Darrell Clarke was impressed with Bristol Rovers' character in their 2-1 victory in the first round of the Emirates FA Cup.
The Pirates were put under serious pressure against a Ravens side looking to put the ball into the box at every opportunity, with the Gas defending well to stop the hosts from getting shots on target.
When Bromley found a way through, Luke Southwood was there, pushing away two efforts from Michael Cheek before the Gas took the lead against the run of play through Fabrizio Cavegn, before Joel Cotterill doubled the lead. Jemiah Umolu got one back for the hosts, but Rovers held onto the victory to get to the second round.
Speaking after the fixture, Clarke spoke highly about his team's character before emphasising that there is more to come.
So, Darrell, progress in the Emirates FA Cup. How do you reflect on that?
“There was grit and determination today. You see the injuries we’ve got at the club at the moment, and people are putting their bodies on the line. I’ve got two players who came onto the pitch that aren’t 100 per cent as well.
"A commendable effort, I'm pleased to get back to a win, and I thank the supporters as they came a long way. We've had to do a lot of defending, and they put you under a lot of pressure, and we defended our box well.
‘At times, our forward-thinking play could’ve been a lot better on the slip and slides and the passes. We're in the next round and in the hat. FA Cup ties are always cliffhangers sometimes, and fair play to my players today who responded.”
We know there’s a long way to go, but in terms of the mentality, is that closer to what you want?
“Yes, but we’re a million miles from where I want us to be. But let’s put everything into consideration today. It’s easy to talk about injuries when you lose football games; it’s an excuse, but we won today, and the players put their bodies on the line and put a little bit of pride back in the shirt. But still, plenty of work to do with the group, so I applaud my players, and we move into the next round and hopefully get a decent draw.”
You always have a chance with Fabrizio upfront; it was a great assist as well. A goal and assist for him. How happy are you to have a player like him on your side?
“He’s always a goal threat. I thought he was poor today. He was a goal threat. I think with some of our forward play, at times we could’ve looked after it, but the effort was there. The lads are still catching up with minutes: Shaq Forde and Ruel Sotiriou.
"So hopefully we get better with the forward-thinking play; we scored two decent goals on the break. We probably could’ve got better on the break if we looked after that final pass, but it’s all about being in the hat, and we are.”
When it gets to 2-1 right at the end, you don’t want to be put under that pressure, but to get through it shows a lot...
“You’re always going to be hanging on in the 15 added on. They put more attacking players on and put the ball in the box, and we defended it well at times”
