Hundreds of Gasheads travelled down to Crewe Alexandra's Mornflake Stadium on Friday night to watch Bristol Rovers gain a point in Steve Evans' first fixture as Head Coach, with Taylor Moore quick to show his gratitude to the fans.
Rovers were looking to end a torrid run of form in their final away fixture of 2025 and showed spirit to bounce back from Emre Tezgel's early strike to level only three minutes later, with Callum Morton netting his first goal in blue-and-white quarters.
The Pirates, who were against ten men for much of the contest after Adrien Thibaut's red card, had the chances to score a second but could not turn a draw into a victory, and secured their first point in Sky Bet League Two since the end of September.
Speaking to the media after the fixture, Moore made sure his first words went to the fans who made the trip down to Crewe.
"First and foremost, I want to say thank you to each and every fan who came here today behind the goal," he said. "Their support is unconditional, and I just think that what we have seen here tonight is a little bit of a bounce and a little bit of a change in momentum.
"I know it’s not three points, but a new manager coming into a football club always has that little bit of change straight away, and on Friday night, our fans have come out in their numbers. So first and foremost, I wanted to say a big thank you to them because we really appreciate it as players.
"It’s a point, we’ve stopped the rot, we’ve stopped this bad run of form. However, a lot of boys are obviously sat in there, and we’re still very frustrated that we didn’t come away with three points because we know that we’re more than capable of winning that game of football, but it’s a point in the right direction."
Evans made five changes to the team that lost 3-0 to Swindon Town last weekend, with the Gas showing signs of promise inside the opening two minutes when Fabrizio Cavegn drilled a low strike straight at Sam Waller.
Crewe stuck against the run of play through Tezgel, but Rovers' response was also instantaneous. Morton, who made his first start for the Pirates, rushed behind Crewe's defence and rounded Waller before finishing into an open net.
Moore admitted his side should have done better with the goal they conceded but was pleased with the character his team showed to get back into the contest.
"The way we started the game, we kind of deserved that [equalising goal]," said Moore. "I know it’s a sloppy goal/good goal from them, but we’ve got to do better in those moments, and we know that. The manager has made it very, very clear that it’s something that we will be working on.
"However, to show character like we did to bounce back, maybe Rovers from a few weeks ago end up going under there and conceding a second or a third very early on. So, there’s positive to take, that's for sure, but there’s still a lot to work on, and we know that."
He later added: “Playing for a big club like this there always is pressure and you feel that as players. No matter who you are, no matter if you’re young or a little bit older, there is always pressure to come and get results and I think with a new manager such as Steve Evans coming in and really putting the pressure on us as a group to turn this ship around and change our season completely.
“Them going down to ten men helped us in many ways but also frustrated us in many ways as well. We saw it against Notts County where we ended up into the game quite strong, they went down to ten men, and we ended up losing the game. So, we learnt a little bit from that, but unfortunately, it’s still not three points.”
Evans joined Rovers on Tuesday, with the Head Coach hoping his new side can build on their point against Crewe in a hectic Christmas schedule. He has only been able to work with the squad for a matter of days, but Moore has been pleased with the impact the 63-year-old has had so far.
"It’s been really good," he said. "He came in, and he told us that any stories that we possibly heard about Steve Evans are, more than likely, going to be true, but he’s very straightforward, straight-talking, and he knows what he wants from his players.
"He wants hard work, and he wants honesty, so that’s what we try to produce tonight. There is a lot to come. He’s only been here for three days, so we’re not going to completely change overnight, but we can see already that there are certain points with his coaching staff that they are going to be bringing into our game and hopefully, be pushing us back up the table because where we are is absolutely unacceptable.
"That’s the first thing he said, that’s he’s been brought in to do a job, and he’s going to do it. So, it’s been nice being on Steve Evans’ side for once rather than against him for all of these years."
