The League Cup continues to offer little joy for Bristol Rovers fans as the Gas were knocked out in the first round for the third year in succession. Joey Barton felt his side were "flat", but still had their chances to beat Crawley Town at the Broadfield Stadium on Tuesday.
Despite spending the majority of the contest in the ascendancy, Rovers were profligate, both in front of goal and when in a position to create. Crawley profited, with former Rovers man Tom Nichols popping up with the winner after a helping hand – quite literally – from a teammate in midfield.
Focus for the Gas turns to the priority of League One with Oxford United visiting the Mem on Saturday, but here are some of the moments you may have missed from Tuesday's game.
Marquis' unconventional tactic
"Draft excluder" has become part of the football vernacular in the past couple of years as teams defending free-kicks lay a player down behind the wall. The theory is it allows the wall to defend more of the goal because they can jump knowing that any Ronaldinho-esque attempts to slide the ball beneath them will be blocked.
Effective though it may be, there is no doubting it is a bizarre sight when a player's job in a particular moment is just to lay flat still on the ground.
Crawley employed the draft excluder on Tuesday evening when Rovers had a free kick around 25 yards from goal in the 37th minute. It was an inviting shooting chance for Antony Evans because there was enough room to get the ball up and down, but a shot beneath the wall could also have been effective as it the set piece was close enough to the goal to leave goalkeeper Corey Addai unsighted.
As Evans' stepped up to take the free-kick, Gas striker John Marquis came up with an unconventional response when Mazeed Ugungbo lay prone on the deck. The 30-year-old striker grabbed the wing-back by his foot and jokily tried to haul him out of the way.
Referee David Rock saw the funny side, as did the Crawley players, although there were some choice words from the home fans.
Same old Millwall Tone
Rovers and Crawley have shared a few connections in recent years and there were some more on Tuesday night. While Dom Telford was absent, Tom Nichols scored the winner and Tony Craig was his usual self on the left of the back three.
These days, he is showing a different side to his game. At Rovers, he played in a Graham Coughlan team that focused on defending doggedly and doing the basics well, but Betsy has much different plans for Crawley.
The former Arsenal under-23s manager has been tasked with executing a free-flowing style at Broadfield Stadium and on Tuesday Craig was seen on multiple occasions overlapping the wing-back on the left and getting into crossing positions.
But at 37, he's still Millwall Tone, and that will never change. Late in the game with Rovers searching for a reply to Nichols' goal, Harvey Saunders tried to break loose but Craig stood in his path, both winning the ball and flattening the Gas forward. Craig, a fan favourite in his time at the Mem, stood over his opponent unmoved.
Mangan's pep talk
After expanding his coaching staff on the eve of the season, Barton explained that his vision for his ideal coaching group is to have positional groups, with strikers working with a striker coach, midfielders with a midfield coach and so on.
That is not quite the system he has in place due to the resources that are viable for Rovers in League One, but there are definitely elements of his plan in place. If young Jerry Lawrence needs advice, for example, who better to speak to than Glenn Whelan, who has a huge amount of knowledge from the Premier League and international stage?
The same principle was in action just before the start of the second half. Crawley were slow coming out from the interval and the Gas had a minute or two to ready themselves for kick-off, and in that time Aaron Collins was seen deep in conversation with first-team coach Andy Mangan.
Both have a few things in common. They both were former Forest Green Rovers players and they are/were also strikers. Mangan has had a huge impact in Collins' growth as a player in his time at Rovers, maturing into a rounded forward that is hugely effective across the frontline.
And the 25-year-old, clearly, leans on Mangan for advice. This occasion did not quite go to plan, but no questions can be asked of Collins' development and the efficacy of the coaches in his case.
Danny's introduction
Whelan was the headline addition to Barton's coaching staff before the start of the season, but former Blackpool development squad manager Danny Ventre has also joined the club as a first-team coach, and he spoke to the media for the first time since his arrival on Tuesday.
"Brilliant," he told BBC Radio Bristol of his first impression of the club. "The management and the staff have made me feel really welcome since I've come in. I couldn't have asked for any more.
"They've let me get on with the way I want to do things, which is great for my own progression in the coaching world.
"They couldn't have done anything better for me. I've settled in really well and I've loved every minute so far.
"I cannot wait to get right into the middle of the season and see where we end up."
Liverpudlian Ventre spent most of his playing career with Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland, and he also had spells with Accrington Stanley and AFC Telford United.
"To be honest, I don't really know Joe," he admitted when asked about his connections to Rovers' staff. "I probably know Andy Mangan more, I grew up playing with him and our coaching journies have aligned.
"We've met a few times before and he's been great in my company. He's been great to me giving me the opportunity he has done and he obviously trusts the way I see the game and want to go about things.
"He sees qualities in me that some people may not have and I can't thank him any more, really. I will give my all for him and the club."
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