Inigo Calderon has confessed that he is “quite happy” with his Bristol Rovers players after they earned their first clean sheet in two months when playing out a goalless draw away at Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday evening.
The contest had been labelled as Rovers’ biggest of the season so far with the Gas just two points above the relegation zone while Shrewsbury sat bottom, eight points from safety.
It was a match that largely reflected the two teams’ positions towards the bottom end of the League One table with limited clear cut opportunities for either side.
However, despite Rovers keeping the majority of the ball, Salop created the better chances, forcing Jed Ward into a couple of notable saves but neither team could find the breakthrough to earn them three crucial points in the relegation battle.
Reflecting on the stalemate, Calderon said post-match: “Well, it was a good game of football, I think. I’m quite happy with the boys. Obviously you want to win and I think we did enough things to win, but I cannot ask too much from the players, you know?
“I said to the boys there at the end, I would say that the fans, there’s like the court when they can give you the result and whatever they say, you have to take it and I think today the fans, they were, I would say proud of the boys and that’s what we had to do. We are here for the fans and I think they, at least the ones that came, can go home thinking, ‘okay, at least the boys tried everything.’
“As I say, we obviously have to improve a lot of things but I think I’m quite happy. I’m usually not too happy with the draws. I always want to win and sometimes I take the risk to lose it but overall I think it was a good game.”
With results elsewhere, the point improved the Gas’ advantage above the bottom four to three points with 12 games remaining, keeping their fate in their own hands.
Additionally, it was just a second clean sheet for Rovers since Calderon’s arrival and their eighth of the campaign while also ending a run of four consecutive away defeats.
The Gas hadn’t drawn away from home since their first game on the road of the campaign, a goalless affair at Rotherham United in August, with just three away wins meaning that they had the worst record away from home in the division going into Tuesday night’s clash.
Although it wasn’t the victory that some supporters deemed as vital going into the match, it could be a point that proves important come May.
“I said to the boys, the last time we kept a clean sheet was against Cambridge and we won the game so obviously that put us in a better situation to win the game,” Calderon stated. “If we keep conceding two or three goals, it’s nearly impossible.
“So I think it was positive and listen, even if we conceded in the last minute, I couldn’t say anything. I have to be fair sometimes and see the bigger picture and not just the result.
“I think overall, especially the character and identity that I was asking for from the players, to be a team, fighting until the end, it’s the least we can do and we have to keep doing it.”