Bristol Rovers moved within touching distance of the play-offs with two wins from two last week. Crawley were defeated, Harrogate were eased passed and the Gas’ destiny is now in their own hands.
Crawley was simply a game we needed to win to regain momentum. A bounce back was vital to put the wind back in our sails ahead of our promotion push. Rovers did just that, and whilst it wasn’t easy in the end, not a Gashead in the land will be bothered with how the points were recorded.
The performance was much improved from what we saw at Newport. Rovers moved the ball better, played with freedom and positivity and better individual performances too. Aaron Collins was lively, finding spaces in between the lines and interchanging well with his forward colleagues. His control and finish was instinctive and Luca Hoole’s crossfield ball was a beauty.
Hoole was outstanding on the night once more. His development since the Swindon game is plain for all to see. Instead of hesitancy in forward areas, he plays with his head up and waits for the right pass to develop, always assessing movement ahead of him. His pace is electric too and it was one of his fearless runs forward that resulted in the goal.
James Belshaw saved our blushes multiple times, but this time from the edge of the box. He really is an extra defender with his aggressive positioning and closing down on the edge of the box and beyond. Crawley had a clear tactic to put quick balls over the top, bypassing the Rovers midfield and unsettling the Gas’ defence. Had it not been for Belshaw, Rovers might not have held the lead at the break.
In the first-half, I was struggling to see how that Crawley side had managed to beat leaders Forest Green. The Gas looked miles better and Crawley were on the back foot. But in the second-half, they managed to play some good football and caused us more problems than Barton would like. We didn’t help ourselves in some respects, but is it even Rovers if we don’t do it the hard way?
That win was massive for us. Three points after the Newport loss meant we had regained confidence and momentum. We’d also ensured that, like the Oldham defeat, that a loss is just a bump on the road to the top seven. That left us two points from the play-offs, three from the autos and in better form than some of those above us.
On to Saturday, another cup final and another potential opportunity to put ourselves in the play-offs for the first time this season. While our eyes are firmly looking up the table, they are also casting glances on other results in the division. Rovers know that if we take care of business, some results are likely to fall our way and help push us up the table.
Rovers took their time to get started. For the first half an hour or so, we seemed to be out of our rhythm, but the first goal breathed life into us. That gave us the confidence in our game to go and play the way we wanted to, and we didn’t look back from then on.
When Rovers have off days, the individual quality of this team shines through and delivers the goods. Collins is one of those individuals with real talent and he seems to be loving life at Rovers. His two cracking strikes took him to double figures for the season. That he is having his best goalscoring season despite not having scored for much of the start of the season shows just how impressive his consistent run of form is.
He backs himself to score from anywhere and those finishes on Saturday are not the only impressive clips on his growing highlight reel. The fist one was out of the top drawer and the second one was nonchalant and showed his confidence.
Elliot Anderson is another that is symbolic of the individual quality that wins us games. His slaloming run and finish was Premier League-quality and there is zero chance of him playing at League Two level again. We are certainly lucky to have him at Rovers and I’ll enjoy watching him while he is here. To be so composed to finish in that manner whilst evading several challenges is just pure class.
We managed the game much better on Saturday. In recent weeks, we’ve given ourselves scares late on and let the opposition have opportunities. This time round, we didn’t let them have the same level of pressure that they enjoyed in the early stages. We had over 60 per cent of the ball and restricted Harrogate to just two shots on target.
Our defensive improvements cannot be understated either. Over the last 15 games, no side has conceded less goals than us. We’ve scored 24 versus 9 conceded and that is a real recipe for success. Carry that kind of form on and the target becomes the automatic spots.
Nick Anderton is another much improved part of that area and he is now first choice in that area. Like others, he suffered from a lack of form and confidence early in the season but has long since come to life. He is a rock defensively, but the improvements are more obvious in his attacking game. He carries the ball so well going forward and buys his team space when he ventures forward.
We are now only outside the play-offs on goal difference. That is an incredible turn-around from for a team that were languishing near the drop zone for much of the season. Barton calls us the form horse of the league and the standings agree with that.
If Colchester United can be defeated at the Mem on Tuesday, we could in theory be in the automatic spots. That feels like a remarkable statement given where we have come from. There are no easy games now though and the U’s will be a tough test for us. They’ve won their last two games and beaten Port Vale in that time too. They’ll want to win to increase the distance between themselves and the drop zone and have already restricted us to a point earlier in the season.
Put simply though, Rovers are expected to win that game. We’re odds on to do so and are in good form. That kind of pressure should be relished by top players though and they will enjoy the task upon their shoulders. It won’t be an easy feat, but a win would set us up nicely for a crunch clash with Northampton on the weekend.
If we can take points off our direct rivals and win games against other teams, that will surely see us into the play-offs. If there is one criticism of The Gas this season, it’s that we haven’t managed to beat enough of the better teams. Our form against them has certainly improved, with the draw against Exeter showing our progress having been hammered by them earlier in the season.
Northampton are one of those teams we’ve already beaten this season and Rovers will back themselves to get a result from the game. It will be tough though, as no manager will want to hand the opposition the advantage in the promotion race. Beat both Northampton and Colchester and we could have leapfrogged Saturday’s opponents in the table. Even the most pessimistic of Gasheads will surely be dreaming then.
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