ROVERS BEATEN IN SEVEN GOAL THRILLER

Rovers suffered back to back defeats after letting a two goal lead slip as Saffron Walden Town came from behind and beat the Marcus Bowers side which put a huge dent in their playoff chances.

Rovers came into the game with a number of squad players missing for Saturday’s match due to a number of injuries.

The Rovers dominated the first half and led 2-0 at the break with Max Gnandi and Jake Gordon both on target. But Saffron Walden Town fought back after the break and scored four times in the second half despite Max Gnandi grabbing his second and the Rovers third goal of the game.

Rovers struck first within five minutes after great build up play from the midfield. Billy Johnson played Tony Martin through who cut inside the area from the left wing. His shot was blocked but Max Gnandi regained the ball, took one touch past a defender and hammered the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

Marcus Bowers side remained on top creating a number of opportunities with some slick passing and on the twenty minute mark, Rovers doubled their lead. Saffron attempted to clear their lines and the ball was cleared straight to Billy Johnson just outside the penalty area who drove into the area and squared the ball to an unmarked Jake Gordon who lobbed the keeper from close range.

Rovers remained on top but they took a blow after 39 minutes when Thomas Barton had to leave the field of play due to injury. However, the Rovers went into the break with the lead.

HALFTIME: SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 0-2 ROVERS

The second half was a completely different story. Saffron Walden Town made a substitution just after the start of the second half which changed the momentum of the game in the form of Jacob Noble.

It only took a minute for the Saffron Walden substitute to cause an impact on the game as the midfielder taped in from close range after a midfielder was allowed to drive into the box from the right and passed the box to Noble to tap in.

Three minutes later, Rovers had an excellent opportunity to get a goal back. A clearance from the Saffron Walden keeper fell straight to Jake Gordon who took one touch from ten yards from goal and sent a curling effort that seemed destined to land into the corner of the net but the Saffron keeper redeemed himself by getting across the goal and parry the ball away. A minute after that chance proved costly as Saffron had levelled the game.

Saffron Walden Town sent a in-swinging corner which as met by Olly Miles from close range to level the game. However, Rovers struck back ten minutes later. A clearance went straight out to Jake Gordon on the right wing and delivered a curling cross which was met by Max Gnandi who headed the ball over the keeper into the net to regain the lead.

However, it was short lived as Saffron Walden Town once again struck back in the 66th minute to equalise again when a corner wasn’t cleared and Olly Miles scored his second of the game from close range.

Seven minutes later, Saffron Walden Town were ahead for the first time of the game. A long throw in was headed on in the box and Olly Miles completed his hattrick from close range once again.

Rovers tried in vain to search for an equalise with a number of substitutions to inject some legs into game but just couldn’t find any clear cut opportunities.

Deep into stoppage time, their were strong appeals of a penalty shout when a Saffron Walden player appeared to kick Ollie Jenkins in an off ball incident and resulted in a mini brawl but the appeals were waved away and Rovers suffered back to back defeats.

FULLTIME: SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 4-3 ROVERS