a feast of football. The team sheet shows that the new striker is on the bench and that Popa is the lone striker once again. I fear the worst. The game started evenly and Dinamo were looking to be positive with the ball. There was a funny edge to the crowd this evening and it felt like the expectation was that it was all going to go wrong.

Both sides created a couple of good chances each but they are also squandering those opportunities too. Every time a Dinamo player made a mistake it was met with derision and a few bashes of the tables. As the half goes on the little bit of confidence that the team has just dwindles and Astra started to exert their authority.

After a poorly taken corner by Dinamo, Astra broke fast. It was a slick move down the left and Alibec was busting a gut to try to get on the end of the cross. The cross was low and perfect and Alibec despatches the shot with little difficulty to make it 0-1. It was always going to happen! The fans were restless and calls for owner Negoita's head are in full swing. Darren and Simon are wondering what the hell is going on!

Half time and all the Dinamo fans turn their attention to salted popcorn and coke. No alcohol is served in or around the ground. There also seems to be a load of chain smoking going on and again I’m pretty sure that smoking is banned from football grounds but this is Romania. I would look forward to the second half but Dinamo are generally poor in the second 45 and it is probably going to turn ugly. At least the fans are entertaining.

Actually Dinamo have their best passage of play in the early stages of the second and were trying to get a few more bodies forward. Ten minutes into the half and coach Bratu brings on Subotic for Popa and the expectation levels rise once more. I would like to see two up front but it’s not the Romanian way. Subotic’s first few touches are decent and you can see what an imposing figure he is.

Boom. 0-2. Just like that, Astra score. Dinamo were pushing up and a quick break starting with that man Alibec cut through the Dinamo defence (or lack of it), the keeper gets caught in no mans land and the Astra player lifts the ball over his head and into the net. A superbly taken goal and with 25 minutes left, probably the decisive goal.

The confidence had all but left this team and Astra were happy to sit back and ride out the remaining minutes. The DB attack were lacking any real penetration and there was very little time remaining to show something positive, let alone turn this around. To be fair to them they kept going and the new boy Subotic scored a solid header from a Dan Nistor free kick. Suddenly their tails were up and the pressure was on Astra to see the game out.

The crowd were now into it and singing Di-nam-o, Di-nam-o very loudly. Games have a funny way of self leveling and in reality Dinamo shouldn’t be anywhere near getting a result but here we are and in classic fashion teams often get one more chance before the game ends and sure enough they did. The ball was delivered from the left hand side with a bit of quality, headed back across goal, poorly cleared and fell to a Dinamo defender. All he had to do was keep it low and on target but he smashed it high and over the bar.

Final Score@ Dinamo 1 Astra 2

Next up is away to Iasi on Friday night.

The crazy world of Romanian Football

I actually have a couple of positive pieces for this segment this week. The first is an under 21 goal from Ianis Hagi. Ianis is the son of the great Gheorghe Hagi who was one of the best players in the world in the early 90’s.

A top drawer piece of skill from the talented youngster. The next photo is showing the dedication that some fans show that far exceeds football clubs reasonable expectation of their fans.

This guy deserves a free season tickets off of his club Gaz Metan.

The Gas

Away to Luton who are newly promoted from League 2 and have started the season brightly. It doesn’t get any easier in this division. If you are struggling you don’t get a second to take stock and recover, you go again and get on with it. This is exactly what Rovers are trying to do but things aren’t improving at the moment. I am still waiting for that magic moment where you think ‘our season starts here!’

The Player Line up Prediction League

Results for Plymouth

Parky, Hols, Joe and Gaz 8
Mark, Laura and Chaney 9 (1pt each)

The Table
Gaz 10 pts
Hols 6
Mark 4
Laura 3
Parky 2
Shaun 2
Joe 2
Chaney 2
Geoff 1

A disappointing result again for me with a poor 8 players correct out of the starting 11. Laura and Mark move up the table looking to catch Hols and myself and Chaney moves off of bottom spot.

My team for Luton Town

Bonham, Leadbitter, Lockyer, Craig, Martin, Matthews, O Clarke, Lines, Sinclair, Nichols, Payne.

The starting line up never contained Stuart Sinclair and that was disappointing. He is exactly what we need at the moment. Someone to run for 90 minutes, harass and harangue the opposition and make themselves a total nuisance and disruption to the opposition. He has just returned from injury and may not be fully fit, so I will let that one go.

The game started and as usual I was in my front room watching on iFollow, the streaming service for fans abroad. Predictably, Luton looked lively and we looked devoid of confidence but at least they were giving it a go. One player who is playing out of his skin is Jack Bonham, the on loan goalkeeper from Brentford. He has been a quality acquisition and has really steadied the ship at that position.

Luton were pressing and making chances. Any ball swung into the box was causing us problems and their big lads up front were a handful. Bonham has been called into duty two or three times and he was keeping us in the game. The half time whistle blew and Rovers were definitely the happier of the two sides to see the break.

