Grant Ward stated Bristol Rovers' defeat to Crawley Town was ‘tough’ to take after the Gas lost 1-0 to the Red Devils on Saturday.
The Pirates were looking to end their torrid run on the road against a Crawley side winless in their previous eight outings in Sky Bet League One, but Scott Lindsey's return to the home dugout for his second spell at the West Sussex outfit gave them a fresh boost.
The hosts started on the front foot and scored the only goal in the first half, with Kamari Doyle curling his composed effort beyond the reach of Jed Ward. Rovers improved after the break but could not find a leveller and fell to their second successive defeat in the third tier.
Ward was disappointed with the defeat and believes Rovers gave Crawley too much respect.
“It’s obviously a tough one to take,” he said. “Not a result we wanted. I thought in the first half, we kind of struggled a little bit with them playing. We maybe gave them a little bit too much respect and sat off a bit. In the second half, I thought we were a lot better, and I thought we were unlucky in the end not to get something out of the game.
“Towards the end, we were pushing for the goal and left ourselves a little bit open as well. So, a few times, they countered, got a few free kicks, slowed down the game and tried to take away the momentum we had. We just couldn’t do it today.”
The Gas have struggled on the road this year and have lost seven of their previous eight matches away from home, with their solitary point coming in a goalless draw with Shrewsbury Town. In contrast, Rovers’ home form has been brilliant. Under Iñigo Calderón, the Pirates have only lost twice in eight outings and have collected five victories.
Analysing Rovers’ away results, Ward confessed it could be down to ‘confidence’ but insisted they approach every game in exactly the same way.
“Maybe it’s just a confidence thing,” suggested Ward. “We set out to win every game. We don’t think, ‘we’re at home, we’re going to try and win or we’re away, sit back.’ We set out to win every game, but it’s just not happened for us away. I can’t really put a finger on why it is.
“There’s definitely a correlation between our away and our home form. There’s definitely a big difference, but we’ve got nine games left. We’ve got to try and rectify that before the end of the season because it’s looking tough at the bottom now. So, home or away, we’ve got to go for it.
“Where we are in the table, you can’t be too comfortable. You have to look at what’s around you and go out to win every game, whoever it is.”
Rovers started the game against Crawley without a recognised striker, with injuries to Promise Omochere and Chris Martin and an international call-up for Ruel Sotiriou giving Calderón few options in the attack. Forward Gatlin O’Donkor, who has missed the last nine games, appeared off the bench against the Red Devils and will be hoping to build up his minutes and fitness in the upcoming fixtures.
Ward emphasised the importance of the forwards that were missing but stressed that the players on the pitch were good enough and that everyone must play for the badge to help the Gas remain in the third tier.
“They are big players and have played a big part of the season,” said the midfielder. “They’ve played a lot of the games and scored a lot of goals. So, they are going to be a big miss to any team, but we’ve got enough players here to step up, and that’s what we need to do now. Whether you’re Kofi [Shaw], who is 18 or me, who is 30, we’ve got to step up and play for the badge and try to stay in this league.”
Ward was back on the pitch after missing the previous three fixtures through injury. The former Ipswich Town midfielder has been a consistent figure this season, making 32 appearances in all competitions and scoring two goals. The 30-year-old was pleased to be back and wants to help the team for the rest of the campaign.
“It was good to be back,” he said. “Obviously, I probably gassed up a little towards the end as we were pressing as well, maybe took me off just as a precaution. It’s good to be back. Obviously, it’s not a great end result, but I just want to help the team and play as much as I can.”
Rovers will turn their focus towards Mansfield Town next weekend, searching for their third straight victory at The Mem. Ward’s message was simple, with the midfielder believing the team must move on and aim to win every game for the remainder of the season.
“We need to have a look at this one, see what we can do better and put it to bed,” he said. “Have a real good week ready for Mansfield like it’s a cup final. We have to win now. We have to win every game.”
