Joey Barton loved it as a plan came together for Bristol Rovers in a 1-0 victory against Charlton Athletic at the Mem on Good Friday.
Substitute John Marquis once again played a decisive role off the bench against the Addicks after a match-winning brace at The Valley in December. This time, he converted from the penalty spot after George Dobson handled as Lamare Bogarde burst into the area 20 minutes from time.
As far as defensive solidity goes, it was one of Rovers' most accomplished performances of the season, and Barton believes a somewhat conservative starting lineup with the likes of Marquis, Ryan Loft and top scorer Aaron Collins on the bench allowed his team to play their way into the game after 20 days off before seizing control in the final half hour when all three forwards were introduced.
Rovers remain in 15th after the victory, 10 points clear of the relegation zone with eight games to play ahead of the Easter Monday trip to Fleetwood Town, Barton's former employers.
"The one thing we were short of was a second goal to make the last five or 10 minutes a bit more comfortable, but I thought it was a really good performance from the boys today," he said. "They are a good side and they have been on a good run, but I think we more than deserved the victory. It’s nice to get back to winning ways at home.
"We’ve had three weeks without a game and they snotted Shrewsbury last time out and they are on a good run, full of confidence. The front three for them, (Miles) Leaburn, (Jesurun) Rak-Sakyi and (Tyreece) Campbell have caused lots of problems for lots of teams in our division and when a team has got their tail up like that, the fear is they catch us cold because we had an enforced period between games.
"For us, it was about keeping it tight, as we’ve shown against other good teams in the division, and making it difficult for them and seeing if we could pose a threat on the counter-attack.
"The first 15 minutes was the period I was most worried about in terms of being caught cold because of a lack of rhythm, but I thought the lads were superb. I thought we started the game well; the first half was two good sides nullifying each other, but if a team was going to win it I felt it was going to be us."
Having ended a 64-year-long wait to win at The Valley in December, Barton and his staff learned plenty from that game and looked to once again exploit weaknesses in Charlton in the closing stages of the game.
"Strategically, we had a plan to change shape and change impetus because when we did that down there, they had a different manager then, but we felt we ran over them in the last 15-20 minutes of the game with a slightly different shape," he explained.
"That’s up your sleeve and it’s nice to look around at the bench and have Harry Anderson, Luke McCormick and James Gibbons as options, but also with Ryan Loft, John Marquis and Aaron Collins, you’ve got goals and energy there.
"I thought Josh Coburn worked tirelessly against two big boys at the back and took the sting out of them and softened them up and the plan was always to bring the lads on to finish the game off. John finished them off last time coming on with 25-30 minutes to go at The Valley and we all know the threat Aaron poses at any moment in our division.
"It was in my mind going into the game. You saw with Callum Wilson against West Ham in the week, players have clubs they like playing against and we’re all aware of that.
"My heart was saying play John from the start, I don’t think (Ryan) Inniss will want to see him after picking his pocket a couple of times (at The Valley), but strategically from where we are at, it was a toss of a coin.
"I felt we could make it less of a toss of a coin if we stuck to a gameplan and the lads go out there and execute it and then the lads who came on took it on.
"John ends up being the match-winner and if you talk to most good goalscorers, they don’t care if that’s for a minute or 90 minutes. They want to get the headlines and the goal and be that focal point for the team."
Young goalkeeper Jed Ward was a surprise inclusion in the squad having been on loan at Hungerford Town in the National League South, but Barton said he was recalled this week due to injuries for both second-choice Ellery Balcombe and player-coach Anssi Jaakkola, leaving number-one James Belshaw without cover.
"Anssi felt his calf on Wednesday and it looks like it’s going to be a couple of weeks," Barton said. "Ellery has jammed his knee so he’s missed 18-19 days and he’s going to be another couple of weeks, it’s the MCL (medial collateral ligament) in his knee, so we’ve only got one goalkeeper.
"Jed has been doing well out on loan and I’ve got absolute confidence. Hopefully, for the next period, Belly is fine and we don’t have to, no disrespect, have to see Jed in because his time will come, but I also have absolutely no qualms about playing Jed should anything happen to Belly because we absolutely believe in Jed and his qualities."
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