Just like Bristol buses; I’m sure you are all familiar with the saying that you wait an eternity for a bus to come along and then two arrive at the same time, well it might also be said of the last two Bristol Rovers performances.
We have waited all season for a performance full of passion, pride, commitment, determination, and any other superlative you care to use, and we get not one, but two. What’s more, those performances yielded six points in a matter of days against play-off hopefuls Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers.
Let’s start with the visit of Huddersfield, in sixth place at the start of play and including two former Rovers players, Lee Nicholls and Antony Evans in their starting XI. In the build up to the game, I’d heard and read so many negative comments. It was almost a relief to make my way through the turnstile last Saturday.
Even then there was no escape as I was accosted by someone I vaguely know, and who has been attending games long enough to know better, telling me that we had no chance that afternoon.
The reason, it seems, was that Chris Martin had joined a long list of absentees and the bench consisted of a young goalkeeper and two youngsters recalled from loans with non-league clubs, so in the event of injury or tactical changes we had very few options. Oh, and there was no way we were going to win the game!
Honestly, I do wonder why some people bother to attend matches if all they can do is be negative about the team, the players and/or the tactics. Yes, we all have opinions, but we are all supporters, so come matchday shouldn’t we be doing what it says on the tin, ie support our team?
On Saturday, I’m delighted to say that my ‘in the know’ acquaintance was proved wrong as the players displayed all the qualities we supporters expect as a given.
In times of adversity, in any walk of life, people step up to the plate and take responsibility and all of those who pulled on a blue and white quartered shirt on Saturday did just that.
When Promise Omochere limped off after just eight minutes, there were many around me surprised at the decision to send Taylor Moore on from the bench. However, Moore went on to silence any doubters with an outstanding performance in the middle of the park and played his part in a superb team performance.
Two minutes after Omochere’s departure, Rovers took the lead with a stunning volley from Ruel Sotiriou whose recent consistent performances are showing just why he was recruited last summer.
It was the second successive Saturday at The Mem that Rovers took an early lead in but whereas the previous week, against Rotherham, they seemed to think they had done enough to win the game, that certainly wasn’t true on this occasion.
The goal stung Huddersfield into action and for a ten or fifteen minute period afterwards, they displayed their play-off pushing credentials and created a number of goalscoring opportunities. That they didn’t manage to score in that period was down to a fantastic goal line clearance by Sil Swinkels, some excellent saves by Jed Ward and some stoic defending.
We weathered the storm and might have added a second goal as both Sotiriou and Scott Sinclair went close to doubling the lead. The expected onslaught from a decent footballing side in the second half didn’t really materialize and Ward and his team mates saw the game out, to earn themselves a second successive clean sheet and a valuable three points.
A word, also, for the cameo appearances of Kofi Shaw and Ollie Dewsbury who were sent on in the closing stages and who did enough in the short time they were on the pitch to justify Inigo Calderon’s faith in them and also shut my assailant up!
The atmosphere at The Mem was better than it had been all season, the win opened up a six-point gap between us and the bottom four, and Huddersfield boss Michael Duff paid the price for his side’s failure, receiving his P40 within hours of the final whistle.
And so, it was with a sense of optimism that I, and every other Rovers supporter, made a return to The Mem just three days later to see us take on a Bolton Wanderers side containing another former Gas favourite in Aaron Collins.
No sign of my ‘in the know’ assailant as I made my way to my seat in the East Stand, thank goodness, but I hope he was there to witness 90 minutes of pure drama and a game that really was a credit to both sides.
Once again, we managed to take an early lead; we’re getting spoilt at home games, as that’s now three in a row where that’s happened.
Kofi Shaw, in from the start on this occasion, won a penalty when he was upended by Alex Murphy and Chris Martin, on his return to the starting 11, stepped up to nonchalantly slot home the spot kick.
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Cue some slick, pacey football from our visitors, who had won five of their previous six games, didn’t seem fazed at falling behind to a side still fighting to preserve their League One status. They didn’t get things all their own way, though, as once again the players representing our club fought tooth and nail to preserve their lead.
However, the equaliser duly arrived when Aaron Morley drove the ball into the net following a corner that shouldn’t have been given (no one around me saw the deflection that the referee appeared to and thought a wayward shot had gone behind for a goal kick).
Having seen glimpses of what Bolton could offer in attack, there was a feeling that Rovers would do well to hang on for a point. However, the team had other ideas and they grew into the game with an outstanding second half display.
The lead was restored when the impressive Shaw found the equally impressive Sotiriou and his cross saw Martin, who had made a lung bursting run down the right, slot the ball in at the back post. The veteran striker could have done with an oxygen mask after that – I’ve never seen him move so fast!
The goals kept coming, though; John McAtee headed home Bolton’s second equaliser of the night with 20 minutes remaining but, roared on by an audience enjoying an enthralling game, Rovers hit back to claim all three points when Connor Taylor, surely a future Rovers skipper, rose above everyone to head home Isaac Hutchinson’s free kick. It was the 89th minute and there was no time for Bolton to recover from that!
At last we have seen what these players are capable of and, if they weren’t previously aware of how passionate a fanbase they are playing for, they do now. Players who have come in for a great deal of criticism in the past, are realising that all these fans expect is 100 per cent commitment to the cause and they are gaining in confidence from the support given in these last two games. Once again, the atmosphere at The Mem was back to what it has been in the past; more of the same for the remainder of the season, please!
Finally, a word about the younger players in the squad; Shaw and Dewsbury, along with Ward, have seized their opportunities, reward for the hard work put in by the academy coaching staff.