The Gas secured their first victory of the season, beating Charlton 2-1 at the Valley as Joey Barton returned to the dugout
Why do we love football? Because it’s unpredictable. Even when it seems like the script has been written, another twist can emerge from the shadows to produce a shock ending that not even a Netflix series could put together.
Bristol Rovers’ dramatic win at Charlton should act as a reminder of every reason why we love the game and go through the highs and lows supporting our team.
If you had asked anyone in attendance at the Valley on Tuesday night who looked the more likely to score a late winner as the fourth official raised his board with a fluorescent number seven on 90 minutes, most would have said Charlton.
But alas, one flurry forward arose for the Gas after surviving a scare with Josh Grant getting a yellow car for stopping an Addicks attack with the home fans of the contingent that the card should have been the same colour of their jerseys. Up stepped substitute Luke McCormick to bundle home the winner with one of the final kicks of the game.
Five points from Portsmouth, Barnsley and Charlton…it’s not bad is it? Here’s our verdict on the first win of the season.
More like it from Collins
To describe his start to the season as slow wouldn’t be fair, but Aaron Collins’ display at the Valley was his best of the campaign so far.
Not only did he come away with an assist, his first goal contribution of the season, he was a constant threat for the Addicks. Looking to make things happen and involved in the majority of the visitors’ flurries forward, the 26-year-old looked back to his best.
Having had such a prolific campaign last term, winning League One Player of the Year, there was always going to be high expectations for the forward to hit the ground running straight away. If that didn’t happen, you knew that there would be more talk questioning his commitment and whether he was looking to move away.
Not once though has the Welshman looked uninterested this season though. It’s so easy to forget the quality of the sides Rovers have played so far this season with the performances being largely excellent. So, if Collins comes away from the game without a goal or an assist, it’s not the end of the world.
Moreover, there’s more quality in depth in the side going forward than last season and the work load can be more evenly distributed. Hopefully he silenced any doubters on Tuesday night.
Memorable McCormick moment
‘Chest. Bang. Goal,’ as said by the man of the moment himself. It will be hard to find a more popular goal scorer at Rovers this season than Luke McCormick. After missing a chunk of pre-season and the first game of the season through injury, it was hard to predict how much of an impact the midfielder would make in the early stages of the season.
Already, the 24-year-old has matched his goals tally for last season having made 30 appearances across all competitions with his sole effort coming in the Papa John’s Trophy.
Whether the goal will boost his status in the pecking order or not is up for debate with Grant Ward and Sam Finley starting the season well as a duo whilst Antony Evans filled in for the latter well in a deeper role at the Valley.
However, what a moment for the midfielder and it’s certainly a statement suggesting that he is deserving of more minutes.
Great Scott
Did the ‘Back to the Future’ reference land? I hope so.
After his goal from the bench against Barnsley, one of the biggest questions regarding the team selection for Tuesday was whether Sinclair would be rewarded with a start against Charlton. He was.
In the only change from Saturday’s draw, the winger came in on the left which saw captain Sam Finley given a deserved rest with Antony Evans dropping into a deeper midfield role which he coped with well.
After a productive pre-season in front of goal, any frustrations from the 34-year-old would have been justified after starting the first two league games of the season on the bench as well as being substituted at half-time against Ipswich. However, his attitude has been excellent and he’s shown his worth over the last couple of days in particular.
Sure, the wide man’s goal wasn’t as technically impressive as the composed finish against Barnsley but his positioning was. It’s like you’re told at grassroots level, they all count.
If anyone playing wants an example of how to knock on the manager’s door looking to start more often, this is how you do it.
Vale deployed on the right
Once it was confirmed that new signing Harvey Vale would be on the bench for the Gas under two hours after the club announced the loanee’s arrival, every Gashead was hopeful that they would get a glimpse of the 19-year-old in action.
Coming on in the 65th minute, the attacking midfielder was deployed on the right in place of Luke Thomas, whose withdrawal is more likely to do with managing fitness as opposed to performance following another bright display.
25 minutes after no more than one training session (if any) with new teammates in first-team football, expecting a significant contribution from Vale would have been slightly unfair.
However, in fairness to the teenager, he did well in his first cameo and actually came close to scoring, seeing his effort cleared off of the line having met a cross from Collins.
Although it is understood that the attacking midfielder is best playing in a central role, in order to eventually push a regular starting place perhaps playing out wide will be his best shot.
It’s an area of the pitch that already has some serious quality with Jevani Brown, Evans, Thomas, Sinclair and Collins amongst others but isn’t depth exactly what Barton wanted in his squad?
Barton return
Back on the touchline at long last, the manager hardly sat in his seat as he barked orders at his players from his technical area upon his return.
There was no better way for his team to mark his return than a last-minute winner and group celebrations as McCormick and his teammates ran towards the dugout to celebrate.
Sure, his ride rode their luck slightly at times with Charlton being backed by well over 10,000 fans but they managed the challenge excellently and now they can boast five points against three sides amongst three of the early favourites for promotion.
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