Bristol Rovers were knocked out of the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon at the third round stage after a 3-0 defeat at Premier League side Ipswich Town.
A timid first half display from the Gas saw them concede all three goals in the first half with Kalvin Phillips, Jack Clarke and Jack Taylor the scorers, although Taylor’s strike seemed to come from an offside position.
It could have gotten worse for Rovers when Grant Ward was judged to have handled the ball in the penalty area but Ali Al-Hamadi dragged a poor spot kick well wide.
The Gas did improve in the second half, showing more bravery in attack while looking more solid defensively. However, they already had a mountain to climb.
Inigo Calderon faced the media following the defeat. Here is a full transcript of everything the Spanish head coach said after his fourth game in charge of Rovers…
Inigo, commiserations. How do you assess your team’s performance tonight?
I think the big thing was in the first half. I don’t think we started well enough. I think we showed them too much respect. I don’t think we were good defensively, especially when you want to try to defend high up the pitch, you have to do everything perfect and when we had the ball, we couldn’t keep it at all.
So I think it was coming in the first 15 minutes. You could see that the goal was coming and we couldn’t stop that and listen, there is the difference. That’s why they play where they play and that’s why we play where we play and we knew that we had to do everything perfectly to have a chance to win it and I don’t think we did in the first half especially.
It’s true in the second half that I think we improved. I think we were improving during the game but as I say, I think that’s the price when you play a different style of games. Last game we played Cambridge away, that was a completely different to this game and we have to adapt and we have to learn during the game and that’s not the best thing.
You have come up against Premier League level opposition but is a big part of the frustration the softness of the goals?
It’s not just the goals. It was the feeling that it was coming and we couldn’t stop that. Without the ball, as I say, with the ball, we couldn’t hold it. So we were disappointed.
I insist, I have to understand the players. It’s not easy to play on a pitch like this one because against really good players, especially the way they play, it asks you a lot of questions and you have to answer very well and I don’t think we answered the questions they asked well.
After it was even more complicated because when you are losing 2-0, 3-0 and you want to keep defending high up the pitch that, you know, it’s a price that you can pay if you make a mistake.
So credit to the boys that they kept trying to do things right and for me, that was the most positive thing. I think we kept trying and I think we improved during the game. But for me, as I say, we are in the process. But at the same time, we are playing games and that can cost us.
Your players showed more bravery in the second half, how much was that the emphasis of the half-time message?
It was back to the plan. We wanted that. The idea was the same in the first half. As I say, it’s difficult to keep the ball against a better team but you have to be able to try to keep it otherwise you’re going to stay defending all the time.
In the second half that happened. In the first half it didn’t, simple as that and after you look like you can defend better because you’ve been attacking better. So it’s not about defending better or attacking better for me. It has to be both.
One day you will have more time on the ball so then you have to attack better. But still you have to defend and today was the opposite. [It] was to defend better because you have to defend a lot of times and after you have to attack well and we didn’t in the first half and we did a little bit better in the second half.
You did give Romaine Sawyers his debut from the start. How do you think he did?
“I think it was important for us to have him in the team. I think he’s a key player for us in the identity I want to bring to the team about controlling the game and understanding the game. Obviously it was too early for him, but I’m quite happy with his performance.
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You took him off in the 74th minute. Is that just about having to manage his minutes with the lack of games he’s played this past year?
Yeah, I mean he’s been playing in a lower division and another club. It’s not easy, the first days with a new club. It’s never easy so I didn’t want to force him, we didn’t want to force him, because that was enough for him. I think he did what we wanted and that’s it.
Clinton Mola wasn’t in the squad today. What was the reason for that?
“Because we have too many players. Well, not too many. We have the players. We have to name the better [ones] for the game and that was the ones that were [selected] today.
So he’s not injured?
Not injured, no.
The third goal did appear to be extremely offside…
For me it was but listen, I don’t want to talk about the ref because I don’t think we lose because of him. But it’s true that, from the first day I said I don’t want to talk about the referees but every day something is happening against us. Even the penalty for me was not a penalty and some free-kicks.
I said to the fourth [official], ‘I don’t think they need help’ because I think they were much better than us and as I say, I think it’s easier when you are the small club or the one playing in the lower division but we didn’t lose because of the ref, that’s for sure.
So it wasn’t a penalty because it was too close to get his (Grant Ward’s) hand away?
For me, it was chest, chest, hand. But listen, from my side I’m probably not objective because I was losing.