Josh Griffiths stated his Bristol Rovers team must perform better against Charlton Athletic after the Gas lost 2-0 to Wigan Athletic in Sky Bet League One.
The Pirates conceded to the Latics either side of half-time, with James Carragher breaking the deadlock within six minutes before Jonny Smith doubled their lead after the break.
Rovers’ defeat was their first in three outings in the third tier, with Iñigo Calderón’s men previously collecting back-to-back victories over Cambridge United and Barnsley.
Reflecting on the game at The Brick Community Stadium, Griffiths was disappointed with how his side played and admitted but insisted that a game just a few days later gives them a chance to respond.
“Disappointed would be the way I would sum it up,” he said. “We were probably too passive in possession, didn’t progress enough and probably didn’t have the ball around their goal much. Inevitably, they scored two goals that came from our own doing, and they win the game 2-0.

“That’s football. If we are not at the races, then we can easily lose. We’ve had two positive results, but today felt like a little step backwards. Luckily, we’ve got a game in three days where we’ve got to go out and put on a performance.”
The goalkeeper later added: “A game in three days, that’s a positive to me. I love playing, and the more games the better for me. Obviously, I don’t run around as much. Let’s not make it a massive setback. It’s a disappointing performance, but if we win on Tuesday or put in a solid performance, it’s one that we sort of forget about.”
Griffiths was a standout performer in Rovers’ 3-1 victory over Barnsley at The Memorial Stadium, keeping the score level with a string of superb saves to deny the Tykes the lead before goals from Gatlin O’Donkor, Isaac Hutchinson, and Ruel Sotiriou helped the Gas to all the points.
However, despite the Latics creating fewer chances, Griffiths could do nothing to stop Carragher’s clever header before being beaten by a composed finish from Smith. The goalkeeper was left frustrated and confessed the game got away from them.
“It’s frustrating for myself, but the whole team are frustrated,” he said. “That can easily happen in football. I thought their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves today. On another day, they might go in, and it’s a different game. I think starting so slowly and conceding from a set play sort of set the tone, and we didn’t get going. Then, it was a bit passive, and the game got away from us.
“It’s more football that we are playing around the back and things like that. Today isn’t what he was after. We know that. We were too passive and kept the ball at the back too much. We want to be progressive, but it’s still early days. He hasn’t been in for long, and we have been working on it every single day, so I know we will get better at it.
Griffiths has been a mainstay in the Rovers team since joining on loan from West Bromwich Albion in the summer, starting every game and keeping seven clean sheets.
Assessing his spell at the Gas, the shot-stopper believes his time at the Rovers has been beneficial, and he has learned a lot about himself.
“It’s massively helped me,” said Griffiths. “It’s not always plane sailing. I'm not going to beat around the bush, we’ve been down the bottom of the table, so it’s tough a lot of the time. But I’ve got to come out and try and perform the best I can.
“You find out more about yourself in tough times and how you deal with the lads in the dressing room, who have been great, by the way.”
Despite the defeat, Rovers are showing signs of improvement under new head coach Calderón, with the Gas controlling lots of the possession. However, after a slow start to the contest that proved costly, Griffiths admitted that his side are working every day to improve under a new style.
“It’s more football that we are playing around the back and things like that,” he said. “Today isn’t what he was after. We know that. We were too passive and kept the ball at the back too much. We want to be progressive, but it’s still early days. He hasn’t been in for long and we have been working on it every single day, so I know we will get better at it.”
