Parkdale Rovers F.C.

Parkdale Rovers 1  Blackheath Town Reserves 8

Not a lot I can say about todays match other than well and truly hammered as Blackheath Town "Reserves" [sic] (with no less than SIX first team players from the West Midlands League!) handed out a stern lesson in how to put away chances.

I'm still a bit shell shocked, but as far as I can recall, the visitors went 2-0 up before Parkdale forward, Lewis Wright, who had a very bright first half, reduced the deficit with a well taken goal, using his pace to round the defender before slotting home. Then Blackheath restored their two goal advantage to 3-1 and started pinging the ball around with Parkdale working desperately hard to defend against a team which was almost unrecognisable from the Reserves team that turned out against us only a few weeks ago.

This was a classy display from a very strong side and their two forwards in particular were fast, skilful and ruthless in front of goal. The longer the match progressed the harder it became for our attack to get any sort of a hold on the ball,  with the result that the ball just kept coming back, wave after wave, and putting the defence under intolerable pressure. As the footballing lesson continued and even with 3 pairs of fresh legs introduced, Blackheath continued to turn the screw and added a further 5 goals in the last 20 minutes to run out comfortable winners, 8-1.

Final match of the season is against Two Gates (at their ground) on Tuesday 2nd May, k.o. 6:30 pm.

TEAM: Jim Mc Kinney (GK), Sean Wright, Steve Westwood, Nick Aston, Adrian Hingley,

Rhian O'Reilly, [Nathan Pugh ] Itchy Merker,  Dave Louden, [Nigel Mayes],  Dave Collett

Adam Tallack, [Taz Mubarik], Lewis Wright

SUBS: (not used) Gavin Haynes 

Two Gates  1   Parkdale Rovers  0

Another battling performance saw Parkdale Rovers go down by the narrowest of margins to Two Gates who continue to home in on 2nd spot in the Kidderminster Premier.

This was another encouraging performance from Parkdale who can count themselves a little unfortunate not to have come away with a point at the very least. Despite finishing second from bottom and in the relegation places, Parkdale will take plenty of heart and encouragement from this game, not only into the remaining two fixtures, but also as they begin to prepare and plan for next season in the 1st Division.

The first half saw both defences come out on top and a fantastic battle ensued in midfield where Itchy had one of his best games, breaking up the oppositions attacks and playing simple short passes either out to the wings or to his central midfield partner, Steve Cox who also had another great game. The O'Reilly brothers put in tremendous efforts with Blaine bombing up and down the left wing and Rhian also having one of his better games on the right wing.

Neither teams' forwards seemed able to carve out any really clear-cut chances, with both forward lines seemingly unable to deliver the telling pass or the killer ball that would unlock the opposing defence. Both sides had several opportunities where, on another day they might have scored from a number of half chances but neither side, on this occasion, were able to take them. 0-0 half-time.

The second half started and continued in much the same vein with Parkdale closing down quickly, forcing errors from the home side and everyone hungry to win the second ball. The match seemed to be heading for a goalless draw, until 20 minutes from the end when a misplaced pass up front was intercepted and quickly fed down the right wing. The quick incisive counter-attack finished with a well taken goal which gave the points to the home side.

Parkdale continued to press forward in search of an equaliser but, despite one or two more half chances, they failed to find the back of the net.

TEAM: Nick Aston, (GK), Sean Wright, Steve Westwood, Chris Derrer, Adrian Hingley, [Nigel Mayes] 

Rhian O'Reilly,  Itchy Merker,  Steve Cox,  Blaine O'Reilly [ Dave Collett]

Dave Louden, Adam Tallack, [Lewis Wright],

SUBS: (not used) Billy Cridge, Nathan Pugh

Cradley Heath  3  Parkdale Rovers  0

In what should have been a much more closely contested game, todays result was turned by two major decisions which the referee got badly wrong. This was not a difficult game to referee, but sadly when it came to decision-making, it looked very much like this man had never actually played the game in his life. He does like to blow on his whistle (sometimes for up to a minute - does he think it's a musical instrument perhaps?!) and to say that he was over fussy is without doubt an understatement! He booked two of our players for next-to-nothing tackles, gave free kicks to the home side were there were none, yet when there were much more serious tackles from behind by the home side, which should have received yellow cards - he "didn't see it"!  