The second half started and Luton got right to work. We were having our fair share of possession but not showing any real threat and once teams realise that, they start to push bodies forward. The positive from this game so far had been the attitude of Bonham and the defenders. They had their sleeves rolled up and looked determined to keep a clean sheet. This is a minimum requirement for a player but it is also an indication of where we are as a team. Low! Very low.

The inevitable goal happened in the 62nd minute. There was a goalmouth scramble and the ball looped over to Martin who’s poor header had no distance on it. Shinnie, the Luton player, brought the ball down and smashed it into the bottom corner. It was the one blight on Bonham’s performance that maybe he should have done better at his near post.

Then something happened that nobody wants to see happen. As James Clarke was running across the pitch to intercept an attack he slid in to win the ball and Kane goes down in a heap, clearly distressed. You can mostly tell whether a footballer is hurt by one rule. If he is moving around dramatically then he probably isn't! If he’s hit the floor and is not moving then there is a problem. There is nothing worse than watching a top class footballer rolling around, waving at the bench, hobbling around for the first few seconds after the incident and then, miraculously, being perfectly fine the next moment, even taking the free kick immediately after. Neymar, anyone?

Kane was being treated for 11 minutes on the pitch while they put a splint on his leg and fed him gas and air. He was carried off of the field on a stretcher and play was restarted. I wish him all the best in his recovery. James Clarke must be feeling bad but I can honestly say that I don’t think it was deliberate or malicious but a genuine attempt for the ball; which he won, and a complete accident.

Rovers could have played on for another hour and we would not have scored and that is the worrying thing. Our inability to keep a clean sheet and our lack of punch up front are still there and nothing has changed after 8 games and doesn’t look like it will with this playing staff. We desperately need a spark and need it soon. Getting our goal scoring midfielder back Liam Sercombe will be a step in the right direction but his hamstring injury is still another couple of weeks away from being ready.

Final Score: Luton Town 1 Bristol Rovers 0

A precarious position at the bottom of the table and it’s not looking like it’s going to change anytime soon. I fear relegation is a real possibility for a team that had high expectations going into the season. Where has it gone wrong?

Next up is West Ham United at The Mem in the Football League Trophy on Tuesday night.

The Packers were playing the hated division rival Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on Sunday at a reasonable time of 8pm (GMT+3) 12 noon central. We were buoyed by the superb comeback victory against the Bears and go into this week 2 match up confident as long as Aaron Rodgers was healthy and starting (knee injury against the Bears). Minnesota on the other hand are one of the favourites for the Superbowl and, for once, go into this game as favourites.

The inactive list came out and Aaron wasn’t on it! That was the first piece of good news. The second encouraging thing was that on the first drive we were running the football up the gut and having some success, which we certainly were not against the Bears. That helped to settle my nerves a little. Not really sure what it is, but watching the Packers stresses me out more than anything else. The intensity and physicality of the game always seems to tip me over the edge a little. Playing the Vikings; the Cowboy’s of the north, just accentuates that.

Aaron was moving slightly better than last week and was fizzing some passes around. The game plan looked like it was short, quickfire stuff to keep the impressive Vikings D off balance and overworked. That tactic seemed to be working fine but the first drive stalled and we punted and pegged them back. Minnesota’s first possession was a bit messy due to the Packers D and culminated in a sack on third down of Kirk Cousins by the rookie Jaire Alexander. A solid start on both sides of the ball.

The Vikings had to punt, deep in their own territory and that usually puts a little pressure on the punting team to execute perfectly. The Packers went for a block and Geronimo Allison made a driving attempt at the ball and got his hands on it. The ball popped up in the air and another rookie, Josh Jackson was underneath it waiting to step into the endzone for the TOUCHDOWN! 0-7 after the extra point and we are up and running. Whohoooo!

We played a really good first half limiting the Vikings opportunities, not giving up any big plays on defence and playing conservatively but solidly on offence and including a healthy splattering of running plays. The Vikings did get a touchdown but also missed a field goal and Davante Adams had a reception for a Touchdown and we kicked a field goal as time in the second quarter expired. 7-17 So far so good. I was a little unhappy with the officials non call of defensive pass interference against Jimmy Graham (the CB pulled his right arm away) and the next play Adams was penalised for the weakest push off I have ever seen. Grrrrrrrrrr!

I’m not even sure where to start for the second half. This game just exploded with so many talking points and controversial issues. The Vikings started with the ball and the Packers D held. Kenny Clark getting a sack up the middle. There maybe some life in our pass rush yet! Next; after big plays by Graham and Adams, Mason Crosby kicks a field goal to make it 7-20.

The Vikings went on a nice drive capped off with a nice pre snap shift by Stefon Diggs who left Tramon Williams for dead and scored the TD. 14-20. The Pack reply with a nice drive but falter in the red zone again so settle for 3. 14-23. I’m starting to fear the worst. We are still in control but the purple horror is catching up fast. We cannot keep kicking FG’s if they are going to get TD’s.

