THE GAME
Steve Evans opted against making any changes to the side that beat Grimsby at the Mem seven days earlier and was rewarded with another battling display from his side.
Ahead through a stunning Kane Thompson-Sommers goal at the break they were eventually pegged back by a home side as desperate for all three points as they were, but they held out to return to Bristol with a hard earned point, after only their fourth draw in the league this season.
The M4 derby as it was referred to by many, saw the home side create a number of goalscoring opportunities in the first half and Rovers were indebted to goalkeeper Brad Young for keeping the hosts at bay.
He tipped Jake Batty’s inswinging corner over the bar and somehow managed to touch away Will Wright’s close range header away from goal from that corner. He then turned away Aaron Drinan’s half volley after he had been played in by Junior Hoilett.
Having defended stubbornly and creating little by the way of first half opportunities, Rovers scored two minutes before half time after Thompson-Sommers was played in by Ellis Harrison out on the right. The young midfielder glided past two challenges, switched the ball to his left foot and curled a shot into the bottom corner of the net. His first goal for the club was certainly one to savour.
Swindon boss, and former Rovers player and manager Ian Holloway, was red carded early in the second half for a comment made from the touchline which referee Ruebyn Ricardo took offence to, but shortly after he disappeared down the tunnel his side scored the equalising goal.
It came immediately after Harrison had missed a golden opportunity to double Rovers lead when he headed wide following a cross from the left. Swindon broke quickly and won a free kick out on their left. Taken by Jake Batty, the ball reached Ollie Palmer who drilled the ball into the net.
Shortly afterwards the home side almost scored again but Clinton Mola was on hand to head a goalbound effort off the line with Young beaten while at the other end both Richie Smallwood and Ryan De Havilland fired shots over the bar.
Substitute Fabrizio Cavegn fired into the side netting and was denied another opportunity when fouled by Ollie Clarke in the area. However, Mr Ricardo who didn’t have the best of games, decided that Cavegn was
the aggressor and awarded a free kick against him much to the amazement of the travelling Rovers fans.
This was a hard earned point on the road against a team looking to gain promotion to League One and built on the success against Grimsby Town seven days earlier. It’s important, now, that home games are won and that The mem becomes the fortress once more.
WHAT WAS SAID
‘It’s a typical local derby, isn’t it? I don’t think there was too much quality in that game. Certainly, whatever number of players on the pitch, I lost track of it, 26 or 27, I don’t know these days. Everyone was wholly committed to trying to get a result for their team. I think the difference in the game is that they score a goal, which is a bad defensive error from us; it’s a simple individual error, but we scored a fantastic goal that’s worthy of winning any derby. I think we can go away a little bit disappointed with the decisions over the 90 minutes.
‘Ellis does brilliantly on the right, works the ball up the right and then gets it into Kane, and when Kane drives with the ball, he’s getting more confident every week. He’s such a quiet boy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speak twice. He’s such a quiet boy, but he’s a wonderful kid. When he drove up the right, I thought, ‘do what you’ve done many times for MK Dons. Do what you’ve done. Chop it up on your left and just bend it in.’ I couldn’t have wished it anymore because he did it.
‘I think there are big chances for us at the back end. I think Fabrizio is fouled in the box, but he tries to stay on his feet; he’s brave. Then the goalie makes a good save, but he gives a goal kick. I just said to Fab, he’s an honest kid; if he’s not honest and if he’s semi honest, he goes down, and the referee’s not an option because there has been contact. He tries to stay on his feet, and I think there are two or three other chances. Yusuf Akamrich put a fantastic ball across the box, waiting for Ellis to tap it in. He doesn’t get on the front foot. I can’t complain about the effort and determination of the group today.’ Rovers Head Coach Steve Evans
‘We feel like we have done enough to win the game, especially going into half time, we were in a good position to win the game. I think if you reflect, then it is a decent point to take, but it feels disappointing; that is the main feeling right now. I think we deserve three points, we should have taken three points, we had the chances to take three points, and obviously, we conceded a goal that we think is sloppy, but we will obviously take the positives from it and move forward to next week.
‘I had to just be patient and just wait so I could get into the game, and then I think it was Ellis who took a quick free kick to me, and I thought just let me go at it, go towards the goal and see what I can create, and thankfully I scored my first goal for Bristol Rovers, and it was a great feeling especially in such a big, momentous game – it felt great. I don’t think anyone was ahead of me at the time, so I just thought, let me just take it on myself, see if I can cut in and score as I did.”
The coaching staff warned me just to get used to the way of playing, the style of players, but as I have settled in, I think that I have got better and better as the weeks have gone on, and yeah, now it just feels great putting on the shirt and playing. The support today was unbelievable, and we just want to keep impressing and keep putting points on the board, and today we will take the point, and move on to next week.’ Rovers’ goalscorer Kane Thompson-Sommers
‘Overall, disappointed not to come away with three points, especially after our second half performance, but if you look at chances created, I thought we had enough chances created to score more than just the one. But I thought all afternoon we looked a constant threat on set plays, and if we were going to score, that was going to be one of the ways in which we would score and it was pleasing to do so, but like I said, I think overall when we look, we’d be disappointed we just haven’t got across the line in terms of finding that second goal.
‘You look at the first half, it was a typical derby, not much control in it in terms of passages of play and possession. Credit to them. I thought they used their centre-forwards really, really well. And we had to stand up to that, we did. I am disappointed in terms of the timing of the goal when we conceded just before half time.
‘Credit to them, it is a great goal from them, but we highlighted that Thompson-Sommers was really good on his left foot, so to allow him to come on from the inside right onto his left foot would be disappointing from our point of view, and especially because we had the numbers and we already knew the detail on the player. So that was a disappointment.’ Swindon Town assistant boss Marcus Bignot
