Tom Lockyer said Bristol Rovers' 3-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town was precisely how the Gas wanted to start the new year after a disappointing 2025.
The Pirates were searching for their first victory in Sky Bet League Two since September, and after a quiet first half against Salop, stormed into a three-goal lead thanks to a stellar hat-trick from Fabrizio Cavegn.
The striker netted just beyond the hour mark to break the deadlock, before a late double completed his first professional hat-trick and Steve Evans' first victory as Head Coach of Rovers.
Lockyer, who played the entire fixture, was delighted to start 2026 with three points but knows there is still plenty of work to do.
“It was a hard-fought win," he said. "It’s exactly how we wanted to start the new year. We know last year wasn’t good enough; it goes without saying that everyone is pretty aware of that, but you can only take care of the next game, and that’s what we did there.
"So, it’s good to start the year on the front foot, but we’re still aware of the situation we’re in, and there’s still a lot more work to be done.”
The first goal was always going to be crucial in a fixture between two teams looking to pull themselves up the table; it was Cavegn who came up with a vital moment to firmly turn the momentum in the Gas' favour.
He made the most of a defensive mistake to score from close range before getting on the end of a cutback from Shaq Forde to get his second and almost guarantee Rovers all three points.
With Shrewsbury pushing men forward, the Pirates caught them on the counter to get a third. Joel Senior surged down the right and sent a low cross towards the forward, who took a touch before finishing with only a matter of minutes left to play.
Lockyer was full of praise for the 'unplayable' Cavegn and discussed why the Swiss forward can be so difficult to play against.
“He’s brilliant. I think he was unplayable at times today, and I’ve just seen the third goal back, and the finish was really good because that cross came in on a bobbly pitch, and it sat up. I know he’sscored a lot of goals, but he hasn’t been in them of late, and it would be easy for him to snatch at that one and miss the target, but he had the composure for the touch and a quick finish.
I thought that was an exceptional finish, and I thought he was exceptional today. He fully deserves that hat-trick, and it was a really good performance for the team.
“He’s just non-stop. I think in recent games, he’s probably been a little bit caught up in trying to fight the big boys and losing the physical battle, but I think today he was a little bit cuter with it. He was dropping where they couldn’t really get hold of him and then turning. When he was doing that, he was unplayable. I think he’s learnt from the last few games, and that’s a credit to him that he wants to learn and improve, and he got his rewards today.
“It was weird. The gaffer said to me in the week that he wanted me to go in there and I was just excited, to be honest with you. I just want to play football, and I just want to win games like today. I’vereally missed that feeling. It wasn’t easy coming back and joining into a losing side that was losing every week.
Lockyer is used to playing at centre-back for the Gas but has also appeared at right-back for the Gas. However, he was given a new challenge by Evans, who deployed the 31-year-old in the Pirates' midfield against Shrewsbury.
He enjoyed his position in the team and enjoyed getting back to winning ways with Rovers.
“It was weird," he smiled. "The gaffer said to me in the week that he wanted me to go in there, and I was just excited, to be honest with you. I just want to play football, and I just want to win games like today. I’ve really missed that feeling. It wasn’t easy coming back and joining a losing side that was losing every week."
"There were times when I was thinking that this is not what I came back for, but moments like today and winning games of football, that's the feeling that I love, and it makes it all worth it."
