Steve Evans was left disappointed with Bristol Rovers' performance in the Gas 1-0 defeat to Colchester United and feels his side suffered the consequences for their high-energy outing against Plymouth Argyle.
The Pirates put in a superb performance against the Sky Bet League One Pilgrims, showing their spirit to come from behind before ultimately losing 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller in the Vertu Trophy.
Rovers looked to repeat their level of performance against an in-form Colchester side, only losing two of their 13 games in the fourth tier, but struggled to get going. The Pirates failed to truly test Matt Macey, with the U's winning it through Owura Edwards stellar strike from range.
Speaking to BRTV after the contest, Evans reflected on the performance, the impact of his new signings and the week of training until the Gas go to Salford City.
So, Steve, a disappointing defeat here today, how do you reflect on that one?
"I think overall it was a disappointing performance. I think we paid a price for going toe to toe with Plymouth in the week. I think a lot of players who, in my opinion, really excelled in the Plymouth game looked a little bit jaded today, a little bit tired. I think we just appeared to be a yard off it all round the pitch for a lot of the game, not all of it, but a lot of it.
"We lost a number of key duels and didn’t press with the intensity we had. Plus the fact that we are playing a really good side that’s been established under Danny [Cowley] now. They’ve been together since the summer and are working through the processes. So we will learn a lot from today, and we’ll need to obviously have a week ahead, so we have an opportunity to freshen up ourselves, get on the training ground, and we’re facing a difficult game next week. As I just said to the players, the season started in August, and we have to find a way to come through this spell that we’re in."
Two new additions from Friday came into the starting team today. What were your thoughts behind that, and also, what are they going to add to the squad overall?
"Well, they were coming in fresh. I was obviously mindful that we had played on Tuesday, and I thought that Ryan de Haviland was very good in spells. Some of the passing range in the first half was outstanding.
"We didn’t take the benefit of it, whether it was left or right. Some of his set plays were excellent, and I thought young Kane just struggled to impose himself in that game a little bit. It was very congested in the middle of the park, and he didn’t really get away from people, but he’ll come on from that."
You mention that Plymouth performance just a few days ago was where lots of people excelled, what was really missed from this performance that was so evident in that game?
"I think it’s really tough when you go toe to toe and have the disappointment of Plymouth on Tuesday, and we brought them back in, as you know. They were all back in on Wednesday morning, and we tried to get freshness into the team and freshen them up in the training ground as well.
"So the other side of that is you lack a little bit of work in terms of the formation and the system and the patterns of play, and that’s why we can bring Riley Harbottle in as he’s actually played with Alfie Kilgour 20 odd times in his loan spell at Mansfield, so they knew each other really well. That was an easier decision to make, and then it was trying to bring freshness into the team.
"I think the only time we had a real purpose was when we brought on Ellis. I thought Ellis had a big contribution; we put them under pressure, and he won a few knockdowns and got unlucky with a few near misses. But we don’t kid ourselves, the better team won today."
Is that one of the main disappointments, then, that after creating so many chances against Plymouth and Shrewsbury, also a couple of weeks ago, they couldn’t quite get it right in the final third?
"Well, we didn’t get it right today, I don’t think their goalkeepers had a save. He’s come and plucked it a few times, but he’s six feet seven; we should be thinking about alternative options rather than putting it into his head. But we won’t hide behind anything today. I just said to the players, today has been a step down; we’ve been off the pace, but we have to learn from it. We played a good side, we know they’re a good side. I'd like to see them back here when we’ve got our side out there, but that’ll come."
Since you’ve been in, it’s been non-stop games, and now there’s a bit of a week break. What are you going to use in that week, and how good is it to have a little bit of time off on the training pitch?
"Of course, the opportunity to be on the training pitch. We've not been able to have much of it, and when we have, we’veseen the performances. So, we get the opportunity now to get the performances right, and we get the option as well to add to the group, which is important because there’s only one player missing today, one in total in terms of who could be available for selection, and we’re still missing some key players at this football club.
"I’m not going to hide behind any excuses. We had players on the pitch today to affect the game against Colchester, andwe never did it. In my opinion, we never did it from the start and probably only had a ten-minute spell in the second half that was worthy of note."
