Bryant Bilongo is back at Bristol Rovers and is ready to make his mark in the team ahead of the Gas’ 2025/26 Sky Bet League Two campaign.
It was a whirlwind of a season for the 23-year-old, who moved to the Pirates from Middlesbrough in the summer for an undisclosed fee. Impressing in pre-season, the defender scored on his English Football League debut and racked up plenty of appearances for the Pirates before falling out of favour.
With opportunities coming few and far between, Bilongo moved on loan to Harrogate Town in the January transfer window and ended the campaign with 16 League Two appearances for the Sulphurites, scoring on the last day of the season in their 2-1 away triumph over Morecambe.
Having only previously played once at senior level for a team in the top four division of English football before the start of the season, appearing off the bench in Middlesbrough's defeat to Barnsley in the Carabao Cup in 2022, to making 34 appearances in all competitions last term, he has certainly made the most of the opportunities given to him. It was a campaign of highs and lows for Bilongo, but one he gained plenty from.
“From a personal perspective, I enjoyed it,” he said. “Obviously, things didn’t go to plan and how everyone would have wanted to end, but from a personal point of view, I had fun. Especially at the start, as everyone knows, from the opening day, we had a good couple of months where we were rolling, we were playing, we were enjoying it, and I was smiling everywhere. It was good. Bristol is a place that welcomed me, and I am so happy to be back because being at the stadium again, I missed it.”
Bilongo probably could not have written a more perfect beginning to life at Rovers than the one that unfolded. Handed a start in front of a packed crowd at The Memorial Stadium, the defender latched onto Luke Thomas' corner to score a close-range winner in stoppage time in front of the Thatchers End.
It's a moment that he's been asked about several times, but also one that he will never get bored of, especially with his first professional goal coming with his family also in the stands.
“It did not unfold how I expected,” he smiled. “It’s what I would have been dreaming about the day before but not how I would have expected at all. A last-minute winner; I don’t know if I’ll ever do that again. I hope I do but on the debut and everything where I had all the nerves and excitement of playing in the EFL for a team like this in front of a crowd like that. I’ll never, ever forget that day in my life as it was in front of my family, too. My mum has never really watched me play, and she just happened to see it.”
Bilongo gained great momentum from his debut and featured in 13 of Rovers' first 15 games in League One last term, starting ten times. Becoming a fan favourite for his attitude on the pitch and his personality off it, he loved his start to life at Rovers.
“I was buzzing every single time I had to play,” he stated. “To this day, I still think ‘wow, I’m playing in the league.’ I’m happy to get every single minute. Even if it’s not starting.
“I hope everyone noticed that even if it’s coming off the bench, wherever I had to play, whatever position, whether it was striker, left-back, winger or whatever, I just wanted to be on the pitch in front of everyone who came to watch us play. The fans travelled everywhere to watch us play, so I wanted to do it to show them my appreciation for their support.”
Nevertheless, things in football change very quickly, and despite his positive start, Bilongo then missed eight of the next nine fixtures, missing out on a place in the squad for four successive fixtures. Braced with his first testing time since joining the Gas, the defender took it in his stride.
“At first, it wasn’t too difficult,” he reflected. “We are all a team. So, whether we play or whether I play or not, if the team wins, it’s a win for everyone. After a while, it did get a bit difficult, but I’m back now. I enjoyed every minute that I played, whether it was 90 minutes or two minutes, just to get a little clap from the fans for coming on, I loved it.”
Bilongo spent the second half of the campaign at Harrogate. Going out on loan has been a regular experience for the defender, who previously had short spells at Woking and Ebbsfleet United when he was at Middlesbrough. Building his minutes up as his loan move progressed, he started three of the final four fixtures and helped Sulphurites steer clear of the relegation zone.
“It was really good,” said the 23-year-old. “At the start, I was coming on here and there, but then once I was given a bit of time to play games, my minutes increased. It went really well. I think the fans took to me really well again. I don’t know why, maybe it was the smile, but I enjoyed my time. You know me, I just want to play.
“I just want to play, and I try to give it my all every game. We stayed up with Harrogate, which I was sent out there to do, and I enjoyed it. The experience I got from League Two as well, as I haven’t had as many games, but I did fulfil my target, and for the whole season, going back to your first question, if I told myself the summer before that this is how my season will go, I would have taken it all day, really. Thirty league games, a lot of minutes, two goals and a couple of assists, it was a good season for me.”
Bilongo is now back in Bristol and beamed with joy when meeting up with teammates Kamil Conteh and Ollie Dewsbury at Rovers' 2025/26 Home Kit shoot.
He is ready to get going again after a year in the EFL and emphasised his excitement at working under new Head Coach Darrell Clarke, who will be looking to repeat the success from his first spell in charge at the Club.
“I love it [in Bristol]. “Even just coming back to see my flat and walk around my area, I love it in Bristol. Everyone welcomed me really quickly. My teammates, the staff, the fans, everyone. I love it, and I hope everyone loves me too. So, I'm buzzing to see the fans again when we play our pre-season games, and I’ll give them a smile and a wave again.
“I’ve heard about him [Darrell Clarke]. I’ve not met him yet. I’ll meet him when we go back to pre-season, but I’ve been told I’ll be a player that he’ll like. I hope I am. Obviously, I still have to go to training and train well and play well for him to like me. But I’ve been told so many good things about him. People have come up to me and told me what a good man he is. I’ve seen what he’s done for the Club and watched his interviews. So, I’m excited and glad to work with him.”
