There’s so much to like about Bryant Bilongo – and that’s before he’s even stepped onto the football pitch.
The left-back boasts a trademark, ear-to-ear grin constantly and always tries to see the positive side of things. It’s been a far from straightforward start to life as a League One footballer at Bristol Rovers, but the 23-year-old is relishing every moment.
Announced as the fifth of an eventual 16 signings over the summer, Bilongo instantly made himself a fan favourite in his first interview where he noted how he intended to enjoy “being a Rovers player to the fullest” and give the fans “plenty to smile and sing about.”
Fast forward four months and the 23-year-old has been in and out of the starting line up but, having come to the Gas as a bit of an unknown, has exceeded the expectations of most when it comes to his performances on the pitch.
A dream debut in which he scored the winning goal against Northampton Town on the opening day of the season was a moment that could never been eclipsed but another 10 League One appearances later, Bilongo is now very much a Football League player.
“I’ve enjoyed it so much. Obviously, there’s been ups and downs already, but it’s nothing I didn’t expect. I haven’t been in a situation like this before, obviously with the pressure on the team, but honestly, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Every minute I can get on the pitch, I’ll take it. I will never complain.
“I always want to do a job for the team. Obviously, I want to contribute a bit more but hopefully that will come later in the season as I carry on getting games playing at this level and yeah, hopefully more performances like the second half today.”
The left-back was referring to Rovers’ display in a 1-0 defeat at Reading where they were forced to play the majority of the second half with 10 men after Shaq Forde picked up two naive yellow cards and responded to the setback superbly, deserving at least a point.
Bilongo didn’t start the game, with the Gas also showing plenty to like in the first half when having 11 players, but came on in the 67th minute and was deployed well out of position as a striker as Matt Taylor’s side looked to claw themselves level.
Although he was only on the pitch for 23 minutes plus stoppage time, the makeshift forward was heavily involved in Rovers’ flurries towards the Reading goal, taking a boot to the face twice but still carrying on while seeing a header caught by Royals ‘keeper Joel Pereria with the last kick of the game.
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“I took two hits to the face but I didn’t really feel it in the moment. Just the adrenaline was going, I just wanted the win. The fans appreciated my efforts up there, which I can’t thank them enough for that. It helped me, especially with all the pressing I was doing up there. I don’t know how Prom [Omochere] does it really. It’s quite hard.
“I’ve done it before. I did it first game of the season, obviously scored. So I would have liked for it to happen again today, but it didn’t phase me at all.
“I’ve done it a few times in non-league. Obviously, this isn’t non-league, highest level I’ve ever played. But, the gaffer trusts me to do a job out there and wherever he puts me on the pitch, I’ll gladly run for the team. Jump, head, kick, whatever it is. As long as it’s for the sake of the team, I’m glad to do it.
“It was mixed emotions really,” the former Middlesbrough youth player added on the post-match feeling amongst his teammates. “We feel it’s the best it’s been in a while, especially away from home. We haven’t been the best away from home this season, but the feel of it, especially at the end of the game, with the fans backing us, even us all just believing in ourselves a bit more, pushing to get the win.
“It was a half half sort of thing, because we did lose the game and we are all gutted, but we just want to carry that momentum that we entered the game with onto the next games.”