Inigo Calderon has insisted that his Bristol Rovers side produced a team performance in their 3-1 victory over Barnsley at the Mem on Saturday afternoon with the Gas head coach not looking to focus on individual displays.
Similarly to the FA Cup tie at Oakwell in November, the Reds squandered numerous opportunities to score with Josh Griffiths producing a number of good saves. However, Rovers still maintained a threat about them and broke the deadlock four minutes before half-time as Gatlin O’Donkor headed home a peach of a cross from Grant Ward.
Barnsley continued to push for a goal in the second half but found themselves 2-0 down in the early stages as Isaac Hutchinson tapped home a square pass from James Wilson after the centre-back had initially been denied himself by Ben Killip.
Former Rovers manager Darrell Clarke must have had his head in his hands as his team continued to squander good opportunities but did eventually get the ball in the back of the net as Josh Earl headed home a good free-kick from Corey O’Keefe to halve the deficit with 23 minutes remaining.
However, the Gas secured the victory as Wilson again proved the architect, setting up substitute Ruel Sotiriou late in normal time.
Reflecting on his first home win as Rovers boss, Calderon confessed: “Team performance. I don’t mind who starts because the ones that came on, I think they were really good. That for me, is so, so important that everyone in the squad has a big part in the team and I think we did that.
“All the players that came on were good and that’s why we need to get out of this situation because we’re in a bad situation and you need everyone and you need to do performances like today against a really good team and were on a really good run. You could see that even in the beginning it was difficult because they were in great confidence and we were a little bit nervous and anxious with the ball.
“We were not too good and it was a little bit difficult for us and when you are there, everything is difficult. I didn’t expect to win the game clean and having a great day, you have to win like that.
“We did against Cambridge but we had that game in between with Ipswich that was a bit unfair because we create again the bad feelings but the reality is that we won the last two.”
Rovers had to wait a fortnight for their next League One outing after securing an important 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Cambridge United with a trip to Premier League side Ipswich Town in the FA Cup sandwiched by the two matches.
The Gas were criticised for how straightforward they made it for the Tractor Boys last weekend as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at Portman Road with all three goals scored in the first half.
In the build-up to the game, Calderon had suggested that perhaps the length in time and the flat display, admittedly against top-flight opposition, might have halted his team’s momentum but they were able to secure a second consecutive league win against one of the divisions in-form teams.
“I was worried about that because, as I say, I think that loss against Ipswich caused us a lot of damage because I think the way it was was not what we wanted,” the Spaniard confessed to Bristol Live. “But at the same time I think it was unfair because it was a Premiership club and I think the difference was obvious.
“But that still affects [you], especially when you are down there, everything affects you. So that’s why credit to the boys for the way they approached the game because the way they played against a really good team was really good.
“Sometimes it’s not about creating chances for me, it’s about how much you want [it] and I think the boys wanted [it] a lot today.”
The victory alongside results elsewhere in League One has put the Gas seven points clear of the relegation zone into 18th place ahead of back-to-back away trips to Wigan Athletic and Charlton Athletic before a home game against struggling Peterborough United in two weeks in front of the Sky Sports cameras.