Where do you even start? After trying to take the positives from Saturday’s bright performance against Bolton Wanderers ahead of Tuesday night’s visit of Reading, Bristol Rovers produced a lacklustre display and that’s probably being kind.
Another 2-0 defeat leaves the Gas seven without victory while 768 minutes have now been played without scoring. It’s dire stuff and there’s very little, if anything, from Rovers’ contribution on Tuesday night that can be taken away as a positive and that regards both the player and manager.
In his post-match press conference, Matt Taylor held up his hands and acknowledged that he and his players needed to improve, and he also said that he fully understood the jeers that he and his team encountered at both halftime and full time (more on those later). The scene was quite dismal, with the Gas CEO angrily applauding Thatcher’s End as he made his way towards the tunnel.
It’s all well and good to keep saying that everything that happens from now until the end of the current season will have an impact on the upcoming campaign, but the current Rovers team is experiencing a huge gap between where they want to be and where they are now. The gap is so great that it almost seems unreal that
This term, we’ve seen glimpses of it. We all know which games will appear on the highlight reel at the end of April, but as of right now, it appears as though Wigan Athletic is the only game out of the last four that has a chance to appear in a video of that kind because it is the final game of the current campaign. Brutal words, I know, but it’s difficult to look back on Tuesday night with a positive mindset because, to be honest, there wasn’t much to be excited about.
It is important to remember that the Gas had several excellent chances where there wasn’t really anything more they could have done. Scott Sinclair had an effort heroically cleared off of the line while Brandon Aguilera forced an outstanding save from Joel Pereira. Once more.
However, this has gone beyond missed chances now. Six out of the past seven games in which Rovers have failed to score has seen them squander decent openings. The only anomaly to that is the loss at Port Vale where the Gas showed next to no offensive impetus. Unfortunately for supporters, it currently feels like a chore going to support their team and you can totally understand that. There’s plenty to be said and maybe some of it is for another day but, for now, here are some of the talking points after a seriously poor evening at the Mem.
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