EFL Analysis
·6 September 2021
EFL Analysis
·6 September 2021
Bristol Rovers survive a late onslaught by Crawley Town in the EFL League Two.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines
* defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
Joey Barton’s men grabbed 3 points making it 2 wins in 6 matches as Bristol Rovers survived a late onslaught by Crawley Town, so are there any positives to take out for the Pirates?
At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report.
Manager Joey Barton opted for a back 3, 3-4-1-2 formation. With Finnish shot-stopper Anssi Jaakkola sidelined with an Achilles injury, James Belshaw continued as the man between the sticks for the Pirates. Sam Nicholson and Aaron Collins led the lineup with support from debutant Antony Evans. Harvey Saunders and Harry Anderson occupied the two wingback slots. The back three comprised of Cian Harries, Connor Taylor and Alfie Kilgour who were supported by Sam Finley and Joshua Grant in the midfield.
Despite possession being almost at a level pegging, the game was mostly played in the midfield with the two wingbacks Saunders and Anderson reluctant to push high up the field. The forwards played mostly on their own with the midfielders dragged into their own half by the visitors.
The visitors opted for a back four consisting of Tony Craig and George Francomb operating as the two defenders while the left-back and right-back positions were occupied by Nick Tsaroulla and Archie Davies respectively. The two forwards Nichols and Ashford led the line supported by the four-man midfield of Payne and Hessenthaler in the centre while Frost and Powell operated in the wide areas. Glen Morris was the shot-stopper for the Reds.
The average positions of Crawley Town illustrate that they operated mostly in the opponent’s half. The home side provided very little threat. Their defenders were pushed up high while the fullbacks operated in a similar manner.
The game might have ended with a victory for the home side but Crawley Town’s XG of 1.37 was higher than that of the home side, 0.41. The Reds took twice the number of shots (17) as the home side and their shots on target (7) were on a similar level. In contrast, the Pirates could muster a total of 6 shots and only 3 on target. Since the game was mostly played in the home side’s half, their defensive stats (tackles, interceptions and clearances) surpassed that of the visitors. The visitors made a remarkable 41 recoveries in the opponent half. The possession stats were slightly in the favour of the visitors, 54% to home sides’ 46%. The possession disparity was much more evident in the final minutes of the game when Crawley Town produced a late onslaught as the game came to a closure.
The final score ended with a 1-0 victory in favour of the home side, they were scrappy enough to hold on to their slight advantage. The only goal of the match came via the veteran striker making his first appearance for Bristol Rovers. Remarkably the striker scored with just his second touch of the ball after coming on as a substitute at halftime. Harry Anderson led the dribbles chart and Antony Evans following closely. Jack Powell and Alfie Kilgour managed 15 passes each into the final third for their respective sides. Connor Taylor came out on top in aerial duels won.
The Pirates attempted 6 shots in total with 2 shots from outside the box and the other 4 from inside the box, the goal amongst one of them.
Despite attempting double the number of shots (17) as their opponents, the visitors were unsuccessful in putting any of these shots into the back of the net. 10 of their shots were attempted from outside the box while a whopping 7 were from inside the box.
Leon Clarke had the highest xG of 0.18 for his team. The xT timeline demonstrates a similar pattern for both the home side and the visitors with the latter slightly edging out. Sam Ashford had the highest xG for the visitors (0.4). The xG timeline is completely dominated by the visitors with their xG peaking deep into the stoppage time.
The right centre back Alfie Kilgour received the most number of passes for his team (32) also attempting the most (52). The rest of the team contributed almost evenly towards the matrix.
Jack Powell attempted a total of 59 passes while also receiving 31, the highest for his team. Crawley Towns’ passing stats were similar to that of the home side. They were more threatening with the ball but had no end product to show for.
The passing zones for the home side displays that they had more control of the ball on the right-hand side of the pitch near the centre. Bristol Rovers’ produced most of their crosses from the right plank while few successful crosses coming from the right flank as well.
In a stark contrast to the home side, the visitors’ passing zones illustrate that they dominated with their passing in wide areas near the opposition box. They only had one successful smart pass from the centre of the field while a couple coming from the left flank. Crawley Town had plenty of crosses from either side of the opposition box with more successful crosses from the left plank.
The highest xT for the home side came from the wide right-hand side of the field in the opposition half. They also scored the only goal of the match with a cross from the right-hand side which was dispatched into the corner by striker Clark. Sam Finley created the most xT of 0.374 for the home side.
As mentioned above we can see that the highest xT from passes was created by Sam Finley. He also had fewer unsuccessful passes. Antony Evans came out on top for xT from dribbles (0.76). Crawley Towns’ xT creation zone shows that their highest xT was created from the right flank near the opposition box. Jack Powell created the most xT (0.578) from his passes with Jack Payne following closely at 0.541.
Jack Powell with an xT of 0.66 from his passes created the highest xT amongst his team. The midfielder Archie Davies made quite a number of unsuccessful passes with a negative xT of -0.119. Crawley Town posed little threat from their dribbles with Nick Tsaroulla topping the charts for his team with a 0.059 xT from dribbles.
The Pirates were engaged in most of the defensive duels in their own half, winning the majority from the left flank near their own box. Cian Harries won the highest number of defensive duels for his team while also participating in the most.
Connor Taylor was outstanding in the aerial duels for his team, winning 11 out of 14. Bristol Rovers participated in the majority of the aerial duels in the half-spaces in their own half, some on the left-hand side near the centre and some in the half-spaces near the opposition box. They won most of the duels in their own half while also finding success in a few in the remaining zones.
Bristol Rovers were highly successful in winning loose balls in their own half near the left flank while they were also successful in central areas and half-spaces. Connor Taylor recovered 7 loose balls for his team.
The visitors were able to win few defensive duels in their own half’s while poor near the opposition box. Jack Payne competed for the highest number of duels for his team, losing quite a few.
Tom Nichols was engaged in the highest number of aerial duels for his team, the majority of which he lost. Crawley Town’s most of the aerial duels occurred on the right-hand side of the pitch in half-spaces and in wide areas.
Sam Ashford was poor in recovering the loose balls for his team. He lost 9 out of 10 loose balls for which he competed. Crawley Town vied to recover loose balls all over the pitch. While they had some success in their own half and the central zone, they were particularly poor near the opposition box.
If you want to download the stats report in PDF format you can do so here: