Bristol Rovers are a step closer to a Wembley final after sealing a late win against Colchester United at the JobServe Comunity Stadium in the second round of the EFL Trophy on Wednesday.
Joey Barton's side were the dominant force against the League Two strugglers and they deservedly took the lead through James Connolly's opportunistic finish early in the second half, but the Gas were profligate with their chances to seal the victory, allowing the hosts to grow in confidence and Freddie Sears struck a fortuitous deflected equaliser seven minutes from time.
A penalty shootout was on the agenda, but the Gas were able to take care of business in normal time, with substitute Harvey Saunders settling the contest in the fifth minute added on with a poacher's goal from close range. Just three wins now separate the Gas from a trip to the national stadium and here are some of the moments you may have missed from Wednesday's victory...
Maher's observation
A trip to Essex meant the Gas were in the territory of one of Joey Barton's former assistant coaches, Kevin Maher, and the former caretaker manager took the chance to watch his old club in action at the JobServe Community Stadium.
Maher left the Gas 13 months ago to take up the manager's job at Southend United, and he remains in charge at Roots Hall with his side fifth in the National League, well placed to make a run at the play-offs.
The 46-year-old was a popular figure at the Mem, joining the Gas in the summer of 2019 to work under his former colleague at Southend, Graham Coughlan. When the Irishman left for Mansfield Town later that year, Maher stood in briefly as caretaker manager and he remained on the staff at Rovers under Ben Garner, Paul Tisdale and Barton before taking up the chance to manage the club where he spent a decade as a player.
Maher hung around after the final whistle to catch up with his former colleagues and he spent a few minutes chatting with Barton before the manager's post-match press conference got underway. Barton relayed that Maher is impressed by the transformation of Rovers' playing squad compared to when he was on the staff. "He was saying we’re strong now compared to when he left us," the manager said.
Belshaw's got skills
With his status as Rovers' first-choice goalkeeper cemented in place, rarely is Belshaw seen at half time for a kickabout with the substitutes. But with the 32-year-old given a rest on Wednesday as backup Anssi Jaakkola started in his place, Belshaw got the chance to show his flair at the interval.
His ability in possession is a huge asset to Rovers during games; he is so composed when mopping up outside of his area, and was clear from Wednesday's half-time display that he has a few skills in the locker.
There were a selection of tricks and flicks on show, including an "around the world", juggling the ball while circling his foot around it. Belshaw also hit a few sweetly-struck passes to his fellow subs on the volley.
He is a pivotal player between the posts, but Belshaw clearly fancies himself as an outfield player and on this evidence he would not look entirely out of place.
It turned out not to be a night off at all for Belshaw in the end. He was required to replace the injured Jaakkola, who was forced off with a dead leg, and not for the first time this campaign, Belshaw had very little to do other than collect the ball out of his net after being given no chance by a deflection.
Groans and grumbles
With a crowd of less than 700 in attendance at the sparsely-populated JobServe Community Stadium, the shouts, screams and whinges of the players on the pitch and the staff in the dugout could be heard loud and clear.
Barton aired plenty of tactical frustrations from the technical area, offering an insight into his demands, and the players on the pitch had plenty to say, too.
Right in front of the press seating and the 50 away fans stationed nearby, Antony Evans conceded a first-half free-kick by bundling over Al-Amin Kazeem on Rovers' right flank.
Colchester's Luke Hannant was not at all impressed, taking his protests to referee Thomas Kirk. "Impossible he’s not getting booked there," he whinged. "Absolutely impossible."
Indeed, Evans did escape without further punishment, and he clearly was not impressed by Hannant's efforts to get him carded. Neither were the travelling Gasheads, who responded with a few choice words of their own.
In the same spot on the pitch in the second half, Junior Tchamadeu renewed acquaintances with Rovers players after a fiery meeting last season. He was sent off in that 1-1 draw 13 months ago after getting involved in a scrap with Trevor Clarke, who also saw a red card in a game that Rovers finished with nine men after Cian Harries was shown a second yellow for not taking a throw-in quickly enough for the officials' liking.
This time, there were no cards shown, but Tchamadeu was again involved in a bit of needle. He squared up to Harvey Saunders with the score level and he pushed the Gas striker with two hands to his chest. He seemed to irk several other Rovers players, too, and like Hannant, he faced a verbal barrage from the away end.
Irish connection
Glenn Whelan would have probably played in this game had he not been fulfilling the second game of a three-match suspension for a red card against Crystal Palace under-21s earlier in the competition, so he was solely working in a coaching capacity at Colchester on Wednesday.
Both proud Irishmen, there is a natural link between the former Stoke City and Aston Villa midfielder and left-back Clarke, and Whelan had some words of advice during the game.
An injury to Colchester's Ossama Ashley necessitated a pause in play on the half hour and the Gas took up the opportunity to have a quick drink and a briefing from the coaches on the touchline. The team split into smaller groups with different coaches and the manager all involved, but Clarke and Whelan spoke to each other along for the duration of the stoppage.
Barton has raved about Whelan's mentoring capabilities with the younger players in the squad and he shared some words of wisdom with Clarke, 14 years his junior. Clarke went on to put in a decent performance, so it seems the advice was worthwhile.
Mangs' mistake
A bit more goes into making a substitution than swapping players, there is some admin that needs to be done and Barton's assistant Andy Mangan was responsible for that eight minutes from time when Luca Hoole replaced Trevor Clarke.
The fourth official's board showed the right number for the Welshman, but number 22 was displayed as the player who would be leaving the pitch. Without a 22 on the teamsheet, there was a spot of confusion, and the PA announcer stuttered, waiting for clarity on who would be leaving the field.
Barton looked around a tad confused until soon after, the matter was cleared up and Clarke's number 20 was raised and the change was made. An apologetic embrace between Mangan and the fourth official, plus a few laughs between the pair followed.
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