The home side shook it up in the second half, bringing on Brandon Hanlan who has previously troubled us with both them and Gillingham, as they pushed for the points they so desperately needed. City had to work phenomenally hard to stay in the game at times, but work hard we did. As in the first half, the opening chance fell to the Gas, Rogers losing the ball on the break and Zain Westbrooke finding himself with half a chance, which Palmer held on to with relative ease once again.
Edun began to dice with death a little, throwing a ball away in frustration at one point, which I’m not sure the ref spotted. Michael Appleton did, he hooked the midfielder for James Jones, who came on and did add some composure to the side. Edun is a fiery player, fiercely protective of his teammates and not one to rile, but he has been close to a red on a couple of occasions this season (Ipswich away I seem to think), so perhaps was best spending a bit of time watching on.
I can’t say we looked like we had more men on the field, and that is a testament to the Bristol player’s work rate. They did match us across the park and only really allowed us to play football on rare occasions. However, when you consider the players we had out injured, you have to doff your caps to our lads too. This was very much a patched-up City going at it with a wounded animal, and doing well. Of course, 11v11 would have been different, but even so, City’s players didn’t let the guard drop once. I thought both Montsma and Eyoma were excellent, dealing with the very physical threat of Ayunga and Hanlan.
City should have scored just before the hour mark. A lovely sweeping move, the sort we have become accustomed to this season, saw Johnson and Rogers links up on the left. The former looked like making it 2-0, but Jaakkola pulled off a super stop, parrying the ball away. It fell to Callum Morton, who blasted over the bar from a tight angle. It felt like it might be a key moment, a big missed chance against a side fighting hard for their survival, but it did not come to pass.
The home side were back on the attack shortly after. Cohen Bramall fired a free-kick into the wall after Rogers was fouled, and then Rovers delivered one of their own into the area not long after. It did cause a panic, and eventually, the ball was headed over, but as it was, Poole slammed into the post trying to get back and keep it out. It sounded awful, looked uncomfortable and contributed to the seven minutes of stoppage time we had to endure later in the game.
Still, Poole played on, but City did introduce Max Sanders for Scully. I felt Sanders settled in nicely and we looked likely to add a second. One incident, on 72 minutes, saw us cause trouble from a corner. Eyoma was involved in winning the ball and Morton got a good effort at goal, which Jaakkola blocked for another corner. It was a golden chance once again to make it two, but certainly not the last we’d have.
There was little in terms of real chances, but the game had a frenetic, hurried feel to it. Bristol Rovers began to go back to front very quickly, and for a while City looked penned in, but the rear-guard held firm, and as we moved towards the final minutes, we really should have put the game beyond doubt. Blue and white shirts were so committed forward that every clearance could have brought a chance, and just before the 90, Morgan Rogers wasted a great opportunity. City broke, two on one, and all he had to do was square to an unmarked Harry Anderson, six yards out with an open goal. Instead, he fired high and wide. I could feel the anger in Anderson, especially as a second after the assistant flashed seven minutes of injury time. Was that the chance we’d rue missing?
The Gas piled forward, not getting anything clear cut, but causing plenty of panic, but the final goal of the game should have come with 96 on the clock. Again, City broke and this time it was Morton who was through, one on one with Jaakkola. The big Finn made himself a formidable figure to beat, and a tired Morton lashed a wild ball over, when a delicate finish across the keeper might have been better. Easy for me to say though, sat here in the sunshine in the Wolds, judging a player who had worked tirelessly for 96 minutes without any real joy at all.
There was still time for controversy, with City once again trying to break at pace with seconds left. As we did, McGrandles and Harries had a bit of a wrestle, which saw both spoken to by Will Finnie. From that moment City got a throw-in, and when the ball came back to McGrandles, he was poleaxed by a nasty challenge from Jack Baldwin. It looked like a frustrated, last-ditch tackle by a player resigned to his team’s fate, although Leahy apparently wandered off telling McGrandles ‘you dive because you’re shit’. Nice.
That was the end of the game and as the curtain came down on a real battle, Joey Barton made his way across to the Imps dugout and made sure he shook everyone’s hand, including Kers. It was a break in kayfabe as they say in the wrestling world, a moment when the curtain comes down and the actors drop their charade. Barton is the villain of the piece with Imps’ fans, but actually, he is a caricature of a football manager, painted by himself to fool you into not looking at his team. Who spoke about their misfiring strikers in the build-up to the game? Nobody, because we were laughing at him ‘naively’ watching the Champions League. Still, his side were in this game right up until the end, so never write him off as a bad manager, just a ‘heel’ playing a role for the cameras. I bet when he goes home at night, him and Mrs Barton give to charity and play music low as to not annoy the neighbours. I bet he even orders sushi and tips the delivery boy whether the order is right or wrong. Still, I’m afraid both him and our friends at Gas Cast will be visiting Scunthorpe next season.
Forgetting Bristol Rovers, what does this mean for the Imps? A draw between Charlton and Ipswich means we are in a stronger position than we were when things kicked off, whilst Blackpool beating Sunderland hauls the Mackems closer to us once again. Portsmouth were beaten at MK Dons by a Scott Fraser penalty, so one assumes the home side took the lead then kept the ball for the remaining hour, but it did us a favour too. Our spot in the top six is not cemented, but teams are running out of games, and points to catch us. A win for Hull, after going one-nil down, does seem to confirm them and Posh in the Championship next season, but after a horrible time from Valentine’s to Easter, we’re back in the mix. Seven points from three games is a super return and just a single point at Burton would still leave things wonderfully poised heading into the final five. Yes, we have Posh, Charlton and Hull to play, but my gut tells me a win at Charlton and four or six elsewhere is going to be enough.
That is where we are, but how we got there today was by fighting hard. It wasn’t a great performance, only on occasion did we show the class we have in the side. What we did do was contest every ball, and players, like Poole, put their body on the line. We blocked, we tackled and we chased every single ball. I likened it to the Eastleigh away game in my earlier article, mainly because it was sunny and I had a shed to paint, but by the end of the game, the similarities were stronger. A hard-fought 1-0 away win against a team who made it difficult for us has boosted our chances of promotion. Like Michael and Rob said in the commentary, if we end up in the same way we did five years ago, then I’m sure everyone will be happy.
If that happens, and we go into the post-season play-offs with Walsh, Jackson, Bridcutt, Hopper and Grant back, then there is still every chance that come the middle of August, we could be visiting Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough as equals, despite many writing us off over Easter.
Football, it’s a funny old game, as someone once said. I doubt Joey Barton and Bristol Rovers are laughing after losing a game they turned into a real battle, but the smiles right here in the Wolds are real and genuine. Bring on Burton Albion.
Widget not in any sidebars