New striker, Nathan Pugh did manage to get on the end of a flick-on from target man Adam Tallack and finished coolly with a curling right foot shot into the bottom corner to the keeper's left. Unfortunately for Nathan it was (in this case probably rightly) ruled out for offside, having just made his run a fraction too early. However, 30 minutes into the first half, the referee completely stunned the Parkdale defence by awarding an absolutely ridiculous corner decision, when the Cradley forward had quite clearly shot wide of the post and both sets of players had turned away in anticipation of the goal kick to follow! Moments later the Parkdale defence, who were still in shock at his decision, failed to clear the danger and conceded the first goal. Then, seconds before the half-time interval, he again overruled his linesman and awarded yet another corner kick for a ball that had clearly not even crossed the line! The ball was cleared temporarily only to be punted back into the box. Here again he failed to spot the centre forwards' nudge on stand-in goalkeeper, Chris Derrer, has he raced out to catch the ball. 2-0 at half-time and it was beginning to feel like the proverbial 11 v 12 scenario!

Cradley, with their tails up and with the advantage of a kindly referee favouring them at every major decision, began to relax and stroke the ball around. Parkdale could so easily have caved under the circumstances, but they battled on and only conceded one more goal in the second half - this time a good left foot strike from the Cradley player which curled just inside the post. Nothing much Chris could have done with that finish!

Next Saturday is officially a free Saturday but we are hoping to re-arrange a possible league match or maybe even fit in a friendly. So lets have EVERYONE at training on Monday night...if you haven't yet read my comments about Training and Eligibility Criteria for selection on Saturdays, please read it before Monday (you can find it on the Fixtures page)

TEAM:    Chris Derrer (GK), Steve Westwood, Nick Aston, Dave Louden, Adrian Hingley,

Sean Wright , Itchy Merker [Rhian O'Reilly] Billy Cridge [Taz Mubarik], Blaine O'Reilly

Adam Tallack, [Lewis Wright], Nathan Pugh

SUBS: (not used) Dave Collett

Blackheath Town 2   Parkdale Rovers 1

A case of missed chances at one end and two costly mistakes at the back came back to haunt Parkdale today and saw them lose all three points in a closely contested match.

Parkdale started brightly and looked the better side for the first half hour. Adam Tallack, back in his target man role, was having a great game and winning virtually every aerial challenge up front. In the 11th minute, he rose to flick the ball on for fellow strike partner, Lewis Wright who timed his run to perfection, springing the offside trap to run in and round the keeper before coolly slotting home. With Parkdale playing down the slope, they enjoyed several other opportunities to take the game to the home side and might have made more of a number of opportunities. Dave Collett looked more at home in his more usual left wing berth and might have made it 2-0 only moments later. Cutting in from the left, he managed to dribble his way free of his markers and unleash a left foot shot which looked to be heading into the top right hand corner, but unfortunately faded just inches wide of the post. A similar opportunity arose for the same player a little later on but instead of going for goal, this time he played a clever threaded pass through the heart of the defence to Lewis Wright who was unfortunately adjudged to be just offside, which thus denied him a possible brace.

Then disaster struck in the 17th minute. An aimless ball pumped upfield should have been headed clear of the danger by centre-half Chris Derrer. Unfortunately he appeared to misjudge the flight of the ball and completely mis-timed his header. The loose ball was picked up by the Blackheath striker and sweeper, Steve Westwood (who otherwise had another great game) tried to hook the ball clear but somehow failed to connect with the ball. The striker gratefully made the most of the two defensive errors and fired hard and low across new stand-in keeper, Dave Louden, into the far bottom right hand corner to make it 1-1.

Parkdale continued to press and still looked the better side until another defensive blunder. Left back, Blaine O'Reilly nipped in front of his right-winger and killed the ball beautifully on his laces with his first touch but then, has he tried to set off on one of his famous dribbles, he just overhit the ball with his second touch, into the centre circle where their central midfielder immediately stepped in and chipped the ball over his head to set the right winger away unchallenged. With time to measure his cross, their right winger delivered a beautiful ball towards the back post which was met with an equally great header back into the far top right hand corner. Again nothing much the keeper could have done to prevent this finish - although perhaps again at least one of the central defenders will be disappointed to have lost their marker and not been in a position to at least put in a challenge before the header was dispatched.

