If the severe reality of Bristol Rovers’ current predicament wasn’t clear to anyone prior to Saturday’s game against Rotherham United, it would have become so at the full-time whistle.
A third League One defeat in a row for the Gas, sealed via a crushing 92nd minute winner, cut their advantage above the relegation zone to just two points with 13 matches remaining as their recent strong run at home came to a damaging end.
Gasheads have put their faith in getting the majority of the points necessary to survive from home matches, making a defeat on their own patch to a team that had just two away wins all season and hadn’t won a Saturday 3pm kick-off away from home for three years a real sucker punch.
Rovers took the lead after just five minutes as Ruel Sotiriou continued his upturn in form under Inigo Calderon but from that point, for whatever reason, the hosts were disappointing. Rotherham gained control of the proceedings and found a deserved equaliser ahead of half-time before then taking the lead early into the second half.
A triple substitution and system swap to a back-three with two up front for the Gas worked as Calderon’s men eventually found an equaliser of their own with Sil Swinkels heading in a Luke Thomas cross.
At that point, based on the momentum the home team had on their side and the excellent atmosphere pushing them on, it looked as though there was only one team who would go on to find a winner. However, the game became stagnant and seemed destined for a draw.
One naive challenge in added time though led to the latest of a catalogue of goals conceded via set pieces as Rotherham found a gut-wrenching winner.
The defeat was a whopping 18th in the league for Rovers so far this season, but none of the previous 17 hurt quite like that.
Three defeats in a row and a second in which the Gas have thrown away a lead have dragged them well and truly back into the dogfight. The concern is whether this group of players are capable of standing up to the battle and ensuring that they secure safety.
Here are some of the stand out talking points after an extremely disappointing afternoon at the Mem..
Take the point in that moment
Admittedly, assessing the fixtures Bristol Rovers had remaining prior to Saturday afternoon, a home clash against one of the worst teams away from home this season looked like a must-win or at least one of the stronger opportunities to add three points to their tally.
In the moment, most would have said that they would see a draw as two points dropped, myself included, but context always affects that decision. Realistically, Rovers were in a comfortable enough position to come away with a result on an afternoon where they had been nowhere near their best and had done well to come from behind to level the contest. With hindsight, a point would have been fine.
However, on one side you have to respect Inigo Calderon’s desire to go and win the game and it was certainly justified considering the momentum that was seemingly behind his team after Sil Swinkels’ equaliser. On the other though, the game had become pretty stagnant and didn’t seem to be headed anywhere else other than an entertaining draw.
It’s incredibly cliche but relevant – if you can’t win, don’t lose and that has been an issue all season with no team drawing fewer matches than Rovers’ five this term.
Set pieces continue to define the season for the wrong reasons
We are now in March and we are still talking about conceding goals from set pieces. Naturally, every team is going to concede the odd goal from a dead ball situation but Rovers have now conceded an eye-watering 20 goals from set pieces, the most in League One.
Sam Nombe’s opener certainly wasn’t full of quality either but the former Exeter City man’s winner alongside his ex-Grecians teammate Zak Jules’ header from a corner felt like two goals that we have seen scored against the Gas repeatedly all season.
Once again, there seemed to be mismatches throughout the penalty area which makes it hair-pullingly frustrating that we’re still talking about issues that seem, in comparison to others, relatively basic.
Set pieces prove their weight in gold in League One and if Rovers’ season does end with the dreaded possible outcome then it’s going to be a major talking point in regards to where it all went wrong.
Returning duo a boost but emphasises lack of alternatives
Bristol Rovers massively missed Grant Ward in their away defeats to Wycombe Wanderers and Northampton Town, making the midfielder’s return to the starting line up extremely encouraging. However, it quickly became clear that the 30-year-old probably wasn’t as fully up to speed as he would have liked.
The midfielder can single-handedly change games when on it for the Gas and was consistently a huge miss last season when he sustained a string of injury issues. Was it the right decision to start him even if not 100 per cent fit? Yes. However, that also emphasises where Inigo Calderon sees his alternative midfield options are at.
62 minutes was, in hindsight, a good shift from Ward who didn’t look his usual self and naturally he will have to be built back up over the next couple of matches.
The same applies for Promise Omochere, whose return was another significant boost after a two-month spell on the sidelines. However, he too certainly won’t be as fit as he would like and will need time to get back up to speed.
On the duo, Calderon told Bristol Live post-match: “I think Wardy tried to do his best but you could see that was not his best game. But we spoke, we tried to do the best, thinking that he was at the best level he could be with the circumstances, but it was clear that it was not his best today.
“With Promise it was the same. I didn’t expect him to affect the game today. For me, it was more [about] being on the field again because I don’t think it was fair to put pressure on him to do something special today when you’ve been away from the pitch that much. It was good for him to be back on the pitch. Probably in the next game he will be much better.”
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Bristol Rovers’ situation now more severe but is still in their own hands
It’s pretty difficult to pluck out positivity after a defeat of that manner and the reality is that Bristol Rovers’ already difficult predicament has grown in severity after losing to Rotherham. However, they are at least still in control of their own fate. The key is to ensure they boast that trait for as long as possible.
As said before, if anyone was 100 per cent confident that the Gas will survive relegation, it’s going to be tougher to make that case now. Regardless of whether you believe they’ll get over the line or end up in the drop zone, there isn’t enough evidence to suggest certainty either way with there still being a pretty considerable amount of football left to be played.
13 games remaining represents more than a quarter of the campaign but matches will quickly run out, especially with seven games over the course of March.
Three defeats in a row after a morale-boosting seven points from three games at home has sucked Rovers well and truly back into the mire but, luckily, they still haven’t dropped into the relegation zone this season. That may ominously foreshadow what might be on the horizon but, again, the Gas are still in control of their own fate.
Inigo Calderon was right to say that you would rather have a game as colossal as Tuesday night’s trip to bottom-side Shrewsbury Town three days later as opposed to having to wait an entire week for it. The question is whether every Rovers player will be able to mentally recover from what was a real sickener on Saturday. I’m not so sure.
Again, the result on Tuesday night won’t define the Gas’ season but it can certainly offer improved clarity on the direction it is headed while also either boosting or damaging collective confidence.
The general consensus since the Burton win has been that five more wins should be enough to see Rovers over the line. However, another excellent opportunity to whittle that target down by three points has come and gone and, looking at the remaining 13 fixtures, on paper there might not be a better chance to win a game than a Rotherham side as poor on the road as they had been.
Strap in. It certainly won’t be boring.