Bristol Rovers' winless run in League One stretched to five games on Tuesday with a 2-0 defeat at Ipswich Town. It always had the makings of a difficult night on the road at the league leaders, but it became a bad one in the final minutes.
With the game beyond them deep in the second half, Joey Barton's attention was already turning to the next assignment for the Gas – Lincoln City at the Mem on Saturday. Goals from Conor Chaplin and Lee Evans either side of half time put Ipswich out of sight.
This was a lost battle, but the war continues and the manager was in damage-limitation mode, wrapping key players in cotton wool and looking forward to getting out of Portman Road and planning for a pair of winnable games on home turf.
Yet somehow, Rovers found themselves finishing with nine men on the pitch, causing the manager a huge selection headache.
Bobby Thomas was first to go, receiving two yellow cards in quick succession to bring his second appearance for the Gas to a premature end five minutes from time. With several defenders on the injury list, his suspension for the weekend was already problematic for Barton and it was compounded in stoppage time when Alfie Kilgour – adjudged to have denied Conor Chaplin a clear goalscoring opportunity – saw a straight red from referee Alan Young.
"Stupid and needless" was Barton's description of the dismissals in his post-match press conference. The Gas have certainly made life hard for themselves ahead of Saturday.
Bad to worse
Ipswich are a very good side. That was clear to see on Tuesday, particularly in an opening half hour where they were able to play through Rovers' pressing attempts and stretch the pitch with the hard running of Freddie Ladapo and the clever momevent behind him from Marcus Harness, Wes Burns and Chaplin.
The Rovers goal was just about surviving, with Luke Wolfenden, Burns and Ladapo all going close in an early storm. The Gas doggedly held on until the 25th minute when Chaplin gave the hosts a deserved lead, sweeping home Sam Morsy's cutback to the penalty spot.
To their credit, in the face of significant pressure and an expectant crowd in excess of 22,000, Rovers did well to get to the break just one goal down, and they could have even been level had Antony Evans' brilliant 25-yard effort gone in off the inside of the post instead of bouncing out in the 45th minute.
That moment came in a fleeting period of Rovers pressure that continued after half time with Luca Hoole testing Christian Walton, but just when it looked like the Gas could get back on level terms, Ipswich doubled their advantage and all but put the game beyond Rovers' reach. Barton's side are not playing well at the moment, but they are finding themselves on the wrong side of some misfortune, be it with injuries, the woodwork or in this case a deflection on Lee Evans' hopeful shot that wrong-footed James Belshaw and made it 2-0 10 minutes into the second half.
The Gas plugged away ineffectively thereafter and it was clear to see where the minds in the away dugout were when Aaron Collins and Antony Evans were sacrificed with 12 minutes remaining, with the focus on getting out of Suffolk with no more players unavailable for the Lincoln game.
Those efforts would be undone by the dismissals of Thomas and Kilgour. The former was the result of naivety, getting locked into a physical tussle with Tyreece John-Jules that he could have avoided on a booking.
Kilgour, meanwhile, insists he made no contact with Chaplin and Rovers could appeal the one-match ban if the footage supports their case. But if he did make contact, he was guilty of a defender's cardinal sin, following one mistake immediately with another, with Mr Young of the view that the 24-year-old tripped Chaplin after losing possession to the nimble forward in a dangerous area.
It had already been a hard night for the Gas, albeit not an unexpected one, given Ipswich's form and enviable resources, and a defeat would have been quickly forgiven by supporters. But in the closing stages, Rovers inflicted damage that was all of their own making.
Tough times
It can’t all be 7-0 wins and thrilling comebacks. Stepping up a level, Rovers have to take the rough with the smooth and right now they are in a difficult moment.
They have gone six games without a win in all competitions, five of them in the league, and injures and suspensions have mounted. Just three goals have been scored versus 11 conceded.
