Bristol Rovers' place in League One for next season was all but assured by the time they kicked off against Derby County at the Mem on Saturday, but there is still plenty of life left in their campaign. Personal pride, laying foundations for next season and upsetting a few promotion charges remains on the agenda for Joey Barton and his players.
And deep into added time, the Gas made sure all three items were ticked off with Antony Evans' thumping finish from the penalty spot securing a deserved point against a Derby side who offered surprisingly little in the way of ambition or attacking intent against a side in the bottom half of the table, particularly when news of a surprise defeat for play-off rivals Peterborough United was followed by an early goal for David McGoldrick.
The Irishman has been in fine form all season and the last thing the Gas needed to give Derby's top marksman was time and space in the box, but they did precisely that inside five minutes as the former Sheffield United forward gave the Rams the lead.
But that moment did not shape the afternoon. Rovers have been rattled by poor defensive moments at times this season, but their poise remained true on this occasion and by the midway point of the first half, they had the game under control, if not the scoreline.
Had they not equalised at the death – and Derby boss Paul Warne was adamant Evans did not deserve a penalty when referee Ollie Yates deemed he was felled by Harvey White underneath Lewis Gibson's ball into the box – it would have been a deeply frustrating day for the Gas, but there would have been plenty of positives regardless of his result.
Since the results over the Easter weekend almost certainly cemented Rovers' League One status, Barton has looked to a challenging fixture schedule taking in games against five of the top seven in the final weeks of the campaign as a chance to see how his players measure up ahead of next season, when he hopes to be part of the promotion conversation.
Saturday's evidence confirmed once again they are capable against the league's better sides.
The least they deserved
Derby may feel aggrieved with the manner of the equaliser, but both teams got what they deserved in the end.
With 70 per cent possession and 607 passes to Derby's 264, Rovers had the Rams on the back for the vast majority of the contest. Barton's side were guilty of a lack of composure at times as moments of opportunity went unfulfilled, but the second half often resembled a training ground game of attack vs defence, save for a handful of breakaways led by McGoldrick with little support.
A point as a bare minimum was fair, particularly considering the rather negative approach Derby showed throughout. Rovers proved too good in possession on the day and it appeared that the Rams abandoned all efforts to press with any real ferocity.
Instead, they limited themselves to defending their own box with a reliance on some quality veterans to get them through. And as useful as Curtis Davies and co may be in that regard, it was always a huge risk and having benefitted from several lucky escapes earlier in the game through Rovers' poor finishing, eventually, Derby got what they deserved as much as Rovers did.
Rovers measure up well
The way the fixture list has panned out has given Rovers an opportunity. Had they been battling relegation, games against five of the top teams in the league in the final seven games would have been an unwelcome challenge, but in the circumstances, they are excellent tests with next season in mind that have given Barton and his players plenty of motivation.
Barton is not one to conceal his ambitions and he will go into next season believing the Gas can be part of the conversation for the top six. With that in mind, these games against Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle et al represent a period of extensive examination, the results of which will be indicative of Rovers' potential next year and the areas Barton must improve over the summer months.
On this evidence, the Gas are not a million miles away from the teams that occupy the play-off places and the fringes. Consistency throughout the season is a different ask, but the Gas have mixed it with the big boys all season and this game was the same.
Derby paid Rovers a huge compliment by sitting off and allowing the Gas to have the ball considering the Rams had a huge chance to burst into the top six after Peterborough's defeat at Cambridge United in the early kick-off.
Of course, there are known faults that need remedying. The goal Rovers conceded was far too soft and they could have been more composed in the final third, but these 90 minutes were confirmation for Barton's young squad – if they needed it after good showings against Ipswich Town and Barnsley in recent times– that they can thrive at this level against all comers.
Marquis takes initiative
Gasheads would be forgiven if they were not able to watch as Evans stood over his 95th-minute penalty kick, but those whose eyes remained firmly fixed on matters on the pitch would have seen the subtle yet influential roles John Marquis played in making sure that ball ended up in the back of the net.
Having scored the winner from the spot against Charlton Athletic on Good Friday, Marquis picked up the ball and stood as if he were going to take this one, too. On that day, Evans nor Scott Sinclair, Rovers' nominated penalty takers were on the pitch, but the nerve Marquis showed from 12 yards that day made him a very credible candidate to take this one.
That was until referee Mr Yates got the Derby protests, led by the tiresome Joe Wildsmith in goal – who tasted a bit of poetic justice after wasting time at every opportunity during the game only to concede at the death – settled down.
At that moment, Marquis handed the ball to Evans and, of course, he duly scored. This was no squabble over who was going to have the chance at claiming a bit of glory, but a calculated move.
By holding the ball, it was Marquis who faced the Derby jibes aimed at unsettling the penalty taker while Evans was allowed to lurk in the background, focusing his mind on the job at hand, which he went on to complete in some style.
Barton admitted after the game that it was not a move orchestrated by the coaching staff. Marquis and Evans between them had taken initiative and even if it only played a minimal role in the equaliser being scored, every little helps.
Gasheads rewarded
Rovers' home form has been poor this season, with their results on the road playing a big part in why they have reached Barton's 52-point target with six games to spare.
The Gas are 20th in the home table with a total of 25 points from 21 games, which is sure to disappoint Barton but also provide the manager with an obvious area for improvement heading into next season.
But form is something of an irrelevance when the Mem crowd gets involved in a game. For as long as this is Rovers' home, for all the shortcomings of this cobbled-together stadium, it is an intimidating place to play when the Gasheads are engaged, particularly when the bigger teams come to town.
The atmosphere on Saturday was among the best at the Mem all season, reaffirming the notion that this campaign will not peter out for the Gas in the final three weeks. Rovers may be destined to finish mid-table, but these games still matter a great deal to the players, coaches and fans.
Enormous pressure
Tuesday's visit of Sheffield Wednesday to the Mem is shaping up similarly, perhaps only with higher stakes for the Owls after their surprise defeat to Burton Albion dealt a hammer blow to their automatic promotion hopes with Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich both winning elsewhere.
Darren Moore's side head to BS7 on Tuesday for what is nothing less than a must-win game. Having played a game more than both of their rivals for the top two, they can ill afford any more slips along the way and the Gas will look to play on the enormous pressure that will be on their opponents' shoulders.
Wednesday had a miserable time near this part of the world only last month, taking just a single point from a possible six from trips to Forest Green Rovers and Cheltenham Town in the space of three days.
The Gas will hope the Owls face similar South West struggles on Tuesday, but even if Wednesday are back on form, Barton will believe his players can match them after taking seven points from three games since a 20-day hiatus for the international break and Papa John's Trophy final which increasingly appears like a blessing for Rovers to refresh and refocus.
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