Bristol Rovers showed they will not simply allow their season to peter out to an unsatisfactory conclusion with a strong away performance on Saturday, blunting play-off chasing Peterborough United in a goalless draw at London Road.
The end of a gruelling yet commendable season is edging ever closer for the Gas, but they were certainly not willing to let this game pass them by despite the absence of meaningful stakes for Joey Barton and his players.
Their place in the league is assured and a midtable finish is certain, yet they matched 24-goal marksman Jonson Clarke-Harris and his Peterborough teammates despite the huge motivation powering Darren Ferguson's side. As it transpired, a win would have done Posh's play-off hopes the world of good ahead of the final day with Derby County dropping points.
But Rovers did not let them have it. They defended doggedly throughout – and posed just as much of an attacking threat as their free-scoring hosts – to halt a three-game losing run and make sure the 515 travelling Gasheads did not travel across the country for nothing.
On the beach? Not a chance
After three defeats with varying degrees of quality and spirit, it was a consideration that Rovers' season may finish on an unsatisfactory flat note, but any notion that they might have less motivation than their opponents was quickly dispelled.
The Gas were aggressive in their press from the off, eager to nick the ball back high up the pitch and attack an exposed defence. Although Rovers were savvy in their shape, there was no semblance of sitting off and seeing how the game developed.
Peterborough had their season on the line, but Rovers did well to match them for output in a game that had little significance for them with a midtable finish already certain. And although Posh pieced together passages of pressure in the closing stages, Rovers looked the more likely team to find a goal in the second half as they showed they were up for a scrap.
That was evidenced in a clash between Dan Butler and Ryan Loft midway through the second half, with the two tussling on the deck as the game continued with Rovers on the attack until referee Darren Drysdale belatedly cottoned on. A yellow card was shown to both men, but it was an encapsulation of Rovers' attitude to this game, and this final phase of the campaign as a whole; they were full of pride and not going to be pushed around.
Character has very rarely been lacking this season from Barton's players this season and since safety became assured a few weeks back, only in the Port Vale defeat were the Gas outworked. Against Sheffield Wednesday, they put the Owls under big pressure and were victims of a controversial offside call, and at Plymouth in midweek they grafted away with 10 men for more than an hour to avoid a thrashing on the scoreline.
Targets have been met and planning for next season has begun, but Rovers showed at London Road that they have allowed their professionalism to slip as the end of the campaign edges ever closer.
Gibson leads the way in solid showing
This was an excellent defensive showing from the Gas, keeping Clarke-Harris and his sidekicks at arm's length for the most part thanks to a commanding display from the centre-backs.
Jarrell Quansah delivered one of the best performances of his loan stay; the Liverpool prospect cleared so many crosses and corners as Posh attempted to utilise the physicality of Clarke-Harris and their three centre-backs.
There were rock-solid performances on the outside, too, with James Gibbons doggedly sticking to his task to curb the threats of Kwame Poku and Ephron Mason-Clark, while the ever-improving Lewis Gordon never flinched, even when balls were being slung into the box in the closing stages as Peterborough searched for what would have been an invaluable goal in their play-off pursuit.
And in front of the back four, everyone played their part in pressing high and tracking back to inhibit Peterborough's creative efforts.
But Lewis Gibson was the leader of the defensive unit, showing commendable strength in his duels with Clarke-Harris and company as well as showing a turn of speed shutting down any danger from balls that were played over the top for Poku and Mason-Clark to chase.
Most impressive was his communication and poise. He read moments of danger quickly and ensure he and his allies were in the right place to deal with it. Posh's 23 shots with only five on target sums up how the Gas were able to funnel their attackers wide and take on low-percentage shots.
The Everton loanee's stint with the Gas is coming to an end and an uncertain future awaits with his contract at Goodison Park expiring. Rovers would love to have him back but they are realistic about their prospects of doing a deal. These could be his final two games in a Gas shirt and it has been a superb spell with the club, only hampered by injuries midway through the campaign.
If he benefits from a sustained run of fitness in the months and years ahead, he will be playing above League One level, certainly.
The final pass
The challenge for Rovers next season will be to convert performances like this into victories. They were a single goal away from turning in the kind of away performance that managers strive for, managing moments of pressure, affecting the crowd and threatening in transition.
Although they were scrappy for the majority of the first period, Barton's side did get into some brilliant areas, particularly when Lamare Bogarde's hard work forced a chance for Josh Coburn and Aaron Collins to attack an isolated Josh Knight. Instead of feeding Collins for a clear run at goal, Coburn snatched at his shot and the chance passed. Collins was within his right to give the Middlesbrough striker a bit of stick.
After the break, things started to tidy up and Rovers increasingly looked a threat, with Sam Finley finding a groove and Ryan Loft battling hard, but it was the final pass that was eluding Rovers. The addition of Scott Sinclair brought an injection of quality with a bright cameo, but those moments could not be capitalised on.
Still, for a split second, it seemed like Rovers had procured a winner but Will Norris moved expertly to his left to keep out a powerful drive from Collins in the closing stages.
So while Barton was delighted by the application of his team and their defensive diligence, he will know that his team needs to develop a killer instinct in games like this to make the most of their moments if they are to be transformed into contenders next season.
Balcombe's wait continues but a moment of satisfaction
Eleven games on from his last appearance for the Gas, Ellery Balcombe was recalled to the XI and the goalkeeper responded with a confident performance between the sticks.
His best work came from crosses into his area, dealing with several dangerous deliveries authoritatively. His timely punches relieved pressure in awkward moments for the Gas.
In terms of shots to deal with, the Brentford loanee went relatively untested, with only a couple of shots struck with any kind of venom being aimed on target, but Balcombe was equal to a fizzing strike from Clarke-Harris in the first half which was about the best they mustered across the 90 minutes.
The former England youth international did keep Clarke-Harris out from close range with a superb instinctive stop at the death, but the offside flag has been raised, not that he knew, of course.
The final whistle came seconds later and confirmed a clean sheet for the 23-year-old, who has endured a strange spell with the Gas since signing on loan in January. He had five games to cement his place but he could not keep James Belshaw out of the team as the team at large struggled, failing to win any of those matches.
Eleven games on the sidelines followed, firstly on the bench for a handful before a knee injury in training pushed him completely out of contention. But Barton was eager to give him a chance before the end of the season to show his abilities and a few dodgy kicks aside, this was a solid display that should give the former Crawley Town keeper a bit of satisfaction as his loan spell nears its end.
Barton's side quest with two to go
Forty-four down, two to go as Rovers await their final assignments of a long yet satisfying campaign, with a trip to Shrewsbury Town coming up on Tuesday.
Steve Cotterill's side are in dreadful form, slipping from play-off contention to the bottom half of the table in the past month, suffering seven defeats in their past eight games, although it must be said their fixture list was very tough in that time, facing seven of the top eight.
Both sides will be eager to find at least one more win this season and they will fancy their chances in this game.
Barton has set his players a goal in these final fixtures, wanting to finish as the best of the four sides promoted from League Two last season. Forest Green Rovers are long gone and Port Vale cannot overtake Rovers despite confirming their place in the division for next season.
Sitting one spot above 15th-placed Rovers is Exeter City, who faced Ipswich Town at the worst possible time and took a 6-0 hammering at Portman Road on Saturday. The Grecians and the Gas are now locked on level points, but the Gas have a game in hand.
The main mission of survival has been secured, but completing Barton's side quest by outpointing Exeter in the final week of the season would add a bit more gloss to a good season.
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