The 2nd half was largely a non event with both sides defences easily dealing with each others attempts to score. On the couple of occasions were the Parkdale defence was breached, top scorer and stand-in goal-keeper, Dave Louden, managed to pull off a couple of great saves to thwart the home side. Indeed it might have been a much different score-line if Dave had been able to play in his normal outfield position, but with new goal-keeper Jim McKinney out injured, this was just not possible. New signing Tariq Mubarik (Taz) made his debut at the start of the 2nd half and showed one or two nice touches but was still clearly some way short of full match fitness. In the last 20 minutes, Parkdale tried to chase the game and switched to a 3-5-2 with Itchy Merker coming on in central midfield, as left winger Dave Collett had to retire with a bruised calf muscle. Despite desperate attempts to get more men forward and rescue at least a point, the home side withheld the visiting team's late pressure and managed to hold out for all three points.

A disappointing result but at least some positives to look back on... Steve Cox had a good game in central midfield AND managed to last the WHOLE 90 minutes without his groin going! Despite the early defensive errors, the defence recovered their composure and played out the second half the way we know they can. New striker, Lewis Wright also opened his account for the club with a well taken goal...let's hope it's the first of many! And Adam Tallack put in one of his best ever performances, in a Parkdale shirt, leading the line superbly, winning virtually every header and working tirelessly until the final whistle.

Well done to everyone! Lets see ALL of you at training on Monday night - especially some of you lazy buggers who haven't been in a while and let's see if we can get a win or two before the end of the season!

TEAM:   Dave Louden (GK), Nick Aston] Steve Westwood, Chris Derrer, Blaine O'Reilly,

Rhian O'Reilly, [Taz Mubarik], Adrian Hingley,Steve Cox, Dave Collett, [Itchy Merker]

Adam Tallack, Lewis Wright,

SUBS: (not used) Nathan Pugh, Phil Woodhouse, Jim McKinney

Kinver 6  Parkdale Rovers 1

It was typical of our season so far. On the day when, according to the Kinver manager, he had been able to field their strongest side all season, Parkdale had to play without several key first team players. No less than FIVE changes from the squad that has played so well over the previous couple of games. New goalkeeper Jim McKinney was forced to play the whole game as centre-forward, having dislocated his finger in last weeks match. With young left winger, Dave Collett standing in as the replacement goalkeeper and a very shaky new back four partnership, this was always going to be an uphill battle - and so it proved.

Within three minutes, we were 1-0 down and a very poor defensive performance allowed the home side a further 2 goals in the first 15 minutes to go 3-0 ahead. Then a cross from Rhian O'Reilly on the right wing found striker Lewis Wright reach the ball just inside the box. He rounded the full back before cutting the ball back towards the edge of the penalty area for Jim McKinney to lash home into the far bottom left hand corner. A text-book finish - not bad for a goalkeeper!

Parkdale turned round in the second half trailing 3-1 and with some hope of pulling the match back. But it proved to be false hope. Adrian Hingley making his first appearance for several weeks had started the game well and had made an excellent start in central midfield longside Dave Louden but, unfortunately had to come off early in the second half with a recurring groin strain. New debutant, Billy Cridges came on and immediately got stuck in with some good tackling in the middle of the park. Long serving veteran, Phil Woodhouse also came on at left back while Nick Aston was moved back across to his more accustomed role at right back in place of Itchy who had been trying his best to cover the right back slot but was clearly struggling for pace against a very nippy left winger. Rhian O'Reilly who had been doubtful before the game with a knee injury also had to come off shortly afterwards which meant a rare appearance from another long serving veteran, Dave Marsh who slotted in at right back which necessitated Nick moving yet again -this time to cover Rhian's spot on the right wing. All the enforced changes were all too much and three more goals were conceded in the second half including an own goal from the luckless Steve Westwood. A dangerous cross from the left wing, played in behind the defence, found Steve in the unenviable position of having to try and cut out the cross whilst facing in front of his own goals. It was a great finish which left the keeper with no chance - fancy trying out for centre-forward next week Steve?

All in all I'd have to say, its been a rather dismal day! Still we've got a free week next week and hopefully the week after we'll have a full squad  from which to pick. Let's see a really good turnout at training on Monday night and lets get this defeat well and truly out of our system before the next match.