Behind the scenes the Pack have quietly concealed that their starting corner Kevin King is out with a groin strain and up until now the Vikings either haven’t noticed or are waiting for a moment. Well, this was their moment! The Packers were substituting in Davon House our 5th cornerback to defend the Vikings top wideout, Diggs. This was clearly going to end badly and after throwing up a bomb, House gets beat badly with no safety help and Digg’s scores a 50000 yard TD. 21-23 Squeaky bum time! 7:20 left in the 4th Quarter.

We badly need a touchdown here as we are losing the foot race to the finish. Panic is setting in. Geronimo Allison and Jimmy Graham to the rescue. A couple of beautiful plays by those guys to get us to the red zone but again we cannot get it done and settle for 3. 21-26. I appreciate that the Vikings D is pretty good but we clearly have a problem with finishing off drives. We need a stop by the D but that’s a lot to ask going off of the last two drives.

Well what do you know! Ha Ha Clinton-Dix intercepts a tipped ball with 2:05 remaining in the 4th quarter in their territory. Surely we can see this out now. Run down the clock or at least remove the Vikings two timeouts. We kind of don’t do any of that. Coach McCarthy explained in the press conference after the game that he felt we needed a touchdown so he called pass twice on 2nd and 3rd down. We kick another field goal and there is unbelievably 1:45 on the clock and the Vikings still have two timeouts. We are winning by 8 points and the Vikings need a touchdown and a 2 point conversion to level the game.

Here is the controversy! On the next drive Cousins was feeling confident and goes for a big play once again. The Pack have now switched Davon House for our talented rookie Jaire Alexander as Stefon Diggs’ defender. As Cousins was just releasing the ball Clay Matthews tackles him to the floor. The pass from Cousins was slightly over thrown and Jaire makes a play and intercepts the ball. GAME OVER! Right? Wrong! The referee’s have called a roughing the passer foul on Clay and the Vikings are alive and still in with a chance.

This video clip of the play and the decision is perfect for explaining the situation. You can make your own mind up and let me know your opinion in the comments. I would love to hear other views on this.

The defence, after thinking they had done the job, have to regroup and make another stop. The Vikings didn’t need any assistance at this point but they got it and made light work of getting a TD. Could they get the 2 point conversion. Of course they could! We are level at 29 with 31 seconds remaining.

We get the ball after a very short kick off and Jimmy Graham makes another play and we have a chance with 7 seconds remaining to win this game with a field goal. Mason Crosby has been perfect all day and although it is a 52 yard'er I’m confident that he’s got this. He steps up to kick. The snap is good, the hold is good. The contact looks good. Please, please, please! The ball sails through the uprights and gives us the win. Oh the relief! Wait! What? They iced the kicker. In the farore we all forgot that the Vikings had one timeout remaining and they called it just before the kick. It is a bit mean on the kicker but it is standard practice in that situation. We try again. Snap good, hold good, contact good! The ball looks a little left but has been moving right. Move right! MOVE RIGHT! Oh sh*t he missed left. Overtime.

The Pack pick themselves off of the floor to go again. The Vikings win the toss and are again moving the ball at will. Overtime is going to be very short lived. They attempt a shortish FG and their Kicker Carlson the rookie misses right for the second time on the day. It was then that the next sh*t happens moment reared its ugly head. NFL Gamepass cut out! This is the streaming service I use to watch the games. Anything I do to get it back is not working. I check twitter and lots of people are saying the same thing. So following the last moments on twitter is all we have.

The Packers drive amounts to nothing and Aaron Rodgers has taken responsibility for a couple of errors that killed it. The Vikings get the ball back and run down the clock and get themselves into FG position. It’s a chip shot of 35 yards. This should be a formality for an NFL kicker. MISSED! Again! Oh my goodness. The game is a tie.

The NFL insist that you watch this free clip by visiting YouTube so click on Play and then follow the link.

Next up If I can recover from that circus is an away trip to Washington DC to face the Redskins (1-1)

Just a quick extra edition. Rovers played in the Football League Trophy on Tuesday night against West Ham United’s under 23’s. It’s a competition that has had recent rule changes that I disagree with allowing the bigger teams to enter their younger players and devaluing the competition.

We had a starting line up round so here are the results for the Luton Game.

Gaz, Shaun 8 Players correct
Mark, Parky and Hols 9 Players correct

Table
Gaz 10pts
Hols 7
Mark 5
Laura 4
Parky 4
Shaun 2
Joe 2
Chaney 2
Geoff 1

I’m still leading but getting caught rapidly now. The cup game we were expecting a few changes so the prediction was going to be quite difficult for this game.

My Team: Bonham, Leadbitter, Lockyer, Broadbent, Kelly, Rodman, O Clarke, Sinclair, Matthews, Bennett, Payne.

As it turns out, Rovers played quite well against a young West Ham 11. The final score was 2-0 to the Gas and there were a few positives to take forward into the next game. Our back line kept a clean sheet which will add some confidence there. Jakubiak scored his first goal for the club and that will add confidence too. Lastly, Stuart Sinclair and Joe Partington came through the game unscathed and look fit and ready to contribute to the league campaign.

Next up is Coventry City at the Memorial Stadium.

Previous Issues:
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 3
Issue 4

Thanks for reading.

Gaz