Jack Sparkes dedicated Bristol Rovers' 2-0 victory over Barrow to the Gasheads, with 293 of them making the long trip to up Cumbria on Tuesday night.
The Gas made their longest away trip of the season on Tuesday night, with a 500-mile round trip. Many would have completed the long journey once already, with the Pirates' fixture against the Bluebirds postponed in early January. However, their efforts were rewarded with a stellar performance from the Gas.
Steve Evans' men controlled the majority of the contest and gained the lead when Tommy Leigh fired his effort off both posts and into the back of the net before Fabrizio Cavegn netted Rovers' second after the break.
Speaking to BRTV after the match, Sparkes was delighted his side could give the travelling Gasheads a win to go home with.
"Firstly, I want to thank all the fans, to be honest," he said. "Unbelievable support. On a Tuesday night, with terrible weather, a lot of them have had to take a couple of days off work. I know we saw some fans at the hotel, so that one is for them.
"It’s exactly what they needed, what we needed. We look forward to the weekend now because it’s another big game. You want to finish this season as strong as possible, but that one was for them."
Sparkes was electric on the left all night against Barrow, with the 25-year-old looking to get forward at every opportunity to hurt the opposition. His wicked deliveries from wide areas caused problems, but it was a lofted ball forward that helped the Pirates gain the advantage.
When Richie Smallwood's free-kick was cleared as far as the defender, he hooked an inviting ball forward, with Leigh finishing with great composure to break the deadlock. Sparkes was impressed with Leigh's finish and enjoyed playing in a more advanced position on the left.
"I just put it in a good area and then obviously a fantastic finish from Tommy," said Sparkes. "I really enjoyed today. Obviously, I've gone forward a lot. I’m always better going forward, and when we’ve got a lot of the ball like we did today, it really suits me."
The Pirates continued to create chances after gaining the lead, but truly established their control in the contest when they scored again in the second half. Cavegn, starting for the first time since Rovers' defeat to Oldham Athletic, darted into the box and got onto Joel Senior's clever pass across the box to score his 11th league goal this term.
Sparkes was happy to see Cavegn back in the goals, suggesting that getting in goal-scoring positions is what he does best.
"Joel did some good work on the right-hand side, and then obviously Fabrizio does what he does best, being at the right place at the right time," he said. "I’m happy for him, because obviously he hasn’t been playing the last couple of games. He’s given the manager a thought now for the next game."
The Pirates' win against Barrow was their third victory in four games, also drawing 1-1 at promotion hopefuls Swindon Town in that run. The Gas have a tough test away to league leaders Bromley on the weekend, but are starting to build momentum, with Sparkes wanting his side to keep pushing forward.
"We spoke about it [momentum] before the game," he said. "Use this game as a stepping stone and try to get a little bit of momentum out of the last couple of weeks. Obviously, a big game now on Saturday. The table might look good at the moment, but until we’re mathematically safe, I think we’ve still got to be on it.
"We can’t take a step back now, because that will undo all of the hard work we’ve done."