Courage and commitment cannot be questioned and, considering the lack of form and flow in their play, Barton's side did well to give themselves a hint of a chance on Tuesday by conceding just once in a chastening first half and the game could have been different had Evans' shot snuck inside the goal frame, but Ipswich were deserving winners.
Rovers have survived tough runs under Barton before and emerged better for it. They can do so again, but League One is a much more ruthless place than where they were last season.
Thankfully for the manager, he will feel he has stocked his squad with big characters who can rise to the challenge. They did so 12 months ago and they need to repeat that.
Barton already has a defensive solution
The value of the EFL Trophy is pretty limited, but Rovers' single game in the competition so far this season may have come in handy in showing Barton a possible solution for his defensive shortage.
With Hoole the last man standing ahead of Saturday's game, the question for the manager in the build-up will be who partners him. One man who has already shown he can handle even the most stretched of games out of position at the back is Glenn Whelan.
Priorities dictate that the EFL Trophy is the bottom of the pile for Rovers, so Barton was eager to rest his starting defenders when the Gas travelled to Plymouth Argyle last month. Whelan, one of his trusted lieutenants, was tasked with filling in at the back and he handled the challenge expertly, putting all those years of experience to good use.
The Trophy may see weaker teams fielded, but Argyle were pretty strong that night and the more important takeaway was the pattern of the game and the way Whelan was able to deal with it to ensure Rovers did not concede from open play will encourage Barton as he is forced to get creative this weekend.
Coupled with the fact that the 38-year-old has seen just about everything the game can throw at you, Barton will know he will not be fazed by any challenge and he seems the best fit if the Gas cannot rush a Lewis Gibson or Josh Grant back to fitness.
A dose of perspective
These clubs, currently, are in the same league in name only, because financially there is a chasm between their respective spending power. Ipswich have been spending big throughout their time in League One and now, with an impressive coach like Kieran McKenna in charge, they are well placed to return to the Championship.
The financial reality is clear to see. Backed by ambitious American ownership, several of Ipswich's signings alone cost more than Rovers' whole team put together.
Perhaps the difference between the clubs is explained best in the case of Leif Davis, a talented young left-back who cost Ipswich more than £1million from Leeds United this summer, meaning he was approximately twice as expensive in his own right than the three players Rovers paid a fee for this summer – Jordan Rossiter, James Connolly and Luke Mccormick – collectively.
Panutche Camara, Marcus Harness, Richard Keogh and Gassan Ahadme all cost significant fees, too, and few teams will consider themselves on a level playing field with Ipswich this season – the likes of Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth.
For the rest, Rovers included, their season will be defined by how they perform against their closest competitors, rather than the big hitters.
Even in the Premier League, bottom-half clubs like Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest can pay comparable transfer fees to the top six, but the current makeup of League One, with several prestigious clubs in the division who believe they do not belong there, has stretched the distance between top and bottom.
That gap can be bridged with excellent coaching and recruitment like MK Dons did last season when they narrowly missed out on the top two, but it will be hard work for any of League One's middling clubs to make the leap towards the top end.
What Rovers must improve
Rovers' campaign will not be defined by their trips to Portman Road, Pride Park and Hillsborough and any points they accrue from those games will be deemed a bonus. Instead, the running in the race to 52 points – the number that usually guarantees safety in this league – will be made against the teams expected to finish in the bottom half.
The Gas did more than enough to get victories against the Shrimps and Shrews on home turf in recent weeks but were held to draws in both. An extra two or four points on Rovers' tally would make the start to the season look a whole lot better, but instead Rovers have eight points from eight games.
For all the injury and suspension challenges facing Barton, the upcoming home games against Lincoln and Accrington Stanley – 16th and 21st in the table respectively – are a chance to put that right. Games like that are so important because there is always a difficult away game around the corner. Few are as challenging as Portman Road on a Tuesday night but it is crucial that Rovers use the Mem to their advantage over the course of this season.
If the Gas can end their winless run and string together a couple of positive results in the coming fortnight, they will be back on track. If they don't, they will be playing catch-up.
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