I'm looking forward to pasties but not the trip

I know we don’t have any God-given right to win games and that we have to earn the points, but the performance at Hartlepool was well below expectations, especially after the footballing lesson we handed out to Lincoln in midweek.

Hartlepool had done their homework on us and closed us down at every opportunity, but the standard of the match was highlighted in the fact that neither team had a shot on goal until the 28th minute.

My first reaction to their opening goal was offside, but we had sat too deep. Once we had hauled ourselves back into the game we should have finished them off.

Our goal was a cracker – a great right-wing cross from Copps was met with a brave diving header from JamesHayter, rocketing the ball past ex-Rovers keeper Jan Budtz.

Rovers had a great backing from down the A1 with over 900 fans making the journey – no transvestite in sight, though.

But how the local police classed the game as an A risk match because of our fans was beyond me. They kept the official Supporters’ Club coaches in a lay-by a mile out of town for three-quarters of an hour before the game so as not to let them into the town.

If there was to be any trouble, it NEVER comes from the people on the coaches.

In my new role Trax FM require me to travel by car to all games to get post-match interviews, so it seemed stange not being with all my friends on the coach. I can say I certainly missed you all, but thanks to those who filled in for me.

One of the coach drivers apparently locked the keys for the coach inside the bus. Luckily they managed to climb through a skylight to retrieve them!

Tomorrow’s game is a nostalgic game as far as Sean O’Driscoll and Richard O’Kelly, James Hayter etc are concerned, coming up against their former club, Bournmouth.

They are another of our bogey sides and it will not be an easy game, but hopefully we’ll pick up the three points.

We then face two horrendous journeys in the space of a few days.

It is down to Home Park to face Plymouth Argyle in the second round of the Carling Cup on Tuesday, then Swansea in the league on Saturday.

Home Park is a ground which holds many memories for me when I was stationed in Plymouth when in the Navy.

Saturday afternoons used to be great when I could not get home and go and watch the Pilgrims. I would run through the park at the end of the game to the station to catch a train to Torquay and watch another game as the Gulls used to play their home games on Saturday nights.

I will be tucking into the delights of the Cornish pasties on Tuesday and also linking up with Sara Raine – a Rovers fan who works in the sports department of the local evening paper. Sara used to cover Rovers for the Yorkshire Sport in the Conference days.

There will be a lot of tired people if they go to work on Wednesday morning. Let us hope that we win outright and there will be no extra-time or penalties.

Let’s hope the stadium management committee come to ther senses this weekend. The Keepmoat is supposed to be a community stadium, but they have introduced changes this season that see the media, even matchday staff, and the Vikettes, pay to park.

Due to the long distance involved on Tuesday we are only running one supporters’ club coach to the Plymouth game, hence the early cut-off time to reserve your seats.