The momentum carrying Bristol Rovers up the League Two table came to a rapid halt at Oldham Athletic on Tuesday, delivering an unwelcome reality check for Joey Barton's side.
The Gas never recovered from a chaotic start to the night that saw defensive stalwart Connor Taylor withdrawn from the starting XI in the warm-up and a rearranged defence concede to Davis Keillor-Dunn inside 60 seconds en route to a dismal 2-1 defeat at Boundary Park.
Yes, Rovers were catching Oldham at the wrong time with Latics hero John Sheridan revitalising the club in their bid for EFL survival, but they suffered in a raucous atmosphere and lacked the poise and confidence that was the product of going six unbeaten before Tuesday's game.
The Gas dominated possession but created very little and had plenty of moments of concern in their own box. Losing the first and second contacts at a corner for Keillor-Dunn's second goal angered the manager who bemoaned a night where nothing went to plan.
The defeat asks plenty of questions of Barton and his players, who will hope this proves to be a bump in their journey up the table, and they cannot afford more damaging results of this ilk if they are to contend for the play-offs.
Character and individuality will only get you so far
A six-game unbeaten stretch proliferated confidence in the squad and dragged Rovers into contention for the top seven, but – as Barton himself admitted last night – they haven’t been playing all that well as a collective.
Instead, see reserves of character and individual quality have been relied on to get Rovers through.
Those are vital qualities inherent in any good side, but it is not wholly sustainable.
It’s said that getting results without playing well is a good thing, but not if it’s required every week and Rovers have not delivered enough complete performances. There have been games where either the front or the back end of the team has carried the burden, but rarely has been shared.
And both aspects of the team were well short of standards at Oldham. Taylor’s withdrawal doubtless proliferated unease in the defence ahead of kick-off and it shows with the opening goal, but the opening minute of any game has to be handled better than that. Multiple opportunities to clear were missed and Keillor-Dunn emphatically punished the Gas.
Barton will be worried that Oldham’s straightforward approach of sitting deep and crashing balls in behind for Keillor-Dunn, Dylan Bahamboula and Junior Luamba to chase caused so many problems.
In the other direction, save for one or two decent moves in the first half, the Gas could not get anything going.
Stodgy possession in and around the halfway line coupled with imprecise long balls were comfortably handled by a deep and packed defence. More guile was needed.
Rovers’ character and togetherness cannot be questioned. Those qualities underpinned the upturn in form, but the reality is an upturn in performance levels is needed because Oldham made clear on Tuesday that League Two is a tightly-contested league and sloppiness will be punished.
How Rovers do that is a trickier question. There has been progress in improving fluidity and cohesion but Tuesday’s defeat raises concerns that it is not happening fast enough with 19 games to go.
Creating chances with large quantities of possession against a set defence has been a problem all season but Rovers will have to find a way if they are to contend for the play-offs.
Barton is known for being tactically flexible, tailoring systems, selections and game plans to opponents, but that carries a risk of disjointed performances akin to Tuesday’s showing. Perhaps the time has come to settle firmly on Plan A and roll with it?
Not Finnished yet
A place in Rovers’ starting XI felt very far away for Anssi Jaakkola amid a long-running absence with injury and James Belshaw’s fine form in his absence.
But an injury to Belshaw has given the Finland international another chance in the starting XI with his Achilles problem – hopefully – behind him.
Jaakkola made a costly mistake yet some fine saves in the draw at Sutton – his first game in six months. His performance at Oldham, though, was outstanding, keeping Rovers in a contest where they were very much second best.
Reflex saves to deny Bahamboula, Luamba and Nicky Adam’s we’re the highlights, with Jaakkola one of few Rovers players due any credit at Boundary Park.
His run in the team could end this weekend if Belshaw’s minor knee injury has fully healed, but Jaakkola has made clear with Tuesday’s performance that he has plenty left to offer.
Time for technology?
This time, it went in Rovers' favour as Callum Whelan's sensational 20-yard half-volley crashed the underside of the bar and landed beyond the line 11 minutes from time, only for the officials to decide it was not a goal.
In the moment, there was a sense of relief for the Gas but in the big picture it is bad for the game if clear goals are not being given.
Evidently, whether the ball has crossed the line is a difficult issue to officiate in League Two. Forest Green Rovers were awarded a "ghost goal" a few weeks back against Northampton Town when there was very little evidence to suggest the ball had even come close to crossing the line.
It was the opposite this time, with Oldham's legitimate goal not given. Rovers, of course, would have been delighted if they could have capitalised on their misfortune with a late equaliser, but surely it is something all professional clubs want out of the game?
To be clear, no-one wants VAR in the fourth tier given the way it is mismanaged in the Premier League, but there ought to be a goal line technology solution for obvious cases.
Sadly, though, the costs of installing goal-line technology are prohibitive outside of the top flight. It costs hundreds of thousands of pounds to install and thousands more to maintain it each game, underlining the gulf in resources and the growing difference in the way the game is officiated through the professional pyramid.
So EFL clubs have to live with errors like this until more affordable technology alternatives are developed further down the line.
All to play for
This defeat and the manner in which it came has a damaging feeling to it, with the deficit to the top seven widening to 10 points and tough games to come for the Gas.
Oldham was marked down as something of a must-win given their league position, but with 19 games to go that clearly isn’t the case.
Rovers have an opportunity to turn this around, and positive results against in-form sides Mansfield Town and Sutton United would mean the Oldham result is quickly redefined as a blip.
Rovers need approximately 35-38 points from their remaining 19 games to make the play-offs, which is a steep ask made only harder by Tuesday’s defeat, but it is not impossible.
They have won three on the spin at the Mem and are becoming hard to beat in BS7.
The coming week gives Barton and his players a chance to repair the damage of Tuesday and get back in the race.
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