Matt Taylor has hailed his Bristol Rovers side’s grit and determination in their 1-0 win away at Mansfield Town having had to defend for large spells of the contest in order to ensure they left the East Midlands with all three points.
The hosts started the brighter of the two sides but couldn’t create a clear-cut opportunity with the Gas defending numerous deliveries into the area excellently. Rovers did have a few nearly moments on the counter but couldn’t quite find the final moment of quality to really cause the Stags’ defence a serious problem.
However, just minutes into the second half they found that quality as Isaac Hutchinson played an excellent ball across goal for Luke McCormick to tap home.
Mansfield, as expected, cranked up the pressure as they sought a way back into the game and they thought that they had equalised with the final kick of the contest but a handball was given which ensured the Gas got over the line.
Although his team weren’t perfect, it was an outstanding battling display and Taylor pointed that out, exclaiming post-match: “We weren’t perfect in any way, but in terms of our intent towards the game and a few enough attacking moments for us to create enough goalscoring moments, we just needed to improve our ball use from that first half.
“We were tough, we were strong, we defended our box really well. Limited a good attacking team to minimal sights at goal but we just needed to improve our ball use. It was only our instruction at half time and they did that for the first part of the second half.
“And then all of a sudden we had more belief in us because we’d scored a goal. We had the lead and the game became stretched on our terms.
“That would have been a travesty if that goal counted or made a mark on that game because generally I thought we were excellent.”
Results and performances on the road have been hard to come by at times this season with Rovers’ points tally away from the Mem going into Saturday standing at just four.
However, they had performed well at Reading almost a month ago in a 1-0 defeat and they produced the grittiness and solidity needed to pick up a result on the road at League One level.
Admittedly, the Gas needed improvement after the break but they found it almost immediately with McCormick scoring the contest’s sole goal and, on the half-time message, Taylor confessed: “As much as I can say it, it’s about them doing it and that’s why the second half, and certainly the start of the second half, was massive in terms of that 15 minutes where we just made two or three clean side foot passes close together and then we were through them. And it was a really good attacking moment.
“But then, you still need the end to happen for them to believe it, trust it, see it, feel it. As much as I watch half a dozen games going into a game, and I knew where the space would be in this game, the players have to trust it a bit more, they have to trust me more. We have to win more games in terms of that aspect and that’s why today hopefully was a big moment for them.”