It was much more uncomfortable than it ever should have been, but Bristol Rovers got the job done on Tuesday night.
Joey Barton's side survived a late surge from Scunthorpe United to win 3-2 and cut the points deficit to League Two's top seven.
Josh Grant, Antony Evans and Leon Clarke were on target to put Rovers three up and in cruise control, only for their knack of producing moments of madness to kick in.
Scunthorpe appeared completely beaten and devoid of ideas as the atmosphere in the stands grew toxic, only for Sam Burns to strike twice after the 88th minute to set up a chaotic and nervous conclusion, but Rovers held on to claim victory, stretching their unbeaten run to four games to bolster their credentials as play-off contenders.
The beginning of the ascent?
For weeks, the general consensus has centred on Rovers improvement and better things ought to await them in the second half of the season.
But the Gas have been treading water for some time when it comes to the league table.
Win, lose or draw, they had been chained to 15th, 16th or 17th place for what felt like the longest time.
The points tally and reserves of confidence were steadily growing, but the league table was not necessarily reflecting the strides made by Barton’s players.
Finally, on Tuesday that started to change as Rovers ticked off one of their games in hand. The victory pushed them up to 13th place, eight points adrift of the play-offs with up to three games in hand on the teams ahead of them.
Victory over Walsall on Saturday would likely lift the Gas even higher, bringing the top seven closer to striking distance.
There are many checkpoints to reach, but this week could prove to be the beginning of Rovers’ ascent up the League Two standings.
The sting in the tail
There are plenty of causes for optimism, but the late drama and nerves at Glanford Park were an important reminder that the Gas are not yet the finished article.
This was not the first time this season they lurched from the sublime to the ridiculous with almost-impressive efficiency.
This time, at least, they had built enough of a lead to cling on, but the bizarre conclusion brought discomfort in spades.
With 87 minutes gone, the home terraces were thinning as a feeling of resignation abounded. There appeared no chance Scunthorpe would trouble James Belshaw, let alone almost pull off a remarkable comeback from three goals down.
But the Gas way is never the easy way – it’s not taken a lifetime of following this club for your reporter to learn that much – and they put the travelling fans through the wringer in five painful minutes of stoppage time.
Sam Nicholson got the blame for the first, failing to block a cross in the build-up, and James Connolly should have done more to block Burns’ shot for the second.
Thankfully, a third eluded the desperate Iron, because that threatened to be a momentum-sapping moment. A lot of the good work put in over recent weeks could have been wasted and confidence could have been badly dented.
Instead, Rovers returned to BS7 with three points in their possession, but also a valuable lesson that any complacency or loss of focus is likely to be punished.
Made the hard work worthwhile
Barton cut a pained figure in October when he first revealed to reporters Clarke’s career was in jeopardy after a second significant hamstring injury for the striker in quick succession.
The former Sheffield United star had proved his value on debut a week before his nightmare at Hartlepool, scoring the winner just seconds after coming on against Crawley Town.
Retiring at that moment would not have been a fitting end to a fine career for the veteran goalscorer, but it was a genuine consideration at 36 years old with the hard work that was required just to get back into training.
That feeling of hitting the back of the net was not one he was ready to leave in the past, though, and he began a programme of early starts and late finishes at The Quarters after his surgery, putting in the hard yards to give himself a chance of playing - and scoring – again.
On Tuesday, the hard work paid off. Again he made a swift impact as a substitute, scoring within seven minutes of coming on to clinch the points. The goal was befitting of a goalscorer of his calibre, too, rounding the keeper coolly when his teammates had snatched at other chances earlier in the piece.
Clarke, softly spoken, faced the press after the game and spoke with no shortage of emotion when opening up on his road back to playing. It was the best interview a Rovers player has given this season – the quotes will be published in due course – and one left with the impression that this is a man who loves what he does and even if he doesn’t score again, all the hard work was worth it for feeling that buzz just one more time.
The Man City influence
Pep Guardiola is nothing if not a trendsetter in football. His coaching and playing ethos has changed the game globally and his innovations are trickling down through the levels.
One brainwave he has put into action at Manchester City over the past two seasons is a right-footed player playing at left-back, namely Joao Cancelo.
Now Guardiola has done this out of necessity, with one of his left-backs facing extremely serious criminal charges – which he denies – while the other man who has played that role, Oleksandr Zinchenko, is not even a defender.
But Cancelo – a world-class talent – is no square peg in a round hole. Instead, his ability to cut in on his right foot and make inside runs poses many problems for defences, particularly when he is capable of going the other way on his left foot, too.
On a League Two scale, Rovers have a man doing similar things in Josh Grant.
The 23-year-old has three league goals this season, all from the left side of defence but this was the first where he showed just how dangerous he can be in the final third.
With Nicholson also able to go left or right, it presents a matchup nightmare for defences when he and Grant connect on the left flank.
On Tuesday, Nicholson went outside and Grant went inside. The former cut it back and the latter applied a ruthless right-footed finish to break the deadlock.
Barton, understandably, scoffed when Grant opined that left-back was his strongest position, but it’s certainly no joke for opposition defences.
Add in Grant’s defensive instincts and football intelligence – praised by every manager he’s worked with – and he is a is a great fit for the role.
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