Ruel Sotiriou was delighted with Bristol Rovers’ ‘big’ 1-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at Sky Bet League One.
The match winner struck the only goal of the contest to end the Gas’ four-game winless streak in the third tier, rushing onto Clinton Mola’s flick and volleying his strike over Lee Nicholls.
The Terriers are pushing for an immediate return to the Championship and pressurised the Pirates’ defence in the second half. However, the hosts’ defence remained strong to keep their second successive clean sheet.
The Gas are now six points clear of the relegation zone and Sotiriou was pleased with the triumph, stating his side did it for Promise, who went off with an injury after only eight minutes.
“It was a big win,” he said. “Obviously coming and seeing other results as well, it was a massive win.
“I started in midfield, and unfortunately, Promise got injured. I’m gutted for him, and we won that game today for him because he’s been out for a while. He’s done his rehab, he’s a good professional, and to see him come off hurt a lot, to be honest. I went up top, and then I tried my best with Scott Sinclair and getting a goal is always good.
“We see every day what’s going on, and it’s tough for him [Omochere]. Obviously, he had the previous injury, and it’s not like he’s doing anything wrong. He’s honestly trying his best. We had to rally together, and we got the result.”
Sotiriou has been in stellar form under head coach Iñigo Calderón and has netted four goals at The Mem since the Spaniard took charge of the Gas.
The forward said the head coach has helped his confidence and stated the team stuck together to get over the line.
“He’s given me a confidence boost,” said Sotiriou. “There are no individuals here, and we know the target for the rest of the season. Everyone just knows we just need to win. It doesn’t matter who scores. It’s about keeping this football club in this league, and he can have a pre-season so we can kick on.
“I see Ollie Dewsbury and Kofi Shaw coming on, and it just brings a smile to your face. These young kids fight for the club, and they deserve it. Ollie made his league debut today, so congratulations to him and Kofi putting a shift in. He deserves to get his chance.
“We’ve got three good centre-backs available, and I feel like they’ve been solid for most of the season, and we’ve left them exposed a lot. It wasn’t, really free flowing attacking football; it was more like counter. But we won so, it doesn’t really matter how we played.”
Rovers’ next game at The Mem comes in just three days, with the Gas hosting Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night. The Trotters have pushed towards the playoffs under Steven Schumacher and are unbeaten in six under the former Plymouth Argle boss.
Sotiriou knows the challenge coming next due to their history in the third tier.
"A new manager, and they are always up there,” said the forward. “Usually, when you play against Bolton, you know it’s going to be a tough game. We’ll rest and recover and go again on Tuesday.”
