With some John Marquis magic, Scott Sinclair's quality and a turbulent last 10 minutes, Bristol Rovers took another big step towards their target with a 3-1 win over Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn on Saturday.
Rovers' renewed confidence was on show as Charlie Savage's fine opening goal against the run of play inside a quarter of an hour did nothing to upset their poise. Instead, Joey Barton's side stayed to the script and were deservedly in front thanks to goals from Marquis and Sinclair against League One's bottom side by half time.
It should have been a comfortable conclusion when the in-form Marquis doubled his tally with a cute glancing header from Sinclair's pinpoint corner on the hour, but James Belshaw was left with a penalty to save after substitute Luke McCormick endured a nightmare eight-minute stay on the pitch and was unceremoniously hooked off. And save it Belshaw did, denying a limp effort from Corey O'Keeffe from the spot and preventing an awkward conclusion against a team playing with pure desperation after being cut adrift at the foot of the table.
Barton's decision to withdraw McCormick is a significant sub-plot, but the central storyline is a positive one for the Gas. Unbeaten in three games with seven points added, confidence is flowing again and, with 45 points on the board, they are on the cusp of securing their League One status with 11 games still to play.
FGR's plight slows Gas' success
Promoted as champions, albeit a team that limped over the line in League Two after a rollicking start last season, Forest Green are odds-on to make an immediate return to the fourth tier after a miserable first crack at this level. The Gas, however, are heavily odds-on to remain in the division and, with a worrying wobble in January and February overcome, they are ascending again and have a decent chance of finishing the campaign in the top half.
Forest Green's decline has been underpinned by the disintegration of the team that got them promoted. First, they lost a vital trio in the summer of Ebou Adams, Kane Wilson and Nicky Cadden as well as manager Rob Edwards, and several other key contributors have followed out of the exit door since. Save for a few names here and there and a similarly garish kit, they are barely recognisable 12 months on.
The Gas, too, lost some of their promotion heroes, most notably Elliot Anderson and Connor Taylor, but they have met the challenge of going up a level regardless and Barton and his team deserve credit. Speaking to Forest Green fans adjacent to the press benches on Saturday, they bemoaned poor recruitment and how signing after signing have failed to come close to filling the voids left behind.
Barton was not thrilled with the totality of Rovers' business this season, particularly in the January window when things didn't go quite to plan and wishes went unfulfilled, but there have been many more hits than misses. The loan market has brought significant success, firstly with Lewis Gibson and Josh Coburn and mid-season additions Jarell Quansah and Lamare Bogarde have been highly impressive, too.
By and large, members of Barton's squad from last season have stepped up to the challenge as well. Aaron Collins has kicked on, Luca Hoole is back in form, Antony Evans has had his moments, Sam Finley and Paul Coutts have been solid and Ryan Loft showed positive signs earlier in the season, just to name a few. Forest Green, however, have sent key players back down to League Two in Jamille Matt and Matty Stevens, huge contributors to their triumph last year, proving that the Gas were better built for the long game of consolidation after promotion.
The job is not done yet and maybe Forest Green can muster a miracle, but the differing cases go a long way to highlighting their respective successes and failures.
Brutal from Barton
Standing in the technical area as McCormick trudged off the heavy, cut-up surface at The New Lawn, Barton's feelings were obvious. He stood firm with nothing to comfort the 24-year-old as he was dragged off just eight minutes after coming on.
Until Saturday, McCormick's season after returning to the Gas from AFC Wimbledon was not necessarily bad, but it has been a struggle to find form and a role in the team for the peroxide-blond midfielder. Two years ago, when on loan at the Mem from Chelsea, he was the main man in a bad team. This time around, he has not found his form with a single assist to show for 20 league appearances.
His short-lived stay on the pitch was, by far, a new low. Barton, calling for composure and sensible game management to avoid any late scares, was irked by a cheap yellow card for McCormick within a minute of being sent on after getting involved in an off-the-ball tussle with Dom Bernard.
Three minutes later, annoyance turned to anger for Barton as the same players clashed in the Gas penalty area, with referee Scott Oldham deeming McCormick had dragged Bernard to the deck. Barton would describe it as a "stonewall penalty" after the game.
Fortunately for Rovers, O'Keeffe's penalty was dreadful and Belshaw read it well to go the right way, but the manager's mood had not improved. When the board went up, it seemed there was a mistake as Lamare Bogarde, who wears 22 rather than McCormick's 23, was also coming off, but indeed both men were replaced, with Glenn Whelan and James Connolly brought on to shore things up.
Barton was ruthless with his actions and he was firm with his words. "The thing for me is trust and he is burning through his chances of trust with me. When that happens, people leave the football club," he said. "I love Macca, I think he’s a great kid, but if you are getting paid to do a job and you don’t do that job, this isn’t a charity and I won’t put up with it. I made a point there of taking him off mainly because I didn’t feel he was secure in his performance. I felt he was a red card waiting to happen, or certainly pull the team’s performance down."
Although this was the first time Barton has taken off a sub so soon after introducing them, he has approached somewhat similar circumstances in a similar fashion before. When he is unhappy, he is not one to hide it, as Belshaw, Luke Thomas and Trevor Clarke found out.
