Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers battled back to earn all three points this evening against Gateshead at the Mem and the Rovers boss couldn’t be more proud of his side.

“It was fantastic to come back against a very good Gateshead side and get all three points.

“They dominated the game for the opening 25 minutes but we changed our shape and then after that it was a lot more even.

“Second half we really turned the screw and the way the lads came back twice and got that winner is a real testament to them.

“We won’t be getting carried away but that was a very good win against a very good team tonight.

Darrell made a change to the formation with only 30 minutes gone in the fixture, which seemed to really help the way his side were playing.

“We work hard on these things in training and that allows us to change formations in games.

“They [Gateshead] are different to a lot of Conference sides in the way that they play the game and that’s why they got to the Play-Off Final last season.

“It is up to me and my staff to change things around when they aren’t working and once we had done that I thought the second half was a really good performance.

Rovers hadn’t scored in their previous three games before Ollie Clarke’s 30-yard thunderbolt and Darrell was pleased with how many chances his side created.

“When you are on a run like that you are always looking for something like that to spark something, but I think we created plenty of opportunities today.

“The goals were fantastic, but we probably created better chances and scored the really difficult ones.

Tonight’s game is the start of a busy festive period for Rovers and Darrell was pleased to get such a good start going into this hectic time of year.

“What a way to start it with a great three points here on the TV so it is a great start to what is a busy period.

“We are on a great run at the moment so you can see the momentum is there and we just need to keep going and keep believing.

“We have a very difficult period with Torquay home and away and Macclesfield as well but all we can do is take care of our own business and that’s what we have to do over Christmas.