Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore believes Bristol Rovers “ran out of steam and ideas” in the latter stages of the second half of their 2-1 defeat at the Mem as his Owls team dug in to claim what could prove a vital three points in their promotion battle.
Wednesday took a 2-0 first-half lead against the run of play in north Bristol but the Gas emerged in the second 45 minutes with renewed vigour and Aaron Collins’ 46th-minute goal changed the complexion of the match and reignited the atmosphere in BS7.
With the pressure on the Owls, locked in a three-way fight for two automatic promotion spots alongside Ipswich Town and Plymouth Argyle, and a vociferous Mem growing in volume, Moore’s side threatened to buckle.
However, Rovers were unable to come up with a leveller and the significance of the win for the visitors was evidenced by the passionate celebrations at full-time, also mixed with a healthy dose of relief. As Moore pointed out, Wednesday became the only current top-six side to have won at the Mem this term, with Bolton Wanderers still to travel on the final day of the season.
"It was hard-fought and we knew it'd be tough here. If you look at the top six in the league I think only one has won here," Moore said. "The level of work after the two classroom sessions got us over the line tonight. It was about being resolute. We knew we'd fashion one or two chances and Baz's (Barry Bannan) goal was an excellent finish.
"It set us on the way and gave us the platform. We then grew in confidence. Apart from a small lapse in concentration for their goal, we did our jobs. I don't remember them having too many clear-cut chances so credit to the players.
"It was about being solid. We had two sessions building up to this and that set up the platform for us to be resolute. I thought it was a welcome three points. When we had the ball we could have used it better than we did but I take full responsibility for that.
"We knew the crowd here can pull them in and as I say we know not many teams will come here and limit them to very few chances. We were solid. Once we got into 15 or 20 minutes of the second half I felt they ran out of steam and ideas and we got into control again. Credit to Joey and his team, they threw things at us but we stayed resolute.”
The Wednesday manager’s claim may not sit too comfortably with Joey Barton or the assembled Gasheads who witnessed the 90 minutes, as Rovers feel they were denied a clear equaliser on 80 minutes when John Marquis was flagged offside after putting the ball into the net.
Although Moore's words do carry some weight as over the final 30 minutes of the match, outside of the disallowed Marquis goal, the Gas managed just three shots despite enjoying 63.8 per cent of the possession, penning the Owls back but unable to penetrate a stubborn defence which has been the bedrock of their campaign.
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