After being called out in the press, all of those men responded to varying degrees, although Barton was still happy to let the latter go on loan to Shamrock Rovers in January. Fans will debate whether Barton made the right call, but his decision leaves McCormick with no uncertainty. The manager's message could not have been clearer.
From a human perspective, though, it is impossible not to feel for a young player going through a slump and wish them well. Despite both of his previous seasons ending in relegation, McCormick has scored enough goals from midfield and shown enough quality to believe he can bounce back better from the experience.
The lack of a pre-season after being locked out by Wimbledon as his transfer played out is undoubtedly a factor in this. Hopefully, better times lie ahead for a very talented player.
This lad can play
Gasheads who have watched the past five games will not need telling that Aston Villa loanee Bogarde is very good at this association football lark, but he deserves to be singled out for more praise after another fine display in midfield.
With Barton going for two in the middle of the park – Bogarde and Grant Ward – and Aaron Collins as a 10, it was a significant test to see how the 19-year-old Dutchman would fare without one of the ill Sam Finley or injured Paul Coutts for security. He passed it with flying colours, combining with Ward to boss the midfield battle.
His arrival as an unknown quantity minutes before the transfer deadline in January naturally led many to question whether he was brought in merely to add depth and some fresh legs, but the Feyenoord academy product has turned out to be a shining light.
He is a defensive midfielder by trade, but his contributions are proving impactful across the pitch. He anticipates well to screen the back four and he is rapid with his reactions and firm with his conviction to crunch into challenges when the ball goes loose.
Bogarde's engine is impressive, too, joining the attack to great effect as he showed at Oxford a fortnight ago by arriving just in time to win a crucial penalty. At The New Lawn, there was another significant attacking contribution, receiving the ball 20 yards from goal after brilliant pressing from the unselfish Josh Coburn and Aaron Collins forced an error.
Some players may have snatched at the chance and hurried a shot, but Borgarde was composed in fashioning a pass to the unmarked Sinclair who was better placed to score. At the second attempt, he did to make it 2-1, meaning Bogarde won't get an assist on the stats sheet, but anyone watching will know the role he played not only in that goal and this performance.
He is a smooth midfielder but he loves a challenge, which got his name taken by the referee 10 minutes into the second half. He remained on the pitch for another half an hour and he was walking something of a tightrope. Not that it affected his efficacy. He racked up several more challenges to regain the ball and get the Gas on the attack, timing them all to perfection.
With Rovers looking more and more like a League One club next season, surely they will hope to see Bogarde return for a second loan spell. For all the quality he has shown, he is still some way from first-team contention at his parent club and the Gas have given him a stage; he is making the most of it. A second stint of regular football in a setup that suits his game could work well for all parties.
Super John
This column has sung the praises of Marquis for several weeks since returning to the team for the defeat to Burton Albion last month. Thanks to a goal and a strong performance in that game despite the result, he has kept his place and he has been outstanding.
But he hadn't had the goals to show for it until Saturday when he netted twice to take his tally in all competitions to nine (seven in the league). Considering he has spent most of the season as the third or fourth choice in the striker ranks, that is an impressive tally and there was a sense in Nailsworth that he was rewarded for the previous' weeks hard graft.
He was hugely influential in two of the goals in the win at Oxford and he was Rovers' best player in the goalless draw with Barnsley last week despite never seeing a real scoring chance come his way. Instead, his best qualities have been the link-up play and unselfish running for the team.
On Saturday, though, he showed why he has more than 150 career goals to his name. The first of his brace was a brilliant finish, giving his man the slip with a moment of misdirection even his teammates did not know he was capable of before sliding the ball beyond goalkeeper Lewis Thomas with a touch of class on his left foot. The second was a true striker's goal, getting across his man at the near post and heading home from a corner.
It is increasingly likely he will finish the season with double figures and that is a huge positive for the present and the future. With Coburn set to return to his parent club Middlesbrough and Collins likely to get the big move his outstanding play deserves, Marquis will be of added importance to the Gas in the second year of his contract and the 30-year-old has certainly found his feet in the blue and white quarters.
A big step closer
Not so long ago, the Gas were treading water dangerously as the relegation battle started to loom over their shoulder and in the back of their minds, but seven points from the past three games have settled any nerves. This result, in particular, was significant as the Gas reached 45 points, a total better than all of last season's bottom six in League One.
Security is within touching distance as Rovers sit 13th, 12 points clear of the bottom four with 11 games still to be played.
The 50-point mark in this division is usually seen as the magic number that normally guarantees a place for the next season and the Gas will fancy their chances of breaking through that barrier in the week ahead.
Home games against Wycombe and Portsmouth may not sound like the friendliest of fixtures, but Rovers have reason to be confident in both. Pompey have lost two straight and Wycombe's play-off hopes suffered a hammer blow in defeat at Burton on Saturday. It also remains to be seen if Matt Bloomfield can keep the Chairboys at the same level now Gareth Ainsworth is at QPR.
If it doesn't happen for Rovers in the coming days, there are plenty of other chances to get the job done, but a seven-week, six-game winless run feels like a very distant memory thanks to three big performances and results.
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
READ NEXT:
