After an excellent victory over Tranmere Rovers and a seventh consecutive win in Sky Bet League Two, Steve Evans was happy to have the Gasheads behind him.
It was a slow start for the Gas in their trip to Merseyside, with the Super White Army the more dominant side in the first half. Omari Patrick’s shot was blocked on the half-hour mark, as well as a big chance from Kaiyne Woolery narrowly missing the net.
Things were looking up for the visitors in the second half, as substitute Promise Omochere thundered in the opener from the left side of the box. Six minutes later, Tranmere for the equaliser as Jayden fired in Ethan Bristow’s cross.
Another substitute proved to be effective for the Gas as Yusuf Akhamrich directed a late composed finish into the bottom left corner. William Tamen tried to level in the latter stages, but the Gas walked away the victors.
Speaking to BRTV after the tough clash, Steve Evans is glad to have seven straight wins in the league.
Steve, that was a real battle, but congratulations. Seven straight wins.
“Yeah, and I mean, it’s hard to show the same integrity levels that we showed against Harrogate and Crawley. We knew it was going to be a battle. They should never be where they are, Tranmere, with the playing staff they’ve got, and Pete has come in in very difficult circumstances after what was a poor show.
“So, we always knew it was going to be fine margins, we always knew we would have to use our bench today. But when you look at the bench, it’s pretty impressive with the talent we’ve got on it.
“Obviously, Yusuf hadn’t started today, we felt a little niggle in his groin when we were training in the morning. He’s at zero risk, but he wanted to play a part in the end. Promise has been training for two weeks; he deserved his place on the bench. We walk away at the end of the game – a stunning goal from Promise.
“He showed real heart and aggression when he wins the ball, he cuts inside, and he has a finish you only really see in the Premier League. He has a fantastic finish, and then we switch off, we completely switch off with a goal, we don’t track the runner, we don’t track the second run-in to the box.
“Rightfully, against any level of team, you get punished. We did. But I think there on in, apart from the little scrappy break-away from them, it was a case of could we score? We changed it to make that happen with the introduction of Yusuf and the introduction of the other players.
“From that point of view, as soon as we see Yusuf in the position he was in, there’s a goal incoming and Yusuf does what he does. But, I think it was a team performance today, because we had to fight.”
I have to ask about Promise. What a special moment for him. With everything he has been through to go and get that goal.
“Listen, he’s been through the worst and to do it with such a big traveling support, eight hundred away and we were playing for nothing really. We were playing for pride; we were playing for integrity to the other teams along with Tranmere who are fighting for survival.
“I think it was 850 or so, our chairman has just been in the dressing room and the Chief Exec and everyone is absolutely buzzing behind the scenes. But for big man Promise, you could see what it meant on the bench. The whole bench, the whole management staff, the medical staff, everybody who was involved in it.
“They love winning every game, but so was Yusuf’s finish, it was wonderful like in every game.”
You mentioned Yusuf there, another great goal for him. Six goals for him on loan at Bristol Rovers and keeps bringing magic for the club.
“He’s just a wonderful talent. We’ve been growing away for the last two or three weeks, from my point of view, not only does he get the goal, but he says to the medical staff, I feel good, I don’t feel it at all. That’s really good.
“Tomorrow it will be important that he doesn’t, to give the boys a little break. They don’t often. Then we’ll get ready for the derby.”
Seven straight wins, boss. That’s the first time in seventy-three years that Bristol Rovers has done that in the league. What a tremendous achievement.
“I think it’s a credit to everyone. It’s a credit to all of the staff, certainly credit to the players. They never know when to give up, but as I’ve always said to them, if you play in my team, they give up, they go out of the club. It’s simple, or they don’t play.
“It’s as simple as that. We want characters here. We’ll go behind in games, we’ll lose games, but it’s how you lose, how you fight. Look at the eight hundred plus traveling supporters today, at the game.
“We arrived at the game; there must have been four or five hundred of them having a beer. The Chief Exec is in, the Chairman is in. For them and for everyone who has travelled today, and everyone at home.
“Let’s make sure that the Mem next week is in absolute full voice and the biggest of the season, because we need them. It’s a good Cheltenham team and we’ll respect that. We’ll see how we get on.”
