Michael Forbes stated it feels ‘unbelievable’ to progress to the third round of the Emirates FA Cup after Bristol Rovers beat Barnsley on penalties at Oakwell.
Gatlin O’Donkor slammed the post in the early stages for the Gas. However, the Tykes were on top for most of the contest, with Josh Griffiths making crucial saves to deny Stephen Humphrys, Kelechi Nwakali, Fabio Jalo and Josh Earl, forcing the match to penalties after the game ended goalless after extra time.
Adam Phillips hit the post with the opening spot-kick, with the Pirates then converting all four of their penalties to put the hosts under pressure. Earl had to score to keep Barnsley in the contest, but Griffiths got down to his left to push the ball away and put the Gas into the hat for the next round.
Forbes was thrilled to progress and insisted that the team stuck together to get through against the Tykes, who are in sixth position in Sky Bet League One.
“It feels unbelievable,” he said. “Coming up here, we knew it would be a really tough game with how Barnsley are in the league and how tough they are to beat at home.
“The boys showed unbelievable character tonight to dig in and grind out a result. Penalties are what they are. I just spoke to Josh, and the man is unbelievable at shot-stopping. Full credit to him because he kept us in it at times.
“As much as we defended well at the back, I think he made some unbelievable saves as well. Everyone on the pitch was working hard the whole time, so it was a real team effort.”
The Gas kept their seventh clean sheet in all competitions, showing character to bounce back immediately after losing to Blackpool at The Memorial Stadium four days prior in the third tier.
Griffiths, on loan from West Brom, made an important stop late on against Weston-super-Mare in the first round and repeated his heroics to help Rovers reach the third round for the second successive season. Forbes was full of praise for the goalkeeper and lauded his impact on the defence.
“Josh gives us massive confidence,” said the defender. “Sometimes, if we can’t get enough pressure on the ball to stop it, we’ll just close the angles down, and we know that Josh will be there to save it. Even if we can’t get the angles, he’ll still save it.
“It feels like the team has massive confidence knowing that there’s such a strong goalkeeper on the net.”
Rovers made four changes to the team that lost to the Tangerines in midweek, with three coming in the defence. Clinton Mola, a regular in the side, regained his position at left-back. Forbes came in for just his fourth start of the season, with Joel Senior returning at right-back after being out for three months through injury.
Forbes was delighted to be in the team again and said everyone pulled together to defend.
“It was unbelievable to be given a chance to start tonight in such a big game for the club,” he said. “I feel really privileged, and I was really happy with how we defended as a unit.
“Joel came in for his first start after a long-term injury, and I thought he played really well in the 45 minutes that he had. It’s a credit to him as well, getting back fit and going again.
Joel played 45 minutes; James Wilson came on, and Taylor Moore went to right-back. It was just a real team effort, and it shows how we can play in different positions, and everyone can do their job for the team.”
