Bristol Rovers fell to a 2-0 defeat at home to Blackpool on Tuesday night in a game where they created very little in the final third and failed to register a shot on target.
The Gas started the match brightly but without putting together a chance of note before Blackpool started to grow into the game and eventually took the lead via a Bryant Bilongo own goal following a free-kick just outside of the penalty area.
Rovers struggled to reclaim any degree of control before the break and then, after starting the second half well, quickly fell two goals behind as Lee Evans struck home a penalty given for a handball in the area.
Matt Taylor’s team offered very little in way of a response as the Tangerines effectively cruised to victory. Here’s a full transcript of everything the Gas manager said post-match…
Matt, obviously a disappointing result. What was your evaluation of the performance this evening?
Some bright moments in the first half, but not enough, and certainly some of those moments didn’t turn into any substance of chances or sustained pressure. We conceded the best chance of the first half and then obviously the goal makes us feel worse than what we needed to at half time.
Second half, I was so, so disappointed. We actually started the second half relatively brightly and then one ricochet in the middle of the pitch and all of a sudden we’re defending a battle, trying to keep out a penalty. And then from that point we went for the next 15, 20 minutes, we just had no control of the game whatsoever.
Wrestled it back towards the end, but without creating anything. And they got bodies behind the ball really well. It felt like the pitch was a little bit too big for us tonight. It looked a little bit like we were half a yard short all over the pitch and then we could never really get close to the game.
I feel like the theme at home games is you do start well, you fly out the blocks and then don’t take the chances. Did it feel like both goals maybe rocked you this evening and you struggled to recover?
Goals always rock you, especially at home, especially with this group. But in terms of chance creation, there weren’t clear chances. There weren’t chances of quality. I just said to them, I have to always be honest, I remember one pass all night, which I thought was a good pass. The one where Gats [Gatlin O’Donkor] sort of zinged it across the pitch. There wasn’t another moment in 100 minutes worth of football where I thought that’s a real quality moment.
Saturday we moved the ball well in tight areas and got ourselves up the pitch, but I don’t think we put together three or four passes in close connection tonight. We didn’t beat a player one-v-one, we didn’t put a good cross in, we certainly didn’t put a good set piece in the box. I can’t remember an individual shot or moment to say that was real quality. We were a little bit short in that area tonight, I must say.
You’ve been on a good run going into this, but is that concerning that there’s no shots on target this evening?
I mean, since we’ve changed the shape we’ve looked more solid as a team. But in terms of attacking fluidity, you have to use the ball or manipulate the ball or take the ball and drive with the ball better than we are doing at the moment.
So that’s, it’s not cause for concern, it’s an area of the pitch we have to improve. But that’s also on top of where the game was today, where we just felt too big from back to front, from outside to outside, too much space and they played through the space.
Barnsley next in the FA Cup, you’ve already played them this season, are you expecting a similar test at the weekend?
Yeah, it’s one of the toughest places to go at the level so we have to find a way of adding control to our game. We had control in two ways at the weekend at Mansfield. We’d stood up to it physically, we were absolutely outstanding, and we used the ball well enough, often enough to probably have it in our legs and our bodies and our minds to do that.
We have to find the balance in every game, but we certainly seem to lose our way in the second half there. We can’t play like that in any way this weekend or moving forward in any game, matter of fact.
So yeah, certainly some areas of the pitch to look to improve and to strengthen and to gain a better understanding of.
You said areas to improve, but still no need to panic. Are you confident that this group can turn it around ahead of the weekend and future league games?
Yes, but we are going to be what we look like at times. Fragile at best. Like I said, you’re looking for moments as a manager and the bench is included in this and they’ve come onto the pitch quite late, I know, but who can say, ‘I had a good game with the ball tonight’? And it’s on me because it’s my responsibility, but I don’t think many can.
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How detrimental was the timing of the second goal?
It was poor in terms of we just seem to get the ascendancy going forward and then all of a sudden we’re 2-0 down and we have to chase it in a slightly different way.
Bryant’s a young player learning the game and I’d back him to make a better decision or execution in that moment but too many times it felt we were chasing defensive control. I think that is an example where the ball was in front of our back line and around our midfield layers where we just weren’t quite coming out on top.
Like I said, the pitch at times looked too big for us tonight and maybe that was a little bit of the legs and the bodies from the weekend.
So I don’t know if you’ve seen the first goal, but is it definitely a Bryant own goal because there was still debate at half time and I think there still is?
I don’t know. All I can say is it’s gone past two of our zone men. We kind of set up as a corner in that instance so we got Chrissy and Connor and then I think their smallest player, [Dom] Ballard, is close to it. I don’t know if he’s got the touch or Bryantt. I honestly don’t know.
But yeah, it just felt like it was only ever gonna be a pacey ball at the near area of the goal and we just didn’t quite get our bodies in line with it.
What did you make of the impact of the substitutes when they came on?
Yeah, we were chasing it. You said about what the second goal means, we’re chasing on a bigger scale than what we wanted to. I think I’ve just explained it in terms of where I thought our attacking play was. Their right-back got booked in the first half. I don’t think we really faced him up in the second half at all. Made him defend on his back foot.
I don’t think many of those Blackpool defenders would have felt under real pressure tonight and like we were giving him a real hard time.
We’ve got to improve Gats’ output and anyone in our forward line but we all take the plaudits when we keep clean sheets because we all defend together and we’ve got all attack together. And like I said, I never felt in control of that game with the ball tonight.
Having five home games in six games, does it feel like this run has been a bit of a missed opportunity in terms of the points return?
Yes and within each of those home games it’s especially felt there’s been patches where we needed to get ahead or to score. We have to find a way of forcing the issue in relation to that and if we’re not forcing the issue in terms of goals, then at least sustain pressure.
You watched the same game as me, never once did we spend more than a minute in and around the opposition 18-yard box or final third.
Just lastly for clarity purposes, how close is Joel Senior to being back involved?
Getting closer and with the weekend having nine subs, I imagine he’ll be involved. It might be a game, an opportunity where we can get him some game time. It’s just the period of time he’s been out for.
He had a minor set back right at the end of his rehab. He was due to play in a behind closed doors game, so he’s missed that 45 minute, 60 minute opportunity to get back on the pitch.
So, yeah, we’ve got to find the right balance. We need to get him up to speed and on the pitch sooner rather than later.