THE GAME
Just one change for the crucial visit to face Bolton Wanderers at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, saw Sil Swinkels come into the side at the expense of Clinton Mola.
It made no difference to the outcome, though, as a second half goal from former Gas striker Aaron Collins sealed this contest and saw Rovers register their 16th away defeat in the league of the season.
Yes, there was an improved performance, but a lack of firepower is proving to be costly as Inigo Calderon’s side continue to flirt with the relegation places. Hopefully, that won’t be confirmed, but we are running out of games to find out.
There were few goalscoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes to thrill a crowd of over 22,000, though Aaron Morley did force a save from Jed Ward and Taylor Moore almost scoring an own goal as the half drew to a close. Fortunately for him, and Rovers, the ball hit the crossbar and was cleared.
After the break Rovers continued to thwart the home side but showed very little themselves by way of an attacking force.
Ward touched a Collins effort round the post, though the former Gas striker was in an offside position anyway. He went close again shortly afterwards with a rasping volley touched away by Ward for a corner.
Collins wasn’t to be denied, though, and came up with what proved to be the winning goal with 75 minutes on the clock. When Gethin Jones swung in a cross, the unmarked Collins planted a firm header into the corner of the net to register his 18th goal of the season.
Rovers did respond, to be fair, and Luke Thomas forced a save from goalkeeper Nathan Baxter, Matt Butcher glanced a header wide of the target and Scott Sinclair might have done better with his shot from a James Wilson cross.
The hosts, though, held out to claim all three points while Rovers were, for the second Saturday running, grateful that Burton Albion had once again been beaten in a lunchtime kick off.
THEY SAID WHAT?
‘I think the first half was really good. I was really pleased with the team, especially defensively. I thought we were solid. I think we did really well with our game plan. In the second half, I think we stopped doing the things that were good, but still, I don’t think we struggled too much. A little bit, obviously. You expect them to have the momentum because that’s why they are in the top six, and we are not. Overall, I would say it was a good performance, but still not enough in terms of 60 to 65 minutes.
‘Even before the goal, maybe I was starting to think, ‘we have to do something because it’s not working. The game plan didn’t change, but the discipline of the legs to do it, you have to keep that for 95 minutes, and probably you go back to last Tuesday, and maybe we are paying the effort of last Tuesday’s game. It was a great effort. That’s the price. In the end, it’s the last bit of the season. The legs are not the best as before and they are not as fresh as before. We have to keep improving. There are a few positive things to take from the game, but we have to hurry up.
‘Maybe against a side like Bolton, the plan is more about defending, but it’s not that we don’t want to attack at all. For me, the best way to defend is to attack well. But it’s true that we were not too clean. I think we were doing better in the defensive phase than the attacking one. After in the second half, I think because they scored, they were a bit deeper, and we had more possession in the other half. It’s not enough, and that’s the reason why we are not winning away.’ (Rovers Head Coach Inigo Calderon)
‘It’s a difficult one to take. I think after Tuesday, it was a performance we could build on, and we were confident going here, even though the last couple of games haven’t gone our way. To go into half-time at 0-0, we thought we were in the game and kept doing what we’re doing. One moment just kills us again, and it’s tough because I think, as a team, we do the right things, but it’s not enough at this level.
‘Against these teams doing well in the league, fighting for play offs or promotion, it’s about small margins and the last couple of percentages. We cannot afford to drop off in these sorts of games, and we’ve just got to stay focused for 95, 96, 97 minutes. It’s just killed us again.
‘I think defensively, we did well. Maybe going forward, we didn’t create enough. We didn’t keep the ball in their half as much as we would have liked. At the end of the day, it’s just a tough one to take. Matt Butcher’s header at the end – it’s a good save from the goalkeeper. Otherwise, maybe we can still nick something from it. Like they did, just one moment is what you need in these games. It’s tough.
‘Good performances don’t keep us in League One. We need to get points because of where we are. A couple of games to go now, and they are not going to get any easier. So, at the end of the day, we just need points, and they better come quickly because otherwise, it’s going to be nerve wracking.’ (Rovers Defender Sil Swinkels).
We found a way to win another game of football, which at this stage of the season is really important. It wasn’t an easy game. We knew Rovers would make it difficult for us. The whole performance was a bit flat, the game was a bit flat, there wasn’t loads of atmosphere, but we found a way to win, so in the end, I’m delighted with another good three points and at this stage it puts us back into the top six.
‘That’s all we care about. We can put the brilliant performance to one side and just focus on the result today. The clean sheet is really important. I know Bristol didn’t have loads of chances, but the one opportunity that they did have from a really good cross and a really good connection from the header was a brilliant save by Nath, so fair play to him for that because we’d just gone ahead.
‘And the goal that we scored was probably from our moment of best quality as well. Jay Matete found a lovely bit of space after Chris Forino regained the ball for us and he plays a nice pass for Gethin, again two lads who come off the bench. Gethin put in a ball which was perfect, and the two centre-forwards moved the way they needed to and Collo’s put it away, so one moment of quality was all it took.’ (Bolton Manager Steven Schumacher).
