In what was a busy week for Bristol Rovers, the challenge of Chesterfield proved to be just one step too far for the Pirates, but defender Jack Sparkes knows his side is going in the right direction.
Three straight games at The Memorial Stadium gave the Gas a chance to turn a corner with their results, but Rovers knew it was not going to be easy, especially without a win at home in Sky Bet League Two since the end of September.
A Severnside derby against Newport was followed by back-to-back games against promotion hopefuls, with Steve Evans' men starting with two strong victories before narrowly losing to the Spireites in a five-goal thriller.
Nevertheless, Sparkes, who started all three matches, was pleased with the effort his team put in over the last few matches and feels the results will come if they continue with the same level of intensity for the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign.
"We’re definitely more competitive," he said. "I don’t think anyone can doubt the effort, the application and how hard we’re working. It just wasn’t to be today, which is fine, we’re sure if we give as much effort as that every game, then results will start to come."
Rovers were full of confidence after wins over Newport and Walsall, but fell behind in the early stages when Tom Naylor headed in from close range. However, the Gas did not let the game get away from them and turned the score around, with Shaq Forde netting either side of half-time to give the hosts the lead.
Rovers could not hold onto their advantage, though, with a second from Naylor and a stunner from James Berry turning the scoreline around once again and helping the visitors to all three points.
Reflecting on the defeat, Sparkes was disappointed his team lost the game after going in front, but took the positives out of the display.
"I think they did have a lot of chances, and they could easily have been two or three ahead at half-time," said Sparkes. "But we found a way to get back in the game and obviously lead at one point, but it was disappointing again.
"I think Chesterfield are a good team, they should be right up there. I was obviously there last year, so I know what they’re kind of doing there, and they're a good team. We have been good this last week or two; we’ve got to take all the positives from that. It’s a little bump in the road, and we'll go again next Saturday."
A certain positive that came out of the game was Forde's two goals. Rovers' No7 has been one of the big performers since Evans came in as Head Coach, collecting six goal contributions, with his first two league goals coming on Saturday. The 21-year-old cleverly planted a downward header across the goal and into the net for his first before showing a clinical edge for his second.
"Shaq was very good today," said Sparkes. "To be fair, he’s been brilliant since the gaffer came in, so he’ll take confidence from that, and we’ll need everyone to step up like he did today."
Despite falling to defeat, the fans at The Mem were pleased with the effort that the team put in against Chesterfield and across the week.
Rovers scored at least two goals in the last three games, giving the Gasheads something to cheer about. Sparkes stated that Evans is behind the extra running on and off the ball right until the end.
"He’s just got us really running," said the defender. "That’s been the focus in the last however many weeks he’s been in. All of that effort and hard work. I think you can see that since he’s been here that we’ve always given it a go in games, and the effort has always been there as well. Not to say that it wasn’t the case under Darrell Clarke, but he’s probably got a little bit more emphasis on that."
