Goals change games, with Steve Evans ruing missed chances as Bristol Rovers slipped to a 2-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic in Sky Bet League Two.
The Pirates fell behind within 35 seconds when Kane Drummond thumped a powerful effort into the top corner from range, but the Gas brushed themselves down from an early setback to dominate the rest of the first half.
Joe Quigley headed a close-range effort just wide of the right post on his return to Boundary Park before Luke Thomas lifted a first-time shot well over. Fabrizio Cavengn then squandered a header after the break before the Latics got their second from the penalty spot, with Mike Fondop seeing his first strike saved before converting the rebound.
Evans was disappointed his side could not turn their chances into points, but took the positives from the performance.
Steve, a disappointing defeat here tonight. How do you reflect on that one?
"I think it’s a very harsh defeat; this isn’t a Cambridge performance where I questioned a lot of individuals and the team. You know, they score inside a minute with a fantastic strike. For five to six minutes, we regroup in the game, and then we dominate.
"You can’t miss the level of chances, there are three individuals that missed three sitters, simple as that and then it carries on in the second half, we miss a gilt-edged chance to equalise, and within seconds, they’ve got a penalty. I’ve looked at it back — is that a penalty? No, it’s not a penalty, but we’re in a situation where we’re not going to get something that’s fair and equal."
You mention it there, but simply put, at this level and any level, missed chances make the difference, and that’s what was happening today.
"Goals change games, but I said to the boys in there, if you can't take those chances, then we worry, because they are gilt-edge chances. They’re not shots from the edge of the box; they’re free headers and free strikes from inside the box unmarked, and it’s hard to accept that they’re missed."
Can you take any confidence from the performance overall, or is it all just about the result?
"This is a tough place to come, we knew that going to Cambridge and coming to Oldham would be tough, but we’ve come here and Micky Mellon, the boss here at Oldham, will be really pleased that they got a two–nil victory. But Micky’s an honest guy; he’ll reflect on this, and he’ll think we should score three or four goals tonight.
"I think they had one other chance when there’s a huge mistake with Alfie Kilgour. Other than that, I don’t think they’ve made a chance, and we made, in total in the game, five and a harsh penalty given against us."
Two defeats on the road, but the Gasheads travelled all the way for the Saturday and the Tuesday.
"The fans are outstanding at this football club; the fans are never in question here. We just have to dust ourselves down; this was always going to be a difficult run. The only two performances that I’ve been alarmed about were Barnet, a way back now and Saturday at Cambridge, but they responded tonight with a good performance.
"I thought the lads came in and did well, I thought Tommy Leigh did well, and Thompson-Sommers was really good in spells, so I think the boys who have come in did really well, but we need to take our chances. I think it was dominant in possession and attacking play at one point, and the Oldham fans are brilliant fans, but they were very quiet tonight until they scored their second goal, and the reason they’re quiet is that they’ve watched an away team dominate the game."
Those five changes, do they give you plenty to think about going into Saturday?
"Yeah, it does. I think some of the boys played really well. It’s hard to come out and say that when you’ve just been beaten, but the performance gives us hope."
Three difficult defeats, but back at the Mem on Saturday, where there were three straight good performances. How excited are you to get back there?
"It’s always good to be at home, but we have to get points home and away to be in the Football League. You see results tonight — you’ve got Harrogate, and Newport go and win at Salford — so from that point of view, teams are fighting for their lives, and the performance was good, we just never took our chances."
