Brief respite is all Bristol Rovers' midweek stalemate with promotion-chasing Ipswich Town turned out to be as Burton Albion resumed a demoralising run for Joey Barton and his players in a 2-1 defeat at the Mem on Saturday.
Buoyed by a dogged and disciplined showing on Tuesday, it all started so well for the Gas who looked on their way back to form after a strong start punctuated by John Marquis' fine header.
But the afternoon ended in a fashion painfully familiar since the turn of the year, as a Rovers team short on confidence and ideas were left lamenting moments of poor defending and a breakdown in their build-up play.
Resilience was a bedrock that Barton built this team upon over the past 18 months, but at this moment the foundations are unsteady. The Gas have been so good in the face of adversity in recent times but they crumbled as soon as they shipped a terrible equaliser to the Brewers against the run of play.
Thankfully, Rovers have a body of good work to fall back on which means the margin to the bottom four remains at nine points with 14 games to go, but it would be daft to think that League One safety is a forgone conclusion on current form. There may not be the urgency of a chasing pack breathing down their necks at the moment, but this slide has to stop soon.
Confidence is on the floor and it has seeped into the stands
For the first time in six games, the Gas scored the opening goal in the contest and it seemed like their poor form was behind them, with Burton unable to get a foothold in the game.
Marquis' ninth-minute header from Gibbons' brilliant cross from the right set a resounding tone. The Mem was up for it and Rovers were creating chances, with Aaron Collins fizzing the best just wide of the post with Craig MacGillivray a mere spectator.
A lengthy pause for a medical emergency in the West Terrace midway through the first half could have changed the flow of the contest, but Rovers remained on the front foot and Jarell Quansah sent a header from point-blank range over the bar.
It proved costly as moments later, a long punt forward was not dealt with by Quansah, Gibbons nor James Connolly and Dale Taylor had to play just a single pass to free Charlie Kirk on goal for an equaliser out of the blue.
The whole occasion changed from that moment. The vigour had been sucked out of not only the players but the stands; Gasheads were stunned after Burton had levelled from nothing against the run of play.
Naturally, the same nagging thoughts affecting those on the pitch crept onto the terraces. The bullish mood from a deserved lead and strong performance vanished, and so with it did Rovers' poise.
Suddenly, Burton had the game they wanted; a scrappy mess in tricky conditions in front of a demoralised and muted stadium.
We will get onto Rovers' play with the ball in more detail in a moment, but they went from an incisive and effective attack to aimless long-ball peddlers in an instant. Only confidence can explain the capitulation in their approach to the game, because with the winds at their backs in the second half there was no logic to getting the ball in the air, particularly against this opponent.
The second goal followed 10 minutes after the interval in dismal fashion. Several chances to clear the ball from the area were missed and despite a good save from Ellery Balcombe and a goalline block from Quansah, Burton were allowed to score far too easily as Sam Winnall bundled home amid the ugly chaos in the penalty area in front of a perplexed Thatchers Terrace.
It is easier said than done, particularly from the relative comfort of the press bench, but the Gas need to be more courageous in difficult moments. Not in the sense of battling, not at all. The determination is there but they need to stay true to themselves and the way they play best, even when the pressure is on and the mind starts to play tricks.
One goal against the run of play should not be enough to derail a good performance.
A breakdown in build-up play
As alluded to above, the approach play that was so good – the best Rovers have produced in the past six weeks, perhaps – in the first 40-odd minutes was never seen again in the game. This was not pure total football; there were calculated moments of going long with the wind holding the ball up and making life awkward for the Burton defence, but the emphasis was the ball on the floor and incisive passes in and around the final third.
That was the source of the opening goal and the majority of the chances that followed, but it went untapped in the second half. Kirk's leveller changed the whole vibe and it clearly played with minds and bodies on the pitch.
With the Mem slope heading towards the South Stand and the wind heading in that direction, there is no mileage in playing long, straight balls because the conditions are effectively an extra defender in that scenario – the ball runs through to the keeper or out of play so often that it makes it a fruitless exercise.
There was no tactical shift that urged the Gas to play this way in the second half. Barton was desperate to avoid a game of rugby-style long punts to each other and waiting for mistakes to play off because that does not suit his team whatsoever.
Instead, the Gas needed to recompose themselves, show a degree of patience and get back to the kind of football that plays to their strengths and not that of the opponent. They played into Burton's hands on Saturday and made life relatively easy for them in a second half that ought to have been much more difficult.
Big players need to stand up
Times are tough for the Gas and five starters in Saturday's team – Balcombe, Quansah, Grant Ward, Lamare Bogarde and Calum Macdonald – have never tasted victory in the blue and white quarters.
With three of that quintet aged 23 or younger, it is only natural that confidence is a bigger factor than for established pros and confidence can only come with positive results.
The effort from every player in blue and white is clear to see. This is not a case of a team that has got to a point of presumed safety and let off the gas, but a myriad of players losing rhythm, brutal injuries – to Jordan Rossiter in particular – untimely suspensions and, most recently, an unpleasant illness in the squad that have combined to leave the Gas at the bottom of the form table, level with rock-bottom Forest Green Rovers and, coincidentally, next Saturday's opponents Oxford United.
Endeavour is not lacking but quality and composure are and Rovers' key players, particularly the leadership group of Paul Coutts, Sam Finley, Collins et al, are responsible to lead from the front.
What is the point?
Gasheads are a huge asset to this club. The Mem, at its best, is a horrible place to play and that is because of the backing of the home fans and the hostile atmosphere they create.
But you have to wonder what is to be gained from the chanting of James Belshaw's name mid-game when Balcombe endured difficult moments in the second half.
Balcombe's performance was below par on Saturday and his choice to punch on a couple of occasions deserves to be questioned. It is also fair for fans to question Barton's decision to make a mid-season change between the posts by dropping Belshaw.
But during the game? What good does that do for a young player when it was apparent some of his own fans did not believe in him in that moment?
Scrutiny of the decision is absolutely justified. Balcombe has had good and bad games since joining the Gas last month and he has work to do to cement his status in the minds of supporters, particularly with Belshaw's popularity in BS7.
But during the 90 minutes, it seems entirely counterproductive to get on his back in such a way, and it is reasonable to think that played a part in his spillage at the feet of Taylor that would have led to a third goal if not for the offside flag.
Save it for after the game.
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