TEAM:  Dave Collett, Itchy Merker, [Phil Woodhouse] Steve Westwood, Adam Tallack, Blaine O'Reilly,

Rhian O'Reilly, [ Dave Marsh], Dave Louden, Adrian Hingley,[ Billy Cridges], Nick Aston,

Jim McKinney, Lewis Wright,

SUBS: (not used)  Martin Louden

Brintons 1  Parkdale Rovers  1

Parkdale Rovers  2   Cradley Heath  2

Parkdale Rovers really showed they've got "bouncebackability" in todays thrilling encounter! Despite conceding two early goals in the first 10 minutes, they managed to pull it back to 2-2 and might even have snatched it had a penalty decision been given late on in the second half.

New stand-in goalkeeper, Dave Collett recovered really well despite a shaky start when he misjudged the strength of the wind and the bounce of a high ball in his penalty area. His first touch was to pick the ball out of the back of the net and minutes later he was unlucky to see a header from his own teammate, Rhian O'Reilly, fly off the far post and beyond his despairing grasp. It was a great finish Rhian...just a shame it was at the wrong end mate! Parkdale rolled their sleeves up and dug in thereafter, fighting up the slope against a fierce wind which meant much of the first half was spent defending in our own half. Several terrific saves then followed which more then made up for his earlier mistake and certainly kept us well in the game. Then midway through the first half, striker Dave Louden got a ball to feet just inside the opponents half, managed to turn and dribble his way past a couple of defenders and into the penalty area. He shaped to shoot far post but noticing former Parkdale keeper, Billy Whale, just slightly out of position he cleverly toe-poked  the ball into the gap left at his near post. A fine solo effort indeed and 2-1 at half time.

In the second half, with the wind now behind them and playing down the slope, Parkdale began to exert a lot more pressure on the Cradley defence. New signing Lewis Wright came on for Itchy (who had had one of his quieter games) and Dave Louden dropped back into the centre of midfield to allow Lewis to use his pace up front. Lewis enjoyed some nice interchanges between Adam Tallack and Rhian O'Reilly (who despite his own goal was having a great game - defending one minute in his own box and the next minute marauding down the right wing). Rhian was very unlucky not to score shortly after when his blistering right foot shot was brilliantly parried away to safety. Minutes later another break down the left flank saw Lewis burst past the right full-back and in on goal. A blatant two-handed push in the back sent him flying in the penalty area, but the referee who was some 40 yards away, missed it! Justice was eventually done moments later when Steve Cox, who had only moments earlier been moved forward into centre midfield following a leg injury to Nigel Mayes, latched on to a loose ball some 30 yards out and drove a fierce left foot drive which  seemed to start outside the far post but curled back to finish beautifully just inside the upright. A serious contender for the Parkdale goal of the season!

In the final 10 minutes both sides could have scored and Steve Westwood was perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty with a rather rash tackle which left the Cradley striker in a heap on the penalty spot. But fortunately the referee didn't spot anything wrong with that one either and in the end both teams seemed happy to settle fo a point each. Well done everyone - some very good individual performances but overall a great team performance which showed real character and determination.

TEAM:- Dave Collett, Steve Westwood, Steve Cox, Chris Derrer, Blaine O'Reilly, Rhian O'Reilly, 

Richard "Itchy" Merker,[Lewis Wright], Nigel Mayes [Phil Woodhouse], Lee Wilde, Adam Tallack, Dave Louden,

Parkdale Rovers 1 Wyre Forest 3

Another encouraging performance from a steadily improving Parkdale side, this time against Wyre Forest - probably the best team in the league this season and odds-on favourites for the title.

The match kicked off in rather overcast conditions with lots of cloud blocking out the sun and with Parkdale playing down the slope . Unfortunately however, the clouds soon disappeared and within the first 10 minutes, Wyre Forest took the lead with a rather fortuitous goal. A miss-hit cross went high into the air and goalkeeper Dave Louden completely lost it in the sun as it drifted down into the top corner at the the back post. Both sides contributed to a very entertaining game with Parkdale continuing to play some nice passing football whilst having to be wary of Wyre Forest's quick counter-attacking breaks. Neither side where particularly troubled in front of goal with both defences playing well. Another new centre-half pairing which saw Nick Aston join Steve Westwood in the heart of the defence again produced a solid performance with Chris Derrer sweeping up the occasional ball which did manage to get past them. Mid-way through the first half,