THE GAME
Rovers were unfortunate not to gain their first win of the season following a battling performance against Oldham Athletic.
Showing the effort, commitment and desire that has, sadly, been lacking for a long while, they fought hard to break the deadlock against a physical and uncompromising Oldham side.
Darrell Clarke made three changes to his starting XI as Clinton Mola, Ellis Harrison and the suspended Joel Senior missed out, their places being taken by Fabrizio Cavegn, Ruel Sotiriou and Macauley Southam-Hales.
The best opportunity of the first half fell to Sotiriou who connected well with a cross from Southam-Hales and hit a first time volley towards goal which goalkeeper Matthew Hudson could only palm away. The loose ball reached Cavegn who was unable to direct his effort into the net.
Kamil Conteh fired a shot over the bar but and Joe Quigley squandered an opportunity to put his side ahead when he headed wide after getting in front of Kacper Lopata. By and large, though, goalscoring opportunities for both sides were few and far between in what was a combative opening 45 minutes.
That all changed after the break when Rovers dominated possession but were denied the goal they fought so hard for.
Southam-Hales saw his shot, with the outside of his right foot, saved by Hudson, and Conteh saw his drive clear the crossbar before Alfie Kilgour’s powerful header was cleared off the line.
Substitute Isaac Hutchinson headed wide when well placed and, in a rare Oldham attack, Kane Drummond saw his effort clear the crossbar.
Alfie Kilgour was denied his first goal as Rovers captain when his header was cleared off the line before
In time added on Jack Sparkes saw his ferocious free kick hit the woodwork and come back into play and the game ended all square.
Oldham created very little going forward and were limited to half chances throughout the 90 minutes thanks, in no small part, to Rovers back line.
A point, and something to build on…at last!
WHAT THEY SAID
‘There are positives to come from the game. That was a performance that was much closer to what we expect from the lads and what they’re capable of. I’m really disappointed for them, the three points would have been massive, and I think it’s what they would’ve deserved. It certainly gives us hope and the opportunity to build and recognise that things are going in the right direction.
‘We huffed and puffed a little bit. We had some good opportunities, and I hate that I keep saying it, but on another day, we score a couple of goals. But that’s been the story. I think the rounded performance was better tonight. The energy was there. The way that we moved the ball was a lot cleaner at times, and I think we managed to create an atmosphere in the stadium, which we haven’t yet this season.
‘I think Luke Southwood and the back line can take confidence from this clean sheet and can build on it. I thought Kasper and Alfie were man mountains at the back, and they built with the attacks as well, so they started us off a lot of the time, which is stuff that we have been working on. They will be happy with that, but we are as a group because it’s going to take all of us. The lads recognise that, and they are good together.’ Rovers Assistant Head Coach Jon Stead
‘I think it’s a step in the right direction with a clean sheet. I think there was a lot more positive play today, just unlucky not to get the winner. It was nice to get the fans on the edge of their seats, and it was a much more positive feeling today.
‘I think you can certainly tell in the second half, the chances going into their box, we had Sparkes hit the crossbar. One cleared off the line from Alfie. We were so close, but it was not quite to be today. If you’re getting clean sheets, you can’t be losing games, which is always a good foundation to build from. It’s the first clean sheet this season, and hopefully we can carry that on.
‘I’ve sort of always had versatility throughout my career, sort of early on here. It’s a good option for the manager. If I can play in central midfield, centre back, right wing back, it’s all only positive, really. If the team needs my help, then hopefully I can provide it.’ Rovers midfielder Ryan Howley
“We let ourselves down on Saturday. We didn’t start well and we gave ourselves a mountain to climb, but we’ve learnt about that and you could see that tonight. And the way that we started tonight is the way that you should start every game. You’ve got to contest every moment, find a way of doing the things you do to make you a decent team, and we did that much better tonight.
‘We need to show a bit more quality in front of goal and a bit more quality in different moments, but we looked good at times tonight and we’ll build on that. We learnt a lesson on Saturday that we can’t wait for the tempo to drop to the one that you believe you might want to play at. You’ve got to go and meet that, or be at the tempo, win all those scraps and battles and fight for the right to try to play.
“’ou need people to be disciplined and continue to do their jobs and I thought the front two led the line superbly well and were a real handful, the boys in midfield worked their socks off and the back four were excellent, won blocks and headers, and the goalkeeper made a good save when needed. I always want to try to win but we stood our ground and it was important we came away from this looking a bit more like ourselves.
‘To come to a place like this on a Tuesday night, to show the qualities that we showed and to get a result like we did, we’ve got to be pleased. Of course coming off the back of a result like Saturday you always want that win bit more, but you’ve got to take what you get and respect the point, which we will, and I respect that group of players who went out there and put their bodies on the line and scrapped and fought and got us something.’ Oldham Manager Micky Mellon
