Bristol Rovers’ didn’t get the exact model of result against Wrexham that they’d written down on their Christmas wish list but still got something as an early present as Promise Omochere’s first goal in almost four months secured a point for the Gas in their first game since parting ways with Matt Taylor.
Rovers started the game with a real feistiness about them as Michael Forbes found his shirt in the first of Ollie Palmer after less than a minute shortly before Jamie Lindsay went for a slide tackle in Wrexham’s penalty area.
However, that fierce start dissolved pretty quickly as the visitors began to dominate proceedings before taking the lead as Elliot Lee slotted home past Josh Griffiths after a defence-splitting ball from Matty James.
Wrexham could’ve added to their advantage as Rovers recent habit of looking extremely lacklustre reappeared but half-time changes injected much-needed life back into the hosts’ performance.
Although they didn’t create a hatful of chances, the Gas looked the best they have in weeks in the final third and eventually got their reward for staying tight at the back and looking better in attack as Luke Thomas floated a good ball to fellow substitute Omochere at the back post to head home.
A late push could’ve seen Rovers clinch all three points but, against a promotion contender and after recent results and performances, it’s certainly a point gained.
With all that considered, here are the stand out talking points…
Exeter City line up speaks for itself
There is a very strong case for Dave Horseman, assuming he’s in charge still, to start the team that ended the game against Wrexham when Bristol Rovers travel to Exeter City on Boxing Day.
Although it was unfortunate that Michael Forbes picked up an injury early into the game, it was the opportunity that Luke Thomas has been crying out for for weeks. Additionally, the double change that saw Promise Omochere and Joel Senior replace Scott Sinclair and Taylor Moore made a huge difference.
Horseman suggested post-match that he wanted to match Wrexham’s physicality with the line up that started but it evidently didn’t work, especially considering they were adamant on sticking to a back-three set up.
Naturally, who your facing can affect how you set up and there are clear differences between Wrexham and Exeter. When asked if he could take bits out of the game against Wrexham and install them into his approach for the trip to St James’ Park on Boxing Day, the interim boss said: “The majority of teams in this division pose different problems. So Exeter will probably be far more fluid with their football, not quite as physical.
“I said to Scotty and Taylor Moore, I apologised to them because it was my decision, it’s not them, it was me and because the game didn’t suit, I read the game wrong. It’s really easy when you’re not in the dugout or on the pitch.
“Whenever I watch a game and I go somewhere else, I’m like Ronaldo, I never give the ball away, I make every good decision, it’s really easy and I’m a human, I make quite a lot of mistakes.
“I guess we all have in our head what our best team would be but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best team for that game, particularly at this level. Where if you’re Man City, probably your 11 are better or if you’re the best team in the league, you’re Birmingham, you can pretty much do to each opposition what you want. You have so many of the best players and stuff so every team’s got to tailor to you because you’re just so far ahead of the rest.
“The rest of the time you’ve got to pick the players that suit the game. I got that wrong in the first half. I think I corrected it a little bit at half-time and then obviously with 10 minutes to go or 15 minutes to go, we opened up a little bit more with Isaac [Hutchinson] and Shaq [Forde] coming on. So we need to really study Exeter and work out who’s best for it.”
The partnership we’ve been waiting for
The idea of playing Chris Martin and Promise Omochere up top together is something that has been a pipedream for Bristol Rovers this season with the only game where it had been experimented with before being the Stockport County defeat in August where Martin picked up a broken fibula that would keep him out for two months.
However, with the duo playing a whole half together and working efficiently, there’s rightly excitement now that they’re fit at the same time at last.
Omochere’s fitness will still have to be managed over the coming weeks but the Irishman should be fine to play more than 45 minutes at Exeter and it’ll be interesting to see if he starts alongside Martin on Boxing Day.
Martin had one of his better games since returning from injury against Wrexham with the way he battled and offered support. However, the major issue remains the lack of service that’s coming his way. Improvement on that front and Rovers might have a solution to their goalscoring woes.
Horseman has no interest in management but happy to keep taking the team
Dave Horseman has made it extremely clear that management is no longer for him after an unfortunate stint at Forest Green Rovers. However, it clearly appears as though he feels that’s all he’s been judged for and that actually no one takes into account his successful time at Southampton.
The 40-year-old evidently experienced all the aspects of management on Saturday afternoon when leading the team, admitting he was subject to stick from supporters behind him. However, he was clearly keen to get his message across.
Horseman was actually asked about a tackle by Jamie Lindsay within the first few minutes that got a roar from the crowd and, in response, said: “I’ve found the last 10 days a really interesting experience. I don’t really go on social media but a lot of my family do. Now, it’s really interesting. Everybody throws the Forest Green stuff at me, right? There was one guy behind the dugout today giving me a lot of stick actually. Yeah, fair play to them. I enjoy it.
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“Somebody told me the other day, you know, the Forest Green guy, he took Forest Green down. Yeah, yeah, okay, that’s fine. What they don’t realise, I had the best education in football. One of the best, bar being under Pep, probably one of the best.
“Counter-pressing pressing. I’ve learned the Red Bull stuff which is ridiculous and the level of detail. So if anybody wants to question coaching, I’ve seen the best and I’ve learned for four years under one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen.
“So the Jamie Lindsay one is actually a trained behavior. So you train that, it’s not by accident and we’ve done three sessions on it this week and actually Jamie did it a few times today really well. Macca does it pretty well.
“A counter press is massive for scoring goals if you get really good at it, but it takes time. But also what it does, it lifts the crowd and it’s the German model, the gegenpress or something like that.
“So it’s really interesting. I hear it a lot. The Forest Green stuff will stay with me for a long, long time but, like I said to you the other day, they will never talk about the 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge or the 3-3 at Arsenal. They’ll never use that.
“I’ve been really fortunate with my coaching education and I think I’m a good coach. I’ve got no interest in being a manager. I’ve had the Forest Green experience with certain things that have gone on that I’ve never shared. I’ve got no interest. I want to be a coach and help develop players and help a manager and that’s what I hope to do with the next person.”
Managerial appointment of colossal importance
It’s nothing we didn’t know previously, but with the failed attempt to bring Michael Wimmer over from Germany, the point that Bristol Rovers cannot afford to get their managerial appointment wrong feels like it has to be stressed even further.
Yes, the second half display against Wrexham was much improved but it wasn’t until around the 75th minute that Rovers started playing their best stuff and, in all honesty, they could’ve found themselves another goal or two behind.
The Gas have positives that they can take from Saturday’s game and implement into the Exeter trip but the hope is that, assuming Horseman takes the Boxing Day fixture, that an appointment is made in time for Stevenage.
Rovers’ improvement in the second half against Wrexham seemed so stark just because of how poor they have been lately and the first half was an extremely familiar story.
There is a good opportunity to pick up some points and climb up the table quickly given the festive period but they cannot afford to take time on an appointment. There’s already been one setback, which was out of the club’s control, but a second would be a major issue.