Momentum has been with Bristol Rovers since the turn of the year and it culminated in the first sold-out crowd in years at the Mem on Saturday as Joey Barton's side battled for a point against Exeter City.
The capacity is not the 11,000-plus it was in recent seasons due to safety measures, but a crowd of 9,689 in BS7 is evidence of a fanbase becoming more engaged with plenty to play for in the business end of the season.
The Gasheads in attendance did not get the victory they were after that could have perhaps led to people talking up the chances of a run at the top three, but Rovers are unbeaten in five and have lost just once in 12 games to remain a force in the battle for the play-offs.
Exeter, too, were in excellent form and a final score of 1-1 seemed just. The ascendancy was traded throughout the contest. Broadly, Rovers started better with sound booming around the packed terraces as Luca Hoole scored his maiden senior goal to give his side a deserved lead on 10 minutes.
But the pendulum was to sway throughout the contest after Jevani Brown's pinpoint equaliser. Both sides left the pitch frustrated – and bruised after a rugged battle – but also with a point added to their totals that could prove invaluable come May 7.
A different kind of roar
Your reporter had never heard the Mem like this before, but that noise as the players emerged from the tunnel was worth two-and-a-half years in the job waiting for a crowd closing in on 10,000. This stadium is known for being a hostile place for visiting teams but before kick-off, that feeling was intensified. The terraces filled quicker; the pre-match favourites played over the tannoy were recited with added gusto.
The Mem was roaring with its biggest league attendance since February 2019, showing just what a snake pit it can be when full. It's not pretty by any stretch, but when the terraces are lined with expectant Gasheads, it certainly packs venom. Exeter felt that sting in the opening 10 minutes as Rovers hit the front, but credit to Matt Taylor's side to finding an antidote and earning a draw.
The sense of occasion may have hampered Rovers' attacking play – which will be discussed more in a moment – and they will need to get used to that if attendances are going to be maintained at this level in the remaining fixtures.
But Rovers have plenty of assets in the shape of the players they have hitting form on the pitch and the Mem has always been one, too. In this voice, it could be one of the defining factors of the final seven home games of the campaign.
Barton said it will be a day he won't forget when he reflects on his Rovers tenure. "Today was for me a great day," he added. "We didn’t get the three best points and it won’t be the best day we’ll ever have. Most people probably won’t remember it in 15-20 years, but I will because of Luca Hoole’s first goal and the first time we had a sell-out (in his time in charge).
"We had nearly 10,000. We were buzzing to get 8,000 a couple of weeks back. We hit just over 9,000 for the first time. Enormous effort and if we keep playing good football and playing this style of football and winning games, those attendances should just get bigger and bigger.
"It would be great to think that one day in the future, we could be talking about 30,000 watching us play. I think with our fanbase and the ambition that everyone has got here that’s attainable before I leave the football club, or at least I hope it is."
More poise was needed
"Snatchy" was the description Barton used in his post-match press conference to describe Rovers' attacking play in a first half when they had the impetus without carving out the quality of chances they've forged in recent wins. It was an apt summary as Rovers pursued a second goal both before and after Jevani Brown's equaliser.
Rovers took 11 shots at Cameron Dawson's goal in a first half where the balance of power was in Rovers' favour, but seven of them were on from the edge of the box or further out. Now the adrenaline of playing in front of close to 10,000 fans has subsided, the Gas will feel they could have attacked more surgically rather than trying their luck from range. Easier said than done, of course, given the sense of occasion on Saturday.
But with the crowd desperate for a second goal – both before and after Brown's equaliser – calm heads were what was required from the players on the pitch. They have more than enough attacking quality to pull defences apart with a bit more patience, and this could prove to be a valuable lesson learned in time to put it in action in the final 14 games when Rovers will face many of the league's more stubborn defences.
Shooting from range has, of course, been a huge part of Rovers' improvement since mid-December, with Aaron Collins and Antony Evans particularly lethal from beyond the perimeter of the box, and they should not be deterred from doing so in future but there were opportunities to work better chances than the ones created on Saturday.
Unbeaten in five
While Barton reflected on a point gained with a degree of frustration, the fact they were not beaten at an afternoon where they were not at their best in an attacking sense is a source for encouragement. These days, Rovers are much harder to beat and they have avoided defeat in their past five games, taking 11 points and concerning just one goal.
Barton – a proud owner himself – is fond of horse racing analogies and momentum will mean everything in the final furlongs of this season. With their biggest home crowd in years, a defeat on Saturday would have let some of the air slip from the ballon that has inflated with optimism in recent weeks.
Instead, the Gas did not lose their stride and added a point to their tally that could make all the difference with the margins so fine in the League Two promotion race – runaway leaders Forest Green Rovers excluded.
And on an afternoon when four of the top seven were beaten, claiming a point against an immediate rival with 14 games still on the slate is not to be sniffed at. It was not the complete coming-out party in front of a big crowd that it could have been if the Gas had handled the Grecians with the same authority as they did at Stevenage and Leyton Orient, but it was another step forward – provided they get the job done against Barrow on Tuesday.
A deserved moment
Through the highs and lows of a season with many headlines and sub-plots, Luca Hoole's excellence in blue and white has been an unrelenting cause for optimism. Even in the depths of Rovers' campaign, the 19-year-old has shown his promise and has graduated into a vital part of Barton's system.
Contributions in the penalty box are not the reason why he has established himself as a first-team regular under Barton, but it is a sign of his maturation into a more complete defender. He has done an excellent job of policing the front post from set-pieces in recent games and on Saturday he showed he could be a menace at the other end of the pitch when he turned home Antony Evans' 10th-minute corner to put Rovers ahead.
It kickstarted an excellent first half for the academy graduate, who carried the ball with a confidence and assuredness that speaks to his fine form, despite his lack of experience. Time and again he raided between Exeter's wing-back and left-sided centre-half to create moments of attacking danger. The Gas were unable to exploit them on this occasion, but Hoole is an ever-sharpening weapon in Barton's attacking Arsenal.
Defensive instincts and the guts for the fight have never been lacking from the Welshman, but he is starting to show he is more than just a steady right-back. With pace and power, he has the potential to be something more dynamic.
Onto Tuesday
While a draw against Exeter is a satisfactory result – particularly when considering Josh Coley's spurned chance to win it for the Grecians in stoppage time – but wins for play-off rivals Port Vale and Newport County meant the Gas may have gained a point but dropped one place to 10th.
With 42 points still up for grabs, there is certainly no need to start fretting. Rovers have started to come good just in time and their destiny remains in their hands, but Saturday's draw has raised the stakes for Tuesday's visit of Barrow to BS7.
Saturday's point will feel all the more valuable if Rovers bag three more in midweek, when they could move closer to the play-offs than they have at any other point since the table started to take shape.
But Rovers learned to their detriment in Cumbria in August how dogged Barrow can be. Down 10 men for almost an hour, they were superbly organised and fully worthy of a point against the Gas.
Seven wins this season may not be a lot but the Bluebirds are punching above their weight. They may be without manager Mark Cooper in the dugout due to a touchline ban, but Saturday's 0-0 draw against a decent Harrogate Town side shows they remain well organised.
They won't be pushovers.
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