Grant Ward stated Bristol Rovers' 3-2 defeat to Rotherham United in Sky Bet League One was ‘tough to take.’
Sam Nombe’s stoppage-time header helped the Millers to a narrow victory, ending their five-game winless streak in the third tier. His goal came after an action-packed contest, with Ruel Sotiriou’s opener inside five minutes turned around by goals from Nombe and Zak Jules before Sil Swinkels levelled the score a 2-2 with less than 20 minutes left to play.
The Gas had won three of their last four at The Memorial Stadium, but back-to-back defeats on the road followed by the loss to Steve Evans’ men now means they are just two points above the relegation zone heading into their trip to Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night.
Ward was disappointed with the loss and insisted his side deserved something from the fixture.
“It was a tough ending,” he said. “It was a scrappy game, but normally, when you play Rotherham, it is a bit like that. When it went to 2-2, I thought there was only one team that was going to win the game. It’s a tough one to take for the lads, but we’ve got to reset and go again for Tuesday.
“I think we definitely deserved at least a point out of the game. It’s a tough one to take, but it’s football. You have ups and downs and all you can do is rest, recover and prepare for the next one.”
After netting ten goals and collecting ten points from their previous four outings at home, the Pirates looked like they would be adding to their positive results on their own turf after Sotiriou slotted in the opener within just four minutes.
Nombe netted from close range to make it 1-1 before Jules’ goal soon after the break put Rotherham in the ascendancy. Ward was pleased with the way Rovers started but confessed the Millers’ goal eight minutes into the second half gave them momentum.
“It seemed like the way we started; it was just going to be one of them days again,” said Ward. “The fans were behind us, and we started well, but maybe just a few sloppy goals put us on the back foot a little bit in that half, and we found it tough.
“It gives them a bit of momentum. Their fans are behind them, and now it’s on us to go and get the next goal. You push forward, and when they play it long, it’s tough for you to go and get the second. Rotherham makes it hard for you. They know what they are doing, and they just make it a scrappy game.”
Despite the defeat, there are still positives the Gas can take. Scoring at home no longer seems to be an issue under Iñigo Calderón, with Rovers scoring 14 goals in six games under the Spaniard. Netting at least two goals in five of the six matches, Rovers are constantly a threat on the attack. However, without a clean sheet in that time, Grant admitted they must focus on stopping the opposition from finding easy goals.
“We definitely creating a lot more chances,” said the midfielder. “We’re looking a lot more threatening on the break as well. We have to stop the sloppy ones, the easy goals for teams, because we scored some good goals today. We didn’t have anything handed to us like we did to them. It’s just shoring up at the back and making sure we’re solid as a team.
“As a team and as a collective, we need to make sure we battle all over the pitch, and we don’t concede because when you do concede, you’re going to be on the back foot, and you’ve got to go for it. It can go either way. You can go on to win the game, or you can lose it.”
Rovers' game away to Shrewsbury is just three days away and gives the Gas an immediate opportunity to bounce back from weekend disappointment. The Pirates are without a victory on the road since they beat Cambridge United towards the start of January, with Ward seeing it as an opportunity to return to winning ways.
“I think every game at the minute for us is a big game,” he said. “We can’t sugarcoat it. We need points. So, we’ve just got to go there to win the game, and hopefully we can.
“We have not had a great record away, but hopefully we can rectify that and go there and get the three points.”
