Late pain was traded for early delight seven days on for Bristol Rovers as Joey Barton's side stormed to a 4-0 win at Burton Albion on Saturday, opening their account with a memorable performance on the road at the Pirelli Stadium.
Last week's last-gasp defeat to Forest Green Rovers had consequences for members of Barton's squad, leading to an eventful week at the Mem with two players who started that game exiled and told to find new clubs. Questions were being asked, but the Gas changed the narrative at the first opportunity, and in some style.
They were aided by a foolish red card inside a minute; Conor Shaughnessy gifted the Gas a man advantage with a clumsy trip on the edge of his own box to deny a clear scoring chance. But the Gas still had to pounce on the opportunity, and they duly capitalised.
The resting free-kick was whipped into the net by Antony Evans and a predatory finish from defender James Connolly had them two up in no time. The away end was bouncing in delight, but it proved to be just the warm-up act for the Aaron Collins show. His brilliant brace showcased the high class he has in both feet and the game was wrapped up by half time.
With three points, an excellent debut for a new signing and several star players coming to the fore, there were plenty of positives to savour for Barton on Saturday.
Up and running
Inside the walls of The Quarters this week, after Barton informed Trevor Clarke, Zain Westbrooke and Alex Rodman that they will not be training with the Gas and they don't feature in his plans, there has been a sense of confidence and, according to Barton, renewed energy.
He was comfortable and calm about his decision, but for some fans observing from the outside, it appeared a squad lacking depth beyond the starting XI was thinned further, promoting questions about Clarke's impending exit just two months after penning a new contract in particular.
As a result, there has been a lot of noise around the Gas this week, with some concerns about a slowdown in transfer activity – that was ended on Saturday – to boot. Had things gone very differently on Saturday, it would have only grown noisier.
Momentum in football is lost a lot easier than it is built.
But it was soon clear that there was no chance of that happening on Saturday. Yes, they benefited from an early moment of madness from Shaughnessy but Rovers showed last season that beating 10 men is no formality. This time, they were in scintillating form as they got their season up and running in style.
A four-goal winning margin was handsome and it could have been a lot more, such was Rovers' dominance and cutting edge.
"What a great building foundation that is to go into a League Cup tie and then some games against the bigger clubs in the division," Barton said at full time, and he's right. The narrative has been shifted and memories of last season were evoked, with a 1,400-strong away end bouncing in delight and reciting the complete songbook in the sunshine.
Rovers have three points on the board and have a platform to build on ahead of three tough tests against Oxford United, Barnsley and Portsmouth after Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie at Crawley Town.
The Aaron Collins Show
Eight goals in four games. Extraordinary numbers for a player in an extraordinary run of form that is spanning into a second season.
Barton wants signings, understandably, but he will struggle to do better business than tying his top marksman down to a three-year contract.
Collins ensured a week ago there would be no repeat of last season’s early woes in front of goal by getting off the mark on the opening day. On reflection, that should never have been in doubt because Collins is transformed from the player he was when he arrived from Forest Green, and when he returned for pre-season this summer he was an electric presence.
Brimming with confidence, he has emerged as a ruthless finisher who has all the attributes to cause any defence at this level problems. He has the speed and off-ball movement to make defenders anxious, but sit off him for a moment and he can pick out the top corner with either foot.
His first goal was evidence of the mental questions Collins poses of defenders, as well as the obvious physical ones. He squares them up and can go either way. This time he fainted right before jinking left and arrowing a shot into the roof of the net with what is supposed to be his weaker foot. On recent evidence, he has no such thing.
And the first goal played its part in causing the second. Deji Oshilaja was afraid to commit to a challenge as Collins stared him down after Marquis’ through ball into the channel, having seen he can score with either side. He was non-commital and he suffered for his indecision. Collins would go right and the ball would roll into the bottom left.
A moment of comparable deception almost made it a hat-trick for Collins in the second half. The 25-year-old seemed certain to pull the trigger, but he sold three defenders with one dummy and left them on the floor. Alas, the shot would be blocked and he would have to settle for a brace.
He celebrated his second goal by holding the corner flag like a guitar, and Collins is certainly playing like a rockstar right now.
Have they found another one?
Could Lewis Gordon's Rovers career be on a parallel trajectory to James Connolly? He has certainly started on the same track as his new defensive colleague.
Both players were under-the-radar signings for the Gas, and both were unveiled in similar fashion. For Connolly, it was a tweeted picture of his shirt in the dressing room little more than an hour before kick-off in his debut at Peterborough in January.
The timing was similar for Gordon, announced as a Rovers player at 1.40pm on Saturday, though there was an impromptu photoshoot on the Pirelli pitch so his unveiling was accompanied by an image of him holding his number three shirt aloft.
Connolly was not hugely fancied at Cardiff, with other young defenders deemed to be ahead in the pecking order. He had not played a senior game and his profile was low outside of the coaching and scouting world. Gordon, clearly, was rated in the game with Premier League Crystal Palace keen to sign him for their under-23s squad, but he made just one senior appearance for Brentford and his 70 games for the Bees' B team came at training grounds and cavernous stadiums with little to no outside interest.
But this was a strong first impression from the new signing. It may have been his first appearance in the EFL, but he was composed, evidenced by the build-up to Rovers' fourth goal. James Gibbons moved well to intercept a dangerous run and Gordon received the ball in his own area with a couple of men converging. There was no sense of panic, though. Just a measured pass to John Marquis, who followed it with an equally precise pass for Collins to chase and, eventually, score from.
Another time Gordon was pressed in his own third, he was not to be flustered. Instead of punting the ball to safety, he showed vision played his way out of danger with a crossfield pass against the tide of Burton men arriving at his feet to get Harry Anderson moving forwards.
Finley makes the difference
Take Paul Coutts and Sam Finley out of any League One side and they would feel the effects. With the latter restored to the lineup after last week’s defeat, Rovers looked a lot more like themselves.
There were times against Forest Green when the Gas had control, but there were there were times when that didn’t, and throughout they lacked incision in attack. Finley offered both of those things to Rovers. Yes, he’s had more difficult game and was taking on 10 men, but he was masterful in midfield despite not being fully fit.
He made sure Rovers capitalised fully on the man advantage with his ability to snuff out any attempt to press by wriggling away from would-be tacklers, and his distribution of the ball stretched the Brewers and created avenues of attack for the Gas to pursue.
Throw in the times he joined the attack, including one brilliant first-half 25-yard effort that curled just wide of the post with Ben Garratt beaten, and this was a full exhibition of what Finley brings to Rovers. There is perhaps no more significant member of this squad when it comes to determining how well the Gas play.
The quarterback
After a pair of goalless loan spells at Crewe Alexandra and Blackpool earlier in his career, there is a sense that Evans – for all of his brilliance for the Gas in the fourth tier last season – has a point to prove in League One. His performance on Saturday was a resounding statement he can cut it at this level.
There were the obvious moments of excellence – his fine free-kick to open the scoring in the fourth minute and the high, curling cross that Connolly bundled home to double the lead – but there was plenty more to admire.
With Jordan Rossiter injured, Paul Coutts suspended and Zain Westbrooke exiled, Evans was required to play in a deeper midfield role than the one he has made his own at the Gas, but that did not stop him from excelling. The 23-year-old thrived in the centre of the park, spraying passes like a quarterback before joining the attack.
When Barton gets his absent players back and secures reinforcements in the transfer market, the setup from Saturday will surely not be Plan A, but options are welcome for the manager and Evans' ability in a double pivot as well as in his customary role closer to the opposition goal is handy.
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