SeagullSimon
New member
09:50 - 12 May 2004
Picking on little people might not sound like a very nice thing to do, but when a place in the play-off final is at stake, Rhys Evans doesn't care. The Swindon Town goalkeeper is hoping his defenders can bully Division Two's leading scorer out of the game when the Robins host Brighton in the semi-final first leg this Sunday.
At 5ft 5ins, Seagulls striker Leon Knight is hardly an imposing figure, but that has not stopped him scoring 26 goals this season.
And Evans, who played with Knight at Chelsea and England youth level, is hoping his team-mates give the Londoner a tough time.
"I know Leon well from Chelsea and he was the year below me at Lilleshall (the FA's National Centre of Excellence) as well," said Evans.
"Hopefully that will come into my favour and I might be able to pre-judge some of the things he might try and do, but I don't know yet.
"It depends what he's prepared to do on the day and hopefully I can match him and better him.
"He's a very nippy player and that makes it hard for a big, typical centre-half to get a hold of him.
"Because he's small he's got a low centre of balance.
"He's like Gianfranco Zola in that sense - his low centre of gravity.
"But if we can try and bully him a little bit and get him off of the ball, then he might not fancy that too much.
"It depends what mood he comes out in, but I would have thought in a game like this he and his team-mates would be considerably up for it."
Knight has hardly endeared himself to Town supporters in the clubs' two League clashes this season.
During Town's 2-2 draw at the Withdean Stadium in September, Knight was first booked for diving in the penalty area.
Then, with Swindon deservedly leading 2-1, Knight went down under Stef Miglioranzi's challenge and won a penalty that earned the Seagulls a share of the points.
Afterwards Town boss Andy King and some of his players accused Knight of conning the referee.
And following his equaliser for Brighton in their 2-1 defeat at the County Ground in December, Knight again incurred the wrath of Robins fans.
Again he ended up in the referee's book after he took his shirt off and celebrated provocatively in front of the Town End.
Evans believes his colleagues will have to be street-wise with Knight in the two play-off matches.
"Leon is always liable to nick a penalty as well," he said.
"I wouldn't say he was a diver, but it doesn't take a lot for him to go to ground.
"And I think he did that at the game at their place at the start of the season.
"We need to be aware of that, because the last thing we want is people getting booked or sent off and missing the second leg or the final in Cardiff, if we get to it.
"It's all about common sense really, but that's easy to say with foresight or hindsight, but when you're in the heat of the game, it's not always so easy.
"It's just a case of being aware of him because when you look at his goals you cannot disregard him. But on the other hand we cannot be too scared of him either and he is not the only threat."
So what kind of welcome will Evans himself give to Knight when the south coast side arrive in Wiltshire on Sunday?
"When you play with someone you get to know them and when I see him I will have a chat and shake his hand," Evans said.
"But I wouldn't say we were the best of buddies by any stretch of the imagination."
Picking on little people might not sound like a very nice thing to do, but when a place in the play-off final is at stake, Rhys Evans doesn't care. The Swindon Town goalkeeper is hoping his defenders can bully Division Two's leading scorer out of the game when the Robins host Brighton in the semi-final first leg this Sunday.
At 5ft 5ins, Seagulls striker Leon Knight is hardly an imposing figure, but that has not stopped him scoring 26 goals this season.
And Evans, who played with Knight at Chelsea and England youth level, is hoping his team-mates give the Londoner a tough time.
"I know Leon well from Chelsea and he was the year below me at Lilleshall (the FA's National Centre of Excellence) as well," said Evans.
"Hopefully that will come into my favour and I might be able to pre-judge some of the things he might try and do, but I don't know yet.
"It depends what he's prepared to do on the day and hopefully I can match him and better him.
"He's a very nippy player and that makes it hard for a big, typical centre-half to get a hold of him.
"Because he's small he's got a low centre of balance.
"He's like Gianfranco Zola in that sense - his low centre of gravity.
"But if we can try and bully him a little bit and get him off of the ball, then he might not fancy that too much.
"It depends what mood he comes out in, but I would have thought in a game like this he and his team-mates would be considerably up for it."
Knight has hardly endeared himself to Town supporters in the clubs' two League clashes this season.
During Town's 2-2 draw at the Withdean Stadium in September, Knight was first booked for diving in the penalty area.
Then, with Swindon deservedly leading 2-1, Knight went down under Stef Miglioranzi's challenge and won a penalty that earned the Seagulls a share of the points.
Afterwards Town boss Andy King and some of his players accused Knight of conning the referee.
And following his equaliser for Brighton in their 2-1 defeat at the County Ground in December, Knight again incurred the wrath of Robins fans.
Again he ended up in the referee's book after he took his shirt off and celebrated provocatively in front of the Town End.
Evans believes his colleagues will have to be street-wise with Knight in the two play-off matches.
"Leon is always liable to nick a penalty as well," he said.
"I wouldn't say he was a diver, but it doesn't take a lot for him to go to ground.
"And I think he did that at the game at their place at the start of the season.
"We need to be aware of that, because the last thing we want is people getting booked or sent off and missing the second leg or the final in Cardiff, if we get to it.
"It's all about common sense really, but that's easy to say with foresight or hindsight, but when you're in the heat of the game, it's not always so easy.
"It's just a case of being aware of him because when you look at his goals you cannot disregard him. But on the other hand we cannot be too scared of him either and he is not the only threat."
So what kind of welcome will Evans himself give to Knight when the south coast side arrive in Wiltshire on Sunday?
"When you play with someone you get to know them and when I see him I will have a chat and shake his hand," Evans said.
"But I wouldn't say we were the best of buddies by any stretch of the imagination."
