THE GAME
Inigo Calderon led his side into their most important fixture of the season, the final home game, against Reading who needed points as much as Rovers to maintain their push for a play off place.
Failure to take three points wasn’t an option in this 12.30pm kick off and, for the best part of an hour, it seemed likely that his side would take a long overdue three points.
However, two second half goals put paid to that idea and when Burton Albion ran out winners against Cambridge United later in the afternoon, the realisation that Rovers would be playing League Two football next season gradually sunk in.
After Reading’s Harvey Knibbs saw his early effort touched on to the post by Jed Ward, Kofi Shaw dragged an effort wide of the target at the other end, while goalkeeper Joel Pereira touched a Ruel Sotiriou shot round the post.
Pereira, undoubtedly the star of the show in the first half, saved his side and a couple of other occasions, most notably when touching away a shot by Gatlin O’Donkor.
Rovers continued to take the game to their opponents after the break, though Ward was called into action to save from Andre Garcia.
Pereira then made an astonishing save from Sil Swinkels, whose header from a left wing corner looked as though it was going to burst the net and that was as good as it got for Calderon’s side as Reading, against the run of play, took a 66th minute lead when Charlie Savage rolled a pass into the path of Lewis Wing who slotted the ball past Ward.
Rovers seldom threatened after that and sunk to their knees when a second goal, scored by Chem Campbell in the fourth minute of added time, sealed victory for Reading.
THEY SAID WHAT?
‘I think there’s been far too many like today. It’s difficult to explain because I think we did a lot of things good. Especially in the first half. I would say the first hour of the game it was what we wanted. We were under control and had more chances than them, but it’s true that in the second half, I think the levels started to go down a little bit. In the end, you could see why they are where they are and why we are where we are because we had a couple of chances and we couldn’t score them. They didn’t need too many, and they scored them.
‘Obviously, after the goal, I’m not going to say it was game over, but we knew the first goal was key today. I asked the boys before the game today to show their passion even during difficult circumstances. It was not easy, so that’s why I was quite positive at half time because it was not easy to play the way they did in the first half. Obviously, it’s not unlucky. Today, you can say that we deserved more, but after 45 games, if we are there, it’s because we haven’t been good enough. It’s as simple as that.
‘I start to remember the game against Birmingham or a couple of games where we deserved more, but we didn’t get that. We didn’t get points. In the end, it’s been a terrible run, and I have to take responsibility for that because, in the end, it’s too many games. I never make excuses for being unlucky. The good thing about this division is that you play a lot of games, and then the table puts you where you deserve, and at the moment, we deserve to be down there. (Rovers Head Coach Inigo Calderon)
‘I just think there’s not enough people that can look at themselves in the mirror and say that they have done enough this season. At the end of the day, we haven’t been good enough. Every day in training, not good enough on the pitch, so we deserve everything we are getting at the moment.
‘I just think we’ve failed in games because we aren’t fit enough, because we don’t work hard enough day to day. People get relegated because they’re not good enough on the pitch, but it’s because of what they do in the week, and we simply haven’t been good enough. Training hasn’t been good enough, and that’s on us as players.
‘I just don’t think we’ve got the energy to get through games. I don’t think the squad are strong enough, fit enough, or quick enough.’ (Rovers defender James Wilson)‘It was a tough game. We knew that straight away. Credit to Bristol Rovers. They gave it everything. We needed Joel to make a couple of saves. We spoke about it just after the game, about having a team performance. It’s never going to be easy. There’s no game that’s going to be easy at this level. We certainly knew that. The way we dug in and defended, as a team, everyone from Jayden down. I thought we were really good. And then we spoke about it at half time. We need to keep moving the ball, keep switching the play. And that moment of quality would come, and it did, thankfully and it fell to Lewis Wing. So, really pleased. Great move, great finish and then I thought we were comfortable after that.
‘We’re very young. It’s the first time they’ve been in and around these positions before. In the play-offs, the nerves come into it a little bit. It’s just about using it as energy and using it as a driving force. So maybe we gave away the ball a little bit too cheaply in the first half at times. Make no mistake, Bristol made it really hard for us. And they jumped at good times. We could have had a little bit more composure. But, having said that, you come away from home with 2-0, you keep a clean sheet and you take three points anywhere at this level in this league.
‘We keep on saying we’re getting stronger. We’ve got legs, we’ve got fitness, we’ve got energy. And the boys know it. The boys believe it. So, it’s a great way to finish. We’re finishing on the ascendance. And we say we keep on getting stronger, we keep on getting fitter. (Reading Manager Noel Hunt)
