Bristol Rovers came agonisingly close to securing what would have been a sensational comeback from 3-0 down away at Peterborough United on Saturday afternoon as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at London Road with a performance that, for the most part, was way off the standard they want to set for themselves.
After last weekend’s shock 4-0 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic, supporters were expecting some form of a response when Rovers headed up to Peterborough but they didn’t get anything close to that until the second half at which point the Gas already found themselves 2-0 down.
Matt Taylor’s side were once again punished for a slow start on the road like they were at Barnsley a fortnight ago as Kwame Poku opened the scoring after 10 minutes before Ricky-Jade Jones capitalised on an error from James Wilson to double Posh’s lead just after the half-hour mark. At that point, Rovers had offered nothing and were staring a third consecutive defeat in the face.
Ruel Sotiriou and Lino Sousa then had saw opportunities fall to them in the latter stages of the first half before a much-improved response after half-time offered some hope that the Gas could find a route back into the game. However, a third from Malik Mothersille seemingly put the result beyond doubt and, at that point, you feared that the scoreline could get even more damaging from a Rovers perspective. No one saw what happened next coming.
Within the space of less than two minutes, Taylor’s men put themselves well into the ascendency with goals from substitutes Luke McCormick and Gatlin O’Donkor which saw the momentum shift entirely as Peterborough capitulated.
Shaq Forde came closest to clinching the third goal as the striker was denied by a good save from Jed Steer and really, despite the damage Rovers inflicted upon themselves in the first half, we should be talking about a point secured in sensational fashion. Unfortunately, said damage proved to be too significant to overcome.
The mood around the club has certainly shifted on the back of three consecutive defeats but we are also still just seven games into the league campaign. Naturally, the hope will be that Rovers can start their home game against Wycombe Wanderers next weekend in the manner that they finished Saturday’s defeat at London Road.
Focusing on Peterborough first though, there are certainly a number of takeaways, both extremely positive and extremely negative, to be taken. Here are some of the stand-outs…
Kofi Shaw’s ‘fantastic’ day as teenage academy product makes first league start
Regardless of what happened on the pitch or how he performed, Saturday was always going to be day that will stay with Kofi Shaw forever as the 17-year-old made his first league start for Bristol Rovers. It’s also a massive day for the club’s academy.
It was always expected that the teenager would be knocked off the ball when coming up against grown men in a physical game but he was one of very few players who could say that they contributed something offensively in the first half.
We’ve still not seen much of the attack-minded midfielder but the reviews from those who see him in action every day on the training ground have all been extremely positive with Matt Taylor one who has sung his praises for months.
On Shaw’s involvement against Peterborough, the Gas manager said: “Absolutely fantastic and I thought Kofi, in fairness to him, I know he got ran past, that’s to be expected in certain moments of the game, I thought he actually gave us a little bit in that first half. One of the few ones who gave us enough in that first half.
“So yeah, really positive for Kofi. Really good that he can affect the game for such a young player. I would have liked to see him on towards the end in a better team because, you know, as a team struggles, then obviously it has an effect on his performance, but he’s got a bright future. I was delighted for him. He will remember this day for the rest of his life and hopefully next time he starts, next time he plays, there’s a win to back it up.
“Once we were definite on Jamie playing, then I felt it was right to play Kofi,” he added. “Obviously, Wardy should be a really big player for us and if he’s fully fit and firing, then he’ll have a big effect on him. We’re looking forward to him coming back in that capacity. But yeah, the decision was made in terms of Kofi, in terms of the midfield balance.”
Rovers must ensure that conceding goals from individual errors doesn’t become a habit
Aside from any criticisms of the manager, tactics or anything else of the sort, the coaching staff can’t do anything about goals being conceded on the back of individual errors for two weeks running.
Mistakes do happen but it’s about ensuring they’re reduced as much as possible and it does feel as though Rovers have pressed a bit of a self-destruct button against both Wigan and Peterborough.
A poor pass backwards from James Wilson that was intended for Connor Taylor but ended up being nowhere near his fellow centre-back was latched upon by Ricky-Jade Jones who punished the error. In fairness to Wilson, he immediately raised his hand in apology but after such a bright start to his campaign, it’s a shame that he’s had a few games where his struggles of last season have reoccured. Being such an experienced player though, you back him, or at least hope, that he’ll rediscover his early campaign form.
This came a week after Josh Griffiths spilled a cross against Wigan to allow Thelo Aasgaard to score the Latics third which effectively ended Rovers’ hopes of a comeback. Well, with hindsight, it shouldn’t have given what happened when they went 3-0 down this time around.
However, Rovers can’t afford to make a habit of one, conceding goals completely from their own doing and two, going two or three goals behind before offering any sort of response.
Substitutes all stake strong claims for starts next weekend
On the back of how Rovers finished the game, there is stark argument for the players on the pitch at the end to be the ones that start next weekend against Wycombe or at least a good handful of them.
All five substitutes affected the game positively but Luke McCormick and Gatlin O’Donkor in particular made a major impact. Of course, they both got the goals but they were involved in anything positive Rovers did in the final third with their desire to get the ball in the back of the net almost earning their team an unlikely point…or possibly more.
The way in which Peterborough capitulated, you do think that if the Gas had been able to find an equaliser, they could well have gone on to win the game which is some statement to make considering how poorly they played in the first half and the fact that they were 3-0 down with 25 minutes to go.
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The way in which Rovers ended the game is exactly how they would have wanted to start it and the hope will be that it can provide a platform to build from going into next weekend.
When asked about the impact of the substitutes, Taylor was evidently delighted with their impact mixed in with his frustration towards the result and first half performance, saying: “Gats plays next week. There’s no question mark. [If] you play like that you play. Football is such a simple game. It’s over complicated by coaches, managers, supporters, anyone who’s got an opinion like we all have on the game. It is a very simple game. You play like that. You play. If he plays like that next week, he keeps his shirt.
“It is so, so simple and all of a sudden, if you get certain players in certain units playing well, I guarantee the rest of them start to build. It’s who goes first. But to start with, they went first and we were second and then second half, we went first and they were second. Unfortunately, the three goals it was just too much.”
Positivity surrounding Rovers bright start seems to have evaporated
As we know, in football a cliche will always crop up here and there so here’s a personal favourite for you: things in football move extremely quickly. They have done for Rovers, but not in a positive way.
Suddenly, after the Gas recorded a positive start to the season with seven points from four games, three consecutive defeats has deflated any of that optimism and the narrative has completely changed.
Those three clean sheets in four games now feels like months ago when, in reality, that win over Cambridge was only three weeks ago. Since, three losses from three and nine goals conceded. It’s concerning.
There are, of course, positives that can be taken with the way in which Rovers played for most of the second half much improved which has to be remembered – it’s not all doom and gloom – but that solid start to the campaign now feels like a rather distant memory.
It’s not as though anything colossal has changed. It’s the same players, the same manager, the same formation and so they are capable of returning to their previous strides. However, this poor run has also highlighted that there are notable fragilities in this squad that need to be addressed and they’re largely familiar.
Being just seven games into the season, a positive performance and result against Wycombe next weekend will inevitably change the mood rather significantly but, on the flip side, another defeat would add to the toxicity that has now started to build up.
Everyone has their own number of games after which you make a reasoned assessment of the campaign, players, manager etc. Realistically, it can’t be fewer than 10 while 12 represents just over a quarter of a season. There’s still a good chunk of time until that point but it will creep up on the Gas quickly and they need to ensure that the verdict is more positive than it is negative.