Sil Swinkels insisted Bristol Rovers defeat to Bolton Wanderers is ‘difficult to take’ after the Gas lost 1-0 to the Trotters in Sky Bet League One.
The Pirates were aiming to complete a league double over Bolton after beating Steven Schumacher’s men 3-2 at The Memorial Stadium less than a month ago but fell to their fifth successive defeat in the third tier to keep them just three points above the relegation zone with five fixtures left to play.
A close contest at the Toughsheet Community Stadium was decided by a former Pirates forward, with Aaron Collins heading in the winner with 15 minutes left to play.
Swinkels was disappointed after Rovers’ defeat to Bolton and confessed ‘small margins’ was the difference against the promotion hopefuls.
“It’s a difficult one to take,” he said. “I think after Tuesday, it was a performance we could build on, and we were confident going here, even though the last couple of games haven’t gone our way. To go into half-time at 0-0, we thought we were in the game and kept doing what we’re doing. One moment just kills us again, and it’s tough because I think, as a team, we do the right things, but it’s not enough at this level.
“Against these teams doing well in the league, fighting for playoffs or promotion, it’s about small margins and the last couple of percentages. We cannot afford to drop off in these sorts of games, and we’ve just got to stay focused for 95, 96, 97 minutes. It’s just killed us again.”
Rovers wanted to frustrate Bolton and did so successfully for most of the contest, with the Gas restricting their opponents to very limited opportunities before the hour mark. However, conceding little opportunities also meant efforts in the attack were few and far between, with Matt Butcher coming the closest with a header.
Swinkels admitted that his side aimed to disrupt the Trotters but insisted they did not create enough in the attack.
“You can tell that we took a little bit longer for free kicks and throw-ins,” said the defender. “This crowd got frustrated. They come here and expect maybe to win more comfortably than they did today. We spoke about it before the game, knowing it’s a big stadium with quite a big crowd here.
"We told each other to stay in the game and get them frustrated, and hopefully, on the counter, we can hurt them.
“I think defensively, we did well. Maybe going forward, we didn’t create enough. We didn’t keep the ball in their half as much as we would have liked. At the end of the day, it’s just a tough one to take. Matt Butcher’s header at the end – it's a good save from the goalkeeper. Otherwise, maybe we can still nick something from it. Like they did, just one moment is what you need in these games. It’s tough.”
Rovers have now lost their last five matches in League One, but battling performances against Birmingham and Bolton will give the Gas confidence they have enough quality to avoid relegation heading into the final five matches of the campaign.
Swinkels knows the importance of collecting points in the upcoming games and said his side will keep ‘fighting.’
“Good performances don’t keep us in League One,” he said. “We need to get points because of where we are. A couple of games to go now, and they are not going to get any easier. So, at the end of the day, we just need points, and they better come quickly because otherwise, it’s going to be nerve-wracking.
“We’re confident that we’re a good team, and in the last two games, I think we have shown that if we do play the same football as we did today and as we did on Tuesday, then we’ll get points in the games that are coming.
“Obviously, going five in a row without a win is tough, but nobody is going to come and help us. It’s only down to us and the fans behind us but ultimately, we have to do it on the pitch, and we’ll keep fighting every minute of every game and try to stay up.”
Swinkels came in for Clinton Mola at left-back after being an unused substitute against Blues on Tuesday and has made eleven appearances since joining on loan from Aston Villa in the January transfer window.
The Dutch defender was pleased to return to the team but said he is more focused on the results.
“It’s something you work hard for every day and just try to get as many minutes as you can,” said Swinkels. “It’s obviously not nice being left out, but then to be back in today is what you work for, and if I’m in, I’ll try to do the best I can, and if I’m not, I’ll try and work as hard as I can on the training pitch and off the pitch to try and get back in. That’s always nice, but the feeling of defeat is more in my head than playing the game.”
