Steve Evans was impressed with the way his side competed against Cobham Next Gen, with players from a much-changed Pirates team pushing for a start on Saturday against Crawley Town.
The Gas made 11 changes to the team that beat Newport County on the weekend and dominated the opening 70 minutes of the fixture, with strikers Mees Rijks and Joe Quigley netting either side of half-time to give Rovers a strong lead.
However, the Young Blues levelled the score through goals from Harrison Bettoni and Chizaram Ezenwata to level the game at full-time before winning on penalties.
However, Evans took the positives from the performance and was pleased with how his team performed for most of the contest...
REFLECTIONS ON THE GAME
"With 70-odd minutes on the clock, we are very comfortable at two-nil. We could have had three or four, and then we made some changes and changed the shape. That changed the pattern of play within a minute or so; Chelsea got a goal back, and they are talented players.
"They deservedly got a second goal, and we should probably have been three or four at the interval. Changes affect that a little bit, but for us, all bar losing on penalties, it's been a good night."
POSITIVES IN THE FIRST 70 MINUTES
"I think it was the way people competed; the way they ran about, they worked hard, and they showed they want to compete to be in that first 11 on a Saturday for the Gas. There are probably four or five of them who are jumping up at 65 or 70 minutes, but the game doesn't finish at 70 minutes; it finishes at 95."
PLAYERS IMPRESSING AHEAD OF SATURDAY
"It does [put questions in my head] because I think we all know that we said we should have done better than concede six goals in two games, particularly the three here on Saturday. There was a lot of work that went into some of the defensive shape, and for 70 minutes, it was good tonight.
"We changed the shape of the team, so that defensive block changed, and that gave them a little bit more time, and they are a talented group at Chelsea."
MEES RIJKS
"I thought Mees was good tonight. He gave us a real shift, and he worked hard. I thought he was a real threat in behind, and we're pleased with him."
REISS RUSSELL-DENNY AND JACK AITCHISON
"We just need to get minutes into Reiss, and that's hard because we're in an area of the pitch where we have got some real ability. I thought he was good tonight, and I thought Jack Aitchison was brilliant tonight for the best part of 60 minutes. We'll regroup, we'll go back on the training ground on Thursday, and every time we can get more minutes to Reiss and Jack, that improves our options in the forward area."
IMPROVING DEFENSIVELY
"We need to defend more with pride. It's not about shape; it's about one-on-one mistakes and cutting them out. If we cut the errors out, we'll concede fewer goals. I know it's a straightforward comment, but it's true. The boys have been working hard.
CRAWLEY TOWN NEXT
"They can play; don't make a mistake about this. They won by the odd goal at Rochdale, and it could have been more. They went down to nine men in the previous game, so that makes it impossible for them to win the game. We know how tough that will be."
