Exactly ten years after Bristol Rovers' memorable victory over Grimsby Town on penalties at Wembley Stadium to gain promotion to Sky Bet League Two, Darrell Clarke reflected on the day with BRTV.
The Pirates were looking to return immediately to the fourth tier after being relegated in the 2013-14 campaign. Battling with Barnet for the title, the Gas finished only one point behind the champions, forcing them to play in the playoffs.
Rovers beat Foret Green 3-0 over two legs to set up a final with Grimsby at Wembley. It was a far-from-perfect start for the Gas, with Lenell John-Lewis netting for the Marines in two minutes, but Ellis Harrison levelled just before the half-hour mark. With the tie level after 120 minutes, penalties would decide which team would gain promotion.
Five perfect spot-kicks were then followed by Jon-Paul Pittman blasting over for Paul Hirst's men. Two more penalties were then converted before Lee Mansell fired home to send the Gas back to League Two at the first time of asking.
Clarke admitted it was a 'massive' day for the Football Club and said he has great memories.
“It’s been ten years, but what a day,” he said. “I don’t remember a lot on the day but just pure relief, if I’m honest with you. It’s flown by ten years. It was a great day, and it was a massive day for the Football Club to bounce straight back. So, good memories.
“I think we went the week before to look at the stadium, get our bearings and get all the photos and selfies and all of that rubbish out of the way. I just remember it being a massive pressure occasion. There was a lot of pressure on us to win. The financial impact of going down was massive, and it would have been even bigger as well if we wouldn’t have gone up. So, it was a pure relief, to be honest.
“The mentality of the group was excellent to just miss out when my goalkeeper dropped one in against Dover to take it out of our hands, and then we beat Alfreton 7-0. Then, against Forest Green, we played really well in the two games to beat them, and the final wasn’t particularly great, to be honest with you, but we thoroughly deserved it over the campaign.
"So, relief all around. We bounced back and enjoyed it with our supporters. I remember running and nearly pulling my hamstring, getting over to them at the final whistle. It was a great day after.
“We were a little bit fortunate in the final, but we were the better team. We had finished second, and we just drew too many games that year. That’s why we didn’t win the title, but we got it together and eventually, Lee Mansell, who probably texts me every two or three weeks to remind me that he scored the winning penalty, so great days.”
After 46 league fixtures, a two-legged playoff semi-final and a gruelling 120 minutes against the Mariners at Wembley, the fate of Rovers’ season came down to penalties. Clarke confessed plenty of work was done on spot-kicks and was delighted for the supporters, who had followed the team up and down the country.
“We had worked on penalties,” said the Head Coach. “We had done a lot of work on practising penalties and making sure we were well prepared, and then it’s just pure relief. I brought Mildenhall in the 119th minute, changing the goalie from Will Puddy to Mildenhall because he was six foot and seven inches. He didn’t save one, but I think it was Pitman who blasted one over. Then, the rest of it is history. Lee Mansell.
“I pulled my hamstring running over to the fans. You’ve got to understand how much our fans were hurting, and I was hurting, to be honest with you. That summer that we got relegated was a massive, massive low for me, but something that has helped with my leadership moving forward.
“So, just that relief to get over the line for the supporters who had followed us through thick and thin. Some of the gates that we were getting in the Conference and some of the away support as well. We were filling three-quarters of the away grounds. They followed us. That’s what the Gasheads do, and they did that, and we got our rewards on the day.”
