Point-saving penalty the least dominant Rovers deserved
BRISTOL ROVERS VS DERBY COUNTY, LEAGUE ONE Talking points from Bristol Rovers’ draw against Derby County at the Memorial Stadium by Sam Frost
BRISTOL Rovers’ place in League One for next season was all but assured by the time they kicked off against Derby County at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday, but there is still plenty of life left in their campaign. Personal pride, laying foundations for next season and upsetting a few promotion charges remains on the agenda for Joey Barton and his players.
Deep into added time, the Gas made sure all three items were ticked off with Antony Evans’ thumping finish from the penalty spot securing a deserved point against a Derby side who offered surprisingly little in the way of ambition or attacking intent against a side in the bottom half of the table, particularly when news of a surprise defeat for play-off rivals Peterborough United was followed by an early goal for David McGoldrick.
The Irishman has been in fine form all season and the last thing the Gas needed to give Derby’s top marksman was time and space in the box, but they did precisely that inside five minutes as the former Sheffield United forward gave the Rams the lead.
But that moment did not shape the afternoon. Rovers have been rattled by poor defensive moments at times this season, but their poise remained true on this occasion and by the midway point of the first half, they had the game under control, if not the scoreline.
Had they not equalised at the death - and Derby boss Paul Warne was adamant Evans did not deserve a penalty when referee Ollie Yates deemed he was felled by Harvey White underneath Lewis Gibson’s ball into the box - it would have been a deeply frustrating day for the Gas, but there would have been plenty of positives regardless of his result.
Since the results over the Easter weekend almost certainly cemented Rovers’ League One status, Barton has looked to a challenging fixture schedule taking in games against five of the top seven in the final weeks of the campaign as a chance to see how his players measure up ahead of next season, when he hopes to be part of the promotion conversation.
Saturday’s evidence confirmed again they are capable against the league’s better sides.
THE LEAST ROVERS DESERVED DERBY may feel aggrieved with the manner of the equaliser, but both teams got what they deserved in the end.
With 70 per cent possession and 607 passes to Derby’s 264, Rovers had the Rams on the back foot for the majority of the contest. Barton’s side were guilty of a lack of composure at times as moments of opportunity went unfulfilled, but the second half often resembled a training ground game of attack versus defence, save for a handful of breakaways led by McGoldrick with little support.
A point as a bare minimum was fair, particularly considering the rather negative approach Derby showed throughout. Rovers proved too good in possession on the day and it appeared the Rams abandoned all efforts to press with any real ferocity.
Instead, they limited themselves to defending their own box with a reliance on some quality veterans to get them through. But, as useful as Curtis Davies and Co may be in that regard, it was always a huge risk and having benefitted from several lucky escapes earlier in the game through Rovers’ poor finish
ing, eventually, Derby got what they deserved as much as Rovers did.
ROVERS MEASURE UP WELL THE way the fixture list has panned out has given Rovers an opportunity. Had they been battling relegation, games against five of the top teams in the league in the final seven games would have been an unwelcome challenge, but in the circumstances, they are excellent tests with next season in mind that have given Barton and his players plenty of motivation.
Barton is not one to conceal his ambitions and he will go into next season believing the Gas can be part of the conversation for the top six. With that in mind, these games against Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle et al represent a period of extensive examination, the results of which will be indicative of Rovers’ potential next year and the areas Barton must improve over the summer months.
On this evidence, the Gas are not a million miles away from the teams that occupy the play-off places and the fringes. Consistency throughout the season is a different ask, but the Gas have mixed it with the big boys all season and this game was the same.
Derby paid Rovers a huge compliment by sitting off and allowing the Gas to have the ball considering the Rams had a huge chance to burst into the top six after Peterborough’s defeat at Cambridge United in the early kick-off.
Of course, there are known faults that need remedying. The goal Rovers conceded was far too soft and they could have been more composed in the final third, but these 90 minutes were confirmation for Barton’s young squad that they can thrive at this level against all comers.
MARQUIS TAKES INITIATIVE GASHEADS would be forgiven if they were not able to watch as Evans stood over his 95th-minute penalty kick, but those whose eyes remained firmly fixed on matters on the pitch would have seen the subtle yet influential roles John Marquis played in making sure that ball ended up in the back of the net.
Having scored the winner from the spot against Charlton Athletic on Good Friday, Marquis picked up the ball and stood as if he were going to take this one, too. On that day, Evans nor Scott Sinclair, Rovers’ nominated penalty-takers were on the pitch, but the nerve Marquis showed from 12 yards that day made him a very credible candidate to take this one.
That was until referee Yates got the Derby protests, led by the tiresome Joe Wildsmith in goal - who tasted a bit of poetic justice after wasting time at every opportunity during the game only to concede at the death - settled down.
At that moment, Marquis handed the ball to Evans and, of course, he duly scored. This was no squabble over who was going to have the chance at claiming a bit of glory, but a calculated move. By holding the ball, it was Marquis who faced the Derby jibes aimed at unsettling the penalty-taker.