Clinton Mola was gutted after Bristol Rovers let their first-half lead slip against York City, falling to a 3-2 defeat in Sky Bet League Two.
It was Mola who gave the Gas the advantage in the first half, netting his first goal for the Gas since October 2024 with a low finish past Alfie McNally.
York were bouncing after their promotion to the fourth tier last term and struck twice in quick succession after the break, with Alex Newby and Harry Boyes netting to turn the score around before Tommy Leigh levelled it up from the penalty spot.
The Pirates looked on course for a point on the opening day of the league season, but Boyes headed in from close range to give the hosts the win. Speaking to BRTV after the contest, Mola was disappointed his side let their lead slip away, admitting the way they defended made it hard for them to win the fixture...
REFLECTIONS ON THE GAME
“It's disappointing. We’re gutted because we were the game and we were in front, but we let the lead slip away, and we can't concede like that and expect to win the game. So, it’s disappointing.
"They kept more of the ball, but we weathered the storm. Obviously, they just got promoted, and so they've got a little bounce, but after the first 30, we had our chances, and we broke forward, and obviously, I've got the goal.
"We were in the game; we could have got more. We could have had more chances to actually get another, but then in the second half, we just can't concede two goals in the space of five minutes like that."
CONCEDING TWO QUICK GOALS
"It's difficult. I think they just create chances, and to be fair, there was probably sloppy defending from us. We’ve got to do better.”
FALLING BEHIND AFTER LEVELLING
“It’s a killer again; we come back 2-2, we think, you know what, take the point, and then we could go get another one, but then they score again straight away, and that zapped everything out of us."
IT’S ONLY THE FIRST GAME…
“It's the first game. We know what we do, we know what we’re good at, and we'll definitely try to make it right next week and try to get three points.
“We're obviously gutted because we've set such a high standard towards the end of last season. But last season's done; this is a new season.
“There are new teams, and they're not a bad team as well, but, yeah, we’re gutted. We want to start off strong, and we want to obviously keep that momentum, but it's only the first game; there's still 45 games left. We should make sure to put it right next week."
NEWPORT PREVIEW
" We’re just going to go there in front of our home fans and then just get the three points."
