Although there won’t be a match for the remainder of Bristol Rovers’ season that’s more insignificant than tomorrow night’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy clash at home to Exeter City, it does mark the start of a golden opportunity to build some real momentum in BS7.
Rovers now face a run of four consecutive home games across league and cup taking them into late November and there’s certainly an opportunity to pick up some form on their own turf.
Largely, the Gas’ results at home and been good so far this campaign with four wins from six in the league. However, the 4-0 and 2-1 defeats to Wigan Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers were gut-wrenching spectacles for different reasons while the 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy felt very much like a pre-season friendly.
Realistically, Rovers cannot progress to the knockout stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy tomorrow night after that draw and the 4-0 defeat at Swindon Town earlier this month. The only scenario which would spectacularly put them through is if they were to beat Exeter by at least seven goals while Swindon and Tottenham Under-21s would have to play out a draw with Spurs winning the penalty shootout to get an extra point when they face off next week.
It will no doubt be a chance for fringe players once again to impress while Matt Taylor’s approach to the FA Cup tie against Weston-super-Mare four days later is yet to be seen. However, although the two sides are three divisions apart, Weston’s recent league form will no doubt see them rock up to the Mem confident that they can record a famous result.
Although it’s too early to definitively suggest where Rovers will end up in the league table come May, it currently seems as though another mid table finish is the best bet and so another FA Cup run like last season would certainly be welcome.
The excitement of the Norwich City replay in the third round after the fourth round draw put the winner of the tie up against Liverpool at Anfield was as palpable as it got at the Mem last season. Even though the Gas lost the game and missed out on the opportunity to be one of the final teams to face Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, the buzz and commotion was a major part of last term.
In regards to the league though, tests against Lincoln City and Crawley Town, which is expected to remain on amid international fixtures, are undoubtedly opportunities to pick up points. Even though the Imps are one of the most exciting sides in the division, Rovers should be expecting to give anyone a game on their home turf. Crawley, on the other hand, will be seen as one where anything other than three points will be a failure.
Going into this campaign, one of the stand out discussion points for what Taylor needed to improve was undoubtedly the home form. Gasheads are capable of turning the stadium into hell for opposition players in response to what they’re seeing from their side on the pitch but we haven’t seen much of that this term or beyond. The four wins from six are a good platform but some of those performances were unconvincing and it certainly feels as though this team can step it up another gear or two at least.
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We’re not near ‘fortress’ territory yet but if Rovers can build some momentum and come out of this quartet of home fixtures unscathed then it would certainly put them closer to such terminology being used to describe their form in BS7.
There was plenty to like about the Gas’ display against Reading despite defeat on Saturday, particularly the way in which they responded to the setbacks of going a man down and a goal behind. It was noted by the travelling support to the left of the goal who subsequently created the best din of the campaign on the road so far.
Admittedly, it seems unlikely that Taylor will name a full strength side against Weston and certainly won’t against Exeter so building on that display in the league will have to wait but this feels like a significant period in Rovers’ season where there’s a real opportunity to form some consistency.
As mentioned prior, it still feels as though there’s so much more that this group are capable of now, let alone in a year’s time when they’ve had a season together under their belts, and they can prove that their trajectory is upwards as opposed to down with a handful of positive results in front of their own fans over the next three weeks.