Iñigo Calderón was disappointed after Bristol Rovers’ ‘cruel’ 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas went behind after just three minutes when Keshi Anderson curled a fantastic strike beyond Jed Ward, but Rovers reacted and levelled through Gatlin O’Donkor’s close-range header.
The striker then thumped the bar, and Ruel Sotiriou’s low attempt was saved onto the post before the Cyprus international lifted a golden opportunity over the bar. The hosts had all the momentum, but Blues won it late on. Jay Stansfield netted a penalty after Connor Taylor was punished for handling the ball in the box.
The Pirates have lost four consecutive games in the third tier, with Calderón reflecting honestly on the fixture.
Football is not fair when you are down there...
“Football is not fair when you are down there, but that is the reality,” he said. “I don’t think we have to feel sorry or say unlucky. I think we have to accept that, and I accept that. I think when you’re down there, the luck is not with you at all, and you have to do things better. I think we did 85 minutes really good.
“I think we started the game not too good, and we showed too much respect to them. After, I think we changed, and we were much, much better. We were on the front foot, and we were much better for 85 minutes. I don’t think you could see that they were the top team in the division. It’s true again that the penalty, I don’t know, came from a lack of concentration.
“Something happened in there, and it was a mistake, and that’s the reality. You cannot have mistakes when you are down there because they are going to punish you. Especially good teams. But it’s true that for 85 minutes, the team was really good.”
We have to accept it...
“The fact that we conceded that early again, it was like, ‘wow boys, that’s not what we wanted’.” said the head coach. “Especially after coming from last weekend. I think credit to the boys. They showed a reaction because it’s not easy after conceding that early again against a top team. I think it’s going to be a long night, but I think they reacted really well. Really, really good.
“It was not easy at all, and that’s why it probably hurts even more because with everything we did, conceding the penalty is cruel and brutal. But that’s the reality. Even the referees. When it’s a 50-50, and you are down there, it’s going to be for the other ones. That’s it. You cannot even complain. We have to accept it like that, and we have to do better and better and again. I said to the boys we have to go again and tomorrow again and again and again and again. It’s the only thing we can do.”
I think we had chances...
“I think we had chances with Ruel and Gatlin,” said Calderón. “I think we have a couple of chances. I would say more than them. I don’t think Jed Ward had to make too many saves today. That’s a credit to everyone who took part today because it’s not easy to concede that little chances against the top team in the division. But that was not enough, and we have to keep going and keep going and keep going. It has to be something on a loop because as soon as you stop, you’re done.”
The most important thing is the result...
“The positive should be to feel belief in the team, and that’s important,” he said. “That’s important, but at the same time, I’m conscious that usually when you play well against the good teams after you get the result, but we didn’t get the result, and the most important thing is the result. It’s true that if we keep the mentality and the way we were we should be fine, but we have to keep that, and now playing away, we have to try to do that.”
