All Antony Evans needed, he says, was a chance. His opportunity at Bristol Rovers was never going to pass him by and he is a driving force behind their League Two promotion challenge reaches
The 23-year-old joined Rovers on deadline day in August after a spell in Germany's top flight soured by the frustration of the pandemic and coaching changes, but for all the former Everton under-23s skipper and England under-19 international's pedigree, no Gashead could have predicted the impact he has had in the blue and white quarters.
On Tuesday, he scored his ninth goal of the season to fire the Gas to a crucial victory at the Mem over a stubborn Barrow. It was a stunner, too, crashing the roof of the net with a rising drive from long range when victory seemed to be slipping away from Rovers.
Evans – who also has nine assists this season – has become a talisman for Joey Barton's side. He has been nerveless in scoring three crucial penalties and his goal tally has been boosted by an incredible collection of high-class strikes.
The result is star status in North Bristol and no doubt interest from further up the pyramid. It is some season he is putting together, but Evans never had any doubt that he had it in him.
"I’ve always known what I’m capable of," Evans said in the bowels of the West Stand on Tuesday. "I’ve just never been given the platform to show people what I’m capable of, but I’ve been given that at Bristol Rovers and I’m starting to show what I can do.
"In this sport, if you don’t back yourself you aren’t going to go very far. I believe I can play at the top and it’s just about getting there.
"My motivation is purely to play at the highest level of football that I possibly can. I’ve had some setbacks in my career so far and I’ve had to reassess. I got the opportunity to come and play for Bristol Rovers and I’m grateful for that I’m just happy to be paying it back with performances.
"It’s just who I am and part of the way I was brought up, to go and achieve my dreams regardless of the setbacks I’ve had. If you take them too hard, you’re never going to fulfil your potential and I believe in myself."
Evans rated Tuesday's strike as the best of his professional career and he is hungry for more goals before the season's end. He insists he has not yet hit the targets he set himself for goals and assists before the outset of the campaign. Considering he has scored just two goals in his entire professional career – on a loan spell at Morecambe in 2017 – that he set such lofty targets is a crystal clear display of his inner belief.
That confidence was on show on Tuesday, taking his chance to shoot against a goalkeeper in inspired form in the shape of Paul Farman from distance to break the deadlock and earn three points that edges Rovers to within two points of the play-off places and five points of the top three.
He recalled: "The touch just opened the pitch up to me and I could make any decision I wanted to, but I saw the opportunity to shoot. I believe in myself and thankfully it paid off.
"That’s the best goal I’ve scored in my career by far. The distance, the way it’s gone in, everything about it, I’m just really pleased. I couldn’t really see it as someone was in the way, but you hear the Thatchers and run towards them.
"I haven’t scored that many professional goals in my career. That might be my 10th goal. Some of the ones at Bristol Rovers have been pretty good.
"You’ve got to soak it up because sometimes in football it takes a while to receive some positive news. Three points and a goal is a nice feeling, so I will definitely watch it back. My family will be happy, we’ll watch it back and we’ll move on to Newport."
Evans did receive a few choice words from his manager following the draw with Exeter City for shooting too much from unrealistic situations, but Barton believes the player had overcompensated and reminded him to shoot from range in the right circumstances.
"It wasn’t too much of a conversation, to be honest with you," Evans said. "I just got told that I was shooting from silly angles, so that was just in my head. He said I had a good chance to shoot in the first half, but I think the touch I had wasn’t good enough to take the shot on so I played it in to Sammy.
"It was a statement that he made. He’s the gaffer and that’s what he felt, but I believe in myself and I’ll shoot if I feel I’m going to score from it."
Rovers have lost just once in 13 games, taking more points than any other League Two club in 2022. Their form represents a transformation from the team treading water in the bottom half for the first half of the campaign and Evans believes Rovers have momentum but plenty of work to do.
"That’s a big turnaround," he acknowledged. "The lads know that and we feel that and the fans feel that. The other day against Exeter was a sell out. That hasn’t happened here for a few years, so we know it’s coming.
"It’s been a good spell but the job’s not done. I don’t know how many we’ve got left, but there are loads of games to play and plenty to play for."
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