Iñigo Calderón stated he was ‘proud’ of his Bristol Rovers team after the Gas beat Bolton Wanderers 3-2 at The Memorial Stadium.
The Gas twice led through Chris Martin, who netted a penalty inside six minutes before finding his second after getting onto Ruel Sotiriou’s low cross from the left. However, the Trotters showed spirit to level twice, with Aaron Morley smashing in their first before John McAtee bundled in the second.
Nevertheless, the Pirates kept pushing and found a late winner, with Connor Taylor climbing above his man to score his first league goal for the Gas since netting in Rovers’ 7-0 victory over Scunthorpe United in 2022.
Calderón was delighted with the victory and praised Kofi Shaw, who played a part in the Pirates’ first two goals.
I was so proud of them...
“I couldn't expect that at the beginning of the week,” he said. “To have the six [points] against Huddersfield and Bolton. They are a great side, and they showed that in the first half. I think the second half was great, the best we played this year. Especially the passion. The boys showed passion, and especially because the opposition is probably the best we played against. So, credit to the boys because I was so proud of them.”
Especially finishing the way we finished, it was great...
“We started better in the second half and on the front foot, and then you get the fans behind you again,” said the Spaniard. “It was good, and especially finishing the way we finished, it was great.”
Chris tried to train yesterday because he wanted to be involved...
“One week ago, we were thinking we couldn’t play him [Martin] anymore because he had a small problem in the knee,” said Calderón. “All of a sudden, it was not that bad, and after Chris tried to train yesterday because he wanted to be involved again and after, he was great.
“We changed him because we don’t want to force him too much. He wanted a hat-trick, but we have to protect him, and we have to think in the long term. But he was great.”
Kofi Shaw did perfectly...
“I was confident with him [Shaw], but at the same time, you never know how he’s going to react because it’s not the same when you’re playing 15 or 20 minutes when you’re starting it’s different. It was a difficult game,” he said.
“He’s better when we have more control, and today was not going to be that. We knew it was going to be a bit more about defending, and we would have to run. It’s not going to be an easy one, but he did it perfectly. Even in the second half, I was thinking about changing him because it’s his first game, but every time I was thinking about changing him, he did something special.
“ I am so happy for him because he deserves it. I have been saying that sometimes we are thinking if they can play or notbecause of their age, and I don’t think that’s fair. He’s been training well, and he has to play really well. He has to keep doing it, but you have to protect him and not rush them. To play them, I don’t mind the age, but to protect them, I do mind because they are young.”
We know that we have to defend better...
“We know that we have to defend better, but still, sometimes you concede chances because it’s football,” he insisted. “In League One, that happens. I think the character they showed after that, credit to the boys because in the moment they are and the moment they created in the training ground and the dressing room, it’s a different atmosphere. So that was great.”
I see the progress...
“Even today, if we didn’t win it, I was happy with them because I see the progress in the training ground,” he said. “Even the point we got against Shrewsbury, it was just a point, but for me, it was really important because I saw the passion from the boys. When you are down there, in the table, you need that more than playing pretty or not pretty. It’s more about how you feel with the boys, how you feel in the dressing room, and we were quite calm in there.”
