For the third year in succession, Bristol Rovers failed to get beyond the first round of the Carabao Cup. That in itself is not a huge problem with Joey Barton's priorities understandably fixated elsewhere, but Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Crawley Town showed plenty of room for improvement ahead of a challenging three-game run in League One.
Roves were in control for the vast majority of the contest at Broadfield Stadium, but their efforts were undermined by a combination of sloppiness, profligacy and a disjointed feel to the attack.
Former Rovers man Tom Nichols was the match-winner, profiting from a couple of slices of luck after what appeared to be a handball by a teammate in midfield sent Crawley surging forward. Then a rebound fell kindly for him to tuck the ball into an empty net 17 minutes from time after James Belshaw kept out his first effort.
By that point, Rovers' best moments in the game were behind them and they huffed and puffed their way to the finish without producing a leveller. But for three-quarters of the contest, the Gas had spent most of the time in the ascendancy without being completely in sync around the Crawley penalty area. Many moments to create were not capitalised on and the good chances they did muster were wasted.
Good to get that kind of performance out of the way in a cup competition, of course, but Barton doubtless will have some concerns. The lack of depth he has at his disposal will be the uppermost, with the thin resources available meaning he could neither rotate his side before kick-off nor make the desired impact with his substitutes when the game was there for the winning.
That is an established issue and Barton has repeatedly emphasised the rewards for patience in the transfer market will be worth it, but news of an injury to versatile defender James Gibbons from Saturday's win at Burton Albion leaves the Gas another man down.
Out of sync
For all their possession in promising areas, there were early signs that this would be one of those nights for the Gas, who seemed to be out of sync in attack.
Burton gifted them the upper hand on Saturday but the Gas seized that opportunity and were clinical enough to have the points wrapped up by half time.
That ruthless touch was missing in Sussex, with Rovers showing a lack of conviction. There were too many loose touches in dangerous positions and a level of indecision crept in that needs to be stamped out for Saturday, summed up by first Ryan Loft and John Marquis hesitating over a clear shooting chance and then Harry Anderson and Ryan Loft leaving an inviting cross to the other, allowing the ball to bounce out of play.
Football, obviously, is not an exact science and fluctuations in performance levels are par for the course, as are sub-par showings in a lower-priority cup competition.
But the Gas are set for a three-game run against sides with genuine promotion ambitions and they will need to quickly recover their sharpness in the final third.
The need for signings grows
The need for reinforcements has been a summer-long issue for the Gas, who are playing the long game in hope of maximising the value and quality of their additions instead of getting locked in bidding wars in a league with several big-budget clubs that have the power to up the ante and gazump their rivals.
There is plenty of logic to Rovers’ approach; they need to get value for their money to compete but there is plenty of work to do in the remainder of the window. The Gas have made five signings in the three months since the end of last season and they will have to at least double that tally in the final three weeks of trading.
Injuries will exacerbate the shortage of options for Barton, who has filled half his bench with youngsters he believes are not yet ready for first-team action in the games so far.
James Rossiter has missed two gams with a hamstring issue and Barton did not sound hopeful when he revealed details about Gibbons’ absence on Tuesday, with Rovers yet to learn the exact nature and scale of the problem, but the expectation is will rule the former Port Vale man out for more than just a few days.
Gibbons’ absence is likely to force Barton into playing Luca Hoole at right-back, with Alfie Kilgour in the centre of defence. That would leave no senior options for cover on the bench; clearly, that is not a sustainable scenario and the manager is well aware.
Barton revealed on Tuesday he is hopeful of securing a new signing in time for Oxford on Saturday, and several more will need to follow quickly to ensure he has the resources to get to January in good shape.
The centrepiece
This column can often read like a love letter to Sam Finley, but the reality is the midfielder really is that impressive – and important – when he is on the field for Rovers. The 30-year-old was outstanding at Burton on Saturday on his return from injury and he followed that with another good hour-long shift in the centre of the park on Tuesday.
He is a player that contributes significantly in each third of the pitch: he is tenacious in the tackle and intelligent to spot and intercept moments of danger in his own third and he is almost totally press-resistant on the ball under pressure, finding the space to wriggle away from oncoming challenges. Couple that with an ability to raise and lower the tempo of the game when required, as well as his proficiency in scoring and creating in the final third and it is simple to see why he is so influential for the Gas.
He was showing all of those traits in his time on the pitch on Tuesday, ensuring Rovers had control and limiting Crawley's ability to pose a threat on the counter. But when he had to be removed to ensure he is fit for Saturday's game, so was Rovers' authority in the middle of the park. The game became increasingly stretched and Crawley profited when they started to find more joy going forward.
Barton has been in a difficult position so far this season with Paul Coutts suspended and Finley and Rossiter playing while not fully fit – the is latter currently sidelined with a hamstring issue. The available options are Glenn Whelan, who is a coach first and foremost and Barton would prefer not to use him in games, or second-year scholar Jerry Lawrence. Chucking the teenager in last night did not feel like a risk worth taking in the circumstances, so Barton called on the emergency option in the 38-year-old midfielder.
Understandably, the difference in Rovers without Finley on the pitch was stark and Barton needs him to be up to 90-minute match fitness as soon as possible. The return of Coutts from suspension on Saturday, plus any further additions in the transfer market, will alleviate the problem, but the involvement of 30-year-old Finley has a big say in Rovers' success.
A change in fortune
Tom Nichols is living in a different world these days, a far cry from the torturous time he endured as a Rovers player. He was maligned and shown sympathy in equal measure as he grafted hard without delivering the goals required of a big-money signing when he joined from Peterborough United in 2017.
Across three seasons, Nichols scored five goals in 94 league appearances for Rovers, but his time at Crawley is proving more fruitful. He has hit double figures in his two full seasons in Sussex and the fans at the Broadfield Stadium sang his name as he scored the winner on Tuesday night.
The goal itself encapsulated his upturn in fortunes since leaving the Gas. He forced a good close-range save from James Belshaw and was lucky to see the ball squeeze beneath the keeper, gifting him the simplest of chances which he duly took. How he'd have wished for similar fortune in front of goal when he was wearing the blue and white quarters.
His finishing remains inconsistent. He ought to have done much better in the first half after a wayward Belshaw pass gifted him a gilt-edged chance but the shot was weak and imprecise.
But there is also a sense that he was never really understood as a Rovers player. He was signed to be a goalscorer but his strengths are more subtle, linking the play and showing good movement to create opportunities for his teammates. Remember, Jonson Clarke-Harris felt Nichols' contributions had a huge impact on the number nine's scoring tally.
Galling that he had to score against Rovers, sure, but the 28-year-old's career revival as a strong performer in League Two in the past two years brings some satisfaction with the knowledge that he experienced a chastening time in BS7.
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