Kamil Conteh was delighted to start the season with a win after Bristol Rovers beat Northampton Town on the opening day of the Sky Bet League One campaign.
Bryant Bilongo scored a stoppage-time winner on his English Football League debut, getting on the end of Luke Thomas’ inviting corner to give the Gas a deserved victory.
Conteh played the entire match and was a key player in Rovers’ midfield. The 21-year-old was pleased with the win after a great pre-season, where Matt Taylor’s men won five of their seven outings in front of fans.
“It feels good,” said Conteh. “All the hard work we’ve gone through in pre-season up until day one has all come to light, so I’m delighted for everyone, and we go again.”
The Cobblers started the game well, but the momentum seemed to switch after Promise Omochere’s swivelling shot from the edge of the box was pushed wide by Lee Burge, with the Gas having all of the clear opportunities to score from that point onwards.
Conteh knew the opening stages would be tense but was happy with the performance after getting into the game.
“First game of the season, everyone’s a bit edgy and a bit nervous,” he said: “But once we got into the game, just doing the basics and started getting a couple passes, we started creating chances, and the pitch was opening up.
“So, in the second half, that’s all we did, and then we were lucky to get the goal. Once we all gel and just work on the training pitch, we’ll naturally just build and build.”
The Pirates made 13 summer signings, with Taylor giving six of his new players their debut from the start. The boss also used Jamie Lindsay, Michael Forbes and Joel Senior off the bench.
Conteh spoke highly of his new teammates and stated that they will continue to build on their good start.
“The new teammates have settled in all good,” said the midfielder. “We went away to Portugal as well, which is good team bonding. They're all good players, and it's a good group so we've got to keep building."
One of the new additions was match-winner Bilongo, who joined from Middlesbrough and immediately became a favourite.
Bilongo was at Boro at the same time as Conteh, who believes his friend adds plenty of attributes for the Gas fans to get excited about.
“He brings energy, he’s quick off the mark, has a good left foot and can go both ways,” he stated. “Obviously, like everyone he needs to improve, but he’s a good player and is a good lad. I was with him in the North East so it's good to see him here."
