It was always going to be a difficult challenge, but when Bristol Rovers went down to 10 men at title-chasing Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday with more than an hour still to play and a near-17,000 crowd energised, it proved insurmountable for Joey Barton and his players.
Just as they were finding a footing in the game after an aggressive start from their hosts, Rovers were down a man with 19 minutes remaining in the first half on a night Argyle took a huge leap towards promotion. Antony Evans, desperate to show some tenacity and make life hard for the Greens, picked up two bookings in the space of 13 minutes to leave the Gas with the backs against the wall.
Although Rovers battled hard, counterpunches were few and far between and the interval brought only temporary respite; within just six minutes of the break, their goal had been breached thanks to an inspired overhead kick from Niall Ennis. Macaulay Gillepshey made it two almost immediately and, for all their resolve, the game had gone from Rovers' reach.
Rovers headed back up the M5 with no points, a suspension for Evans and a few lessons to ponder. A closure at Junction 21 is not what you want to see in such circumstances. Argyle, however, are on the highway to a higher level.
The defining moment
Home Park has been the fortress from where Plymouth's promotion charge has been orchestrated. Their away form remains highly impressive, sitting third in those standings, but it is in Devon where they have been at their best.
Their haul of 58 points from 22 games is seven better than the next-best team and it is more than double Rovers' haul of 25 points from their games at the Mem this term. Barring any unforeseen disasters against Burton Albion and Port Vale, it is the site where promotion has been won.
For Rovers to get a result, therefore, they had to limit the mistakes and keep 11 men on the park. They could not as a complicated campaign for Evans took its latest twist.
His first booking 13 minutes in was a clear-cut decision. He anticipated a chance to intercept a ball intended for the electric Bali Mumba and get on the front foot, but he was a fraction of a second late and left out of position. He responded by tripping Mumba and taking a yellow card for the team.
With that booking hanging over him, he could ill afford any more transgressions. The Argyle fans have been captivated by a magical season in the same way Gasheads were a year ago and it was inevitable that it could have an effect on the minds of both the players and the officials.
And so Evans made a rash decision to make another foul from behind on the edge of the area 13 minutes after his first. Many referees, perhaps most, would have been lenient in the circumstances given the time left in the game and the fact there was no malice or danger in either challenge.
But the roars of the crowd and the protests of the Plymouth players doubtless played a role, even sub-consciously, in Craig Hicks' decision to produce a second yellow card, followed by a red. On another day, Evans may well have gotten away with it, but it was foolish to put his place on the pitch in danger and he gave the referee the chance.
As a result, it was a backs-against-the-wall job for Rovers without. They dug in until half time but a brilliant goal from Ennis and a questionable tactical decision from Barton – who admitted as much himself – to take off his best outlet in top scorer Aaron Collins in favour of an extra defender meant the game was quickly out of reach.
Red cards are part of the game, but the best teams keep them to an absolute minimum. Rovers' disciplinary record this season is much better than last, but with the designs Barton has of competing for the top six in 2023/24, discipline and decision-making need to go up another level over the summer.
Moment of genius befitting of champions
For Rovers, this was a chastening evening that will quickly be forgotten, but this was Plymouth's night as they close in on the League One title with two games to spare. Steven Schumacher's side have pushed five points clear of Sheffield Wednesday in third place, meaning just two points from their final two fixtures will be enough to book a place in the Championship for next season.
The opening goal in this game will be one of the great Argyle moments replayed for years to come. Elliot Anderson and Aaron Collins created them last season in the blue and white quarters, but in the green of Argyle, it was Ennis who broke the deadlock in a win that has put the Champagne on ice.
James Belshaw is fed up of the sight of unstoppable goals passing him by and into the back of the net, with Ennis scoring the latest by cushioning the ball in the air with his chest as his back turned to goal before mustering a sublime bicycle kick that landed perfectly in the bottom corner.
It was a fitting goal for a team that is deservedly heading for bigger and better things and it was a piece of quality that belongs at a higher level.
For Rovers, there is a path being laid by Plymouth to follow. There may be a bit of needle between certain individuals, but there is respect for the job started by Ryan Lowe and taken on by Schumacher and ex-Gas defender Mark Hughes.
Lowe got them back into League One in 2020 and consolidated their place at the level before being snapped up by Preston North End. But Schumacher, his assistant, has taken the team on to the next level, narrowly missing out on the play-offs last season and going up a few levels this year to put league winner's medals within their grasp.
This is not a superclub for the level like Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday or Derby County, with prestige and spending power that dwarfs their rivals. Plymouth have built momentum, improved infrastructure and recruited expertly for a sustained period and, with good coaching to boot, they are on the verge of being a second-tier club.
There has been plenty of cash spent, of course, including a timely splurge in January to sign Callum Wright, among other deals, for hundreds of thousands of pounds to ensure they didn't allow their big-spending rivals to steal a march on them.
But the foundations have been laid sensibly and methodically, offering inspiration to a clutch of clubs in the mid-table region of this division, including Rovers, that it is possible to compete with the big boys at the top end of the table.
A strange season
Before Tuesday, Evans' first full season in League One had not gone quite as anticipated, and his dismissal was the latest twist. It has been a stop-start campaign as he has gone from a talisman in League Two – where he mustered a mighty 10 goals and 12 assists en route to promotion – to a player in and out of the team.
That lack of rhythm has shown in his performances, trying to force things at times, as was the case on Tuesday. Forcing it is not just trying a bit too hard to come up with a bit of magic in the final third, it is also not quite channelling your aggression or enthusiasm in the best way and he made a poor decision to make the challenge he did while already on a yellow card.
This was Evans' lowest ebb this season, but there have been bursts of the quality player Gasheads know he is. There have been good cameos off the bench recently and there were three big goals in away wins earlier in the season, but unlike teammate Collins, his returns have not remained as high having gone up a level. The sum of his work ahead of a one-match ban that will see him miss the trip to Peterborough United on Saturday is five goals and three assists in 40 league appearances.
Those are not terrible numbers for a player who has rarely been in the sort of advanced role he craves. He has more often been deployed in a midfield three rather than an out-and-out playmaker, and he has shown he does possess the tenacity required to be an all-rounder in the centre of the pitch.
But having learned plenty in his second crack in the third tier after a brief loan stint with Crewe Alexandra in 2021, the end of the season and a pause feels like it is coming at a good time to refocus and go again in pre-season, boosted by the knowledge he has gained over the past nine months.
Three to go
Little more than a week remains in the season and three assignments remain for the Gas to tick off.
Three straight defeats in varying circumstances to Sheffield Wednesday, Port Vale and Plymouth have only increased the yearning for the end of the campaign and a bit of time off the hamster wheel that is a 46-game League One season.
With safety already achieved, what left is there to play for? Not a great deal beyond personal pride but Barton is sure to embark on a fact-finding mission in the trips to Peterborough and Shrewsbury before the visit of Bolton Wanderers to the Mem on the final day, evaluating the fringes of his squad with next season in mind.
There is also the realistic chance of finishing as the best of the four promoted teams. The Gas are a point behind Exeter City in 14th with a game in hand. Finishing above the Grecians as well as Port Vale and already-relegated Forest Green Rovers may not mean a great deal with the primary aim of consolidation already accomplished, but it would be a nice marker to show where Rovers are in their progression as a newly-promoted side.
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