Isaac Hutchinson stated that Bristol Rovers’ 3-1 victory over Barnsley in Sky Bet League One will help the team's confidence.
The Gas were searching for their second successive win in Sky Bet League One but their first at The Memorial Stadium since beating Shrewsbury Town 1-0 in October and survived a strong start from the Tykes before Gatlin O’Donkor gave Rovers the lead with a header.
Hutchinson doubled the advantage after half-time before Josh Earl brought the score back to 2-1, but Ruel Sotiriou came off the bench to add a third to help the Pirates to all three points.
Hutchinson was delighted after the triumph and insisted the victory was needed, with the Gas now seven points above the relegation zone.
“We’ve needed a win like that, scoring more than one goal and against a team that is doing really well at the moment as well,” he said. “So, it’s really good for the confidence.”
Hutchinson was in the right place at the right time to get Rovers’ second goal. After James Wilson’s shot rebounded back to him, the defender slotted the ball across to Hutchinson, who scored with a simple finish from close range.
It was the midfielder's first goal since netting away to Huddersfield Town in October, but he has been unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. The former Walsall man has had goals disallowed against Exeter City and Cambridge United, with Hutchinson admitting that he has felt a goal had been coming for him.
“I didn’t want to celebrate; to be honest, I wanted to wait ten or 15 seconds to see if the linesman was going to put his flag up,” said Hutchinson. “I feel like it has been coming. I feel like I have had a couple of pretty much perfectly good goals to my name for the last couple of games before that.
“So, I feel like it’s been coming. It was just nice to get it, and it counted.
“It’s what I’m in the team to do at the end of the day. It’s something I want to do more of between now and the end of the season.”
The Memorial Stadium was rocking on Saturday, especially after Sotiriou confirmed Rovers’ victory five minutes before the end with his second goal of the campaign. Reflecting on the atmosphere at home, Hutchinson was delighted with the crowd and feels everyone is starting to believe in the ability of the squad.
“It’s something the whole squad has been craving,” said the midfielder. “To get that with the fans and have that connection because, especially at The Mem, it has probably been a bit few and far between where it’s been a bit disappointing with the results and probably hard to feel that connection.
“Two wins in a row now and I think everyone is starting to believe a bit more in ourselves and what the team can do.”
New head coach Iñigo Calderón has impressed since being appointed as Rovers’ new head coach on Boxing Day and has lifted spirits after leading the Gas to back-to-back victories in the third tier for only the second time this term.
After a busy Christmas period, the Spaniard is now getting more time on the training pitch with his team, with Hutchinson stating that the team are improving under his guidance.
“I feel like there’s definitely been loads of signs of improvement,” said Hutchinson. “Since when he’s been appointed to now, we’ve done a lot of training, and he’s been really clear on what he wants from us, and he’s hammered it home every day with the sessions that we do.
“I don’t think that’s going to stop. I think it’s something that’s going to be a work in progress, and over time, we’re going to keep improving with it.
“There’s definitely a freedom to it, and to be fair, the gaffer said to us that the freedom comes from a discipline with the shape and the way we play. So, we have to do that first and then around that, there’s obviously the freedom to attack and create and get chances, which I think we’ve done probably over the last four or five games.”
